Fruit ~ Being Thankful Day 7

Oh these are some of my favorites of some of my recent work!! Love these!  Sorry. :)  Our family eats fruit like no one's business.  Sometimes it is just plain sick how much fruit we go through.  I am so thankful that my family likes to eat fruit and vegetables and that maybe through that they stay healthy.   Life is just never perfect and every day I think I realize how many blessings I need to be thankful for.  Now off for a week of visiting family and eating good food.

I'm a Big Girl Now! ~ Being Thankful Day 6

This might seem like a strange post to some, but to the mother's who have been through it, today I am thankful for potty-trained children.  It is such a feeling of accomplishment when after months of struggle, a mom can say, "My child is potty-trained!"  Mia recently decided that she done with diapers.  We have bought our last bag! She stays dry during the day and has been staying dry almost every night (except when she's at Grandma's, of course). It's amazing how much she has grown in the last year, not only by height and weight, but also with her vocabulary.  She is just so much a little girl now.  I am so proud of her!

The Dirt Devil ~ Being Thankful Day 5

When we were at Josh's parents in the last couple of weeks, my mother-in-law asked me if I wanted this dirt devil.  It's for hard floors.  I don't like having clutter and I couldn't think of where I would keep it.  Plus we have a broom and I just didn't think that we needed it.   Of course Josh had other ideas and snuck it in the trunk without telling me.  Well, I tried it and loved it; as hard that is too admit. :) I said it could stay.  It really was a lot easier to clean the stairs and entryway, and Josh uses it on the kitchen floor. So even though I didn't want to take it home, I'm glad it found its way here anyway.

Failures ~ Being Thankful Day 4

No matter how smart you get or how many lessons you learn there are still times when you do something stupid. I always think of "Meet the Robinsons" where the frog and the dinosaur say, "Master I don't know how well this plan was thought through."  I guess in a way I am licking my own wounds. We went roller-skating on Sunday.  It was Jason and Mia's first time.  It also didn't take long for Mia to tire of having wheels on her feet and slowly inching her way around the rink.  So instead of saying no to her request I said okay and picked her up and we started inching our way a little faster around the rink.
Now how long have I been a mom? How many times have I had adrenaline rushing through my body over the safety of my children and making sure they are okay, fed, loved, that they get enough exercise, or read enough books to exercise their brains, and the list goes on.  Of course I wasn't going very fast, but I could tell that I was about to tumble.  I braced myself for the oncoming pain for both my bottom and my ego.  Ouch! It hurt.  Mia was fine.  I made sure we fell backward and she landed on my stomach.  My little sweetheart was still a little shaken from just falling and kept saying, "Mom, you fell." I reassured her I was okay.  The owner, who goes to our church and is sort of the "watchdog" came over to see how we were doing and reminded me that I shouldn't be carrying her with skates on.  All those feelings of stupidity, "duh!", and embarrassment washed over me.  Not to mention my tailbone was throbbing.  For some reason I continually have failures in public for the entertainment of everyone else.
Another example is when Jason, Mia, and I were at the mall.  Jason takes off out of Target and I thought it would be easier to just run and grab him instead of trying to run and grab him with Mia in tow.  So I left Mia in the cart and dashed after him.  When we got back to the cart someone from our old church (whom I hadn't seen in a year) was standing with Mia and the cart (along with their shopping friend).  It was nice that she stood with Mia but how many times do I have to look ridiculous as a mother before I have learned or paid my dues to the club of humiliation or both?
I guess my only comfort is that it keeps me humble and even Paul had a thorn in his flesh.  When he asked God to take it away all God said was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9).  

Being Thankful ~ Day 3

Today I am very thankful for Kleenex.  I know that colds and flu have been on the minds of everyone and the same for me.  Both Jason and Mia ended up with coughs and runny noses and I just kept taking their temperature to make sure it wasn't something else.  But Mia still has a runny nose and is constantly asking for a kleenex or I will catch her in dire need of a kleenex.  I am so glad that their are kleenex's to help wipe runny noses especially the kind that has lotion.

Being Thankful ~ Day 2

I am so thankful for my children.  These two are my full time job and even though I don't get a paycheck; getting this time with them while they are little is irreplaceable.

30 Ways in 30 Days to Save your Family

I don't know how many of you are Focus on the Family listeners, but the last two days have been awesome!  The author of "30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family" has been on.  I have really really enjoyed hearing this woman talk about the war that parents are fighting against the current culture for the minds and hearts of their children and teens.  She has talked about doctors visits with your teenage girls and the private conversations that doctors say they have to have to how to be a team with your teenage girls on dressing stylishly and modestly.  Rebecca Hagelin, a mom of 3, has been writing this book for four years in a way to keep parents up on how they can be good Christian parents to children and teens in this culture of technology.  Her talks on Focus on the Family have just been great to listen too, so I am excited to check this book out and see what its like.

30 Days of Being Thankful/Day 1

Lately I have been reading the blog of one of my favorite photographers and she has been blogging about the things she is thankful for.  After reading them for a little while I couldn't help but think of all the things I am truly thankful for.  So I am going to try to blog one thing I am thankful for each day for 30 days.  I think this might be harder than what I thought in the beginning but here goes.

Being Thankful Day 1

I am truly thankful for my husband Josh.  Most of the pictures were pictures I took on film during college or shortly after we were married and then after Jason was first born and about 4 months old.  He has been my best friend for almost all of the 9 years I have known him.  He makes me laugh and he has strengths where I have weaknesses.  Without getting too sappy he is someone I can't imagine my life without.  This past year has brought a lot of growth for us and I am so glad he is in my life.

Bennet and Ainsley

I have been dying to post these pictures!  These girls are so so great!  They were so much fun to photograph!  I cannot say enough..........so here are Bennet and Ainsley!

Miss Statue of Liberty!

This girls is so so so adorable!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

These brownies are really really good, but they are not "out of the oven brownies".  We liked them best after they had chilled in the fridge.

Hide and Seek

Jason and Mia love to play hide and seek.  Only when they play they hide in the same spot! They discovered hiding under the sheet - the fitted sheet on Jason's bed and loved it so much they kept hiding there.  Finally I said, "Please go hide somewhere else!"  Then they found the space behind the couch and the window.  I just love these pictures of the two of them!  That turned out to be a great spot!!

Of course under the bed is always a great spot......

The brownies they were eating a super good, especially chilled.  The recipe is coming up next.

Highway 92 West

The next day Mia and I went back down Hwy 92 to take some photos for my personal work.  We had fun going on a road trip!  Here's what Mia was doing while we were driving.......

Sometime's she cracks me up!!  I was on a mission to find this yellow bike I had seen along the road and we ended finding it past Knoxville.  We also saw a brick silo that I had never seen before, maybe they are an Iowa thing and just some great fall nature.  Enjoy!

These last two of Mia have to be some of my favorites from all year!  I love these of her!!