A Study in Gratitude

Thankful for those who have served

by Stacy on November 11, 2010

In honor of Veteran’s Day, I’m kicking off the return of the Gratitude posts.

{Normandy American Cemetery}
(Photo by Me)

Today, I am thankful for

- The men & women of the armed forces who have put our best interests above their own. Who give so much, yet ask so little.

- For my military family {the friends, family, brothers and sisters-in-arms}, all the men & women I served with whom I will never forget and will always cherish, to include my best friend & husband.

- A special day reserved just for past & present members of the Armed Services. God Bless each of you who have served, are serving or are planning to serve this great nation.

- Peace, Justice, Tolerance & Freedom and the folks who put these ideals above all else

- For every person who ever told me Thank You for my service, bought my lunch, or patted my back. If you’re looking for a way to let your local military folks know you care. I assure you Thank You is a great place to start.

- For every baked good, handwritten letter, handmade christmas ornament, picture, mixed CD or magazine I ever received in a care package. Batteries, beef jerky, baby wipes, hand sanitizer and specialty candies sure are great too.

- For programs like the USO, Fisher House, the Wounded Warrior Proj ect, Building Homes for Heroes, Heroes helping Heroes, Remind.org,

- For friends who can put things in to words much better than I, please read Amanda’s Veterans Day Tribute

Happy Veteran’s Day!!

Land of the free BECAUSE of the brave

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Counting My Blessings

by Stacy on September 7, 2010

It’s 3:30 AM and everyone is awake in my house. The Mister is carrying his bags to the car for yet another trip to the East Coast, just two more trips in the next 11 days until we go on vacation. Happy is sad his Daddy is leaving … again. Sweet is up and her bed is wet … again. She’s crying for me to sleep with her and as much as I would love to oblige her, I can’t because Little is miserable with a high fever. He’s worse than I have seen him in quite some time and it pains me to see him like this.

It’s the start of another week as a single parent. Today, I will do something I don’t normally do. I will admit, I am overwhelmed. I’m short on sleep and full of regret for how we spent our last day together as a family. An ugly end to a beautiful weekend. And sure, I went to bed with my stomach in knots, I worried way more than I should about things I can not control and as I lay here in bed with my three children longing for their Father … I decide to take another path.

Instead of concentrating on all the weight I feel on my shoulders, the things that aren’t getting done or the areas where I feel like I am failing. Not to mention the fact that Sweet has just wet MY bed as she lay her beside me (I really hate when that happens), I choose to focus on all the blessings that were bestowed on me this weekend. The good times that certainly outweighed the bad even though it doesn’t seem like it at the moment. I lie in the center of my bed, 17. smothered in children, melting from heat and I am happy knowing God has blessed me far beyond what I ever thought possible.

I start to remember the weekend as best I can as they drift off to sleep in my arms.

18. Making Drip Castles on the beach

19. The Butterfly Costume we picked up for $2.50 that brought so much happiness into our home the last few days
20. Web Cams – The ability to “see” family face to face and tell them that we love them
21. The look on Little’s face when he was reunited with his first love, Aunt Megan brings tears to my eyes. I have never seen him so happy
22. My own two feet. Sometimes we all need to just get away however so briefly and I am proud to know my feet can carry me away swiftly while I get my thoughts in order and then get me home in a hurry to be with the ones I love. I never thought running would be “my thing”, but nothing brings me greater peace.
23. The rain and its power to wash my blues away and cool me off during my run (not to mention what it’s doing for my wilted flowers)
24. The effect a can of blue paint can have on a few toddlers and what a transformation it has on an old wooden bed
25. A friend I admire who unknowingly gives me strength (until now)
26. A sister who gives me no leniency and kicks my butt into gear on a weekly basis
27. And even Twitter where I can get comfort from “friends” at any hour not to mention great ideas on what to feed my family in an instant. I may never have trouble meal planning again! (You can find me here)

I let my gratitude study fall by the wayside as life has gotten away from me. I see now that it is a powerful tool for me to find my strength and a place that I can turn for comfort and solace when I feel all alone. My updates will be more frequent now. And we’ll all be better for it.

So glad this post happened on a Tuesday so I could share it with all the fabulous ladies over at Chatting at the Sky.

