Thankful Thursday

I'm writing this a little early again as it is Wednesday night, but I'm sure no one will actually see it until Thursday. :) This week I'm thankful for forgiveness...both the ability to receive forgiveness and offer forgiveness. I absolutely love the nights that I can lay my head on my pillow and not have a tinge of regret or unease about something I did or did not do during that day. Unfortunately those nights are the exception rather than the norm. Most of the time as I lay there I think about my lack of patience with the kids...or the husband :). Why I yelled or didn't pay enough attention when they were talking, or expected my husband to be something more than simply human. Or I think about something someone did that ticked me off and why I was absolutely right in feeling or reacting the way I did. :) But luckily, no matter what, my children and husband always forgive me and I forgive them and I'm thankful for that.

I'm grateful for my children, husband, friends, parents, etc. who forgive my weaknesses daily. :)

Recent Happenings

Since we have had a few days without snowfall, Nick (our fire loving kid), talked Brian into the first marshmallow roast of the new year in our backyard. It was still a little chilly out there, but the fire helped a little in keeping us warm. The smell of the campfire made me long for the days of summer!!!!!!! Nick has the most patience in roasting marshmallows...he rotates it slowly over the best part of the simmering coals till it's perfectly golden on the outside and melty on the inside. So when he offered to make me one I gladly accepted the offer. :-) He started cooking and slowly turning it and I kept watching it, salivating and anxious to pop it in my mouth. Well I took my eyes off it for one second and when I looked back the end of his roasting stick was empty and he was chewing...HE ATE MY PERFECT MARSHMALLOW. :-) It just looked too good to him and he couldn't resist. But he made me another one...just as perfect. :-)

This is a picture of Hailey with her newly cut bangs. This is a BIG deal because she always wants to have her bangs the length of her hair and I always want them cut. It was HER idea to cut her bangs on Saturday and I was very happy about that! I think she looks SO CUTE with bangs. :-)

This is Nick with his new glasses. He's been complaining about not being able to see the board at school so we took him in and sure enough...the poor kid was cursed with my eyesight. :-) When he first put on his glasses he said "Oh my gosh, now I can see in HD". :-)

One of Nick's Jr. Jazz basketball games. His team has done really well this year and he's enjoyed playing! (And I've enjoyed cheering like a mad woman on the sidelines.) :-)

One of Hailey's Jr. Jazz games. She is so tall that she usually ends up with a ton of rebounds! :-) She's really enjoyed playing this year as well.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for moms...my mom, moms of my childrens friends, moms of the kids in my childrens classes at school, my mother-in-law, and moms that are great examples and help me learn how to be a better mom!

My mom has always been my biggest fan and notices every detail of my life. She has the uncanny ability to know just what I need at any given time. She is kind, thoughtful, generous and willing to do anything for me and my kids!

I appreciate the moms in the homes my children go to play. I have confidence that they will be treated well and looked after and I'm so grateful that I don't have to worry about them when they go play with their friends.

Being Nick's room mom for his class at school, I am so thankful for the moms who are willing to work in the classroom and help with the parties. Parents are so busy these days and I am so appreciative of the mothers who take time to be involved in their kids school lives and make my job easier by their willingness to share the load. I am also thankful for the moms in my daughters class who have helped and put on great class parties for them.

I am grateful for my mother-in-law who puts together special treat packages for my kids for every single holiday of the year. She also sends them home with a baggy of something everytime they visit her house. They love that!

And all you moms who show me how to be a better mom by your quiet examples, I appreciate you! I watch you interact with your kids, cheer them at sporting events or music recitals, spend hours helping with homework, projects, etc. I read your blogs, observe your childrens accomplishments and spend time listening to you talk about the ups and downs and what works and doesn't...thank you for the great examples and for reminding me that we're all human when that is what I need to hear. :-) I love MOMS!

Thankful Thursday

Well, today is a harder thankful Thursday for me because I'm having the winter blahs and for whatever reason I am a magnet lately for every rude person within a 10 mile radius. :-) So as I type that I realize that today I am grateful for polite people and those who offer up small acts of kindness. The other day I was at the gas station buying a gas gift card for Bryson who's getting his license soon. I also got a small cup of hot chocolate because it was freezing outside. For whatever reason they wouldn't let me pay for the hot chocolate on the same receipt as the gift card but they also wouldn't accept a debit card for anything less than $2.50 and I didn't have any cash...so I was in a pickle about how to pay for the hot chocolate. Seeing my dilema, the cashier guy told me to just to take it and come back in sometime and pay for it. (Which I did!) I'm thankful for his kindness.

I'm thankful for the pleases and thank yous that come out of my childrens mouths and for the mom that is willing to help me with Nick's class Valentine's Party at school tomorrow. I'm thankful for the women who don't park their carts in the middle of the isle at the grocery store so you can actually get by them while they're looking for something on the shelf and for sales people who understand that "I'm just looking" means "I'm just looking" and not "I need you to follow me around the entire store in case I might pick something up that you can make commission on." So as you treat someone politely or perform small acts of kindness, realize it might mean more than you think to the other person! :-)

"Guns"

Since basketball season has started my kids have been into getting in shape and working out so they feel good running up and down the court during their basketball games. They've been running/walking the track with me at the rec center and they've been doing a workout video with me where you work both the upper and lower body at the same time and you're holding weights while you do it. So they came into the office (at home) where I was working and said, "Mom, we've got some guns now" pointing to their arms referring to their muscles. When they lifted them up to show me...this is what I saw. :-)

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for surprises! On Tuesday morning after Brian left for a business trip to Las Vegas I went in to turn on my computer and there was a sealed envelope on top of it that said "Don't open until 12:00" (It was 8:00 am) Well my husband should know me better than that...as a kid I used to secretly unwrap all my Christmas presents then re-wrap them because I couldn't wait until Christmas to find out what I was getting. :-) So I lasted about 3 minutes and tore open the envelope. It was a very sweet note from my sweet husband and he referred to the "flowers" that I should've received by then. They hadn't come yet in those 3 minutes I waited, but I was so surprised they were coming...he hasn't surprised me with flowers in years!!!

Another cute surprise happened a few months ago. I had been putting off cleaning the kitchen all day and I kept saying that I wished the dish fairy would come and clean the kitchen for me. I was really not in the mood to do it that day so I left them for the next day. The next day was Saturday and I got to sleep in a little on that day since we didn't have anything going on. When I woke up and went out to get some cereal my kitchen was clean and there was a sticky note on the dishwasher that said, "Love, the Dish Fairy" in Hailey's cute little handwriting. :-) I LOVE the dish fairy!!! I think she lost our address though because she hasn't been back since. :-)

So today goes to fun surprises! Everyone should think of someone to surprise today...it'll make your day!