Grateful for...Z

The Lime thinks he can play any game he wants but we've had to change the rules for Monopoly to adjust to his skill level.  I'm thinking about getting Operation and see how he does with that.

But one game he can play, and enjoys, is Zingo.  He gets so into it that he plays with two board games, and one always has to have a bat.  Whenever someone wins, we yell, "Zingo!!!!"

Zingo is an easy game for him to understand and he's beat us several times.  If only he had a better understanding of losing and how we act when we lose.

Grateful for...Y

Yesterday was a good day.  My brother spent the night Saturday night so he was with us all day, which The Lime absolutely loved.  Another guy to "muscle" with?  Yes!  He was in heaven.

My other brother and his family, my sister and her family, and our parents also came over yesterday for dinner.  We had seven kiddos running around and I found out my six year old nephew and The Lime are twins at heart.  They both got dressed up and were ready to battle the bad guys.  My niece drew me a darling picture that now hangs on our refrigerator.  The guys spent some time in the garage, huddled around my dad's Mustang while the ladies were warm and toasty inside.  I went out to check on them and my heart was warmed.  I really wish we all lived closer.

But the highlight of yesterday was when my brother-in-law blessed my newest niece in our family room.  It's not that they chose to do it at our home, we just happened to have dinner here but the fact that they didn't object to doing it in our home gave me the warm fuzzies.  It was nice to have a more personal, intimate setting and we were able to include my sister and her family via Skype.  I think this is only the second baby blessing, out of sixteen, that everyone was able to participate.

Yesterday was right up there with Christmas...I just didn't want it to end.

Grateful for...X

Prior to getting married, I remember driving out to LaVor's house with him one night, after getting into an argument with my dad.  I can't remember what it was about but I do remember being really upset.  As we drove along the freeway, listening to Coldplay's X&Y album, "Fix You" came on and I thought about the story behind the song.

Knowing that it was written for Gwyneth after her father passed away, and I was listening to it after an argument with my dad, made me bawl like a baby.  I still cry whenever I hear it.  In fact, it might be my favorite song on X&Y.

And that says a lot because I really love every song on that album.  And hearing them live was even better.

When LaVor and I broke up, "The Scientist" came out on A Rush of Blood to the Head. I loved the song but it reminded me of such a sad time. We don't have a "song" but I can't help but think of our outcome when I listen to "Kingdom Come" on X&Y.

This album is one of those that you can listen to and not have to skip through any tracks.  It has definitely become one of my favorites.

Grateful for...W

The Lime wets his bed at least once a week. He woke up the other night and tried to climb into our bed but I told him there wasn't enough room and that I'd sleep on his floor with him. When I walked into his room, his Pull-Up was on the floor, full, but he had another one on. I asked him if he peed in his bed and he had. He changed his Pull-Up by himself and wanted to sleep in our bed because his was wet.

I have never been more grateful for a washing machine as I have been since The Lime joined our family. I washed onesies, bibs, burp cloths, and blankets daily when he was a baby. Now I get to wash soiled sheets in the middle of the night. I'm so appreciative when all I have to do is throw the laundry in the washing machine and turn it on. I don't need to transport large loads to and from our house to a Laundromat. I don't need to build strong muscles as I wash them by hand. Although I've always thought washboards were sort of neat.

Washing machines are a modern day convenience that I treasure and value and never want to be without.

Grateful for...V

It was February 2008 that I last saw my brother and his family. Since then, he's added two more kids to his family and The Lime joined ours. Today was the first day of their vacation up in our neck of the woods and we got to visit with them at dinner.

I love visitors, and especially love when we're so excited to see each other. My nieces and nephews couldn't be any cuter and The Lime took an instant liking to them. My brother and I shared a long embrace when we first saw each other. He's not just a visitor but will always be my big brother.

Speaking of siblings, I was on the phone with my sister this morning when The Lime said he wanted to play with his cousin. Amy graciously welcomed us in her home for most of the day, as we snuggled her newborn baby and the two kiddos played everything under the sun. Then her hubby came home from work and we chatted over dinner. Sometimes it's nice to be the visitor, too.

We'll have an extra special visitor tomorrow and I can hardly wait!!

We have a sign in our house that says, "We love having you here!" and it's so true. I'm grateful for the times we can open our home to visitors, whether it's for a quick visit or a weekend vacation.

Grateful for...U

We've had a giveaway pile in the garage since we moved in. It's only taken me almost 8 months to take the box to Deseret Industries. The original box was overflowing so I had to put some items in a garbage bag. One of those items was an umbrella we bought in Bussum, that we haven't used since.

When we were in the Netherlands, we made a visit to the town of Bussum where LaVor's dad and his family lived. We brought my umbrella with us but weren't sure we would need it. The sky was cloudy all morning but we were blessed with no precipitation. That is, until we were on our way back to the train station. We tried to seek cover under my umbrella but we were both getting soaked. LaVor opted to brave the rain until we could find a store to purchase another umbrella. Unfortunately, Mondays are the days where most stores are closed and poor LaVor was now drenched. To brighten our spirits, we stopped at a bakery (one of the few shops that was open) to pick up some sweet treats. As we were approaching the train station, we were blessed to find a store (similar to Target, just not as big) that was open and had umbrellas! Although we spent the rest of the day in damp clothes, we now had an extra umbrella so we wouldn't have to face the same ordeal again.

Soaked, eating our treats while we wait for the train

We were lucky to receive two days of rain this week, one of which was yesterday, the day we went to D.I.. I couldn't find my umbrella before we left the house and it dawned on me as I was driving, that I had the Bussum umbrella in the bag behind me. So when I pulled into the unloading zone, I slyly dug the umbrella out of the bag and tucked it in the console. Just like our trip, it came to the rescue even though I ended up not needing it but I've now given it a second chance at life. At least until I find my umbrella.

Grateful for...T

We bought a box of firewood at OSH a few weeks ago but ran out last week (it wasn't very much).  I had mentioned to LaVor that my dad had trimmed my Grandma's trees a while back and still had all the wood, and he said we could take whatever we wanted.  So we planned for Monday night to be our pick-up day.  LaVor met us there, with his huge work truck, and despite a small delay, we got things rolling.

The Lime was ready to get to work.  He had on his work boots, goggles, hard hat, gloves, and even his gas mask.  Since LaVor had just come from work, he was in his bright orange coveralls.  When we got back home, The Lime insisted on putting his red racing jumpsuit on so he would look like Daddy.

My dad and LaVor cut the wood and fixed the chainsaw a couple of times while The Lime and I were in charge of stacking the wood in the back of LaVor's truck.

I couldn't help but think of a similar situation, about twenty years ago, when my dad had a TON of firewood delivered and us kids were in charge of stacking it in the backyard.  We were horrible complainers and I'm pretty sure that made the situation 10x worse than it needed to be.  I know I was definitely lacking in the teamwork department.

Monday night proved that I've grown up a bit and that our little family thrives when it comes to teamwork.  Nobody complained, everyone pulled their weight, and we got the job done in no time.  Especially when we were unloading the wood, The Lime totally impressed me.  He had a little wagon that he threw wood into and rolled it to the backyard where he stacked his pile with the larger pile next to the house.  I think he was actually having a lot of fun.

I've gotta say, I'm not too surprised that we work great as a team.  I thought about the times LaVor helped me with my wedding cakes and accomplished things I couldn't figure out.  Or when we've put up Christmas lights or cleaned out the garage.  Or when we've gotten lost in foreign cities and had to maneuver our way out of sketchy areas.

Teamwork is what helped us accomplish all of those things, and so many more. I feel extremely blessed for the little team we have and for the opportunities we have to work together.