DAY SIXTEEN

I am thankful for my parents.

This past weekend we were at my parents house helping them finish out their newly remodeled kitchen. In the midst of their kitchen goodies, I found a card I had written my parents in college. The purpose of the card was to thank them for their love and support over the years. I went on to tell them that I was genuinely happy in life and that I wanted them to know I was happy and healthy thanks to their support and love. As I read the card I realized that it has been years since I told them how thankful I am that I was blessed with parents such as themselves. So, I thought today would be a perfect opportunity to be grateful for their role in my life.


From the time I was young, I never doubted their commitment and love for us girls. In fact, as I look back at our childhood I realize that they were probably too committed to us girls at times. They rarely went away just the two of them, we always went as a family. Birthdays were a special event at our home … complete with good morning balloon bouquets, special birthday breakfasts, and great presents, however their birthdays were always more low-key. They gave us all the fun and joy that they truly deserved. I am so thankful that they made such an effort to make our special occasions memorable.


I am thankful that my parents are still married. This year they will be celebrating 37 years together and while I know their marriage isn’t picture perfect, us girls always had the security of knowing they were committed to making it work. Holidays, birthdays, and even weekdays were spent together as a family unit and we were blessed to experience a life where we were all together.


I am thankful for their support all these years. Whether it was helping me campaign for state office in high school, or attending awards ceremonies at OU, I could always look out and see their proud, smiling faces. They have been so supportive of Jimmy and I as parents. My mom spent many nights with us so we could juggle Pearce’s ‘up all night’ episodes. My dad is always tinkering with something in his garage to bring a smile to Pearce’s face. And they are always just a phone call away if we need a night out or help during the week.


I am thankful that they still take care of us. When they come to visit, my laundry is always clean and folded by my sweet mom. My dishwasher miraculously empties itself, and the counters are always wiped down. And my dad always has his tools in tow just in case there is something he can do to take care of us. Whether it be walking us through ceiling fan installation, or adding more freon to our AC unit, dad is there taking care of his girls. And it’s not that he doesn’t trust his sons-in-law to do it themselves, he just loves to serve us in that way. And frankly, he is a mechanical genius so we have often been saved by his knowledge of all things mechanical.


No matter how great or how tough life has been, my parents are right there with me. And for that, I am thankful.

Lord thank you for blessing me with my parents. Thank you for the wisdom and guidance you instilled upon them as they raised us girls. I thank you for a loving relationship that has been built upon mutual respect for one another.

DAY FIFTEEN

I am thankful for the wisdom of those who came before us.

Sometimes I have no idea of what I am doing. When Jimmy and I first got married I could barely cook. I had little knowledge of how to get stains out of clothes, and I was learning to be a wife and meet my husbands needs. I needed direction and counsel on living life as a married woman. So I turned to the knowledge of others. Whether it be conversations with women I respect or time reading a book on these topics, I am so thankful for the insight they provided.

Life is tough and I do not believe we were created to go at it alone. No, the Lord has better plans for us. He has blessed me with many who provide Godly counsel in my life. I am also thankful for the direction and guidance scripture has offered us.

As we navigate our way through parenthood, we have relied on the wisdom of others often. I spent hours with friends and my mom as I learned how to nurse Pearce. The lactation consultants were programmed into my phone and I read every online article I could find. I specifically remember one day when Pearce was a few months old and I was having breakfast with a group of friends at someone's house. I nursed Pearce for about 15 minutes and he acted like he was done. I remember saying, "He can't be done. He usually nurses for 1.5 to 2 hours."  Screech.... The room came to a stop and my best gals were staring at me wide-eyed. After a brief run down of what is normal and what is not, I learned that sweet Pearce was using me as a pacifier. I was grateful for the guidance because frankly, I thought all little ones were hungry little bulldogs.

We are at a particularly difficult time right now with Pearce. He is two and is Mr. Independent. He is bossy, cranky, disobedient, and just plain crazy at times. But he is also so sweet and obedient at times. When the tantrums take hold, Jimmy and I often stare at each other as we try desperately to figure out which alien abducted our child this time. What is Meanie the Martian? Or Absurd the Alien? Or is this really our child, simply exerting his independence and need to grow?

I am thankful for the guidance of friends and family during this time. I am thankful for the Christian books we refer to when trying to exhibit Godly discipline. And I am thankful for scripture as a point of direction. Simply put, I am so thankful for those who share their wisdom and experiences with us. It makes me feel normal. The fears that I am royally screwing up our child are eased...and I find hope in knowing that millions of others have gone before us. (and lived to tell about it).

So today I am thankful for all of you who offer words of encouragement, advice, and wisdom with us. Thanks for speaking truth into our lives.

Lord, thank you for surrounding us with loving friends and family as we raise Pearce. I pray for continued direction and guidance in raising him to be a boy after Your Own Heart.

