Unfeignedly Thankful

A General Thanksgiving

 

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies,

we your unworthy servants give you most humble and hearty thanks

for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all people;

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life;

but above all for your inestimable love

in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ,

for the means of grace,

and for the hope of glory.

And we beseech you, give us that due sense of all your mercies,

that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful,

and that we show forth your praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives;

by giving up ourselves to your service,

and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

to whom with you and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory,

world without end. Amen.

 

The Book of Common Prayer
 

As we enter this Thanksgiving Day, I am reflecting on all of the many things for which I am thankful.  I am blessed beyond measure and have so much to be thankful for, yet I forget and I can certainly take these blessings for granted.

In recent years, as I recite this lovely prayer my ears take notice of the phrase, "unfeignedly thankful."  I pause and recall all the many things for which I am genuinely thankful.  While it may seem cliche, I am thankful for so much and recognize that these blessings could be taken away in an instant.  I am thankful for the here and the now but also for those who came before who helped shape who I am today.  I aspire to have a grateful heart and to be content in all circumstances ~ to remember all of the blessings of this life and to be thankful for the moment.

What a Wonderful Class

Today we received what I thought was a really kind e-mail from Stephen's teacher. 

It said that she had 15 new friends to be thankful for this year.   

She went on to list each child in her class followed by a character trait that she is thankful for in each of their individual personalities.

It brought tears to my eyes, because she does have a really great class and a lot to be thankful for.



I have the opportunity to volunteer in Stephen's class a couple of times a month, so I get to see firsthand how awesome they are.

They are full of personality and ready to learn.

They have fun together and they really seem to get along well.

 

Without giving names here is the list she sent:

 



* easy going-ness * creativeness * enthusiasm * excitement * 

* smile * sweetness * kindness * artistic-ness * independent-ness * 

* cheerfulness * dependability * laughter * politeness * gentleness * humor *

 

Can you guess which one was Stephen?

 

Evidence of a Good Night's Sleep

Last Thursday Walker fell asleep on the sofa around 5:25.  Against all odds I was able to put a diaper on him and carry him to his bed where he slept soundly until morning.

He woke up with the happiest most cheerful heart.  He was the first little person to bound down stairs.  I scooped him up and a handful of new library books to hop in my bed for a little snuggle time.

His cheerfulness continued throughout the day.  Chief Roaring Lion was really excited to have his mommy and daddy at the Thanksgiving Feast.   

 

 At one point he looked at me and in the sweetest voice said, "This is really fun!"

 And this is just the beginning of our Thanksgiving festivities.

Wishing for more good nights sleep...

Catching my Breath

Has it really only been one week since Halloween?

Yes, my friends, I checked the calendar and it doesn't lie.  Halloween was only one week ago.  Last week was a whirlwind.  Well really so was the week before that and the week before that.  Our elementary school has a mid-October teacher workday, and from that day until school starts back for the new year life is crazy.  There are so many disruptions in the routine and then throw in the holidays that it makes everyone off kilter and a bit frazzled.

Anywho, let's recap our Halloween...

We started our festivities the week before at Trunk or Treat at the preschool/church where my babies go to school.

Baths were necessary for all!

Walker was my only child who did not waiver on his Halloween costume.  He was a tomato for each and every event.  And to think, he was the one who I thought would change because really who wants to be a tomato!

The Fall Festival at the elementary school...

 The Halloween Parade*...

 And of course Trick-or-Treating...

 

The others waivered...

My cowboy became an Auburn football player, and my butterfly princess became a majorette.

And my flower, well she never really put on her costume - poor thing!  We're two for two! For the second year in a row there are no pictures of Betsy in a Halloween costume.  One day I might regret that...



Frank helped the children carve one of our pumpkins into a jack-o-lantern.  They thought that was cool.

 

I enjoying this week of not many activities.  But for voting, working in Stephen's class, starting with a new client, and a Veteran's Day parade there is nothing on my calendar.  Now, trust me, that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do though I'm bracing myself for next week.  On paper, it has the potential of being more of a whirlwind than last week and then dear friends do you realize that Thanksgiving is two weeks from tomorrow.

 

I've got some planning to do...

Bueller? Bueller?

These days I can completely relate to the way Ferris Bueller felt when he said, "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in awhile you could miss it."

Our life is full - how can it not be with a family of six!  There is nothing earth-shattering or noteworthy going on.  We spend the majority of our days in the ordinary ~ attempting to find balance and remain content with where we are and what we are accomplishing today.

Trust me ordinary is good!  We've lived our shared of extraordinary and those times can be stressful and trying.  I have friends who are in the extraordinary right now, and I am hopeful that I can be a support to them while being thankful to be in the place where I am ~ where we are.

Some things remain constant ~ The kitchen and laundry are my full-time job while I also attempt to keep the remainder of my house reasonable clean and be present for my family and friends. 

I continue to find myself in the kitchen a lot.  This is, in part, because there is always something to be done in the kitchen.  There is always something to plan, prepare, or clean.  The other side of why you find me there is purely selfish.  It is the one place in our life where I feel like I actually accomplish something.  I can, day in and day out, plan a meal, prepare that meal, serve that meal, and then clean up after that meal.  Daily.  Times three.  For six.

If you don't find me in the kitchen, then please head down the hall to the laundry room.  I'll be there washing, folding, or ironing.  If I'm not there I probably should be.  I'll be back soon.

If you really need to find me yet the sink is full of dirty dishes and the laundry hampers are over-flowing then I'm probably taking a moment to play with my babies.  My babies and I are doing fun things like pajama rides, long, leisurely walks around town with unhurried stops to watch all varieties of construction vehicles.  We are making trips to the Tot Lot, the zoo, and the McWane Center.  We're reading lots and having other mamas over for lunch with their babies.  We're building train tracks and playing on the swing set.

The big two are enjoying school.  At least I think they are.  I know Stephen loves it and is doing well.  He came home reading a few weeks ago.  That makes this mama so happy and so thankful that he is in kindergarten and not a 5K program somewhere else. 

Nine weeks into school and I still can't get a good read on Mary Frances.  I think she likes it fine and is doing okay, but she likes her friends and gymnastics more.  I'm particularly looking forward to her conference to visit with her teacher and really know what is going on the classroom.

In Awe

Mary Frances and Frank were invited to go to the UAB football game on Saturday evening. I think they were both surprised by how much fun they had.  They had no idea what they were getting into. 

 

Their evening in pictures: 

 

Tea Time on Tuesday

Good Morning ~
I know I have been a long lost stranger.  But for my report on playing hooky, I've been missing in action.  And let me tell you it is action packed around here.  Maybe one day I can fill you in on that action but not today. 
 

Mary Frances {and whoever else is interested at the moment} and I are reading The Secret Garden.  It has been so fun to have a book that is ours ~ that we both look forward to, that we can get lost in, that we can learn from.

If you have never read the book,  I'll begin by telling you it takes place on a moor in England.  As as the English  do, the characters in the story have afternoon tea.  Mary Frances asked what tea was.  Of course she knew that tea was a drink ~ either served hot or iced!  But in the context of the book it is clear that isn't exactly what they are alluding to.  She was not familiar with the concept of afternoon tea.  Sure, over the years we've had tea parties but they have been called just that "tea parties" not tea.  So yesterday at 4:00 we had our own version of tea.

They were hilarious and it was so much fun!

For the tea time snacks ~
Something healthy...

{via}


...and something a bit sweet.

Next Tuesday I've promised real crumpets using the recipe from our book.