Thankful Thursday

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

-Romans 8:37

Happy Thankful Thursday!!  I am definitely giving thanks today for being more than a conqueror!  Seriously, I can definitely see and tell how much stronger I have grown in my faith and as a person.  This past week has been challenging in many aspects and I am thankful that I have been able to handle each challenge well.  This is welcomed progress for me.

I'm thankful that JJ continues to do well with his speech therapy.  He had a great session yesterday and we got him to say the word egg using his toy dinosaur egg.  Now, we're going to continue to work on getting him to verbalize on a regular basis instead of just having these random verbal outbursts where he'll say a certain word once or twice and then stop.  We need him to get used to saying them daily and when prompted to repeat them.  We're still working on teaching him how to sign as well.

And I'm thankful that Moo has been very helpful with that.  She's learned some of the signs and when she talks to him uses the signs as well.  I'm just amazed and in awe of that little girl y'all!  And while I know that she's a great kid and that she loves her brother to death, it just surprises me how hard to she goes out of her way to be so supportive for him.  Like, I didn't even think she would be so interested in learning to sign, but she's always asking me what sign is for this word or that word so that she can use it when she talks to him.  I feel like I'm seeing another new side of her compassionate nature and I'm falling more in love with her than I already am.

And that same for JJ.  I'm thankful that this past week, especially he seems to be more affectionate.  He's really been into letting me hold him, giving hugs and that's a welcomed change.  He was going through this stage where he seemed like he was getting too cool for hugs and kisses from Mommy.  I'm glad that's not the case because 2 years old is definitely too soon for him to going through that change.  Now, when he becomes a teenager, I will understand and try to respect his space and not embarrass him in front his friends by smothering him or plastering him with kisses.

I'm thankful that the Mr and I celebrated 9 years of being together.  Yep, it's been 9 years since we first met and decided to go steady and eventually get married.  When I look back over those 9 years, I feel grateful that we've made it this far.  I'm thankful that we still feel like our relationship is worth maintaining and fighting for daily.  My anniversary prayer was that we continue to grow and that God molds us into even better spouses for each other.

I'm thankful that the YUMMommy community keeps growing.  Like seriously, you guys are the best!  We're almost at 600 likes on Facebook and everyday I'm getting new followers on Twitter and seeing more readers and new commentators here on the blog.   But it's not really the numbers that excite me, it's the fact that you guys are reaching out to me and other moms (and dads) are seeing that and starting to join in.

I've had some of you tweet me questions, ask for advice through the messages on the YUMM Facebook page and that makes happy knowing that you trust and respect my opinion enough to seek it.  I love that some of you who have probably been following along in silence for a long time are starting to interact more and come out of your shell.  That's why I started this blog and continue to blog.  I love community, the sharing of our journeys and stories with each other and the support!

Lastly, I'm thankful for unexpected blessings and renewal.  I have mentioned on here that I was writing a novel and honestly, for a while I got overwhelmed with it.  I felt like the ideas for chapters were coming faster than I could keep up with an then I would get frustrated when I couldn't remember them.  And in a fit of writer's rage, I chucked everything except for the first chapter I wrote.  Like it was completely gone.

I write my chapters out by hand first and then them type but I haven't typed some of what I wrote in ages.  And so I shredded everything to pieces and threw it in the recycling.  Then it hit me that I just pretty much deleted half my novel and a feeling of 'what-have-you-done' panic started to sink in.  But something awesome happened last Friday, I got a fresh idea for my novel's storyline.

And it was honestly better than what I had previously wrote.  So, I've gone back over the first chapter and fine tuned it a little.  And now I'm working on chapter two and because I don't feel as much pressure to hurry up and get this story out, the ideas aren't coming faster than I jot them down but just right.  I've found my fiction writing groove again and I love it.  I'm looking forward to releasing Forever Branded (yep, I kept the title) and seeing what the response will be.  

I'm even taking the time to put together resources for a book tour online as well as lining up the information to do book signing at my local libraries and bookstores.  No, half-stepping on this project.  Writing is my craft and I want to treat it as such.  So, stay tuned.  And don't forget that you can check me out on my author/book blog.  It was really important for me to keep YUMMommy separate since I'll be passing the reigns on to Moo and JJ when they become parents.

Anyways, I hope that everyone reading this is having a blessed day and that you remember that you are more than a conqueror!  You have power over your life and that no matter how bad things seem at this moment, they're still not as worst as they could be. There is still something to be thankful for.

So, what are you giving thanks for today?