Gobble Gobble

Today I'm grateful for:

Good friends. Taking the Bug to play at someone else's house for a morning is like eating a Fenton's black & tan sundae. No, wait, it's better.

Batman (This would be Adam--don't ask me where I got that nickname) taking a two-hour nap because big brother wasn't home to cut it short.

A happy, smiley baby who just woke up from a two-hour nap.

Craft time with the Bug. I'm not the cool, fun, involved mom I envisioned myself to be at 16. I'm working on it, though. Who knows--maybe if I dabble in 'cool mom-ness' enough, I'll earn the title one day.

The temple.

Free Agency.

The Mr. And the dishes he washed last night.

Okay, now it's your turn!

What are you thankful for?


I want your thankfuls on my tree.


SBB

I am thankful for



My Thankful Tree

I have decided to go back through the year and put all of my 'Thankful Thursday' blessings on this year's tree. It has been a great opportunity to look back and remember all that I have been grateful for. It seems like so much has happened this year. It has gone so quickly and yet, when I look back on my blog posts from last fall, it seems like so long ago. Life was different with only one child. It is so much fuller and richer now. I have felt grateful all over again as I realize my many, many blessings.


I noticed that certain 'blessings' repeated themselves often. Good thing you can be grateful for things more than once :)

Here are some that showed up quite a bit:

This one

and this one

I'm also grateful for fall and all of the holidays and activities that come with it, The Mr's job (a year this week--I can't believe it!), and a great week full of good days

SBB

P.S. Are you getting your water down? If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out my Monday post. I'm doing a health challenge and I want YOU to do it with me.

Fall is in the air! I celebrated today by wearing a scarf and long sleeves, putting the Bug in a sweater, and making soup.

I love this picture.

This week I am thankful for:

Adam's happy screeches.

The Bug. That kid is killing me. He's got more personality than any one person should be allowed. It seems like he has grown up a ton just in the last week.


Repentance.

Cooler days that are still warm and sunny.

General Conference. It didn't disappoint--now I have to go back and re-read all the talks fifteen times.

Fall. I think I love Fall. I'm just always so preoccupied with winter's looming imminence that I forget to enjoy it. Seriously, how is it October? Didn't Christmas just happen?

Our umbrella stroller. So, crazy story: two weeks ago I accidentally left a stroller outside a friend's apartment a few blocks away. I didn't even remember until a few days later. I called my friend, but she hadn't seen it. I walked the grounds of the apartment complex and it was gone. I was disappointed, but it's just a stroller--there are worse things to lose. Today I was walking home from another friend's house, and saw a stroller that looked an awful lot like the one I had lost. The owners of the house were outside, and I asked them about it. They didn't speak english, but their son interpreted (I don't know how to say stroller in spanish), and one of the ladies walked over, picked up the stroller, and handed it to me. I could not believe we had found it, especially nowhere near where it had been lost! So I'm really not so grateful for my stroller as I am for answers to prayer. I feel like I list that one a lot, but I am. In the scheme of things it wasn't a big deal--we had the money to replace it, and it wasn't very expensive to begin with. We had other strollers we could use. That's what is so cool to me. It may sound silly, but I know that I was led to find the stroller; it wasn't just dumb luck. It's a testimony to me that God cares about us--big things and little, too.

So we're coming up on Thanksgiving, which usually means I bring out the old Thankful Tree. I'm not exactly feeling the urge to drive down to Payson, pull it out of storage, smash it into my car, and find a place for it here. But believe me, we WILL have a thankful tree. So start feeling grateful. Any comments left about what you're thankful for will go on the tree and I'll send you a dollar for your contribution.

Okay, that last part isn't true. Come on, people! It's a thankful tree, not a money tree! Isn't being grateful enough?

SBB

The Thankful Tree

Well, she survived a year in storage and has come back to grace us with her presence. Who am I talking about? The Thankful Tree, of course!

It is so easy for me to let Thanksgiving come and go without really, truly thinking about all that I have to give thanks for. We started this tree last year to help us remember our blessings during the month of November. It is amazing, when we write them down, how our eyes open. The little things that we take for granted are truly gifts from a loving Heavenly Father.

So this month we give thanks for all our blessings by putting a leaf on the tree. Leave a comment about the things you are thankful for and I will put a leaf on our tree for each one.

Today I will be adding leaves for:

little helpers

amazing sunsets

and

the thankful tree

SBB

Blessings

This week, among many other things, I am thankful for:

Good Sales

Generous friends and family. We have been so blessed lately by the graciousness of others.

Coconut Vanilla scented lotion

This guy

Skin, and all it protects. I'm sure glad it's washable, too!

Exercise partners

Naptime. Oh, naptime, how I love thee.

Second chances. And third, and fourth, and...

Cooler weather

Good neighbors

This guy


Tis the season to be thankful! Only a few more weeks until we pull out the thankful tree. It's a tradition. Since last year, anyway.

SBB