Grateful = Hard

 I just finished a book that had been on my shelf for about a year on being grateful! It had me thinking and evaluating my own heart which by nature seems to be one that is pessimistic and looks at the glass half empty rather than half full. Ugh!! I have found myself grumbling about the weather around here lately. I'm not a lover of the cold! God is in the process of helping me find what I can be thankful for...like even though it's bitterly cold today the sun is shining which brings my heart great joy! I have so far to grow but am hopeful that He will transform my thinking and perspective!

I admit I had a hard week not whining about being at the doctor's office several times this week! Sweet Ava has had a time getting rid of a nasty cold/sinus junk which has led to double ear infections for the second time this month. Anybody else have more snot at their house than they care to see?? Hudson thankfully had a vision and hearing screening and both found some issues....a mild hearing loss due to fluid on both ears that more than likely will be corrected and a need for glasses! Oh my...at 22 months! We've been practicing around here:) Don't worry the real ones aren't neon green with a unibrow!

I am thankful for Coop playing basketball this year! It's a first for him and he is loving it! He had his first game today:) It is comical at times and fun to watch them all learning! I think this might be a sport he sticks with? Matt is his assistant coach and they are doing a great job making it fun but yet instructional! This has been a great outlet for the winter blues!!

Can it be??

Can it really be that we have had 4 full nights of sleep in a row??? I am loving this!!! Thank you for praying for us!! After jet lag seemed to be over for Matt and I Hudson continued to have a hard time sleeping. Some one said it may take a child up to 3 weeks for them to get over jet lag - wow!! I think part of it for him has been jet lag but also just needing to feel safe and secure after so so much change in the past month for him.

Let's see...these are a few of the things we've done since being home and I can only imagine how Hudson is experiencing some of this craziness:)

We celebrated Christmas here in Xenia! I love the tradition of going to our church on Christmas Eve and worshipping Jesus together! We made a day trip over to Indiana to my parents and Hudson met his aunt and uncle and cousins and great-grandma! The kids had so much fun...Hudson was literally asleep the moment we put him in the carseat to drive home.

We celebrated more when Matt's family from Illinois came for a visit. Hudson met another great-grandparent, Matt's grandpa and his Nana and Papa and aunt and uncle and cousins!! We had so much fun, Hudson did great and Ava and Coop were very very sad to see them all leave.

We played and played and played and played some more! It's so exciting watching Hudson explore and learn whether it's the freshly fallen snow, a toy dinosaur that moves and makes noises or learning new words like "bye-bye" and "night-night" and "more" and "please."

 
There was also a very big birthday celebrated in our family! Ava turned 7 years old on December 23rd! Where has the time gone?? I remember that day so vividly in my mind meeting this baby that we had prayed for for what seemed like so long. She is a precious gift to me and it was a delight to celebrate her! She has a sweet tender heart and has grown leaps in having courage this year. I'm a proud momma! She really wanted a Build A Bear party this year so that seemed to make so much sense to me...let's see...I don't have to plan anything(it sneaks up on me every year), lead any game, entertain anyone, put together any goodie bag:) It was a big win for her and me as well. The kids had fun together and all went home with a cute fuzzy bear.

Hudson had a ball going from one side of the store to the other picking cute things off the shelves and putting them on another shelf....Matt was a busy dad following and retracing his little footsteps!