DAY FOURTEEN

I am thankful for the ability to work.

Today Emily and I worked our tails off to help my mom organize and decorate their newly remodeled kitchen. We worked for close to 12 hours straight. Having said that, I am tired and need to keep this gratefulness post short.

 I am thankful that I have the physical ability to work. I often complain after an exhausting effort or particularly hard day but I am so grateful that I can work. Not everyone is so lucky. I feel blessed that I have both legs, my arms, and my mind to work hard.

Lord, thank you for giving me a strong body and health that allows me to work hard.

DAY THIRTEEN

I am thankful for the change of seasons.

I love that we live in a place where I get to experience the change of seasons. There is something sort of exciting about a change in temperature, landscape, and time of year. I am often giddy with anticipation as I wait for the change to come.

I am thankful for winter. I love the way cold weather arrives so crisply to our town. One day I am in a light jacket, and the next I need a scarf and coat. I love the smell of winter. Fresh burning fireplaces and cold air from the south are the scents I look to announce winter's arrival. Winter also symbolizes the upcoming holiday season. Christmas's decor is suddenly everywhere and football games feel the way the should. The scent of warm chili fills our home and Nestle hot chocolate makes its way from the back of our pantry.

But after a few months of staying indoors, we are ready for spring. I love the way the trees bloom in our yard. Thunderstorms roll up to our doorstep and nourish the new life around us. Spring means we get to play outside again and hot cocoa is replaced by warm tea. It represents the preview to summer break and kiddos are giddy with "schools out" excitement. Easter is around the corner and the ever important task of finding an Easter outfit begins. I am thankful for the cool, yet sun-warmed days that spring brings.

I am thankful that we get to relish in summer.  Family cookouts and trips to the snow cone stand are frequent in summer. A bowl of ice cream after dinner is totally acceptable and a large glass of ice water quenches at its best during summer. Trips to the pool and kiddos smelling of sunscreen are everywhere you look. And let's not forget how thankful I am to wear flip flops in the summer. I love my Rainbow flip flops and in summer, I wear them every single day. And I make no apologies because it is summer.

I am thankful for fall. I will never understand how the trees change so beautifully in the fall. I like to find the unique colors that only trees can produce. I love the cool, fall breeze and evenings in our driveway while Pearce rides his tricycle. I am thankful for football games with the family and taco soup on a cool evening.I am thankful for the joy that Christmas season brings.  

Lord, thank you for the change in seasons. Thank you for the unique beauty each new season brings and for the little things we look forward to with each change.

DAY TWELVE

I am thankful for my sisters.

Someone once said, "There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me. "

And for me, this quote is a perfect way to describe how I feel about Beth and Emily. They bring such comfort. They bring familiarity. And they bring joy to my heart.

Like many sisters, we didn't always get along. I remember times when Beth and I would get into pinching matches as we fought over Barbies. Emily was the sweet curious one who always wanted to be included, and I often shut my bedroom door to keep her out. And I can certainly remember times when they would join forces as the oldest and youngest, with the pure intent of making my middle sister life miserable. But there is a sweet understanding with sisters. Despite all the crazy and mean things we did to each other in our youth, we grew up. We forgot. We forgave. And we forged an unbreakable bond.

I am thankful for Beth. From the time we were young, she is the maternal one. She is so sensitive to our feelings and allows her heart to hurt right along with you. There are many times when Beth took care of me in our young adult years. I remember one night in college when I was stressed and crying about an accounting test I had the next day. Beth insisted I leave the Kappa house and come stay with her. When I arrived, she had a bubble bath ready for me and encouraged me through my studying. That is so Beth. She was in the delivery room the day Pearce was born and cheered me on as I worked through the most important, yet exhausting thing I had ever done. She loved on Pearce in the wee hours of the morning so I could get some much needed sleep. And she is always ready to help in any way she can. She has always taken care of me.

I am thankful for Emily. At some point during our adolescence, Emily went from the sweet and unsure youngest sister to the disciplined, wise one after God's own heart. She is the one who speaks truth in my life, especially when I don't want to hear it. And she is loyal. After our first miscarriage, Emily was on summer break from her teaching in Texas. She came and stayed a week with us to care for Pearce, and to provide love and laughter during a difficult time. That meant more to Jimmy and me than we could ever express.  She genuine in her celebrations and compliments and can boost my mood or self esteem with a simple word of encouragement. And Emily is wonderful with Pearce. I often call her for teacher advice on how to redirect Pearce or respond to some new phase we encounter. She has always been an encouragement .

