Thankfulness

This Thanksgiving, I want to take the time to be truly thankful for the things that matter the most - family. I know I have said it before, and I will say it over and over, but I am so thankful for Mikayla and Macey. They are the lights of my life, and I don't know what I would do without them. Adam has been exactly what I need, and God knew it when we came together. It hasn't been a smooth road, but we just celebrated five years last Friday. We went to Texas de Brazil in downtown Fort Worth, and ate more than we could stand.

Roy and Mary came into town this past weekend, and the girls had a blast with Grandma Mary and Grandfather. They watched the girls on Friday night, so that Adam and I could go out for our anniversary. Saturday, we went to Lowe's Build and Grow, then out to eat at Chili's for lunch. Mik and I had been having some stomach troubles from some old hot cocoa a couple days before, so we were starting to feel a little bit better. We were headed to "The Cowboy Boat," AKA Cowboy's Stadium in Arlington to watch the Trinity Trojans take on the Allen Eagles in a high school football playoff. As Mikayla and I are walking up to buy the tickets, Mikayla bends over and pukes up all of her mandarin oranges and "chicken lips" as she called chicken strips. Needless to say, we turned around and headed home. We made it home and took naps, waking up feeling rejuvenated. SuSu and Daddy Pat came over that night for a fajita feast, and we all enjoyed laughing and playing. Susu brought out the "buzzards" and chased the girls, riling them up just in time for bed.

Sunday, we went to the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine to see the ice sculpture exhibit called "Ice! Shrek the Halls." It was eight rooms of Shrek-themed ice sculptures. The exhibit is an air-conditioned tent chilled to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. They give guests blue parkas to wear inside the exhibit. It was Macey's first time, and she did not crack a smile the entire time we were inside. Mikayla had gone last year, when Grandfather was here, but it was "A Charlie Brown Christmas." After the Ice!, we went to Babe's Chicken for a chicken fried steak and fried chicken dinner.





This week, I've been off school, so I have been at home with the girls all day. Tuesday was probably the most adventurous of all the days. I was cleaning in the living room when Mikayla came in and told me to "Look at your daughter."
I went in to see Macey had eaten - or attempted to eat - a blue marker. Her face was covered in blue, as well as her hands and shirt. She was as happy as a clam, and I don't think she understood when I had to take away the blue marker. I put her in the tub - which she loves - but the blue wouldn't come off. It took several tries with some rubbing alcohol to get it off, and a faint hint of blue could still be detected.

Clean and placed back in the playroom - sans blue marker - I resumed my cleaning in the living room, only to be interrupted again by Mikayla telling me Macey had ripped a book, and that I was "not going to be happy." I went in the playroom to see Macey with a hundred little pieces of my favorite childhood book, "The Story About Ping." Which was printed in the 1930's, and was already fragile. It was up on a top shelf, and I wasn't sure how she even got ahold of it. She had ripped the book to shreds. I was so upset, Macey got her first real spanking. Two swats on the butt with my hand. She absolutely fell apart and cried, with a face that told me her heart was broken. I picked up all the pieces, and I took them to the dining room table. I sat there, trying to piece the jigsaw puzzle back to some semblance of a book.

About 10 minutes into my puzzle, I hear giggles, squeals and squeaks coming from the playroom. With what Macey has already done, I knew this couldn't be good. I walk in to the
playroom, and there she was, sitting on top of Mikayla's toy kitchen. The kitchen is at least four and a half feet tall, and only about a foot wide where she was sitting. At this point, all I could do was smile. I sighed, and Macey was happy as a clam. She thought it was hilarious, and grinned and giggled at herself. It appears that I have two handfuls.

I can only be thankful for my two handfuls, though. Mikayla and Macey have brought joy, peace and love to my life that I never knew was missing. Next to Jesus, I am more thankful for those two little girls than any other gift I have ever received. My wish is for them to always know how much they are loved and cherished.

