30 Days of Thankfulness. The rest...

 30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 22.

Forgiveness.

30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 23.

Cousins.

30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 24.

Hope.

30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 25.

Fresh Air.

 30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 26.

My best friend and amazing husband to share this adventure with me.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 27.

Hands to Hold.  People to Lean on.

30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 28.

Sunshine.

30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 29.

We are ALL always learning and growing.

30 Days of Thankfulness.  Day 30.

A loving Lord and Savior who loves me more than I deserve.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 21

I am so very thankful for all seasons but especially for my favorite season, Fall.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 20

I am thankful for curosity and all that is discovered because of it.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 19

I am thankful for art, for creativity, and for all the things that inspire both.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 18

I am thankful for Lillianna's compassionate, hardworking teachers and staff

in our great public elementary school.

This is Lillianna on the 50th day of Kindergarten - what a cute idea!  what a cute girl!

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 17

I am thankful for the reminders to look on the bright side, to see the glass half full, to be thankful.

These two calves were at the farm that Lillianna's kindergarten class visited on a field trip.
Aren't they cute?!
But looking at the one on the left, I first felt so sad that he was covered in flies.
  They must be terribly annoying!
But then I noticed that the calf was "smiling".
If he can find something to smile about, then I certainly can!

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 16

I am thankful for all our amazing friends.

Friends are a beautiful gift...truly the cherry on top to most any part of my life.

I feel so blessed to have old friends who know me inside and out and

 new friends who teach me something new about myself.

  I am thankful for the joy and laughter my friends bring into my life each day.

I am incredibly grateful for the countless moments I have shared with friends (in person or on the phone)

 that have helped to shape who I am today.

  For all the hours of talking, for all the wise counsel, for the prayers,

for the silliness, for the help with my girls, for the giggles...I am thankful.

With each move, I have prayed for the provision of friends for each of us.

  God has blessed each move with precious friends who have become just like family in our new town.

  I will continue to pray that my girls will learn to be the kind of friend that they want to have.

I pray that they will nurture those friendships and receive the wonderful blessings of a true friend.

There is just nothing like a best friend.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 15

I am thankful for the opportunity to be "Mama" to my girls.

Smart, sweet, silly, sassy, super, and very sparkly.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 14

I am thankful to have shoes, clean water, clothes, a house, and food.

30 Days of Thankfulness. Day 13

I am so thankful for colors.

Something we can often take for granted, colors add to every aspect of our lives.

Bright blue eyes, brillant gold leaves, stunning pink sunset,

lovely green field, peaceful white beach, juicy red strawberries.

I love colors and try to take time to notice their beauty that is all around me all the time.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 12

I am thankful for sisters.

I have three sisters.

I am very blessed by each of my beautiful sisters every day.

I also have two sisters-in-law who I am very thankful for too.

Now, nothing brings me more joy than to watch the special relationship between Lillianna & Ellenie.

As I've said before, they truly are best friends.

  Very different in some ways but share all the important things.

Their love grows more each day...just as they do.

Tonight, my heart nearly burst through my chest as I watched a true example of sisterly love...

Both of them still sleep with their beloved blankies.

  Lately, Miss E looses it in the middle of the night and whimpers or cries until she wakes up me or Lillianna.  She's almost 4 years old and suddenly I am up in the middle of the night like I have a 4 month old!

So after being up with her last night to find it again, I decided to try and solve the problem.

I pinned her blankie to her pillow.  Simple enough right?

She cried and sobbed and cried and sobbed like I had fed her blankie to Boone for dinner.

As I am trying to console, reason, explain, console, bribe, threaten, and console her,

 I notice Lillianna returned to her bed and pinned her blankie to her pillow too.

"Look Ellenie, I want mine to be like yours.  Now we both have it like this.  Isn't this great?"

I wanted to tackle her with a giant hug and smother her with kisses!

Why hadn't I thought of that?!

Ellenie stopped crying and suddenly decided she'd try it.

I am so very, very, very thankful for sisters!

30 Days of Thankfulness. 11.11.11

I am thankful that my girls will grow up in a country

where they can dream to be anything they want to be.  And then be it.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 10

 I am thankful for animals...especially pets...especially ours...especially Boone.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 9

I am very thankful for my girl's GRAND grandparents.

Sue-Sue, Dandy, Ya Ya, Jean Jean, Pops, Grandma Ann, Wil, & Marshall.

My girls are blessed with fabulous grand parents and two amazing great grandmothers who love them tremendously.  I am so thankful for the precious and priceless memories Lillianna and Ellenie will have with them.  Memories of laughter, great talks, silly games, new places, fun walks, reading books, and lots of hugs.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 8

Today, I am thankful for all things delicious.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 7

I am thankful for humilty.

It's painful at times but oh so valuable.

When standing at the edge of the ocean or looking up at the sky,

 I am humbled by the size and the beauty of both.

I am also humbled by the reminder that I am just one, tiny part of this enormous, precious community.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 6

I am so very thankful for good health.

When I look a this picture my heart can hurt to know that my girls will never ever be that small again.

Those tiny fingers, that amazing baby smell, those sweet cheeks.

But that feeling lasts just a moment...

because I am so thankful that they are growing and that I have had each day with them.

 So thankful for each day I have with all those that I love.

I try desperately not to take it for granted because it could change tomorrow.

So today, I am so very grateful for good health.

Happy Halloween

Halloween 2011

 Two precious, fluttery butterflies.

One purple haired Mama Moth.

Super fun birthday costume party.

Trunk or Treat with friends.

Trick or Treating in our neighborhood.

School parties too but not pictured.

Halloween Week 2011.

I was weened out!

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 5

Today I am thankful for music.

(And the awesome dance moves it often inspires.)

Have you ever thought about life without music?  I just can not imagine it.

Music is so important in my life.

  It is, so often, the way I to praise God, travel to another place,

remember a special memory, or express, release, or even just "feel" an emotion.

And music is definitely what gets me dancing.

  What is more fun than dancing?!

We love a good dance party at our house and

 I love to see the freedom and true joy my girls feel when they dance.

While Lillianna loves to sing & dance and is really good at both....

I can just tell that music really speaks to Ellenie.

She picks up lyrics super fast, hits all the notes, and really feels the music when she dances.

I especially love when she closes her eyes while she dances.  so cute.

I am thankful for the beauty of music and all that it adds to my life.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 4

 I am thankful for the safety of our home, our town, & our country.
  I am very thankful for the people who serve to protect us.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 3

I am very thankful for God's amazing creation.

30 days of Thankfulness. Day 2

I am thankful for the beauty in little things like eyelashes and ladybugs.

30 days of thankfulness. Day 1

I am thankful for giggles, silliness, and funny faces.

This Magic Moment

For me and my girls, there is nothing more enjoyable than

 some paint, some music, and something to paint on.

Unless you paint yourself and then the clean-up is not that enjoyable.