I never did the thankful days on Facebook so I decided that today would be a good day to get caught up. So without further ado here are my thankful days:
1. I am thankful for my husband. Those of you who know me pretty well know that I am not a mushy person but here goes. Meeting my husband transformed my life. If not for him, I would not be where I am today. There was a time when I could not have imagined my life as it is today. But meeting Elliott changed all that. I am so blessed to have married a man who loves me unconditionally and that believes I am the most beautiful woman in the world. There is no one else that I would want to be sealed to for time and all eternity.
2. I will be eternally grateful for my two beautiful children. The joy and laughter is worth all of the pain and fighting a thousand times over. I am not sure what I did to deserve them or why they chose our family, but I will never be able to say thank you enough for them.
3. I am grateful for my amazing parents. I never appreciated how hard their lives must have been with all five of us. I only have a tiny taste in my two. Thank you for giving me such an amazing example of which to emulate I am your biggest fan.
4. I am grateful for my siblings. I am so lucky to be such good friends with my brothers and sisters. This is a testament to my parents as well, that they managed to raise five of us and not a social deviant in the bunch. I am grateful for the love and support that my family has shown me.
5. I am grateful for my friends. I have made some amazing friends this year. To all of my friends you are an inspiration to me. Words cannot describe how comforting it is to have friends that I can depend on to be there for me and my family.
6. I am grateful for my savior and the sacrifice he made for me. It has been a long journey for me to where I am today with my faith, and there is much to go still. But I don't think anyone who knew me ten years ago could have imagined my life today.
7. I am grateful for my house. Yes, it is blue and a little bit ugly. But I love my little piece of the wilderness. There are more stars than I ever remembered visible out there. My favorite part is the quiet. Outside at night the only sounds are those of the forest. Love it.
8. I am grateful for my husbands job. It has allowed us to make the huge transition from being a two parent working family to one with a stay at home mom. It has been hard but I realize I will never get these days back. They are priceless and worth every financial sacrifice we have made.
9. I am thankful for my kids dancing. They have some moves that should be illegal, but every time they dance I see the joy that can only be expressed in the eyes of a child.
10. I am thankful for chocolate. It has been a wonderful companion in times of sadness and happiness.
11. I am thankful for living in Florida. It is a crazy state, but I love all of the different activities that are accessible to us here. Plus I hate the cold, not cool weather but the bitter cold that comes in winter.
12. I am thankful for books, they transport me to places that I would not otherwise be able to visit. They entertain me and my children.
13. I am thankful for the holidays. They are my favorite time of year, and I just love the opportunity to spend them with people I love.
14. I am thankful for my moms pumpkin bread. It is delicious and I cannot stop eating it.
15. I am thankful for our rebel T2i. I love that camera it lets us capture memories that are priceless.
16. I am thankful for the laughter that at times seems to infect my home. There truly is no better sound than the laughter of the ones you love.
17. I am thankful for my garden tub. I don't use it very often, but just knowing that I have a deep soaking tub that I can escape to if I ever find the time is sometimes enough.
18. I am grateful for anyone who reads this blog. I am trying to be more consistent but I am amazed that anyone reads my rambling thoughts.
19. I am grateful for my car. I love that it is big enough for our growing family, and has room to haul all our stuff.
20. I am thankful that my kids still like to snuggle. Even if it is pre-dawn snuggles it is still amazing to cuddle the two most cuddly children ever.
21. I am thankful for play. Playing with my kids and my husband is one of my greatest joys. I am constantly amazed at their imagination and creativity. Plus my husband is like a big kid and that makes playing games as a family too much fun.
22. I am grateful for all the little things. All of the little things that make me smile and bring joy to my days. James Bond, Glee, NCIS, Harry Potter, a great song. These are just a few. Enjoying them with my friends and family make life great. Life is fun and filled with joy and it should be. 2012 was filled with challenges new and old, but I think that 2012 was a great year so far and I am thankful for every year I get.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Halloween Spectacular
I never seem to post enough, again it seems life just gets in the way. I am going to try and post a few pictures from our Halloween spectacular. Halloween was a long day. Eden went to school where she had her Halloween party. I got to hang out with my sister Megan who had come down for the big event. After we picked up Eden we met daddy and had lunch with our good friend Tonya. The kids didn't eat much probably because they had scarfed down enough sweets from the party but it was still fun. Then we went to Tonya's to hang out until the big night began. Tonya made us enchilada's which were super yummy! After dinner we got costumed up. For the Branch Halloween party Elijah was the little old man form the Disney movie UP. He was soo cute. Elliott made him a little walker out of pvc pipe. I have to admit I was a little miffed he didn't win a prize in the costume contest, but I will get over it, lol. For the big night, however we decided it was not feasible to drag that thing around so he went as a spider. And yes it was the same spider costume Eden wore for her first Halloween.
