Wordless Wednesday - The Munchkins Christmas Day (2nd Post Today)

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) I'm thankful for the great time we had baking cookies w/ Casinodad's sister & BIL on Sunday afternoon. Lots of good cookies greet me every time I go into the kitchen!

2) I'm thankful my MRI went well last Thursday & was not as scary as I've heard others say. I just prayed the Rosary the whole time. (BTW - I got the results this morning. I have mild arthritis in my back so next up...a trip to a neuro surgeon to see where I go from here.)

3) I'm thankful for the sights, scents, & sounds of this blessed season...twinkling lights, scented candles & potpourri, music, great books & movies, etc.

4) I'm thankful that, for the first time in many years, I'm actually on top of things (shopping done & most are wrapped, baking done, cards mailed, & we're managing to keep the house mostly straightened up!)

5) But most importantly...I'm thankful for the upcoming birth of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Without Him, none of the above would have any meaning for me!

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) I have two sick munchkins right now w/ a tummy bug. Yesterday starting at 4am, The Princess started. Every 15 minutes for the next three hours, she was getting sick. Then it was every 1/2 hour until about 3pm. The Saint joined in about 6am. Neither could keep anything down, even water. He is still not doing well so I'm taking him to the doctor later this morning.

My success in this is how patient I've been & that I'm not stressing over getting things done (or the fact that our living room carpet is going to need some serious cleaning when this is all over!) I'm focusing on keeping them comfortable. Thankfully the two older boys have been getting along well & have been helpful & loving toward their sick siblings.

2) Did four loads of laundry (including folding & putting away) yesterday due to the little sickies. Granted, they were small loads mostly of towels, sheeys, & kids clothes, but they still got done in between clean-up patrols!

3) Thankfully most of our Christmas shopping is done. Not sure if we'll get cards out in time, but, Christmas STARTS on the 25th & goes for 12 days. We've got plenty of time to send those greetings!

Well, that's my week! How about yours? Share & see others at Faith & Family Live.

Small Successes

"It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) I finally finished & posted my newest book review for The Catholic Company.

2) I decided to go simple for our Christmas decorations this year. I'm not getting out everything, even some of the things I always get out. Judy at BENMAKESTEN ran some Advent suggestions recently & I decided to do the Christmas tree one. So, this week we are reflecting on Life w/ just the tree up. Next week, we reflect on Christ being our Light & add the Christmas lights. The 3rd week of Advent, the ornaments will go up - special touches in joyful anticipation of Christ's birth. The 4th week of Advent we'll top it off. In the past we've used a beautiful Latin American angel (DH is 1/2 Mexican & this angel was much prettier than the Caucasian one) I bought when I was an Avon rep. But, we downsized our tree a couple years ago & she's way too big. Until I can find a smaller angel or star that I like, I put some pretty, velvety bows around the top. Thank you Judy, for this great suggestion!

3) I did not get frustrated when checking the outdoor Christmas lights. You know how aggravating those lights can get!!! Today I check the lights for the tree.

So now it's your turn! Check out Faith & Family Live to add your successes or just share in the successes of others.