Full of Thanks

This Thanksgiving my heart is full.

I am Thankful for my husband who works hard to support our family. I am thankful for his willingness to wake up early to get my Buddy off to the bus when I am to tired. I am thankful for the love he has for me. I am thankful for the love he has for our children and especially for the love he has for the Church. I am thankful that I never have to worry about where we will be on Sunday, we'll be together as a family at church.

I am thankful for my Buddy. I am thankful for his love of learning. I am thankful that he loves school and loves his teacher. I am thankful that he is a nice, generous big brother. I am thankful he is excited about his new brother/sister.

I am thankful for my Princess. She is a light in my life. I am thankful for her willingness to help her mommy do anything. I am thankful for her sweet smile and her loving personality. I am thankful for her strong will, even though it makes us butt heads right now, it will help her in the long run. I am thankful she can't wait for her "sister" to arrive. (that's what she thinks we're having)

I am thankful for my Little Man. I am so blessed to have him in my life. I am thankful he takes a 2-3 hour nap each day. I am thankful for his smiles and his hugs and his kisses. I am thankful for the sweet spirit he has brought into our home.

I am thankful to have a home to live in, for renters in my house in NC. I am thankful for Tylenol, extra strength and the kind with codeine. I am thankful for friends and family.

But mostly I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, because without him there would be no point to this life.


What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving, leave me a comment!

The winner of the hat will be announced tomorrow!!

How does your garden grow?

As a child, we had a huge garden in our backyard. We planted all kinds of veggies: tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, spinach, ect. The garden was placed on the side of our backyard and was the bane of my existence. I hated to pull weeds.

Now, years later, I have fond memories of the beautiful plants that grew in my childhood backyard. And this year, even though I live in an apartment, I have a garden. Thanks to a friend we have a common garden. Granted she does most of the work, but it's both of our families garden.

We have tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, and cucumbers. Our plants are on the small side and some of the leaves are yellow, but that is not preventing them from blossoming.

We have plants that have more flowers on them than they have leaves. We have tomatoes that have green "balls" on them. And what's even more exciting, we have actually picked a tomato...and it was yummy!

I can't wait to have more veggies than our two families can eat! I can't wait to let my kids pick the veggies and teach them about how they got on those plants. I can't wait to bite into fresh grown veggies. They're always WAY better than store bought.

And what's best is that these little veggie plants have taught me a lesson: you don't have to be big and beautiful to make big and beautiful things (in this case veggies.)

A Fantastic Thanksgiving

We've been in Florida for the last 10 days, enjoying beautiful weather, conversation, and especially yummy food. My in-laws live in Florida, so at any time of the year I desire, I get a Florida Beach vacation. It's grand. This week we made a trip to the beach, that's right, the middle of November and we were at the beach! My oldest two kids were in heaven...
I live on the east coast, I am not from the east coast. I'm a good 'ole desert rat, that's right, I'm from Arizona. my family is all out there (except for a brother and his wife who just moved out here). I miss them terribly during the holidays. I miss them all year, but especially during the holidays. It's hard for me to be so far away.
I have not been in Arizona for Thanksgiving in 4 years and Christmas in almost 5 years. It's hard knowing all of my siblings and parents are enjoying the holiday's without me.
My mom makes yummy homemade pies and rolls that are so light and fluffy. My sister has a toddler who is so cute it's almost sinful. I have another nephew and a niece who are super smart and would make excellent baby sitters. But even though I miss my own family, I am here in Florida with the next best thing to my parents--my husband's parents.
I have grown to love these two people over the 8 years we've been married. They love and treat me like a daughter. They spoil my kids and love their son, my husband. They make being away from my family bearable, even enjoyable. I never mind coming down and being with them.
So on this Thanksgiving, this Mormon Mommy, is happy to be with her in-laws. I am thankful to be married to such a wonderful man. I am thankful for such great kids who love their mom and dad no matter what. I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus, who died on the cross so I could live again. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who loved us enough to let his only begotten Son die for the sins of the world.
I hope each of you are having an amazing Thanksgiving and take the time to remember what you are thankful for.