Welcome to Thankful on a Thursday!  Where I try extra-special hard to look on the bright side of thing.  Even things…no especially things…which might seem difficult to face at first.

Did you know the Ladybug had a birthday recently?

Look at that big girl! August 2010.

Yep, she turned the big…6.

Did you know 6 was big?

I didn’t until we got here, but here we are with a 6 year old and it feels BIG.

A homemade PINK ice cream cake--just call me Supermom!

It feels so big, in fact that sometimes I feel totally overwhelmed.  And  I cry.

Oh yes, I cry.

My 6 year old looked at me the other day and said, “I am not wearing those blue socks.  My friends at school are not going to think those look good.”  What did I do?

Well, first off I gave her a good lecture on how honoring God and getting a good education have nothing to do with blue knee socks…

August 2010.

…And then I went downstairs and cried to Mr. Fix-It.

Who knew that 10 days after her 6th birthday my daughter would turn into a peer-obsessed fashionista?  (If you did, keep it to yourself. And boy do have some words for those folks that say kids can’t express their individuality with school uniforms…If I have to tell her to stop scrunching her knee socks to her ankles one more time…!)

I’m already missing my innocent little K5 girl.

May 2009. K5 graduation.

Or maybe it all started back with my little K4 chick-a-dee-dee.

May 2008. K4 graduation.

Or maybe…

Dare I even think back, and risk my poor heart?

Oh, {sigh}, just never mind.

But today I am sooooo thankful for Christian education opportunities.   Our children have the special blessing to attend a small (very small) Christian Academy operated by our church.  A school where they’re taught not just to memorize the Word, but to love it, study it, apply it, and model it for the world.  “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (James 1:22).

Who could be sad for long, looking at the great little people they are turning out to be! September 2010.

And to memorize it.  “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  (Psalms 119:11).

And I am thankful for Christian teachers and preachers, who surround our children with valuable role models for Christian living.  “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.  You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you…” (Deuteronomy 5:32-33). And love them with a patience I occasionally (ok, ok, occasionally a lot) envy.

And I am thankful for Mr. Fix-It.  For a husband who takes being a father seriously.  A father who spends time with his kids.  Who knows his kids.  Who takes an interest in their education, their behavior, and their character development (although not in matching pjs).  “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.”  (Proverbs 4:1).

Back when her age was measured in months (no, weeks!) not years. 2006.

And, as always, I am thankful for a Father in heaven that answers prayers.  ‘Cause it takes a lot of them to keep my life on track.  “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth: and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”  (Matthew 7:7-8).

3 healthy, happy kiddos. August 2010.

Thanks to God’s amazing blessings, we’re not just on track around here—we’re Walkin’ in High Cotton!