The Days of our Lives

Thirty Days of Thankfulness, Day 20

It's Sunday again; you know what that means! On Sundays, we do what we want. Today, miraculously, Jason and I woke up before any of the kids. We sat on the couch, drinking coffee and discussing our plans for the day. Jason had plans to finish a barn wood headboard for a Craigslist buyer and I was planning to get back to Owen's room (since it fell by the waside ALL week).  And then, the kids started trickling down the stairs and we were off to the races.

First up: Church. We hadn't been there as a family in a few weeks and I made sure to give everyone plenty of notice so the morning would go smoothly. We have a new pastor, with a lot of new ideas, and it has taken some time to adjust to the changes. During one part of the service, the congregation sits in silence, and if you have someone you're keeping in your prayers, you speak their name. During this time, Nash decided to proclaim very loudly that, "THIS IS SO BORING!"  Please tell me how you stifle laughter during quiet prayer time, because I certainly haven't mastered that yet...


Today, here in Michigan, it's 34 degrees with a windchill of 18-not exactly the weather you want to play outside all day in. So, Jason converted our dining room into a workshop and I headed upstairs to the land of crumbling plaster and mud. When I came downstairs, I asked the kids what they are thankful for this year. Here are their responses:

Owen: Our animals, my family, computers
Emerson: My friends, my family, Gypsy the cat
Greyson: All the dinners mom makes us AND NOTHING ELSE SO DON'T TRY TO MAKE ME THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE
Alayna: My family
Nash: Airplanes, hide-and-seek, milk

For dinner, I made chicken noodle soup, which Jason does not like because I put peas in it.  Instead, he had salad and sushi. Greyson, who hates all food and never tries anything new, loved the sushi, even with wasabi and ginger. Alayna, who is quite adventurous when it comes to food, went running to the trash can when she tried it. After dinner, we had pumpkin pie with Redi-whip on top. Only Owen are his entire piece of pie (along with half of Greyson's) and then everyone requested that Redi-whip be sprayed directly into their mouths.

Then, we declared tonight "game night" and Owen and Grey wound up in front of the checker board while Emerson and Alayna played Life and Nash made a long trail of Matchbox cars among the kids and games. By 7pm, the kids were getting rowdy and restless so we kicked them out of the family room so we could watch some basketball by the fire.

Right now, everyone is upstairs winding down for the night and getting ready for another Monday at school. I've got a glass of wine and Jason has a beer, there is Michigan State basketball on the television, there's a warm fire in the fireplace, and all is right in our little world.

This post might not seem like it's actually about much, but it is. This is a prime example of our everyday life. There was work and play and worship and togetherness. These are the days of our lives and I am thankful for them.