Thankful Thursday - November 2009

Another month has gone by, and this month more than any other is a time when gratitude and thanksgiving are closest to my heart. I really love this time of year when we reflect on the things we are blessed with and have opportunities to show our gratitude and thanksgiving. I have enjoyed so much my Thankful Thursdays and for the opportunities I have had to literally count my blessings and realize how much I have to be grateful for. Many of the things I have listed are very personal, however, and I have decided to keep my own personal journal of my gratitude lists rather than post them in my blog. So, on Thankful Thursday instead of posting my gratitude list, I have decided to find quotes, scriptures, stories, etc. about gratitude that can help us all look on the bright side of life and refocus on our countless blessings.

"Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings." Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 84–87

"Let me recommend that periodically you and I offer a prayer in which we only give thanks and express gratitude. Ask for nothing; simply let our souls rejoice and strive to communicate appreciation with all the energy of our hearts." David A. Bednar, “Pray Always,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 41–44

"Gratitude is a description of a successful mode of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us." James E. Faust, “Gratitude As a Saving Principle,” Ensign, Dec 1996, 2

"That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." Alma 34:38

Our Boo-tiful Halloween

The night before Halloween, we carved pumpkins as a family. That really meant that the girls helped pick out some patterns from our pumpkin-carving kit and Brandon and I did the carving. It had been years since either of us had done this, so we thought they turned out pretty well for being amateurs.
Brandon tried to make the same scary face as the pumpkin.

Avery was our little BALLERINA this year. This was the first time in years she didn't want to be a princess.

Hayden was a CAT this year. She loved her tail, which you can't see in the picture. I couldn't find cat ears anywhere, so I actually made some out of pipe cleaners and felt. They did the job. I painted a black nose and whiskers on her before we left, but she did not like it at all, so I had to clean it off.

And here's Kiley, our little LADYBUG. I grabbed her costume as we were leaving for our ward trunk-or-treat party and when we got there I realized I forgot her pants! I grabbed two shirts instead of pants and a shirt. So, she was our little scandalous ladybug. Thankfully the weather was fabulous and she was not cold with her bare legs.

Me and the girls. I was sort of festive this year in my glow-in-the-dark Trick or Treat shirt. I purchased it at Old Navy the day before for $1.50.

Daddy and the girls. They sure love their daddy. He's usually the photographer and not in the pictures, so I'm glad we got one of him with the kiddos this time.

It didn't take long for the ladybug to fall asleep on the way home :)

Avery showing off the loot when we got home.

A close-up of the butterfly painted on her face by the young women at the party. She did not want to wash it off the next day, but it had to go before church.

Hayden was in heaven with all of her candy. She has a major sweet tooth and will do just about anything for a treat.

A happy ending to a fun Halloween night. The kids slept well that night and of course we snuck some candy out of their buckets while they were sleeping. I have had way too much chocolate over the past few days. It must be holiday season!

Happy Halloween!!

Preschool Halloween Party

On Thursday we had a Preschool Halloween Party for Hayden's preschool group. I was in charge of most of it and I am glad that it seemed to turn out pretty well. I did it last year too with Avery's group so I used a lot of the same ideas and craft things, which made it easier to plan. We did some Halloween stories, made some bats, played a game, decorated treat bags, and then all of the kids "trick-or-treated" to each of the Moms. All of the kids looked so cute in their costumes, and they were troopers despite the weather being so cold that morning. (We have had quite a cold spell over the last few days - it has been wonderful!)The whole group! This is actually the older group and the younger group combined, so we don't actually teach this many kids when it's our turn to teach. There were several kids who couldn't make it too. I loved all of their costumes - especially the spaceship. Who knows where Hayden is looking (back row on the left). She was dressed like a cat, but without ears and whiskers it was kind of hard to tell what she was. She went up to everyone though and said, "I'm a kitty," so I think most people figured it out :) Kiley came along dressed in her ladybug costume. This is the first time any of my kids have been able to wear a fleece costume and not sweat to death!

Decorating their Halloween treat bags. Love foam stickers!

Me & the Ladybug. My hair was really staticky that day, so I had mushroom hair. But, oh well. I am very rarely in any pictures myself, so I thought I would put this one on here too.

Eating their pumpkin rice krispie treats.

All the kids had a great time, and because I had all the moms bring non-candy "treats" to hand out, they each got a bag full of new toys to play with instead a stomach full of sugar :) They will get plenty of that tonight when they go trick-or-treating! Hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!!

