Thanksgiving Festivities

A little sampling of our Thanksgiving celebrations.

Our contribution to the dinners. Candy turkey favors. Aliza had fun helping me made them.

Football and naps.

Lincoln Logs.

And a trip to Jeremy's family.

Surrounding it all is the fact that my Grandad is still in the hospital. I kept waiting for some definitive answer (and solution) before I blogged, but we are still waiting for that. He has a bacterial infection in his blood. That bacteria has to be coming from somewhere in his body. The type of bacteria seems to be pointing to his intestines. So far he has had a chest x-ray, CAT scan and MRI that have not provided answers. It looks like maybe he will have a colonoscopy next. He has 3 more days of IV antibiotics. My Gramma sits with him 10-12 hours a day, but she seems to be holding up pretty well.

I'm going to tell one story about my Gramma. She'll probably kick me when she reads it, but I want to remember. Gramma was waiting for my Dad to come in from the parking lot at the hospital when she noticed that a woman was sitting and really crying hard. Gramma went over to her and said "I'm so sorry. You are really hurting." The woman told Gramma that she just found out her husband had cancer. Gramma asked some questions and found out that this woman has no support system. Gramma offered to pray with her and the woman accepted. When Dad came in he also talked to her and prayed with her. Gramma could have been so absorbed in her own worries over not knowing what is happening with her own husband of almost 58 years that she didn't even notice someone else's tears. But she wasn't. She was able to see other people and not be afraid to reach out to someone who is obviously hurting. Thank you, Gramma, for that reminder.

Thankful - November 25

• Grandad has good doctors taking care of him. Before the evening is over he is going to be moved to ICU for closer monitoring.
  
• Gramma and Grandad are here and not 12 hours away where they live!
• The children slept late so that I could make supper early to deliver to Gramma at the hospital.
• Survived the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving. I was trying to avoid that but the milk ran out.
  
• We've received payment for some long past due invoices.
• I got to talk to my aunt on the phone.
• I totally blew off a friend last night since I felt like I should be with Gramma. She is still my friend today. =)
• I have the most interesting bedtime talks with Aliza.
  

Thankful for Helpers?

So I admit that during the process of making gingersnaps this afternoon I was not even 50% thankful for my helpers. Josiah got out the ice cream scoop and was scooping dough out of the bowl and was just generally in the exact spot that I needed to be in at all times. He then resorted to picking up the balls off the cookie sheet and licking the sugar off the them. He thought this was highly amusing!

Aliza's "job" was to roll each ball of dough in sugar. As she did she licked her fingers and between rolling the ball she was eating handfuls of sugar. I heard at least 10 times, "Mommy, I am thankful for---SUGAR!" And when I told her she had eaten quite enough her response was, "It's ok Mommy, I'm thankful for sugar." At least I've taught her something about the concept of thankfulness this week.


I suppose I should also admit that on some evenings I have sat down at the computer and nothing has come to mind to be thankful for. Well, it's not really true because each night I've sat down at the computer and thought, man, I'm really thankful for my Mom and Dad. But how would I ever sum up my thoughts and feelings in a paragraph?

My parents still teach me so much. Since we go to the church they pastor they have significant spiritual input in my life. As they grow in their faith I am challenged to keep my faith alive and growing. I am so refreshed and encouraged after my conversations with Mom and/or Dad. I wish I knew the key because I would be thrilled if my children grow up to have the respect for me that I have for my parents. Mom and Dad, thanks for loving me and my family and for all of the love, support, and help you continue to give me.

Tea Party

So very thankful for tea parties. Aliza and I had some time together inside while the boys had time together outside. Aliza had big ideas of how this tea party was going to work. I think that this time I was able to make her dreams come true.

We needed a small outing this evening so we decided that we would pick up something for supper. Aliza decided that she would really like a taco. I have never seen anyone so excited about a Taco Bell soft taco. We ate every last morsel. She also enjoyed having the power over the only order of cinnamon twists (they came with the kids meal). Mommy and Daddy really wanted some and she gave us one. She then proceeded to tell us that she didn't want the cinnamon twists in her tummy. She just wanted to lick them.

Some Crazy Moments

(Photo courtesy of Aliza)

These are my Grandparents. I am thankful that my children have the opportunity to interact and even develop some memories of their Great Grandparents. They along with Meghan, Caleb and Gideon were at my house for the morning.

Moment #1:
Grandad cut up a tree that had fallen during the last rain we had so we were playing outside. When he was finished cutting the tree he told me that a certain berry producing weed we have in our yard is poisonous. I suspected as much and had done my best to keep those berries out of Josiah's mouth this summer. I had really done a pretty good job of it. No sooner were the words out of Grandad's mouth and I turned around to look for Josiah. He was coming towards me--both hands COVERED with purple liquid and his mouth looking like he had generously applied lipstick. Yup, those berries. (He's fine.)

Moment#2:
Now when Josiah plays outside he gets dirty. Dirty with a capital D. So when I brought him in for lunch he was covered in, at least, poisonous berry juice, ash from the burn pile and grease from the chainsaw equipment. I washed his hands and face and put him in his chair for lunch. After adding lunch remnats to his clothes he was gross. So I took his shirt and pants off and went to start Aliza's DVD. No sooner did I get to the living room did I hear exclamations that Josiah had taken his diaper off and, you guessed it, not 30 seconds later were all my guests laughing that my son had left a wet puddle in the kitchen. All in the time it takes to start a DVD. I probably shouldn't add how much my son likes to be bare and how upset he was to get dressed again. Is that a guy thing??

