Thankful Thursday

Yesterday was my sweet little Daisy’s 2nd birthday. It’s so hard for me to believe that it’s been 2 whole years since God brought her into our lives! She has been an even bigger blessing and source of joy than we could have ever imagined, and it just fills my heart to see the happiness and love she has brought to our family!

God has once again really blessed us this week.

First, the ABCs of Gratitude:

• Kids – I love kids, especially (but not only) my own. All I ever wanted to grow up to be was a wife and stay at home mommy, and thanks to God and my precious husband, I’m finally living out that dream!
• Kisses – from Nick, from Morgan, from Daisy, and still from my mom and dad!
• Kink – No, there’s not a whole lot of it going on these days, but I certainly still have an active fantasy life, and I look forward to the day when we have a bit of time to get back to it in real life!
• Kittens – we actually can’t have one because Nick’s allergic, but I’m thankful for the one his sister R got for her birthday last month. She and her husband have lost two dogs in the last year, one to illness and one to accident. R was absolutely devastated by both deaths, and I’m so glad to see her with a sweet pet she can cuddle again.

Recent Blessings:

• Remember the electric bill we didn’t have the money to pay last week? God brought the money for it in right on time! My parents gave me $100 for my birthday, and Nick was also able to haul off some more scrap metal from my papaw’s property, and his part of the profit paid the rest of it!
• About a week ago Morgan injured her toe while she was playing outside. By Sunday it was still very painful, so we decided to take her in to the doctor. She’d also been complaining about some headaches and dizziness recently. Now she can be a bit of a drama queen, and none of this had hampered her desire to play outside with her friends any, but the combo of the toe, the headaches, and the dizziness all together concerned us, so I got her in on Monday. Now I didn’t have the money for either gas or a co-pay, so I called my parents to ask if they would care to let me borrow $30 to cover both if no other money came in in the next couple of days. They not only agreed, but they insisted on giving me $50 flat out and having me buy me and the girls lunch too while we were out.
• The doctor’s visit went very well. The toe was just bruised, not broken. And the culprit for both the headaches and the dizziness was Morgan’s tendency to not wear her glasses if she could get away with it.
• We had another bill that had to be paid by yesterday to avoid a late fee, and Nick was also very low on gas. Tuesday he made $110 from another junk car haul. With that we paid the bill and got him gas, and had a little left over to go toward the rest of the week.
• Last Saturday we had our family fall birthday gathering, and I got some really neat gifts! Nick’s sister R and her husband got me some ribbon (they know me so well!) and a travel cup like this one (except mine has pretty pastel flowers all over it).

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t leave the house without a drink, so I love it! Nick’s grandparents got me a bottle of Bath and Body Works lotion and a ring that looks like this:

Nick’s cousin A has the same birthday as Daisy, and she made me a delicious loaf of zucchini bread on a cute little loaf plate. Nick’s parents got me a divided organizer box for some of my craft supplies, a medium storage tote for some of my fabric, and a set of metal punch stamps for jewelry stamping (something I had asked for). Nick’s aunt and uncle got me a very pretty pair of earrings. Daisy got a number of neat gifts as well, and everyone loved the gifts I got them (all handmade except for a book for Nick’s papaw and a journal for my brother).

• This is a small thing, but still pretty neat. At the dealership Nick works at, a lot of times they will get in a used car that comes with a first aid kit. They have a certified used car program, and if they certify a used car, the first aid kit has to be replaced if it’s been opened at all, even if nothing has been used. The old kits just get tossed. Yesterday Nick came home with about six discarded first aid kits, full of the kinds of things we tend to constantly be out of (band-aids, gauze, tape, etc). Yay freebies!
• Tonight my parents had me, Nick, and the girls out for dinner, cake, and ice cream to celebrate Daisy’s birthday. It was a  sweet time with family, and nice to not have to cook dinner!

Baby update:

Week 23 of Pregnancy: Fetal Weight Gain

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, your baby is the size and shape of a small doll. You've probably heard your developing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times, but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heart throb!

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, your baby is the size and shape of a small doll when you are 23 weeks pregnant. (But then, you already knew that you were carrying a living doll, didn't you?) This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and you may feel as though yours is too).
You have probably heard your developing baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already (though you never get tired of hearing it), but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heart throb! 
Your baby's skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (remember, the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from his or her little body at this point. That's because the skin grows faster than the fat develops during fetal growth. But don't worry.  By the time your baby is born, he or she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — from chubby cheeks to chubby toes.

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