Giving Thanks

It's that time of year again -- time for me to get all cheesy and list everything I'm thankful for. It's amazing how my list has grown over the years. I'm now thankful for a million little things that so often get taken for granted. Like premade cookie dough -- what a miracle! Baby formula and pacifiers are high on my list this year. So are "educational" computer games, Zaboomafoo and Playhouse Disney, and the movie Cars! Where would I be without clear acrylic stamps, book club, bunco, and my blogs! How did I ever survive without a dual-screen dvd player in the car -- not to mention cup holders, heated seats, and keyless entry?!

I also happen to be extremely grateful for my pajama pants, and a husband who doesn't seem to notice that I practically live in them! Which does bring me to the cheesy part . . . I could only avoid it for so long! I know so many men who see their families as people they spend time with as an obligation, and only if there's time to spare. I am so grateful that my man wants to spend time with me -- and I'm especially grateful that he seems to look forward to spending time with the kids. (let's face it, by the time he gets around them, they've pretty much used me up and spit me out!) So they don't always make it to bed in time if he's in charge, but they know their daddy loves them and I couldn't ask for more for them!

Of course, as much as they've been wearing me out lately, I gotta say that I am thrilled to have such great kids. They certainly keep me on my toes. Someone around here is always saying something random at the funniest moments. My home is filled with laughter and sweetness most of the time and it is so fulfilling to watch them grow everyday! We have the whole gamut right now, from a precious new baby, to rambunctious boys, to a beautiful young lady, and each day with them brings at least one new learning experience and one precious moment to be tucked away (and brought out again during the not-so-precious moments!)

I also seem to be extremely blessed to be constantly surrounded by incredible people. I have the most amazing family a girl could ask for-- and our relationships just grow stronger each year. I am happy to be able to say that my parents, brother, sister, and in-laws are usually the people that I most want to be around! How many people can say that? I'm also so grateful for the many wonderful people who've become my friends over the years (and the dozen moves!) I'm not sure how I meet the most kind, generous, talented, funpeople in each town that we move to -- but somehow I do that and I trick them into being my friends!

So that's why I'm most looking forward to Thanksgiving. My life has changed tons each year, but it always remains that my greatest blessing is the people in my life. I get to spend this holiday with most of them, and whoever is missing is sure to catch up with me on my blog. I am such a lucky girl!

Another Quiz!

So my friend posted this on her blog FOREVER ago, and I was intrigued, but hadn't read the books yet. I finished the first one today and still couldn't get enough, so I thought I'd try it out? What do you think? Is it accurate?

Which Twilight novel character are you?

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You're Bella Swan - You are intelligent and kind but not quite sure what you want out of life yet. You have a feeling there's something more out there for you. You're attracted to those who are real and avoid the fake. Sometimes you're a bit accident prone, but your true friends will always be loyal to you and come to your aid when you need it.
Take this quiz!








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My Girls!

I was just chattin with some friends last night and we got to talking about our kids. You know talking. The kind of talking where you are more complaining. Complaining about how no one listens, no one minds, no one helps, someone is gonna think you're abusive. That kind of fun stuff.
The problem is that, once I got the complaining all out of my system and got on my way home, I started thinking about how really great my kids are! I thought my kids should know how much I truly appreciate the people they are becoming!

Breje and I still have our ups and downs, but there have been significantly more "ups" lately. I've recently realized that I've been focusing too much on how scary it is going to be to have a teenager, and forgetting how much fun I had with my mom when I was one! I've always thought that nothing would make me happier than to have the same relationship with my daughters as I have with my mom, and it seems we are on our way. Breje is getting to that age where she wants to go shopping with me! What could be better?! Also, some of my favorite times this summer was when Breje and I got to go jogging together. We had some great talks while jogging around our enormous block, betting who would quit first. Thank you, Breje!

It's also been so much fun getting to know our new baby girl! Brielle is all girl so far -- okay, except all she wanted to do with these flowers is eat them! The best part of having two girls is watching how much they already love each other! I am so lucky!

I'll have to get to my boys next time, but, for now, I wanted to celebrate my beautiful girls!

oops!

The link for the chocolate quiz is www.blogthings.com/whatkindofchocolateareyouquiz/!

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

I just thought that this was my kind of quiz!

You are White Chocolate

You are White ChocolateYou are sweet, caring, and truly very innocent.Whether your naive ways are a bit of act or not, people like to take care of you.You are a quiet flirt, and your power is often underestimated!

http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href= What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

What a Woman Should Have!

