Top Ten Things I am Thankful For

I guess I should have done this before Thanksgiving, but better late than never. :)

*these are in no particular order

1. Salvation

I don't know where I would be in life if I did not come to know Jesus. I assume I would be a pretty miserable person. 

2. Ryan

What a great man I have! His diligence always astounds me, especially as we are preparing to move (as we are now :-p).  When stuff needs to be done, he will leap up and get to work before the thought of it can even finish going through my head. :) I could go on and on about why I am thankful for him but I'll just sum it up and say I love my husband very much.

3. Hannah

I was blessed beyond measure 5 years and 7 months ago! Hannah is such a sweet, pleasant, and hilarious child that I dare anyone to not smile when they are around her! She is so affectionate and tells me she loves me at least ten times a day. :)

4. Autumn

As she settles into the age of 2, her demeanor has the tendency to match her hair. :) Terrible twos aside, she was the perfect addition to make us a foursome.  She is a Daddy's girl hands down and she is also very silly like he is.  Her new favorite word is "no" and gets a kick out of the reaction she gets by using it.  She loves her big "sissy" and is always beyond thrilled to see her.

5. Our accident caused minimal damage

A claim has been filed and all is well, thanks to accident forgiveness! I didn't realize we had that on our policy! Woohoo!

6.  Our kids love going to church

Both kids have gone to church since they were but a little bean in my womb.  :) Hannah loves going to TeamKid and has even prayed aloud in her Sunday school class (she prayed for her Grendy).  She is now a big girl and sits with us in "big church."  Autumn had a case of separation anxiety going to her class, but that has almost completely subsided! Her teachers, both this year and last, have been wonderful.

7. Homeschooling

The blessing of it all amazes me more every day! I now tell people that I would be more worried and stressed if Hannah was actually in school all day! :-p I've even started somewhat of a curriculum with Autumn, teaching her shapes and colors.  It's nothing real formal but when she's coloring we will just talking about the different shapes and colors and make it a point to make sure to take advantage of all teachable moments.
8. Ryan's job

This is the best civilian job Ryan has ever worked! He's doing exactly what he did in the Army and might even give him a chance to eventually become a DOD police officer! God is good!

9. Veterans

I am related to many veterans so I am very grateful for all the sacrifices servicemen and women makes to serve our country.  I know firsthand what that's like since Ryan was gone during the first year of Hannah's life, but I know many have made bigger sacrifices.  Everyone would much rather be with their families and enjoy a comfortable life, and they are willing to put that on hold to serve.

10. Free Babysitters!

I am primarily speaking about my parents and my grandma who have on several occasions watched the kids so Ryan and I could have a date night or come over so I could go to the gym while Ryan is in Millington.  We are both very appreciative of this and it will be missed a great deal once we are moved! :)

We now have permission for snow!

The girls and I had a lovely Thanksgiving at my dad's house with a total of 14 people! Ryan had to work but another co-worker provided dinner for those who are working.  Very cool indeed.  Ryan was able to be a glutton along with the rest of us. The food at my dad's was great and I felt full and fat for the rest of the day! The evening also brought our first bit of snow...how perfect for all those Black Friday shoppers who were already in line at Toys R Us that wrapped all the way around the building. :-p I myself was nice and toasty in my own bed knowing that my gifts were tucked safely in my KMart layaway.



Grammie and Emma share a story before chow time. :)



Before we got dressed to go to my dad's.  Hannah said
her bears have better dreams when they sleep in my bed.



Autumn managed to escape outside without her
shoes, walking around the wet ground in tight.
Didn't bother her a bit.

Hannah and her new friend, Janie :)

Thanksgiving Break

This coming week we are going to take our first extended break from school.  The past couple weeks I've felt myself running out of steam, and I'm sure Hannah feels the same.  We've never taken an official break.  We've had a couple days here and there when time got away from us and we didn't get anything done, but that hardly felt like a break.  I need to start finding some super fun stuff for us to do (baking, crafts, etc).  And if Hannah wants to do some school work, then I sure won't stop her. :) So far Hannah hasn't asked at all for any school work. LOL So far this break has been glorious! Our computer desk in the dining room is where we do all our schooling and such, and it's quite a mess.  I may just spend this week trying to straighten that up.

Unfortunately Ryan has to work on Thanksgiving (boo!), but he will have Christmas off.  I guess if I had to pick one, I would pick him being off for Christmas.  He's actually here in town now and goes back to Millington tomorrow.  On that front, all is going great! He found us a house to rent and he's actually getting the utilities turned on tomorrow after he gets back into town.  The house is super cute and little less than what we're paying now. God is so good!

Our moving date is also official...we are out of here December 27th! This past month or so has gone by so fast, since Ryan first started his new job, that I'm sure it will be here before we know it!

So very thankful

I could not even begin to go into how very thankful I am for all the blessings in my life...my girls and wonderful husband just to name a few! :)

We were not able to go to TN this year for Thanksgiving, but we still had a lovely holiday. Ryan made our dinner and this was the first time he made a turkey. I never made a turkey myself either, so we did not know what to expect. Praise the Lord, everything went swimmingly. The turkey was perfect and we had plenty of carb-loaded side dishes to go along with it. And we did show some control by only having one pie (pumpkin) which was gone by the next day. :) This year Autumn had her first Thanksgiving meal, since last year she dined on Similac Advance. While we had a lovely turkey day at home, we most definitely look forward to spending Christmas in TN with the girls' spoiling grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousin!