Thankful Thursday!

We're out of town! I love traveling!

I'm shooting a wedding in Iowa this weekend and then my hubby and I are headed up to Mackinac Island for a few days while my parents watch the kiddos!

Don't worry. I've scheduled some posts for several of the day we'll be gone, so you won't be lonely without me here. :)

Thankful Thursday

I was just sitting here with my laptop, pondering what I might like to blog about today when I felt the wee one kicking inside me. I do love that feeling, at least at this stage in the game, so I naturally looked down and saw FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS PREGNANCY my little one's kicks from the outside. I know they've been felt on the outside for weeks, but this is the first time I've actually seen it.

It's just so beautiful to know that there is a tiny miracle growing inside me.

I'm also very thankful for the BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having this week. It's a little hot for my personal taste (mid-80s), but it sure is nice to have a week without rain, rain, and more rain.

On another note, I've been thinking about starting to write some photography tips. I know of a few other bloggers who write photography tips on their non-photography blog and I was wondering if that is something you all would be interested in, so....let me know. Or if you think I should leave all things photography on my photography blog, you can let me know your feelings on that too. :)

And as a final note today, I'd like to give the VERY LAST WARNING that this blog will soon be found only at www.todaysdailydose.blogspot.com and NOT at www.todaysdailydose.com. I know that several of you come from bookmarked pages or linked pages from your own (or someone else's) blogroll, so please check to make sure you have the blogspot address down so you can find me later. :)

I hope you're having sunny weather wherever you are! Happy Thursday!

Thankful Thursday

Today is a random mixture of all areas of my life. And if you look back to my last post, you'll find that Tuesday was an extremely exhausting day for me.

My thankfuls:

1. My studio is complete! A BIG "Thank You" goes out to my husband who never reads this blog but has already been thanked several times over. (You can check out my photography blog to see pictures of the completed studio and some shots I've taken in it this week.)

2. I have my ultrasound today! No, we're not finding out the gender but I love ultrasounds just the same. :) And yes, I'll share pictures of our wee one.

3. Our vacation is coming up soon! In just 3 short weeks, we'll be headed out of town for a wedding and then onto our vacation - just me and the hubster! Ahhh, I can't wait.....

4. It's spring! The weather has been warm enough to keep the heat off and cool enough to keep the air off! Well, okay...it gets a little chilly in the early morning, but that's what blankets are for, right? :)

5. My dishwasher has been emptied and filled. The pots and pans have been washed. I got a shower. The laundry has been washed and folded. The checkbook has been balanced. :)

6. Our little baby is over halfway grown! Today marks 21 weeks for me and, not that I've ever had pregnancy problems before but, it's still refreshing to be in the home stretch. For the little one's sake, I mean. :)


Anything you're extra thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

I meant to put up a Wacky Wednesday post yesterday. Really, I did. But then, as it sometimes happens, time somehow just slipped away from me. Nevertheless, I have some good news to report!

My studio (which my husband has so generously devoted every waking moment - except those moments that he's working, of course - to for the past 5 days) is almost complete! The spackling is FINALLY finished and he started texturing last night. Unfortunately, the "estimated coverage area" on the texture bottle was....well....FAR from accurate, and what he thought would cover two sides of a wall actually only covered about 2/3 of the first side.

Lo and behold, things are moving right along and I am so thankful for my husband doing this for me. I'd love to do it myself but with being pregnant and all, manual labor isn't really "my thing" right now.

I wasn't able to make it to the hardware store yesterday as I had planned, so I'll have to make that trip tonight....probably while my husband finishes texturing our walls and possibly gets a start on the painting part of it too.

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I am thankful for numerous things involved in this process:

1. I have a VERY devoted, generous husband who has hardly slept for the past week just so I can have my studio completed by Saturday. (I actually am planning to use it on Saturday. I didn't just pick a random day and demand it finished by then.) :)

2. God has truly blessed my business endeavors over the past year and therefore we've been able to build this wall with only business funds. We will not need to donate any of our personal money to the cause.

3. Our children have been going right to sleep at night (a miracle for ANY week!) so we've been able to get lots of things done during that after-bedtime time.

4. (This one has nothing to do with my studio....) I am officially halfway through my pregnancy today! So far, everything looks great. I have my ultrasound next week, but we will not be finding out what the gender of our little one is. Of course, unless we change our minds. :) But we probably won't.

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By the way, if you'd like to see the studio, you can visit my photography blog. There are a few entries, so you can just scroll down and get the latest info. :)

And Then The Car Died - Thankful Thursday Edition

Yesterday around 4:25p, my cell phone rang the sweet notes it belts out WAY too loudly whenever my dear husband calls. Him calling at this time usually means he is running late and just realized what time it was. But yesterday, he called for a different reason.

"Hi. Um....my car died."

It was no big surprise, really. We bought his car at the county auction late last winter for $500 and have recently been commenting to each other on how surprised we are that it's still around. I figured it was about time for another trip to the auction. (Yes, this is how we always do his work cars.)

"Alright, well let me get the girls up from their naps and we'll be on our way."

Sienna, cute as she is, is quite the whiner. Actually, it's ridiculous. So let's skip over the part where she screamed from the time I got her up to the time when we got to Daniel's car.

*Fast forward noises*

He was parked on the left side of the interstate right next to the median. Not my ideal location for sitting during rush hour, but what can ya do? Since he was 99% sure the car was completely unusable from this point forward, he went ahead and loaded all the stuff from his car and trunk into the back of the van. All the while I watched in my rear view mirror, just waiting for us to be run over.

It's funny how you don't think much about slowing down or moving over when there is a car on the side of the road......until it's YOU.

When all his stuff was loaded up, we backed up and managed to make it out of there alive.

*Whew*

At home, Daniel went to work on the computer searching for one of those we'll-tow-away-your-vehicle-and-pay-you-a-few-bucks-for-the-parts people. In the process, he must have decided to also search for what had gone wrong with the car and why.

A few minutes later, he reported to me that it was possible that he could switch out a fuse and change the car to front-wheel drive instead of 4-wheel drive, since the back wheels seemed to be what "broke".

So after dinner, out we went once again to risk our lives on the left side of the interstate. He quickly switched the fuse and I was confident we weren't going to die. But then he came back to the van and stated, "The battery's dead."

Well now, here's a dilemma if I've ever heard of one. But really, we had no other choice. So we backed up, waited and waited and waited for traffic to clear, and pulled a sweet circle. In two parts.

Aaaand, let's skip again over the next part of the story where Daniel connected the cars to charge the battery and I sat biting my nails, facing traffic, feeling the van rock in the "breeze" of oncoming traffic, but being unable to see it due to the hood of both vehicles being up in front of me. Oh dear.

Thankfully, the car did work after that shenanigan we pulled and Daniel was able to drive it home and has so far today had no major problems with it.

I've drawn out the whole scenario for you in basketball-like play moves so if you're completely confused (Katy), maybe this will help:

I know. You stand in awe of my mad drawing skills. What can I say? I'm just amazing like that.

We know this car won't last forever, but really, why replace it until we have to? I realize this line of thinking doesn't fall into everyone's head as logical. But we like our illogical, debt-free lives. :)

This week's "thankfuls":

We didn't die on the interstate the first time we visited the car.
We didn't die on the interstate the second time we visited the car.
We didn't die on the interstate as we did a huge circle to charge the battery of the car.
We didn't die on the interstate as we pulled another semi-circle after the battery of the car had been sufficiently charged.

Ok, maybe that sounds shallow to you, but I happen to know I'm not the only one who's terrified of sitting on the side of the interstate. Especially the FAST side.

Thankful Thursday

On Tuesday evening, we arrived home from our long 12-hour trek from Wisconsin around 6.30p. My husband and I had already decided we would do a home date (usually consisting of take-out and a movie) after we put the kids to bed. So we fed the kids and took them upstairs for baths.

The girls were in and out of the tub first. In went Keaton. Meanwhile, Sienna was getting dressed for bed and I was getting ready to brush through her wet hair. She was running through the upstairs like a madwoman. As usual.

And then I heard screaming.

It was hard to tell at first which child it was. Keaton could be screaming in the tub because he hates having his hair rinsed. Reagan could be screaming because Sienna just ran over her in her mad dash through the hallway. I could think of no reason for Sienna to be screaming. But alas, it was her.

I walked into her room where she was holding her head, her hand completely covered in blood. Oh boy, this can't be good. I whisked her up in my arms and held her against my chest to get a closer look in the light of the bathroom. As we got closer, I pulled her hand away from her head and saw - eeek - a huge gash.

Considering I've had three children, you'd think I'd be absolutely immune to the look of blood gushing from....well, anywhere. But I'm totally not. Blood makes me queasy. And that much blood reminds me of the time my dad almost cut off his thumb in the snowblower. *Gulp*

By this time, it was hair-rinsing time for Keaton so he too was screaming. Reagan was squeeling because I was trying to keep her out of the bathroom while holding Sienna - the only person in the house who had a legit reason to be screaming.

I asked - errr, yelled above the screaming - to my husband for a wet washcloth. I held it to her face as the screaming continued. After a few seconds of that, I checked again. *Double gulp*

"I might need you to come evaluate this!" I yelled to my husband. "But first, can you please put Reagan to bed?" Sure, I felt bad about rushing her off to bed w/o hugs and kisses, but you know....sometimes other things are just more important.

He returned from Reagan's room and we switched kids. I proceeded to the bathroom where I promptly DUMPED water all of my son's head and rushed him off to bed as well.

Sienna was finally starting to calm down to a whimper by the time the other two were in bed and I decided to call the doctor's answering service to see what standard procedure is for such a deep cut as this. Do we put pressure on it and see if the bleeding stops? Should we take her in for stitches? How do we know how deep is too deep?

The doctor asked me some silly questions like, "Are you sure it's a deep cut and not just a surface scratch?" Umm, HELLO. I've lived 24 years on this planet. I'm pretty sure I know how to differentiate between a surface scratch and a GASH.

"Yes, it's a deep cut," I told her. She suggested we take her to the hospital for stitches. My husband suggested Immediate Care. I honestly hadn't even thought of that since, in most cases from our experience, they are absolutely worthless and simply send you over to the ER thereby causing you to pay out of pocket TWICE.

I called over and asked if they did stitches. "Yep, we do," was the woman's reply. Wonderful.

Thankfully, we had a neighbor who was able to come over and watch the other two while we took her the Immediate Care Center. I know, you're probably thinking that just one of us could have done that. But bad things kept running through my head. Things like....What if she starts touching it while I'm driving? Or what if it starts to gush blood again? I won't be able to reach her or help the situation. Hence, both of us went.

When the treatment room finally opened, I was waiting for the needle. But when the doctor entered, she cleaned it out and announced that Derma-bond should do the trick. PRAISE. THE. LORD.

So she and a nurse glued my daughter's head back together. I love the way that phrase sounds. :)

So my "thankfuls" for this week include:

Fun trip to WI
Safe travels both directions
NO STITCHES necessary for Sienna's head

Whew!

Thankful Thursday . . . Silence

It is almost complete silence in my house tonight. The only thing I hear is the sound of the washer going. It is barely 8 o'clock and both of my children are in bed sleeping. The TV is not on. On this wonderful night I am thankful for the silence. I am thankful for my two sweet children who went to bed without a fuss (this is not always the case). God is good.

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

This week has been rough on our family. My husband has been working about 15 hours a day - not by choice. He's exhausted. I'm exhausted. We've both been short with the kids. They haven't been sleeping. (I'm talking like, being up 3-4 hours after they've been put to bed at night). It's been a pretty long week.

BUT....I have to say that, in this economy, I am very thankful that my husband has a job - TWO jobs, at that - and that's he's being offered (eh hem, forced to work) overtime. Since my husband is not salaried, the extra money is always nice....especially when we just had 2 ER visits in the past month and are planning a trip to visit my parents in a few weeks.

That being said, I will also be very thankful when this week is over........

Thankful Thursday

Well, today marks 14 weeks of this pregnancy and I'm still sick. However, I've been feeling far less sick this week than I was for the past 7, so I'm VERY thankful for that.

To be totally honest, I did absolutely nothing around the house for most of those 7 weeks. I basically just sat on the couch, pushed movies into the VCR for my kids, and got up to feed them (and me!) when it became absolutely necessary. I think I did a total of maybe 4 loads of laundry in that time period and cooked one dinner. So I was excited to feel a little bit better this week. Here is a list of things I have managed to do in the past few days:

• rearrange my son's bedroom
• go grocery shopping (with my hubby)
• take my kids to the St. Patrick's Day parade
• MAKE DINNER!
• drive to pick up dinner :)
• completely clean out and vacuum the van
• go to my doctor's appointment
• take my kids on a picnic at the park
• go to Bible study (although we left early for the parade!)
• help my husband clean the kitchen
• sort through papers (mainly junk mail)
• take a shower IN THE MORNING
• go on a date w/ my hubby
  
• play outside with my kids
  

I realize this list looks extremely short for someone who is functioning at full capacity, but for me this list is a sign of hope! I know I'm at that point where most people start to feel better, but I fully believe that the spring weather has really helped me! On days when I'm able to be outside or at least have the windows open, I feel MUCH better than days when I'm stuck indoors. I think this is probably due to the fact that I'm extremely sensitive to smells right now and even the slightest scent will sometimes induce vomiting.

The second thing I'm SUPER thankful for is that tomorrow at noon I am leaving for a WOMEN'S RETREAT!!!!!! I am so in need of this right now, especially since my husband has been working a lot of overtime lately, so it's been some really long days with the kids for the past few weeks. I've been counting down the days for what seems like forever and I am SO excited that tomorrow is the day! (If you don't have children, that won't make a lick of sense to you.) Yes, I love my kids! But I also love a BREAK from my kids! :) I'm looking forward to swimming, hiking, and relaxing this weekend.

It's been a pretty great week for me. What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Thursday

So Heidi is still sick and pretty tired so would it be cheating if I sent you to read my post that wrote on my other blog as to why I am thankful today? Whether or not it is cheating, I am extremely thankful for my children and you can go here to see why.

Thankful Thursday

My little girl spent the evening in the ER last night.

She is such a little stinker! She found a bottle of Claritin in my purse last night and had opened the "child-proof lock", resulting it me going into a COMPLETE panic. I called 911 who directed me to poison control who directed me to go to the ER with her.

We sat and sat for 4 hours and she was fine. They said she would have had to have eaten more than 4 pills to have an adverse reaction (seriously??? 4 pills in a 2yo????), so apparently she had fewer than that, if any. She told me she ate some, but who knows if she actually did.

Here is a (terrible quality) camera phone picture of her in her hospital bed holding the little bear she was given when we arrived:


Anyway, we are thankful to be home and that she is fine! But boy, am I exhausted!

Thankful Thursday

It seems we all have so much to be thankful for. This week I am so thankful for good friends. One of my friends from church has a daughter who is a year older than my daughter. Just a few days ago she brought over 4 boxes of clothing and a big bag of shoes. It was so fun to go through all of these boxes. Literally I should not have to buy my daughter anything for the rest of the year. There were so many outfits and pajamas. I am so thankful for this! It was incredibly generous I believe.

What about you? What are you thankful for today?

Thankful Thursday (A Day Late)

I woke up this morning the same way I wake most every morning. A faint little "Mommy" whisper crooned me out of my sleep. It was 6.38, too early for little feet to be heard in this house. "Go back to bed," I whispered back.

As I lay in bed, I thought of all the things I needed to get done. Yesterday. I figured I might as well get up and out of bed since there was no getting back to sleep for me today.

I drug myself to my laptop and finished up a draft email to a client. When I finished, I noticed a short email from my husband: "I have some exciting news. Call me when you get this."

Well, it was pretty easy to rule out pregnancy or marriage. So my interest was peaked. I called him. When he got on the line, he informed me that his Sunday night shift at FedEx was being done away with and that he would no longer be gone all night each Sunday. If there hadn't been a small child on my lap by this time, I could have leaped for joy. My husband has been working the Sunday night shift for YEARS and it has made Sundays my absolute LEAST favorite day of the week. But now - ah yes, the sweet phrase "but now" - perhaps we will be able to enjoy normal Sunday afternoon and evening activities.

I probably sounded like I was completely uninterested in what he had to say because, hey, I just got up! But Honey, if you're reading this (which you're most definitely not), I am excited. Very excited. And very thankful to the Lord for allowing our family to once again function normally on Sundays.

Thankful Thursday

We live in Indiana, which just so happens to be right in the middle of the midwest. And if you haven't heard, the midwest is experiencing some pretty cold temps right now. (I.e. Today's high is 2 degrees.) Now personally, I think we have nothing to complain about. Right now in Wisconsin (where my parents live), it's 21 degrees BELOW ZERO. 38 below if you count the windchill.

Do I like freezing cold temps like this? Ehhh, not particularly. But I figure if there's going to be snow on the ground, it might as well be cold. And if it's going to be cold, there might as well be snow on the ground. And at least we have both right now.

This week I am exceptionally thankful for our warm house. I know there are people living on the streets downtown, across the country, and especially internationally who do not have a place to warm up. There are people who do not get to have a hot cup of coffee in the morning to warm their insides or a space heater to warm their sock-dubbed feet.

I hope I raise my children to understand that we are SO blessed here in America and that we should never take these things for granted.

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm traveling. Ahhh, the beauty of scheduled posts. :) I'm very thankful to be driving up to see my parents this weekend and to be shooting my good friend Hannah's wedding on Saturday.

I'd also like to take this time to thank the Lord for His neverending goodness to me. I am a worthless sinner on my own, but through the redemption of the blood of Christ, God now sees me as holy and righteous. Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice!

Thankful Thursday

It seems like I've had more than one post about gas prices lately (which makes me feel a little bit like my dad), but I have to say that I am so very thankful that the gas prices are low right now. I know it means our economy is in pretty bad shape, but even still...it was been such a blessing to us. And especially since we'll be making a trip out of state next week! Our lowest price in town today is $1.31/gallon! WOO HOO!

