Life is good

And that's probably because God is so good. I've been asking God to help me cultivate a thankful heart...partly in preparation for Thanksgiving and partly just because. And God just keeps giving me more reasons to be thankful. Many of them at this point are circumstantial, but they still bless me nonetheless.

Take yesterday. I was feeling totally dragged out due to an almost complete lack of sleep the night before (seems I can't watch suspenseful movies before bed). When I called Rod in the morning (we're still sleeping in separate houses), I asked if I could take off to the new house by myself in the afternoon. My wish was granted and I actually slept for about 20 minutes, after almost giving up. Then I got to start my basement project. I'm very excited about this. We have a great basement in our new house and I'm painting the kids' play area in a very sophisticated pale blue and green with a few other colours for sun, tree, clouds etc. On another wall, I'm painting a chalkboard for them as well. I managed to get the sky's first coat done. It was nice to feel physically tired for once! It is very different from the emotional drain and general fatigue after a day with the kids. Then I came home to a creative and tasty rendition of pizza buns ala Rod. What a treat.

And then, last night, I actually slept well. Seems that lots of time to wind down with some sleepytime tea and a journal is good for me. If any of you have never tried Sleepytime tea, you must, even just for the heavenly smell of it. I love opening the box! It's a mix of Chamomile and Spearmint and a few other things.

Last night, I also spent some time talking on the phone with someone I'm getting to know, as well as phoning someone as a first step towards following an inner nudge to contribute something in the area of music in our church.

And, of course, there is a very obvious blessing (and yet it is sometimes hidden in the stress) of having a house stay under control because I have to show it every so often. More and more the waiting for our house to sell is becoming less of a burden to me (not to Rod or our finances), because I'm just enjoying being in it. God has given us nearly six months of being in a fairly uncluttered and beautiful home. And I've been learning the skills to keep a house that way. True, our summer has probably been the hardest one ever, but these last few months have been a dream as far as being able to enjoy the house we have: sitting on the bench by the kitchen window, having mini-picnics in the veranda, morning stories or quiet time in the sunroom, evening stories or tea on the loveseat in our master suite...I want to cherish these times before they become only memories.

Although I will miss the beauty and character of our present home, I am looking forward more and more to living in our new house: its spacious yard, basement getaway, wonderful windows, and lower living costs. It's so easy for me to picture having people over there. I'm not sure why. But I think we're heading into a season of hospitality. I hope so anyway. And we're going to have a new person join our family there, too. Wow.

I've also been enjoying doing some new things with my kids. Besides getting back to the library, we've recently built dragons and dinosaurs out of blocks in our neighbour's play house, had pretend school lessons at the playground, pretended to be different animals while on my bed, and learned some classic action songs like the Hokie Pokie. It's been fun!

So, even though I'm tired and grouchy at times, I'm feeling a deep sense of blessing and peace lately. And I'm very thankful for that.