Thankfulness Days 5-10
This was supposed to go up on Friday....OOPS! I'm way behind, and now I'm sick, but I will be posting quite a few things over the next few days :)
Well did this week get away from me or what? I've felt all week like my head is barely above water. On Monday I felt pretty caught up despite being away for the weekend, but each day after that has gone downhill.
On Monday morning as soon as I bathed the big girls while Bristol played. Then once she was tuckered out I laid her down for a nap so that I could focus on some fun activities with the Jaden and Sienna. I've been working on some special school-like activities for the girls to do at home since we have two full days when neither is in school. I'm no teacher, but I certainly can come up with ideas to enrich what they're working on already, or to emphasize anything they're having trouble with.
On Monday we focused on some activities involving the letter C. The girls did a few writing worksheets and searched for the letter C in storybooks. Then we got out candy corn for a counting activity. I gave the girls each some numbers and had them count out that number of candy corn. Sienna did 1-10 and Jaden did higher numbers. Then we discussed many vs. few and estimated how many candy corn were in a larger bowl that I had. While the girls ate some of their candy I counted the bowl of candy corn to show actual vs. estimate. I wanted to take it a step further and do some simple addition, but we ran out of time before we needed to eat lunch and head to gymnastics.
That afternoon friends came over and I got to use my new camera to capture some photos of my friend's three adorable little boys. I'm no professional, nor will I ever be, but I'm motivated more than ever to try to take better pictures and to learn how to edit the images. Now if I only had 40 hours in day so that I could tackle this and the other 100 things I'd love to do.... Somehow, some way I'm going to learn to be a better photographer!
Bristol looked SO cute on Monday in her hand-me-down lavender overalls. Both Jaden and Sienna wore these and now Baby B has a turn. She was hamming it up for the camera...excuse the peaches on her collar from breakfast :)
Tuesday through today are a blur. We had meetings and appointments, playdates and school days, gymnastics and dance. I think my mind was in a tailspin 80% of the last three days. I made 14 little turkey barrettes and am finally going to start selling a few bows and flower hair accessories. Here's a peek at the turkeys--they turned out adorably:
I can't take credit for the design; found something just like these on pinterst. But I did add a few touches that weren't on the original one I saw. I only have 4 left for sale ($6 apiece).
I also worked over email with Lisa From Scratch who did the fabulous blog re-design that you have noticed by now I'm sure. Isn't the new design incredible? I cannot thank her enough for being so attentive to each detail I wanted. I'm so excited to now have a cleaner, more reader-friendly space on which to share my thoughts and family memories!
I have thought every day this week about things that I'm thankful for, but I haven't had a moment to sit down and type them. So here goes...my list of 60 things to catch up :)
1. For a very productive weekend—I scrapbooked over 50 pages!
2. For the ability to be able to get away a few weekends a year for some girl-time, some me-time, etc.
3. For the friends I have who are also moms, and our ability to help one another out, lend a listening ear when needed and for the encouragement we can offer to each other.
4. For unexpected sunshine this week.
5. For easy pre-made meals which come in handy every Thursday when our afternoons are CHAOS.
6. For the health of each member of my family—we are SO fortunate in this area.
7. For our vehicles—it’s been a few years since Scott and I have gotten a new car, but our current vehicles are incredibly reliable and for that I’m thankful!
8. For a fun night out at Scott’s cousin’s house Tuesday where we had an accessory swap and I scored 8 gorgeous necklaces and 2 new pairs of earrings!
9. For the progress I’m seeing in Jaden at her gymnastics class.
10. For Sienna sticking with dance class despite wanting to quit earlier this fall.
11. For the hard work of Lisa, who re-designed my blog and made it BEAUTIFUL.
12. For Giant Eagle fuel perks—and for getting over $1 off each gallon of gas Thursday night!
13. For the beautiful women (inside and out) I sit with at my church’s moms group, and for all the wisdom each has to share about raising children.
