happy thanksgiving

i was inspired by something i heard in a recent church service.

"anything you are thankful for appreciates in value and anything you complain about depreciates in value."

i think this statement is so true.

when we focus on what we are thankful for, then we cherish it. it becomes very valuable to us. 

this is true for the material things in life such as our home, car, clothes, and the rest of our stuff.

but it is also true in our relationships.

the divorce rate in our country would be lower if we would focus more on the positive things we love about our spouses and not complain so much about what we dislike.

children would feel more valued and friendships would last a lifetime if we would practice having a grateful heart and not spend so much time on our own wants and needs. children are a gift and time spent with them is the greatest gift we could ever give them.

parents would be cared for more and grandparents would never be forgotten.

this thanksgiving is a great time for us all to start focusing on what God has blessed us with 

and recognize the worth of the people around us.

in doing so, i think we would all realize that we lead a very rich life full of value and worth.

happy thanksgiving!

thanksgiving eve bloopers

this morning, i gaze out my kitchen window and begin to soak in the beauty of the day when -

...i happened to notice this!!!

i think our tomato plant exploded in the herb garden!

it looks terrible and my husband keeps trying to reposition it, but it obviously has a mind of it's own. 

he wants to pull it out, but it is covered in tomatoes!!!
(i will be picking them today)

then, i start to make my pie for thanksgiving and i am just loving the morning.

i'm feeling so thankful to have the day off to bake, do laundry, and pack when...

 

my pie nearly falls on the floor as i take it out of the oven to place it on the cooling rack.

my adrenaline kicked in and saved the pie. i was willing to grab the hot glass if need be.

so, my pie is a little funny looking from the trauma, but it is all in one piece!

(i will post this recipe later - it's awesome)

i made the chex mix last night, but didn't buy enough cereal for both batches, so i raided the pantry 

and used up the rest of the kid's cereal to have just enough for the puppy chow. 

they were a little surprised and annoyed with me this morning when they found no more cereal left.

i'm sure they will forgive me in the car while they are eating this deliciousness.

(this was my first time making them both...really yummy. found recipes online)

today was a clear reminder for me to be thankful even in the small things.

i'm thankful for ugly tomato plants that actually produce, 

pies that don't end up on the floor, 

and that golden grahams and crispix taste good with powdered sugar on them!

book of thankfulness

i started this thanksgiving book the first thanksgiving that camille (our first-born) was at home with us.

she just turned 9 so this makes our little family book 9 years old this year.

(i question my color choices back then...oh well :)

 this was cami's first hand print in our book.

this was when cari made her first appearance.

this was the year we lived in colorado and cari had a "mummy hand" after her first visit to the er. 

(good times)

 this was the following year back in texas.

our first trip to the sweet berry farm.

every year we list things we are thankful for throughout the year and 

it is so fun to look back and see all that God has done for us. 

challenges we faced many years ago seem so little, 

but were big to us at the time.

 and this leads me to 2009 - 2011...ooops!

this is a result of life getting busy and me starting to work ;)

i don't want to ever lose my focus and attitude of thankfulness.

we will get caught up because i plan on handing over some of the responsibility 

of decorating these pages to my eager girls.

i look forward to many more pages filled with all that we are thankful for.

the story about this turkey

nine years ago, on november 21 at 10:03 a.m., i gave birth to my first child by an emergency c-section.

she had the cord wrapped around her neck twice and there was a knot in the cord which had blocked oxygen to her brain and caused her to have infantile seizures (which looks different than your typical seizure). on top of that, she was suffering from meconium aspiration as a result from all the stress she had endured in the womb. 

i didn't get to hold my baby after she was born. to make things worse, in the middle of the night they woke me up to have me sign a piece of paper allowing them to transport my baby girl to a different hospital. she was now considered a high risk baby that they couldn't properly treat in their hospital. they gave me some polaroid pictures of her and then they took my baby away.

*

that leads us to the story of this turkey...

she didn't spend her first thanksgiving at home with us. she spent it with this little turkey. a volunteer placed this sweet guy in her incubator. i have cherished it ever since. it now serves as a reminder of how precious every thanksgiving is with her at home.

 *

it wasn't 'til a few weeks later, december 5th, that we finally had our baby girl home with us where she belonged. she continued on seizure medication for the first year of her life and she has a small scar on her ankle from medicine burning her skin. we had many visits to a plastic surgeon, neurologist, and had too many eeg tests done. but i do realize that this is nothing compared to many parents who have endured worse things with their own children and my heart goes out to them.

*

so, she is now turning 9 and she is brilliant, sweet, smart, athletic, creative, and kind. you would never know that she was covered in tubes and needles once in her life. you would never know the doctors told us that if another day had gone by with a lack of oxygen she wouldn't have made it.

*

with every passing birthday, i thank god for the gift of my daughter. i remember to be thankful for the mere fact that she is alive and at home with us. i squeeze her tight and hold her close. 

she is... and always will be... a reminder of god's love.

thanksgiving count down!!!

well, october came and went!

 

and now we are counting down the days until thanksgiving...my favorite holiday!

 we got this adorable thanksgiving advent calender from pottery barn a few years ago and it has been a wonderful tradition that we look forward to every year!

 

a few years ago, all four of us wrote down several things that we are thankful for on the back of paper "turkey" feathers and we pull one out everyday leading up to thanksgiving and read it together.

 

once pulled, the feathers then go on tom the turkey!

he is not the prettiest turkey in the world, but my girls love him dearly :)

 it is fun to rediscover each year what we all wrote.

this was one of our latest feathers. 

my husband wrote this one referring to our cat.

 here he is laying in our new window seat.

family traditions are very special to us!

these guys are what i feel so grateful for everyday!

 

do you have any fun thanksgiving traditions leading up to the big day?