Thankful Thursday

So a girlfriend of mine does a weekly post called Thankful Thursday...and it occurred to me that I haven't voiced what I'm thankful for lately.

Bear with me...the story has a point.

I've been a little down the last couple of weeks. I'm having a really hard time getting used to only seeing Madelyn awake and happy for an hour or two a day. Her poor little tummy causes her to be pretty cranky some days and by the time I get home, I've got an hour or so before I start the whole routine of putting her to bed. She's figured out what certain actions mean and she's not so hip on bedtime every night. She loves her bath, but she knows once bath time is over, we're going to start getting ready for bed and she fights it pretty good. Add into that the fact that most babies aren't so happy in the early evening anyway (my friend Kim calls it the witching hours - from 5 to 8 pm) and I don't get to see a lot of my happy, laughing baby.

Jim's work schedule has been crazy for the last two weeks and he has the same run next week so we have maybe half an hour of face time in the morning and half an hour in the evening. During that time, one of us is generally feeding Madelyn while the other is trying to get ready for work. Not exactly quality couple time. Heck, it's not even family time. It's rush time.

So, I've been feeling sorry for myself. Not liking the situation and just generally feeling down.

But last night was different.

Maddy was happy (yea!) and that allowed me to play with her *and* get some stuff done around the house. Granted, it wasn't much, but getting anything done feels like an accomplishment. Madelyn loves it when we dance, so while we were upstairs, I put on Carrie Underwood and danced with my baby to "All American Girl". While I was dancing with her, I was listening to the lyrics and overwhelmed at just how much I love this little person, how very precious she is to me....my little All American Girl. Despite the sleep deprivation, challenges of being the only one on baby duty all night long, tummy troubles and fussy babies, just how very, very blessed I am to have her.

So - today....

I'm thankful I have a job. It allows me to provide for my daughter, even though I'm away from her more than I would like.

And I'm thankful I have a husband with a steady job. If I were to loose mine, he would continue to provide for us and we'd be okay. Poorer than we'd like, but okay.

I'm thankful that husband is so helpful around the house and has started doing things outside of his comfort zone, like cooking dinner for us.

I'm thankful that husband loves me enough and is caring enough to mend fences when we're being snippy with each other because we're rushed, we're tired, and we are generally grumpy that we're not spending enough time together.

And....I'm so very thankful for my little All American Girl. She is so, so precious to me.

And finally, I'm thankful that God let me know the kind of love I've never known before....that of a husband who wants to build a relationship and a family, despite the challenges, and the love a mother feels for her child. It is both awe inspiring and humbling.