thankful thursday

It's Thankful Thursday and there have been some great moments for me in the past week that I want to share. Maybe they're not red-letter days... maybe Hallmark hasn't made a card for these things... but they're what makes my life worth living and I want to share them....

1. I was able to meet Angie and the girls at the library before church last night. I love the library. I love books. I love my girls. Being able to share in those few moments with them... as they picked out books... showing them the books that I loved as a child... just getting that extra time with them... was a real blessing.

2. Living vicariously... Candice shared with me that they have reservations at a new place in NYC for Monday night... being able to go online and see the menu and chat about what I would want to eat if I were there... so much fun! I love being able to experience life as a New Yorker.

3. God's guidance. I prayed yesterday for clarity and discernment about someone and God revealed things to me that I really needed to know. I believe that God promised me after the whole Darby debacle that He would protect my heart if I would trust Him to guide me. I have and He has and although the whole dating process is daunting... navigating those murky waters with a Higher Power is not nearly as scary.

4. Starbucks! Yay! I had my pumpkin spice latte yesterday. It was 4 points. It was $4. It was a splurge on both counts and it was worth every bit of it! Even better... we have a mall day planned for Saturday... me, Angie, Stasha, Jamie and Sarabeth... and when I mentioned Starbucks, Sarabeth's face lit UP! No doubt about it... she's my girl!

5. Sisters. Watching Jamie and Sarabeth interact is so precious. Jamie is such a unique little character. Sarabeth uses my bag to save a seat for her friends every Wednesday night. I'm not sure why it has to be MY bag... but she asks and I let her and it's just what we do. Jamie noticed her sister had a seat saved so she came over and asked if SHE could borrow my bag... so she could save a seat too. It cracked me up!

6. Shopping! I can't wait to spend time shopping with the girls on Saturday! This is Sarabeth's birthday gift from me... I told her how much money she would have to spend (it's not much... but it's a lot to her) and we talked about all the different things she could get. Of course... it's more than what she gets... Sarabeth loves quality time with people... she is as excited about the fact that we're hanging out as she is about anything.

7. Laughter. We had such a great time in Bible Study last night... we watched this movie about Ruth and - of course - you want to be all reverent and respectful of the subject matter - but this movie was so over the top poorly acted and the way it was presented was so unrealistic that we just started laughing... and kept laughing throughout the whole movie. It was great. It was almost like a parody of a bible story. It was the best time!

8. Unexpected surprises. SOooo... after bible study, Logan's mom, Darlene told me she found a pair of black panties in her backseat. I thought... oh man... what have those boys gotten into... and she said, "I think they're yours"... WHAT? As it turned out... Austin didn't pack a bag when he went over to spend the night with them Saturday night. He grabbed an outfit out of my clean laundry pile and... apparently... grabbed a pair of panties... which he subsequently dropped in Darlene's backseat. It was pretty funny to be handed a pair of panties in a little brown paper sack at church.

9. Friends. Ryan's birthday is Sunday. His best friend (and my 4th child) Joshy is flying up to Allentown, PA to spend a long weekend with Ryan. Joshy, Ryan and Cody are three of my proudest accomplishments in this life. Their friendship and loyalty to each other is something you don't see much of any more and I'm so proud that these amazing young men have each other to lean on - and to celebrate with. How in the world can I be the mother of a 24 year old?

I suppose it wouldn't be hard to be discouraged... frustrated... lonely... sad. I just think life is much better when you see beyond your circumstances and look at the treasures that God bestows on us every day. Hope you can find things to be thankful for today! love and hugs!