Thankful to be a Mommy

Well, Thanksgiving is almost upon us.  I am excited - it is my favorite holiday - and am looking forward to lots of eating and playing games and experiencing general craziness.  We are blessed to have two Thanksgivings, one at my in-laws' on Thursday and another at Chris's grandparents' on Saturday.  Although I love to cook and bake, I have very few kitchen responsibilities this year.  My short list includes making some pumpkin pies and the stuffing.  That's it!  Now that's something to be thankful for!

Being thankful for what God has given us or done for us is of course the main focus of this holiday.  So I've been thinking a lot of things to be thankful for.  God has certainly blessed my life abundantly and more than I could ever imagine that He would.  I came up with a list of things that I as a mom are thankful for:

1)  A good, working washer and dryer

     Not because I like doing laundry by any means, but because my kids dirty more outfits, sheets, etc. in one day than I do all week!

2)  Sock sales

     My kiddies lose socks ALL the time and I am grateful when I find great deals on socks for them.

3)  Little Einsteins

     Not trying to promote a lot of TV watching for the little ones, but one episode of Little Einsteins gives me two quiet and happy kiddies on the couch and leaves me free to take a shower, clean the kitchen, or any other of the multitudes of tasks that need to be done.  Looking back, there are quite a few times that I owe my sanity to Little Einsteins.

4)  My kiddies' different personalities

     It is much more entertaining to go about my day with the Drama queen, the mischievous little charmer, and the laid-back dude.  

5)  My kiddies!

      Without them, I would not have become a mommy, and perhaps never learned to really sacrifice and put others before myself.

6)  My man

     Chris is everything I need.  He is my calm when I freak out, my help when I feel I've reached my limits, my laughter when I have my hardest moments, my inspiration as I seek to live for God, my dream of a great father, and my love forever!

7)  Grandparents

     Who else would spoil my kids so effectively!?

8)  My church

      I LOVE my church and all the wonderful people there.  They are balm to my spirit and an immeasurable help with my children.  

Okay, that is just a TINY fraction of my "thankful" list.  I could go on and on, but space and time do not permit it.

I hope you are thankful today - even when one of the kids is wetting through their third outfit of the day and another kid is drawing all over your lovely furniture with black crayon. :)