A Little Perspective

 I'm struggling to keep things in perspective tonight.

We've encountered a few challenges the last couple days...

1. Torby's team lost the final division championship game on Saturday.  It was just one of those games where nothing went our team's way and the boys were so very disappointed to fall short of a run at the state championship title next weekend.
   
2. Several of us came down with a cold this weekend so nobody is sleeping well at night and our energy levels are low.  
3. We went on a little picnic out Natchez Trace on Sunday afternoon to enjoy the fall foliage and take some photos for our Christmas card but we soon discovered that trying to get a decent photo of all 7 of us is a nearly impossible task.  Very frustrating, but hopefully Per can work his magic in Photoshop and "doctor up" a photo for our card :-).  At least we still managed to have some fun on our picnic and we took plenty of silly photos just for kicks... 
4. Annika jumped off the couch yesterday and bashed her beautiful little face on my desk (have I mentioned that she's a bit of a klutz - just like her mom).  Her bottom teeth cut all the way through her lower lip  leaving a large gash on the inside of her mouth but luckily no major damage requiring stitches on the exterior.  Also, a couple of her top teeth were jammed back up into her gums on impact.  We took her to a pediatric dentist today (after emailing photos to Nils - Per's brother that is also a dentist - and getting his expert advice...thanks Nils and Wendy!!!) where they took some x-rays of her upper teeth.  One of her baby teeth has been pushed up between two of her permanent teeth that are waiting to descend in a few years.  We're going to wait a few weeks and see if her baby tooth decides to descend back into place on it's own or we'll likely have to extract it after Thanksgiving.   I already miss her perfect little smile.
5. And to add to my misery ... it looks like Obama is going to be our next president.  I was already feeling under the weather today but now I'm downright nauseous.  These next 4 years are going to be excruciating ... watching Obama and the Dems tax and spend and spend and spend!  At least I'll have a nice government job soon - since it looks like they'll set out to socialize medicine first.  I've noticed whenever I visit a non-profit health system they have 3 to 5 administrators for every 1 administrator we have in the private health systems so that should bode well for me - I mean I've always needed a couple clones of myself to get the job done - right?  By the way, who is going to pay for all this - oh that's right  - it's ME - the "wealthy" taxpayer.  OK - enough of my ranting and whining ... did I mention I'm not feeling well tonight.

I can't head off to bed filled with all this negative energy.  My sister, Angie, called tonight and even she noticed how depressed I am this evening.  The best cure for my little pity party is to stop and count my blessings - so here goes:

1. I have an awesome husband and companion.  He's the only person on this earth that really understands me ... seriously, I'm an odd one. 
2. I have 4 beautiful, healthy, vivacious children (damaged teeth and all).  I just told Annika "I love you" as she lays here snuggling me and she replied " I love you too" to which I replied "I love you MORE" and she replied with her usual response "what about Daddy?".  Obviously, she thinks that when I say "I love you MORE", I mean I love her more than ANYONE but she's always looking out for her Daddy and making sure that I love him the VERY MOST!!! Such a sweet child...
3. I enjoy so many freedoms in this great country including my most cherished freedom to worship my Saviour, Jesus Christ.  And you know what, he understands me too ... more than I understand myself.  And he loves me!
4. The Neilson and Clark families have blessed my life by sharing their faith during an incredibly challenging time in their lives.  Seriously if you haven't heard their story yet you have to click on this link and get inspired!
5. I'm thankful that Jolien came into our lives.  I think of you often Jolien and we miss you.  Kyra went into Anders' room just last week and wagged her little finger at him as she chided "get off Lien's bed".  He politely obliged and then she climbed onto the bed and said "now, I jump on Lien's bed."  You've trained her well, Jolien!!!
6. I'm grateful for our new friends from Norway (Anders and his family) and these fabulous photos they shared with me.  We've enjoyed learning about Norway from Anders and we're hoping to visit the home of Per's ancestors someday soon.  Look at those gorgeous 18th century homes, that pristine lake, and the incredible snow that they are enjoying already this year ... GORGEOUS!!!  Now I'm going to head off to Dreamland with visions of dancing snowflakes, brisk sleigh rides, and rich hot cocoa dancing through my head.  I AM BLESSED!!!