Happy Thanksgiving

Some food for thought (since you all will most likely have plenty of the other kind):

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

"Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns." ~Author Unknown

Kids Christmas List

It's that time of year again, when I get multiple emails and phone calls asking what the kids (and we) would like for Christmas. It has been an ongoing effort to convince people that we prefer their company and time to presents. I completely understand that for many people, the time is much harder to part with though. So here's my idea for a Christmas gift for the kids that they will enjoy and keep forever:

You've got 30 days before Christmas. This shouldn't take you long at all. Go to your favorite book store, library or thrift shop and find your favorite children's book. Get a tape, CD or DVD and record yourself reading the book to the kids. You could do this with a video camera, tape recorder, computer, or whatever. I can convert any media you get the reading onto so that the kids will be able to have it forever. If you would like, you can include the book with the media as part of the gift but the media itself (audio and/or video) is the truly valuable part of the idea. I would like to make a compilation of as many various friends and family reading stories to them as possible. Ultimately I would like to put them all onto a single disc for the kids to keep. Perhaps someday you'll be reading it to their grandkids!

Thankful

Today I am thankful to God for all of the amazing blessings we have received. Tomorrow we will be spending the day with our family in California and missing our family in Oregon. We are truly blessed to have so many people who care about us. We have a nice house to live in that is located in a beautiful place where few people could make ends meet. We and our kids are healthy and happy. When things go wrong we are able to sort them out and deal with them. We have several good friends to spend fun times with. When people refer to the "good 'ol days", this must be what they are talking about. Thank you Lord, a million times over for our wonderful gifts.

It's a zoo in there

Today I specifically planned to stay home and do NOTHING...well, not nothing, but rather, nothing that wasn't kid oriented. So we started the day by cleaning the toy room and vacuuming so that we could spend the rest of the morning playing with their toys together. We built a lincoln log tower, played with their baby dolls, made some make-believe brunch in their pots & pans, but the highlight of the mornings was building a zoo out of megablocks:
They just soak in the time that I can devote entirely to them and not to running errands or cleaning things or dealing with a client. I love days when all I have to do is be a mom. Being a mom is the BEST.

Thankful

Today (and every day) I am trying to be thankful for the things I hate. For example, I am thankful for stinky diapers because they come from my happy healthy baby. I am also thankful for the wrinkles under my eyes because they came from the many sleepless nights I have had helping my babies become the beautiful, confident people they are today. I am (sigh) thankful that I miss my husband while he is away at work because it makes me look forward to him coming home at night and means I still love him more than life itself. Here's a cute little verse I found about being thankful for those hateful things:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,

because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

Thankful

Today we are having a playdate with some friends at our house to make advent wreaths for all of our kiddos. Therefore I am thankful today for many things:
-That we have a home where we can host friends
-That we have friends who feel welcome in our home
-That my kids play well with others so friends are willing to come back
-That I have a kennel for our dog so that she doesn't bark at our friends when they come over (bless her heart, she has become quite the mama dog to my little ones)

Thankful

This week I am planning getting a swine flu - excuse me - H1N1 shot for my kiddos and (knock on wood) I am thankful that they have thus far avoided any contact with this nasty virus. I recently did some research on the internet about it and I am also thankful for what a great resource the internet has become. With me getting a million different mixed comments about the innoculation, I didn't know whether to get it for them or not. If you haven't looked into it, do your own research online (Center for Disease Control is a great resource) and you'll have an easier time deciding.