Thursday, November 09, 2017

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

We have a huge decision hanging over our heads in regards to fostering. Taking a break has been so amazing for us again and it's so hard to know what is the best thing for our family and marriage. The pros and cons balance the scale. I would say yes in a second to a six month old with regular needs but that is extremely unlikely based on our experience. Our family has room for a certain amount of energy/needs and it's hard when you have no idea really who you are saying "yes" to. It's also tricky because very few people are in our position (same family make up with similar fostering experiences) so it's hard to find a mentor on this. All that said, it weighs heavily on me each and every day. There was a quote I read this week that says "We'll never see what could be if we allow fear to define where we go" (Logan Wolfrom) which has encouraged me. We have always trusted that God would bring the kids to our home that were meant to be there but lately I have struggled with this because it has been too hard in one particular case. Too much. I also lost trust with the Ministry. This has allowed us to put more boundaries in our fostering requirements (I learn best through experience) but I'm having a harder time with trust in general. So really, it comes down to my faith life too. That's what we are currently wrestling with which can sometimes feel consuming.

That aside, this week I am thankful for:

1. Baking with my Nya Bear. Really I just like it because it reminds me of baking with my mom.

Baking brownies

2. A nice Halloween night and not one with snow! It is too cold for me. My favourite season is summer!

snow on a pumpkin

3. Gift cards. I had a gift card left for Spa Utopia so I had my annual highlights done. Um, ya. It's so pricey there so it ended up costing me a lot. 


4. Sun on Monday. I love this drive along 80th in Surrey, it's one of my favourites. I had to take a picture on Monday because the rest of the week is less than ideal.

Surrey, BC

5. Moms 30 for 30 challenge. I'm doing it again this year and it's forcing me to wear clothes I don't normally. You choose 30 items to wear for the month and mix them up to make outfits. I seriously stick to the same 3 outfits for an entire month usually so this is making me a little more fun.

Moms 30 for 30 challenge

6. Yummy baking. I spent 2 hours baking on Monday making so many different things with the pumpkin puree that we got from our Halloween pumpkins (which we didn't get around to carving–gasp!). These imitation starbucks scones were great even gluten-free. I like to have a lot of baking for their lunches and try not to eat it myself. Try.

Gluten free pumpkin scones

7. Time to bake. On Monday I had the house to myself and no appointments! I did a few errands, went for a short run and then baked for 2 hours! It felt so good and I hope there is more of this in my future. Yes, I seriously took a picture of myself baking. 


8. The time and money and childcare to take a marriage course this past weekend. It was good to devote 12 hours to conversations that we needed to have. Exhausting and not fun but probably pretty good for us. Did you see this post about it?


9. Indoor exercise equipment. We have our swing and monkey bars in the basement and then this balance beam moves around. It's not very well used but it does fill a bit of my gymnast's needs.

Ikea balance bench

10. Diffuser. I'm not a huge essential oils person (it's not my "go to") but I do feel good about diffusing oils in my home. I love that I can boost their immunity and make it smell good.

DoTerra diffuser

What is something that you are thankful today?

Love,
Louise

5 comments:

  1. Speaking of baking/cooking, have you seen the new cookbook by one of the Loneyspoons sisters? It is called Yum & Yummer by Greta Podleski. She is from my city, in Kitchener/Waterloo. It said in a newspaper article that 60% of the book offers vegetarian meals and 80% of them are gluten free - I thought of you right away. The cookbooks were available at Costco, at least around here. I am thankful for a beautiful, long fall - just yesterday I pulled out my geraniums that finally had succumbed to frost.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awesome! We love Looneyspoons and Costco so will check out this one next time I'm there. Thank you.

      Delete
  2. What you said in your opening, I sometimes feel the same way. I find reading inspiring blogs/books, chatting with friends really helps me figure out what to do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have been talking to friends in a similar boat and it def helps :)

      Delete
  3. I am thankful to be at an time in my life when I have close friends old enough to be my mom and some young enough to be my child. It makes my life rich.

    ReplyDelete