Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Partially because I love to eat and partially because it means Christmas is right around the corner, and I love Christmas even more than I love to eat. This year was different, but for a good reason....we stayed home instead of visiting family because our house sold and we need to get some stuff done before the inspection and do some house hunting. Yay. So anyway.....did I mention that I love Christmas? No seriously - I try to wait until after Thanksgiving to start listening to Christmas music and put up decorations but it's terrible. It's like giving a dog a bone but telling him not to eat it. (Yes, I realize I just compared myself to a dog.....I don't know why.) So, since we were here, and since my daughter shares my passion for all things Christmas, we she and I decided to go ahead and decorate the house.

I know it looks like they're being sweet and working together to hang ornaments, but looks can be deceiving. Really the worker bee is making sure her brother doesn't screw up Christmas by hanging an ornament in a spot that she has not ordained. It's tough to be the boss around here.

Taking a break to break the no sitting on the coffee table rule and watch the parade.

Taking another break to look cute playing on the stairs.

After the decorations were hung, and I finished my 6 mile Thanksgiving day run (so I could burn 600 hundred calories to make room to consume 4,000 more) and baths were had, we headed out to a friend's house to get our eat on.....

Turkey Time

We headed across town to spend the evening with friends who are more like family.

The kids did some dressing up and giggling.

The adults spent hours having deep and meaningful conversations about the many things we're thankful for relaxing and reading about upcoming Black Friday sales

and ordering things off the internet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Notes

I am so thankful to have a daughter who loves to write

because she leaves me little notes around the house.

And I LOVE finding them.

They always brighten my day.

The End.

Cause and Effect

If your littlest is really not feeling well and you think a walk outside will help,

Then your arms will get sore because you end up carrying him the whole time.
(Apparently the view is better from up here...)

If you would do anything for thirty minutes of peace while cooking dinner so you ignore the children who have locked themselves in the bathroom,

Then they you will have a big mess to clean up.

If you always think it would be a great idea to carry around a spare set of clothes for each child in your car but never actually put the spare clothes in the car,

Then your daughter will have to wear home a large Chuck-E-Cheese shirt when she has gone down a slide that a different child just puked all over.

(I know. Gross, right? She was pretty excited about the free shirt though.)

If you blog about the tough parts of life sometimes,

Then you realize that you're not alone in the trenches and it makes you feel a little bit better.

Thanks friends.

For Realz

In bible study the other night we talked about being real. We talked about not pretending that we have it all together. We talked about admitting when we're weak and when we need help. And I think that this concept of "being real" is hard for some women. Sometimes we like to sit back and judge other women and moms who don't seem to have it all together and ignore the many ways that we ourselves fall short. And we all fall short. And I think I always want to seem like I have it all together even though I definitely don't.

So in the interest of being real, I'll confess that I'm in the trenches right now. My son is definitely in the trenches right now. We are spending a lot of our days at doctor appointments and therapy. We are hearing things that are scary to us. And I'm not trying to be secretive or dramatic or drum up sympathy, I'm just trying to be honest. I don't like being in the trenches. And I definitely don't like watching my son there. And in the interest of admitting that I don't have it all together, I'll admit that the past few weeks have been a slow, free-falling I can't do this breakdown that culminated in one phone call yesterday that put me in my place. There is nothing better than friends who climb down into the trenches with you, see you in your ugly place, and put you in the place you so need to be.

And these words were sent to me by that same friend. And they are exactly what I needed to hear. And I keep reading them over and over because right now I just can't hear them enough.

"...but I truly believe that if we allow ourselves to admit we are weak, admit that we just don't understand, admit that we are so freaking tired of how things are at the moment, then and only then can God work in us, and use our situations to grow us. These moments that we dread, hate, run the other direction from - these are the very moments when God wants us to lean on Him - lean on Him hard."

So there you have it.
I admit it: I'm weak and I'm struggling.
And you know what? Sometimes I'm even a little bit angry at God.
But I'm still leaning on Him....
for him:

This sweet little boy who is still a baby in my eyes.

And anytime I seem like I have it all together or anytime it seems like I'm "handling it all with grace," it is only because of Him. It is only because He is the foundation underneath the trench. It is only because He can hear and see me at my worst, when I'm literally cursing Him, and still give me peace in my heart that things are going to be okay. And His love doesn't get more real than that.

And that is for realz.

