M, she's my buddy.

This afternoon was spent drinking hot cider, dancing, listening to Christmas music and watching the snow. And a double batch of cookies. I am so thankful for my little friend.

Grateful thoughts

I am very grateful for cough drops, I think my insides would turn out without them.

I am thankful Dan will be back Monday! This single mom thing isn't that bad, but the bedtime routines have become very, very short.

I am so thankful Fenton is home from his mission, just in time for the holidays. Lots of fun yet to come.

I am thankful for Dan's job. He loves his job. So many friends have jobs and don't enjoy them, and then there are those without a job. I'm so thankful that Dan's work has been fulfilling as well as providing. It is such a blessing.

I am thankful for pictures. I am thankful Dan loves to take pictures, and that we have a lot of our children and our marriage, and adventures. I like to watch our screen saver with Mary. She gets so excited when Dan comes up, she yells "That's my dad, that's my dad." Or when a cousin pops up- "That's my friend." So many moments are caught by the camera, and I'm sure I would forget them. They are precious and I am grateful for them.


Here are some recent pics:


Mary at her first dentist appointment. She loved it. The dentist gave her a new pink princess toothbrush and the classic bubblegum toothpaste. But that's not all, she went through the entire cleaning process without being scared. I was so proud of her! We are definitely going back. (The hygienist also gave her a pink flower, a token for a prize (with which she bought a small black dog), a candy bar and sticker. What's not to love about the dentist?

M helped me wash the car, I love it when she helps with the chores! :)

Playing with the bike. Abraham loves it, he is totally boy.

I love walks, especially when it is beautiful, smells like snow, when you're all bundled up... and know that there is hot chocolate waiting for you when you get home. This was one of these walks. It was wonderful.

November 19

I am thankful for imagination. Mary has started pretend play and it is quite entertaining. I am so glad that she doesn't always need me to sit with her, my chores actually get done in a timely manner now. Though, I do enjoy playing with her, Abraham is getting a little more attention as well.

Abraham is a very well mannered baby. I am so thankful for him. He makes an excellent second child. He loves his older sister, and is beginning to follow her about. I think they will be great friends.

I am thankful for my calling at church. My calling really is simple, not very time consuming and I'm learning a lot. I help the youth write or practice their talks. I think I must have given a pretty sorry talk when we moved in and this was the easiest way for me to gain more experience. But I do enjoy it.

I am thankful for books. I don't read as much as I used to, I wonder why? But I have read some very great books in the last couple months, and have recently begun rereading a series. I love books. I really enjoy the quite, relaxing, though provoking moments they provide.

I am thankful for my car. I am thankful that it can not only transport me and my children in a safe manner, but that it usually has all the essentials packed somewhere inside it so that I never go far without books, diapers, blankets, old crackers, tissues, maybe an apple, phone chargers, a first aid kit, gum . . . you get the idea. I am very thankful for my car. (And it is beautiful.) (And reliable.) (And comfortable.) (All in comparison with my husband's mode of transportation.) :)

Today's 5

This week I've been staying at Dan's parents, babysitting Hannah, Sam and Dallin. More like supervising, they really don't need a lot, just a little prodding.

I am thankful for toothbrushes. I love the feeling of clean teeth. I like brushing my teeth and when away from home, if the toothbrush has been forgotten, it is the first material possession I miss. I didn't pack mine on Sunday night, and was grateful to retrieve it on Monday.

I am also thankful for the bath tub. Both of the children really enjoy bath time. They are getting better at being in the tub at the same time which is a relief. As Sarah mentioned, it is a great way to entertain small children.

I am so thankful for Hannah. Mary loves Hannah. She likes to hang out in her room, play with her clothes. She wants long hair like Hannah, she likes her make-up and shoes . . . and Hannah is very helpful. And Hannah is usually very willing to entertain M. Thanks so much!

I am also very thankful for Dallin. I love it when Dallin cooks. He is great in the kitchen and can follow any recipe. Twice this week Dallin has hopped into the kitchen to make cookies and he is eager to share them and clean up. I hope Mary and Abraham enjoy the kitchen as much as he does.

And Sam. I am thankful for him too. He is very even tempered, even when Mary clogs his toilet and empties his floss and shampoo bottles. Sam is always friendly towards M and even his friends give her attention when she is around.

I am thankful for my home. I love our house, I feel like we've been so blessed to find it and take care of it. I think I'll really miss it. Dan has been looking for some apartments, sending pictures and emails. A lot of them look nice, but a little empty and not very personal. I've started sorting through some stuff, deciding what we'll want to take with us and what to put in storage. (Trying to get a jump on things before the holidays and cousins come.) And while doing so have just felt very grateful for the opportunity we had to live here.



I am thankful for warm homes. It's been crazy cold this weekend.
I am thankful for a garage, so that I'd don't have to scrape my windows when it snows.
I am thankful for church, though it is three hours, and my children never hold still. I am grateful to attend my meetings, not to mention dropping Mary off at Nursery and eating Cheerios and Graham crackers with Abraham.
I am thankful for the approaching holidays. I love this time of year, I can't wait till cousins arrive, large dinners, pies, treats, snow, the smell of snow, apple cider and scones . . .

If anything,

this gratitude posting is getting me to the blog more frequently. I'll post pictures tomorrow, I promise.

I am thankful for babies, especially Abraham. Babies are cuddly, make you feel loved and want to be picked up and carried around. I am easily excited around them, everyone cheers when they make even small accomplishments. They laugh easily, are very curious, eat almost anything and don't complain . . . they fall down, bump a head and get back up again. Even though Abraham is walking around with a fat lip and at least 3 visible bruises or bumps on his head he still is persistent. If only I were more like my son ...

