thankful. 11.27-30.09

11.27.09 I’m thankful for soup. I know that sounds strange, but FirstHusband can make some seriously good soup. This past week, he ended up smoking three turkeys (two for a charity dinner), a lamb shank and a ham. That’s THREE huge crockpots of turkey soup and one of ham/lamb soup. Very, very GOOD soup.

11.28.09 I’m thankful for my husband, who prepared our Thanksgiving meal all by himself today while I was on client site because I couldn’t connect from home. (See thankful 11.30.09) We served Thanksgiving dinner at our church this year, so we had our family meal on Saturday. He prepared the ENTIRE meal himself. I cleaned up – and PACKED the fridge with leftovers – and soup – until all our food storage containers were full. We are so very, truly blessed.

11.29.09 I’m so thankful for my son’s sense of humor. His quick, dry wit always keeps us on our toes. And his grin is part of his character. Absolute GREAT person.

BestDad/FirstHusband: FavoriteSon, there is a table right in front of you, ya know.

FavoriteSon (with a plate of food perched precariously on his knee and my favorite grin on his face): God didn’t make tables. He made knees.

Me: Jesus was a carpenter. He made tables. Use that one please.

11.30.09 I’m SOOOOO Very thankful for the ability to connect to client computers remotely and work from home. Last night, as I prepared to teach a custom Windows 7 class this morning, I was able to work until the wee hours of the morning – from the safety and comfort of my own home. The internet is WONDERFUL.

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.25.09

I’m so thankful . . .

Working full+ days recently has reminded me that I am SO thankful that I don’t (normally) have to work full-time. My daughter is really missing me and while I feel guilty about that, I’m also thankful for the experience because she too is realizing what a blessing it is that I pick her up every day after school and that I get to spend so much time with her every day. She and her brother are off from school this week and my husband is on vacation leave, so they’ve spent the week together. Yesterday, on the phone, after I’d been gone from the house all day, she said:

“Now I know how my friends feel when they have to go to after care every day. They don’t get to see their mom and dad as much as me.”

Heart wrenching. Part of me loves and wants to do the work. Part of me wants to be home with my family. My prayers today are for all the families who struggle with those same feelings – all the time.

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.23.09

I’m so thankful . . .

I’m thankful that FirstHusband is off this week and is picking up my slack BIG time as I work on a client project. We had a slumber party for 9 year old girls last night that lasted until after midnight. I got up and went to client site while he stayed home, made pancakes for breakfast and held down the fort till after lunch when the parents started picking up their girls. Our own little girl had an exhausting, wonderful time and she thinks her daddy is the bomb!

I’m thankful that FirstHusband cleaned out the fridge to get ready for the plethora of food we will need to stuff inside over the next few days. I’m thankful that he’s the KING of the smoker during the holidays and that he loves to cook big elaborate meals. I’m thankful that he is such a GREAT cook!

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.20.09 Happy Birthday PinkGirl!!!!

I’m so thankful . . .

For my daughter today on her 9th birthday!

Today, I’m revisiting a Pragmatic Communion post I wrote about her because I’m SO VERY THANKFUL she is still has the sweet spirit and vivacious enthusiasm for life I described two years ago. Her enthusiasm for everything in life comes from her authentic joy and it is contagious!

Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or fret your children [do not be hard on them or harass them], lest they become discouraged and sullen and morose and feel inferior and frustrated. [Do not break their spirit.]
Colossians 3:21 The Amplified Bible

My daughter is a free spirit.

She sings. Loud. She sings Disney princess songs and hymns. Praise songs and jingles. She sings her own personal compositions. Sometimes they rhyme, sometimes not. Her own songs are l-o- n-g. She sings about everything. Love. Jesus. Her Heart. Disney. Sometimes she throws in a line about gross bodily functions before cracking herself up because it is SO hysterically funny. (She’s 7.) She sings in the car and doesn’t care who stares. She will climb to the top of a playground structure and sing her songs to an audience in the sky. She doesn’t care if people can hear her. She wants people to hear her.

Please don’t tell her to be quiet.

