Thankful Thursday

Right at this very second, the thing I'm most thankful for is the quiet. We have been so busy lately. It's been good though, and as a family we have been productive and gotten so many things done...but I'm tired. Last night Daniel and I were both having a hard time staying awake through Bible study, even though it was pretty awesome! And tonight, well that was kind of the cherry on top of the craziness. I'm not sure why all the girls were so loud, but they were. Between 4 and 7pm it was a crazy madhouse in here and this house really lived up to the title of my blog! So many questions, so many squabbles, and mom ran out of patience before bedtime unfortunately. Even the baby in my tummy has been crazy and is still kicking up a painful storm with some sharp part of her body! So now, I have no music on, no tv, and no one else around. Daniel is still at work (poor guy), and I am sitting in the quiet, just typing out my thoughts.

A few more things I'm thankful for this week:

1. Speaking of being busy, we are taking the girls to Phoenix Saturday for spring break. We have all been looking forward to the trip for a long time now and I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to take them! They are just so excited to spend time with their grandparents in the sunshine...in fact, that's pretty much what all the loud chatter was about here tonight as we started sorting clothes and stuffies to take :)

2. Our new bed frame. About 7 months ago, Daniel and I got a new king sized mattress...we just didn't get a frame with it. Neither of us really cared much about getting one either...until my belly got huge and I got winded every time I had to get up from bed! Last weekend we bought a frame from ikea, and things are so much better! I am SO thankful to be able to get out of bed easily!

3. Having Daniel's grandparents stop by for a visit yesterday. We haven't seen them since Christmas and the girls loved having them here!

4. Baby kicks. Tonight she's kind of hurting me, but most of the time it's so awesome to feel her. Even more awesome is letting the girls feel her! They all love "playing" with the baby through my belly :)

5. The sweetness of my girls. They all have their incredibly sweet moments, but yesterday morning sticks out in my mind right now. Before my alarm went off at 6:45 I could here Myka and Danica talking in their room. About half an hour later I had gotten up and was feeding the older two breakfast when I realized the younger two hadn't come out of their room yet. They did a few minutes later and Myka started talking, " mom, it wasn't morning yet, so I came to the pantry and got Danica and me a granola bar. While I was in the pantry I had the thought that I would like to cuddle with her, so I went to our room and we cuddled in her bed." When I said, "awe, that's sweet of you Myka!" she said, "yeah, I told her that I love her too."
It's moments like that that make the fights where they end up biting each other seem not quite as serious, LOL. Sisters.

6. How self motivated the girls are. Over the past month Addison and Tegan have developed an interest in snowboarding, finger knitting, arm knitting, crochet, and needle knitting! The finger knitting they learned at school, but the other types they watch youtube videos to learn. I know how to knit, but both of them said they would rather watch the video to learn, lol. They have been doing it in almost all of their spare time. It's so neat to watch them learning new skills!

7. For getting to spend all of last weekend with my sister. Daniel was gone for four days, and she just happened to have four days off. We visited, we cooked, we watched our favourite movies, she helped my build my bed AND clean my suburban, and she did it all so happily. I told her that all I wanted was her company, but she got right in there and worked with  me all weekend. I love you Dakota! You're a pretty awesome little sis!

8. That God wants a relationship with me. Lately I've been learning a lot about why God created us (because He wanted a friendship with us) and  what my relationship with him should look more like. A long time ago I read a book called "The Hidden Power of Praising God" and I learned a lot from it. I found that I felt closest to God when I was driving and singing worship songs.  There really is something just POWERFUL about it...it's hard to describe. But lately I've been making more of an effort to do it more often....to just praise him, or to sit quietly and just BE with him. Let me tell you, if it weren't for the peace I experience during those times, I can't imagine the emotional wreck I would be during this pregnancy. I can't believe the range of emotions and anxiety I have experienced that are new(ish) to me! I am so thankful that God is a peaceful cleft in the middle of the emotional storms that have been wracking me. I am pretty sure my family is thankful for that too!

9. Strong Start. It's such a great place to go twice a week. The girls absolutely love it, and I really like seeing my other mom friends in such a great setting. It's at our small school, so it's not really busy, but there are always friends for Myka and Danica to play with, and that is awesome!

10. I'm also thankful that it's no longer -40 outside! That drug on for awhile!

Have a great week!!

P.S. Thank you to Alison and Sarah for keeping up with Thankful Thursday on Facebook and reminding me how important it is :)