Dear God, Let my mommy calm down!

Things have been a little stressful in the Mercer household the past few weeks. I've been going through my thyroid symptoms all over again, and it's taking its toll on me physically and emotionally. This morning was particularly stressful, as Mikayla missed the potty, and we had to change her clothes, which made us late out of the door. As we were in the car headed to school, Mikayla was once again asking me a million questions, and wanting me to do a million things for her all at once. I told her she needed to calm down and be patient. Then she says, "Dear God, please let my mommy calm down." That was all I needed to take away the stress and put a smile on my face!

Mikayla also had a dentist appointment today. It's her second one, and she was actually looking forward to it. She enjoyed it the first time, and didn't have to face the dreaded drill (like so many have to), so she gets excited about the dentist. When I picked her up from day care today, I told her to come on, we were headed to the dentist, and her face lit up as she said, "Oh Mommy! I was dreaming about this all day long!" True to form, she was perfectly wonderful during the appointment. She smiled, and talked to the dental hygienist the entire time. Every time someone complimented her, she would reply with the sweetest, "Thank you."

I fall more in love with my Macey-bear every day. She is literally the sweetest little girl I have ever been around. She gives hugs all the time, and just wants to be with everyone. She wants to sit in Adam or my lap, or sit with one of us all the time. She laughs and smiles at us all the time. She's starting to talk a little bit more, but at this point, I don't think she sees much of a need to talk, as her sister does most of the talking for her.

Macey love hugging everything, and she loves shoes! She carries her shoes around, and wants me to put her shoes on her. As soon as they are on, she takes them off, then wants me to put them back on her. It's constant. It's cute, and I'll play along for a little bit.


For Halloween, Mikayla was Strawberry Shortcake, and Macey was a watermelon. They were pretty cute together. Mikayla loved being Strawberry Shortcake, and she got a lot of compliments on her costume. Some people even told her that they thought she was the real Strawberry Shortcake. She thought that was pretty neat! Macey was about the cutest thing in the world, too. She full understood this year about getting candy. You could NOT take away her bucket. She knew it was hers, and she knew what was in it.



Last Tuesday, the 25th, we went to Gateway's Fall Festival. This is our fourth year to go, and it has grown exponentially every year. It was at the new Southlake campus this year, and the girls enjoyed the games and candy. On Saturday night, we went to a Trunk-or-Treat at a Methodist church in town, and then Sunday night, we went to Lake Country's Fallapalooza. I was impressed with the Fallapalooza. It reminded me of when I was younger, and we had the "Jubilee Jamboree" at Lake Country. There were rides and games, and even a pony ride! It was Mikayla's first time on a horse, and she wasn't scared! Monday night, which was actually Halloween, we went to First Baptist Justin's "Trunk-or-Treat," then we came home and went door-to-door to trick-or-treat. Mikayla had it down, and wasn't scared to ring doorbells. Macey trotted right along with her up to the doors, but Macey was so tired, she had to ride in the stroller most of the night.

There was one house in particular that had a lot of Halloween decorations. The owners were in the driveway in costume with a chainsaw, and the garage door was open, with a strobe light and fog machine. Mikayla wanted to go up to house, but Adam and I told her it was too scary for her. She insisted that she wasn't scared, and that she wanted to get candy from that house. She started to walk up the driveway, and just as she reached the candy bowl, the guy with the chainsaw ripped the cord. "VVVRROOOOOOMMM!" screamed the chainsaw, as children and teens yelped and shrieked in excitement, but Mikayla was not excited. She turned around and was terrified. I ran up to her to comfort her, but the chainsaw scared her badly. She started to cry, so I scooped her up, and tried to calm her down. When I set her down, I bent at the knees to make myself her same height. I was telling her it would be okay, and I could feel her little heart pumping so hard. The thought of getting more candy in her bucket soon took her mind off the chainsaw, but I know I will have to spend an entire year hearing about "that boy with the chainsaw who scared me."