It's time to reflect on the good things of this past week in another "Grains Of Gratitude" post. Grains of Gratitude was started by Christine at Brady's Bunch.

1. Our sweet neighbor, Hetty died earlier this morning, at 3:30 a.m. We got the call from her husband, Jack, at 6:30 a.m. I'm thankful that we were given the opportunity to know this wonderful woman. Over the past 2 years, she became like a grandmother to me and Oronzo and a great-grandmother to Snuggle Bug. We will miss her fiesty nature and her kindness. Prayers for Jack and their 2 children and grandchildren would be much appreciated. They will miss Hetty most dearly, as will we!

2. I'm thankful that so many bloggers are offering up prayers for Kelli and Heather. Both need prayers now more than ever! The power of prayer can work miracles, so please go to their blogs and offer them enouragement and prayers.

3. I'm thankful that we finished our huge stack of adoption paperwork last night! I'm sure more will be required to be filled out, but for now we're caught up. We'll turn it in on Monday to the state agency we're working with. Oronzo's responses for his foster/adoptive father profile were quite brief, but I don't care. He did them, that's what matters. If they need clarification from him, they can ask him. Later this coming week, I'll post some more of the questions we had to answer, since many of you expressed an interest in seeing those.

4. I'm thankful for the opportunity to meet Jessica, the midwife, this past Friday. She loved the photo scrapbook that I put together and said she'll be sharing it with her other midwife associates and will try to spread the word with doctors here in town. Perhaps we'll get our next match through Jessica. It could happen!

5. I'm thankful for the Family Day that's being hosted by the military base that I work on! It hasn't happened yet, so I'll come back and post details later today, but I'm really excited. It's going to be a lot of fun for Snuggle Bug and one of his toddler friends that we've invited to join us. Stop back and take a look at the pictures that I'll post!

Happy Sunday to you all!

Labels: adoption #2, adoption paperwork, Grains of Gratitude, Hetty, neighbors

It's time to reflect on the good things of this past week in another "Grains Of Gratitude" post. Grains of Gratitude was started by Christine at Brady's Bunch.

1. I'm thankful that my neighbor, Hetty has her daughter visiting this weekend. Her son is coming next week. Snuggle Bug and I went over yesterday and spent some time chatting with Hetty's daughter. She's so nice!

2. I'm thankful for the opportunity participate in a 3-mile walk to raise money for MS. One of our neighbors has MS and we've watched the painful process of him loosing more and more mobility over the last 2 years. The walk was great! I was impressed by the turn-out and with all the volunteers that made our walk fun and enjoyable! I do believe we'll be doing this again next year.

3. I'm thankful for that Snuggle Bug's swimming lessons went very well this past Tuesday and Thursday! He didn't cry once, in fact he was looking forward to going to the pool. He sat patiently on the step in the shallow end of the pool and waited for his turn with the instructor. When it was his turn, he did everything the instructor asked of him. Sure beats the rough start that he had last week, where he cried the whole time each lesson!

4. I'm thankful that Oronzo is still taking Snuggle Bug to swim lessons. Those lessons started this week. Snuggle Bug had lessons last year (the kind where we were in the pool with him) and this year he's started the kind where he's in the pool with an instructor and not us. The past 2 lessons, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he's cried nearly the entire lesson. Oronzo has felt discouraged and wants to pull him out. I'm encouraging him to stick it out a while longer, in the hopes that Snuggle Bug will get past the crying stage and move into the learning stage, as he has in the past. We have a pool in our backyard so I really feel these lessons are important!

5. I'm thankful that we may have found a State agency that we like to license us for foster-to-adopt. It's not decided for sure, but there's a chance we may be looking to adopt our 2nd child through the State. More on that next week.

Happy Sunday to you all!

Labels: Grains of Gratitude

It's time to reflect on the good things of this past week in another "Grains Of Gratitude" post.

1. I'm thankful for the fact that my blogger friend Stacey and her husband were chosen to be the adoptive parents of a little boy due at the end of May. Oh how I remember the excitement (and nervousness) of being chosen and matched! Stacey, your family will be in my prayers!

2. I'm thankful that my neighbor, Hetty has been granted her wish to spend her final days at home. She was moved from the hospice facility to her home earlier this week. The hospice care provided her with a hospital bed and Hetty and Jack's two children hired round-the-clock, in-home nursing care for Hetty because Jack just can't take care of her on his own. It's a tough time for Hetty and her family, so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep them in your prayers.

3. I'm thankful for the opportunity to get to know my next door neighbor a bit. Mary & her husband (Bill) have a little girl (Nan) who is 2 years older than Snuggle Bug. Despite the fact that they live right next door, we don't see them often. This Thursday Snuggle Bug saw their car in the driveway and made a beeline towards their house, dragging me behind. He wanted to play with Nan. Mary welcomed us in and we spent about an hour there. The kids played while Maria and I talked. I learned that she doesn't have many friends yet in this city, so I'm determined to make more of an effort to include Maria and her family in fun activities when we can.

4. I'm thankful for the opportunity to take Snuggle Bug on some fun outings this week. We went to a spring training baseball game with some of my co-workers and we also went to a semi-annual street fair. Snuggle Bug had a great time!

