Gifts 36-45

More of the things I'm thankful for. Boy do these lists change my perspective everyday!

36. Thank You, Lord, that the tree branch that fell on Katie and I today wasn't bigger -- and that the biggest part landed between us so that we were only nicked by the little parts.

37. Thank You, Lord, that you protected our friends Zak and Anna and their two kids in a major car accident on Sunday that left their minivan totalled:
38. Thank You, Lord, for AllRecipes.com, which I'm finding to be much more user-friendly than cookbooks that have recipes where I'm always missing one of the ingredients.

39. Thank You, Lord, for a dishwasher. We go through SO many dishes a day now!

40. Thank You, Lord, for a washer and dryer. My friend Meredith in Mexico scrubs her clothes by hand and hangs them out to dry. I can't imagine living like that.

41. Thank You, Lord, for the horrified look on John's face when Katie burst out "Go Redskins!" after dinner. I'm still laughing. That's NOT the team he has taught her to cheer for. :-) I wonder where she learned that? *innocent look*

42. Thank You, Lord, for our two children. It was four years ago this month that our first baby died in utero, and we don't take for granted the two gifts you've given us since.

43. Thank You, Lord, for how you used that miscarriage to dramatically strengthen our marriage.

44. Thank You, Lord, for friends we're celebrating tomorrow: Our friend Mike's birthday, and our friends Jen and Wayne's fourth anniversary.

45. Thank You, Lord, for how you turned a mother's horror to humor last night. John and I were downstairs having a TV date at 10 pm when we heard a thought-she-was-sleeping Katie start screaming bloody murder -- "MOMMY!! HELP!! MOMMY!!!!" I tore upstairs to find her in the dark with her nightlight in her hand. She had gotten out of bed, taken her nightlight out of the outlet, and freaked out when it was then pitch-black. When I got down to talk with her about not touching the light, she said, "Go downstairs?" Clarifying what she was asking, I said, "You want to go downstairs?" and she took this as an invitation and began running for the door. She was so disappointed that I wasn't going to let her join my date with her daddy. But I give her points for trying.

Our Growing Kids: The Saga of the Beds

The night of the baptism we decided it was time. For months we had been wrestling about when and where to move the kids' sleeping arrangements. So the night of Sunday, Sept. 27, we made our move.

At six months, Joshua was STILL sleeping in his bassinet. And not sleeping much, since he was too big for the bassinet. And WE weren't sleeping much either, since he was still in our room (though thankfully in our walk-in closet, which was much better than right next to our bed as he had been).

Katie wasn't trying to climb out of her crib, and she is VERY particular with her sleeping conditions, so we wrestled with whether or not to keep her in the crib in the gender-neutral nursery, or set up another crib in her pink "big-girl room", or move her up to the toddler bed already in her "big-girl room".

Or should we keep Katie in the nursery, and set up the second crib for Joshua in another room? And if we did that, should we set it up in the blue bedroom (thus taking over the guest room) or would it do irreparable damage to put him in Katie's pink "big-girl room" for the time being?

And with the two of them in rooms next to each other, would they constantly be waking each other up? You can see why we put off making a decision for six months. I was so anxious. I shouldn't have been.

Sept. 27 was the day. They were both exhausted from having truncated naps on Joshua's baptism day, so I figured we'd get minimal resistance from them as we moved their sleeping arrangements around.

While I was toddler-proofing Katie's "big-girl room", John put Joshua down to sleep in Katie's crib. No resistance there. But what if Katie refused her new bed? It's not like I could then put Katie in the bassinet. This had to work -- no going back now!

And yes, Katie did whine a bit when I first made it clear her toddler bed was not going to be just a toy this time, but rather her bed. But when I offered her the pillow, two blankets, and one stuffed puppy that she insisted on having in her crib every night (with nothing more), she didn't want any of them. She picked out two new stuffed things (an Elmo pillow and a giant frog that looks like Kermit) and put them in her new bed that was fitted with the cute new pink-and-brown-polka-dotted bedding I had bought.

My idea was to hang out with her for awhile so she wouldn't be scared to fall asleep in her new room. So I lay down on two couch pillows on the floor and waited. And waited. And waited. I tried to get up at one point and she sat up and pointed to the floor and ordered me: "Mommy, sleep! Sleep two pillows!" So like an obedient little mommy, I did that for a little while longer till it was clear she was content to sing and talk to herself and not go to sleep (I should probably mention here that I was the same way as a child -- my mom has always told stories of how I'd stay awake for hours singing to myself. I was a Broadway Baby from birth, I tell you!!). So after I realized Katie was going to be awake for awhile, I put up the baby gate and went downstairs for my nightly TV date night with John.

And yes, Katie did jump out of bed a lot that night. And the next day during naptime. And occasionally a week later. But really, it hasn't been all that bad. She knows she's in trouble if we catch her out of bed, and she usually stays put -- aside from an occasional bouncing on her bed or when she's not able to sleep unless her shoes are in a drawer and not on the floor (did I mention that she's FREAKISHLY particular about her sleeping environment?). And she still sleeps in a way that slowly kills the environment -- with a nightlight, fan, and CD player all on.