She dances. She twirls. She vogues. She bounces. She skips. She runs when and where there is open space. She swings. HIGH. She calls out “Watch me!” and wants me to take her picture. This is what happy looks like.

Please don’t tell her to sit still.

She loves to dress up. She can’t watch “Annie” without pausing the DVD player for multiple costume changes. She “invents” outfits and hairstyles. She wears prints with stripes, pink with orange and mismatched socks for “flair.” She loves lipstick and jewelry. She loves pink. Not pastel pink. PEPTO pink! BOLD pink.

Please don’t “correct” her wardrobe selections.

She loves to perform. The fireplace hearth is her stage. She wrote a play when she was in pre-kindergarten. She sat in a chair for hours on a Friday night, writing on one piece of paper after another. When it was all said and done, written on each piece of paper were the lines of each character in her play. When I typed it up for her later, she knew immediately which paper to read from next as she dictated the dialog for me. The spelling was creative, but the play was complete with a hero, a villain, a quest, and lots of songs to sing.

Please don’t tell her to “act like the other kids.”

She finds wonder in so many things. A lizard hiding in the grass. A crushed acorn. The shape of a cloud. She can’t go for a walk around the block without stopping every few feet to pick up a leaf, pet a neighbor’s cat or point out something interesting. She wants to see everything and go everywhere. And she wants to tell you all about it. Because it’s made such an imprint on her, she believes she should share it.

Please don’t make absentminded comments when she’s talking to you. She’s smart. She knows.

Don’t get me wrong. She’s not wild and undisciplined. She understands that she should whisper in a library, sit quietly attentive and respectfully listen to her teachers in class, and wear her uniform to school. She understands that sometimes she needs to follow directions instead of direct her own elaborate scripts. She knows to share and to take something she finds to lost and found. She knows that if we forget to pay for the case of soda under the grocery cart, that we are going back inside the store to make it right. She knows proper manners for the using the phone, how to handle a laptop computer and how to carry scissors. She understands that she can’t break out of line at school to chase a lizard or twirl. She knows not to run in a parking lot and to look both ways before she crosses the street. She knows to wear shorts under her skirts so no one can see “London” and that she can’t wear makeup to school and church. She even knows the only time her belly button should show in public is when she is wearing a bathing suit.

What she doesn’t know yet is that someday she may be too embarrassed to express herself “out loud” like she does now. She hasn’t spent time with “that” person. You know, the person who will try to convince her that her free and confident self-expression is inappropriate or wrong. The person who will introduce doubt and self-consciousness.

I pray that when faced with that person – that criticism – she is confident enough to stand strong and be herself. I refuse to silence her just because of what other people might think. I refuse to force her to wear what I think she should or tell her that she should only wear two braids, instead of six. I refuse to make her sit down when there’s no reason she can’t run. I refuse to squelch her spirit – just because it’s different than mine.

Sometimes it looks like she is dancing without music. She’s not. The music is in her heart. We can hear it if we just listen.

Not allowing your children to do innocent but different things is the logical outgrowth of a belief system that emphasizes the symbols of faith rather than it’s substance. This shallow religion measures success more by the image than by genuine authenticity.
Dr. Tim Kimmel
Grace Based Parenting

She challenges me every day and I’m a better person because I get to be her mom.

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

 

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

 

thankful. 11.19.09

I’m so thankful . . .

FavoriteSon made the JV basketball team! I’m DOUBLY thankful that football season is OVER and the man stank is GONE from my house and minivan. I’m thankful that basketball season does not smell anywhere near as bad as football season. I’m VERY thankful that FavoriteSon’s track coach from last year is also his basketball coach and that relationship is so amazingly positive. I’m very thankful that FavoriteSon is gaining confidence in his ability on the court!

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.18.09

I’m so thankful . . .

For compensated work and a great client! My favorite client is upgrading their computers and software, requiring both consulting and training. It’s a lot of work during what is usually a planned slow time of year for me, but it is a blessing and a direct answer to prayer! I’m also thankful I’m learning and retaining so much so fast. (and constantly praying I can continue)

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.16.09

I’m so thankful . . .

