A Month to be Thankful: Day 22

Day 22: Thankful for Rest

okay, today, i am super thankful that colton is such a great sleeper. he still gets up at 4:30 every morning to eat but 9-11 hours straight every night is amazing.

other than the first few days of motherhood, i really don't have those "exhausted" moments (i mean, i still do but very minimal) - probably because colton sleeps like a champ and still takes four naps a day over an hour a piece. what can i say, the kid loves his sleep. (it will probably be a different story once #2 comes into the picture... i know, i know)

i am so glad the lord knows our circumstances in life and provides what we need. he knows that i need sleep. he knows that i have to work. he knows that i need to clean the house. or do the laundry. or the eight million other projects going on. so he has perfectly made colton to be content when laying on his activity play mat or peacefully naps for an hour so i can answer emails or clean up the kitchen. so thankful.

so today, i am thankful for the rest i am able to get. the six-seven hours straight of sleep, or the little cat nap i sneak in during the afternoon, i am thankful.

A Month to be Thankful: Day 21

Day 21: Thankful for my Passat Wagon

we knew we would need a bigger car once the babe arrived so we bought a 08 passat wagon and i loooove it. if you know anything about my car history, you would laugh. don't get me wrong, i am so thankful i have had something to drive since i was 16, but i am extremely thankful i have a RELIABLE car now...

my brother, sister and i always laugh at our memories in our 88 corsica - this thing would leak oil, would leave us stranded, have puddles of water inside the car, the ceiling was falling down - oh boy. this thing was hilarious. or our grand prix. i gotta say - this thing was pretty fabulous except that it didn't have air conditioning and if you know anything about me, that is not good. and then it started rusting. finally, the first car i bought, a mazda millenia.... ooohhh boy. the car looked nice but that thing... ugh. let's just say i got stranded in the middle of nowhere indiana one day. drove down a week later, picked the thing up in nowhere indiana, broke down again after they "fixed" it... brings back too many terrible memories. and then to put a cherry on the top - my mother smashed into the side of the thing. i think that made us even with what i owed them from so many years. 

anywho, got rid of that piece of junk and then purchased a red grand am. not only did it smell like an ash tray, nasty - it didn't start like two days after we got the dang thing from the dealer! what, the what?!? did they even check it? it took like three weeks just to fix everything because they couldn't fix it and had to bring it to a GM dealer. oy vey. you can probably feel my frustration. the car was a champ for awhile but it was only two door. annoying. then one day i went grocery shopping and the vinegar top came off and went all over my car. ugh.

and then the passat came along. it was a long search but i am in love. the back is big enough for colton's gigantic stroller, pack-n-play and what else. plus, the thing has heated seats. who doesn't love heated seats? but seriously, this car is a gem and i am so grateful that we were able to get this car. and even after all of my car drama for 10 years, it has made me appreciate what i have more than you know.

so today, i am thankful for my vw wagon. it is fab and totes a mom car. ;)

Colton: Week 12

my dear precious boy is 12 weeks.

• has mastered tummy time. the kid is one strong boy. he loves holding his head up and looking around. 
• sleeps an average of 10 hours straight a night. 
• mornings are the best. he just smiles, laughs and is VERY talkative. 
• i love when he wakes up in the morning. he is looking around and just chattin. so precious. i'll have to take some video one day and post it. 
• officially too long for most of his 3 month clothes so we are moving on up. 
• still hates his swing. bummer.

that is about it. he turns 3 months this week so the upcoming post will be longer! :) 

A Month to be Thankful: Day 20

yeah, yeah - i skipped day 19. ;)

Day 20: Thankful for Recovery Systems

yes, i am extremely thankful today that there are people out in this world that are so technologically smart that they can pull some of your most precious memories off of a crashed hard drive. to all of you data recovery people and places, you are precious - especially brian at 300dollardatarecovery.com. you are my new best friend. 

last weekend our mac crashed - the day i was going to back everything up, ironic, eh? went into the mac store on sunday and the smart mac guy told us that our hard drive crashed. i started balling right there. probably wasn't the first and to tell you the truth, i didn't care. i really thought i just lost colton's first three months of his life plus various other precious memories of joseph and i. i was so mad at myself. 

i then had my sister's I.T. guy at her work looked at it and gave us the information to 300dollardaterecovery.com. he couldn't pull the data off but he said that this guy probably could. however, jason did update our mac and put a new hard drive in for free. for that, i am so thankful. 

after sending the hard drive all the way to the good state of california this week, i kept praying. i felt so silly praying but the Lord knows the desires of our hearts. and while there are extremely worse things i am praying for, i still felt the need to pray that we would get our photos back. and now, we are. :) i was up all last night with food poisoning, which i am not thankful for, but it was great at 3am when i looked at my phone and saw an email from brian saying he had great news. he was able to pull 99.99% of the data off my hard drive. praise the Lord, huh? 

so today, i am extremely thankful. especially for all of you smart I.T. peeps. kudos to you my friends. and especially brian and jason, you both make me one happy mama today. 

and a lesson learned: BACK UP RIGHT AWAY. ;)

A Month to be Thankful: Day 18

Day 18: Thankful for the Time with Kyle

well, if you don't know, november 18th is always a hard day. i woke up this morning and thought of that morning 18 years ago as i found out my little brother had passed away from his battle to cancer. losing a family member is never easy, but when you have the comfort and love of God, it makes it a bit more bearable. and while it is still hard today and kyle only lived three short years, i am still so thankful for the time we had with him.

kyle lived for three and a half years and about a year or so of that battled with neuroblastoma. however, those three short little years were filled with some of the greatest memories, of which i will never forget. and one thing about kyle that i will never forget... his smile.


kyle could light up a room. and his personality, smile, and fun memories of him still do today. i smiled and laughed as i read my dad's facebook status of some of his favorite memories of him. he was some kid. so, as the day comes to an end, i am thankful for the time we had with kyle. while it was too short and hard, it was also so wonderful in many ways. and thankful that i know he is with the lord - no more pain. no more suffering.

Kyle Christian Plantz 1990-1993

A Month to be Thankful: Day 17

Day 17: Thankful for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship)

every thursday morning i attend BSF, Bible Study Fellowship. and i can't tell you what a blessing it has been. this is my fourth year in BSF and this year we are studying the book of Acts. i have had the privilege to study: the life of moses (exodus, Leviticus, numbers and Deuteronomy), the book of john, isaiah, and now acts.

i have been so engaged in this study. from the start of the christians to the early church, i feel like every week i can apply something new to my life. i am so thankful the lord has given me this opportunity again to study his word. so today, i am thankful for bsf. what a wonderful organization and a wonderful study.

A Month to be Thankful: Day 16

Day 16: Thankful for Our Neighbors

i can't tell you how blessed we are to live where we live. i always prayed about living in a neighborhood where my kids could play outside for hours with all of the neighborhood kids. or thought about how cool it would be to have neighbors who were also believers. well, guess what? we got both. and even though colton isn't old enough yet to go play outside we have a TON of little kids. and our neighbors? yup. they are believers. so cool. it is such a joy to live among people who are doing life like you. so today, i am thankful for our many neighbors especially the Franks and Carters. :)