30 Days of Thanksgiving - My own worst enemy

Ok, so that didn't go as I planned.  I thought of something every day, but really never sat down to write it.  I'm so thankful for GRACE that saves me from my procrastination!!  I am really my own worst enemy when it comes to goals and assignments.  But, I'm not going to harbor on it.  I was totally in the Thanksgiving mood and mindset, even though I didn't write it down every single day.  But for those keeping up at home, here is the remainder of my list.

5. Warm house full of love

6. Plenty of food on our table and in the pantry

7. DVD player in the car - to keep my sanity on hard days

8. Owning my own business - and those who helped me set it up

9. Joe’s great job

10. Amazing Friends who lift me up and keep me grounded

11. Freedom to worship - not everyone has this.  It's a gift!

12. Wonderful extended family and visit at Thanksgiving

13. Swimming in November - so fun for the kids

14. Target

15. My 80% off Fall Décor at Hobby Lobby - it's so pretty I don't want to take it down!

16. Pepperoni Pizza, with black olives - my death row meal

17. Red Wine - for the heart...hee hee

18. Modern medicine

19. Clean water

 20. Our Babysitter Raychel - she's amazing!

21.  Bergen’s school and teacher

22.  Preston’s teacher

23.  Sephora - the mothership

24.  My Awesome Book Club and the ladies who challenge me each meeting

25.  Facebook

26.  XM Radio

27.  Coffee - with cream only - Coconut milk cream, to be exact

28.  Shellac Nail Polish - love

29.  Today - because no one is promised tomorrow

30.  Jesus, who died on the cross to save me from my sins

I'm afraid to admit, I have big things planned for the advent season.  I hope I don't procrastinate too much.  Check back to see if I follow through!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving season!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 3... and 4

Ok so you didn't really think I'd do this every day.  So much pressure!!  Tee hee - I had a busy one yesterday and P-Did had a game at 6:00, followed by dinner and running to Target for slippers for the Biggie B to wear to silly slipper day.  All exhausting - but good.

On day 3 I was going to be thankful for my in-laws.  I was blessed to marry into an amazing family (although I'd say my husband did too!).  My mother-in-law is a beautiful person.  She is Godly, warm and super supportive of us.  I say she has a direct line to God because she is amazingly in tune with God's hand in her life.  She raised an amazing man and a wonderful father and husband.  My father-in-law went to be with the Lord last October.  He was one of a kind.  I miss him everyday, but I'm thankful for the impact he made in our lives.  A gentleman, hard working Cowboy - we miss him so much!

And on Day 4 - I'm thankful for FRIDAYS!!  I gotta lighten things up every now and then!  I love Friday.  As a kid, I loved Friday night football, hanging out at the church after the game for the "5th quarter" to have fun with whatever awesome things our youth ministers came up with.  I had this one youth minister that would rent movies on the VHS (it was the 80's folks).  He would watch them, and take note of the bad words by the timer count.  Then he would fast forward when the word came up so we would miss it.  It didn't quite work that way.   It was kind of like this:  "Frankly my dear Scarlett, bzzzzzzzzzzz (that's the FF noise).... a damn".  He would fast forward before the word, press play, then we'd hear the word. So hilarious.  But I digress.

We work hard all week - TV Joe at work, and me working and playing taxi driver for these kids.  Friday means the weekend!  The gateway to relaxation.  We get to sleep a little more, relax a little, watch some little league baseball and hang out with our amazing friends.  So yay for FRIDAY!  Y'all have a blessed one!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 2

I hope my blog doesn't explode when I post something two days in a row...  Poor neglected blog.

Before I get into day 2, I have to share - last night at dinner, in the quaint, heavy metal blaring environment of Freebirds, I told my family that we would be sharing something we are thankful for every night at dinner.  I told them it didn't have to be fancy or perfect, just something they think is awesome and that they are thankful for.  P went first and said he was thankful for his baseball coach, who takes time out of his day to coach their team.  Man - sweet kid.  I think he gets how parents are busy and pulled in 100 directions.  Pretty cool.  Biggie B was thankful for...now give me a minute because this one almost made me cry.  He's thankful for P-Did, because he's the best big brother in the whole wide world.  I'm not making this stuff up.  I almost died right there.  TV Joe was thankful for Freebirds, and the Ramones, who happen to be on the (loud) radio during this tender moment.


