A Month of Thanks: Day 7

Psalm 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!”

I cannot believe it is day 7 already of giving thanks! There is so much to be thankful for every day. I've hardly touched the surface of the many things I'm thankful for in my life. Let's get to today's two.

1. Micaela: I am so thankful that God's plans are better then our plans. I had always wanted four kids. After Sophia, I was done having kids. I sold all the baby stuff and my maternity clothes. When Sophia was about 2, Wayne and I started looking into doing foster care. During the paperwork process, Wayne looked at me and said that he really wanted to have one more baby. I told him that I would pray about it. Ten months later, Micaela was added to our family. She has been such a joy to have in our family. She loves to sing, dance, and spend time with you. She is a mixture of being super sweet, but also has some fire in her. I guess having four older sisters makes you a bit of a fighter. It has been a joy to start to teach Micaela this year. I love hearing her cute voice sing songs for school and watching the light bulb go off in her brain when she grasps something new. Thank you Lord for blessing us with Micaela almost five years ago!

2. Joella: Joella was a completely unplanned addition to our family, but one we are so thankful for every day. I can't imagine my life without her! I noticed that I have been able to enjoy all the little moments with the last two that I was too busy to enjoy with the older ones. Before I was so busy changing diapers and dealing with 4 kids under the age of 4, that I wasn't able to enjoy every moment. Life goes by so fast, as I have seen with the older four. I'm trying to cherish every moment with all of the girls. Joella and Micaela are the best of friends. I love seeing them play together and talk together. Joella has been a true blessing to our family. She loves to be hugged, has a tenacious spirit, wants to be big like her sisters so she can do everything they do, can be shy at first, and she loves playing games (making face, hiding under her blankets at night when I tuck her in, jumping on my bed with Micaela to make my bed a mess). Like Micaela, Joella loves to sing. One of my favorite songs to hear her sing is "This Is My Father's World", a song she learned with Micaela for school. Joella "does school" with Micaela and it is fun to see her enthusiasm as they learn new things. Joella has a motherly nature. She loves carrying her baby doll around and "being a mom". Surprises are fun in life and our little surprise was the best one of them all!