I'm also very thankful that I get to go up to WI next week to visit with my family and friends. I also have the privilege of co-shooting my friend's wedding next weekend and I just KNOW it's going to be amazing. I'm so excited. I just love trips. :)

I Know It's Not Thursday, BUT.....

I'M BURSTING AT THE SEAMS!!!!

Today I am SO thankful. Some of you know that our mortgage company (along with the state of Indiana) completely messed up our taxes and we received a notice this past fall that our payment was skyrocketing from $700/month to $1200. We were stunned and confused. We could afford the payment, but just barely. And we knew it wasn't right, so I have been on the phone with them on and off for MONTHS, trying to make adjustments. We've been waiting and waiting for our tax statement (which normally comes in May) and last week it FINALLY arrived.

When I called today to see if our mortgage company was going to adjust our payment, the woman took one look at our loan and said "Wow, that makes a huge difference!"

Our payment dropped to $947! What a blessing! And if you don't think that's a big deal, let me just tell you....YOU'RE WRONG.

Oh, and one more thing....my husband just called to tell me that he's getting gas for $1.36/gallon. Whoop whoop!

I am so SO thankful! I praise you, Lord for your everlasting goodness to us!

Thankful Thursday

During this time of year, it's easy to get caught up in all the craziness of the holiday season. People are always bustling around, running errands, and trying to get everything done in time. Oftentimes we fail to stop and consider what we are thankful for - specifically what Christmas is really all about.

Today I received a short-but-sweet email from my husband at work that made me smile. I love the little things in life. And I'm so thankful for my husband.

Consider the small things in your life today. What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday AND Foto Friday!

Yep, I'm rollin' in all into one this week! As those of you who know me personally have probably observed, my 14-month old daughter has yet to show ANY interest whatsoever in the great human task known as...

Learning to Walk.

But alas! This morning when she woke up, my dear sweet Reagan immediately took to the floor on her hands and FEET! (not knees!) I consider this a giant step in the grand scheme of things and am proud to share with you a few images of her learning process:

She's QUITE proud.

I would also like to announce that my little Reagan is now the proud owner of not three, but FOUR pearly whites! (But sorry, there is no picture to accompany that.)

Thankful Thursday

This is from Chuck Colson’s Daily Breakpoint column.

The Day After
Pray for Our President and Our Nation

November 5, 2008

Whether you voted for Barack Obama or John McCain, whether you’re recovering from your all-night celebration or drying the tears from your pillow, today’s a good day to remember the words of the apostle Paul: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

And the new President will surely need our prayers because he and his administration face huge, serious challenges to the health of our nation and to peace in the world—challenges that, in my opinion, neither he nor any government on earth will have the power to overcome without divine aid.

How has America come to this point? Why is our economy on the brink of disaster? Why is our culture so utterly depraved?

I can only think of what Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said about the catastrophic consequences of the Russian revolution. “I recall,” he said, “hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia : Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.”

Solzhenitsyn was right. Indeed, I can’t find any better explanation for why we Americans find ourselves in the state we are in. We have forgotten God.

We have also forgotten that American democracy—indeed Western Civilization itself—is the product of the Judeo-Christian understanding of God and humanity. Without that revelation that man is created in the image of God, our founders never would have recognized the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, as I and others like Rodney Stark have argued, modern science and education, liberal democracy, capitalism flourished in Western civilization precisely because of the Judeo-Christian worldview.

The attacks on Christianity these days are only going to intensify in the months ahead. But we must press on all the more to make a winsome witness. Those who would banish Christianity from American life are risking the very survival of American society.

Friends have asked me whether this economic crisis is God’s judgment upon us. I don’t know.

As I’ve re-read the Old Testament prophets recently, I couldn’t help but notice the recurring theme: The people of God turned away from Him and worshipped false idols. The result was always disaster.

Is God responsible for credit markets collapsing around the world? No. We’re responsible. Because instead of worshiping God, we’ve worshipped false idols of the marketplace, credit card companies and cheap mortgages. We’ve put our own appetites over our duties to God and neighbor.

So this is no time for Christians to go into the bunkers. No time to wail or moan over our retirement plans. This is a time to repent, to pray more, to give more. It’s a time for Christians to lead, encourage, and minister to a faltering country in a faltering economy.

This is a time for the Church to get serious about Christian discipleship. Enough cheap grace.

So pray for the new President and his administration. But most of all, my brothers and sisters, this is a time to love our neighbors and to hunger for God and His righteousness.