I am thankful...

There are so many things that I have to be thankful for. I thought about making this blog posting just a list of all the things I am thankful for...but it may take me forever and I am sure I'd still leave someone or something out. Like most of the posts I've read on Facebook lately, I would also list things like my health, the health of my family, my friends and God's provision of all our needs...and even most of our wants...at the top of my list. But I got to thinking, what are the things that I am thankful for that are often taken for granted?

So this week I started paying attention to all the things that I am grateful for that might otherwise go unnoticed...and made a "Thanksgiving Day Resolution" to start being more aware of them each and every day.

I am thankful for the ducks that live near our house. Camden and I have spent many sunny afternoons sitting on a bridge on the walking trail by the canals feeding those ducks. I love to watch his reaction when they all swim up and start quacking like crazy.

I am thankful for the cabinet full of Tupperware and other assorted plastic items that Camden can play with while I attempt to make dinner around him. I am thankful for the fact that he is content to sit at my feet and play with a bowl so that he can be near me rather than in his room or in the family room playing with one of the 4,972 toys he has. I'll try to remember these days when he's in junior high and thinks that his mom is totally lame.

I am thankful for my mommy friends who have been so transparent with me that I have learned I am not the only one who has my days where I feel like I am climbing "Mount Guiltmore" - at least if I am climbing it, I am not alone in my adventure. I love having other women that I can call when I feel like all I have done all day is give time-outs and say "no, stop, give that to mommy, don't throw that, put that down, that doesn't go in your mouth"...and so on, and so on, and so on...

I am thankful for hand-me-downs...yes, I do realize this cuts into my shopping opportunities...but I figure while they're little and could care less, I can save money for when they think it's only a totally lame mom that would think they would want to wear something someone else has already worn...and heaven forbid, was last year's fashion. (And I am especially thankful for all of my "mommies of girls" that have offered their adorable "preowned" clothes for our expected bundle of joy. I could really get carried away shopping for a girl - and I'm pretty sure Dave Ramsey would not approve...at least that's what Ryan tells me.)

Today I learned that I am thankful for silly Thanksgiving songs that make my child laugh. I had to sing "Hello Mr. Turkey How Are You?" about 900 times tonight. I sing and Camden, Ryan and I all do the motions together. As soon as we finish he says, "more, more, more" and we do it again...and again...and again. I will also try to remember this one when he thinks that my music is totally lame - and trust me, it's not...there is nothing lame, nor will there ever be, about Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers Band.

Most of all, I am thankful for laughter. One of my favorite quotes is from Nicolas de Chamfort and it's "the most wasted day of all is that in which we have not laughed." I try to remember this every single day. Whether I am laughing at something hysterical my child has done or said or just laughing at the overwhelming circumstances I find myself in, I have found it best to just laugh. I am a worrier by nature and I cling to the verse "Can worrying add a single moment to your life?" (Matthew 6:27 NLT).

So my Thanksgiving Day Resolution is really a two-part deal - in focusing more on what I have to be thankful for...which is SOOOOO much, I concentrate less on what worries me. I know that all the good things I have to be thankful for come from God - and if He's in control, what do I really have to worry about anyway? So on this Thanksgiving Day I want you to know that I am thankful for all of life's "little things"...and for craft time with my kiddo. I think his Picasso-esque turkey is a true work of art.

To share...or "snot" to share...

So I debated on sharing this story...but the more I think about it, the funnier it is so why not?

We were coming home from having lunch with our Sunday Bible Fellowship class this past Sunday when I noticed that Camden had gotten really quiet in the backseat. Fearing that he may have gone to sleep and the 15 minutes in the car was going to undo any chance of a decent nap at home, I turned around to make sure I didn't need to blast the radio or roll down a window.

What transpired over the next 30 seconds put us in stitches...

