A Good Weekend

It's 4 minutes until I normally go to bed and I'm just sitting down to write the blog- it hasn't been a super hectic day. We've spent most of our time running errands and playing with two very active almost two year olds. We haven't had too much on our plate this weekend; I haven't been grading, and Tony hasn't been knee deep in work or home improvements.

I'm sitting down late to do the blog because we've just been enjoying our time together this weekend. We've taken the kids out for ice cream, we stayed up late, we went to a friend's house to play, we Skyped with Mimi and Papa, and we laughed more this weekend than we have in a long time, we didn't feel stress or pressure or get caught up in all the things we should be doing- I even had a flat tire on Saturday in Fort Worth and that didn't put a damper on the weekend. It was just a good time- a good time with our little family.

This weekend has given me many different moments to pause and reflect and to be grateful for what we have. I've been keeping up with two mothers who have NICU stories that started similarly to ours, but have had different outcomes involving long term illness and fatal diseases for their children. This was a weekend where I sat in awe of the miracles that are sleeping in the room down the hall. I sat down and realized that it is only by God's grace that we have those two little ones and only by God's grace that they walked away from the NICU and grew and are healthy today.

Why does it take seeing someone else's struggle before we see how lucky we truly are?

This weekend I'm thankful that I got to witness Harper playing with her Little People and making noises as she drove the car back and forth. I'm thankful that I walked in on Jack sitting on his floor "reading" his books- not just flipping through and looking at the pictures, but actually talking and turning pages. I am thankful that my children giggled and squealed and ran to their dad for hugs and kisses and snuggled with me when I picked them up for bed. I am thankful that Jack has been yelling "Go Irish" all weekend and I get to see my husband laugh every time.

I am thankful Harper is expressing her free will and saying "no" to things- I know that when she's three I'll feel like this is nothing to be thankful for, but I know that it is- she understands things and that brain works faster than I can imagine. I am thankful Jack picks up on so many connections and will run and get his football when he sees football on TV or yell "Elmo!" when he spies Elmo on a box of cereal at the grocery store.

What would our lives be like without these two little ones?

I am so thankful that I don't know the answer to that question. People say that children make lives more complicated, but they would never trade it. I know that our lives are certainly more hectic, but it's God's grace that has given us this gift, and I pray that we will never forget all that we have. Even if it all comes crashing down tomorrow, I will know that we are the lucky ones because of weekends like this one and days like today. Even if tragedy strikes tomorrow, I will still say we are lucky because we had the opportunity to make memories, to show our love for each other, to watch Harper's eyes light up when she smiles, and to hear Jack belly laugh. Thank you, Lord, for all of our gifts that come from you- especially for our silly little family.