DAY 331 (Thankful #6)

I am thankful for laughter.

Tonya and Dave got a new mac and we were playing with their picture booth program. The kids are really good and it and we had some good laughs.

DAY 330 (Thankful #5)

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Today I am thankful for family.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with all the traditional comfort foods, family and friends, and a lot of nothing. It was wonderful. It was such a treat to have Dave's sister, Laura, and her family there today. We don't get to see them much. All the girls had a fun time together and Sean is really getting big.

Brooke, Casey, Chandler, Pokey, and Gracie. These 5 little girlies had fun together.

These 4 missionaries shared a little Thanksgiving skit. It was creative and amusing and kept the children's attention.

Me and my sister, Tonya. Poor girl was feeling under the weather today, but hosted a meal at her house for 20+ people. She is a beautiful person.

The girls spent a large portion of the day in the playroom. This is their art work on the chalkboard.

The traditional olive pose. I get at least one of these every year. They're a favorite and they sure don't last long.

This is the kid's table and Little Man showing off a mouthful of food. It's nice that Tonya's house is large enough to accomodate so many people together. Thanks Tonya for having us.

Over the last couple weeks I have been sharing daily blessings on facebook. If you've followed my posts you can skip this section. There's really no way to properly express all that I am thankful for and I am glad that I took on this challenge. It has reminded me of the endless blessings in my life that I take for granted on a regular basis. It is something that I am going to try to continue on my own. Some of the things I am grateful for include:

Being with family, being able to chew Thanksgiving dinner (my jaw is better), and sleeping in, interstates that make for safe and efficient travel, Stephanie and Chrisian Nielson, hard times (that make the good even better), good memories, seasons, family, and kindness of strangers, my external hard drive, http://www.mylitterofsix.blogspot.com/, good workouts, warm showers, and weekends, each new day, my camera, artists and musicians that inspire me and enrich my life, friends that lift your spirits and accept you for who you are, an understanding husband who doesn't freak out when I wake up screaming at 2AM, Sunday naps, job stability and good health, a good night's sleep and a good pillow, great communication that allows me to email friends half way around the world in seconds and make phone calls to family for next to nothing, and the sun.

The list is endless. I have much to be grateful for!

DAY 329 (Thankful #4)

“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you." -Christian Morganstern

I am thankful for my mom and dad.

36 years later they still love me and accept me for who I am. Even though it's an 8 hour drive and I've never lived in KY, when I visit my parents it always feels like I'm going home. It's wonderful to feel of their love for me and holidays aren't quite the same without them. They're generous, thoughtful, caring people who still have tons of spunk and character and I love them to pieces.

DAY 327 (Thankful #2 & #3)

So, I'm a day behind on Becky's week of Thanksgiving via picture tribute, so I decided to combine. There weren't just two things that stuck out, so I decided to do a random collage for days 2 and 3. These are the things that I am most thankful for today.

1. Re-reading a great book with the kids. Love this one. It is a story of love told from the perspective of a rabbit. Very sweet.

2. Smiles and silliness.

3. Magic eraser and soft scrub spray cleaner (a new favorite). They have both saved me on numerous occasions, particularly the magic eraser. I am also thankful for the ability and time to keep a clean house. Thanks mom and dad for being such great examples and teachers.

4. A handwritten note in the mail from a dear old friend. What a wonderful surprise.

5. A fridge filled with food. We are blessed to have plenty and then some.

6. Super Target. Love that store. I am able to find unbelievable clearance deals year round.

7. Knee length tube socks. Perfect for cold days in Iowa.

8. Beautiful sunsets.

9. A wonderful husband who loves to be in the kitchen (even with a bum back). He made portuguese kale soup tonight.

DAY 327 (Thankful #1)

I've been racking my brain today trying to think of a good picture of the day. Then I read Becky Higgin's blog and she suggested that we take pictures of things we are thankful for this week. I thought this was a brilliant way to focus my energies. I love Thanksgiving and the opportunity it gives to really ponder on those things that we are most grateful for. After having a trying day with the children at home it hit me. I knew exactly what it would be...

I am thankful for my role as a mother and the teaching opportunities that present themselves in all sorts of unplanned ways, morning and night. As much as it tries me and exhausts me, I know that I can be very influential in the lives of these two special people; hopefully for good.

This is the very first thing I did bright and early thismorning. Turns out that Pokey left a wad of tissue in her pocket and somehow I missed it the first time through, so I spent the next hour shaking each and every article of clothing and then reshaking until most of it came out. It wasn't like a receipt or movie stub, this didn't want to come off and really stuck to the clothing. (The photo was taken about half way through.) Still doesn't compare to the crayon nightmare, but not a fun wakup call. It gave me yet another opportunity to talk with Pokey about the importance of not leaving things in our pockets.

She is going through a crazy paper phase, if that's what you want to call it. She's obsessed with it and leaves trails everywhere she goes. Whether it's cutting or stamping or gluing or writing or drawing... she's on it. But her projects are left and distributed around the house and the car. She also leaves wrappers of all sorts. I finally had to start taking away tickets for every wrapper she left out. I removed 4 today. Now I need to figure out how to get her to pick up paper.

So far the ticket reward system is going well. Little Man now has 66 and Pokey has 48. Pokey really wanted to cash in 25 to go to the dollar store, but decided to wait. So, for now they are both saving up for something that requires more tickets.

