thanksgiving [week.]

our thanksgiving week started out awesome-possum.  [who really likes to put the o in front of opossum anyways?]

on friday, we drove up north and spent the night with friends in lincoln.  

and roman thought he was goldilocks, and insisted on scoping out carrie's house early saturday morning while most normal people were still sleeping.

and then we went here.

smiley face.

...

but then, it sort of slowly started to get "difficult".

which, truly? was so good for me.  because.....

jumping back a couple weeks, our moms bible study was discussing the idea of "choosing joy" in midst of the tiresome, hard, serving hours of motherhood.

so.  i got a whole week to try out the "choose joy" method.

and really, our trials are gifts.

James 1 tells us to find joy in them, as they produce perseverance.  

and well, we need a lot of perseverance as we plough through this life, maturing moment by moment as we walk with the lord.

so to you, thanksgiving week, i say,

 "i got knocked down...but i got up again...you nevvva gonna keep me down"

anyways....

my parents sold our childhood home.

1. sad/weird/sad

2. packing so.much.stuff.

3. mom and dad were busy moving all week, meaning didn't get to see them much

4. roman was confused, didn't know where gma linda's toys were all at.

moving on. [pun, intended]

we spent a lot of time at gma abbi's [mr leif's mom's house] so thankful to have another house to stay at!

1. roman had a fever/cough/runny nose from monday through saturday

2. visit the doctor, thanks to an SOS text to my friends, "where do i take my kid?"

3.  not a lot of sleep for me.  or him.  [mr leif was back in kc working until wednesday night] and then i got sick.

4.  dude still likes his milk bottles #judgersgonnajudge

but we did have a few good moments.

1. like this one in the bathtub.

2. warm baths = get the snot out.

3. and roman is obsessed with his uncle cameron and uncle colton, and all the tractors at gma abbi's :)

thanksgiving day

1. we have over 50 people on my momma's side.

2. most of them live in our hometown, of 1200 people.

3. lots of them gathered together at my aunt joan's house on thursday.  it was so good to be there

#imissfamily

4. romy napped in lydia's bed and thought it was baby pieper's bed, either way he was pleased.

5. i ate for me, and the baby, and another mysterious baby that i was pretending to eat for.

6. and then we all laid around and talked and watched the macy's parade.

7. and they drank wine, while i salivated from afar.

7. romes didn't really eat much other than popcorn

8. but hudson let him play with the "big bobcat" and the "mini bobcat" so he was content, and full of snot.

 

and then we decided to go home.  we were worn out.

1. i was sick.  i thought i was swallowing swords.  do i sound dramatic?

i spent the drive home laying in the back of mr leif's truck.

[the backseat silly, not the way back.  but the way-back would have been funny. and cold]

so.  there you have it.

...

and my instagram told me all week that all sorts of people were having these lovely thanksgiving gatherings.  moments.  so much good stuff.

and every time i would browse through in the wee hours of the morning, because my kid would only lay on me, and thus i couldn't sleep, i consistently had to choose joy.

my situation didn't look like their's

and that was ok.  my week was still a gift.

i had to cancel on a fun girls day.

and that was ok.  my sweet friends understood.

i wore the same clothes 4 days in a row.

and that was ok.  no one saw me anyways.

choosing joy is a huge task.

things of this world tell you that circumstances will get you down, and you should complain, and pout, and want to run away.

but intentionally choosing joy, though difficult, rewards you in ways unseen.

and keep it singin....."i get knocked down....but i get up again... you nevvva gonna keep me down...."