Fall Break

Avery had Fall Break last week - a whole week off of school. Most kids jump up and down and cheer when there's no school, but she actually cried on Monday when I told her she didn't have school for the week. She said, "But I won't get to see Mrs. K." She loves her kindergarten teacher so much, and she was so sad that she wouldn't get to see her. I tried to plan something to do every day that week though so she would at least have something to look forward to. Here is how our week went:

Monday - Kohls, JCPenney, and Fry's (with all 3 kids - I don't know what I was thinking. We went through a lot of fruit snacks and crackers at those stores.)

Tuesday - Avery had a dentist appt. and then we went to the new public library to play on the computers and check out some books and DVDs. Love free entertainment :)

Wednesday - Went to playgroup at the park, took Ginger to the vet, realized I left my stroller in the parking lot at the park, drove back to the park and noticed it was gone, then luckily my friend called me and said she picked it up for me. And thankfully the vet appt. was quick because it was not easy keeping all 3 girls and a puppy contained and happy without any of them strapped into a stroller - but we survived.

That Wed. (Oct. 14th) was also Brandon's birthday. I made a video of all of the girls saying what they loved about Daddy and they each sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Avery also made Brandon a birthday card and helped me wrap the golf shirt we got for him at Kohls. When he got home from work, we actually got to go out on a DATE thanks to our neighbors across the street who babysat at the last minute for us that night. We had a delicious (and quiet) dinner at Olive Garden and then went to Kohls again so Brandon could pick out a few more golf shirts. (He loves the ones they have there and they were on clearance, plus I had some coupons.) After dinner and shopping, we went home and had Dairy Queen ice cream cake with the girls and then we watched the video I made of the girls. It was a fun night and I'm glad Brandon got to relax a little and have a break from his stressful week :)

Oreo Blizzard Cake - sinfully delicious!!

Brandon was so thrilled when I grabbed the camera :)

Daddy's girls (minus Kiley who was sleeping).

Thursday - My sister Kelsey came out to our house with her girls. She cut and highlighted my hair (which needed it desperately) and then showed me how to make some cute hairbows. She is so talented and crafty. The girls had a blast playing together and they loved the dog. That was a fun day.

Friday - We drove up to Phoenix to see Brandon's Grandma, who we hadn't seen in quite a while. The girls and Ginger had fun playing in her backyard and we had a nice visit with her. Then Avery got to go home with Brandon's mom and spend the night at her house. They got to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" at the theater which was a lot of fun. I don't know if any of you read that book as a kid, but it was one of my very favorite books when I was younger. She had a great time at Grandma's.

When Monday morning came around, Avery couldn't wait to get dressed for school. She was so excited to see Mrs. K again and all her friends. Although we had a fun week, I was ready for her to go back to school too :)

Thankful Thursday October '09

Here we are again at the beginning of another month. I don't know about all of you, but I love October. It just sounds so good to say and to think about. The weather is cooler, there is Halloween and other holidays to look forward to, Brandon's birthday is this month, and it's just a great time of year. And I just noticed the forecast for the rest of the week and they were all two-digit numbers, so that is something I am most thankful for today. Although the leaves don't change color here and it doesn't "look" like fall outside, it still counts to me and it is still a season that I love and look forward to every year.

So, here is my October list of things I am thankful for:

1.) Hayden's singing in the background right now
2.) Being able to be a stay-at-home mom
3.) Having 3 healthy and loving children
4.) Kisses from Kiley (she just figured it out and will come and give me kisses all throughout the day)
5.) Our new puppy Ginger - she has been such a good dog and everyone in our family loves her so much
6.) A wonderful, sensitive husband - last week he came home with ice cream and flowers for me because I was having a hard day
7.) October - like I said, I really love this month
8.) Modern technology
9.) Lessons learned from trials
10.) Growing up in the church
11.) Missionaries around the world
12.) Taking the dog outside early this morning and actually feeling chilly
13.) Hayden's preschool group - she has made lots of new friends already
14.) Cell phones - isn't it crazy that just a short time ago none of us had our own cell phones? What did we do back then?...
15.) Military men and women who risk - and sometimes lose - their lives to protect our freedoms
16.) The Sugardoodle website - I am so glad I can use the creativity of others for church ideas
17.) Fresh fruit (yum!)
18.) Grocery stores that have anything and everything I could possibly want to cook or eat - I don't know how well I would do living on a farm and only eating what we grew or caught ourselves
19.) My ancestors who joined the church
20.) Advice and tips from other moms
21.) General Conference this weekend
22.) Avery's sweet comments to me last night - I was washing her hair in the bathtub and she said, "Mommy, I like you. Thank you for putting band-aids on my owies, and giving me good snacks, and washing my hair in the bathtub, and watching me clean up the playroom. I love you." It totally caught me by surprise and melted my heart. She's a sweet girl.
23.) Avery's other sweet comment to me this morning on the way to school. She said, "Mommy, I want to be nice to my sisters today. I'm not going to hit, or push, or say mean things to them, or take any toys away from Hayden. I'm going to be nice today." I told her that that would make everyone happy if she did that - especially Jesus.