My sweet child had his index finger two knuckles deep into his nose...when he pulled out his finger he had a "surprise" on the end of it. He looked at me like, "what am I supposed to do with this?". I asked him what he had and, speaking of surprise, he plainly replied...a boo-gah - and with a tone that said, "I just pulled my finger out of my nose, what else would I have on it?" Honestly, I have no idea where he learned this term and I am not so sure I want to count this word when the pediatrician asks me how many words he's up to at his next appointment.

We tried our best not to laugh, knowing that a response like that would only encourage such behavior, but we failed miserably. So, now, whenever Camden wants to get a laugh out of you, he just points to his nose, says "boo-gah" and laughs hysterically.

Oh, the joys of parenthood...

Sugar and Spice...and Everything Nice

For those of you that haven't heard the news, we learned on Friday that the gender count will even out in the Foster house come April. That's right...it's a GIRL!

I must admit, as a former middle school teacher, my mind immediately fast forwarded to all the drama that comes with female adolescence and I was not initially as thrilled as one might have suspected. As he could see my apprehension building, Ryan quickly reminded me that adolescence is a long way off and there are lots of days for playing dress up and having tea parties between now and then.

And speaking of Ryan, I think he's pretty excited. I know that he really wanted to have at least one boy and since our first child got that task checked off the "to do" list, he was thinking that it might also be nice to go to father/daughter dinners and to have someone to walk down the aisle on her wedding day...albeit it'll probably be after he's had to sell all of his non-essential organs on the black market to pay for said wedding day. I think at this point, he's really just hoping for a head full of curly red-hair when she's born. :o)

Once I stopped fixating on adolescence, I started to get more excited about having a "mini-me" running around...although I don't know that I could survive trying to raise a "mini-me" so I'm hoping that if she does have that red hair that Ryan so desperately wants, that she'll get his temperament and not mine.

What I do know is that I treasure the relationship that I have with my mom and I am already praying that my daughter and I will share that same kind of bond someday...even if it does take stopping just short of strangling her during her teenage years to let her live long enough for both of us to see it come to fruition. On a side note - thanks, Mom for not strangling me even though looking back I deserved it on many, many, many...many occasions - your "revenge" will come in watching me go through it now. :o)

So bring on the pink, the ruffles and the bows...we've got a girl on the way!

Fun at the Foster House

So for those of you that aren't on Facebook, you may not have heard about our exciting ordeal this week. Camden now has a bright, NC State red cast on his left arm courtesy of the spiral slide at the park.

On Monday we were at the park with some other moms and kiddos when Camden decided to try to put his feet down and stop himself while coming down the slide. This resulted in him toppling rather than stopping and he must've thought the best place to land was on his elbow.

After a couple of hours of "watching it" and seeing that he had the use of his arm (both for picking up objects and rotating his hand around) we figured it was just bruised and that it would be fine. By Tuesday night, I was starting to have my doubts that it was okay because every time I tried to change Camden's shirt I was met with ear piercing, blood curdling screams. After deciding to err on the side of being overly cautious, I took him in to see his pediatrician on Wednesday morning. She promptly sent me on to Plano Pediatric Imaging for x-rays which confirmed that there were no broken bones and that the joint itself was still intact.

There was still much concern over the pain that he was experiencing (and that Ryan and I were experiencing as a result) so today we went to Pediatric Sports and Spine in Grapevine where the Pediatric Orthopedist said that there were some "wrinkles" in the cartilage of his elbow. The fear is that if the elbow wasn't stabilized and he fell again (which is a real possibility since he doesn't know how to slow down and has no fear of heights...) that he could do some real damage and need surgery. The other fear is that with a kid his age, most of that cartilage will eventually calcify and become bone and if there's something wrong with it and it "grows that way" he may not be able to straighten his arm later...and if he's going to be a major league pitcher, he's going to need that arm. :o)

Here are a couple of pics from our evening. He seems to be doing okay with it so far...he's only asked a couple of times for help getting it off. It's going to be a loooooong four weeks. :o)













Is it wrong to say that the tiny sling is "cute"?













Nothing can come between my boy and his "bites"!!!













Check out the cool glove I made (out of a sock) to help keep his cast clean while he eats.

