Happy Thanksgiving

Today I am ending my daily thanksgiving series. I have decided to give myself the day off tomorrow....not because I won't be able to find anything to be thankful for (there will be too many things to choose just one!) but because I want to spend the day enjoying every minute with my family.

Today, I am thankful that we have finally made up our minds as to how we will be spending Thanksgiving day. Because of sick children and a few other things that factored in to this decision, we are going to be staying home this year. We will be having our first ever Thanksgiving dinner of our own! I am so excited to spend this holiday (which also happens to be my birthday) here in our own home, together.

I am excited to make pies, to cook a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and veggies galore. I cannot wait to wear my apron all day, preparing a feast for my family.

I am thankful that we won't have to go out in the freezing weather....unless we want to.

I am thankful that I will have the day to haul out the rest of the Christmas decorations...because today our living room is a mix of two holidays.
And I am thankful for you! Thank you for reading my thoughts, for taking the time to comment, and above all, for being my friend. It means the world to me!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, that you get to be with those you love most, eating the most delicious food, having wonderful conversations, and making memories to keep you warm throughout the cold winter months.

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Thankfulness

**A frosty look through one of the windows in our home.

The blizzard warning this afternoon had me taking inventory in my mind of everything we would need in case we were to get snowed in tonight. Milk, fridge full of food, flashlights, source of heat, medicine. Check, check, check.

Then I waited for each member of the family to make their way home. First Erik, then Nicole, and last the boys.

All safe and sound in our home, we watched the black winter wall slowly approach, while Christmas music played in the background.

It was exciting to watch the crazy weather outside while the news station on TV gave us an even bigger picture of what was happening beyond our front door.

With all the extra family time, we decided to rearrange the furniture and put up the Christmas tree.

With the fireplace warming us, the storm continues on full force as I blog away.

I am so thankful today for one of my very favorite sources of heat....my fireplace.

I hope you are all safe and warm in your homes too!

Thankful- day twenty two

This pile of clothes can only mean one thing..... Today, I am thankful for a clean boy.

The older he gets, the harder I have to beg.

Just wish I could get him to pick up after himself.

**Maybe posting this picture on my blog will do the trick. How mean is that?

Thankful- day twenty one

Ear infections, sinus infections, pneumonia.

Two out of three kids have each visited the doctors twice in the past few weeks. My kitchen counter is starting to look like Target Pharmacy.

The joys of winter!

Today, I am thankful for medicine. From antibiotics to pain/fever relievers.

So very thankful.

Wishing you all good health!

So thankful

for a warm house to be in tonight.

It's such a beautiful storm, but I am so thankful that I don't have to be out in it. I am thankful that I can just watch it from my windows while drinking hot cocoa.

Winter is here.

Thankful for....

videos on YouTube like this one (if you haven't seen it already it really is a MUST). Oh how it makes me smile!

I cannot imagine how many times that little man has listened to this symphony to have each movement down so precisely. There is just pure joy on his face- I'm sure he 'sees' each and every instrument!

I think he should be given the opportunity to conduct it in real life, don't you? What a riot!

Today, I am thankful for the little things that me smile each day.

Thankful for...

Someday, I am going to miss the sound of splashing and playing while my little one takes a bath.

Someday, I am going to miss the hour long process that it takes to empty the tub of toys before draining the water.

Someday, I am going to miss hearing the imaginary wars and super hero tales going on behind the bathroom door.

Someday.

But tonight I heard and saw all of those things.

Tonight, I am thankful for little boys and all of their toys.

Thanful for...

all the good things we get to bake this time of year.

I love the smells of something baking in the oven. I love how it warms my home, and brings smiles to the faces of those I love.

Now if I could only figure out how to keep my baked goodies from taking up residence on my hips and belly.

For today, I am thankful for these yummy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Thankful for...

I love looking through Ian's backpack when he comes home from school and seeing the projects have kept his hands busy that day.

First grade handwriting makes me smile.

Today, I am thankful for little hands and the things they create.

**No wonder he was starving when he got home from school today. Writing about all that food would make me hungry too! Yes I do, I like it too!

Thankful Thoughts- day 15

Today, I am SO thankful he is home.

5 days of phone calls and texts as our only means of contact was way too hard- we all missed him terribly.

After getting him home last night we talked until late into the night and then I chatted his ear off all morning. I'm sure he was ready to run out the door to work today.

It's just so good to have him with us again.