14. For my WARM bed on cool nights.
15. For Jaden’s wonderful teacher; she’s so good that it makes me want to go back to kindergarten!
16. For a good conference with Jaden’s teacher which was full of positive remarks.
17. For the school bus; and for Jaden loving the bus—sure beats the 2 hours I spent in the car last January through mid-June transporting Jaden to and from school across town!
18. For facebook and the way it helps me to stay connected to friends all over the country.
19. For the new treadmill magnet that arrived Thursday; I can now get a move-on with shedding some serious pounds!
20. For what Sienna said to me Thursday morning that made my heart absolutely swell with love and gratitude for her. She said, “We did thankful [at church while I was at my mom’s group meeting] and I thankful of you so I drew you Mommy.” Oh just recounting her words makes me melt all over again!
21. For the elections being over so that we can stop getting the dozen or so phone calls every day from people asking us to vote for certain officials, or either for or against specific issues.
22. For the levy passing in the town where we used to live. They needed it to pass badly!
23. For itunes.
24. For formula coupons and checks, which have helped us tremendously in keeping the cost of Bristol’s food down.
25. For good friends who send us their formula checks instead of throwing them away.
26. For having a good amount of energy each day.
27. For my ability to use time efficiently and to get as much done in a day as possible.
28. For knowing within myself that there's no way I could handle 20 children (um, how do you do it Duggars??)
29. For Oprah's show "Life Class"
30. For my mentors.
31. For the few more steps in the right direction that we've taken in working with the potential buyers of our home. I'll be REALLY thankful when it's off our hands :)
32. For the upcoming Christmas traditions that we're already planning to continue this year.
33. For the ideas for Christmas gifts that I've gathered already thanks to Pinterest.
34. For bobby pins--so simple, yet so necessary with my hair!
35. For the ABC Bible verse book that is helping Jaden, Sienna and I to memorize some great verses together.
36. For chocolate--and for it being available just when I needed a piece this week!
37. For good wine--which tastes even better when shared w/ friends :)
38. For my smartphone, and for the new one I'm going to have by the end of the month.
39. For good phone calls with great friends.
40. For Jaden's friends and the special bonds she's forming with the kids in her kindergarten class. It made me smile this week to see Jaden's name listed on an all-about-me chart that one of her friends had made, and then to hear from her teacher that during a conference with another mom Jaden's name kept coming up because that mom loves Jaden as her daughter's friend. Our Jadie-girl is SUCH a good friend to have!
41. For firefox's ability to restore a previous session so that I don't lose the links I was using the last time I had the computer on :)
42. For the inspiration I find through the other blogs I read, and for how blessed I feel from becoming friends with some fellow bloggers.
43. For good deals at Marc's--I'm seriously becoming a regular to their close-outs department now that I've scored some great things recently! ha!
44. For finding clean clothes even when the laundry room is overflowing with dirty ones.
45. For all that dirty laundry--since it means my loved ones are close by :)
46. For a pantry that is always full of food.
47. For the fun I'm having using my new camera.
48. For the three little boys who smiled so well for me to take their photos on Monday, and for their mom's reaction to the pictures when I showed her some that night.
49. For the way Jaden has transitioned so smoothly from Montessori school into traditional school.
50. For Jaden's excellent test scores and good work on her school and home work.
51. For the smiles I get from each family member first thing in the morning--what a way to wake up!
52. For the good feeling one gets from blessing someone else.
53. For the help we've been able to get from a special doctor, and for the progress we've seen in one of our girls as a result.
54. For a good follow-up w/ that doctor :)
55. For the recipes I just received for Mason Jar mixes (brownies...pancakes...cookies....yum!)
56. For the upcoming visits I have planned with out-of-state friends when they come into Ohio for the Thanksgiving holiday.
57. For Jaden and Sienna's ability to clean up their own stuff and take care of their belongings. They sure impressed me Wednesday morning with how well they unpacked their stuff from weekend trips to Grammy's and how well they put each item away.
58. For home-made baby food, and that Bristol loves it all :)
59. For being able to import paper from any digital scrapbooking program into my software--and for all the new opportunities for beautiful pages that brings.
