Another cup of coffee

He's in the weird stage of not needing a nap but still needing a nap. {Try and figure that out and let me know when you do}. So some-days Riley lays there in his bed and falls asleep, some-days he watches Mickey Mouse, some-days we cuddle, it all just depends. So today he sat next to me while I flicked through my phone and he watched Mickey, its a no nap day. He looks up at me with a smirk of a smile and says "I need another cup of coffee"....

Now before you go turning me in, I give my children "warm milk with some creamer" in it, kinda coffee. {But I can't deny they've had sips of my real coffee and neither one has said they don't like it, oops}

Children, they're full of spunk and unexpected craziness. I don't know why I am surprised when my kids say something that just floors me. Sometimes its funny stuff, like how they need coffee or how their arms hurt from cleaning up. Sometimes its real heart stuff, like how they want to be good for Jesus but its hard or how they don't want anyone in the world to be sad. 

As we enter into this season of Thanksgiving, our family has been spending extra time talking about what we're thankful for. I know we should be thankful all year around, but I also think that just as the Lord takes us through seasons of life, there really isn't anything wrong with taking seasons to reflect on our lives and certain aspects of them. Thanksgiving is a time for us to think of our thankfulness.

Today at school we were cutting out handprints and writing things we are thankful for on them and the things my 3 year old son came up with made me reflect on my world and my thankfulness. His things were simple, things I take for granted on an almost daily basis. Things like "food to eat" and a "big beautiful house". Meanwhile I spend my time complaining about grocery budget and rising food costs and the time it takes to prepare meals, I spend my time longing for more space, a bigger house, bigger rooms, more functional bathrooms....I'm thankful yes, but I tend to forget to be thankful for everything;  every nitty, gritty little thing God's given me.

I spend my time loathing my laundry, rolling my eyes at toy piles and messes, being frustrated at my husband for not always being thrilled with my dinner plans {fish?! Again?!} or failing to notice my lazy attempts at cleaning the bathrooms with a clorox wipe, how dare he! I spend my time considering what others should be thankful for about me, rather than what I'm thankful for from others and from God.

But my son, he's just thankful for this house, this food, fish and all, and his family and pets and Jesus. I have all this too, so do I really need anything else?! Us mamas spend hours trying to convince ourselves to clean the bathrooms, meal plan, play "go-fish" enthusiastically for the 16th time, vacuum and on and on but I don't think we will ever do this job right until we stop and consider our time spent. Is it spent wiping the counters with a thankful heart, or a heart longing to be acknowledged, rewarded or for things to be different? Do I spend my time with a joyful and thankful heart, for everything; the mundane, the normal, the average and the extraordinary? 

No, I simply don't. But today, dear sweet Riley...lets have another cup of coffee and sit and be thankful for this {big, beautiful} home.