Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

In the middle of all the hustle and bustle of preparing for Turkey Day I wanted to pause for a minute and reflect on a few things I am thankful for. I am so blessed in my life that it is hard to know where to begin. To start I am grateful for God's continual love and blessings, unconditionally, no matter how many times I turn away from him. I am grateful for a husband that challenges me to be my very best and is always ready to make me laugh. No one can change my mood faster than my dear sweet Eric. I am grateful for all of my children with an extra bit of gratitude for the healthy arrival of our 6th this year, Autumn Elise is a treasure, that last piece to make our family complete for now. I am grateful for friends, I have not had many in my adult life because we have moved so many times it has been hard to sustain a real friendship so the friends I have are very precious to me. I am thankful for parents that are healthy and loving and open their arms & house to us at any turn for any reason, they are a true blessing. But if I had to choose what I am most grateful for this year, if it is just one thing I can put to the top of my list it would have to be my sister. She has been there for me so many times I can't even count. She has gone above and beyond the call of sisterhood and has taken rank as my best friend (aside from my husband, of course). She dropped her life for me as my due date approached this summer. She left her husband home alone while she came to stay with me indefinitely to make sure I was not alone during the birth of Autumn. She never hesitated, she never mulled it over, she just did it. She is always a phone call away with a kind word or a sarcastic comment to make me laugh. We talk every day, usually several times a day and I think I just take for granted that she is always there. So I wanted to take a minute and write down how truly blessed I feel to have her as my sister and my friend. She is my never ending source of cheer and comfort, even in the worst of times. I am not eloquent enough with words to express how beautiful she is as a person, friend, sister, mother, wife, daughter, woman. Everyone who knows her is blessed just to share time with her and I am lucky enough to be her sister. I have so many things & people to be thankful for this year but Christina tops the list.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Random Ramblings

I seem to be under the misguided impression that I need to have pictures to add to my blog or it's not worth the effort. But I felt it was time to just barrel through one post without pictures.

We have had a lot happen in the past month or so. A lot of traveling, packing, moving (more about that in another post) and finally unpacking & trying to get settled while preparing for the upcoming (actually, it's here, isn't it?) holiday season while adjusting to a new baby and 5 more in tow. This isn't complaining, I am so glad we are where we are but *whew* it's hard to come up for air in the middle of constant motion.

I hit a wall on Monday, I just couldn't take that first step to start unpacking, it seemed so overwhelming. Unpacking is usually the easy, well, at least fun, part of moving but I think I am still a bit post-partum. When to my rescue swooped in my dear, dear friend & her 3 precious jewels. She is such a get-it-done person, she helped to unpack most of my kitchen (no easy task) and even brought dinner. A real meal in our new home with the kitchen nearly finished, it was just the jump start I needed. The next day, I was able to organize & put away our bedroom, I even color-coded the closet. I really think I would still be sitting in a house filled with boxes if she hadn't been there. It is amazing how God gives you what you need just when you need it. I hope to be able to come to her rescue one day or as many days as I am needed.

My kiddos had so much fun, unpacking with their friends, using the boxes in the yard and then breaking them down for the trash. It was a huge help to me to have the boxes out of the house.

How do you repay such a kindness, maybe a tea party? Hmmm......

Wednesday, November 14, 2007