60. For forgiveness--that which has been given to me and the opportunity to give it to another!
Well did this week get away from me or what? I've felt all week like my head is barely above water. On Monday I felt pretty caught up despite being away for the weekend, but each day after that has gone downhill.
On Monday morning as soon as I bathed the big girls while Bristol played. Then once she was tuckered out I laid her down for a nap so that I could focus on some fun activities with the Jaden and Sienna. I've been working on some special school-like activities for the girls to do at home since we have two full days when neither is in school. I'm no teacher, but I certainly can come up with ideas to enrich what they're working on already, or to emphasize anything they're having trouble with.
On Monday we focused on some activities involving the letter C. The girls did a few writing worksheets and searched for the letter C in storybooks. Then we got out candy corn for a counting activity. I gave the girls each some numbers and had them count out that number of candy corn. Sienna did 1-10 and Jaden did higher numbers. Then we discussed many vs. few and estimated how many candy corn were in a larger bowl that I had. While the girls ate some of their candy I counted the bowl of candy corn to show actual vs. estimate. I wanted to take it a step further and do some simple addition, but we ran out of time before we needed to eat lunch and head to gymnastics.
That afternoon friends came over and I got to use my new camera to capture some photos of my friend's three adorable little boys. I'm no professional, nor will I ever be, but I'm motivated more than ever to try to take better pictures and to learn how to edit the images. Now if I only had 40 hours in day so that I could tackle this and the other 100 things I'd love to do.... Somehow, some way I'm going to learn to be a better photographer!
Bristol looked SO cute on Monday in her hand-me-down lavender overalls. Both Jaden and Sienna wore these and now Baby B has a turn. She was hamming it up for the camera...excuse the peaches on her collar from breakfast :)
Tuesday through today are a blur. We had meetings and appointments, playdates and school days, gymnastics and dance. I think my mind was in a tailspin 80% of the last three days. I made 14 little turkey barrettes and am finally going to start selling a few bows and flower hair accessories. Here's a peek at the turkeys--they turned out adorably:
I can't take credit for the design; found something just like these on pinterst. But I did add a few touches that weren't on the original one I saw. I only have 4 left for sale ($6 apiece).
I also worked over email with Lisa From Scratch who did the fabulous blog re-design that you have noticed by now I'm sure. Isn't the new design incredible? I cannot thank her enough for being so attentive to each detail I wanted. I'm so excited to now have a cleaner, more reader-friendly space on which to share my thoughts and family memories!
I have thought every day this week about things that I'm thankful for, but I haven't had a moment to sit down and type them. So here goes...my list of 60 things to catch up :)
1. For a very productive weekend—I scrapbooked over 50 pages!
2. For the ability to be able to get away a few weekends a year for some girl-time, some me-time, etc.
3. For the friends I have who are also moms, and our ability to help one another out, lend a listening ear when needed and for the encouragement we can offer to each other.
4. For unexpected sunshine this week.
5. For easy pre-made meals which come in handy every Thursday when our afternoons are CHAOS.
6. For the health of each member of my family—we are SO fortunate in this area.
7. For our vehicles—it’s been a few years since Scott and I have gotten a new car, but our current vehicles are incredibly reliable and for that I’m thankful!
8. For a fun night out at Scott’s cousin’s house Tuesday where we had an accessory swap and I scored 8 gorgeous necklaces and 2 new pairs of earrings!
9. For the progress I’m seeing in Jaden at her gymnastics class.
10. For Sienna sticking with dance class despite wanting to quit earlier this fall.
11. For the hard work of Lisa, who re-designed my blog and made it BEAUTIFUL.
12. For Giant Eagle fuel perks—and for getting over $1 off each gallon of gas Thursday night!
13. For the beautiful women (inside and out) I sit with at my church’s moms group, and for all the wisdom each has to share about raising children.
14. For my WARM bed on cool nights.
15. For Jaden’s wonderful teacher; she’s so good that it makes me want to go back to kindergarten!
16. For a good conference with Jaden’s teacher which was full of positive remarks.
17. For the school bus; and for Jaden loving the bus—sure beats the 2 hours I spent in the car last January through mid-June transporting Jaden to and from school across town!