**I wanted to take a picture of him standing on the curb at the airport waiting for me to pick him up, but there were too many cars zooming in and out that I thought it not wise to drive and snap a photo at the same time. Smart right? Instead, I asked him to drive us home and shot this one instead. I bet he's so glad to be home too. I think he's still seeing spots from the flash! Sorry hunny.

Day Fourteen- Thankfulness

Today I am thankful for Sunday dinner.

For some reason this meal with my family is the one that I look forward to most. I love sitting around the table and hearing what everyone learned in church that day. In a small way it's a chance for me to hear their testimonies growing.

It's a day that is unhurried, most often calm, where we take a breather before facing the new week ahead.

This is the meal that I start planning for on Monday.

I try to make it a meal that everyone likes. No complaining on this day. I save the 'yucky' meals for the other days of the week. :)

**If you need a really good chicken noodle soup recipe, I have got one for you! It's so good that Erik says he could eat it every night of the week. That's saying something! Thanks again Tiff for the recipe. I think of you every time I make it.

Thankful- day thirteen

High school dances.

Corsages, boutonnieres, expensive dresses, fancy dinners, the list goes on.

Today, I am thankful that good old pj's were the acceptable dress for Nicole's dance tonight. It saved so much time and money! Thanks just doesn't seem like enough!

I heart Sadies!

Thankful for a lesson learned

I stopped by the hospital today to help for a few hours. It was early in the morning and I began to do patient rounds to see if there was anything I could get for them.

I stopped by the room of a frail looking man with thinning brown hair. He was in the middle of eating his breakfast of scrambled eggs covered in cheese, hash browns, bacon, toast, fruits, juices and a yogurt.

After introducing myself, I asked him if I could get anything for him, fully expecting him to say no. Instead, he asked me to get him an Italian Ice.

"You may not have any because they were out last night" he went on to say, "so if there are none, please bring me two cups of vanilla ice cream, a Styrofoam cup, and some rootbeer so that I can make myself a root beer float."

I thought his request to be somewhat strange because of the time of day and the fact that he was still eating his breakfast. But I told him I would go and check on the Italian Ice. Before leaving his room I mentioned to him that if there were none, he would have to wait on the rootbeer float because we were out Styrofoam cups for the time being, but that more would be arriving soon.

He said that would be fine, so off I went.

Less than one minute later, I returned to his room with the Italian Ice. "It's the last one!" I said as I handed it to him. He took it with a smile and I continued, "I will check back on you later, when the cups arrive to see if you still might like to have a rootbeer float." Then I left his room and went off to the next patient.

About 30 minutes later, I was walking past the nurse's station when the charge nurse said to me, "You forgot to bring my patient a rootbeer float." She seemed annoyed which surprised me. It hadn't been that long since I had brought him the Italian Ice. I had forgotten to check to see if the cups had arrived but I hadn't expected him to be that anxious to get his float.

I went to his room, and after knocking on his door, I slowly walked in. He was eating his rootbeer float. "Are we still friends?" I asked him with a smile. "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner and that you had to ask your nurse to get you the float." I said.

I expected him to say it was OK, not to worry, etc. Instead he said, "You need to start carrying around a notebook so that you can write these things down. I know you get busy, but you shouldn't forget."

I wanted to tell him it had only been 30 minutes, that he was still eating his breakfast for heaven sakes, that he had JUST eaten an Italian Ice, that there was only one of me and 32 patients and that I WOULD have come back eventually.

Instead, I said, "You are right. I need to do that. I shouldn't forget."

I have been thinking a lot about this man and what he said. At first I felt like I was being unfairly criticized. I'm a volunteer for crying out loud! I often do get busy running errands here and there for this nurse or that and most days only get to each patients room once in four hours. But then I realized that he was trying to teach me an important lesson. He was trying to teach me how to give better care and to realize that these patients are relying on us to do things for them that they cannot do for themselves. And that thirty minutes can seem like hours to someone sitting alone in a hospital room.

A rootbeer float seems like a trivial thing to you and I, but to a patient who perhaps hasn't been allowed to eat anything but a clear diet for days and has just been cleared for a regular diet again, this type of thing can be huge to them.

I'm grateful for this man. Grateful that he took the time to teach me this lesson instead of just saying that it was OK.

Today, I am thankful for the lessons I learn each time I walk through the hospital doors.

Thankful- day eleven

Need I say more?

Tart, ruby red little beauties- the fruit of the gods (in my opinion).

I am thankful for Pomegranates this time of the year.....it means Christmas is coming my dears!

