Photo Dump Wednesday: Reasons to be thankful

The last few days have been a physical reminder of God's goodness in our lives and it all just makes me very truly thankful!

Watching our girls get along well fill J's and my heart with so much joy. Even when they argue about things, I love that they are interacting with each other and trying to figure out each other's boundaries. Definitely a good reason to be thankful.

They love to learn! I am thankful for that. 
 

They are naturally curious. Another reason to be thankful :-D.
 

I posted a while back that J and I live on a budget and don't spend frivolously. As a family, we want to give our girls even more than we had growing up and doing so means making and staying on a budget. 
Since JOE arrived 4-years ago, we have not been able to take an overnight. Partly because of me (I'm a momma bear and PROUD of it!) and partly because it wasn't financially feasible. 
Well, a few months ago, the opportunity presented itself for us to get an overnight. We planned the heck out of it and saved up to be able to cover child care arrangements for the girls. 

Yes, it took months in the planning and cost a pretty penny BUT we were so happy to get the night off and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were able to reconnect. We spent time talking about the girls and about each other and about future plans. 

We will definitely do it again as the girls get older and are more self sufficient.

I was very thankful for the very nice accomodations. 
 

And a delicious and yummy dinner! So EVERY TIME we've gone to Cheesecake Factory since JOE was born, we've had a "diaper incident". I was starting to think that perhaps it is the actual restaurant that's to blame. 
Well, thankfully, last week, we had none of that :-). Of course, it helps that the kids weren't there to cause the diaper incident. LOL
 

When the kids are away, parents have fun making silly faces and taking selfies :-). I am thankful for a partner who enjoys taking silly selfies as much as I do.
 

Thankful for yummy eats!
 

Gosh...I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THIS SHOWER at the hotel!!! When I hit it rich, I am so getting 2 of these in our bathroom! This was DIVINE! Love love the rainfall shower. But I don't love the increased water bill and electric bill so we won't be getting one anytime soon in our home. Unless we hit it rich of course :-).

The next morning, we were well rested. So THIS is what it is like to not have to wake up to take a kid to the bathroom OR give another milk. I am thankful that moments like this make me appreciate time with J but also appreciate the gift of parenthood. 

On our way our the next morning, I saw this and made J stop to take a picture. This set up reminded me of a location I saw in Italy a few years back. Beautiful and peaceful. 

And while we were away, the girls had fun. They went to the mall to see a "world renowned Frisbee" performer. Ummm...I didn't even know that was a title but OK.  JOE was having fun. I am thankful for summer freebees at the mall.
 

I am thankful for this little girl's boldness. She is definitely NOT a push over. She gets in with the big kids and stays involved.
 

 I am thankful to finally be able to offer these on AyoBE Boutique. I came up with this idea months ago and just couldn't figure out how to bring it to life. After MUCH research and a a ton of misses, I finally got a solution. Hurray for making it work!

I am thankful for the warmer weather that allows us to enjoy pool time at our local clubhouse. JAE wasn't so sure about it originally but she quickly got used to the water.

 And didn't want to get out when it was time to leave. 

I am ULTRA MEGA THANKFUL for this past Monday. When JAE was born, she had extra discharge in her left eye. I mentioned this to the doctor and was told it is common and would go away. But I wasn't convinced. When her pediatrician saw her, he said we shouldn't worry until after JAE turns 1 and we can revisit it then. I read up on it and used breastmilk and warm clean clothes to clean it daily but that didn't work.

When JAE turned 1, she had had several eye infections and was constantly waking up with her eye glued shut from all the discharge. We were then referred to a specialist. The specialist saw her and said the good news is that it hasn't started affecting her vision. 
The not so great news is that if it was going to clear up on its own, it would have cleared up by now. She also said because the tear duct comes so close to her nasal path, this could cause more issues as she gets older and recommended we get it surgically opened. 





So on Monday, we took JAE to get the procedure done. She wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight and wasn't allowed to drink anything after 3:30am. She was HUNGRY! Thankfully, she was the first surgery of the day. 

Here she is throwing a hunger tantrum when we didn't let her get her milk.

Finally after we were called to the pre-op area, she found entertainment and was temporarily distracted. 
 

I love that they had so much for the young kids here to play with so she didn't think too much about food. 
 

Selfies before she went in for the procedure. Yes, I cried when she was taken in. She was screaming too which just broke my heart. 
I COUNTED every single minute and was so anxious!
 

GOSH, this moment was just too much for words. I was SOOOOOO happy to see my baby. She was still sleepy from being put under but she recognized my voice and had some apple juice before falling back asleep.

J took this picture when I wasn't looking. I can't even tell you how thankful I was to have her back in my arms. She had a full day to recover and was back to  her old self in no time!
 

This was taken yesterday. She didn't have any eye discharge when she woke up. The first time since she was born! So THANKFUL!!! We should know by the end of August if the procedure was a success. We are prayerfully optimistic that it did. 
 

So what are you thankful for today? Look around you? I am sure there are TONS of reasons to be thankful.