Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

To everyone else who has tried to list things they're thankful for every day--are you noticing that there are quite a few things for which you don't feel thankful? I don't feel like an ungrateful individual most of the time, but this month is evidencing a lack of gratitude on my part.

Honestly,
I am not grateful that Brooklyn got a cold on Monday, sounded like a seal by Wednesday afternoon, and still sounds like a terribly croupy, sick baby. And I'm not grateful that Lucy woke up with a runny nose yesterday that has launched itself into a whopping cold, with a cough. Coughs portend asthmatic misery with Lucy quite often. And I'm not thankful that she kept me up almost all night last night at Jessica and Matt's house--when Brooklyn wasn't requiring attention--and that we had to go home from Delta early because of our sick kids. And I'm not grateful that I woke up this morning with a cold sore, and that there is an alarming bubble in our downstairs ceiling, just below the bathtub. I. am. not. thankful. for. any. of. that.

A lot of the lessons in church lately have been about being thankful for trials, which seems timely.

Since I am not at the spiritually elevated status of actually being thankful for my trials, I will move on to things for which I am thankful.

I'm so thankful that Brooklyn is mine. I love holding her and cuddling with her and loving her. I know I've already said that--it's still true):. I'm thankful that she slept through the night without being fed three times while in Utah. (That trend is of course obliterated now,but I need to push forward, focusing on the thankful stuff:)).

I'm thankful that my children went 7 months without being sick, and that Brooklyn made it 5 1/2 months before she got more than a runny nose.

I'm thankful that I got so much terrific one-on-one time with Isaac during this trip. He and I slept in the same room during the whole trip, but I also got to cheer for him on his new birthday bicycle, and read him stories, and tuck him at night. I loved all of it. I loved seeing his joy at the "pool party" at grandma's house--with all of the kids playing in the hot tub. I loved seeing him play so much ,and not even miss "shows" because he was having so much fun.

I am so thankful for the time I had with family during this trip. We saw my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews, and saw Doug's dad and his sister, brother-in-law, and more of our nieces and nephews. We were welcomed so warmly into our family members' homes, and delighted in being with them. It was a wonderful trip, even with sick kids.