The Thankfulness Continues!

So much for which to be thankful. Where to even start??!!

I am thankful for...

Thursday:

Healthy Children: Wednesday night the twins both woke up with fevers. Thursday morning Allie still had a slight fever, but by afternoon both my kiddos were back to normal. Not sure what it was (they didn't have any other symptoms), but thankful that it went away quickly!

Nana & Aunt Darleen! They came for a quick, but fun 48ish hours! And they came with fun craft supplies, a duck purse (which made Allie do the funniest quacking noises for the first time ever), and a stuffed Mickey & Minnie (for which the twins were thankful!)

Giving Mickey & Minnie hugs.

Allie teaching Minnie how to play peek-a-boo in the closet!

Ryan sharing his snack :) Home Fellowship: On Thursdays we host a Bible study in our home. This week we studied a passage that I had read literally dozens (maybe even a hundred) of times, but looking at the context around it (and the insight from others in the study) gave whole new light to the passage. I saw things I never saw before (literally, sentences that I somehow always glossed over!), and it offered a really profound promise that really hit me exactly where I needed it!

Friday:

Helping Hands: Life is so much easier when I have backup! The twins managed to exhaust 3 of us, but at least we had the option of taking turns!

A Neighbor from Whom I can Borrow Sugar: There is just something that seems so "idealized 50's neighborhood" about running over to a neighbor's to borrow sugar...which is exactly what I needed to do, and I was thankful for the friend and neighbor who loaned it to me (note: the same friend and neighbor who watched the twins on Wednesday...I really owe her big!)

Somerset Steel Processing, Somerset Hardware, and Pepi's Pizza: Since this is a month of thankfulness, our church member's are adopting local businesses this month to visit, thank, encourage, and pray for. Lucas and I adopted these businesses and on Friday we visited them with gifts of pumpkin bread, cards of appreciation, and words of thanks. We are praying for these businesses during this month, and are truly thankful for their presence in our community.

Catching up with Good Friends: It is homecoming at our Alma Mater and Friday evening we drove the short distance to the college to celebrate the evening with some friends we hadn't seen in a while (including one of our dearest friends who was being honored with a distinguished alumni award!). It was so fun to catch up and celebrate together.

A NIGHT out: The reason behind Nana & Aunt Darleen's visit was that they were watching the twins for Lucas and my very first night away! It wasn't that we hadn't tried to have a night away earlier (I made the arrangements twice and it didn't work out), and I could tell that I was more than ready by how worried I wasn't. In fact, I was confident that the twins would have a perfectly wonderful time without me. They did :)

Saturday:

Sleeping in!!!!

Coming home to my babies: It is amazing how much better I could keep up with their energy, and how much less I was phased by their tantrums with 18 hours away to recharge! Absence made MY heart grow fonder :)

MORE FRIENDS!!! We headed back to the Dale with our kiddos in tow for the football game. While we couldn't have the same uninterrupted conversations that existed pre-kids, it was great to see so many friends!

The Cuties were in town and the twins enjoyed playing with Cutie Face! Here they are in the bounce house. I LOVE the faces Ry-guy and Cutie Face are making in this picture :)

They moved onto a bean bag game, and the girls enjoyed throwing the bean bags in the hole while Ryan pulled them out from under so they could do it again!

Allie got a little sidetracked and started trying to open the doors of nearby cars...and then got into a few purses that some college girls had set on the ground near their tailgating chairs...I was teased about training her to pickpocket moms' purses at the playground!

And then she joined the fun once again :)

My children playing with my friends' children: We traded the game and outside fun for a warm location and the twins played with the Cuties. I LOVED watching them play together (all 3 of the older ones calling "Hello" into the pop machine to see if anyone was in there, the girls ringing the bells hanging on the doorknob, Ry-guy entertaining little Cutie Cakes who isn't quite mobile enough to keep up with the other fun). There is something so awesome about standing next to people you've known for years (Lucas has been friends with J for 13 years!), and watching your children play together :)

It was an exceptional weekend, for which I am exceptionally thankful.

Something that I am having trouble finding anything about which to be thankful? Daylight Savings tomorrow. Falling Back used to be so fun, but I discovered that with children it is the Springing Forward that is nice! Falling back means that while the rest of the world gets an extra hour of sleep, I will be getting up at 5:30 am...last year Allie didn't adjust to the new morning schedule until 2 weeks before the time changed back...Tonight I change my clocks with a bit of fear and trepidation...as well as some desperate, whispered prayers!