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24 Days of Thankfulness: Day 4

I'm thankful for stolen moments like tonight when at 8:30 it was quickly becoming apparent that there would be no bike ride. The three little kids were awake (though one was crankily making his way to bed after a no-nap day) and Keeleigh had asked to have a friend spend the night. It has been a few days since Jackie and I have gotten to exercise together, something that we try to do every other night. For me it's about so much more than exercising, it's about having a little time alone doing something just for the two of us. Our lives are so busy right now. I take care of our kids, homeschool, and manage the home and piddle around with my crafting addiction  hobby and Jackie is taking a full load of masters level classes while working 33+ hours a week. It's a lot and when you have professors and bosses and children demanding all of you it sometimes seems like there's not much left to give to each other.

By 9 p.m. only one child was in bed. I asked Jackie, "What are we going to do?" as we both glanced at wide-awake Ryland and Piper. "Let's just take a walk," I suggested. So we loaded the little ones into the stroller-- bundled up, of course--and set off into the cool night. I love being outside with him. Maybe it's simply because that's such a stark contrast to the rest of my day when I--the lone adult--sometimes feel very cooped up in the apartment, but being beneath the big, big sky walking step in step with my husband just feels perfect. We walked. We talked. And I thanked God for that stolen moment. May there be many more to come.

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