I am thankful for the fun we have together. We could be in the middle of a 12 hour session of watching paint dry, and have the time of our lives. They make everything better. We are often the loud family at restaurants that laughs so obnoxiously loud, we turn heads. And we totally don't care. Because we are having a fabulous time and would be happy to welcome anyone who wanted to join in our odd and often inappropriate humor. Our husbands are still trying to figure out what it means to be a man in the "Watkins" side of the family. Bless their hearts, all three of our husbands grew up with one brother. You can imagine their whiplash and shock in marrying into our crew.

But I love it. I wouldn't change one thing about our relationship. Okay, maybe one: I wish we all lived down the street from each other so our kiddos could grow up and love one another the way we love each other.

Lord, thank you for the love You have shown me through my sisters. Thank you for blessing our relationship with love, laughter, and genuine friendship. We are truly blessed to have each other.

DAY ELEVEN

I am thankful for grace.

"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Hebrews 4:16 

 

I use the word grace quite a bit in my day to day activities, yet if someone asked me to define grace, I would probably stumble around it similar to the way I do when I try to convince myself that I can name all the NFL teams. It ain't happening with 100% certainty.  So I looked it up and here is what I found:

Definition of GRACE :
a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
b : a virtue coming from God
c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
 
The word that totally caught my eye was the word "unmerited" because that is how I can relate to grace. I am unworthy, yet His cup overflows. I struggle with the concept of grace quite a bit. I am often grappling with the reality that I have been forgiven, yet I am unworthy. In fact, I sometimes wonder, "can my heart get so bad that my salvation is lost?". And the answer is no, because frankly, my heart wasn't worthy to begin with...not to mention the fact that my efforts to constantly be found worthy completely undermine the purpose of grace. So today rather than worry about my worthiness of grace, I choose to be thankful.
 
I am so thankful for God's grace in my life. I have been hateful, hurtful, judgemental, selfish, angry, ungrateful, doubting, controlling, and the list could go on and on. To put it in one word: I am broken.
 
But I am forgiven.
 
And it is grace that makes me whole again. I cannot earn it, I cannot control it, and I cannot eliminate it from my life. (Thank goodness for that because I have a tendency to do a pretty lousy job of deserving the grace that is so freely given.) I would like to say that I never take grace for granted, but honestly? I do sometimes. And for that I am sorry.
 
I am so thankful that we have the promise of grace. While it doesn't give me a green light to do whatever I want, it certainly gives me hope and peace to know that our God loves us despite our faults and sinful hearts. It gives me courage during difficult times. Life has been tough but God's grace has been enough. What an awesome promise.
 
Lord, thank you for grace. Whether it is through your forgiveness of our sins or providing grace and mercy during tough times, You are always good. Thank you for loving my unlovable heart.

DAY TEN

I am thankful for cameras.

The Christmas pic that rocked the world.

This weekend Jimmy and I watched Toy Story 3 with Pearce. We didn’t get to finish the movie with him as he is like most two year olds: distracted. So after Little Britches went to bed, we decided to watch the rest. And you know what? We both cried.

We were so touched by the end scenes when Andy is going off to college and his mom hugs him, and says, “…I wish I could always be with you.” Because that is totally how we feel about Pearce. We are enamored with this little kid and my heart physically aches at the thought of Pearce going off to kindergarten, high school, and then college. I wish I could always be with Pearce. I feel like we simply blinked, and he grew right before our eyes. While I try my best to document and remember the charming things Pearce says, I know these things will not stay with me forever. And that’s okay… because some day we will be able to look back on the precious memories of raising our boy. And while we may not remember every specific detail about every single cute incident, we will remember the feelings those incidents provoked.

My first time holding Pearce.

And for many of those memorable times, we will have pictures to smile at. What a blessing.

Pearce's first snow.

 

I am so thankful that we live in a time when taking pictures of our families is so easy. I have a tendency to leave my camera on our kitchen counter - just in case. Just in case Pearce does something I cannot afford to forget, in case he smiles his perfect little “I know something you don’t know” smile, and in case I am given the opportunity to capture a moment in this crazy thing we call ‘life’. I often forget how lucky I am to have a great camera at my fingertips.

I will never forget how happy he was here!

So I can remember his outstanding "bed head".

We have thousands of pictures and those images are more than just pictures to us. They are moments of our life together … documented in a crazy and mis-matched sort of manner. I love that. I look at our pictures often and they always bring a smile to my face. I can close my eyes and drift back to the moment those images were taken. Often times, I swear it almost feels as though I am traveling back in time and I never wanna leave.



Reading his Bible with a potty on his head.

 I don’t have a perfect album. I don’t have scrapbooks. And I don’t have a detailed journal of all the wonderful things Pearce says and does. But I have pictures. And I am so grateful.

His sweet smile.

Lord, thank you for your creativity and for blessing the minds of those who created cameras and film. Thank you for all the wonderful moments we try desperately to capture. You are so good.