The Counting of Blessings - Tuesday

- We had a pleasant visit with Aunt Dot and Uncle Bob (Don's mom's sister and her husband), and with Auntie Lorrie, Don's sister.  They arrived from PA on Saturday and left after church on Sunday.  Before leaving, Uncle Bob told me three times that I had my hands full.  LOL

Uncle Bob is a character.  He watched Penn State football on Saturday, yelling out a number of times "Go Penn State!"  My kids got a kick out of that.  When Daddy watches Penn State, he yells out, exasperated, "Would you just go for the touchdown, Joe?"  When Joe Paterno doesn't go for the touchdown and they kick a field goal instead, my honey yells out, "Play to win, Joe!  What's the matter with you!  Time to retire already!"  (Coach Paterno is in his eighties.)

- We paid a car insurance bill last week with no time to spare.  It was either pay the bill or have grocery money for another week.  Those were our choices.  We paid the insurance bill, since it would be expensive to try and reinstate the policy.  Two days later, our church called to ask if we wanted a Thanksgiving basket.  We were blessed that they called, and assumed it would be Thanksgiving fixings. But it was all that AND extra groceries.  God's timing is amazing!  You really can have faith in what Matthew 6 tells us:

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?



28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

-  Aunt Dot and Uncle Bob had some legal-size computer paper cluttering their tiny house, so they brought it to my children, along with Christmas presents. My boys have written three cute stories with that paper already!  The writing bug has hit them!  Who knew that legal-size computer paper was all I needed to get their literary juices flowing?  What a blessing!

-  Daniel loves therapy!  His therapist is gentle, kind and young.  She is working at the facility as an intern.  Yesterday the two of us worked with Daniel to write out steps to take over the next two months that will gradually help him face his separation anxiety.  The first step was that for half of yesterday's appointment time I sat in a chair outside her office, rather than next to Daniel IN her office.  While I sat out there with the door closed, they played Uno to help Daniel relax.  He told me later that he felt like crying at first, but he didn't.  I'm not sure he was exactly relaxed, but it was a big step nonetheless.  During his next appointment I will sit outside the office for the whole appointment, then two weeks later I will leave briefly to get something from the van, and then two weeks after that I will hopefully be able to wait in the waiting room.  Baby steps.  Just dropping his ADHD med has helped a great deal with his anxiety.

That's all for today.  Anna Grace is now awake.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends!