What if...

I remember the day you were born. What I wore. What I ate for breakfast. The lump in my throat when the ultrasound tech told me you'd be 9 pounds. No wonder my blood pressure hit the roof! I remember calling my friend - and labor nurse, Karen, and telling her the Dr. was ready to induce. I remember how Rhonda and Courtney beat us to the hospital - even though they were 30 minutes away and we were right across the street. I remember signing the paperwork to have an epidural - then later deciding not to. And I do remember how badly it hurt. I remember Karen telling me not to push, and crying back at her that I couldn't help it. I remember hearing "It's a girl!" for the first time. A baby girl. A "big girl" they called you - 8 lbs, 7 oz- but you looked so tiny to me. I remember your Daddy cutting the cord, and later telling me how he carried the pink slip of paper to the waiting room and held it up to the window to show the awaiting crowd a daughter was born. I remember your Grandma June looking pretty rough - as if she was the one who'd just given birth. She probably would have fared better had I gotten the epidural. I remember how intently you stared at my face, with your blue-gray eyes, as if you were as anxious to know me as I was you. You felt brand new, yet so familiar all at once.

So my Lily-girl, when I get a little teary eyed as each birthday comes and goes, you'll just have to understand - it's because I remember the day you were born. And that's probably the biggest difference between me and you. A day that you will never recall is forever ingrained in my memory, as if I lived it yesterday. But sadly, the other 2, 919 days of your life blur together, passing much, much too quickly. And so as happy as I am to celebrate you and your precious life, your birthday will always be bittersweet, because my love, I remember the day you were born - 8 years ago today. Happy Birthday, my Lily.

Lily has an awesome sense of humor. She's not just funny, she's clever. Phineas & Ferb fans will appreciate this one...

Lily has always been amused by the amount of hair on David's arms and chest. As a toddler, she called him "furry." But about a month ago, she became a little more sophisticated in her name-calling. She's affectionately named him "Hairy the Dadypus."

Love it, love her, can't wait to hear what she comes up with next!

* For anyone not familiar with Disney's Phineas & Ferb cartoon, there is a character (a household pet/secret agent) named Perry the Platypus.

Obviously, I've all but abandoned this blog. I say "all but" because although I haven't posted since 12/18/09, I think about blogging at least once a week - and it's the thought that counts, right? But this week, I'm dusting off the blog...

So what would bring me back after 3 months of silence?

Lily's birthday is this week, and if there is any topic I can find plenty to say about, it's my sweet children. So in honor of my almost 8-year-old favorite girl in the world, I WILL post at least 3 more times this week to share some Lily-goodness.

To start I'll share the latest Lily news. About 2 weeks ago, Lily started playing softball. She loves it! This is her second taste of the sports world, she played soccer in the fall of '08 and was only mildly impressed with the sport. Softball however has really captured her fancy. Her favorite part? The other girls, and the chants they shout from the dug out. Just so you know - her team is BOOM dynamite. (Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick, BOOM dynamite!) My favorite part? The way her daddy glows when he tells me about her practices. He's so very proud of her positive attitude and enthusiastic approach to anything and everything she's asked to do. We're all looking forward to a fun season.

That's all for now, but I'll be back...really, I will!

Freezing. Did I fall asleep and wake up in January...February, maybe? This cold, gray weather seems a little early.

Warming up. Finally bought myself a pair of wool socks because I hadn't felt my toes in several days. Hello toes, nice to know you're still there.

Counting down. Christmas is just a week away!

Praying for safety. David is hunting today - a work thing. I personally think frozen fingers and triggers don't mix, but what do I know?

Remembering Tuesday! L7, I am blessed to surround myself with such an amazing group of women - our caroling may have been a little (lot) off key, but the rest of the night was right on! That's by far the most fun I have ever had unloading groceries.

Looking forward to the weekend.

I'm thinking my blog strategy for the time being will be "lightning round" style. Quick snippets. Little glimpses of what's going on around here...at least until life slows down enough to compose a complete paragraph.

Brrrrrr! It's cold! And wet. Nasty combination.

I am really enjoying Christmas carols this year. Usually, I tune into the two radio stations I can find not playing them, but this year we are listening to carols 'round the clock. I love hearing the kids sing along (getting most of the words wrong!). By observation, I think Lily's favorite is Silent Night and Luke's is Jingle Bell Rock.

