Okay that title isn't original to me...it comes from Veggie Tales. And it is much quoted around here. Thankfulness is a discipline and a choice; so much of the time it is the difference between contentment and being insatiable. My kids struggle with this. They are such middle-class suburban white kids. They expect dessert, and cool birthday presents, and new bikes and trips to the museum, and zoo. They expect to have choices about what kind of cold cereal they eat. They expect to have a mom at home and willing to drive them to their friends house at the drop of a hat (I tell them not to hold their breath). They expect school to be easy and over by noon, and are put out by having to clean the play room (how dare I make them put away their own toys).
Truth time: I am not much better. I am a middle class white girl. So American; I struggle with "up-gradeitis". Not familiar with the term? Its basically the insatiable desire for new and better stuff. Most Americans have it. For example, lately I decided that our bedroom furniture is a hodge-podge of unmatching stuff - which it is. I told hubby that I'd like to keep an eye out for a new bedroom set. But then I started thinking about it. I actually picked the stuff that's in our room now - because I liked it; the furniture has great lines. I was going for a shabby chic look. I've definitely got the shabby part going on NOW, but there is "chic" potential. A new slip cover for my overstuffed chair. Paint. New drapes, that's about all it would take. Its a mini-makeover waiting to happen... yet my case of up up-gradeitis made me thinking only Pottery Barn would do.
Anyway, in an effort to start the day with a happy heart here is my list of things I'm thankful for today:
-A husband who brings me coffee in bed before he leaves for work.
- The almost 7 hour stretch of sleep I got last night.
- My laptop.
- My garden has produced 2 zucchini and soon I'll have more than I know what to do with ( it never ceases to surprise me that sex makes babies and that seeds grow plants that bear fruit - it is miraculous)
- A chubby cheeked baby who smiles and coos at me.
- A 7 year old boy who can make his own, albeit messy, breakfast.
- Two kids still asleep
-Air conditioning
-Friends who know and love me
-Family nearby
-A God who is patient with me, and loves me as I am right now.
- Dark Chocolate
Happy Monday!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Random Tidbits on Life at My House
So I haven't blogged in quite awhile...life has been hectic, shall we say. There is no way to catch you up on life in North Denver. I'll just jump in.
Yesterday the kids played restaurant. Unbeknownst to me they smuggled contraband from the kitchen down to the play room. Apparently plastic food would not suffice, and they were looking for something a little more authentic. My kids whipped up such culinary delights and as carrot blueberry salad with a peanut butter and jelly sauce and garnished with bing cherries. It was a disaster. No, that is putting it too mildly. It was a colosul mess of heroic proportion. I was having a good day and instead of hanging my kids out to dry I took pictures and laughed. There is still peanut butter in the carpet. And we made the kids eat blueberry carrot peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.... Welcome to my world.
Baby is getting cuter by the day...and chubbier. She definately has the eating thing figured out and the happy result is longer stretches of sleep at night. Last night she slept 6 hours. Hooray! A few more nights of this and I might even feel human.
The weekend of the 14th I particpated in a triathlon relay put on by Danskin. I was totally sick and dehydrated and my borrowed mountain bike was all wrong for the road course. Despite this, it was FUN. It was such a sense of empowerment, and so fun to do something together with my best friends. Next year I'd like to do the whole thing myself. I'm not sure that's realistic given the realities of my life....i.e. I homeschool my kids, I have 4 of them, I am a foster parent, and I don't actually own a bike or a treadmill. Still....
Our landscaping project is semi-done. We have grass, my vegetable garden is actually starting to produce fruit, my perennial bed is starting to fill in, and the buff flagstone retaining walls are done. Importantly, we have our hammock up. Still no flagstone patio, but hey, progress is progress and we deserve a home improvement project hiatus.
We started homeschool. And 3 days into it I love our new curriculum. Its totally literature based (a good fit for an English literature major). The kids are begging for more, and I have virtually no planning. I know the newness will wear off, and some days will be horrible. But for now I am enjoying time snuggled on the couch with my kids reading The Boxcar Children, and Egermyer's Story Bible.
Yesterday the kids played restaurant. Unbeknownst to me they smuggled contraband from the kitchen down to the play room. Apparently plastic food would not suffice, and they were looking for something a little more authentic. My kids whipped up such culinary delights and as carrot blueberry salad with a peanut butter and jelly sauce and garnished with bing cherries. It was a disaster. No, that is putting it too mildly. It was a colosul mess of heroic proportion. I was having a good day and instead of hanging my kids out to dry I took pictures and laughed. There is still peanut butter in the carpet. And we made the kids eat blueberry carrot peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.... Welcome to my world.
Baby is getting cuter by the day...and chubbier. She definately has the eating thing figured out and the happy result is longer stretches of sleep at night. Last night she slept 6 hours. Hooray! A few more nights of this and I might even feel human.
The weekend of the 14th I particpated in a triathlon relay put on by Danskin. I was totally sick and dehydrated and my borrowed mountain bike was all wrong for the road course. Despite this, it was FUN. It was such a sense of empowerment, and so fun to do something together with my best friends. Next year I'd like to do the whole thing myself. I'm not sure that's realistic given the realities of my life....i.e. I homeschool my kids, I have 4 of them, I am a foster parent, and I don't actually own a bike or a treadmill. Still....
Our landscaping project is semi-done. We have grass, my vegetable garden is actually starting to produce fruit, my perennial bed is starting to fill in, and the buff flagstone retaining walls are done. Importantly, we have our hammock up. Still no flagstone patio, but hey, progress is progress and we deserve a home improvement project hiatus.
We started homeschool. And 3 days into it I love our new curriculum. Its totally literature based (a good fit for an English literature major). The kids are begging for more, and I have virtually no planning. I know the newness will wear off, and some days will be horrible. But for now I am enjoying time snuggled on the couch with my kids reading The Boxcar Children, and Egermyer's Story Bible.
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