Gratitude Day #6

This should also have been one of the first ones, but I'm grateful for Dave. I know I've written ALL about why I love him so much, so I won't bore you with all that again. But TODAY I'm grateful that he got to go to church. I know that sounds lame, but between his weekends away for the implants course, travel, stake and general conference, and kids being sick, it's been hit or miss getting to church for him. And because of my calling, if the girls are sick I usually have to go b/c I'm in charge of sharing time or something else, so he misses out. Add that to the fact that it wasn't until recently that Bree would finally go to nursery, so he spent most of church walking the halls with her. So, the fact that he got to go today was awesome. And today I'm grateful for all the help he gives me with the girls. He's a hands-on dad. He put Bree and Emma to bed tonight. AND he made dinner. See what I mean? He rocks. I was talking to my sister about how we rely on our husbands, and how our weekends away from them have been hard (her husband has been doing an ortho course), and how they've been hard not just because we rely on their help with the kids, but mostly because we rely on their physical presence to keep us solid. The kids can be driving me crazy during the day or be just fine-either way, I still feel this rush of peace and calm when Dave walks through the door. And I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful that we're a team. And I love him TONS!!!!

Gratitude Day #5

I went to the mall today, and let's just say that I'm SO THANKFUL that as a young couple with a small child we did NOT decide that it would be a FABULOUS idea to make a tradition of taking our children, all dressed up, to see Santa and get a picture with him (and pay an exorbitant amount for said picture). That will SO not be happening at our house...EVER.

Those poor poor kids in that long long long long line. If we ever did that, the picture would end up looking like this. Why would anyone in their right mind make that a tradition!!??

Gratitude Day #4

Midnight on the dot!! k-this will be quick :)

I'm grateful to continue a long lost family tradition of homemade suckers for Christmas. The first batch didn't take the raspberry flavor too well. I added the same amount of cinnamon flavor to the next batch and HOLY COW!! Has anyone ever stood over smoking cinnamon flavoring? I thought my head was going to burn off of my body! The flavor took on that batch :) And the house and my hands and hair still smell like cinnamon.

I'll try some other flavors over the next few weeks, so if you want some suckers, give me a call!

...and a tag

De tagged me with the 4th picture in the 4th folder thing, so here you have it! This would be almost a year ago, Emma having a tantrum because Bree was pulling her hair. A common occurrence at our house.

Gratitude Day #3

I know this should have been my day #1, but I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who watches over us ALWAYS. Even when I'm not doing everything I can to always keep the Spirit with me (I yell at my kids sometimes...), I never have any doubt that He loves me. I guess that's another thing I'm thankful for-a testimony of Him that has never shaken, no matter my circumstances. I know that keeping your testimony of Him can be a struggle for some, so I appreciate that I've been given a gift to always be firm in my testimony.

And I know that He's always watching over us because I've learned how to talk with Him. That's another gift I appreciate. I truly understand the way He communicates with ME. It's different for everyone-for some He communicates in dreams, some through a quiet voice, some get big signs! So when I say my prayers and I really take the time to listen at the end, I always recognize His voice.

I know He loves us all. Through all our different struggles He takes the time to show us love in a way that we will understand, and I hope that you are able to know how He shows His love towards you. And I hope that we all take the time, especially during this special season, to share His love with those around you!

Gratitude Day #2

It's kind of hard trying to pinpoint one thing to express gratitude for. I could say a lot of different things, but then I feel like I have to explain them all. But maybe I don't have to.

So, in chronological order of my day:

I'm thankful that Dave's done with finals and boards-AND HE PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS BY THE WAY!!!!! He ROCKS!
I'm thankful for the baby-sitting at the gym
I'm thankful for the shopping carts that hold TWO children...and straps to keep them from running amok at the store
I'm thankful for the church music in my car that keeps the kids calm (or it might be the DVD player in the car-either way, it's quiet!)
I'm thankful that my garage isn't too packed with junk so my car will fit in it
I'm thankful for lights in my ceiling on these dark cloudy days (if you're scratching your head about that, here's an explanation: the OLD homes here aren't usually wired for lighting, so most of our friends only have lamps in the corners of the rooms, which don't add very much light. but our house has LIGHT-boy does it make a difference for me!)
I'm thankful for strawberry bagels that kept the girls from whining during the whole grocery trip
I'm thankful for fuelperks (but even without them it only cost me $28 to fill up yesterday-and that's in a VAN!!)
I'm thankful for sippy cups
I'm thankful for white noise machines
I'm thankful for preschool carpool
I'm thankful for chocolate chip cookies, a killer recipe for chocolate chip cookies, and a killer mixer to make those chocolate chip cookies in, and a silpat that makes those chocolate chip cookies look PERFECT
I'm thankful that chocolate chip cookies make kids happy when they get home from school
I'm thankful that two little girl bums can fit on one piano bench
I'm thankful for volume control on the piano (can someone invent volume control on a child??)
I'm thankful for a child that will sit still and build a tower with blocks
I'm thankful for a child that won't sit still and build a tower with blocks
I'm thankful for two children who are NOTHING alike
I'm thankful that those two children make me laugh (sometimes not until I'm thinking about them AFTER they're in bed, but still...)
I'm thankful for my bunko sisters-they give me a lot to laugh about
I'm thankful for a husband who empties the dishwasher and then loads the dishes that are in the sink!
I'm thankful for a chance to sit down and think about everything that made me happy today

Hope your day was full of awesome things too!!

Gratitude Day #1

I've seen a lot of people doing the gratitude thing every day for a month, and I think it was centered around Thanksgiving. But I thought it was a good opportunity for me to look beyond the dismal gray cloud cover that has now surrounded our lovely city (ha) and find things to be happy and grateful for each day.

Today is a superficial one. I'm grateful for Southwest Airlines :) First off, GREAT ticket prices, 2 pieces of free luggage, free curbside check-in, and first come, first served seating (or, if you're not fast enough...family boarding). AND you can check carseats for FREE! We have 2 carseat travel bags, and we've figured out a nice trick. The bags are enormous and have room in them even after the carseats are in them. So in order to lighten the load in the rest of our luggage, we throw in snow coats, boots, blankets, hats, gloves, stuffed animals, you name it (and it can't be destroyed if thrown around) and it goes in there!

So my friend Shannon leaves tomorrow for Utah and she's flying on Delta. They've just changed their luggage policy to the 1st bag is $15, the 2nd bag is $35, and carseats aren't free!! And you have to pay EACH WAY!! I had previously told her about our little trick that we do and she came by to pick up a carseat bag to borrow, and that's when she told me about their policy. EVERY OTHER AIRLINE RIPS YOU OFF!! I was angry for her.

So I'm grateful that Southwest made our recent trip to Utah pleasant, cheap, and stress free. From now on, I will only fly on Southwest. ding.

Project Night tomorrow

It's at my house-make a comment to let me know if you're coming.

who will be our friends???

So, who's sticking around for the Christmas break? I just want to know who we can play with, trade kids with, enjoy Christmas stuff with, etc...

and we're HOME!

All in all, a pretty awesome Thanksgiving week. A few minor things-Bree fell off a stool and her two bottom teeth went through the skin underneath her lip. That meant a trip to the emergency room, where we surprisingly saw Juston-an old friend from when we lived there! Then the next day, during her "independent" ride on the scooter, she fell and scraped her forehead on some rocks, which leaves a more "dug in" looking scab than just scraping it on the ground. And Emma got some stomach bug the day before we left, which meant some MAJOR prayers that her bug would be gone before a plane trip and that Bree and I wouldn't get it. And then there were family pictures where, once again, OUR child was the uncooperative one. WHAT'S WITH THAT??? But all the cousins might recall the HUGE blown up family picture Grandma and Grandpa had on their wall where I'm about 3-ish and screaming and pulling my hair-right in the FRONT. So maybe this is my comeuppance (however you spell that). The last time we were all together for a family picture Emma was the one causing all the trouble. I might have to find pictures of the 2 experiences and post that.

We did all sorts of things-Kangaroo Zoo (a big room of blow up jumpoline things), BYU bowling, visiting friends, playing with cousins, caramel apple dipping, TWO Thanksgiving meals, lights on Temple Square, walks up in the canyon, and enjoying the AWESOME weather Utah dealt us while we were there-seriously, it got up to almost 70 a couple days.

We had a TON of fun with everyone-a HUGE thanks to all for making the time and effort to see us while we were there. And a HUMONGOUS thanks to Mom and Dad for letting us crazy kids stay at their house. And a VERY grateful heart that Kris is doing so well after her heart surgery. Emma and Bree absolutely love both their Grandmas and Grandpas and all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. It's always so hard to watch Emma cry when we leave them or they leave us. But we'll see you all again SOON!!! (we hope...)


yes, Bree is missing from this picture...