Thankful Thursday

     The  Lord has really blessed my little family lately. Our cup truly runneth over! Sometimes it is easy for me to get in a slump and feel sorry for myself, but the Lord has been showing me how to look at things through a thankful perspective these days. I wanted to record a few things that I am thankful for. Some are serious and others might just be silly ;)

1.  God’s Provisions:   At the beginning of my maternity leave I knew that taking 12 whole weeks off of work would be kind of tight on our checkbook. Daniel and I discussed it and knew that money might be a little tight, but that time with Caleb would ultimately be the best “bang for my buck”. I only had 7 weeks of paid time off and I could not see myself going back after only 7 short weeks. Well this is where the Lord has totally provided for us. Daniel and I decided to refinance our house around November. It took several months to get everything finalized. I don’t really understand all the details, but since we switched mortgage companies we ended up not having a house payment for two full months (April & May). WOW, GOD is great!
2. Friends & Family: Daniel and I have been amazed at how our family and friends have been so supportive and wonderful to our family during this new adventure. We were overjoyed by how many texts, calls, dinners,  and visits we had after Caleb was born. I think we counted more than 80 people came to see Caleb in the hospital in one day! WOW! I didn’t have to cook dinner for 3 whole weeks after Caleb was born--- that was extremely nice! I almost forgot how to cook! God has blessed us with some great people in our lives!
   
3. Mom Friends:  Having a baby has been such a wonderful experience but I have never felt so clueless in my life. Sure, I babysat and helped with babies my whole life. That is nothing like taking a newborn home from the hospital and being completely responsible for them. I have had a wonderful support system of mom friends. I feel like everyday I am either  “Googling” or texting a friend a question or concern. What would I do without these wonderful moms in my life?? Here are a few random facts I have learned: a) to get their umbilical cord off you have to be rough (eek), b) breastfed babies have poopy diapers that look like mustard and sesame seeds (ha), and c) little boys will PEE every time cold air gets on their pee-pee (stand gaurd).
4. Baby smiles & cooes: Caleb is full of smiles and cooes these days. They can cheer me up in a second. Most mornings Caleb fusses to get out of bed and the instant I pick him up--- he is full of smiles and baby noises. It sure makes this mommy happy! He especially loves to hear laughs and high pitch noises. We like to say "ohh" and "igood" to get him to talk to us.
   
   
5. SLEEP: Caleb has started to sleep in longer stretches at night (around 6-7 hours). That does this momma some GOOD!!!!  I am so thankful for these long stretches of sleep!! 
   
6. Frozen milk: Pumping is NOT MY FAVORITE, but I am so thankful that I have extra milk that I can store for when I go back to work in 2 1/2 weeks. So far I have over 45 frozen bags of 5 oz of milk. WOOHOO! I am so thankful for my small stockpile and I think Caleb will be too!
   
7.  TIME: I am so thankful to have 2 1/2 weeks left with my little man. Going back to work is going to be tough on this momma, but I am trying to be positive and enjoy every minute I have left with my little man. I miss my sweet kindergarten students and know that our last few weeks of school are going to be great! 
8. Sweat free dinners- I am so thankful that my wonderful husband has stepped up and cooked dinner SO many nights. By about 6:00 PM this momma is exhausted. If Caleb wants to cluster feed, I have a hard time trying to cook dinner. My husband has been so awesome and has cooked us lots of delicious dinners!!! I am so thankful for my baby daddy!  
   
9. Poppy Diapers- I am thankful for tummy free nights :)