Thanks on Friday

I'm thankful that my cousin, Ron, married someone from Cambridge, Ontario because I get to see them at least once or twice a year when they journey north to visit Tammy's family. Our families spent the morning together playing, talking, crying (the kids ... not us adults). It was really nice. We shared what's happened since the last time we saw each other. We exchanged prayer requests. We complimented each other's kids. We laughed at how our little reunions are going to be for our kids what the Pamer reunions at the Rural Life Center in Mansfield were to us! Yes, I'm thankful that Ron and I both married Canadians because we do enjoy our little family get togethers!

I'm thankful for personal mail. I got a piece today! Well, it wasn't exactly "personal", but it was addressed to me in inked handwriting and the card inside had wonderful and crazy pictures of my family on the front, so I guess it was personal mail! I got an official invitation to the annual Schley Family Christmas Celebration and Allyson put a little thumbnail photo of everyone who came last year to our Mashed Potato Contest Christmas Celebration. This year we're doing CHILI!!! I'm a little afraid to compete because I've heard of some of the concoctions that Gabe has made, and I think there have been rumblings that Chad is pretty good at combining ingredients for a chili. I know that the Bockas love to try new and unusual things, too. I'm afraid my chili will be bland and without anything fancy because I'll need to make sure that my family has at least one option of something that they would be willing to eat. It may end up looking and tasting like plain old tomato soup in the end, but at least I'll know they won't go hungry.

I'm also thankful that so far the weather reports are saying that our huge storm isn't supposed to hit until Sunday night. We have a busy weekend coming up. We're having a baptism at our church this weekend and we're expecting a lot of people to come! Many of them will be travelling from out of town, so if this storm could hold off until Sunday night like they're predicting, I would really, really be thankful!

Thanks on Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for my family that called to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving today, knowing full well that it wasn't going to be celebrated here like it would be with them. It was fun to talk to see Christopher talking with Grandpa on the phone. He was trying soooo hard to see him in that phone as he checked it out over and over again. He knew it was Grandpa, but where was he? I'm thankful I could hear Mom in the background making her potatoes to take to Liz's because it made me feel a little bit more a part of the celebrations today.

I know I've mentioned this one on and off in various ways, but I am so very thankful for my husband and my boys. Today while I was at school visiting Timothy's classroom, Fred not only gave Christopher his lunch, but he also cleaned it all up, changed his diaper AND had him down for his nap - all in the short hour that I was gone! Was that a blessing or what?! And my boys ... I am so thankful for them! I had a conversation recently with another mom of all boys and she was saying things like, "Having all boys is such a hard job, but God knew! His plan is divine and He has a reason for this and just hang in there" etc, etc. She made it sound as if it is a sorry lot in life to have all boys. I disagree!! I prayed that each one of my babies would be a boy and God did allow that for our family! I LOVE having all boys! This isn't meant to start a debate on whether or not all girls are better than all boys or having a mix is the ultimate. No, I'm just stating the fact that I am so thankful that OUR family has been given three boys! It's noisy. It's rough at times. It's definitely NOT feminine around here. But I am thankful for this house of men!

And now as I write this late at night, I am also thankful for a quiet house. Everyone is in bed and there is only the hum of the appliances (and this old, scratchy computer) to be heard. Ahhhhh. Another day is put to rest and I can say from my heart that my children saw and heard Jesus in me today. Some days that's a little fuzzy because of ME, but today was a good day and I'm thankful for the peace in our home and in our hearts. When my day starts out with Him, we do really well walking together through our day!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thankful on Wednesday

I'm thankful for my clean kitchen floor. My socks aren't sticking to it any more. Christopher isn't stopping to poke his fingers in an unidentifiable blob. Fred's not pausing to look around to see what crunched when he walked through. Stephen and Timothy aren't running up to the rug under the table to wipe the crumbs off their feet. I know. This is all so pathetic to post on here so publickly, but come on! Don't try to pretend that you've NEVER had your kitchen floor this bad either! No need to confess here. I'm just commenting that I'm very thankful for my clean kitchen floor. It should be clean for about nine consecutive hours before it gets trashed again.

I'm thankful that our school has such an open door policy for parents' involvement. Tomorrow I am going to Timothy's class and he is thrilled beyond words that I'm coming to watch him work and play and eat, he said. Timothy's teacher is a sweet, super-organized woman that LOVES teaching kindergarten! I never, ever have to wonder what's going on in that classroom because she communicates with us parents so thoroughly. I am thankful for her and for our school.

I'm thankful for the prayers of others. We really do appreciate the prayers of everyone this past week. We have been in a lot of turmoil because of the work situation and some of the events that have come up in the past few weeks. It's been difficult to separate worry and trust because of the complexity of events that have taken place, but the prayers of other brothers and sisters are felt so clearly in our lives this week with another wave of peace and I am so thankful for those prayers! How can I pray for you, now?

Thanks on Tuesday

I'm thankful for deals. Any kind of deals. I got quite a few the past few days and I'm so thankful for them! Yesterday I got an almost brand new pair of sneakers (running shoes for you Canadians) for Timothy FOR FREE! I belong to the local FullCircles Yahoo group (used to be Freecycle ... look it up!) and someone posted an almost new pair of shoes in Timothy's size. I stopped by her house and picked up a wonderful pair that Timothy can leave at school, now that he has to wear boots every day (how did winter get here so fast?!).

