So, if you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking Thanksgiving? What? We just celebrated Christmas! Yes. Yes, we did. I am that far behind on getting these pictures into the blog posts. I try to write the blog posts each week but getting the pictures in is a different story. Some days our internet service is spotty at best and I can’t upload the pictures. Other days I’m just too tired, or I’m battling housework, or facing down grumpy kids, or tending sick animals, or just trying to remember where I left my camera, or some days what my name even is! So, yes, I am over a month behind on these posts, but I’m trying really hard to catch up…and to quit making excuses…. Thank you for your patience!
The week of Thanksgiving is always a special time for me. I love Thanksgiving, or Turkey Day as Maleah calls it. I. LOVE. IT. I love the food obviously, but I also love the chance to emphasize to my kiddos the we have so much to be thankful for. Because we have sooooo much to be thankful for.
We have the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. That alone is really enough, but he has blessed us with so much more than that! We have our health and our happiness. We have each other and our family and friends and countless other blessings to be thankful for. We are so blessed!
This is Jim’s “You are so dead” face. I had just told him I was taking his picture for my blog! Love ya, honey!! Doesn’t he clean up nice???
I am thankful for my handsome husband for many, many reasons. Saint Jim is a wonderful father and husband. Over 20 years ago I was madly in love with him when I married him. I was young and although I loved him, I didn’t know what love really was. But Jim has shown me and our children unconditional love on a daily basis in so many ways. I won’t turn this post into a sappy love sonnet but that man right there is something special. And I am eternally grateful that God saw fit to bless me with sharing our lives together.
I am thankful for this beautiful young lady. There isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t amaze me with her willingness to work 20 times harder than everyone around her to accomplish her goals or just to get through the day. She has such a sweet, innocent look on life that I pray she never loses. Maleah possesses one of the kindest, most giving spirits of anyone I’ve ever known. She is always quietly asking to give to others or help others in ways that most would overlook. Sometimes, I selfishly think maybe God gave Maleah to me to make me slow down and see the simple beauty and joy in everything, especially the small stuff. However, I believe God created Maleah for something much bigger, a very special purpose. I can only imagine the great plans he has for Maleah’s future.
I am thankful for this dynamic, little tornado. Maylin couldn’t be more bold, energetic, and self-assured! Just when I think she is going down in a fiery crash, she stops and asks to pray for the ambulance that just passed by. Or out of the blue, she brings me her favorite toy and asks me to donate it to a child in Africa. She is such a creative and intense, little soul that I find myself rushing to keep up with her. She pushes me to places that I would never go and to do things that I would never do. And I learn so much about both of us everytime! She is such a blessing in my life. While I am in NO hurry for her to grow up, I can’t wait to see how God is going to use this little dynamite one day for His purpose.
I am thankful for this sweet, little man. I would be just fine if Camden stayed this age forever. He thinks Momma is great. He runs to me when no one else can understand him and I can interpret. He comes to me to solve all his problems and kiss his wittle boo-boos. And he still wants to snuggle with me all the time! We joke that Cam can run with the big dogs or stay on the porch. In truth, he can do both equally well. If he’s following Maylin, he can match her stride all day long. If he’s hanging with Maleah, he can quietly sit in her lap while she reads, or play at her side while she knits. He is something of a chameleon and absorbs the best of the people he is around and then matches and reflects that back to them. He’s only 3 and has this cool little personality that makes my heart melt. It is so amazing to me that God can create so many different facets in personalities!
A family feast.
I am very thankful that on a special day like Thanksgiving we are able to have a feast. A family feast together. Yes, I do realize that is ALOT of food for just the 5 of us. We had ALOT of leftovers! We have so much to be thankful for that we needed a feast to eat while we all named everything we are thankful for! It took us a while!
Then, we made a trip to a tree farm to pick out a live Christmas tree.
We started a new tradition this year and drove to a tree farm to pick out a live tree. The girls set their heart on this beauty. Ummm, girls, we will probably Never have a house large enough to have this tree. But it sure was pretty! The sweet girls in front make the tree even more beautiful!
While the girls loved the big trees, Camden preferred the Camden sized trees. How adorable! That face is precious!
We almost lost the little guy there! Man down!
Look at this beautiful tree they picked out and decorated! It looked like this for approximately 5 minutes before Camden and Maylin decided to rearrange the ornaments again….and again…and again… I don’t really see an end to the rearranging…..
I am also thankful for starting another new tradition of planting a tree on the farm every year we live here. Hopefully, we will live there forever, so we will plant another 60 or so trees? Sounds like a plan to me!
Okay, we haven’t moved in yet, but we are out at the farm so much it feels like we already live there. So why not go ahead and plant a tree for this year?
We hope every tree we plant will hold special memories and have it’s own story from that year.
Some will be pine trees, like this one, and others will likely be something else. Whatever the family dictates the story to be that year. Doesn’t that sound like a fun idea?
We have this beautiful farm and
we have this precious little house that will be our new home in just a few weeks. We have our wonderful memories to reflect on and our great hopes and dreams for the future. We are so blessed!
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
