30 Days of Thankfulness

Each day this month, I wrote down something I was thankful for

I originally decided to do this as a way to get ready for Thanksgiving and reflect on all that I have to be thankful for. It has also been such a good way to prepare my heart for the upcoming Advent Season.

I encourage you to give it a try next November!

Here is what I have been thankful for the past 30 days:

November 1:

Today I am thankful for my mother in law for having the girls sleepover at her house last night after we went Trick or Treating. Kevin had to be in San Francisco at 7 am this morning and there is no way I would have been able to get myself ready for work, fed Luke, get the girls up, fed, dressed and dropped off at school all by myself. And, not to mention it was the day after Halloween. So thankful for her willingness to help us out so that I could have a mellow morning with just Luke before I went into work.

November 2:

Today I am thankful for my friends Kelly and Susan. Kelly takes Kate home from school 3 days a week and Susan takes Claire home from school 2 days a week while I am at work. I don't know what I would do without their help. Both of them are Godly women with HUGE hearts. I am thankful to have them in my life and I am thankful my girls are friends with their girls. Love you both!!!

November 3:

Today I am thankful that Kate had a great first season of soccer. She loved it & is so sad today was her last game. While she might not be that good, she had a total blast & met new friends. At age 5, that's all that matters!

November 4: 

 Today I am thankful for Daylight Savings and getting an extra hour of sleep. My kids woke up at their normal times & weren't affected by the time change this morning! Can I get an Amen?!?!

November 5:

Today I am thankful for the photos that Monika McSweeney Photography took of our family last weekend! She posted some today & I love them! I will post more later, this is just a sneak peek!

November 6:

Thankful for the right to vote, but really, really, really thankful the Election is over. Not a fan of politics. Can't we just all get along? Last time I checked we are ONE nation under God.

November 7:

Today I am thankful for our DVR so that we can catch up on our shows after our kids are asleep. It's the little things, people.

November 8:

Today I am thankful for the Rain. I love the rain! Loving all the beautiful leaves that are changing!

It finally feels like Fall....my favorite season

November 9:

Today I am thankful for Luke. Even though he doesn't sleep, he is so smiley and one of the happiest & most chill babies. Can't believe he is 3 months today. Thankful he completed our family, I can't imagine our lives without him!

November 10:

Today I am thankful for my husband.  So much to say, but I will sum it up with this: I have loved being your wife for the past 10 + years, I am proud of the 3 beautiful kids we have created & I don't think I will ever get sick of you. You are the best. Thanks for putting up with me.

November 11:

Today I am thankful for all of our Veterans and their families. Thank you for your sacrifice and risking your lives for our freedom. I am especially thankful for our hometown hero who lost his life 1 year ago while serving in the Marines. God Speed, Chachi.

November 12:

Today I am thankful for a day off of school. We had a mellow day at home & got a lot done around the house. And, thankful it's a short week at school!

November 13:

Today I am thankful that my sister Rebecca and I both had baby boys 6 weeks apart (Didn't see that one coming last year!) Thankful for Luke's Brother Cousin, Jack. Thankful they get to spend 3 days a week together with my mom while we are both at school. Aren't they cute?

 

November 14:

Today I am thankful for wine. A glass a day keeps the doctor away! :)

November 15:

Today I am thankful for my Kate. We got her first report card today & her teacher says "She has a math brain like her mom" which made me smile, but most importantly, she said that "Kate is a joy & brings a positive & happy light to their class everyday." Proud of my sweet girl. It is an honor to be her mom.

November 16:

Today I am thankful for my job. Some people think I am crazy for teaching 7th grade math, but I love it. I teach at a great school, with great colleagues and great students. Sure, there are tough days, but notes like the one I got today from a student make me especially thankful.

(Can we talk about how awesome it is that she used 3.14 as pie!)

November 17:

Today I am thankful for girlfriends. I had a great time this afternoon with my friend Becky at Heather's holiday boutique and then tonight I had a girls night with some friends from high school. So good to catch up with everyone!  

November 18:

Today I am thankful that my college roommate Brittany & her husband Mikey are in town staying with us! Feels like just yesterday we were all in Boulder together!

Sorry for the blurry picture... Kate took it :)

November 19:

Today I am thankful for our court. We have the best neighbors you could ask for. I love that we have block parties once a month and that all 10 families on our court watch out for each other & truly care for one another. It's how neighbors are supposed to be. So thankful that we bought this house 2.5 years ago. I love our house, but I really, really, really love our neighbors, especially when we gather around the fire pit.

November 20:

Today I am thankful for pulling off a surprise party for my mom's 60th birthday! Thank you to everyone who came over tonight to celebrate & surprise my mom. So much fun!

November 21:

Today I am thankful for my amazing mom! She is an amazing person and I am truly blessed to have her as my mom. I look up to her for so many reasons. For the last 5.5 years, she has watched my kids 3 days a week while I am teaching. Today is her 60th Birthday.....Happy Birthday Mom!! I love you!!!

November 22:

Today I am thankful that we live so close to both of our families and get to celebrate Thanksgiving (and Christmas) with them each year. Pretty neat that our kids get to see both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles & cousins every holiday. Blessed, indeed.