Thankful for Prayer

I had an overwhelming and stressful day today and there were two specific times that I was in serious need of immediate relief from symptoms I was experiencing that were distressing me and were distracting me from the nursing orientation I was attending.

On two separate occasions, I mentioned this to two different people I was texting (I KNOW! texting during an orientation.....shameful!). I asked them to pray for me. Almost immediately after, I felt relief from the symptoms I was experiencing. I KNOW that prayers are answered!

Today, I am so thankful for the power of prayer.

Thankful-day nine

After a long, busy day, I am so very thankful for my soft, warm bed to climb in to tonight.

*It's very tricky to take a picture of yourself in bed! :)

Thankful Thoughts~ day eight

I had such high hopes for today. Really high hopes. The boys were going back on track, the house would be quiet again, time to myself, ahhhh.

But it was not to be. At six thirty this morning, Nicole climbed in my bed and I knew she was still suffering from the flu that had her down all weekend.

A few minutes later, Ian was standing next to me telling me he was scared and that his room was haunted.

So much for sleep.

I tucked Ian in my bed and got up. I looked outside. It was raining.

A few minutes later, Isaac walked in my room and informed me that his head and stomach were hurting.

So my quiet day to myself quickly came to and end before it even began.

Two children home sick, a cold and rainy day, and then add to that the fact that I had to out in it to go grocery shopping (my least favorite thing to do), and you may be thinking, "What is she thankful for?"

Let me tell you.

Today, I am thankful to be a mother. Thankful that I have three children who need me. Who wander the house looking for me when they need sympathy, need a hug, a reassuring word, a hand to feel their forehead, a dose of medicine, someone to tell their bad dream to, someone to feed them, someone to take care of them.

Being a mother is a wonderful thing. And sometimes it takes a day like today to remind me just how lucky I am.

A Day of Thanks

I have used this picture in a previous post, but I have very few to choose from when it comes to pictures of my hunny. (He likes to pose when I take his picture- flashing gang signs, cheesy grins, sticking out his tongue.) I need a good one of him today. Because today, I am thankful for this man.

We have a couple of sick children and he volunteered to stay home from church to take care of them today. (Actually, we drew straws and I lost.)

The reason I am thankful for him on this day is because after church, as we walked through the door, we were greeted with an amazing aroma.

Dinner.

It was such a nice surprise, and so very delicious.

Today I am thankful for my sweet husband and all that he does for our family.

Day Six- Sunshine in my Soul Today!

Stormy weather is just around the corner. The sunny warm days are quickly coming to an end. So today, I am thankful for one last sunny, warm morning. Today's sunrise was especially beautiful!

A special note to Mr. Sun,

Please don't be a stranger. Know that you are welcome to enter through my windows any day of the week. Don't feel silly if it's the middle of Winter and you want to warm things up a bit down here. It may be unusual, but certainly not improper. Don't be afraid to mix things up a bit. I will welcome you with open arms!

See you soon?
Love,

Thankful for friends

Two days a week, I get to have this friend to myself for one whole hour while we walk the streets of our neighborhood. And for that hour, we talk non-stop, solving the world's problems. We figure out life's mysteries, and those we can't figure out that day, we save for another.

She is wise, thoughtful, loyal, and so beautiful in every way! She makes exercising something that I completely look forward to.

Today I am thankful for friends like Christy.

*Please forgive me for sneaking a shot of you this morning :)

Thankful- day four

For eight hours every week I get to be a small part of what goes on here.

The third floor.

I love the energy of this place, the healing happens.

Each day is different, each hour, each minute. Different stories, different circumstances of why the patients are here. Each is unique, but yet the same. They all need to heal. I love being a part of that.

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to serve.

thankful thoughts~ day three

Today I give thanks for the lovely park that entertained two boys who have been so terribly bored these past few weeks while they have been off track. Even though they fought like an old married couple the whole time we were there- at least it was a change of scenery for us all.

Thankful for this girl

Tonight Nicole received her Young Women's Medallion. This is HUGE! Like Eagle Scout Award huge. So huge that today's thankful post gets 3 photos instead of one!


After the bishop awarded her with her Medallion, we surprised her with flowers (her brothers brought them to her, it was precious!).
Today, I am thankful for this beautiful young lady who inspires me everyday. She makes me want to be a better mother, a better friend, a more positive person, more service oriented. She amazes me.

She was the first to call me mother- a name I adore. In her (almost) 17 years, she has taught me so much and has been so patient with me as I have learned how to become the mother that she needs.

I am so thankful for her and for the wonderful young woman she has become.
Congratulations Nicole! I love you!