I can't stop being thankful now!

Well, I had my blog set to continue being thankful last week. Those people who watched my kids all week will never understand how thankful I am for what they allowed me to experience. There's a whole other world under water that I would not have seen if I'd had kids with me!

The one thing that I really wanted to see was a starfish and we saw several! They were huge & fat! I had no idea! I was hoping to see a sea turtle also... AND I SWAM WITH A STINKING STING RAY!!! The fish and the coral were amazing. St. John has to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

I'm still working on organizing photos, remembering which beach was which and getting some captions written. When I get them up on Flickr, I'll post a link if you want to see more photos with captions. It was a truly amazing week. It was worth saving for 4 years to get there.

...for Grandpa on Black Friday

I am thankful for a number of people who are helping take care of my kids this week. Today, I say thank you, Grandpa, for taking care of my goat kids!!! And the guineas and being our shuttle to & from the airport!

When I was little, I remember going to Walmart with Daddy when they opened at 6am the day after Thanksgiving. It was different then. There were probably 20 cars, or less, in the lot when we arrived. Then we'd go to McDonald's afterwards. It was fun. After last year, today I am thankful that I am not shopping on Black Friday!

...for MawMaw

I am thankful for a number of people who are helping take care of my kids this week. Today, I say thank you, MawMaw, for spending your Thanksgiving vacation with the kids!


"Happy Thanksgiving" written by David, age 5. The only letter I helped with was the s.

...for Aunt Jana

I am thankful for a number of people who are helping take care of my kids this week. Today, I say thank you, Aunt Jana, for taking time off work to help with the kids!


Note to self: Take some good pictures of Aunt Jana with the kids this season! (That's Baby Elizabeth with Aunt Jana!!!)

...for Grana (Tiny Talk)

I am thankful for a number of people who are helping take care of my kids this week. Today, I say thank you, Grana, for your help!

Elizabeth slipped getting out of the tub Saturday night.
Mom: Did you hurt your mouth?
EB: No! My teeth!
Mom: Let me see.
EB: No! I need a band-aid on my teeth!
Mom: A band-aid won't stick to your teeth, It's too wet in there.
EB, suddenly stopped crying: It is??? Really???

I wonder what type of stories Aunt Jana is getting this week...

...for Grandma

I am thankful for a number of people who are helping take care of my kids this week. Today, I say thank you, Grandma, for getting up so early!

...for everything

Everything around me is something to be thankful for. I am so blessed. It's not all perfect, but it still something to be thankful for.

There's a loaf of the bread I mentioned a few days ago!

...for my upbringing

I am thankful for

my upbringing.

I had a really good childhood and I am thankful to my parents for all the love and support they've given me over the years. They continue to give to this day and I am blessed. I am also thankful that I was raised on a farm and that I was raised in church. Thanks, Momma & Daddy, for my upbringing!



Photo stolen from my sister.

...for Thursday School

I am thankful forThursday school.

With a home schooled kindergartner this year, also came a home school co-op group. We joined a group in a neighboring town and David has been attending a class at Thursday school every week. It's good because it gives David interaction with other kids and he sees that other kids are taught at home, too. It's also been good for me because while he's in class, I get to hang out with the other moms. I also get Mom's Night Out! (when Dad's not working) We have both made some new friends this semester. This photo was his Fascinating Facts class this week.

...for good food

I am thankful for
the perfect bread recipe!
(Apparently, I've never gotten a photo of a loaf.
This is the same recipe made into rolls for our
Thanksgiving feast at the homeschool co-op this week.)

David is now on a special diet. One of the items eliminated is store-bought bread because of the preservative that's used in the pan oil. How does a family that eats sandwiches every day for lunch cope with that? Homemade.

I'd already been experimenting with homemade bread recipes for over a year and had finally found one that was working pretty good, or at least the best so far. It wasn't good sandwich bread, though. Then it turns out one of the ingredients in my bread had the preservative BHT in it... back to the drawing board.

It was purely by accident that I found Tammy's Recipes. I followed a link from another blog to read another recipe & saw a photo of her bread in the sidebar or something. Recipe looked simple enough, so I tried it. It has been amazing ever since. The highest compliment came when Dad said, "Hmm... tastes like store-bought." You can even fold it!

Yes, it's the little things in life that make this Mama happy.

click here for the recipe

...for one of my favorite artists

I am thankful for artwork that touches my heart.

I have several favorite artists, Mary Engelbreit included. So many of her drawings melt my heart or just fit into life perfectly. This is one of those. How perfect? See Rebekah screaming in her high chair? And there's David (who dressed himself) shooting his sister, Elizabeth ("I'm a cowboy!"), who's up to her own mischief. There's even Tabi and Tort (the dog) down there with a robot. And Mom & Dad holding onto each other for dear life and sanity. Five more days 'till we drift away...

...for the honesty of children (Tiny Talk)

I am thankful for...
View from the back door

Yesterday I cleaned the front & back door window glass. David called loudly through the glass: Hey, Mom! What are you doing?
Mom: I'm cleaning the glass!
David: Why? Are we having company?
ouch...

On a more uplifting note...
Elizabeth was singing happily while sitting on her throne: Mommy is a princess, my mommy is a princess...
David hollers from the other room: Hey, Elizabeth! Mom is not a princess! She is a queen!
aahhh... now I feel better...

...for my siblings

I am thankful for

my big sister

and my big brother.

They have made it easy for me to explain
to my kids
why jumping off the new bunk bed
is not a good idea
and
why you should never push the reel mower
toward a sibling.
I end each story with,

"You should ask Uncle Bubba if you can see his scar."

Thanks!

David is thankful for...

Every day I've been asking David for one thing he's thankful for. This is his list so far.

I am thankful for all the time I've been able to spend with him this year.

Below are a few of the projects he's worked on lately.

While I read about the Mayflower, David colored one, complete with gray storm clouds, exploding cannons, and even a blue shark in the water.

We also made a booklet about the first Thanksgiving and have done a few pumpkin activities this fall.

His small pumpkin had 403 seeds inside!!! I thought we never were going to be done counting! (and it became a counting-by-10's exercise)

The work above is amazing to me because he has never liked to color before and only recently started doing it. Now he's drawing pictures of robots & sharks.

Of course we do!

I am thankful for

things to celebrate!

Aunt Sissy asked in her post yesterday, if we had our Thanksgiving banner up. Of course we do! David made the "Happy Thanksgiving" banner using one of Aunt Sissy's banner kits. She's got them in her Etsy Shop but is giving one away on her blog this week!

Here's my banner in daylight:

...for more family

I am thankful for

extended family

on both sides.

...that we get along

I am thankful that

my kids get along
and really love each other.