Thankful Thursday - 203

First and foremost, I am thankful for an early Christmas miracle! My Oma DJ (BoBo Moma) injured (broke) her neck on Thanksgiving and was told she would have to wear a neck brace indefinitely. It was a major hit to her incredible independence, but she's been adjusting very well and we're always in awe of her positive attitude. Well yesterday Aunty Sonya took her to another doctor (a spinal surgeon) for a second opinion; he gave them the incredible news that this fracture in her vertebrae was actually a stable fracture, and she shouldn't be in the neck brace for more than 10 weeks. WHAT?! All of a sudden she went from her life changing dramatically forever, to likely going back to normal (or mostly normal) next month. I feel like it's even greater news given how she's taken to her new reality; it really is the most amazing gift. Dom will be wondering where her "necklace" went though :). 

This week, I am also thankful for...

1. Girls Night/Sign Painting. Last year our church's women's ministry hosted a sign-painting night. It was a major hit, and they decided to do it again this year with over 100 women in attendance (more than double last year). Crazy! I painted this "there's always something to be thankful for" sign, and we're hoping to make a gallery wall somewhere. After the sign painting, the Chickalettas who were there went to Browns for a drink and appetizer. I am so thankful for this village. They definitely kept me out late, and I may have slept through my alarm the next morning. Thank you David for letting me sleep in a bit!!

Didn't take any pictures at the event, but this is the sign I made! I thought it was very fitting, especially because of these weekly Thankful Thursday posts.

2. One-on-one time. Gramma invited Dominic over last Saturday to help her and Aunty Allana make some Christmas cookies. He was SO excited all week, and it sounds/looks/tastes like he had a really good time. There were two best parts of my day that day. One was the fact that I got to have one-on-one time with Emilia; a much too rare occurence. She played so nicely and happily and independently. It made my heart feel happy to see her be natural and not have to worry about the big one coming in to boss her around or wreck her play. I think we need to arrange time apart for those two more often. The other best part of my day was how proud Dom was to serve his cookies in the evening for dessert. He brought over the tray with the sweetest smile on his face and told us all about how he helped Gramma and Aunty Allana decorate them. 

I tried, but why is it so hard to wrangle a toddler and keep them still long enough for my mediocre phone camera to take a clear picture?! (Kidding). Here we are after making Dom's bed.

She pushed this baby and her puppy around in the buggy for a long time. Ugh. Adorable!

Yes, her onesie is unbuttoned and hanging out of the bottom of her sweater. She has opinions about things, and one of her odd needs is to have access to her belly-button at all times...

Off to Gramma's house!

Look at him watching those cookies like they're the most important thin in the world <3

3. The start of the Christmas season! Gift Giving is not my love language, so December is not significant to me for that reason, but Quality Time is my #2 love language, and December is ALL about that, so other than the weather being gross, it is one of my favorite months. My birthday is on the 11th, then there's all the cozy Christmas family and friend gatherings, and then Dom's birthday, and then the celebration of the new year! 

4. A visit with BoBo Moma. Last Friday morning I took the kids for a visit with Oma DJ. This visit was before the above-mentioned news, and I was so impressed with her attitude towards everything. Her nurse and aide came to change her neck brace while we were there and at first Dom was overly concerned with the new people; then he changed his tune to "BoBo Moma's friends fixing her necklace and her neck!" We had sandwiches, tea and cookies while we were there! The kids both behaved themselves, and Dom now pretended to load groceries into his toy buggy at home, and delivered them to BoBo Moma. Oma, although he plays coy when we're over, he clearly loves you and talks about you all the time! 

While we were there she also started trying to say BoBo Moma whlie she was in her room with the nurse. She peeked into the room and said, "Mooomma.... Momoa." Cuteness

5. Being out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone is one of being in control of a situation. Part of taking care of myself is learning to let this go sometimes. Between letting the kids play with Christmas decorations and the tree, to letting them play in these rice buckets, to trying my best not to pester/nag David about HIS work stuff (what's that even about?), to allowing Emilia to climb on furniture in precarious ways, to letting them run free around the neighborhood on our walk even though they're slow as a slug and erratic as a fruit fly, etc. etc. You get the idea. Every one of these things goes against my natural instincts, but I think it's better for them (and for me) in the long run for me to be able to just relax and let life happen. 

This really did go well for about 10-15 minutes. In the end, the yellow and blue rice were mixed. I dyed them like 9 months ago, and have been keeping them all separate because I couldn't bring myself to do it. Well... giving up control! 

This doesn't have much to do with control, but it's cute. At Gramma and Grandpa's the kids went to watch the end of the football game after dinner. Dom was on the couch and Emilia ran in, so Dom hopped off the couch, boosted her up on to the chair and went back to sit down. Little sweet moments like this warm a mother's heart.