Jumping Daisy

A couple of years ago I was at a professional development event of some kind and the presenter asked a question.  He said, “Picture the tallest building in Iowa City.  Imagine that your child is that high up, and in danger of falling.  In order to save them, you must cross a narrow 20 foot beam in the sky.  Would you do that to save your child?”

My answer was simple.  I would do that to save any child.  Wouldn’t we all?  My faith in humanity has been waning for some time now.  There are people who will steal your wedding gifts, people who will take your cell phone or your unattended spare change.  There are people who will assault children.  And there are people who could step in and help, but chose not to.  The Penn State situation is hitting me pretty hard.  I do not understand any person who does not take the care and love of ALL of our children as their responsibility when faced with the sight of abuse.

I am so thankful for my children, and for all of the children that I get to spend time with through my family, friends and the girl’s schools.  Children are amazing creatures.  Their innocence is an gift that gives us so much opportunity to know this world as God wants us to see it.  Their joy is pure and genuine.  Their anger and sadness is also pure and genuine.  We owe it to God and to every person who has a vested interest in the kind of world that we live in to step in and care for those who need us, adults and children alike.  Children need us, and we need them.

Matthew 19:14

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Last night I made it to the gym for the first time in…a while.  I wasn’t feeling so thankful for my workout just yet though…Last night when I put Leila to bed I asked her what the best and worst parts of her day were, as I do every night.  Yesterday’s best part was about going to recess.  Leila said, “I felt so free!  I walked out the door, and I counted to ten and then I ran! And I felt so free!”  I got it, right away.  I myself had pushed myself a little harder, and ran a little further than my body was accustomed to, all because of that freeing feeling.

This fall my cousin was in a farming accident and lost one of his legs as a result. As an athletic high school senior, his life started looking a bit different.  Being the resilient young man that he is, it didn’t take long for him to get moving again, but I bet it will be a while before he is running.  I have no doubt that it will happen though.  For now, I am thankful for my healthy body that allows me to feel that free feeling as I run around and around the track at Performance Health. I am thankful for my sweet, thoughtful daughter and her ability to vocalize her feelings in such a cool way.  I am also thankful for Collin’s resilience, and that before we know it, he will be running too!

Cory and I have a tradition.  A couple of times a week we come home from work at lunch time, and we fire up the DVR.  We get to watch an episode of one of our favorite shows with no interruption from little kids.  Love the time with my husband, and with the cast of Modern Family.

I found this on pinterest, and I love this kind of thing so I tried it with both of my girls.

Lets Start with Thea:

What is your name? Thea Coobs

How old are you? Two

What is your favorite color? Purple

Favorite Animal? Pigs

What do you want to be when you are grown up? I don’t know (Me either kid!)

What is your favorite Movie? Jake and the Neverland Pirates

Favorite Book? Curious George

What makes you happy? Having a drink

What makes you sad? Having my cup taken away

Favorite food to eat? Noodles

Favorite Song to sing? ABCs

What games do you like to play? (after some coaching) I Spy with My Little Eye

And now for Miss Leila:

What is your name? Leila Brianne Coobs

How old are you? Five

What is your favorite color? Purple

Favorite Animal? Cats

What do you want to be when you are grown up? A Mom and a Teacher

What is your favorite Movie? Rio

Favorite Book?  Dirty and Wet Dogs,  The Storytelling Princess

What makes you happy? Spending time with my family

What makes you sad? When someone won’t let me play with them or pushes me down

Favorite food to eat? Ice Cream

Favorite Song to sing? Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light

What games do you like to play? Uno and Soccer

I left off the question about “Who is your best friend?”  for a reason.  Mostly because I didn’t want to hear Leila’s answer.  I asked her the other day who she plays with at school and her answer was that So and so and So and so are Best friends, and Other girl and her neighbor are best friends and I don’t have a best friend!   Really, I am not worried about her having friends.  Cassie sees her interacting with other kids all the time and she is kind of a queen bee and doesn’t seem to care who wants to play with her and is perfectly happy doing her own thing if the other kids aren’t doing something that she wants to participate in.  I am taking the focus off of who her friends are, and encouraging her to do the things that she wants to do, and letting the friendship issue work itself out.

