Giving Thanks

Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving (actually in about 30 minutes). I have had so much fun baking away today. I have made 3 types of fudge, oatmeal cookies with peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips in them, chocolate chip cookies, melting moments, smores brownies, caramel nut chocolate cake, and cheesecake squares. Like i said i have been baking baking baking. The funny things is I am not really a desert eater. In fact I probably wont eat any of these tomorrow but my family will and that is why i made them. =) I made some of this stuff for the guys that work for Darren and took them up there today so don't worry it is not ALL going to just family. =) We go to my moms house in the morning and Darrens moms house in the late afternoon. I love hanging out with all of our family and am so thankful for each and everyone of them. At my mother in laws a lot of close friends come as well so it is always a huge party over there. We always have a good time! I hope everyone enjoys or enjoyed their Thanksgiving! Now i will list some of the thousands of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for God and the wonderful blessings he has bestowed upon me. Everytime things are looking grim he sends a little miracle our way to let us know we can do it.

I am thankful for my husband. He gives me unconditional love and makes me feel beautiful even when i dont think so myself. He works hard so i can stay home and raise our family and even though he doesnt help with the kids or around the house as much as i would like (partly because i have never asked him to) he is truly trying to learn how. He is a good father and loves are children emensly and i know he would do anything and give anything to make them happy!

I am thankful for my children! They are the most precious gifts i have ever recieved. Children see the world through rose colored glasses and it is so much fun hearing their interpretations of life. I am thankful for their warm smiles, gentle hugs and sweet kisses. Their contagious laughter, beautiful singing and non rythmed dancing makes my heart happy. I also love seeing them play together. When Kayden asks Dalten if he will be her best friend my heart melts with joy. They have even started including Daven in all their little escapades. I can't wait till he can talk with them. =)

I love my family! Each and everyone of them have a special place in my heart. I have been so blessed to not only have been born into an awesome awesome family but to have married into one as well. We have plenty of laughter and good converstations with every encounter. There are certain family members i wish i could see a lot more, like my brother Jon. I miss him tremendously and sure hope he makes it down this way soon!

I love my friends new and old. Most of my friends are my family but i am starting to socialize a little more than i used to and i have thoroughly been enjoying it! I have always been somewhat of a tomboy and automatically got along better with boys then girls. I still feel a stronger connection with guys sometimes but obviously after marriage the thought of having a guy best friend flew out the window. ha But i do believe God is sending people my why and I am trying really hard to listen to him.

I could probably go on and on and on and on (does that remind anyone else of a song lol) but I will just leave it at my top five. Once again I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving (which it now is cause it has taken me forever to write this ha). I am leaving you with a picture of my three blessings. Man I LOVE them!!

Family Pictures

So the weekend before last we went and got family pictures done. It was just a mini session for Christmas time so we can get some cards in the mail. I am not posting any on my facebook page because i am pretty sure i am giving a few to my mother in law for Christmas. Anyway my friend Holly did a great job but i was still kind of dissapointed, not in the work!!!, in me. I have been putting off family pictures for so long because i am very unsatisfied with myself and very critical. But i was sure hoping that after losing 60 lbs (though i am no where near my end goal) i would like at least a few of them. But of all the pics with me in it I only fell in love with one of them. I am still critical of course and wish my chin looked slimmer but the pose and the look just makes me feel all giddy everytime i look at it. My husband of course says i am a dork. haha But he is critical of himself too. all he keeps saying is how blad he is getting. Now he has been losing his hair since we met but I have to agree with him the pictures do make him look even balder. lol At least he is still super sexy, even bald. =) Anywho regardless of what either of us look like the day started off sort of bad. I put off till very last minute finding me a top to wear and getting the boys haircuts. So that day i got the boys hair done then came home gave them all baths put them to bed and went on hunt of a black shirt thinking it would take five minutes. Can you believe it was just my luck that black is not in this year or something. Catos did not have 1 long sleeve black top. Walmart had exactly 4 and of those 4 the one i did not like at all was the only one that fit (or so i thought till i saw the pictures). Anyway due to all that i was running behind and did not have time to flatten my hair all the way so it is way too poofy and i sweat off half my makeup. Kayden of course would not pose at all and anytime we let go of her for a second she would take off running. Darren was plum wore out by the time we finished. So we did not get the kids together for a picture and limited pics of all of us but thats the way it goes sometimes. Hopefully next year we will get better ones. Here is the picture i was refering to earlier. =)

Put In Perspective

For the past week I have been in a funk. I feel like I need a break from home for some serious me time. I hate when I feel like this and I always feel so guilty and selfish when i do. I LOVE being a stay at home mom. It is very rewarding and I can not imagine being anywhere else. But it would be kind of nice if i could get a break every now and again. Darren has been working so much the last few months. He is not even home during the kids waking hours except for 30 minutes at lunch during which time he is shoving food down his face and rushing back out. He has even been going in on the weekends. Kayden seems to do the opposite of everything i say and i have no idea how to fix this problem. I sure dont feel like i am doing it right though because she is not learning and it does nothing but make me feel like poo. Dalten himself has even been back talking. That darn school is really teaching him. lol I am just hoping they grow out of these stages soon before i lose my mind. Anyway with all that being said I hope you can understand why i just want a few hours by myself so that i can regroup and come back a better mom.

Earlier this week I was reading a blog I follow that mentioned a blog she has been following this past year. the Williams family blog. i decided to check this blog out and spent over an hour reading all her blogs and bawling my eyes out. She has two sons, her first born Gabe was still born, and her second son Jonah was born with a rare hereditary disease called EB. The Dr's believe this is what killed their first son as well. i don't remember all the specific symptoms to write on here but the outward one that is unforgettable is that his skin falls off or blisters at the touch. They have to keep him in wraps and pray that they do not get infected. He is literally in pain because of this disease. Can you imagine your child hurting all the time? I cannot! This absolutely killed me. I have 3 beautiful healthy babies and pray i never have to share in the despair so many families have gone through. It sure puts things in perspective when you read about others tragedies and realize just how many blessings have been stowed upon you. Needless to say that was my regrouping session and i felt i was a much better mom today.

On a side note, pray for me that one day i will find a way to raise money for charities such as this one. I dont have extra money to give but i have the want to give it. There are so many charities i want to give too and i just know one day i will be able to. I do not want to see children suffering!

Handmade gift ideas

So this year I am trying to make as many homemade gifts as I can. Staying home does not leave a lot of money in the pockets plus I LOVE doing crafts and to me a handmade gift is so much funner to give then a bought one. Maybe it is because i have taken the time to make something to show someone how much i care about them. Anyway I am super excited to have finally gotten some ideas to make for the family. Google and I do not get along that well so I have had tons of problems finding ideas that are not handmade gifts for sale by other people. =) I am having trouble finding guy ideas so if anyone has some feel free to shoot them my way. As long as they turn out good though I have some ideas for a few of the woman in my life and I have an idea for my husband so I can now officially start. =) Hope everyone else is enjoying gearing up for the holiday season. This is my favorite time of the year!

Here is a picture of the homemade gifts I made last year for 3 of my family members to sit on their front porches. They seemed to like them. =)