Bad blogger

Volunteered in kindergarten classroom. Check.
Felt like I was herding cats while there. Check.
Have a new-found respect for elementary teachers. Check.
Went to Bible Study Monday night. Check.
Took boys to the park. Check.
Worked Tuesday afternoon. Check.
Rehearsal Tuesday night for work. Check.
Got annoyed when CMA's were on instead of Modern Family. Check.
Went to 3 different grocery stores to buy food for family and two events. Check.
Served with some awesome friends at a shelter downtown. Check.
Kept two sweet little nephews one afternoon. Check.
Held Owen a lot while he cried. Check.
Became completely obsessed with house hunting. Check.
Helped host a dinner for Todd's awesome volunteers. Check.
Cleaned up after the babysitter's rolled our bedroom with toilet paper. Check.
Started planning revenge on said babysitters. Check.
House hunting with Todd. Check.
Babysitting for friends. Check.
Still waiting on Owen's test results. Check.
Still waiting to hear from potential house buyers. Check.
Tired of all this waiting. Check.

Wrote an awe-inspiring and thought provoking blog post that was also full of wonderful pictures..........

Oops.
Maybe next week.

The New Playroom

Have you ever had that dream where you discover another room in your house that you never knew existed before? And even though you're in dream world, this glorious new room seems so real to you that you wake up and check every crevice of your home only to realize with disappointment that it was just a dream. Well, that dream actually came true today. (Except I already knew this "room" existed.) But sweet Owen just discovered it tonight. Well, I think he already knew it was there, but the "room" took on some magical quality tonight and he played in there for over an hour. Yup, an entire hour in his new playroom. Some of the time his brother joined him, but the rest of the time he was just hanging out. He kept shutting himself in there and we could hear lots of giggling. Who knew recycling, a trashcan, and pre-packaged food could be so much fun? I'm pretty sure he did some rearranging too.



He also slammed his hand in the door at one point. He came screaming to me and then Isaac showed me how he did it. And then Isaac was screaming and I had to explain to him that next time he should just tell me instead of reenacting it.

And while the boys were busy rearranging my pantry and slamming their fingers in the door of Owen's newly discovered playroom, the diva was entertaining herself in the magical land of Star Wars and dinosaurs.

And that was our Sunday evening.

Oh to be young again.

Editing Life

I love taking photos of my kids and editing them to make them rich in color.
So here are a few slightly edited photos from the park the other day.

Hands down, my new favorite picture of this sweet girl.

Isaac cracking up at something his sister said.
I think it had to do with poop, but I can't be sure.

My little hurdler.
He hurdles battles every single day.

And he always comes out on top.

I wish we could edit life like we can edit photos: crop out the bad and enrich the good. But then again, that wouldn't be real life, right? If you never had the low times, how would you appreciate the moments that bring you true joy? And even though I may complain about Helloween and coloring on walls and doctor appointments, there are so many moments of pure joy. And I'm grateful.

Helloween.

And no, that is not a typo in the title.
That is what I have decided to name this holiday.

I just read this beautiful blog post from Kelle Hampton. The blogger who makes my sister and I wonder if she craps rainbows because she is seriously always happy and uplifting. Always. This chic knows how to enjoy every moment in life. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for enjoying life, but if you want a gushy post about Helloween, you may want to check out Kelle's blog and not waste your time reading mine.

I love the holidays, but I oft question the logic behind Helloween. I mean, we spend 364 days out of the year telling our children not to take candy from strangers and then we negate all that in one night by dressing them up in freaky outfits and having them beg said strangers for candy. I'm just sayin'.....

But seriously, lest I be called the Ebenezer Scrooge of Helloween, I put my personal feelings aside and partake in all the traditions of dressing up, carving pumpkins, buying candy, and of course, attempting to get pictures before the kids are scaling the walls due to a sugar high.

Without further ado, here are Spider Man, the "princess peacock," and my little unhappy spider:

We do have one tradition on Helloween that I love. Every year the Hollands come over and we eat chili and trick or treat together. It is so fun to watch the kids grow and change year after year. It is not always fun to get pics of said children, but the result never fails to be comical. And I'm sure when I'm old and my memory is fading, I will look back on these pictures and remember October 31st fondly.

I really think this picture sums up the night quite well.

Emma Grace looking annoyed and troubled. Ben looking confused by the noise. Isaac is in his own world doing Spider Man moves which apparently involve grabbing himself. Leah Kate pulling at Owen, most likely in an attempt to get him to shut the heck up. Owen.....still screaming. And Noah looking at Owen and thinking "thank goodness I never acted like that."

Aaaahhhhh.....we had a much happier spider at the end of the night. (But that is only because Ben was selfless and left his sword for Owen to play with. By that point in the night, all of the adults and kids were ready to give Owen whatever he wanted if it meant peace and quiet......)

My boys ready to go out and fight crime.

And now we're back to the normal routine of telling the kids not to take candy from strangers.

PS - Thanks to Grandma and Chips for helping out.
PPS - Sorry to the kids and women whom Isaac flashed at the end of the night. What can I say? Helloween is scary and you just never know what to expect.