I am still thankful!

The good news...I didn't fall off the face of the earth!  The odd news...for the first time in about six years I have not done a daily "thankful".

I am going to use this post to catch up!

In no particular order (drum roll please)

- I am thankful for my family of origin.

- I am thankful for my second family...the family I married into.

- I am thankful that my children aren't typical.  

- I am thankful for my job

- I am thankful that I have learned to be confident no matter what I weigh.

- I am thankful for specialists.

- I am thankful for my mini-van!

- I am thankful for the internet.

- I am thankful for coffee.

Now lets see if in the coming days I can continue to post daily thankfulness!!!!

Day Three...you thought I forgot did ye!

November 3 - 

Oh no, I didn't forget!

Day Three is about my friends!  I am so thankful for my friends.  I have a great number of friends and in those friends there are varying degrees of closeness.  I am thankful to the friends that I have lost, they have taught me who I don't want to be and who I don't want to be around.

While writing this post, I am thinking specifically about the diverse demographics of my friendships.  One of my very best friends in a widow in her mid-80s.  Another one is a mom a few years older than me, our friendship took a while to come to fruition, but we found a common denominator in both having special needs children, that commonality has formed into an amazing friendship.  Another best friend is a cancer-survivor in her middle years.  I have friends who are the ones I see once in a blue moon, yet we are able to pick up like we have never been apart.  Some of my favorite memories with my friends involve us having much more fun doing normal things than what is expected.  Things like laughing until tears run down our legs.  Getting lost and making a short trip into a mini-road-trip.  Crying on each other's shoulders.  We share the biggest excitements and the deepest sorrows.  I am thankful for these types of friendships.

I love seeing the spectrum of my friendships of acquaintances through family and friends who have become family.  There are times I get lonely, but then I think about this amazing group of people who call me friend and who I am privileged to call friend and remind myself how amazingly blessed I am.  Growing up it was difficult for me to make friends, but as an adult I find that much easier.  I have learned to hold my friends in the palm of my open hand and not to cling too tightly.  I have learned the fine art of boundaries.  And I have learned the immense joy in finding a friend who values your relationship as  much as you do.  It took me a little while to realize that not every friend would be my best friend but the different levels of friendship are valuable in their own uniqueness.

Today, think about your friends.  Send your friends a little "thank you" or "thinking about you" sometimes.  Foster and nurture your friendships.

To my friends....THANK YOU!!!

Welcome To Day Two!

November 2, what a great day!!

Today I will exude my gratefulness for my husband.  Jonathan and I met sixteen years ago and have been together almost as long.  We met the second week I lived in Mississippi and we became fast friends.  I was still in my wild phase and when one guy and I would part, he would be the one I would turn to.  He was a faithful friend, almost like what I imagined a big brother would be.  We both attended the same college and had breaks at the same hours during the day.  We began going to lunch together.  Lunch turned into love!

Jonathan has so many amazing attributes...for the sake of reading time and to keep the gag factor low, I will hit on just a few.

Jonathan is a hard worker.  He is one of the hardest working people I know.  When he commits to something, he commits full heartedly.  It is the same with his employment and ministry.  He jumps all in.  As a wife I am so proud of that and am so happy to have the security of a man who likes to work.

Jonathan doesn't stay stagnant.  In just a little while he will be completing his degree in ministry and I am excited to see where that will lead him and our family.  He consistently looks for opportunities to better himself.  When he receives true constructive criticism he acts on it to fix things within himself.

Jonathan is humble.  He has so many reasons he could be peacocking around.  He doesn't.  He is true to himself and stays humble.  I believe it is one of those things that if you've got it, you don't have to flaunt it because it is already there.

Jonathan is a compass for us.  He sees things that I don't see and pushes us to be the best family we can be.  He helps us go in the correct direction for us to fulfill our goals as a family unit and as five individuals within the unit.  He is a dad that has learned to really be a dad.  He has taken what his mentors have told him about being a dad and applied them to his life.  He has started a new legacy for us, one that is amazing.

In our years together Jonathan and I have been through some really difficult things that could have easily broke our marriage.  Daily we have a life that is difficult and he is a backbone for our family.  While I put up a strong persona, with him I can let it down and be safe.  He is a pillar that I can depend on.  I know that with him there is a stability.

I am so grateful that out of all the fish in the sea, he chose me to be his.  He is my best friend.  My lover.  My fighting partner.  He is my life partner.  My hand holder.  He is my dance partner.  My brainstorming buddy.  Jonathan is the half that makes me whole.  I am thankful for him.

Your First Day of Thirty

Every November I like to post one thing I am thankful for daily.  In the past I have used Facebook as the forum for my thankfulness, however this year I will be using my blog as my platform.  I am excited to share my thankfulness with you!