Today I got another deal. In the weekend paper there was a coupon for the Second Cup coffee shop at the mall. "Treat A Friend" it said. So I did. A friend and I met with our kids at the mall this morning for a buy-one-get-one-free specialty coffee. Mmmmmm. I think I liked the visit with my friend much more than the coffee, but without that coupon, I'm sure we never would have met for coffee this morning. I don't go to the mall. I'm a bit repulsed by the commercialism that is out there, so it was quite fascinating for Christopher and me as we also lapped the mall several times to get in a little bit of a workout together as well.

And my last deal of the day: the 50% off products in the bakery at Zehrs, our grocery store! I had a meeting at school tonight, so afterwards I zipped over to Zehrs to grab few items before heading home. I always check out the 50% off rack and sure enough, because it was already past prime shopping time (10:00pm), they were clearing out all the items that are dated for tomorrow and sticking 50% off tags on them! Woohoo!! I got a few loaves of Fred's favorite sourdough bread and I stuck them in the freezer! I really wanted to pick up the box of cinnamon rolls that was there, too, but you know, the bought ones are never as good as homemade anyway, so even if they were 50% off, they'd be a disappointment.

Today I am thankful for deals of any kind! Have you had any good ones lately?

Thanks on Monday

Today I'm thankful for my dental hygenist and my dentist. They did a wonderful job of cleaning my teeth and talking to me while their hands were in my mouth. Why do they ask me questions when they KNOW I can't answer them?! It drives me nuts because I really do want to respond, but by the time I have my mouth back under my control, they've already moved on to another subject! I feel so unfinished when I leave the dentist, but oh, so clean and fresh and ready to go! Our dentist office has a very laid back staff and atmosphere. The ladies behind the desk know us all by first name and comment on how much the boys have grown and ask how things are going with my mother-in-law taking so much care of my father-in-law now. It's kind of nice. So I'm thankful for our dentist.

I'm thankful that we still have dental insurance, too! Unfortunately, I have to have another filling replaced because my old ones have loosened. I'm NOT thankful for that, but I'm thankful that our insurance is still intact for me to be able to fix this now!

I'm thankful for Hebrews 12:1-3. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (3) For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." These verses have been ringing in my mind all day. What an encouragement that there are so many brothers and sisters out there surrounding us, encouraging us to run our races without any extra baggage, encouraging us to keep our eyes on Jesus because His race was much more difficult than ours could ever be! He endured the cross! But look where He is now! He's at the right hand of the throne of God! What encouragement! Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus.

Thankful Saturday

I am thankful for a 5 year-old's reasoning. Stephen told us last night as we were shivering in the cold van, "I know what the perfect season is for the middle of winter! SUMMER!" How brilliant is that?!

I'm thankful that Fred realizes the importance of spending time one on one with his kids. This morning Timothy and I went out to the store together and this afternoon Fred took Stephen. They went all over the place, but the highlight of Stephen's day with Daddy was definitely the surprise trip to the glow-in-the-dark indoor (obviously!) mini golf place! Stephen has been telling us for weeks that his favorite sport is golf and now he finally got to play on a real, authentic mini golf course with Daddy! We have pictures ... but they're on the camera. Some day I might post them. Fred is a wonderful father to his sons and I'm very thankful for him!

I'm thankful that even though some of this week's meetings with the company that purchased our business did not go well, actually, they were almost the opposite of what we were hoping for, we still know that God is in control of the whole situation! God has plans for us. He's been fine tuning them all along. All of these changes are scary and exciting at the same time. I'm thankful that most of the time we are able to just sit back and watch what God is doing and the times that we get a little scared about what's happening are not too intense. Sure, they are there! No question about that, but God has filled His Word with so many precious promises and words to strengthen us. We cling to those and I'm thankful that those strongholds are there for us!

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful today for my neighbor, Lisa. Lisa and I have a standing agreement that if one of us can't be at the bus stop for whatever reason, the other one will take our boys (she has two) home until we can get there. Fred and I had a meeting today to go over some of the business related issues that are still swarming around and I was supposed to be done at 3:00...PLENTY of time to meet the boys at 3:48! Well, thankfully, I was able to call Lisa in the middle of the meeting and ask her if she could please help me out today! We weren't able to pick up the boys until 5:20!! I am sooo thankful for Lisa today! In two weeks she's going to be thankful for me because she'll be in the same boat and I'll have her boys for several hours after school as well.

2. I've probably mentioned this in one form or another before, but I'm thankful for the internet and the immediate information that is available. Last night I had to scramble to find a recipe for butternut squash. BAM! There it was! Tonight Fred is sitting in his big, black chair referencing some legalities regarding our company's sale. BAM! The information is right there! During the day I want to see how my family is doing, or what they're doing. I get on the internet and BAM! They are right there! I love the internet for the positive reasons that it exists!

3. I am thankful that Fred's company has offered him his "old" computer from work when he leaves next week. His "old" computer is so fast that it's going to knock my socks off! Don't ask me what kind it is (because all I know is that it's black), or what the speed is or any other details. All I know is that I am thankful that they think that this "old" computer isn't really worth anything to them, so Fred may as well take it off their hands! WOWEE!!! I'm actually going to be able to get some productive work done on that computer for a change! Unless my hubby decides that he is going to keep it for himself.