Went to the urologist with David last week to follow up about his kidney stones. Nothing like seeing your husband manhandled - literally. Heeheehee.

Looking forward to Tuesday night with my favorite "book club"...or something like that!

We had a great Sunday. We stayed in PJs all day, I fried chicken for lunch, and we went to church as a family this evening. I love my family, and I love my church...and David loves fried chicken...family and church are a close second I'm sure! :)

Cinnamon rolls, my husband and the family dog were not exactly where I expected the "thankful" train of thought to stop last month. I had a few other things I wanted to mention - my kids, my church, my friends. But somewhere between a kidney stone and a miserable drive -this blog shuffled it's way from low on the list to last on the list.

The holiday week is a blurr of too much food and too little sleep, but through it all, thankfulness was never far. In an ER, at 4 a.m., you can't help but be thankful when you're husband, in excruciating pain, is given almost immediate treatment. You can't help but be thankful for clean medical facilities and health insurance. For drugs.

And though the kidney stone was the standout down side of the holiday, a not-so-close second was the miserable drive home on Sunday. Our ten hour drive became fourteen, and trust me, adding four hours to ten feels like you might as well add another ten. But again, the experience just provided more to be thankful for - we traveled fourteen hours in terrible traffic - and arrived home safely. It may not have been words of gratitude rolling off my tongue at 1:30 a.m. when the vehicle walls began closing in on me after more than 12 hours, but I was thankful none the less. The bright spot on the drive was Luke's attempt at describing his anxious anticipation of arriving home. I'm certain it won't translate as well in print as it did rolling off his precious tongue but he said: Whenever I walk in the door, I get a strange feeling...kinda excited. Think of your favorite thing - like swimming - that's how I feel, excited, like I'm swimming. I feel that way when I get home. Man, I love that fella. And my girl, well, she is my girl and her snarky response was, Ummm, so you're saying going home feels like swimming? Gotta be thankful for those two.

Just so you know - my little assortment of "thankful" posts are in no particular order - I haven't mentioned my children yet, but today, I'm posting about the dog! But when the kids are gone, and the house is quiet, I realize how much I appreciate her presence in our home. I have to admit, although you won't hear us gush about KC often, I am very thankful for her - she's a great, great dog.

Sunday, David and I headed to the mountains for a little day trip. We realized we haven't gone to the mountains together since our honeymoon - over 11 years ago! We now live only 2 hours from some of the most beautiful sights, I don't know why it's taken us 4 years to make the drive together!

We had a wonderful time. I am so very thankful for the relationship David and I have, so thankful for our friendship. He truly is my best friend.

Let's start simple. I am thankful for the weekend, and Saturday mornings in particular.



This week as I picked up a few groceries (key word - few, it's amazing how much less I need with the kids in Florida - I'm guessing my mom has realized quite the opposite about her own grocery bill!)...I grabbed can of cinnamon rolls with morning just like this in mind. Yesterday, each time I opened the refrigerator, that little Pillsbury Dough Boy gave me a smile and wave, and I could just hear his little hoohoo!

An unhurried Saturday morning, with a warm, gooey cinnamon roll and a hot cup of coffee with my favorite people in the world is heaven on earth. This particular Saturday, "people" is reduced to "person" but if I'm going to spend the morning with anyone, he's certainly my top pick. To top is off - today is our first day of sunshine in what feels like 40 days and 40 nights of rain, so the sun peeking through the blinds, as we sip our coffee and talk about the day ahead is icing. Icing on a warm, gooey cinnamon roll.

I've been struggling with consistent blogging for awhile now. But you already knew that, didn't you? The kids are in Florida right now, we created a new holiday break in the school calendar, something like "you never need a good reason to visit the grandparents" fall break. You might think that with no kids around, no "students" to teach, that I'd have all the time in the world to blog - I may have thought the same thing - but we were both wrong.

Regardless, I am here to force my own hand into blogging by saying that over the next few days, maybe even the remaining weeks of November, I am going to fill my blog with thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. All of us. You, too. Be it watching several families I love struggle through difficult times, or our church's amazing series on joy, or just opening my eyes to the things around me, I am sincerely full of gratitude and I'd be negligent not to share it, especially as the holiday season approaches.

So check back soon for installment one of a thankful heart's thankful blog.