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Gratitude Study – Week 2

by Stacy on July 28, 2010

So we’re in to week 2 of the Gratitude Study and I can already say it is making a huge difference in my perspective on every day things. Not that I was some sort of Negative Nelly beforehand (I pride myself on being fairly positive anyways) but every now and then, even the happiest of the bunch has a hard time seeing life’s small gifts when they present themselves. Cataloging them has been a therapeutic way for me to reflect on the blessings I have all around me.

It was a bit of a harried week at our house. I can honestly say there were two or three really bad moments for every good thing I have written on the list. What satisfies me about doing this the most is now instead of remembering all the sibling quarrels, messes & spills, witching hours (you know those hours between 4 & 7 when your children turn in to someone else), or mindless back talk. I’ll now think of all these sweet moments highlighting the love we share for one another. Moments that may have only lasted for a few seconds or maybe lasted longer but had been weighed down with stress and angst and may never have seen the light of day again. Until now, you glorious gratitude list you I hope these are the things my children remember about our lives as well, …. but just in case they don’t … they’ll always have these 100o gifts written down to remind them. That is why my 1st gift of the week is:

6. This list – When I reread my words from last week I realized the only thing stopping me from being the type of mother I want to be was ME. I took stock in my own words and paid attention to what I was saying. I wanted to bake for my kids. Healthy delicious things, the kind of things kids at school talk about and parents ask you to bring to bake sales or family get togethers. Fast forward 7 days and I have baked 3 dozen muffins, one whole wheat applesauce cake and a batch of zucchini brownies! Yay Me! If you know me, you know I’m not a baker. I love to cook but never really figured out the whole baking part. So Yay to this list for being just the thing I needed to get where I want to be. I’m not there yet but I am clearly on my way. (Psst, I’ll be sharing my recipes soon I promise. Just spending my last few days w/ the Hubs before he takes off again)

8. Goodbye Running Kisses – There really is no easy way to describe these. Click here, Goodbye Running Kisses , so you can see one for yourself and then imagine getting about 15 of these in a 6 minute time span. Pure Bliss! I laugh every time I watch this and see him in those big ole socks.

9. Time w/ the Mr. – It seems as if my husband has spent about 75% of his summer away from home. Fortunately for all of us, we’ve had him all to ourselves these last few weeks. Not because he wasn’t scheduled to be some place else, but because small gifts kept him here. A stubborn workaholic who chose to have his wife drive him to Arizona since he wasn’t able to fly, a last minute change of plans, a meeting rescheduled. All things I am eternally grateful for. To make the most of our time, we’ve planned as many 10. Date Nights as we could squeeze in. (Also, the reason I haven’t been updating as much – he’s been taking up all of my blogging time) Classics on cable, movies on Demand, frozen pizza, chatting till midnight, all the things parents with super little ones and no babysitters do to be together. It’s been awesome Even after his hectic schedule slows down we plan to keep Tuesday night dates a part of our regular schedule. It’s Tuesday right now! and I’m looking forward to a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon with my Mr. tonight.

11. Late Plumbers – We had the plumber stop by this week to flush our A/C and check on our water softener. Folks always seem to underestimate how long it takes to get to our house and as a result, they always show up about 15-20 minutes late. The plumber was no exception. And instead of being fussy or upset I am grateful. In those quiet moments when the house was clean and the kids were amicable, we laid down on the floor and the kids asked me to tell them the story of dinosaurs. They listened so intently, rubbing each others backs as I talked and REALLY listened to what I was saying. It was one of my favorite moments of the week and set the theme for the rest of our days. We checked out 6 dinosaur books from the library and have been learning a little bit every day since.

12. Lunch Dates -

13. Meeting New Friends
14. Opportunity Knocking
15. Happy Accidents
16. Story Time at the Local Library

More on those things later, I feel myself going on and on and fear I might be losing your interest. All in all, it was a GREAT week. Still so much more to tell you & so little time to type … what was your biggest (or smallest) gift this week?

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A Study in Gratitude

by Stacy on July 19, 2010

Glowin Girl from Sugar Tails introduced me to the Gratitude Community and I knew instantly it was something I wanted to be a part of. The Gratitude Community is a HUGE group of bloggers cataloging 1000 gifts they have received in their daily lives and sharing as the process changes them along the way.

