iHeart My iPhone

Today we visited a college campus that Haley's Big Sis may attend.  We walked all over that campus at least three times.  It was intense.  We climbed so many stairs - I don't think I have ever climbed that many stairs in one day and I used to attend this college.

Haley was awesome.

She just trudged along like a trooper.  In fact I don't think she ever complained. 

About going up and down stairs.  

Sitting in endless meetings, not eating lunch when she was hungry and not going shopping when she wanted to.  That she complained about.

One of the meetings that we attended was in a fairly small classroom.  There were probably about thirty people in the room and Haley was in a bad mood.  I knew better than to shush her. 

The other day during church Haley's Big Sis sat with Haley while I was singing with the choir.  She entertained her by letting her look at the pictures on her iPhone.

So, I pulled out my iPhone and opened up the photos and handed it to her.  She kept herself entertained throughout the entire meeting.  She did keep showing me pictures that she liked, but I put up with it.  It kept her quiet.  Well, relatively quiet.  She didn't really talk, but she was kind of going "uh, uh, uh" while she held the phone over to me.

I literally just kept thinking - I am so thankful for my iPhone right now.

My husband and I attended a parents meeting, of course she came along.  She was bored.  She didn't want to sit anymore.  What she really wanted was to go shopping.  We had passed up the shopping many times.  I had told her the schedule and that shopping was last, but she wanted to go when she wanted to go.

So I handed her my iPhone again.  I was praying that the batteries held up.  She was completely happy.  She found pictures of her and her Grandpa and spent most of the hour long meeting flipping between three pictures.

So today I am thankful that my child was able to walk all over that campus - that really impressed me.  I was actually getting pretty tired and hot.  She did great.  And I am thankful for my iPhone and the fact that I had some pictures on it that Haley wanted to look at.

~Haley's Mom, Thankfully

This month I am focusing on Gratitude.  What are you thankful for today?

Gratitude

This month I am going to focus on Gratitude.  I will probably blog about many different things, things that are happening in our house on a daily basis, but throughout it all I will focus on what I am thankful for.  It may take different forms.  I want to challenge myself to post every day like I did in October.

I think I could go on and on about what I am thankful for.  

Gratitude is a natural state for me.

Today, like always, I am Thankful for my beautiful daughters.  I am so very blessed.  They are both special in their own ways and they both make my life so much better with them in it.

I am thankful that they love each other.  There is no doubt.  They have their moments like all siblings do, but there is a really strong bond there.  

My friends are always commenting about how Haley's Big Sis cares for her, how she treats her.  She is very compassionate and caring and patient in public.  At home she can be that way too, but she is also a normal big sister.  She gives her guff, she won't let her get away with anything, she watches out for her, but at the same time she will catch her off guard with a tickle, a joke, spontaneous wrestling or a long hug.

Haley loves her Big Sis too.  She always wants to include her in what she is doing, even if it isn't something that her Big Sis would be that interested in.  Haley wants to share.  She listens to her and she communicates with her.  They have always had their own special language.  When they were small and I couldn't tell what Haley was saying her Big Sis often knew.

I am thankful for the ways that they each reflect our personalities.  They can both be silly or serious when it is appropriate.  We can joke with them.  They can be "typical teenagers" at times, but when we call them on it they smile and go right back to being the little girls that we have been raising.  At other times they both can be so mature that I am taken aback.  I have to remind myself that they are young.  I also see some of the not so nice qualities from our personalities in them.  It is at those times that I take stock and remember to act differently around them because I see how we can influence them.

I love having two very different girls and I love that they have some things in common.

They are both friendly and fun-loving.

They are both strong-willed and stylish.

They are both kind and caring.

They are both quick-witted and smart.

I am very grateful for them.

~Haley's Mom, Thankfully

What are you thankful for today?