30 days of Thanks: Day 30

Today I'm thankful that this boy finally lost his front tooth!  He's been agonizing about it for about a week now. Why was he nervous about losing his front tooth, you ask? 

 Because he was afraid it would hurt? Nope. 

Because it would bleed? Nope.

We had this conversation about 25 times in the last week. 

"Will I look different?" 

"No, you'll look the same. You'll just be missing a front tooth." 

"But what if I don't like how I look without my front tooth?!" (sniff, sniff)

"Keaton, it will be fine. You'll look great." 

"But, I don't want to look DIFFERENT!!"

*TEARS*

Finally, tonight. It was hanging on by the tiniest thread. I finally convinced him that it would be better if he could lose it at home instead of school.

I told him to smile and I would take one last picture of him with his baby front tooth.

 Then, he very determinedly walked into the bathroom and pulled it right out. 

You would have thought he would have just given birth or something - with all the moaning and joyful, relieved sobs.

"So, how does it look?

Different. But, he decided he likes how he looks! 

Bad news though. The other front tooth is loose too.

"But, what if I don't like how I look with BOTH front teeth missing?
What if I look weird?
What if no one likes me anymore? 
(sniff, sniff)
What if I look like a BEAVER when my grownup teeth come in?"

*TEARS*
 

30 Days of Thanks: Day 29

Today, on Sunday, I'm thankful that we live in a country where we are not forced to worship in secret or study Scripture in private. I'm also so thankful for our church family at Crossroads Presbyterian. Wonderful sermon this morning by one of our elders with a focus on giving. So convicting! 

Since I have no coordinating picture, here's a funny that made me laugh yesterday - a most accurate depiction of how my kids (and sometimes my husband) act when they've lost something.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 28

Today I'm thankful that we decorated for Christmas! Mark was so excited when he woke up this morning. He came downstairs in his snow pants (it was 70* today), and said, 

 "I can't wait to get out the Christmas decorations and drink hot chocolate and watch Home Alone!" 

 

Because of Sailor and because we are going to be out of town for two weeks over the holidays, we opted for an artificial tree this year. It's only 6 ft. tall and we have to keep most of the ornaments on the top half of the tree, so Sailor cannot reach them. It's not the prettiest tree we've ever had, but the boys had a blast decorating it.

And Sailor had a blast UN-decorating it.

 We finished off our night with popcorn and  "Home Alone," which has become our traditional kick off the holidays movie.

Sailor loves the tree. She just kept pointing at it saying "Oh! Oh! Oh!"

Let's the Christmas Season begin!!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 27

Today I'm thankful for another unseasonably warm day! We had some more playground time and soaked in this warmth while it lasts - I know it can't last much longer!

Sailor loves the playground!

I'm also thankful we were able to meet Daddy after work and visit the National Portrait Gallery. There was so much to see there - we barely scratched the surface. Keaton very much enjoyed the Presidential Gallery (of course). And Sailor had fun practicing her walking skills! Can't wait to go back again without kids! So many cool FREE places to visit in DC!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 26

Today I'm thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day at home with my family. We enjoyed the beautiful weather outside and rode our bikes to the school playground. Later, we headed over to the Wischmeiers for a beautiful Thanksgiving feast! So thankful to the Lord for always giving us such great friends to spend holidays with when it is impossible for us to travel to family (Scott works the day after Thanksgiving). We have SO MUCH to thank the Lord for this year.

I made the kids a Rice Crispie Treat "pumpkin pie" since they won't touch the real stuff. They LOVED it!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 25

Today I'm thankful for Brumbra - for many reasons, but specifically today because she taught me to  love the kitchen.  I love that even though she has so many favorites under her belt, she's always trying out a new recipe for special occasions. I'm not NEARLY as good of a cook as she is. But, my favorite kind of day is when I can turn on music, put on my apron, and make a total mess of my kitchen. Which is how I spent my day today! If  I could have spent the day with HER in the kitchen with me- it would have been perfect.

