Exhausted...

Here is Tyler taking the kids around the park trying to find butterflies. This boy loves nature and enjoys learning as much about it as he can.
Hannah and Jaelyn after they just got out of the fridge. Jaelyn has taught the girls how to put their blankies in the fridge to get "cold". Not sure what that is all about.

Hanging out at Duck pond....without ducks...
"You wanna piece of me?" Acting just like his father.
THE teenager. She is totally a teen now and driving her mother crazy!

Tonight I sit here with children all tucked in their beds and I am just so grateful for so many things right now. It has been a long day and I am glad that it is finally over. This morning started off rough, but as the day wore on it was much better. We all are having a blast this week with the twins staying with us. Monday we went to the Jelly Belly Factory. We didn't do the tour due to a bus getting in line ahead of us by minutes, but OF COURSE we bought some Jelly Belly's. Nothing like some good ole' Jelly Bellys. Yesterday we went to the Duck Pond for a couple of hours. We are going to have to think of a new name for that place I think because there weren't any DUCKS there for us to feed. We were all very puzzled to what happened to all the ducks? I guess we will have to make another trip back there to see what is going on. Today we packed a lunch and ate at the park. It has been so beautiful the past few days here, just perfect weather. Plenty of sunshine and a nice little breeze to prevent from getting too hot.

So back to being grateful. Tonight I am overwhelmed with such a feeling of gratitude. I have to be one of the luckiest women on the face of this earth. Like I said I had a rough morning, but as the day went on I held my head up high and pushed through. Usually when I have a rough day, I have Steve to vent to when he gets home from work and somehow he makes it all better. Not now. Not with him gone and half way across the world. I don't get to feel his arms wrap around me and the have the comfort of knowing that no matter how bad my day was, he is here to make it all better at the end of the day. Even with Steve gone and having a bad day, I still have plenty to be grateful for. Tonight I just want to take the time to list some things that I am grateful for right now:

I am grateful that I have God to turn to when the going gets rough. When my husband isn't here to comfort me, it brings me closer to God and teaches me to lean on GOD more.

I am grateful for being a wife. All my life I knew that I wanted to get married and have children. There were times when I thought this wasn't going to happen. I thought I had made to many wrong choices in life and wasn't going to be the wife I pictured myself being as a child. I am blessed with the best marriage in the world and even with my husband thousands of miles away, I KNOW he loves me and wants only me. I am grateful that I get to talk to him on the phone each and every day and e-mail too. There has never been a doubt in my mind that I am the only woman for my husband. This, I am truly grateful for.

I am grateful for being a mother. There isn't any other job in the world that I would do right now. I love being at home with my children every day. I am grateful that I get to see every milestone in their childhood. I love knowing that I get to be here when they come home from school, or need a bandaide for their boo-boo. I can't even express in words how blessed I am to be the mother to the most loving and caring children.

I am grateful for my life. Things could have been very different had I not made some changes in my life when I met Steve. I cringe at the thought of where I would be right now and what I would be doing. I have always been a good person, but I made horrible choices. Sometimes I think I got delt a horrible hand in life, but I know that I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't went through everything I have. I am grateful for the trials and tribulations I have been through in life. I try not to sit and think about where I have been and what I have done, but sometimes we need to see where we have come from, to see how far we have made it. Which leads me to my next reason I am grateful.....

I am grateful for second chances. I was blessed to get a second chance with my life. I am so glad that I chose to turn my life around. If I hadn't by chance met my husband and him inviting me to Church, I can honestly say I don't know where I would be right now. It's a scary thought. I hope that no matter what you are going through right now, whether good or bad, that you don't take life for granted and those around you too. Remember to take time and find what you are grateful for and know that there is always someone that has had it worse than you.