I spent my evening tonight at Leila’s school volunteering at the annual book fair.  There are a lot of parents that put in extra work to make the school a great place, and my 2 hour volunteer shift is but a drop in the bucket for the effort that goes into making sure that all of our children have the books, technology and teachers that they need to succeed.  I had a hard time adjusting to Kindergarten and the independence that was going to be required of my little girl but a couple of months in and I can see how Leila has grown and matured, and I have also grown comfortable with Leila’s teacher, who is more than capable of taking care of her classroom, even though it is bursting at the seams.

And all of this for the small price of my property taxes.  I am so thankful for public education. For the exposure that Leila gets to kids from all different backgrounds and for the development of her young mind.

I really enjoyed working at the book fair and watching the children getting to pick out their books.  They would reluctantly pass them across the table so that I could scan the bar code and quickly grab them back, declining the bag so that they could carry their new treasure home in their arms.  Refreshing.

After living in temporary housing for six months last year, I grew a very clear appreciation for my attached garage and fenced yard.  Without those luxuries that I had always taken for granted I found myself sprinting through the rain holding kids and packages to get indoors during the summer rain showers.  Without a fenced back yard we were on the hook to walk the dog a couple of times a day, which in itself isn’t a big deal, but dragging two kids out of the building first thing in the morning to walk the dog while Cory was out of town and I couldn’t be sure that my kids wouldn’t burn the place down while I strolled around the block, it became a big deal.

Now that we have a working washing machine again after nearly a month of dragging our laundry to family member homes or worse yet–the laundry mat, I have a new appreciation for that luxury as well.

I get to live in a beautiful home that we picked out on paper and watched being built.  That is an amazing blessing.

The Hawks pulled out an unexpected win today! I am thankful the for the win, but I am also thankful for the team on the days when we lose.  I have been a Hawkeye fan for most of my life.  In fact, when my family first relocated to the eastern side of Iowa the Hawkeye fever was definitely the highlight for me. Moving away from my friends at 13 years old and before the days of Facebook and even e-mail was a miserable experience, but I am thankful that I had the Hawks to concentrate on.  Even though they were terrible then, I loved them anyway.  And I still love them in the good times and the bad, but especially in the good. 😉  Go Hawks!

The contents of the recliner in my living room that is currently holding a Daddy and his two precious daughters.  I can’t even put into words how much I love them all.  I love my husband more every day.  Raising children with him has been such a wonderful experience, and seeing the love and attention he has for our girls melts my heart.

Leila and Thea are the most amazing little spirits.  They are so different from one another, and yet both so perfect.  I love Leila’s free spirit and her Mommy instinct.  I am pretty sure she is bound to be a teacher one day.

I love little Thea’s sweet stubborn little personality.  She is so sweet and cuddly, but don’t get the wrong idea, she is no push over!

Watching them grow and change and experience this world is an amazing gift.  Everything in this world is better with these three by my side.

I think we have a bit of a Halloween tradition started.  Last year looked a lot like this year.  Lots of family around to enjoy dinner, hand out candy and walk the kids around the block.  We had a great time with our family and our neighbors!

Thea ran up and down the street saying, “I have a beautiful wand!” as she swung her wand back and forth.  She loved being a fairy!

Leila, Mabel, Veda, Thea, Sawyer and Quincy the not so happy kitty cat.

More pictures on Facebook!

You had to see this one coming.  I am thankful for all of my family, and I am sure I will focus on more of them individually throughout the month, because they are all just that awesome but today I am thankful for Cassie.  Not only is she a wonderful aunt to my kids, but she shows such love to all of the children in her life through her work at Van Allen.  We are ALL lucky to have Cassie.

She also helps me put my kids to bed when I am at the end of my rope with a husband out of town.  She is pretty much awesome.  Ask anyone in my neighborhood and they will tell you, Cassie is amazing.

Ask anyone in the Van Allen district under 4 feet tall and they will tell you that Cassie rocks.  She is a role model, a friend and a teacher and our whole community is lucky to have her, but I am lucky to have her in my very own house.  And as an added bonus, sometimes I even get mistaken for my beautiful little sister! 🙂