No pic today...

but today I am thankful for a good chilly, rainy day to help get my Christmas spirit churning! I don't usually start really getting into Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but this weather just really put me in the mind of it...almost felt like it should be snowing, but I know that's not gonna happen around here anytime soon!

More thankfulness...

For yesterday, thankful for my big boy and that he is happy and has lots of friends!

This was the pic with their silly faces...and truthfully, it turned out better than the one of them being "normal"! :)

And today, thankful for ALL 3 OF MY BOYS! Thankful that they are healthy. Thankful that they seem to be happy. And even though they drive my crazy most of the time, I am most THANKFUL that they are MINE!

I'm getting behind...

I do have pics for the days I've missed, but am too busy to go upstairs and get them off the camera! But I HAD to post this one TODAY! In honor of my Nevan, who will turn the big 5 tomorrow....I'm thankful that the Lord blessed my body with the ability to grow children in my womb, to bring them into this world NATURALLY, and to nurse them at my breast. And I'm even MORE thankful that I DON'T look like this today! LOL! This pic was actually taken 2 days before Nevan's birth! Boy, was I HUGE!!!!!

Holidays in Hand class?

Anyone else doing this over at jessicasprague.com????

Well, yesterday was the first day and our assignment was to write down our values and goals for the Christmas season. So, what do I value this time of year??? Time with family and friends. Making our own traditions here with the boys. I'm forced to really think about what a GIFT it is that God sent his only Son to Earth to pay for OUR sins!

What are my Goals??? To make the time with family and friends as stress-free as possible!!! And I just got the reminder of how stressful it can be today! My poor grandmother is insisting on cooking a meal for Thanksgiving AND Christmas. She wants to get us all together but frankly, I don't really care to be around my drunk uncle and his ungrateful children! Since Mark and I are both from broken homes, there are just too many places to go and not enough time to do it all. We have to pick an choose where we go for the holidays now. We already have plans with Mark's sister and family on Thanksgiving Day. If we can work it out to see my dad's side of the family that evening, that's fine. But I'm not gonna kill myself trying to get everywhere! My grandmother doesn't need to be cooking a big meal for all of us anyway...she shouldn't even spend the money! But you can't tell her that!

So, I just have to remember that we can't be everywhere at one time. I CAN say no, and we'll see them when we see them!

Well, I thought I was gonna be behind...

but I'm NOT! :)

On Saturday, the sun shone and it was in the mid 70's! Gorgeous day! I was very thankful for the blue skies and that the boys could play out in it!



Yesterday, I was thankful for Little Caeser's cheapie pizza!!! It kept me out of the kitchen!!! That's always good!



And today, I am thankful for a hubby who buys me THIS! He supports my habit! LOL!

Thankful...Day 2

Wow! I remembered!

Today's pic...

Today, I am thankful that I can read and study the Holy Bible without the fear of persecution for doing so. I am also thankful that I can worship him in the way I feel comfortable and see fit. There are many variations of Christianity and, in MY eyes, no one way of worship is better than the other...all that matters is that you BELIEVE and have FAITH and TRUST in our LORD! The book with my Bible is the study material for the current Bible study I am doing. Although I haven't attended like I'd intended to and am sooooooo far behind on my "homework", I still enjoy going to the class and I benefit from it when I do!

In today's pre-class prayer, the woman leading said something that really hit home. I don't claim to be the most devout, studious, faithful Christian. I actually feel a little pang of jealousy when I meet those people who are just "IN" the Lord's spirit...in everything they do! So, I often find myself questioning my Belief and Faith. But the woman today said, "God is waiting on US to be ready for HIM." We can't force it, we can't pretend...we have to be truly ready to let go and let GOD. I guess I've never really gotten ready enough yet...but one day, I will have that "moment" and I WILL know and will be at peace from my struggles.

It's November and I am THANKFUL!!!

Some of you have seen the posts on Facebook where each day you are supposed to write in your status about something you are thankful for. Well, I wasn't doing it on FB, but my friend Kathy over at www.scraplove.com took it a step further for us! She "challenged" us to do this same thing, but take a picture of whatever we are thankful for. I'm game!!!! This would be soooo easy to turn into a mini-album later...a gratitude journal, as Kathy put it! This is a great way to remember that there IS a holiday in between Halloween and Christmas and we should take time to reflect on it and celebrate it!

So, at this very moment, I am thankful for these...
Yep...that's right! Teddy Grahams and the Ice Age movie! They are keeping my kiddos mostly quiet on this day off from school while their daddy is sleeping! And I am VERY thankful for that...because we really don't want to wake daddy at noon!

Thanks Kathy for the challenge...now just stay on my tail so I don't forget it! LOL!