Can I Get a Praise the Lord?!

I don't know about you, but I find it much too easy to get caught up in the business of life and forget to praise the Lord for the things I have. Especially when things get rough.  The adoption news from Ethiopia has been scary.  High school students get more and more obnoxious the closer we get to spring break.  The weather is cold.  Again.  My son is a teenager.  Enough said. It's enough to make me want to wrap up in my snowman blanket and lay on the couch and feel sorry for myelf.  But as I'm laying there I start to think about all I have and I know that what I really need is a swift kick in the rear.  I am so blessed!  How dare I lay around feeling sorry for myself? 

Yes, the news from Ethiopia is crazy.  There are rumors galore, but not much official news about the MOWA announcement that they plan to reduce adoptions by 90%.  BUT...the little official news there is, is good.  The officer who made the announcement that adoptions would decrease has been fired.  AND, MOWA is currently working at full speed to finish the letters that will clear up the back log of adoption court cases caused by the brief reduction in approval letters.  This is such good news!  Can I get a praise the Lord?! 

It's true.  High school students can be obnoxious.  But I have a job.  A job that most of the time I love.  A job that allows me to watch, and be a part of, students learning new things on a daily basis.  A job that allows me to share my love of learning with others every day.  A job that lets me work with people and students who inspire me. A job that allows me to pay for a car, a house, food, heat, and the occasional indulgence of my shoe fetish.  And for every obnoxious student, there are two more who are great.  Who make me laugh and love my job.  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

It's cold.  So cold that I'm wrapped up with my snowman blanket while I'm typing this.  And according to channel 5 news it's going to stay cold for atleast the next seven days.  Yep.  The next seven days most definitely include spring break.  Serious bummer.  But, I can look out my window right now and see the blooms on my weeping cherry tree.  The daffodils and hyacinths by my front door are blooming and even though I was shivering as I was unlocking the door today I could smell their sweet fragrance.  Spring is right around the corner.  I can smell it!  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

My son.  The teenager.  That doesn't seem possible.  But I'm pretty sure, based on the fact that I have suddenly become very boring and unbearable to him and he suddenly knows all there is to know about everything, that it's true.  He's a teenager.  I miss the two year old who snuggled on my lap after his bath smelling of baby powder and sucking his fingers until he fell asleep.  I miss the five year old with the snaggle tooth grin.  I miss the ten year old who looked down at the floor of Rupp Arena at his first UK game with awe and wonder on his face and said thanks Mom, this is the best birthday ever!  But I love the thirteen year old more.  The one who gives me a glimpse of the wonderful young man that my baby will soon become.  Can I get a praise the Lord?!

Speaking of my son - I have one more word to say- BASEBALL!!!  Yes, the season has begun!  Jeremiah is playing for the high school freshman team and they started their season on Monday with double header wins against Owen County.  Jeremiah got in the game as a runner and his friend Bobby got to start the second game in right field.  Way to go boys! I have pictures and if I'm smart enough to figure out how I will add them.  Not that the boys want me to -  they were pretty much rolling their eyes every time I aimed the camera in their direction, but that didn't stop me!  We had a great time cheering them on to win.

What was I whining about anyway?  I forget.  Life is good.  I am blessed beyond measure.  Can I get a praise the Lord?!