Sounds lovely doesn’t it? I’m anxious to get started … call it a study in gratitude if you will. The more gifts I open my mind to, the more I will continue to receive. My Daddy has a saying, You say it. You create it. Meaning if you talk negatively and focus on negative things you will only compound the negativity in your life. But, if you speak positively and think positively then positive things are bound to happen to you. It’s a great mantra but I usually only think about it … when I’m being overly negative. Time to turn those tables. My Dad will be so proud.

Here’s a couple more facts to feed my argument:

Did you know Grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed, and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships? Grateful people also have more control over their environments, a better understanding of their purpose in life, and deeper level of self acceptance. <- Sounds good to me.

Learning to be grateful gives you positive ways of coping with difficult situations, makes you more likely to seek support from other people, and a better chance of growing from life experiences. (Wikipedia)

More good stuff, maybe we should all try it. What do you say?

Things I’m hoping to gain from this exercise – being more in the moment, enjoying the small things that make my life wonderful, becoming more positive and getting more in touch with my spiritual side.

Well, let’s get started. Here are a few things I am Thankful for today:

1. So Many I Love You’s – Sweet must have told me she loved me 100 times today. Not her typical MO (mode of operating) but one I’m hoping sticks around for at least a few days. I love being told my children love me, it warms my heart and even after the 85th time she told me this afternoon I was still responding in kind to each declaration. It went a little something like this -> Mom, I Luuuuv you soooo much! And I would say, Oh Sweet, I Love you sooooo much too. Then she would go on to tell me how cute I was or how nice my hair looked or how she wanted to kiss me (kisses don’t come easy with this one). Yes, it was an all around perfect sort of day.

Note: Hmm, I’ve only catalogued 1 of life’s small gifts and I’m already feeling all warm & fuzzy on the inside.

2. A couple of Sweetie Pie’s – Happy was also doling out the love today. His in the form of Sweetie Pie’s. As in, “Brother … can I have you Mr. the King car?” (his most beloved possession in the entire world) Happy: “Sure you can Sweetie Pie“. Which of course invoked lots of screaming and whining because who on Earth would want to play with their brothers favorite toy AND be referred to as a Sweetie Pie? She says she doesn’t like Sweetie Pie, and doesn’t want to be one. This of course made Happy pretty “happy” with himself causing this whole shenanigan to be repeated frequently throughout the day.

3. Open Mouth Kisses – From a certain irresistible chunky monkey I like to call Little. Little will hand out kisses like candy to EVERYONE in the house … except me. He takes great pleasure in making sure I see him give kisses to every other member of the family and will even toddle my way, mouth wide open for a little smooch action and then just before he gets to me, he’ll peel away making the most incredibly cheesy sideways grin you have ever seen – knowing he has denied me something of great value and then rushes off to start the whole charade again. Other family members will get 4 or 5 kisses and I will get a big fat ZILCH. Everyone laughs prolonging the inevitable and making the game that much more HILARIOUS to him. But today … “gratefully” I was the proud recipient of 4 ginormous open mouth kisses from that special Little someone. (Thanks sweetie pie, I loooooove you sooooo much)

4. Race Car Bodies – We have a new favorite past time in the house and it has officially been dubbed, Race Car Bodies. Race Cars are all the rage in our house for the time being and nothing could be more fun than drawing race cars. It goes a little something like this – a favorite car is chosen, Mom is asked to draw the outline of said car, the kids color the car, next they go over the outline with glue and then we pour glitter all over the image. We’ve got a pretty nice collection of sparkle cars going on and the kids could do this for hours, beaming with pride when they finish each one. I have a feeling there will be some very happy family members soon when they receive their very own Race Car Bodies. They may have to wait a few weeks though … until our art gallery fills up with something new.

5. Muffins in the Morning – I wish I was the type of Mom who woke up early, took some time for myself and baked something wholesome and delicious for my family each morning. Most days the story doesn’t quite play out like that but on the days that it does. I am thankful. And happy. Who knows maybe my talking to you about how much I love to wake up and bake stuff will help me to actually … wake up and bake more stuff. Maybe something yummy & delicious like this Whole Wheat Applesauce Cake.

Yep, that made me feel better about my life already 5 down, 995 to go …

What are you thankful for today?

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