2011 Attitude

I know I've said this before, but I really am determined to update my blog more often. I was frustrated for a while that it seemed like it was a lot of work for no reason and FaceBook is SO much easier, but I had a friend that inspired me to use my blog as a journal/self-discovery adventure. So I finally decided that I would take advantage of my free time today and bring my blog up to date. I love the snow and I'm grateful that we got off work early today.
First, I've gotta brag on my sweet children. I'm so blessed and I really do appreciate my little family. My husband is awesome and my children are very sweet, most of the time. It's so fun to watch each of their personalities develop and for them to test themselves and figure out exactly what they can do on their own.
For example, we put Kaleaha in Gymnastics 2 years ago this month. For the first few months she did very well and was keeping up with the other girls in her class, then she just started to excel. It was like she had really found her niche. She's so fun to watch.
Last summer she was invited to be on a beginning competition team. They started training in June and didn't have their first meet until December. She was starting to get frustrated with the team and expressed several times that she wanted to quit. I didn't want her to start out her very first team sport with a negative experience. I was talking with one of the other gym mom's during one of the girls exhibitions and she brought up a couple of points that made me see the experience from Kaleaha's eyes. So Ron and I talked with Kaleaha and decided to re-evaluate Gymnastics after the first meet.
When we went to the Santa Invitational in Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, she was in awe. It was exciting to watch her light up when she walked in and saw the equipment set up and suddenly you could see that it was all "for real". She wasn't nervous and performed really well.
We were so proud of her and she ended up scoring first place on the beam and 2nd place All Around. Needless to say, she's all about Gymnastics these days with no thought of quitting. I hope it's something that she stays with for a long time, she's really fun to watch.
Krennan is such a sweet, cuddly little monster! He is always into something and thinks that he's as big as everybody else. He's crazy about Kaleaha (calls her e-uh) and follows her around anytime that she'll let him. He's super cuddly and we laughingly call him Grinnin' Krennan! He's also headstrong, stubborn and always insists on getting his own way. He's a total mess! He's mostly a Momma's boy, but loves his Daddy too.
He doesn't say tons of words, but has no problem getting his point across. If for some reason you don't understand what he's saying, he'll eventually come and get your hand and lead you over to it. I can't wait until he decides what he's interested in and watch him grow and learn.
Lastly for today, I'm grateful for so many things.
I try every day to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I know that He knows the feelings in my heart, but I've decided to take this year and more openly express gratitude to the people in my life. I have so many that I've been blessed with.
My husband is wonderful, he's a wonderful father and supports me in everything that I do. I know I don't tell him as often as I should how much I appreciate him. My children know that I love them, but I hope they always know how grateful I am that they are mine for eternity. I hope that I can show them by example how to treat others and be a servant for the Lord.
My parents...So much to be grateful for there. Over the last few years as I've watched my Dad struggle with cancer, I've realized how blessed I am that I was born into their family. I've watched him accept and deal with this terrible disease with faith, hope and peace and most of all grace. I see some people that struggle with things and use their health as a reason to abuse others or to be negative in all aspects of their lives. He struggles daily just to do things that used to come so easily to him. I watch him do things that I know he doesn't want to do just because he has obligated himself to do them and it's not in his nature to say "I can't". I really admire him and will do anything in my power to make life easier for him.
I've watched my mom as she struggles with his health. She's bears a burden during this process as well. She keeps all of his medicine straight, makes sure that he eats well and keeps all of his many doctor's appointments and is just there to remind him (or nag him) whatever it takes to keep him healthy. I'm grateful for her willingness to always drop what she's doing and be there for him and for my family and for anyone else that needs her. She's not perfect, none of us are, but she tries to be there to show her love and support in anyway that she can. I can't think of a single thing that I've done in my life that she hasn't been there to show her support. I truly appreciate that gift of time especially as my own children grown and I know how hard it is to be everything for everyone and to do all the necessary things (like work) just to survive.
So as a challenge to myself and to you for this new year...Take every opportunity to express your gratitude to those around you and to take the time to appreciate all the blessings that you've been given.