I am constantly talking to Claire and Gregory about being grateful. We discussed it at length the other day, and Gregory summed it up by stating that being grateful is simply saying "thank you" when I make him a sippy cup full of chocolate milk. Claire said that she thought being grateful was "taking care of our nice things and thanking God for our blessings". While both are precious, precious answers (they're only 3 and 5 respectively) I have been pondering this question since our conversation.
I believe that being thankful is more than saying "thank you". I believe that being thankful is an all-encompassing state of mind that overshadows every aspect of your life. When you are thankful, you are aware of the blessings that God has so richly showered upon you. And when you are aware of these blessings, you seem to take better care of them, whether they are people or things. When you take care of your blessings, you are kinder and more thoughtful of their presence in your life. When you are thoughtful, you are aknowledging that you are not the only person on the planet, and thus live a more selfless life. Being selfless allows you to serve others and love as Jesus loved.
One of my goals as a parent is to raise gracious children. I want them to know that they are blessed by God beyond measure. I want them to thank Him for these blessings and then in turn, take precious care of these blessings. I want them to be thoughtful and kind, because they realize that each person or animal or thing is a gift from God. I want them to be selfless, knowing that while they are the center of MY universe...they are not the center of THE universe. And when someone gives them a gift, or even a cup of chocolate milk...I want them to look that person in the eyes and say "thank you".
I tell my babies all the time, "it's about more than just having good manners..." Anyone can have good manners. It takes someone that is truly thankful for the gifts in their life to live a life of graciousness.
I know it's a lesson that is a little much for a three year old to wrap his brain around, but maybe someday he'll thank me for it......

Reason to Celebrate

It is official. We are purchasing our new home and will close sometime next week. I've got to get busy packing (again!) and picking out paint. Needless to say, the next two weeks are going to be a bluuuuurrrr! I will post pictures soon! Until then, stay tuned.........

At some point, there are people in your life that you've been friends with for so long, they stop being friends and are just considered family.Lori is one of those people to me. I have more memories of my childhood that include her than ones that do not. Elementary school, middle school, summer camp, the SH youth group, Cooper High school, first cars, first kisses, days in the pool, ACU...the list is endless. I still recall the exact moment that she introduced me to "Cody Paty"...
This friendship has come into clear focus this week. Lori's precious younger brother, Ben, passed away suddenly on Monday evening in Houston. The shock, sadness, and devastation are as raw as any emotions I have ever experienced. I have witnessed a family experience a loss so great, I wonder how they will ever go on.
I have so many good memories of Ben. He was a wonderful young man, a beautiful soul, that touched the lives of those he came in contact with. I grieve for a loss that I cannot begin to understand or explain. I grieve for a friend that will spend the rest of her life with the word "why" attached to her lips.
I struggle with how to be the kind of friend that Lori needs right now. I am thankful that the words, "I love you" communicate more than anything else I could possibly say.
I covet your prayers for this precious family.

Unwelcomed Visitor

As I type this post, I am propped up in bed with pillows, the remote control, and a tall glass of Sprite on the nightstand. I haven't ventured out of this position much today, since I awoke at 3:30 this morning, seemingly inheriting the stomach bug that Meredith was dealing with yesterday. Thankfully, I have an amazing husband that is holding the fort down and keeping things running as smoothly as possible. And thankfully, I have a wonderful mama that came to my rescue today. There's nothing wrong with the fact that my umbilical cord is still attached....those things can stretch from here to Abilene just fine.
I would write more except I just heard Gregory lose his dinner all over the dining room floor....3 down, 2 to go....

October was a whirlwind at the Paty house! I think we had something "big" going on every weekend of the month. Claire turned 5 (sigh), Cody had his 10 year reunion at ACU, and then Halloween...somewhere in the mix we have faithfully attended Sweetwater football games (we play for the district championship against Wylie tomorrow...go Mustangs!) and don't forget Texas Tech beating my Texas Longhorns last weekend. Cody is still glowing from that game! We are still on for the move around the first week of December. I am starting to get really excited about our new house! I may need a padded room by the time I move in the middle of the holidays, but after the year we've had, I can't think of anything more appropriate to wind up 2008: more stress. :) Blessings to you for a wonderful weekend!
P.S. I hate formatting in Blogger...sorry for the crazy post.

Dear Residents of Vards Lane:

It is with mixed emotions that I write this letter to inform you that any plans you had prepared to defraud your insurance company into paying for that cracked windshield by blaming it on our construction vehicles will no longer be legit. You see, we have made the difficult decision to, in fact, purchase a home in another part of the city, instead of spending an extra $30,000 on the marital therapy that it was inevitably going to require to accomplish the difficult task of building our new home. As much as we love each other, and the philosophy of "enriching" our marriage through "challenging life experiences", we personally do not believe in marital suicide, and therefore are choosing life instead.
We would like to believe that the Lord himself has intervened in this entire process. We have prayed fervently for Him to show us His path and will for our lives, and we have felt called to another location. Please do not take our decision personally, as we would have loved to have had all of you as neighbors. I believe we have met all of you in the last few weeks in one occasion or another. My personal favorite was the nice lady who lives at the end of the street that greeted me as my bank teller. I simply asked for a cashier's check to take to the title company to pay for the lot...she so graciously interrupted with, "My stars...you're the ones building a new house on Vards Lane! Welcome to the neighborhood!" complete with a rather large hug. While it was, indeed, a quaint moment, I must admit that I wondered how many of those moments would be shared over a rather large bowl of potato salad at every neighborhood 4th of July picnic in the future.
In closing, our prayer is that another family will be called to this location and you will soon have more neighborhood children in which your children may run amuck with. Until then, feel free to stop by our new home on Morris Avenue anytime after the 1st of December.

Best Wishes,
The Paty's

So...when are you due?

Our bestest of friends, the Gleatons, had dinner with us tonight at a local eatery. We were a sight to behold, I'm sure, with the four adults huddled at the end of the table, laughing and talking. Our two infant girls, born only 5 weeks apart, close by...whining and begging for more bites of table food. And then there were the four other children at the end of the table...they were so entertaining, the couple sitting behind us didn't even speak to one another because they were too busy staring at the circus only 5 feet away from them. These are the instances when I quietly request that Cody tips the waitress a little extra because I know she has earned her money...
All that to say, the 4 of us got into a pretty hilarious discussion. We started telling stories of how we had "put our foot in our mouth" in certain situations. Some were those "awwww...that is SO WRONG" kind of embarassing stories, some were just jaw-dropping speechless embarassing, and then there were some that just made you cringe. You know what I'm talking about, right? The kinds of situations you find yourselves in where you ask the lady when she's due, and she's not pregnant? Yep....that's what I'm saying.
So, I'm curious. Has anyone else out there put their foot in their mouth like the 4 of us have, or are we just freaks with no tact?
If so, we may be freaks, but we have awfully cute kids. The waitress even said so.