Thankful.

Can I be honest about something?  Last night was rough.  Like woken up to puke projected everywhere kind of rough.  We woke up to Ona crying at two am, which is totally unusual.  Upon opening the door to her room, we were met with a putrid stench.  Let's just say it was chunky and everywhere.  Oh, and it didn't stop for two hours.  This is a first for Ona and a first for us.  We learned after the fourth set of pj's to just leave her in her diaper.  Puke in my hair? Yea, that happened.  Three sets of sheets later, her tummy finally settled down and she was able to go back to sleep just in time for Ila to wake up for her four am snack.  Can I say it again?  Last night was rough.  When I finally settled back into bed it was nearly five am.  I couldn't help but to think about how gross the past three hours had been, how tired I was, and how bad I felt for Kerry who had to work a twelve hour shift on three hours of sleep.  Then amidst these feelings something happened.  Somehow reflecting through the chaos of the night's events, I found myself being gently reminded to be thankful.  Thankful?  Thankful for a projectile puking daughter?  No.  But so thankful.  Thankful that Ona has seven sets of pj's.  Thankful for a utility sink to rinse said chunks.  Thankful for a washing machine with hot water to sanitize said seven sets of pj's and three sets of sheets.  Thankful for a husband who couldn't see a dang thing because he couldn't find his glasses, but held the puke bucket for his little girl anyways.  Thankful for Lysol.  What's even more.  Thankful that we have a little girl to hold after a not-so-fun bought of the stomach flu.  Putrid smell and all.  I was reminded that there are so, so, so many things that can bog us down and stomp on our joy.  But gosh I am so blessed.  Lying there at five am, I found myself silently counting all these little things I was thankful for as if they were those silly sheep from Ona's bedtime story.  I fell asleep pondering these things and woke up a few hours later feeling ridiculously tired, yet so full.  Thank you Lord for reminding me that I am so blessed.  And for my gorgeous girls.  Oh, and for strong coffee. 

p.s. "Bow Wow," as Ona calls him, got hit with the brunt of one puking episode.  He took a ride on the WM as in Washing Machine Roller Coaster.  ;)