Elijah in his UP costume.
My fairy princess!
Here are the kids getting ready for the big night!
Once trick or treating began it was a marathon. We had intended to limit the trick or treating to only an hour and a half, but the kids were having so much fun I didn't have the heart to make them stop, so we ended up out way later than we had planned. We started out together, but after some falls it ended up just being Eden, Audrey (the green dinosaur), Elijah, Aunt Mae Mae, Daddy and me. About halfway through Elijah went to a stroller and rode in style.Elijah took the whole night in stride. He was mildly curious about all of the people dressed up, but considering he was up way past his normal bedtime, he was amazing. Of course it helped that Aunt Mae Mae kept feeding him candy all night! The kids collected an enormous amount of candy which I am munching on as I type this. Hey, I earned it. The girls were especially funny as they were so excited. Most people had tables set up in the driveway to hand out the candy, but some decided to brave having people knock on the door. The girls would occasionally run right by the tables to get to the door. This was especially brave with our girls who would peer through the windows and scream in delight when someone would come to the door. My favorite part was when the door was opened and in their excitement to get candy the girls would almost barge right in like little tiny cute home invaders. We also had some discussions about impulse control and only taking a reasonable amount of candy. Audrey was especially funny whispering to Elliott once "They didn't tell me I could only have one, so I took three!" The girls seemed intent on making sure one of them ended up in the emergency room as I think they both fell about a hundred times. They were just so excited and having so much fun, that they could not stay on their feet. Although poor Audrey took her first tumble before the festivities began and scraped her nose on the concrete pretty bad. I felt so bad and she has a pretty good bruise and scrape this morning. Here are a few more pics:
The girls could not contain their excitement.
I was especially thrilled for Eden. This was her first real Halloween trick or treating. For all of those who have been to our house, we are the only house on the street and so there isn't much trick or treating out in the woods. She went once when she was almost two with her cousins, but she doesn't remember that. This one she might remember. She had the best time, which is also one of the reasons I had a hard time telling them it was time to stop. I know they were out late, but it is only one night a year, I think I can make an exception. I am so grateful that I have such an amazing friend who let us crash their Halloween in their neighborhood. I think it made the evening so much more special that Eden got to spend it with her best friend. And the best part was that I managed to get both of my kids to take a two hour nap the next day! I am not sure that has happened since Elijah was born! It was a great Halloween and I can honestly say I am looking forward to next year!
Once trick or treating began it was a marathon. We had intended to limit the trick or treating to only an hour and a half, but the kids were having so much fun I didn't have the heart to make them stop, so we ended up out way later than we had planned. We started out together, but after some falls it ended up just being Eden, Audrey (the green dinosaur), Elijah, Aunt Mae Mae, Daddy and me. About halfway through Elijah went to a stroller and rode in style.Elijah took the whole night in stride. He was mildly curious about all of the people dressed up, but considering he was up way past his normal bedtime, he was amazing. Of course it helped that Aunt Mae Mae kept feeding him candy all night! The kids collected an enormous amount of candy which I am munching on as I type this. Hey, I earned it. The girls were especially funny as they were so excited. Most people had tables set up in the driveway to hand out the candy, but some decided to brave having people knock on the door. The girls would occasionally run right by the tables to get to the door. This was especially brave with our girls who would peer through the windows and scream in delight when someone would come to the door. My favorite part was when the door was opened and in their excitement to get candy the girls would almost barge right in like little tiny cute home invaders. We also had some discussions about impulse control and only taking a reasonable amount of candy. Audrey was especially funny whispering to Elliott once "They didn't tell me I could only have one, so I took three!" The girls seemed intent on making sure one of them ended up in the emergency room as I think they both fell about a hundred times. They were just so excited and having so much fun, that they could not stay on their feet. Although poor Audrey took her first tumble before the festivities began and scraped her nose on the concrete pretty bad. I felt so bad and she has a pretty good bruise and scrape this morning. Here are a few more pics:
Audrey and Eden are the best of friends.
Two little peas in a pod.
I was especially thrilled for Eden. This was her first real Halloween trick or treating. For all of those who have been to our house, we are the only house on the street and so there isn't much trick or treating out in the woods. She went once when she was almost two with her cousins, but she doesn't remember that. This one she might remember. She had the best time, which is also one of the reasons I had a hard time telling them it was time to stop. I know they were out late, but it is only one night a year, I think I can make an exception. I am so grateful that I have such an amazing friend who let us crash their Halloween in their neighborhood. I think it made the evening so much more special that Eden got to spend it with her best friend. And the best part was that I managed to get both of my kids to take a two hour nap the next day! I am not sure that has happened since Elijah was born! It was a great Halloween and I can honestly say I am looking forward to next year!
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