Thankful

This time of year reminds me to sit down and reflect on all I have to be thankful for. We get so wrapped up in everyday life that it is easy to forget all that we have to be grateful for. I hope that this Thanksgiving season you are able to sit down and reflect on your blessing and to spend time with those those you love and care for. I will be spending tomorrow with family and I will not be black Friday shopping, unless it is online ( I do have a little elf standing in line to score a laptop for me tomorrow night, that's what brothers are for!).

My Thankful List

1. I am thankful for my family. At times we drive each other crazy but they are always there for me. As we go to family gatherings each year, we are reminded that there are people missing from the table, it is a reminder to be thankful for those we still have here.

2. I am thankful for these little people. They made me an aunt, which is a job I love. I may not have children of my own, but these guys are about as close as it gets.

3. I am thankful for my job. This year has been stressful and teaching is always changing but I am grateful for the opportunity to go a job where I love the people I am around everyday.  I am also grateful for my students and that I can hopefully make some sort of difference in their lives!

4. I am thankful for my wonderful co-teacher, without her I am not sure if I would make it through each crazy day!

5. I thankful that I have a warm house to come home to every night. I think this is something so many of us take forgrated. I had a student in my class tell me that his dad was trying to fix the whole in the floor of their trailer because it was bringing cold air in the house. He was telling that it was warm at school and he like that. Talk about heartbreaking.

6. I am thankful that even when I think I don't have any food and I need to go to the grocery, there is always something to eat on my pantry shelves.  The same little guy from our the above story, was trying to hide food in his desk so he could have some for supper.

7. I am thankful for laundry, because it means I have lots of clothes to wear and the means to wash them. I know it seems like a chore but it truly means I am blessed.

8.  I am thankful for my health and that of my family and friends. A few aches and pains but no serious illness. I am also happy to celebrate a healthy pregnancy with one of my best friends and I can't wait to meet her beautiful baby boy in May.

9. I am thankful for my church, which we celebrated being a 125 years old this past Sunday. It is the church that I have grown up in, so the celebration was a fun time to see lots of people who I have grown up with at some point in the church. I drive an hour to get there every Sunday, but I really can't imagine it any other way.

10. I am thankful for all of my bloggy friends. It is so much fun to come home every night and catch up with what has been going on in all of your lives. I cannot believe all the wonderful connections I have made, Thank you for your friendship and support.

There are many more things, but those are the highlights.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Have a safe and happy holiday.

Trick or Treat

I figured I had better slip in my last holiday post before another another holiday comes along. Trick or Treat was just not very fun this year due to bad weather. It poured down rain on trick or treat so we made alternative plans. A local church had a trunk or treat the night before. I was unable to go so I had my mom go and be the photographer.  Logan was a skeleton and Madison was a horse.

On a totally unrelated post, I am so excited for a two day work week. Somehow it takes the sting out of Monday!

Wordless Wednesday-Madison's Fall Pictures

Pumpkin Fun For Madison

Madison's pumpkin patch visit was to Young's Dairy. It was the weekend before Halloween and it was COLD. We made the best of the day but I was a little disappointed that we couldn't spend more time outdoors. We made the best of our time and visited all of the animals in the barn. We also spent some time in the play area and Madison took a ride on the little train. We did all the fun stuff, just hurried through things a little faster!  After our outdoor fun, we headed inside for some delicious food.

Happy 6th Birthday Logan!

 Today is Logan's 6th birthday. 6 is a big number and now suddenly seems so old. This year has been full of changes including the biggest, starting school. I have noticed in the past few weeks how much he is learning. In the car the other day he just starts counting by fives, when did that happen! He is reading and starting to spell things. Sunday we sat down and he started composing sentences. I am a teacher and I am amazed, it is like the switch has finally flipped.  I know this year will continue to be a year of growth and that makes me happy and sad. He is no longer that little guy that I held in the hospital 6 years ago. I think it is safe to say this guy has stolen my heart and will always hold a piece of it.  He made me an aunt and for that I am grateful.  Happy Birthday Logan!!!!

Pumpkins At The Junction

Our fall weather was a bit crazy this year. We had beautiful fall weekends and then the weekends were rainy and cold! It made for some creative thinking on fall activities.  I decided we would take a Sunday trip with my grandma to Entertrainment Junction. We have been there many times before, but the always have special themes for each season.  They do an awesome fall display. They had a straw maze in the parking lot, an indoor pumpkin patch and a kid friendly haunted house with trick or treating.  Plus they still had all their regular fun activities and rides.  We had so much fun and it beat running around in the muddy fields that weekend.

I am so happy today is Friday, it has been a busy week and I am not adjusting to this time change. Also the weather is turning colder which makes me want to stay inside and hibernate for the winter!! I hope everyone has a great weekend, they always go way too fast!

We love this place

Checking out the straw maze

My grandma enjoyed a day out with us

He loves taking a ride on Thomas

This haunted house was so neat

They got to get a piece of candy in every room

This was an interactive pumpkin that the kids could talk to

Picking a pumpkin from the indoor pumpkin patch

Giddy Up For A Great Party

At the beginning of October, Logan was invited to his friend Emma's birthday party. He was so excited and  talked about it the whole week before. It was a lot of fun. The theme was horses and it was at a riding stable. The kids got to have fun decorating pumpkins, making a horse picture frame, panning for gold, playing horseshoes, pin the tail on the donkey, and the highlight was riding a real horse! We had a busy two hours and Logan had lots of fun. Thanks Emma for the invite.