I’m thankful for the technology that makes my life easier, more efficient and just . . . more FUN! We sometimes take things for granted, but today, I’m really noticing how many appliances, gadgets and technological capabilities and services we are blessed with – our computers, a stable internet connection, cell phones, bluetooth headset, mp3 players, CD burners/players, DVRs, voice mail, my dishwasher, washer/dryer, microwave, oven/stove, COFFEE MAKER, my dry sauna, air conditioning (and heat) . . . what else am I forgetting?

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.13.09

I’m so thankful . . .

I’m thankful that I don’t have to work full-time and that I have a flexible schedule. Even though it took years of planning, hard work and determination to get to this point, I know that it is only by the grace of God that my husband has a stable job and an income that allows us this flexibility. I know that it is by the grace of God that I have compensated work, clients and work I really enjoy and the ability to schedule my own hours.

I’m going to take and have lunch with my daughter at school now. (I’d take my son lunch too, but from what I understand, that is totally uncool. He’s a freshman in high school.)

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.12.09

I’m so thankful . . .

For the fact that everyone in my immediate family professes faith in Christ and expresses that faith openly through prayer and service. I’m so thankful that my children look to God for help as they face challenges in their day.

I’m thankful that my daughter feels sadness at the end of the day when she confesses that she “didn’t think about God all day.” I’m thankful that the thought of excluding God from her day causes her to rededicate herself toward walking with God the next day.

I’m thankful that my son asks the Lord to help him as he strives to give his best effort academically, athletically and relationally. I’m thankful that he evidences his faith through compassion and empathy and kindness and his work ethic.

I’m thankful that both children were happy and somewhat excited when they were told that we would be spending Thanksgiving serving dinner to the community at our church.

I’m thankful that my husband is a man of faith and actively strives makes his decisions based on that faith rather than on self-serving motivation.

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.11.09

I’m so thankful . . .

For BOOKS.

I read so many books at the “same time.” Authors are like friends. I just pick who I want to have a conversation with and/or what I want to “converse” about at that time and open up a book that fits. Today I read some from Philip Yancey’s “Prayer. Does it Make a Difference?” and Bruce Wilkinson’s “Secrets of the Vine.” (And “Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2007″ by Ed Bott and Woody Leonhard, but most people don’t like to chat about that book.)

I almost always learn something when I read. Yesterday, while reading Yancey’s “Prayer” I looked up a Bible passage he referred to and discovered that Matthew 17:21 is missing from the NIV, dismissed as a forgery. I originally looked up the passage in my New King James and thought the verse was interesting, so, as I sometimes do, I looked it up in another version to see the difference. In my NIV, Matthew 17 goes straight from verse 20 to 22. No reference in “The Message” either. A quick Google search later and I discovered that some translator decided that he would copy Mark 9:29 to Matthew 17:21 for “consistency.” Hence, the forgery.

I wonder, if I hadn’t looked up that passage because a book made me curious, if I ever would have noticed that. I love books.

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.10.09

I’m so thankful . . .

For my ability to write without pain or numbness in my hand. I’m thankful the arthritis in my neck is not causing me pain or limited movement right now. I’m thankful for the days I forget I even have arthritis in my neck.

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!

thankful. 11.06.09

I’m so thankful . . .

So very, Very, VERY thankful that FirstHusband helps FavoriteSon with his math homework. Here’s some of the conversation from last night:

(this was a pretty laid back conversation – there was no “tone” or irritation)

FirstHusband: Please stop whining about Pythagorean theorem, I’m not even sure it’s the way to go.

(what? huh? now I have to Google Pythagorean theorem. Thank you God that Google suggests alternative spellings, cause you KNOW I didn’t spell pythagorean right the first time.)

FavoriteSon: If I had an angle measurement, I could solve it. If I had a perpendicular bisector. But I don’t have a perpendicular bicector. I hate this problem, we’re never gonna have to use it.

FirstHusband: oh, stop whining. What do we know about angle bisectors?

FavoriteSon: They bisect the angle.

(well, I know more than I thought. I knew THAT.)

THANK YOU, LORD for my husband, his freakish math skills, his relationship with his son and his willingness and ability to help and teach. And THANK YOU LORD that I don’t have to help FavoriteSon with his math homework.

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I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!