I'm Blessed

It's Monday again, and that means another opportunity to share the reasons I am blessed in Gretchen's blessing party.  Today I am just thankful for a lot of the little things.  This past week, Michael really started smiling a lot more, along with his first attempts at cooing and giggling.  I LOVE those first toothless baby smiles, those sweet baby coos, and I really love those very first attempts at giggling when the sound involuntarily escapes from their tiny bodies in a way that almost startles them.  I love watching the way our four kids interact with one another (ok, not so much when they are arguing and fighting, but most of the time).  I love how the older two play and cooperate so well together (again, not ALWAYS, but a lot of the time).  I love how sweet they are to try to help and include Abby in their fun.  I love how they sweet and loving they all are with Michael, always wanting to hold him, talk to him, read to him and just spend time with him.

I am also thankful for autumn.  I love the colors.  I love the smells, especially coming from the oven as we do more baking.  And I love the cool, crisp weather that is still warm enough to go out and enjoy during the day, but cool enough in the evenings to encourage snuggling.  I also love harvest time.  (Ok, I don't so much love not seeing my husband for most of the day, but I do love to see the fruits of his hard labor being brought in.  I am also blessed to be living on the home farm now, so that we do have more opportunities to see him, such as when he comes in to grab some lunch- or dinner as it is known by most farm families.)  I am thankful for the beautiful weather that is making harvest much easier.  I love to see the kids' excitement at the possibility of getting a ride in the combine, the tractor or the grain trucks.  I love that they love their daddy and love to spend time with him, and I love that he loves them and wants to spend time with them.  And I love the quiet time together with my beloved when he comes in at the end of a long day of work, and the kids are asleep.  (Again, that perfect snuggling weather goes perfectly with quiet conversations and time simply spent being together.)

It really is true- the more you focus on your blessings, the more you realize how blessed you truly are.  The more I write, the more I realize how very blessed I really am.  I could go on and on about the blessings God has bestowed on our family, but I think we will stop here for now.  I have hungry children to feed (ok- I am very blessed to have food to feed them!) and I need to save room for next week. :)

I'm Blessed

A good friend of mine, Gretchen, started a wonderful thing several weeks ago.  It is called the "I'm Blessed" party and it happens every Monday.  Each Monday, she adds a post to her blog about reasons she is blessed.  The idea is to start every week by "counting your blessings".  I think that is an excellent idea.  Then people are invited to post their own "I'm Blessed" blog and link it to hers.  This is actually one of the reasons that I decided to start a blog in the first place.  I love the idea of recording the many ways I have been blessed, and the many reasons I have to be thankful.  Ok, I know that I missed the Monday deadline...by a few days...but again, better late than never.  I wanted to post one last week also, but these past 2 weeks have been rather crazy, so I decided that instead of waiting until next Monday and having three weeks worth of things to write about, I would just post mine a little late (and only write about 2 weeks worth!) :)  So, let's start with last week.  We spent Labor Day weekend the same way we have for the past few years- at a weekend-long get-together with my sisters-in-law and their families.  There is one tremendous blessing:  When I married Randy, I received 5 sisters as a bonus!  I truly love and appreciate them all and I am so thankful for them!  I am also thankful for the many cousins that our kids have and the ability to get together on at least a semi-regular basis.  I am thankful that they all enjoy playing well together.  We really had a wonderful time and I feel very blessed to have had that opportunity.  


The day after Labor Day, our son Timothy turned 7.  I feel so blessed to see the fabulous young man that he is becoming.  I love the fact that he loves farming with his dad, and soaks up every little detail of the work that the guys are doing.  He jumps at any chance to be out "helping" the guys.  I love to see how he puts that attention to detail to work in his engineering and creating.  He loves to work with his hands, creating amazing mechanical things with Legos, toy farming equipment and anything else he can get his hands on.  I also really love to see his tender heart.  He is so loving with his younger siblings and with animals, and he tries so hard to do the right thing.  His name means "honoring God" and I pray that his desire to do so only continues to grow.


Two days later, Randy and I celebrated our 10th anniversary!  It is hard to believe that it has already been 10 years!  Equally hard to believe is how much our lives have changed in that time.  We have moved twice (from the little apartment to a house in town, and then to the home farm), received the blessing of four children, and expanded the farming operation.  Of course, as with any marriage (or any life for that matter), we have faced challenges over the years.  It is through the trials, however, that our faith has grown as we held fast and turned our hearts toward God and clung ever tighter to His grasp.  It was through those same trials that we have grown closer to one another, stronger in our love and commitment to one another than the day we stood together at the altar.  I can say without hesitation that I love my husband more today than I did 10 years ago.  We have seen so much growth in ourselves, in our faith and in our family as a whole, and that is truly a blessing!


So, you may be wondering what we did to celebrate 10 years of marriage.  Sure, it would be fun to be able to say that we went to Hawaii or some other exotic location, or that we had a delightful, romantic getaway, just the two of us.  However, that is just not practical at this particular time in our lives.  With a newborn to feed and care for, even escaping for a romantic dinner can be challenging.  However, my beloved surprised me with something that means just as much, if not more, than a dinner date.  On Sunday, we packed up the kids and headed up to a spot that is quickly becoming a family favorite- Itasca State Park.  The last time we were there was 2 years ago, when Abby was just a baby.  We spent three nights in a beautiful log cabin, and spent our days exploring the headwaters of the Mississippi River and the gorgeous nature trails, and learning about the history of the Mississippi River, our beautiful state, and the logging industry.  Emma and Timothy had the joy of participating in the Junior Naturalist program, learning about nature while working toward earning a very exciting deer patch to put on a jacket or item of their choice.  I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful place and for protected areas like the state parks where we can simply soak up the beauty of God's creation.  I am blessed to have a husband who loves me and our children and is willing to make the time (even as we rapidly approach the busyness of harvest) to create memories that will last a lifetime.  Truly, I have been blessed beyond measure and my cup overflows.


Oops!  I just realized that I am a little bit too late to link this to Gretchen's "I'm Blessed" party for this week.  The good news is that I have a jump-start on next week. :)