Day two - I'm so thankful for my parents and the home we were raised in.  My dad sold insurance while we were in school.  He had a local office and was home at lunch and dinner, and attended every event under the sun for my brother and me.  Having a husband who commutes and is in the car *a lot*, I now know how awesome this was.  Joe is at every event, and we eat pretty much every dinner together, no matter how late - but it's stressful beating traffic home and dealing with all that.  My mom stayed home with us.  It was nice to be able to come home to her and have a snack waiting and help with homework.  She's a strong, strong lady - stronger than she thinks.  She always made things feel super normal, even when it was hard for her.  When things are a little out of control around here and I'm feeling anxious or overwhelmed, I think about how she dealt with struggles and lean on what I've learned from her.  She's had some difficulties in the last 3 years and I'm so thankful that she's healthy and recovering.  We had a great childhood - one that I treasure.  We were at church every time the doors were open, and I'm certain that shaped who I am today.  They are Godly parents who prayed for us and with us and kept me on the "straight and narrow".  We had everything we needed, most everything we wanted, and lots of love to go around.  I'm thankful for the example they have set for me in parenting and in marriage, and for the legacy they started that I can carry on.

Season of Thanksgiving - Day One

Ive been missing my blog lately. Sometimes in the rush of life, the blog can be a burden. Kind of the same reason I don't scrapbook - the pressure of it weighs me down. I can't simply sit down and type something out. I feel like it needs to be funny, have lots of pictures and be super satisfying. So I just don't do it. Some would call this lazy. And when I say "some" - I mean me. So I'm going to make a better effort, and what better time than my favorite month - November.

I love November so very much. Because it's my birthday month, it's the season of Thanksgiving and a way to prepare ourselves for the holiday season. Like most moms out there, I long for a perfect holiday season - stress free, illness free - totally happy, total bliss. But that doesn't always happen. Ok, that never happens. At least not in our minds, it doesn't. But it doesn't mean it's not perfect for the family. I told my mom one particularly stressful Christmas "I wish it was 1984 again and life could be simple for me". She started laughing - apparently 1984 was a very, very hard year for them, and she had felt Christmas had been a letdown. I remember it as pretty awesome. That really goes to show that kids really don't see the "perfect". They just remember getting together as a family, keeping traditions - even when it's hard to keep them, and celebrating our Lord's birth.

This November I'm focusing on the things I'm most thankful for - one per day, and really in no particular order. Some will be grand, some will probably be downright silly. But maybe if I enter December in a spirit of thankfulness, I will be easier to embrace the true meaning of Christmas instead of striving for my mind's perfection. After all, it's not really about the perfect tree and the right Christmas music, keeping the house clean at all times, baking thousands of treats and having the perfect presents under the tree. It's about the birth of a baby - Jesus - who loves me enough to save me from my sins. And I'm going to focus on Thanksgiving, and not just skip ahead to Christmas. Poor Thanksgiving is like the middle child between Halloween and Christmas. I love Thanksgiving so much!

So today - November 1st - I start my list. Today I'm thankful for my amazing family. I have pretty much the most awesome husband on the planet. He works very hard to provide for us, and plays just as hard to make a fun, crazy life for us. He's ridiculously good at his job, and really well known in his industry. After all, he is the "wizard of the web"! We laugh a lot and we have a great time. He loves me more than I often deserve. I'm truly blessed to be married to an amazing man and an incredible father to our boys. I'm so thankful for our kids. They are anything but ordinary. P-Diddy is so smart and gifted, but he's also the most caring child I know. He stands up for his friends and makes sure everyone feels loved. He can carry on a conversation about anything with anyone - many adults have told me talking to P is like talking to an adult. He knows so much about his true passions - baseball and football. He's loving, honest and faithful - and he knows his awesomeness "comes from above" - his words. He's also a great brother to Biggie B (most of the time!!). Now Biggie B is in a class of his own. You won't meet a happier boy - pure joy oozing from his very pores. He truly embraces life and lives to the fullest. He's so very funny and like P, also very kind. His teacher counts on him to be a leader and he always helps her out. He's a momma's boy who loves to snuggle and I thank God every time I hear the words "snuggle with me mommy". Bliss! He's very smart and loves board games and puzzles. He's also really, really good at t-ball. They are both healthy and happy - along with Joe. And for that, I'm thankful. The rest is just gravy.