Burning Calories

We went for a hike with my new sister around our lake on Thanksgiving day before heading over to stuff ourselves with turkey.  It was a beautiful day for a walk and the kids made the whole trip, which is about  8 miles total!

Happy Thanksgiving

A little Turkey comedy for your day...

Thankful

During the Thanksgiving season, I am continually reminded on our beautiful mountain, how grateful I am to be able to live in such a beautiful place. Here's some shots from my car as I was driving along the rim today to go visit my friend Jill.

Turkey Day

We had a very nice day last Thursday, when we went to visit family for Thanksgiving. There were about 13 of us there and the day was a blur of good company and good food.

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

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.

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.

Thankful

Today I posted a bit about my newfound soap discoveries and it reminded me how thankful I am for reconnecting with all of those long lost friends from the past. I truly am blessed to have so many people to lean on.

Thankful

Today is my birthday so I am thankful for being able to grow old....which is what I am.

Thankful

I am thankful today that our good friends Sarah and Wally have moved closer to us. We are looking forward to taking the train down to see their new house and celebrating another Wally Day!

Thankful

Yesterday I got to take the kiddos for a walk around one of the local lakes and they were good as gold. I am thankful for the times when they mind their manners. It helps me deal with the times (like right now) when they are being absolute MONSTERS and think back telling myself "this too shall pass".

Thankful

Today I am posting a recipe for sweet potatoes. I am thankful for two things related to this:
1 - That my family puts up with being my guinnee pigs when it comes to recipes and will try almost anything once.

2 - That I have the time and means to test out pretty much any recipe that I find that sounds interesting. I love to cook and am also thankful to my Dad for instilling in me a curiosity in the kitchen.

Thankful

Today my grandma Pearl turns 93 and I am so thankful for having her influence in my life as I grew up and now for her being a great-grandparent to my kids.

Thankful

I am thankful today for my adorable kiddos. From the "Mommy I lub yew"s to their playing ring around the rosies or mixing up S for F in their ABC song so it became an infinate verse ("QRFGHIJKLMNOPQRFG...") and singing take me out to the ball game with gusto - albeit with several missing verses and a few random karaoke tangents about potties and peanuts and crackerjacks ...they are a comedy show all by themselves. I'm saving up all of these thankful moments for when they become teenagers.
.

Thankful

Today is the baby shower for my friend and I am thankful that she is almost done with her pregnancy and thankful that so far things have worked out well for her and her beautiful family.

Thankful

Today is Friday the 13th, so I am thinking about superstitions and fate and God, etc. Today I am thankful that every time in our lives that it seems things have taken a turn for the worst or something seems to be unfortunate happening that makes us take a certain path, it has always worked out for us and I am thankful for the guiding hand the keeps us safe.

Thankful

Today the kids spent the afternoon with Grandma & Grandpa Tanyon. I am so thankful for their health and feel very blessed that my children will have memories of FIVE of their great-grandparents.

Thankful

Today is Veteran's Day. So today I am thankful for my dad, who is a veteran, and all others who are serving (or have served) in the military.