Today, November 1, I am thankful for.....

MAKEUP!

My passion for makeup started at a very young age, I remember going into my mom's makeup as a little girl and making myself (or my brothers) pretty.  Eyeliner, eye shadow, blush, and lips would make my heart race. When I was told that makeup was off limits for a time being, I would make beautiful faces on paper using makeup.  I was eleven years old when my mom gave me permission to do my makeup "one time only."  We had just moved from Texas to South Dakota and were living in adjoining hotel rooms.  My family was in one room and I went to the other room.  In the little hotel bathroom, I saw a transformation as I mimicked what I saw actresses on television and models in magazines did with their faces.  With no guidance, I was transformed from an eleven year old girl into a sixteen year old teenager with the line of the eyes, the brushing of mascara, and the painting of my lips.  I then knew the power of makeup.  And I then knew that a life long love affair with beauty had begun.  







When I was a junior in high school, I checked out a copy of Bobbi Brown's Book "Bobbi Brown Beauty", in it I learned all kinds of secrets of beauty, cosmetics, and techniques.  This became a book I would check out at many libraries for years to come.  







In my younger years I wanted to have a career with makeup, still there are days where the idea tickles my fancy.  There is something addicting about the aroma of fresh lipstick, the feel of new foundation, and the excitement of a new shadow color.  I am a QVC watching junkie, I have yet to order from it, but often times I am found just watching the cosmetic segments.  







About six years ago I was introduced to this wonderful shop, this amazing haven for all beauty lovers, in my mind's eye heaven must be like this shop.  ULTA.  I would get lost in Ulta for hours just browsing, testing, and loving the cosmetics.  It was known when I would need my fix and I would just drive and go into my haven.  My all things beautiful.  




My love of makeup has been passed down to my daughter.  At four years old she loves going into my closet and into my makeup bureau, yes I have a large four drawer bureau just for beauty supplies, and she finds her "lips".  She has yet to master the art of staying in the line of her God-given lip shape, but hey she doesn't color in the lines at school either.  She often comes out of my closet with mascara on her cheeks, lipstick on and around her lips, and eye shadow from her eyes to her hairline.  In my  mind all I see is Mimi Bobeck from the Drew Carey Show, but I tell her how beautiful she looks and to let mommy help her blend it a little bit more.  My daughter hates dresses, bows, and having her hair brushed....but oh, the girl loves makeup!





My current fetish changes as the seasons do.  My 120 nail polish collection doesn't seem to be expanding, but my mascara container is filling quickly.  My current favorite is "They're Real" by Benefit.  It is such a fun mascara!  






I love eye liner and am experimenting with different colored liner, I really love purple right now because it makes my green eyes pop!  I often reference the Pantone Color Wheel for the season I am and find a trend color I like and make it a staple in my cosmetic wardrobe.

I am thankful for makeup because it allows my creativity to flow into a tangible canvas.  It makes my heart race like the hoofs at the Kentucky Derby.  Makeup makes me salivate like Pavlov's dog each time it heard the bell ring.  When I think about makeup, my excitement bubbles over...like a cork in a bottle of champagne ready to pop. Makeup for me is a passion, as much as selfies are a passion for Kardashians!  

Stepping In

Last week something tremendously unexpected happened....I started a job outside the home!  When I say unexpected, I mean UNEXPECTED!!!

About six weeks ago I started thinking it would be fun to find a part time office job.  I love working in offices.  I didn't really tell anyone about it, it was just a thought.  A little less than two weeks ago, on the way to take our boys to football practice, I received a phone call out of the blue.  A phone call that led to a job offer that led to me accepting the job.  Do I like my job? I LOVE IT!

My friends asked me questions the first week I was back, I wanted to share them.  This is especially for any other stay at home moms who are considering going back to the workforce.

1.  What is it like going to the restroom by yourself?
- I made my co-workers come with me and stand outside the door, ask me what I was doing, stick their hands under the door, and wiggle the handle while I was using the restroom.  No, no, not really.  Although it was such an unique feeling, I am certain that my coworkers think I have a bowel and bladder issue...which it is just the fact that I haven't used the restroom without an audience in ten years!

2.  What do you talk about?
- The first day, there was hardly any chatter.  Five hours of the only sound being the sound of fingers on the keyboard.  Amazing.  I am pretty sure it was a taste of heaven.  Honestly, I often wonder if I am speaking correctly to the other adults.  I am pretty quiet because I am afraid I will randomly say "we don't do that", "your underwear are on inside out", "we keep our clothes on", "your hand smells like poop" or "stop eating your boogers!"  I am still in that socially awkward phase.

