Family Gatherings

I am thankful for family gatherings.  Over the past two weeks, I have been blessed with having several family gatherings.  Each gathering has its own dynamic.  Its own story.  But, they all have family and memories to treasure.

This year's memories include:

A little snow in Illinois

A Paragi Family Christmas

Several games of Euchre

Roaring Fires

The meeting of the minds

Meeting new friends

A big snow in Southern Indiana

Another new friend - (and a good earring picker outer according to Lizzie)

Fuzzy headbands on babies

A night of cousins

Babies, babies everywhere

Making Christmas cookies with cousins

 The result of Katie's "roll up like a hot dog in a blanket and roll down the stairs" moment. 

The smoke of 36 candles

Reindeer food

A southern Indiana snowman

 The year of the Whoopie Cushions

 Babies again. . . 

The Game Headbandz

Lots of family memories.  So thankful for Family Gatherings.

Mrs Paragi. . . Mrs. Paragi

I love the look of excitement when a child gives you a present.  As I walked down the hall on the last day of school before Winter Break, I heard an excited yell, "Mrs. Paragi!!  Mrs. Paragi!!  I got you something!!"  The little guy was about ready to burst.  He could hardly contain his excitement.

Early that day, a student arrived in my room bouncing up and down while I opened a present from her. She was so proud.

I am thankful for the joy in the eyes of children when they GIVE presents as well as when they receive.    May they never lose that excitement for giving!

Dancing in the Morning

I am thankful for the administrators in our building who play music over the intercom system on Friday mornings.  They play it after teachers are to be there but before students  arrive.  It is so much fun to dance with our own children in the hallway.  It always puts a smile on my face and sets the mood for the day!

Whether it be "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" or the Friday song - I love morning music and dancing!

Raise Your Hand If You Are Sure

This evening, I am thankful for whomever invented deodorant.  I do not understand how boys can get so stinky during a regular school day.  Seriously!  I expect it after a sports practice, lifting, games, playing outside, bike rides, etc.  I did not expect to have boys that smell so nasty that I have to roll down the windows in the vehicle due to the stench of "boy"  when they come immediately from school.

So today - THANK YOU to the inventor of deodorant!!

Night Tight Cuddles

I am thankful that at least two of my kids enjoy "cuddling" with me regularly.

For Lizzie, that means actually cuddling up next to me in bed with her head buried in my arm as she drifts off to sleep.

For Jacob, that means laying on the bed and talking about "stuff."  May be good parts of the day.  May be things he is concerned about.  May be a time for him to question me about something.  Basically, just a nice time for talking.  However, he too enjoys staying there long enough that he starts to drift off and I have to send him off to his bed!

Then there is Zach.  He is a freshman  and "cuddling" is not something he is overly excited about on a regular basis.  However, he will occasionally come into our bedroom, lay across the end of the bed and start talking to us about something.  It might be something deep - someone at school is using drugs.  It might be something funny - guess what happened in health today.  It may be something he is concerned about - the shooting in Connecticut.  It may be about a sporting event.  But, it might just be chatter.

I treasure these night time cuddles and talks.  I know they won't last forever.

Wow!

Wow!  It has been a week since I last posted.  It has been a crazy week.  Zach was home ALL week with a virus.  Lizzie woke up with a temp of 102 on Friday and ended up starting on Tamiflu.

I felt as though I was chasing my tail most of the week.  Round and round in circles.

Believe it or not, during that chaos, I was thankful for things.  Here are just a few:

*  The people who invented Tamiflu

*  The people at convenient care and the lab who work odd hours to care for those who are sick

*  The pharmacists who prepare the medications

Then, on Friday, all my chaos came screeching to a halt.  I listened to the news coming out of Connecticut.  No longer was I just thankful for the things above.  I was thankful to be dealing with the flu, fevers and vomiting.  I was thankful to have my babies to hug and hold onto for another day.

It may sound trite, but I believe it to be true:  We do not know what tomorrow holds.  So hold everyone tight, show your love and appreciation and be thankful for the day.



 

PJ's and Popcorn

I am thankful for evenings with no planned activities.   I love nights cuddling on the couch with the family in our PJ's, eating popcorn and watching movies!

Thankful for relaxed evenings!