Beauty in the Mess {Thanksgiving Edition ~ Part 2}

God our Father

We thank You

For our many blessings

Amen

~~~~~

Dear Father:

Today is Thanksgiving and I admit that I haven’t been very thankful this week. I have been fatigued and overwhelmed and distracted by our hardships. But today, I want to be thankful for everything you have given me this month.

Thank you for coffee and butter and coconut oil and cinnamon and vanilla and sugar that you have provided so that we can make special “butterchinos” on special days. Thank you for happy coffee mugs, both of which we got for free as gifts. Thank you for the bonding that my husband and I share over coffee.

Thank you for free scarfs and a beautiful porch and a precious baby boy

Thank you for his tender heart and his love for hugs and kisses.

Thank you for Mondays when we get to spend time together as a family. Thank you for this store with inexpensive prices and better options on WIC items. Thank you for a husband who will shop with me and entertain our son while we shop.

Thank you for friends who send me gift cards to Starbucks. Thank you for the opportunity to earn some very decent money at a one-time job and for friends who will watch my son while I do.

Thank you for our new church and for friends who invite us over at the last minute for dinner. Thank you for their friendship and their laughs and their silly daughter who helped to keep Ezra occupied with wigs and fairy wings while we adults got to have decent conversation.

Thank you for our mall. For all of the things they have to help occupy my active boy, like this interactive adverstising mat and the photo booth we can play in.

And thank you for a few moments to write while my son plays. Thank you for pen and paper and a creative mind and the gift of writing that you have given me.

Thank you for the beautiful parks we have close by, giving us an outlet to play and run.

Thank you for nice warm blankets that we can cuddle in. And even though our apartment is chilly…thank you that we have a place to live and shelter from the elements.

Thank you for this sweet boy and for his heart to be willing to be give to a little boy in need on the other side of the world. Thank you for the ministry of Operation Christmas Child and the opportunities we have to make a difference in the lives of others.

Thank you for this boy. And even though his need for constant attention frustrates me….thank you for the moments that he is learning to entertain himself. Thank you for his love for markers (even if he would rather use them on his skin.) Thank you for his beautiful brown eyes and long brown hair and his adorable smile.

Thank you for my sweet husband who loves to give our son fun things to do, even if it means splurging a bit. Thank you for the energy that they have to play (and jump) together.

And thank you for nice big ice cream cones to put a smile on this boy’s face.

Thank you for coffee and cream and sugar and all the goodness that I enjoy daily because of it. Thank you for the warm up in the late afternoon to help get me through until bedtime.

Thank you for Ezra’s phenomenal imagination. For his love for pretend play. For his “flippers” and his “being a penguin.”

Thank you for friends who give me good ideas of how to keep my son occupied on a cold evening.

Thank you for my husband who knows how to cut hair and for my boy who somehow manages to sit (mostly) still while he gets his hair cut!

Thank you for this boy and for his silliness.

Thank you again for blankets and for couch cuddles.

Thank you that even though I haven’t had a lot of energy to do school with Ezra, we still have days when we can use leftover materials from last year. Thank you for his improvement in so many areas and his love of learning.

Thank you that Ezra love to help mommy and thank you that he’s finally old enough to actually be a help, even if it means more work for me. Thank you for the food that you provide us and for the chili I was able to make for our family.

Dear God, thank you for this Thanksgiving Day. Thank you for are warm house and for family with which we can spend the day with. Thank you for the food that we will eat today. Thank you…for everything.