Joshua never likes being put down in general, but he seems to appreciate the space to stretch out a bit in his new crib. He now has room to flip over, but that's a double-edged sword because he can only fall asleep on his stomach, and he can only roll over from his stomach to back, not the other way. So in the middle of the night, if we hear a piercing yell, we know that one of us needs to go flip him back on his stomach.

In terms of waking each other up, it's actually been amazing. We've been letting Joshua cry it out when he wakes up in the middle of the night (unless he's flipped over, in which case we turn him over and then let him cry it out), and as far as we can tell (it's hard to hear much over the screams), Katie has been completely silent through the ordeal. I can't imagine that it DOESN'T wake her up, but she must be able to go back to sleep okay. Thank You, Lord!

The bigger beds symbolize big changes in our children. They are doing new things everyday which is so exciting to watch. Katie did her first poo-poo in the potty on Sept. 14 and Joshua is now flipping over regularly (although as I mentioned, in only one direction). I'm so proud of my growing kids! And we're so thankful to have our room back to ourselves!

Gifts 21-35

On my quest to find 1000 things to be thankful for...

21. Thank You, Lord, that my credit card company reversed 2 out of 3 charges when I stupidly tried to pay off my card using a bank account I had closed.

22. Thank You, Lord, for the upcoming holiday weekend.

23. Thank You, Lord, that my town is celebrating Restaurant Week this week -- I'm always happy for another excuse not to cook and just to enjoy my family!

24. Thank You, Lord, that as an elderly friend grieves the loss of her husband yesterday, she does not grieve without hope (1 Thess. 4:13-14).

25. Thank You, Lord, for reminding me yesterday of some of the things You love about me. It's too easy to only think I'm disappointing You.

26. Thank You, Lord, for friends and family who are willing to babysit my kids for free.

27. Thank You, Lord, for the many times I do or say thoughtless things and the person who should be offended isn't.

28. Thank You, Lord, for refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough. (I am becoming better at cooking it before eating it, I promise, John!)

29. Thank You, Lord, for beautiful fall weather.

30. Thank You, Lord, for the used double stroller our neighbors gave us this week that is SO much better than the one I bought last year at a consignment sale and rarely pull out of the garage.

31. Speaking of which, thank You, Lord, for kids' consignment sales so that I almost never have to pay full-price for kids' toys and clothes again!

32. And thank You, Lord, that the beat-up sneakers I paid $1.00 for at the last sale so that Katie could have a pair of cheap "outside shoes" turned out to light up when she walks so that she wants to wear them inside, outside, and everywhere now.

33. Thank You, Lord, that a local restaurant gives 15% of its proceeds one night every month to our local crisis pregnancy center. (Thus no need to cook tonight either!)

34. Thank You, Lord, for a church where the Gospel is preached every Sunday without fail.

35. Thank You, Lord, for a daughter who cracks me up everyday. Like yesterday when we were going through a set of ABC flashcards (Thanks, Uncle Daniel!) and we got to U (Umpire). She had no idea what an umpire was, so she asked, "Whooz dat? Is dat Jesus?"

1000 Gifts

My friend Jenn has been blogging about 1000 things she's thankful for, and I think that's a great idea and challenge for myself! I will keep blogging about my kids' adventures, but I also want to use this space to just be thankful for all the Lord has blessed us with. No promises that I'll get to all 1000, but let me at least begin.

1. Thank You, Lord, that I found my engagement and wedding rings yesterday after 2 weeks of searching for them.

2. Thank You, Lord, that our next-door neighbors had a baby boy this week -- someone for Joshua to play with in future years.

3. Thank You, Lord, that our good friends Jeff and Jenn had a baby ten days ago, and we had a blessed time of fellowship with them last night when we brought them a meal.

4. Thank You, Lord, that our marriage has survived -- even as I grieve for those around us who haven't been so lucky.

5. Thank You, Lord, that my kids are both so sweet and fun.

6. Thank You, Lord, that my kids are good sleepers overall, so that I can be too.

7. Thank You, Lord, for the "date nights" I've been having with John almost every night in front of the TV (no babysitters needed!) as we move through an entire TV series on DVD.

8. Thank You, Lord, that I'm still nursing, because it's keeping those date night chocolate chip cookies from putting as much weight on me as they could have.

9. Thank You, Lord, for my growing friendship with my brother Daniel.

10. Thank You, Lord, for my new sister-in-law Lindsey, who continues to bless and encourage me and is such a gift for my brother Stephen.

11. Thank You, Lord, that John only works 20 minutes away now.

12. Thank You, Lord, that John was picked for a 10-week work rotation (same location), a great honor that comes with added stress/responsibility, but it's only for 10 weeks so it won't be too bad.

13. Thank You, Lord, for my in-laws' beach house which allows our little family a chance to get away on mini-vacations several times a year.

14. Thank You, Lord, for Community Bible Study and how studying Revelation is drawing me closer to You.

15. Thank You, Lord, for our two sets of parents who live close by and provide such emotional/spiritual/practical encouragement to us.

16. Thank You, Lord, for all the people who pray for us.

17. Thank You, Lord, for Blogger software which makes it so easy to chronicle my family's adventures.

18. Thank You, Lord, for a big legal win for my brother Mike last week.

19. Thank You, Lord, for my part-time job that I can do from home and for a client who gives me as much work -- and only as much work -- as I can handle.

20. Thank You, Lord, for kids' naptimes that typically give me a break in the middle of the day when I need it most.