SILAS

He's a pro at swaddling Tyler and often takes care of him, loves sports and exercise, follows recipes well and creates his own, is super dependable, likes making lists and plans, is a practical joker, memorizes things easily, loves creating things with Legos, is a little entrepreneur, gets along well with everyone, and likes to have staring contests.

I love this boy!

2/9/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that I got lots of sleep last night.

What's something that you're thankful for?

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

I see a cute little boy all bundled up for his first walk a couple weeks ago, but I also see more than that.

I see a little white hat given to him by Aunt Tracy, which reminds me how much his family loves him.

I see the soft hood of an outfit given to him by Karen, which reminds me of Tim's co-workers and the tangible ways they have welcomed Tyler to the world.

I see a quilt that was originally made for Naomi by Robin, which reminds me of how amazing it is when people in your computer become your friends.

I see a carseat that was loaned to him by Cheri, which reminds me what a blessing it is when people share whatever they currently have excess of with someone who currently needs it.

CHOOSING MY FOCUS

I tend to be a bit pessimistic about things pertaining to my personal life, whether household issues or relationships with my family members. When I feel overwhelmed or discouraged, then the frequency of my complaining skyrockets and the littlest thing can set me off on a rant about how lousy my life is. Ridiculous, I know, since my life is not actually lousy, but I guess I lose perspective easily.

I really wanted to change my focus on the negatives in my life. So, on January 1st I wrote down three good things about my day right before I went to bed. I did the same thing on January 2nd. And the 3rd. And every night since. It's been over five weeks now and I plan on continuing this new habit forever.

I love that the most rotten day still has good in it.

I love that focusing on the good things makes rotten days seem less rotten.

I love that rotten days are few and far between when you're focusing on what's good.

I love that things will happen during the day and I'll immediately think about how they're going on the list that night.

I love that I go to sleep thinking about the positive things that happened in my day. If my mind starts to wander to things I'm stressed or annoyed about, then I just choose to mentally go back over my little list again.

Making a list every night has been a really good thing for me. In fact, there have been a few nights where I've forgotten to write my list until after I've already crawled into bed and I've gotten back up to get it done because I can see how much it's helped my attitude. Have I still had some little meltdowns? Yep. Do I still get irritated over stupid stuff? Yep. But overall I'm less negative than I used to be and even on my crabbiest days I still choose to end the day focusing on what's good.

I'd challenge you, particularly if you tend to be negative or if your life is just kinda hard right now, to start a similar list. Choose your focus and make it be on the positives.

DEVON

He's the first to jump up when I ask for help, has an amazing memory, is becoming more witty the older he gets, can think outside the box, is a thoughtful gift giver, makes facial expressions that keep us laughing, is the family contortionist, loves to climb, enjoys teaching Naomi and wrestling with Silas, is prone to busting a move when the music's on, and is almost always working on a puzzle.

I love this boy!

2/2/12 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for Carol, Connie, Debbie, Kit, Linda, Sherry (just realized I've never seen her name in writing and I'm not sure how she spells it), and Ruth, otherwise known as Tyler's church grandmas. Not only were these ladies a lifeline for me during my hard pregnancy with Tyler, but they wait with open arms to snuggle him (which is the nice way to say they argue over who gets to hold him first), dote on how cute he is, and some of them made blankets that he is regularly wrapped up in.

What's something that you're thankful for?

FUNNY FACES