5. I'm thankful that Oronzo is still taking Snuggle Bug to swim lessons. Those lessons started this week. Snuggle Bug had lessons last year (the kind where we were in the pool with him) and this year he's started the kind where he's in the pool with an instructor and not us. The past 2 lessons, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he's cried nearly the entire lesson. Oronzo has felt discouraged and wants to pull him out. I'm encouraging him to stick it out a while longer, in the hopes that Snuggle Bug will get past the crying stage and move into the learning stage, as he has in the past. We have a pool in our backyard so I really feel these lessons are important!

6. I'm thankful for the rain we got this week. It was nice to be able to cozy up to our fireplace a couple more times before the summer heat prevents this. Our plants and flowers appreciated the rain too. They're stretching out and growing!

7. I'm thankful that Snuggle Bug slept in long enough this morning to give me time to write and post this list. :) I hear him stirring now, so I'd best be going!

Happy Sunday to you all!

Labels: Grains of Gratitude, Hetty, neighbors

It's time to reflect on the good things of this past week in another "Grains Of Gratitude" post.

1. I'm thankful for the kind ladies that so faithfully post recipes on my Favorite Ingredients Friday recipe exchange, and for those that pop in from time to time to add their recipes as well. I can't tell you how much I love your recipes! It really helps make my weekly menu planning much easier! My family appreciates it too. It gives them some variety.

2. I'm thankful for the wonderful little friends that Snuggle Bug has made. He has so much interacting with them on a weekly basis. They're such dear little people and he's always so excited to spend time with them! They're parents are pretty neat too!

3. I'm thankful for the safe plane ride that Snuggle Bug and I had yesterday morning. One of our Mommy friends invited us to join her and her son for an aviation day that their church was hosting. Snuggle Bug and his toddler friends got to go up in a Cessna 206 together (with us mommy's of course). The boys absolutely loved the whole experience! And now, when Oronzo wants to take Snuggle Bug up in a plane with him (Oronzo is a private pilot), I won't be quite so nervous about it because I know how much fun they'll both have.

4. I'm thankful for the warm weather we've been having lately! The warm sun has been wonderful. It's allowing us to get outdoor projects done, visit with our neighbors who are outside more, and to play outdoors more with Snuggle Bug. He's happy to be back in his sandbox.

5. I'm thankful for our the support that our neighbor, Hetty, has received from her husband (Jack), 2 children, and our neighborhood. She's been battling cancer for 15 years and it's taken a heavy toll on her this past year (she's 85). She's in the hospital right now and everyone has rallied around her and her husband to offer their support. If you wouldn't mind offering up a prayer for her, I'd sure appreciate it.

6. I'm thankful for our dear friends who didn't mind coming to our house on Wednesday night for pizza and a game of Phase 10 . This particular couple has no children and they're very good about offering to come to our house so that after dinner we can put Snuggle Bug down to sleep in his own bed and then play some cards and chat. We always have such a great time!

Happy Sunday to you all!

Labels: Grains of Gratitude

Each Sunday I pop over to Michelle's blog to read her "Grains of Gratitude" post. I enjoy it so much, thanks Michelle, that I decided to give it a try myself. I know Michelle wasn't the originator of this meme, can anyone tell me who was so I can stop by their blog to thank them as well?

Okay, here's my list of the things I'm grateful for this past week:

1. I'm grateful that Snuggle Bug seems to be getting over the cold he's had for the past few days. The cold has made him cranky, or maybe it's the fact that he's two now, we can't be sure. :) His good spirits have been restored.

2. I'm grateful for my handi-man husband. Oronzo has been able to do some minor and a bit more major repairs around our home himself, with a couple of trips to Home Depot, rather than hiring a contractor to come in and do them.

3. I'm grateful for my neighbors who look after each other. We've had some minor vandalism here lately (spray paint on mailboxes & lamp posts, outdoor water faucets being turned on in one neighbor's backyard, and some broken outdoor lamp panes). We've all pitched in to repair things and vowed to try to watch over each other's homes.

4. I'm grateful for our dear friends who recently had a baby girl on Valentine's Day. We brought dinner over to them on Friday and I got to hold this precious baby and rock her to sleep while answering parenting questions that they posed to me. Who would've thought that I'd be a mom that others would turn to for advice. It felt kind of nice! :) I guess I have learned a few things raising Snuggle Bug these last 2 years.

5. I'm grateful for the good health of our newest nephew, who was born this past Wednesday. We haven't met him yet (he and his parents and older sister live out of state) but from the pictures we've seen he's healthy and handsome!

6. I'm grateful for the beautiful weather we've had lately. We've been able to take walks outside and play in the sandbox.

7. I'm grateful for the bloggers that stopped by, in response to my We're teetering on the edge of a cliff post, and offered such support, encouragement, and comforting prayers. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the kindness that our blogging community has to offer. Thank you!

8. I'm thankful for Oronzo's mother. When we told her, in person, that we were moving, she was visibly upset and shocked but she didn't make us feel guilty about our decision. She told us she understood, that she would miss us, and that she and Oronzo's father would most surely come visit us in Nebraska. We feared that she'd express some anger as well, but she was very supportive.

Labels: blogger friends, Grains of Gratitude