I ran across this on a friends' blog and thought it was great! I hope she doesn't mind me stealing it! She addes some things at the end that work for her and I thought it was a wonderful idea. I want my bloggin friends to share thier own tips with me!

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .....a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .one friend who always makes her laugh ... and one who lets her cry...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...a feeling of control over her destiny...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...how to fall in love without losing herself...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...when to try harder... and WHEN TO WALK AWAY...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips , or the nature of her parents.
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...that her childhood may not have been perfect...but it's over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW. whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...where to go... be it to her best friend's kitchen table... or a charming inn in the woods... when her soul needs soothing...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...what she can and can't accomplish in a day... a month...and a year...
It made me think of a few others that "work for me".

I should have...a good book, scrapbook supplies, chocolate, and comfy pajama pants at all times!
I should have...the time to call a friend "just because".
I should have... the desire to at least try to find the answers to some of my kids' questions. They might be important someday!
I should know... that it is okay to say "no" sometimes, even if it means that someone might not like me!
I should know... that it's okay if not everyone likes me!
I should remember... that change can be good, as long as all the important things stay the same!

Playing catch-up!

Okay, so everyone's getting on my case about taking so long since my last post. It's just that we have been so busy! We've had visits and holidays and tons of not sleeping-- don't we all have weeks like that?! Anyway, I have to start this one with this cute picture of Trayson.
You can't tell, but he is totally nervous! He just had to get up in front of the whole school and accept an award! I'm sure he's the only kid there that would rather not get M&M's if it means standing up in front of everyone, but he finally agreed! He got recognized by his teacher in an assembly for being "respectful, responsible, and thoughtful". I couldn't have been more proud!

Later in the week we got to go to Parent/teacher conferences and that was so much fun! I am actually not being sarcastic here -- we love talking to their teachers about them! Both of them had their teachers raving about how delightful it is to have them in class and how bright they are! These are the moments that get us past sleepless nights and wrestling matches in Walmart! Thank you to Breje and Trayson for being such great kids!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Our family finally got a little excitement last weekend when my mom, Hayley, Adyson, and Sienna came by for a little visit. It is always so much fun to watch how quickly the kids just jump right into their little friendships! The girls were in dress-ups within the first five minutes, and it only took about five more for Ady to get Kutter to play house with her. It just cracks me up to watch those two get along, when their worlds are so, so different!

The kids had tons of fun just playing together. They seemed to really enjoy the relaxed rules that Grandma brings with her -- especially getting to sleep in the front room all together and watching movies until way past bedtime. Can you tell that Ady got to pick witch movie they watched?

These visits always remind me how lucky I am to have the family that I have. Not many people can say that their mom and their sister are their best friends! It was wonderful to spend some shopping time together (ok, and some eating time, too!) and to stay up a little later than we should because we have so much to gab about!

This is one of my favorites of these two. They are "surfin' USA" on my rocking chair and ottoman!

Trick or Treat?

What a CRAZY Halloween! Hayley would say that it's totally my fault for waiting til the last minute to get the kids' costumes. She's probably right, but I pretty much do that every year. They are just such a headache! My kids have inherited my incredible lack of decision-making abilities, which really doesn't help. Breje was going to be the white witch, Hermione, or Ginny Weasley; in that order, before we ended up with this spooky concoction. (This, thanks only to Sienna, who is definately better at decisions than me!)
Trayson was nice enough to wear last years' costume, so he was easy, but Kutter was a little twerp! He'd been talking for two weeks about how he desperately needed a dragon costume. He knew exactly what it looked like and swears that we already had it somewhere. I finally gave up on getting him to wear something I could just throw together and took him to Walmart to buy the dang thing! He was absolutely thrilled with it until, lo and behold, we run into his buddy who just happens to notice that this dang dragon has eyelashes! Now, this dragon's eyelashes cannot hold a candle to Kutter's actual eyelashes, but it doesn't matter. Nope, this dragon is now a girl dragon and Kutter points out that he is definately not a girl! No way was he gonna wear that costume! We had to hike all the way back through the store and trade it for this pirate costume, because it was definately manly!
I don't know what we would've done if Ady wouldn't have been willing to share her witch costume with Brielle! Fortunately for me, she did, so the entire family made it to the trunk or treat at church and we were only about 10 minutes late! We fought the crowd for some chilli and candy, then made a quick trip into town to do "real" trick or treating (Kutter was completely unsatisfied without doorbells to ring!) Whew! Maybe next year I will listen to Hayley and start a little earlier . . . but probably not!