silver linings

yesterday was a bad day, just to name a few . . .brooklyn broke braden’s glasses. i learned that i unintentionally hurt another coworker’s feelings. baylor decided he didn’t want to play football. berkeley said she missed me so bad that she wanted to have a sleepover in my room just to spend some time with me. brady had to shoot AGAIN. braden has been seeing orange halos around objects. brooklyn fell, hit her front tooth and cut off the blood supply and now her front tooth is completely gray. the plants on my front porch are dead. i’m out of milk. my redbox movie is 2 days overdue. i haven’t kissed, like really kissed my husband in like weeks because when I am home he is working and when I am working he is home. sounds lame, i know, but after working a 12 hour day (i'm preparing for an international conference that's happening next week) and coming home to four kids and no husband . . . life felt a bit overwhelming. when the night was over, and all the family demands had been met, kids fed-check, garbage out-check, dishes loaded-check, baths-check.

i collapsed on the couch exhausted. without brady there, i felt completely alone. as i thought about my bad day, i began a silent prayer. knowing Brady was working on a shoot again tomorrow, my thoughts were mainly for Heavenly Father to give me the strength to do this again tomorrow on my own. as i sat there in my self pity and silence, the words to count your blessings began to flood my mind. i realized as i thought about the hard parts of my day, that there were blessings i was missing and that i wasn't alone. He was with me every step of the way and that i need Him every hour.

it helped to recognize the little blessings, it made me realize that i could wake up and do this all over again today, and again tomorrow. and those blessings, let me tell you . . .

brooklyn broke braden’s glasses.
brooklyn broke braden’s glasses while they were wrestling and giggling on the floor.

i learned that i unintentionally hurt another coworker’s feelings
i apologized to my coworker and gained a deeper friendship and respect after confronting a problem.

baylor decided he didn’t want to play football
since baylor isn’t playing football, i'll be depositing $265.00 in my bank account.

berkeley said she misses me so bad that she wanted to have a sleepover in my room.
berkeley and i made a mommy/daughter date to see ramona and beezus.

brady had to shoot AGAIN.
brady has a job that he loves.

braden is seeing orange halos around objects.
braden can see the ophthalmologist of our choice because we have great health insurance.

brooklyn fell, hit her front tooth and cut off the blood supply causing her front tooth to turn completely gray.
that gray tooth is a baby tooth.

the plants on my front porch are dead.
the plants can be replaced and that front porch is mine.

i’m out of milk.
they can drink water.

my redbox movie is 2 days overdue.
i know where that redbox movie is.

i haven’t kissed my husband while awake in weeks because when i am home, he is working and when i am working, he is home.
i have a husband to kiss.

every cloud has a silver lining. you just have to look for it.