3.  What is the biggest change?
- Clothes and hygiene!  I now shower.....well lets not get all personal, lets just say my  hygiene habits have improved greatly.  I had to buy some new outfits before I started work (shucks), because t-shirts and yoga pants were my wardrobe basics.  

4.  How do you keep up with your housework?
- Something amazing has happened.  When I return home in the evenings, my home is the same as it was when I left!  Housework has become much easier, mainly because there is no one following me around the house undoing the cleaning I did.

Being a stay at home mom was a great season.  A season I thoroughly enjoyed.  I stayed home with the babies until they weren't babies anymore (but they will always be my babies).  I am blessed to not HAVE to work, but have the option to work and work in a place that is a good fit for me.  I appreciate my husband sacrificing so much the past eight years so I could be a stay at home mom, his support of me being at home.  I appreciate the fact that when I got the job offer he was the one telling me to go for it!  He sends me texts most mornings just reminding me I have what it takes.  He is my biggest fan.  


When the door for a job outside the home opened up, I didn't just stepped in, I ran full force!

I'm That Mom

I am going to admit it...I'm that mom.  

I am the mom whose child desperately doesn't want to go to school, yet sends him crying.  I am that mom, because I was that child.  

To the child in reference, he does have chronic migraine headaches, but he went the entire summer without one episode, so  I see a pattern of school equals headaches.  In his defense, he didn't look like he felt that well, but I know for a fact that he wasn't "sick" as in contagious, so off to school he went.  I received two calls from the school nurse, but at school he stayed.  Why am I that mom?  Because I was that child.

For a little while I had being "sick" down to an art.  When I was eight and nine years old I was able to be sent home frequently with "fever", because I figured out how to get my temperature up.  To my defense, there was abuse happening in the school, which made school a horrible experience for me.  For quite a while my mom would leave work and come pick me up.  But then, she became that mom.  The mom that basically told me to suck it up.  

Now, let me say, if my child has fever, a virus, is really ill, he or she will stay home from school.  But other than that, to school they go.  Today, I felt a bit guilty.  For one, it was raining so it was the first day I actually dropped my children off in the car rider line and didn't walk them to the drop off point.  So I basically pushed the child in reference out of the vehicle as he was crying, and I left his brother to help him get inside and to class.  Then when the nurse called the first time and assured me that he had no fever but a headache, I told her to just give him some ibuprofen and he can stay at school.  The second time the nurse called, I talked to my child and promised him a cupcake if he made it through the day.  After school, as my children were walking out the son with the headache tripped and fell.  Then when we got home, I made him do his homework...after the promised cupcake.  Then I made him go to football practice, but I didn't make him get on the field and practice.  I felt a bit guilty because this is our first year at a new school and I don't want to be the calloused mom who leaves their children at school not feeling well.  This is also our first year of football,  But at the same time, there is a matter of importance of education; and we believe that if you sign up, you show up!

I know I am not the only mom out there who has this same mindset.  If you are a mom who is like this, let me know!  Give me your thoughts!  

Do You Hear An Echo?

Hello!  Hello!  Hello! (Do you hear the echo from my sadly empty blog?)

We are one week from the first day of school.  My two oldest children are starting football on Saturday.  And I am looking for a way to recover from summer!

A little update from our home:

We are still madly in love with our new home and are even more in love with our small town!  Sadly, our home was broken into the first week of June and our computer was one of the things stolen.  Writing has been on hold due to the lack of a computer.  But, I am back and I am catching up on my writing!  I did not realize how much I missed writing until I sat down and let it flow.  This is much cheaper than therapy!

This summer was all about friends, water parks, splash pads, and having fun!   Our middle child learned to ride a two wheel bike without training wheels.  We had our first stitches experience this summer.  We also gave everyone down our road quite a show when I was washing a tractor in our driveway…yes you read that right.  There aint nothing like a country girl!

We are waiting on word if our youngest child was accepted into a local preschool program that I applied for quite a while ago.  If everything works out, each child will be in school this year.  If not, I will have another year of cuddling my youngest!   Our two oldest start in their brand new school this year, they had the opportunity of meeting some of the teachers and classmates this summer, so hopefully that will help their nerves.  I don’t know if it will help this mama’s nerves though!  They are also beginning a two week football camp on Saturday, followed by the season.  They haven’t played football in a league before so this will be another something new for them.  Yes, mama is excited but also feeling a little bit of pressure!

What I want to know from you, is what do you want to read about during the coming months?  My life is very interesting (insert sarcasm), but I am sure you’re ready to read something else!  Let me know!!

Rebecca