0 to 60 in 3-Days

This past weekend I participated in the Dallas/Fort Worth Breast Cancer 3-Day. Together with my dear friend Charrisa we each walked 60 miles and raised $2300 to benefit Susan G. Komen for The Cure.

It was an amazing experience and I met so many wonderful people along the way. I was really inspired by these two gals who pushed their mom in a wheelchair the entire 60 miles b/c she was too weak from chemo to walk it herself.

One of the most generous stories I hear came from a lady who I was sitting next to in the medic tent getting first aid for some blisters. First - a little background info... In order to participate in the 3-Day you have to raise a minimum of $2300. If the walk dates arrive and you haven't made the goal, you have the option of dropping out or of giving the 3-Day your credit card info and getting 30 days post walk to finish your collection. At the end of the 30 days, whatever you have left gets charged to your card. Now...back to the story...

So the lady was telling me that she was riding on one of the sweep vans and got to talking to the rest of the people on the van about their fundraising. She asked them if they all had met their $2300 required goal and they all had met or exceeded the required amount. Another lady then asked her about her fundraising situation. She told them she was still about $600 short - she said that she had faith that she could meet the goal so she gave them her card number and went ahead and did the walk. The second lady then reached in her backpack and pulled out an envelope full of checks made out to the 3-Day and gave them to the lady that was $600 short. She said that these came in to her after she met her $2300 goal and rather than just exceed her goal by that amount, she brought them to the event hoping to find someone that needed the money to reach their goal. There was over $400 worth of donations in the envelopes. The gal who received the checks said she was so blown away by this woman's foresight and generosity that she could barely get off the van at the next pitstop b/c she was crying so hard.

The other people, stories, events that will stick with me forever are too numerous to share. Let's just say that it was such a wonderful event that even while limping from blisters and sore feet, Charrisa and I went to the 2010 tent to begin registration for that one.

Here are a few pics from the event... 0 to 60 in 3 Days!!!














Walking through Turtle Creek














My prize waiting on me at the finish line!

Happy Halloween...a couple of days late!

I hope that each of you had a safe and fun Halloween this past weekend. My mom and dad were in town and it was really special to spend the week preparing for the big night. We had a costume playdate on Thursday with a few of Camden's friends (a dinosaur, a chicken, Superman and a Halloween cat were all present and accounted for). Camden went as Batman this year and it was hilarious that we would "sing" the Batman music and he would chime in "Mat-man" at the appropriate time.

Friday night our church had their annual fall festival where we, along with about 900 others from the community, enjoyed and chili supper, moon bounces, pony rides, and all sorts of games. Camden started out playing the games and having a great time doing so...then he realized that he would get candy at the end of every game and so he decided it was best to skip all that work and just ask those running the game for the candy...why waste time throwing rings on sticks or beanbags through holes if they're going to give you the candy anyway? :o)

Ryan and I went as the knight in shining armor and the fair maiden...again. I think those costumes have been moved about 5 times and worn every year since college... Perhaps we'll go as something different next year. My dad went as a pirate - he figures if he's going to have a prosthetic leg, might as well put that "peg leg" to some use. :o)

Saturday night we started out just hanging out at home and handing out candy. Then we found out that a house down the street was giving out stuffed animals instead of candy so we decided to leave Oma and Papa at our house on candy detail and we walked Camden down the street for some loot. Once we hit that house, we figured this would be a great way to meet some of our neighbors so we spent about 30 minutes in our cul-de-sac meeting neighbors and loading Camden up with more candy than he's had in his whole life. Too bad most of it's chewy or nutty and he can't have it...oh well, guess I'll have to eat it since he can't.

Unfortunately, most of the pictures we got from the holiday's events are on my parent's camera and I didn't get them before they left to go home. Mom's going to send me a CD of what she's got later. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from our outing to the pumpkin patch. Camden really loved "driving the tractor" and riding in the wagon with his friend, Amanda.

Happy Halloween...a few days late!!!