DAY 326

"Femininity appears to be one of those pivotal qualities that is so important no one can define it." Caroline Bird

Pokey has taken to writing lately... anything and everything. She made Haldan a "get better soon" card today because his back is out. We have the computers set up to print from anywhere in the house. Having said that, I was sitting in the office last night when I heard the printer start up. Out comes a note that reads, "This will be the best Thanksgiving ever I know it Just still love me if I make a wrong choice." She doesn't use punctuation very often and she always chooses very girly type fonts (mostly cursive) that are very hard to read. She's something else. She also loves writing lyrics to music and stories right now. Anything that little mind of hers can thing of... but it's all very different than what Little Man concocts. Sweet and feminine.

Free Christmas Cards

I actually did this and it works - 100 free Christmas cards! You do have to pay shipping, which turns out to be $6.38 ($3.19 for 50). I already designed two different cards, but this was too good a deal to pass up. It includes the envelopes too. Every year I spend way more than I should on ink and envelopes and then still have to pay for shipping. My husband will be so proud of my frugality.

It's only good through November 30, 2009, so you need to act fast! If you're not planning to send out Christmas cards this year, you could use these as gift tags. Or use the codes to create birth announcements. Or come up with another creative idea for these totally free photo cards!

Here's how to get 100 custom photo cards with envelopes for free: Just go here to set up an account with SeeHere (or login if you already have an account) and then upload and create your photo card. After you've set up your photo card, be sure to save it. Then put 50 photo cards in your cart and go to the checkout and use coupon code newbaby and you'll get all 50 free cards, you pay $3.19 shipping. Log back in and click on your saved items and order another 50 photo cards this time using the coupon code from Freebies4Mom here. (I used freebies4mom-1109) Again, you should get 50 more free photo cards, you pay $3.19 shipping. And that's it!

Need some custom address labels to go with the photo cards? Order 140 herefor only $3 shipped

Thanksgiving recipes and other free downloads

Here are many wonderful downloadable ideas and recipes for Thanksgiving! They come from http://mylitterofsix.blogspot.com/2009/11/free-thanksgiving-recipes-and-ideas.html.

Go here to download a free ebook with healthful Thanksgiving Recipes in it. (Note: You'll want to sign up with an extra email address and click "No Thanks" on the offers.)

Download a free ebook here with 30 different Thanksgiving-themed craft projects including home-decorating and gift-giving projects and ideas as well as fun crafts to do with children.

Download a free ebook here which contains 30 different Thanksgiving recipes.

Go here to download a free Holiday Hosting Guide from Paula Deen.

Go here to download a free copy of the Martha Stewart Thanksgiving Hotline Recipes cookbook.

Access the digital edition of the October/November Taste of Homemagazine here. It features many Thanksgiving recipe and photos of every single recipe.

Go here to download a free Holiday Idea book from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. There are loads of craft and educational ideas and even some freezer meal recipes!

Want some fun Thanksgiving ideas to do with your children? Check out the links and ideas here.

DAY 325

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -Joanne Kathleen Rowling

I woke up craving donuts, instead we went for a run, even Pokey. Tough life choices. It wasn't a fast run, but we all ran a little over 2 miles. Then we did a succesion of sprints and Little Man put me in my place. Pokey cried because she wasn't the fastest. Haldan had back pains. But we did it.

I carried my little canon power shot today and found several amazing picturesque settings. Love that little thing. The above picture was one of them.

I'm including this photo even though it's not the POTD because:

1. I like it

2. I need a 2nd picture for my book.

I have 4x6 slots, so in order to make the vertical ones fit I have to do one in a 6x8 size or two in a 3x4 size.

If you haven't done Project 365 this year, you should start thinking about it now. It's a hard project- not gonna lie, but you can make it as little or as much as you want it to be. It doesn't have to be magazine worthy photography and it's an amazing way to document your life. Check out Becky Higgin's "Project Life". I am not going to be doing Project 365 exactly the same next year; still formulating my plan, but I've already ordered Becky Higgin's kit because I missed out on it last year and I thought it would simplify my life some.

DAY 324

“Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy.” -Janet Long

I watched Twilight on Blue-Ray from 8-10PM. Then I ended up with tickets for the 12:01 AM showing of Twilight: New Moon due to a series of blonde moments. I arrived an hour early and it's totally nuts. The line is out the door and that's just to get into the show. I still need to claim my ticket. I'm standing in line surrounded by hordes of people having flashbacks to the concert I passed out at and got trampled (long story) all the while thinking, "these people are crazy." Then it suddenly dawned on me... I was one of them, whether I'm a die hard fan or not. Thanks Amanda for saving seats. It was a fun night with the girls. (Wendy, Devon, Lisa, Amanda, Pam) What makes the story even crazier is the fact that I actually went again today with another friend (Tycia) because we already had plans to go. Yes, I saw New Moon twice in less than 12 hours. I actually liked it better the 2nd time around too. So, to quote myself from facebook, "I'm officially a hypocritical, Twilight nut case and I haven't even read the books." Now I'm debating whether I should get them. But, I'm going to have to sleep on it 'cause I'm feeling a bit tired.

In other news:

The sun made a debut here today. It was wonderful! So, for those of you who have been a little deprived lately... I'm sending some sunny thoughts your way. And a picture to tide you over. (Can't you just feel the warmth?)