B is for Blessed (Blogging Through the Alphabet)

It's week two of Blogging The Alphabet and that means another post to share a bit of our lives with you.

Letter B turned out to be a bit harder for me to find something to write about but after much though, I realized that "Blessed" seems the perfect B word to describe my family.  We have been blessed in so many ways.

I often complain a bit about living in the middle of the desert in California but honestly, being here has been a blessing more than a curse.  The career field that my husband is in with the Air Force is only at a very small handful of bases - 5 to be exact.  And of those bases, the other 4 bases are known for long hours and constant weekend duty assignment.  As long as we've been here, my husband has maybe worked a total of 5 weekend days and has had to work late maybe 10-20 times, in the last 6 years.  Instead, my husband is often home early and he's home with us every weekend.  While this might not seem like a much, to us, it means a lot.  We're blessed to be together almost every weekend as a family and it means that just about every night we lay our heads down to sleep, all five of our family members are safe under the same roof.

We're also blessed that because of his job, I'm able to stay home with my kids. The fact that I can homeschool them and offer them a far superior education compared to what is offered on base is a blessing as well.  With Garrett's autism, I'm not sure how he would have done in school (and the school on base wouldn't take him anyway, they wanted to send him to a Skills for Living program at another base). And while I do miss working full time, being home with the kids each day, being able to cook them a hot mean instead of running through drive through has been something I wouldn't trade for anything.  I'm here every night to give the kids their kisses goodnight, I'm here when they wake up each morning and when they are sick, I'm here the entire time for them to cuddle up with until they feel better.  That's another blessing.

We're blessed to have a house full of love. The kids have a father who kisses both mom as well as them goodbye each time he walks out the door to head to work, as well as an exchange of "I love you" and "be safe". My oldest knows that she always has a parent in her corner if she needs us, who will always be there if the phone rings and she needs assistance.  Yes, they know that occasionally mom and dad might have a disagreement but they know that they are short lived and will never come to a physical altercation or harsh words being exchanged.  They know that even when they do wrong, they are still loved and nothing will ever change that. Garrett might know he's different from other kids but that we still see him as important and not lacking - that we will always approach him with patience and love.

We may not have a whole lot. We might not be able to afford the latest fashions and their shoes might come from Walmart or even a thrift store, but they are rich when it comes to love and affection.  Blessings do not come with pricetags - they are priceless in their own right - and we are wealthy in blessings, even if we don't always appreciate them at face value.