18. For facebook and the way it helps me to stay connected to friends all over the country.
19. For the new treadmill magnet that arrived Thursday; I can now get a move-on with shedding some serious pounds!
20. For what Sienna said to me Thursday morning that made my heart absolutely swell with love and gratitude for her. She said, “We did thankful [at church while I was at my mom’s group meeting] and I thankful of you so I drew you Mommy.” Oh just recounting her words makes me melt all over again!
21. For the elections being over so that we can stop getting the dozen or so phone calls every day from people asking us to vote for certain officials, or either for or against specific issues.
22. For the levy passing in the town where we used to live. They needed it to pass badly!
23. For itunes.
24. For formula coupons and checks, which have helped us tremendously in keeping the cost of Bristol’s food down.
25. For good friends who send us their formula checks instead of throwing them away.
26. For having a good amount of energy each day.
27. For my ability to use time efficiently and to get as much done in a day as possible.
28. For knowing within myself that there's no way I could handle 20 children (um, how do you do it Duggars??)
29. For Oprah's show "Life Class"
30. For my mentors.
31. For the few more steps in the right direction that we've taken in working with the potential buyers of our home. I'll be REALLY thankful when it's off our hands :)
32. For the upcoming Christmas traditions that we're already planning to continue this year.
33. For the ideas for Christmas gifts that I've gathered already thanks to Pinterest.
34. For bobby pins--so simple, yet so necessary with my hair!
35. For the ABC Bible verse book that is helping Jaden, Sienna and I to memorize some great verses together.
36. For chocolate--and for it being available just when I needed a piece this week!
37. For good wine--which tastes even better when shared w/ friends :)
38. For my smartphone, and for the new one I'm going to have by the end of the month.
39. For good phone calls with great friends.
40. For Jaden's friends and the special bonds she's forming with the kids in her kindergarten class. It made me smile this week to see Jaden's name listed on an all-about-me chart that one of her friends had made, and then to hear from her teacher that during a conference with another mom Jaden's name kept coming up because that mom loves Jaden as her daughter's friend. Our Jadie-girl is SUCH a good friend to have!
41. For firefox's ability to restore a previous session so that I don't lose the links I was using the last time I had the computer on :)
42. For the inspiration I find through the other blogs I read, and for how blessed I feel from becoming friends with some fellow bloggers.
43. For good deals at Marc's--I'm seriously becoming a regular to their close-outs department now that I've scored some great things recently! ha!
44. For finding clean clothes even when the laundry room is overflowing with dirty ones.
45. For all that dirty laundry--since it means my loved ones are close by :)
46. For a pantry that is always full of food.
47. For the fun I'm having using my new camera.
48. For the three little boys who smiled so well for me to take their photos on Monday, and for their mom's reaction to the pictures when I showed her some that night.
49. For the way Jaden has transitioned so smoothly from Montessori school into traditional school.
50. For Jaden's excellent test scores and good work on her school and home work.
51. For the smiles I get from each family member first thing in the morning--what a way to wake up!
52. For the good feeling one gets from blessing someone else.
53. For the help we've been able to get from a special doctor, and for the progress we've seen in one of our girls as a result.
54. For a good follow-up w/ that doctor :)
55. For the recipes I just received for Mason Jar mixes (brownies...pancakes...cookies....yum!)
56. For the upcoming visits I have planned with out-of-state friends when they come into Ohio for the Thanksgiving holiday.
57. For Jaden and Sienna's ability to clean up their own stuff and take care of their belongings. They sure impressed me Wednesday morning with how well they unpacked their stuff from weekend trips to Grammy's and how well they put each item away.
58. For home-made baby food, and that Bristol loves it all :)
59. For being able to import paper from any digital scrapbooking program into my software--and for all the new opportunities for beautiful pages that brings.
60. For forgiveness--that which has been given to me and the opportunity to give it to another!
Comments
Love reading your thankful lists. :)