Gratitude Friday...

Well, y'all.  Things have been a little hectic around these parts.  Mostly, we've just been doing normal stuff.  At least the kids have.  And by "normal," that means fighting over the same random objects, pushing each other and spending a good deal of time on the naughty dog.  

So I've been prompted to Referee.  

In the midst of that, Rhys dropped down to an hour nap.  Let me tell you how very little gets accomplished in a mere 60 minutes.  Most days I have to make the life or death choice of EITHER making dinner OR taking a shower.  There is no choice of whether or not I will each some form of a snack.  That is a given.  

Most days I am completely exhausted and have almost zero functioning brain cells with which to write.  

Sorry.

A little update on the kids.  Rhys is SOMEHOW 20 months old.  Although by now, that's 20.5 months old.  How do they grow so fast?  One day, he's my baby and the next, he's a little boy.  With no baby in sight.  

Really, we should call him Tinker Rhys.  The Evans' family is full of stories about Granddaddy Evans' and his love of tinkering.  He passed that on to Buddy and Buddy passed that down to Chris.  But evidently, it's genetic.  Of course, he's also got Puddin's genes and well, the engineer admitted he also used to tinker as a kid.  

Thus we have an entire playroom of toys and Rhys only wants to play with small appliances and kitchen utensils.  

It would be cute.  Except it's not.  

Puddin' encouraged me to let him be.  He'll turn out just fine and heck, maybe be an engineer.  That's cool and all but I'm gonna need to start a "Replacement Fund" for all the stuff in my kitchen.  Happily accepting donations.

Aubrey Kate is seventeen days away from being officially four.  She's inviting everyone she meets to her birthday party.  Random kid at the park?  Invited.  New kid at the gym "kid's park?"  Invited.  School friend we specifically did not invite because she'll have a party at school with her class?  Invited.

Sometimes, her introverted-ness is forgotten.  Kinda like her manners.  As an example, when she decides to chew her fruit snacks with her mouth open.  Cause she has seriously never done that before.

We are obsessed with letters and phonics and spelling.  She sounds out everything.  And wants us to list every word that starts with the letter she's focused on for that minute.  B...b...b...b...BEE!  B...b...b...BIBLE!  B...b...b...BELLY!  

Oh how I dislike "C" and "K."  

She's coloring in the lines now.  Drawing stick figures.  Cutting straight lines.  With right handed scissors.  Singing "Let It Go" and twirling around ALL.THE.TIME.  

Her life is filled with tutu's and teaching her animals in her kindergarten class and coloring rainbows.  

Mostly, she's living the high life of a four year old.  

And, I think, she gets prettier and prettier every day.

Chris' schedule has been downright blissful the last couple of weeks.  He's been home on Saturdays and most nights of the week.  Sometimes, I forget how much I like him.  It's hard to reconnect when you only see someone on day a week.  But this has been just plain nice.  I hear we have until the end of April and then he disappears into the dark night again.  

Because marching band starts in May.

I'm still wrestling with the restlessness.  But God has filled my life up...UP...with people to pray with and walk alongside through some rough stuff.  I always pray for infertile women to help.  No use having all this infertility knowledge and empathy if I can't use it.  The last precious friend He sent is scheduled to deliver her TWINS on April 7th.  Last Sunday, I got a FB message from another friend connecting me with a sweet girl who just needs an ear to listen.  Never ceases to amaze me how my Father times all of this together.  

So in all that, I would have to say, simply, I am grateful for Christ.  Not for the stuff and people He's given but just for Him.  Living in this world of broken kitchen tools, missing parts to the food processor, whether it's warm enough for summer dresses and flip flops, it's sometimes easy to be grateful for the gifts and forget to be grateful for the Giver.  

What's going on in your life?  Anyone wanna share?