P.S. Christmas is in one month! AHHHHH!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 24

Today I'm thankful that this boy gets to be home for the rest of the week! Also, he told us tonight at dinner that he thinks he's ready to go before the pastor and elders and talk to them about joining the church! Wow!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 23

Today I'm thankful that I got to have lunch with these sweet friends. It's funny how when Mark and I come to eat with Keaton, we always end up at the girls table! I enjoyed some sweet lunchtime conversation with these ladies. We told funny stories about loosing teeth (Keaton had just lost his tooth that morning in Library), the probability of the existence of the tooth fairy, Santa (the reasoning of 2nd graders is quite convincing), and even Jesus. Most of these girls were in Mr. Krueger's 1st grade class with Keaton, so it is really fun to see how they've grown up in the last year. I'm hoping to be able to help out more in the classroom over the next few months. Pray that Jesus will come up again and again!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 22

Tonight we had our "Pie & Praise" event tonight at church. It was such a special time to gather with our church family and publicly praise God for all that he has done for us over the past year.  We were able to share two very important praises in our life this year - both of which I NEVER thought would happen.

1) We finally sold our house in Nashville in October! We prayed for this to happen for over 5 years, and God taught us so much about  patience and faith in the process. It was amazing to see God provide us with renters during that time, and always provide us enough money to pay our mortgage even with our astronomical rent payments in Hawaii and Virginia. Looking back, we can see how God providentially withheld a buyer until just the right time.

2) My younger brother Dustin came to know Jesus this summer! Ever since he was adopted when he was 10 years, Dustin always had a very hard heart towards God and my family.  God opened his heart in repentance over the summer, and it is so amazing to see the change in him. He brings his family to church every Sunday, and he shares his faith with anyone who will listen. I had several people come up to me after the service last night and share how encouraging it was to hear about Dustin - they each had siblings that they pray for continually. No one is outside of the reach of the Holy Spirit!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 21

Today, I'm overwhelmed with thankfulness that I get to be a mom - and to three of the coolest kids on the planet!  What an honor that God entrusted these three hearts to me to mother. I am not a perfect mom, but I trust that God will fill in the gaps where I fail them. He loves them even more than me!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 20

Today I'm thankful for Scott.

Loving, supportive, unselfish, thoughtful, humble, genuine, funny, hard-working, and an

amazing Daddy to boot.

I'm one lucky lady.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 19

Today I'm so thankful that Mark's tonsillectomy is over and we never have to do that again (with him at least!). What a torturous two weeks that was for my boy! We just got his school pictures back today. This picture was taken 5 days after the surgery. He really wanted to go to school, but was still in a lot of pain. He pushed through picture day, and he smiled his best with a fresh dose of Tylenol with codeine.  Bless him.

Mark was laughing so hard at this picture. "Mom look! I look like a ZOMBIE!"

30 days of Thanks: Day 18

Even though this cranky, runny-nosed baby kept us home from our regular Wednesday Bible Study,

 I am thankful for the extra hoop time with this boy.

He's really into playing HORSE these days.

"Daddy lets me shoot from closer, Mom!"

Veterans Day

On Veterans Day, we took advantage of Keaton and Daddy's day off, and took a picnic to Pohick Bay. This park has a fun playground, a beautiful water view, and lots of sticks, which is my boys favorite thing to collect!

Don't mind "scab-nose." She got in a little fight with the driveway a few days before...

 Mark had a blast playing in the bed of leaves. I had fun taking his picture!

Deep in thought.

They had fun trying to find the biggest leaf!

They were finding snails off the dock

We love discovering new places to explore in VA.

30 Days of Thanks: Day 17

Today I'm so thankful for the cool places God has allowed us to live in our 12 years of marriage. It's been hard never being very close to family, but at least God always seems to land us in touristy places where people want to come visit us! 

Grand Ole Opry in Nashville

Hanging with Brenda Lee at the Country Music Hall of Fame

View from the top! Makapuu Lighthouse Trail, one of our favorites to take guests in Hawaii.

Sunset in Waianae

Tea at the Moana Surfrider

As much as we loved showing people around Hawaii, discovering all the history in VA has been so much fun.

Mt. Vernon

Cherry Blossoms!

Roosevelt Island

World War II Memorial

30 Days of Thanks: Day 16

Today I'm thankful to be back in the gym after a long hiatus. I just joined Gold's Gym which I love, and it feels so good to be back to my early-morning workout routine! Again, no coordinating picture, so here's a picture of the reason I haven't worked out in almost 2 years.

Worth it!

30 Days of Thanks: Day 15

Today I'm thankful for silly times! Raising kids is hard stuff. I hope when they are grown, they remember all the times we laughed. Cause hey, life is funny.