I am also thankful for my iphone. It has honestly become an appendage, an entertainment outlet for Mary and a link to Dan. Today Mary wanted to "play a game" on my phone. We called Sam, Hannah, grandma, JJ, Zoe, Caelyn and Zerah, Henry, Derrick, Ann and Ehre. We would have continued to call everyone else on my contact list, but the battery wasn't cooperating. It was a wonderful 30 minute break while M conversed with everyone asking how they were and what they were doing. I took a short nap on the floor between dialing for her. :)

I am thankful for the beautiful snow that welcomed us this morning. As M says "The snowmen are coming, the snowmen are coming." By 8 am, during Abraham's nap, we slipped outside and made our fist snowman. It was freezing, don't ask me why we went out before the sun was even up. After 15 minutes of playing in the snow I wanted to go in to make hot chocolate, I couldn't convince M to come with me so I left her outside. (I tied coaxing, begging, manipulation, blackmail.) By the time she came in her poor hands were freezing inside her gloves. As she was taking off her wet clothes she asked for some HC. We were out! No worries though, Target provided some Stephen's for tomorrow's excursion.

This leads to what I'm thankful for next- Hot Chocolate. Thank you Dallin for my Hot Chocolate maker. I thoroughly enjoyed 2 hot mugs after dinner. I think I'll just go have a few more.

I am thankful for . . . leftovers. Not that I don't love to cook, but sometimes after long afternoons it is just so wonderful to peek in the fridge and serve anything that is still edible. I guess I should throw in that I'm thankful for microwaves with the leftovers. Happy Day.

I am thankful for

Web cams, treadmills, baby Tylenol, water bottles and towels.
Dan is gone, I love having the web cam and gmail rocks! In his absence the treadmill is my out. I only wish it could fit in a suitcase.
Abraham is sick, getting over a bacterial thing, but picking up something viral at the same time. He is getting plenty of sleep, amoxicillin and Tylenol.
And Mary, inadvertently, mopped the kitchen floor with grape juice today. Gotta love towels, and consequently M is using a water bottle for the next 10 years.

Birthday Party!

The cake! Or should I say Cupcake cake. Mary helped me make the cupcakes and was kinda sad that there weren't any pink ones. She won't have to wait long though. She got so excited for Abraham's birthday, she sang Happy Birthday all day long.

Waiting, patiently, for the candles . . . and cake.



He was a little anxious . . .


Abraham practically inhaled the cupcake. He didn't pull it away till he'd sucked most of the frosting off. :)

Still inhaling.



He wasn't very interested in the presents . . . he was more interested in running around, Eliot helped a bit though.

Mary loves birthdays, cakes, the birthday song- she looks pretty tired in this picture, she is. That cupcake didn't even give her a sugar high.

It was a great birthday! Thanks for all the presents! Sarah and Rocky thanks for driving down, can't wait for the next big birthday, M is counting down.


I am thankful for:
alarm clocks, water, short naps, hot showers and cameras.

Gratitude

I'm amazed it has taken me this long to sit down and start counting my blessings.
You'd think I'd have started earlier when my sister-in-law Julie started listing 5 a day on her blog, usually when Julie does something it is pretty cool and I pick it up quickly. Then my sister began the same thing a few days later. And then I was asked to teach a lesson on gratitude, and here I am almost a week later, and feel like I should focus more. I guess it's never to late to be thankful, but really I have been all along.

So to begin-
1- I'm really glad to have lots of encouragement and great examples of gratitude! I've really enjoyed reading the few posts others have made.
2- Dan. He is a very thoughtful husband and a great dad. I love it when Mary wakes up screaming in the middle of the night and is yelling for Daddy. (It doesn't make me feel less loved, but grateful for the extra sleep, and even more happy that she really loves Dan.)
3- Lately I've also felt very thankful for the washing machine . . . need I say more?
4- My mom, I think she is somehow related to the energizer bunny, or maybe she carries around a secret power pack.
5- Doctors- good pediatricians and dentists. My children still enjoy going to the doctor's office. I am thankful that the doctors we have take such good care of my children.

Abraham

Happy Birthday Son!

Halloween costumes . . .

Our creative minds came up with these fantastic costumes . . .

a little ladybug

and a mini m&m

Actually the red dress for M was provided by Julie, and Abraham's costume was a mini version of Dallin's. But hey, they still got candy and had a lot of fun raiding Dan's co-workers.

Here's m's little wings, she loved them!
(Oh the joys of felt and a glue gun. Thanks Sarah.)

Baths, Apples, Pumpkins and Ducks

In lieu of his binki in the tub, I think we're gonna have a hard time breaking him of the habit.




Loves his apples. Even the core and seeds . . .

Mary was a little excited to pick out her own pumpkin; she called them all Mary Pumpkins.

Celebration dinner, Dan is the best! We went to one of our favorite local spots. This particular chef is opening an new place in November, though it is a private restaurant. I'll have to get an invitation some how.

ABC Shave Ice

I had this dessert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (which is a common dessert there) that I'm sure my grandmother invented. It has her fingerprints all over it. It's called ABC shave ice and contains among other things: shaved ice, jello, corn, beans, other veggies. It's on par with the famous cottage cheese and raisin sandwiches Ivan and I were served once.

Where and How

Good point, details:

Mary fell from the kitchen chair. Not a long fall, but a hard one (tile floor). She was trying to hand me something and slipped. She cried for a long time but I chalked it up to nap time and didn't take her in for hours.

We are moving to Bangkok.

Last week Sarah and I took the children up the canyon for some pictures with the fall leaves. We didn't get very many good ones. I think the first is the best shot, and the following are runner ups.

More fantastic pictures of our adorable children

btw: for those who haven't heard, we're moving in January. maybe the blog will get more attention, being it's creation was for the grandparents.

M broke her collarbone . . .

but she's still a doll.