I know 23 is kind of a random number of things in a list, but I thought that was a good one to end on, so that is my October list. Happy Thankful Thursday!

New Addition to our Family

OK, we have been talking about getting a dog for a while now and we knew that our kids (especially our animal-lover Hayden) would love to have a dog, but we have been hesitant to do it - especially me. I have never really had a dog and the thought of cleaning up doggie pee & poop and listening to barking all night did not thrill me! But, Brandon and I both felt like it would be good for our family to have a dog. Soooooo, yesterday we went to the Arizona Humane Society and the first dog we looked at we knew that was the one. She was so sweet and calm and lovable. So, we took her home with us and we are now officially dog-owners.Her name is Ginger and she is a Red American Pit Bull and Terrier mix. Don't be fooled by the "Pit Bull" breed though, she is as sweet and calm as a dog could be. She is 4 months old and already house-trained - hooray!! I was expecting our first night/day to be a disaster with a puppy, but other than a tiny spot of pee on the carpet, there have been no accidents and no barking! Our girls, including baby Kiley, absolutely love Ginger and she is so good with them. She will lay on the floor and let them play with her and doesn't even growl or bark at them at all. We are so happy to have Ginger in our home and so far she has been a perfect dog! I am still surprised at how much I have gotten attached to Ginger already. Of course, this adds another girl to our house, which means Brandon is even more outnumbered now, but he and Ginger have already bonded and he doesn't mind at all.

So sweet!!

Thankful Thursday Sept. '09

Yes, another month has gone by and it is time for Thankful Thursday again. I am still having a hard time believing that it's September now and that the holidays are just around the corner, but considering how hot it's been for the last few months, I couldn't be more thrilled. With that said, here is my current list of things I am thankful for:

1.) Cooler weather coming soon (hooray!!)
2.) Not three, but four days with my hubby home this Labor Day weekend
3.) Avery loving kindergarten
4.) Hayden starting preschool next week
5.) Kiley sleeping 12 hours at night
6.) Laughter - it can really turn a bad day around
7.) Healthy children
8.) Healthy children (that one deserves two)
9.) Halloween costumes already in our closets (from previous Halloweens and dress-ups)
10.) Kroger ice cream at Fry's ($1.88 per 1/2 gallon and divinely delicious, especially the slow churned flavors which decrease the guilt slightly)
11.) Any store that doubles coupons :)
12.) Did I mention cooler weather coming? My jeans and sweaters are calling me...
13.) Contact lenses - I think I've mentioned that one in a previous list, but I am still grateful that I have a different option other than wearing glasses every day
14.) People who listen to me
15.) The Book of Mormon
16.) My scrapbook albums
17.) The leaders of the Church (they are such amazing men and women and their words of counsel are so inspiring)
18.) Our agency (obviously we would not be here without the ability to choose for ourselves, but it is such an amazing gift that we have the ability to make our own choices and decide how we want to live our lives)
19.) Forever families through temple sealings
20.) Blessings from paying tithing
21.) Anyone who has ever helped us in any way financially, physically, spiritually over the years; we are blessed to be surrounded by wonderful family members and friends
22.) The plan of salvation (I know my faith and views would be much different if I did not know where I came from or where I want to go)
23.) The Ensign magazine (every month there are articles that apply directly to me and they are so uplifting and inspiring)
24.) Good people who do the right thing and help others even when no one is watching
25.) A loving Heavenly Father who is always willing and able to send me help when I need it, even when I don't even realize that I need it.
26.) Answers to prayers
27.) Contagious smiles of others
28.) The joy of service, both given and received
29.) Living in America and being able to live and worship how I please
30.) The constant and never-changing values and standards of the LDS Church

For all these things and so many more, I am truly thankful.