Thankful - November 18

There is one (adult) person I can count on talking to just about every day. The phone call occurs just about every morning between 9 and 10, but some days it is around noon. It just depends. I'm so very thankful for my sister-in-law, Meghan. It just happens that we are in about the same stage of life with two children. She once thought (and told me) that I was old when I was 25 and was married 3 years. Now she is in her mid twenties and will be married 5 years in a couple months. =) It's funny how a couple years can change life and shrink the age gap. Meghan, thanks for being there for me. For encouraging me on days that I'm down or tired and making me jealous that your potty training experience is going so quickly and smoothly! I'm thankful that you live so close and are a part of my life.

On Pooping and Body Parts

When Aliza used the potty tonight I told her to try to poop too. She informed me that the clock only said 5:00 not 10:00 yet. Haha. It's becoming comical.

Aliza's all time best potty quote:
Mommy: Aliza, do you need to use the potty?
Aliza: No, I don't hear my pee coming out.

As I was posting my thankful post about Jeremy I realized that there are some people responsible for making him the man that he is. His parents. My in-laws! I'm thankful for my mother in law and father in law. Thank you for raising Jeremy to be a responsible, caring, faith filled, loving man. You did your job well.

One Cool Mama

The sun returned today! It was nice and warm. Jeremy was at a Redskins game with his Dad and I knew that we were not going to stay inside all day. I also knew that if we went outside there would be no keeping the children out of the flooded ditch that Aliza has dubbed "the swimming pool." So we put on rubber boots and jackets and I let them loose. They played for an hour in the water and had SO MUCH FUN. In many places the water was higher than their boots. Josiah got completely wet. When we were finished we stripped outside and went straight to the bathtub.




I'm thankful for good sleep. I'm tired tonight!

Thankful - November 14

This man. I am so thankful for him. There is one thing about Jeremy--if he decides to do something, he does it with his heart, soul and mind. He throws himself into it and learns everything he can about it. And that has included parenting and marriage. He is a wonderful Daddy and the perfect husband for me.

Today he took care of Aliza and Josiah all day so that I could scrapbook. After my breakdown this spring we learned how important it is for me to have some time to myself. Jeremy did not hesitate for one second about keeping the children one evening a week and an occasional Saturday for me to escape.

I wish I was more romantic and sappy. Jeremy, just know that I'm so thankful for you and when I look at you across the room or across a couple children sitting between us my heart swells because I know that you are my man for life.

Thankful - November 13

Today I am thankful for a house that keeps my family safe and warm when the wind blows and the rain pours!

The ditch beside our house is full and we have a few places in the yard that are flooded. A dead pine tree fell over in the back, but not as many limbs have fallen down as I thought might. We also have some colorful leaves left on the trees. The colors are especially vibrant today against the gray sky.

Thankful - November 12

There is a little challenge going around on Facebook to post something you are thankful for every day until Thanksgiving. An attitude of thankfulness is a good thing to practice so I'll take on the challenge...


I am thankful for yummy family recipes! I used my Grandma King's pumpkin muffin recipe this morning. Anything made in my Grandma's kitchen is sweet and yummy so I knew this recipe would be a winner. Plus my Mom (and Dad!) use it and their muffins are always yummy too.
We are on day 2 of another 3 day Nor'easter. So after our muffins came out of the oven we made a plate to take to one of our favorite neighbors. She was also tired of the wind and rain and was happy for some energetic little ones to fill her house.

A Bright Sunshiney Day

We had the most beautiful weather yesterday and today. Blue skies, lots of sun and 70 degrees. Today we went to two parks and played in our yard. I think that is a record! This morning the children played so hard that at lunch they were completely quiet, ate their chicken nuggets in record time (before I could make my sandwich) and asked for seconds.

I love my kids like crazy, but I am so glad that babies grow up and mature. Aliza hopped up from the lunch table and went to the bathroom all by herself and came back to the table. It was lovely. Aliza was concerned about Josiah tonight when he was crying before supper. She went upstairs by herself to find a pacifier for him. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was purposely keeping the pacifiers in his room now. To see her care about other people is a very satisfying experience.

Aliza loves it when I straighten up her room. Apparently she wishes that I would do it more frequently. Tonight when she realized that I can cleaned up, she said in a most dramatic tone, "You cleaned up my room. Amazing!!!"

Now for some adult time. This week's episode of Amazing Race is on the agenda for the evening.

Studying Tractors

A couple weeks ago I borrowed a couple tractor board books from the library for Josiah. He has loved them. He takes them in the car, on the swing, and carries them around the house. I was feeling bad about having to take them back to the library soon so I invested in a tractor book and a truck book that he can call his very own. I took all 3 of these pictures at different times today. He does not just look at the books, he studies them very intently. At least once today I checked on him because he was too quiet only to find him looking at his book. What a most delightful surprise!



This reminds me of his Daddy. Jeremy loves learning and when he is interested in something, he studies it until he has the subject mastered.