Lots To Be Thankful For

Well, it seems I just pop in every now and then to post on the blog. I just can't seem to get it all together lately - work, managing things at home, soccer schedules...It has really been a struggle. But before I get too carried away complaining about how hard I think my life is.... I must stop myself and be reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I have found myself being rather grumpy lately and a little bit of a complainer and probably not all that pleasant to live with (Stephen if you read this - please don't agree too whole heartedly!). And to be honest I am really kind of ashamed of myself. So....

For one, Nathan is doing amazingly well and is loving school. Over the summer Nathan had some serious health issues and a couple of hospital stays. He was not able to start school on time. But now things are much better. He is such a trooper and I should learn a thing or two from him about not complaining! When I think about the grace with which he has handled this past year, I might really shape up the bad attitude I have had of late!

I think Andrew is the sweetest little 4 year old ever (maybe I am a little partial). He is so excited about 4K. He actually wants to do "homework" every night like his big brothers. Usually, assigning him to write his name a couple of times is sufficient, but it is very cute. Maybe I can remind him of that in a couple of years when he is in elementary school!

Harrison is an amazing little (big, actually) 9 year old. He is such a smart little boy and is doing great in 4th grade. He has not had any problems with his alpha-1.

I have a wonderful husband who so far is still putting up with me, grumpiness and all.

Even though I can't get the work and family stuff figured out, I have an amazing job that I am thankful for. If anyone has any suggestions on how to do it all please send them my way.

Our families are healthy.

We are able to pay our bills.

I have an amazing God who loves me and who has been very present with me and our family over the past months as we have been on this journey.

I know there is much, much more...I think that sometimes we need to take a moment to be reminded of the blessings in our lives because all the stress of the world can seem overwhelming at times. I think I feel better now.

Now on to something else. I really wanted to share a couple of pictures with you tonight of Nathan but it seems every time I try to download them from the camera I get some terrible error message and the computer shuts down. I wish I was smart enough to figure that out. But, I will just tell you about the pictures instead. I don't know if I have shared with you yet, but Nathan has been granted a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation (I will tell you more about that later). So last night, Nathan had the opportunity to spend some time at Cold Stone Creamery passing out spoons to customers and having a grand 'ol time as a Make-A-Wish kid for the World's Largest Ice Cream Social. He had hoped to actually serve ice cream, but couldn't reach the ice cream case! But, he thought passing out spoons behind the counter with the staff was just as much fun. Cold Stone participated in this great fundraiser where the ice cream was free and all donations were given to Make-A-Wish. It seems they are one of the national sponsers of this wonderful foundation who grants wishes to kids who have been faced with life threatening illnesses. If I figure out the computer issue, I will post a couple of pictures of the event. In the mean time, if you have a Coldstone Creamery close to you, go have some ice cream and support this great company.

I think that is about all for tonight. If you are still out there reading, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you. Maybe it won't be so long before I post again. Have a great weekend.

Lora

Bact to School - At Last!!

Today felt like our first official day of school. Our school system actually started back on August 14th, but Nathan was not able to start on time due to some issues he has had this summer with various viruses and hospital admissions. I have actually updated more on his Caring Bridge site about all of that. So finally Nathan was able to start school today and Andrew started 4k on Tuesday. All of the boys are in school. Yeah!!! We have a Shelton tradition on the first day of school. I measure each of the boys to see how tall they are on the first and last day of school and we take lots of pictures. It is such fun to see how much they change within a year. If we ever move, I think I will have to take the wall with me! I thought I would share a picture or two. Check out the one of all the boys with their puppy, Sunny. If you go back a few posts, you can see how big he has gotten this summer. Have a great day!
Lora