November 23:

Today I am thankful for my sisters. I am SO lucky to have sisters that are my best friends and who are wonderful aunties to my kids. I thank God for both of you! Elyse and Rebecca....you are the best sisters a girl could ask for.

November 24:

Today I am thankful for my Claire Bear. A Daddy's Girl. She has a passion for life. Her highs are high & her lows are low. She can be quite stubborn, but also has an incredible zeal for life. Lots of prayer goes into how to parent my spunky & sassy Claire!

November 25:

Today I am thankful for our church. I've been going there basically my whole life and it has been a huge part in growing my relationship with God and shaping who I am today. I am thankful for the people & friends I have met because of our church.

November 26:

Today I am thankful for coffee. After being on thanksgiving break for 9 days and staying up until 2am with a cranky baby last night, coffee is my life saver this morning (and every morning!)

November 27:

Today I am thankful for our house cleaner, Claudia. She has been cleaning our house once a month since January, so thankful for her! Best decision ever!

November 28:

Today I am thankful for YOU my FB/Internet/Blog  friends. Love being able to stay in touch with people from various stages of my life. The friendships I have made because of my blog have been awesome & unexpected. Thank you for reading and thank you for taking the time to comment, I appreciate all of you. So, if you are reading this, I am thankful for YOU!

November 29: 

Today I am thankful for Trader Joes & that all my favorite Peppermint treats are in season. You need to buy these, ASAP. They are like crack.

November 30:

Today I am thankful that the Advent Season starts tomorrow & that our house is decorated for Christmas.

I love everything about Christmas...the lights, the tree, the movies, the music. But most importantly, I love celebrating the birth of Jesus.  I am thankful & amazed at all God has done in my life.
I look forward to reflecting and celebrating His love and goodness this Christmas season.

Big things & Little things. I have a lot to be thankful for.
What are YOU thankful for this Holiday Season?

Linking up here.

100 Days of Luke

When Luke was born, I decided that I would take a photo of him everyday for the first year of his life.

I have called it, "The Daily Luke"

As of last week, Luke is 100 days old & I haven't missed a day (yet!)

I made a little collage of his first 100 days:

This has been such a fun project & has been so fun to see how Luke has grown & changed in such a short amount of time.
Whoever said the 3rd kid doesn't get their picture taken as much as the first born?
I am going to prove that wrong!
(I totally wish I would have done this with the girls. *sigh*. This will be Luke's special thing)

Happy 100 Days, Little Guy!

Scenes from Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2012 has come and gone.

I had the whole week off school, which was so nice.

It was busy, but it wasn't.

We spent many a day in our jammies.

But, I was also getting a lot of prep done for my Mom's 60th Surprise Party.

Luke also had one of his roughest weeks in terms of sleep.

He was up until 3am the night before Thanksgiving. No fun.

Thanksgiving morning, we had to be up and at 'em, because we were headed to the Horse Races with Kevin's family!

Kevin's family has been going to to the horse races on Thanksgiving for over 50 years. It was a tradition his grandpa started.

Good food, good drinks, horse races & football on mini TV's. It's great.

His family has a race dedicated to them because they have been going for so long.

When it's time for our race, we get to head down to the race track & watch that race up close and personal.

Then, we get to take a photo with the winning jockey:

I always like to get a family photo of just our family:

 {Don't be fooled....this is not a happy family photo. This is grumpy & tired family photo}

I only eat 2 meals on Thanksgiving. Eggs Benedict at the races & then Thanksgiving Dinner at my parent's:

Beautiful Views of the San Fransisco Bay while I ate. You can see the Bay Bridge on the left and Golden Gate Bridge in the far distance on the right:

One of my goals every year is to also get a pic of the kids. It's a little trickier with 3 kids:

I finally gave up & got one of just Luke. Happy 1st Thanksgiving, Buddy!

Boy clothes are growing on me. Argyle Vests & Corduroy Shoes? I die of cuteness.

After the races, we went home quickly and I had to snap a photo of the Japanese Maple in our front yard because it is finally changing colors.

Then, we headed to my parents for dinner.

 Thanksgiving Dinner is probably one of my favorite meals of the year. 

We had Turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, Baked Corn, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Sausage Stuffing & Broccoli Salad. YUM.

 Kate made this votive in Kindergarten & it now a part of our Thanksgiving Dinner Tradition to pass it around & say what we are thankful for.

Dessert was Pumpkin Cheesecake and Kahlua & Coffee.

The next morning, we watched the Thanksgiving Parade (that we had DVR'd) since we were too rushed/grumpy on Thanksgiving morning to watch it. I wanted a Thanksgiving morning re-do :)

Later on Friday night, we headed to our town's annual Tree Lighting Event to officially ring in the Christmas Season.

 ************************************
Speaking of Christmas,

If you hop over to Pinterest Told Me To, 

you can check out my friend Sheaffer's first 3 installments of her 

12 Days of Christmas series to get fun gift ideas!

Need some $ to buy Christmas gifts?  
Click HERE to enter my $100 Visa Giftcard Giveway!