During our year and a half of dating and the first few years of our marriage, Matt and I were regulars at the Borders bookstore down the street from my apartment (our apartment after the rings and vows were exchanged). When Molly became a part of our family, she’d occasionally trek with us on a pleasant evening whereupon we’d sit outside with our hot chocolate and chai, and everyone would admire our adorable dog who crossed her paws lady-like. On a particularly wonderful visit, Matt would buy me the chocolate lava cake. Each bite melted in my mouth, and I hesitated sharing. Engagement days would call for perusing the bridal magazines or calligraphing our wedding invitations. A year into our union I devoured novels from the Mitford series and mysteries by Dorothy Sayers while Matt judiciously studied for the GRE and his subsequent Masters degree. When I think back to our early years of marriage, those bookstore rendezvouses are remembered amorously.

A decade later, herein I sit in a bookstore with my husband. We come every now and then, but generally our dates consist of a meal out and then back home before I turn into a grumpy pumpkin. I’ve never been able to adjust to Matt’s night owl nature. It will still be an early night, but since we have been kid-less for a few days, it allows me to be slightly more flexible with my beauty sleep. And who are we kidding? With pre-schoolers and toddlers who can really call any sleep ‘beauty’ sleep but rather just a grasp for any amount of survival sleep possible?

So to top this week’s list of thanksgivings, it must be said that I’m most thankful for my parents who took the kiddos for a few days! Molly immediately reverted to being an only child; she has an innate sense about these things. And we’ve certainly enjoyed the quiet home and extra, legitimate ‘beauty’ sleep.

Also:

• March is our doctor/dentist checkup month, and I’m grateful for the health insurance and good doctors accessible to us. We saw a great pediatric cardiologist last Friday that confirmed the two heart murmurs Brennan has are innocent. We’re incredibly thankful for our healthy children!
• This is still a drought-ridden land, so when rain comes, we don’t tell it to go away, we tell it to stay around for a while. We had a couple days of refreshing storms.
• Molly had her checkup, too, and at 11.5 years old, she’s looking good. She has a number of loving caretakers.

• Brennan usually doesn’t go into a lot of detail about his time at school despite my questions, but on Thursday he was so excited about the nature walk he took and the projects he made, he talked about it the whole afternoon. I got to hear all about it!

• Matt and I only last about twenty minutes with Brennan climbing into bed with us before we carry him back to his room. But he has incredibly tolerant grandparents who love him so much, they were willing to sleep like this on Saturday night.

• Matt’s been reading some of our favorite books about Easter this week with the kids (Light of the World and The First Easter), and it’s been a gift to listen to Brennan’s questions and excitement. He picked out bright turquoise (not my choice of color) flowers at Hobby Lobby to set at the table Easter Sunday for Jesus, and he specifically wants to bake Jesus a white Easter cake because “he likes the color of Jesus’ robe.” As we journey through Lent, we look at the cross on our Way of Life Wreath placed on our kitchen table, and Brennan says, “He’s getting closer. He’s getting closer to dying.” I’m soaking in his child heart, and love Jesus all the more for how He declared His own love, care and protection for children.
• I am naturally a very nostalgic person. Sometimes this lends itself to make me more melancholy, but it also makes me appreciate the gift of memories more acutely. Often I will reminisce about something I remember vibrantly and fondly with someone to discover they don’t recollect it at all or at best minimally. At first I was a little taken aback, slightly offended, thinking, “How could that not have meant as much to him/her?” But I’m finding it’s more how I was made and my love for memory-making than anything else. I’m grateful for opportunities to make memories, for my children to make memories with our loved ones. In this particular case, it’s with my parents. And I can’t tell you what a treasure it is that it’s with both my momma and my daddy, both Brennan and Kensington’s grandmother and grandfather. Memories of playing in pretend forts eating oranges, going to a dog show and the Alamo to “get books”, playing outside and getting wet so that the only things left to wear were Popsie’s t-shirts.

• For a variety of reasons and commitments, I need a break from our women’s Bible study at church. And the ladies couldn’t have been more encouraging and supportive, praying over me and my other roles before I left. I love those women.

I’ll pick up the kids in the morning. I’m eager to wrap my hands around those two and smother them with kisses listening to Brennan say “wipe off, wipe off” as he rubs his hand over each place I plant a smooch. It’s spring break here. We have some fun plans this week. So you know where you’ll catch us?

Making memories.

Love to you and yours, and may your week be filled with sweet memories, too!