Thanksday #28

I haven't mentioned it much, for no particular reason than it just seemed so far away. But I leave to go to Bolivia in just FOUR days. Yes, that's right. Which means that I'm operating solely by to-do lists for the next 90+ hours. For those who have no idea about Bolivia, we are going on a mission trip to help serve our missionaries who help rehabilitate and rescue kids that live in the sewers. Greg or I will be blogging about the trip on a separate site, so if you're interested, you can pop over to www.cbcbolivia2011.blogspot.com to read all about it. We'll probably start posting on July 5.

In other news, I was overwhelmed last night thinking about how much there is to do before I leave, which led me to think about an old boss of mine wouldn't let you use the phrase "overwhelmed," because he thought it reflected your own poor time management or whatever. Then I thought, "I don't work for you anymore, so guess what? I'M OVERWHELMED."

I may be overwhelmed, but I'm still thankful! And it's a nice change of pace to stop and write this in between everything else.

1. Friends you can call at 1:30 in the morning. Greg was out of town last week and Jaana developed some severe stomach pains one afternoon. When she was still crying about the level of pain at 1 am, I decided I needed to not chance it, so I packed up the kids in their PJs and went to the ER. Greg wasn't there to talk me off the ledge, but I knew one particular person would indeed be up at that hour still, and lo, she was up. So I was able to have someone on standby should the need arise. (Incidentally, everything turned out completely fine and Jaana was back to normal after 48 hours.)

2. Kind hospital staff. Not surprisingly, we were the only ones in the ER at 2 am. When the check-in nurse took one look at Jaana crying and hyperventilating with fear, she kicked into high gear and was absolutely fabulous with her. She was sweet, caring, kind and funny (she was also a mom, so knew instinctively how to treat her). When the other nurse came to take Jaana's blood (from her arm), she made it a game and taught her a fun trick to not focus on the needle. And she didn't cry once! Both of these women made it truly a pleasure. Jaana said over and over again how safe she felt there, and how she was so glad we went. We passed by the hospital today and she really wanted stop in to see them. That my friends, is the mark of good medicine.

3. Lay's Garden Tomato & Basil Chips. Because they are a treat for your taste buds.

4. Salvation. Jaana accepted Jesus into her heart on Sunday during kids church, and when she told me I almost combusted. My heart overflowed with joy and I just stood there in the hall with her with tears streaming down my face. She's so tenderhearted and has always had Jesus all over her, but like she told Greg, "I was always a Christian, just now Jesus is in my heart." Debatable theology, but we'll send her to seminary later.

5. Brother & Sissa. Paxton has provided us with such comic relief this week, which helps pull me out of my overwhelmed state. He adores Jaana more than Elmo and no one can make him laugh like she can. They play chase and tag around the house and both shriek with delight. She'll make funny noises when we sing "On Top of Spaghetti," and he'll laugh so hard he gets the hiccups. It's true delight in each other, and there's no better sound on this earth.

6. Reality TV. Because at the end of a long day and night, it's been a nice break from busyness to stop and watch totally unrealistic reality TV. It helps me decompress and realize I honestly have nothing to be overwhelmed about. But I can't tell you what I'm watching because, you know, I wouldn't want to tempt you to judge me and thus cause you to sin.

7. Found things. I lost the power cord to my Kindle when we moved, and haven't been able to read for almost a month. But just this week, that sweet little cord showed up and my Kindle is fully charged and ready for a long plane ride to South America! Now I just gotta load it up with some good reads. Suggestions?

8. Travel. It's been almost four years since I last went out of the country, and one year since I've been on a plane. I love traveling, really, and am so excited to be getting my air on next week. There's something about being confined in an airplane where no one has access to me...no phone, no email, no computer...and I can literally just sit. For hours. Might not sound exciting to you, but to a mother, it's idyllic.

9. Divinely inspired interruptions. I've been working like crazy this week to finish my mile-long to do list before departing for another country, and snuck off today to get some work done at the local coffee shop. However, my computer must not have been in on the plan. As soon as I got there, it started acting up and doing crazy things. And after 35 minutes of hair-pulling, I threw in the towel and left to run some errands. I think God was behind it all, actually. Because I got to visit with a few people as I ran into them on my errands, and it was quite a wonderful break from the craziness of the week. As I was driving, I started elevating my ideas and realized that the things I was supposed to work on were not eternal things, they were temporal -- brochures, logos, etc. I'm not so indispensable that someone else can't do them if (worst case scenario) my computer is really broken. However, I got home and my computer works as if nothing ever happened, and lo, I'm back to my lists.

10. Fruit in season. And no, I'm not getting all spiritual on this one. I'm actually quite literal. I picked up an heirloom tomato for our turkey burgers tonight, and I have to say, it's quite delicious. If you can't take time to stop and taste the tomatoes, life is just too darn busy.

Your turn! Let me know what you're thankful for this week. Leave a comment or link up with Candra and celebrate the change a little thanksgiving makes in your day. It might leave you with a taste for turkey and cranberry sauce if you do it right.