Blessed, Thankful, and Married For 12 Years

I have so many reasons to be thankful this week. Some of them are thankfuls in the midst of something hard, and some of them are just great things I'm excited to share.

1. This is the twelfth anniversary of the day Thomas and I got married (we loved it so much, we had two more weddings that year). Even though we sometimes forget which day to celebrate, I like to think we celebrate our marriage every day by loving each other. And I'm so thankful to have Thomas in my life forever. He is an amazing husband and father, and a blessing to me every day.

This is what 12 years of marriage looks like...

Thomas plays along when I say, "I need to take a picture for a blog post."

Then another picture. And another picture. And another picture.
Until he says, "I'll try not to look angry in this next one..."

And then, when I say, "Just one more, and this time smile for real!" he does. Because he loves me, too, even when I am driving him crazy.

2. My grandma went into the hospital this week. I know that isn't really something to be thankful for, especially when said grandma is 90 years old, having extreme asthma issues, and doctors are throwing around words and tests about potential heart problems. But I am thankful, because each step of the way there has been so much love and support poured out on her (and me, and the whole family), and I know that the many prayers that were prayed contributed greatly to the good news that her heart is pretty much okay, and her breathing is much better, and she will probably get to go home at the beginning of next week.

3. I'm also thankful for group facebook messages that enabled the whole family (even those of us who live on the other side of the country) to stay in touch easily, and get updates as new information about Grandma became available. And that my mom, aunt, and cousins were able to stay with her at the hospital, so she didn't have to be there alone.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Grandma.

4. Since we are talking about my grandma, I have to show you the fun hairstyle Katarina gave me yesterday - Paper Towel Curls. It came out great, because Katarina is much better at doing hair than I am.

As Katarina worked on my hair, we talked about Grandma, and prayed for her, and celebrated her love of curls. Because something all her daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters know is this: Grandma likes it when you curl your hair. It is pretty much a necessity.

5. Frozen Snickers Bars. Enough said.

6. Katarina had her end of the year teacher evaluation on Monday, and it went great. There is always that nagging voice in the back of my mind asking, "Are you doing enough; is she learning everything she needs; can you really do this teaching thing?" I don't know if other homeschool parents have that voice, but I definitely do. I really appreciated having someone else go over her work from the year, and shutting that voice down with her enthusiasm for Katarina's progress and the work she completed.

7. Talking about Katarina and school, I have a number for you: 112.
One hundred and twelve. That is number of books Katarina has read since last August. Not even a complete year has passed, so she still has the rest of this month to add to that number. And that list didn't even take into account books she had read previously and reread this year, so technically it could be even higher. I track my reading from January to December, and last year I only reached 101 books, so she has beaten my record. Normally I hate to lose, but this time I felt very, very happy to come in second place.

All this book reading is inspirational, as you can see in these two Rainbow Loom figures Katarina created this week. Original creations made without a tutorial. Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland.

8. I slept in every day this week. While I don't want that to become a habit (well, I do, but it wouldn't be the best choice), it was definitely what was needed this week. I'm thankful for the win that is good self-care.

9. Silly text messages that make me laugh at exactly the right time.

10. The provision of God. This week was high on anxiety and stress, but I can look back at it and see how God had prepared a way for me to be able to focus on my grandma as needed, without feeling the pull of other things. That was a blessing.

11. This is technically not from this week, but I wanted to share it, and it is still making me smile, so I'm throwing it in as an extra. Two of Thomas' aunts, an uncle, and cousin came to visit Orlando, and we got to spend the afternoon with them. Even though Thomas and I have been married for 12 years, I had only met one of them, and that was way back when Katarina was a baby. There were a lot of those "first time meeting the family" butterflies, but they weren't needed at all. The visit was great, and I loved them all.

I took approximately 100 pictures, but this one is my favorite because I snapped it while everyone was laughing, before they had a chance to get their serious picture faces ready. It is a great representation of the afternoon, because we all did a lot of laughing.

Aunt Jackie, Cousin Deborah, Katarina, Thomas, and Aunt Brenda

Plus, I snuck into a quick picture with Thomas and Katarina.

Even on a hard week, there was so much for which to be thankful.
What are you thankful for today?


*Do you have a blog post speaking out about child abuse? We are currently accepting submissions for the July 2014 Edition of the Blog Against Child Abuse. You retain all rights to your work, as we do not republish it, instead we link to your original post with a short introduction. Old or new posts will be accepted.

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