Why I am Thankful

A chilly Thanksgiving Day wok.
Sharing secrets already.No sun in the sky ... doesn't matter.
As night turned into Thanksgiving Day and morning broke, the girls woke up a 6:00 in not such a good mood. They had been up at 3:30 and were now inconsolable as a clouded sky shielded the morning sun. We had expected that the grey day would perhaps afford us sleep until 7. That was not the case this morning, and we each took a baby off to a different room in the hopes that at least one of us would get one of them quiet and that it would happen before the boys were torn from sleep. We met again at 6:45, walking down the stairs, heads hanging, pajamas unusually rumpled, what hair we have left a mess, and praying that we would have 15 minutes before the boys started throwing books.We poured coffee and sat down next to each other to catch the news before the television was put into service for the toddlers. We sat and drank our coffee and talked for a few minutes, which brings me to why I am thankful. I am thankful for the chaos. I am thankful for the chaos because I shared a cup of coffee with my husband this morning and truly enjoyed it. The chaos gives us a whole new sense of accomplishment. The chaos often results in laughter, and sometimes it results in sheer wonder. The chaos draws nearly everything into sharp contrast and makes those small moments, like sharing a cup of coffee, meaningful.Mostly though, the chaos has stripped me bare and left me in awe. We are constantly planning ahead, and at the same moment we are constantly dealing with the here and now of four children in diapers. We are tired and frazzled. But there are those moments in the constant circle of days where I am thankful. When we look down and Benjamin has laid down between his sisters with an arm around each and all on their bellies, or when the immense energy of Nicholas brings him screaming into the living room at full speed, I wonder at what I ever really enjoyed before these people arrived. When Elaine comes three quarters of the way toward rolling over, I imagine there is no one I will ever cheer for more. When, at 4:30 in the morning, Alida will not eat her food and I suddenly hear her laughing, I can’t help but smile and my heart swells. And in all the chaos, I hope we continue to remember that we are thankful. We are thankful to God for the chance to be the custodians of these four little people as they make their way up in the world.