thanksgiving recap

this thanksgiving we decided to host jason's family at our house.  we do not have enough room in our house for anyone to be able to stay here, but everyone was here for dinner and for some other fun family events.  here is a recap. and btw...sorry for no photos...i apparently was too busy to take pics!

wednesday evening:  game night.  this is an annual tradition with my family and this year scott, elaine and l'deane were able to participate in my family's craziness.  we played charades...but our clues were all to easy and it ended in a charade-off.  my team won!  whoo-hoo!

thursday:  because we had prepared all of our breads (cinnamon rolls and cresent rolls) and the mashed potatoes the day before (thanks pw), we really didn't have a TON to do on the actual day of thanks.  the menu included turkey (duh), gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, crescent rolls, salad (gotta have some green in there), broccoli cheese casserole, and cranberries.  everything was pretty delish if i do say so myself.  for dessert we had pumpkin pie, apricot icebox pie and pecan pie.  i did not make my normal apple cake, and i missed it so much i am thinking of making it this week!

friday:  the guys (jason and his dad) continued to work on the beds for the girls.  if you want a sneak peek at what i am talking about, you can look here.  ours will not be green, and will look a little different as i am pretty sure we used a different plan for the beds.  i promise to have a post about the beds as soon as they are done.  after the bed making and football watching, we went to eat at mi cocina's.  YUM. 

saturday:  scott, elaine and l'deane came over in the morning and enjoyed some yummy cinnamon rolls and when the girls laid down, jason took them on a little tour of a couple of his projects.  saturday night, everyone had gone home and jason and i took the girls to church and had the williams family over for dinner.

sunday:  whew!  with our weekend almost over we decided we should go get a christmas tree.  i will post pics this week.

this thanksgiving was event packed.  we had a great time and can't believe how fast it went by.  the girls and i are slowly adjusting to being on our own today.  seems weird to not have a houseful of people.   hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! 

Thankfulness

Yes, it is Thanksgiving and yes, I am going to give thanks.  Predictable?  You betcha.  But who really cares? 

I am thankful that this year I have so much to give thanks for.  It makes it harder to know where to start!

I am so incredibly thankful for my family.  Especially my husband.  I won't go on and on, but I will say that I am blessed to have such a loving, hardworking, patient, kind, generous, and dedicated husband.  He is a wonderful father to the girls and he is the best husband I could have ever asked for.  He is such a blessing to me and I am so happy to have been married to him for over 10 years! 

I am also so thankful for my girls.  I am thankful that they are happy, healthy, smart and funny.  They are two of the most amazing people on the planet and I am beyond grateful to have been trusted to be their mom.

I am thankful, of course, for the rest of my family as well.  Thankful that we are relatively healthy, that for the most part avoid major drama, and when faced with a crisis we pull together rather than fall apart.

I am thankful for my friends.  My sister is my bff and I consider myself beyond lucky to have such a great bestie.  Friends from high school, college, church, Bible study, friends from when I worked in Dallas, friends I work with now in Mary Kay, friends I talk to all the time, and friends I catch up with only once in awhile....I am thankful for them all.

I am thankful for all the little things.  You know, things we take for granted everyday.  Food, shelter, clothing, medical care, computer access, television, indoor pluming....etc.  It is amazing to think about how much we take for granted living in the United States.

On that note, I am thankful for the men and women who fight for our country, thankful for their sacrifice.

Lastly, I am thankful for Jesus.  Thankful he died on a cross to save me from my sins....Thankful that I have eternal life......Thankful that I have a personal relationship with Him.......Thankful that He hears my prayers....Thankful for the many blessings He has given me.  I am thankful for His love, His mercy and His forgiveness.

I hope that this Thanksgiving you have much to be thankful about also.

shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
worship the LORD with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
know that the LORD is God.
it is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
for the LORD is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100

The Par-tay

Here are some pics I promised from Isabelle's birthday party.  We had a great time and Isabelle is still talking about how fun her birthday party was!

My sister is the one that really deserves all the credit for making the party a success.  She not only came over early to decorate the cake, she also bought the paints which were the best present of the day!  Now that things have calmed down a bit, Isabelle is much more excited about her other presents as well, but the paints are still the favorite!

The Elmo cake, plus cupcakes! 

Just the Elmo cake.  My sister is amazing!

Poppy and Great Grandpa trying to assemble a pink princess tent!

Dad and Isabelle in the tent!

Another pic of Belle and Dad! 

I know that I am not the hostess with the most-est when it comes to birthday parties.  I don't have balloons and streamers everywhere...or for that matter the fancy banners that everyone makes nowadays.  I don't have a candy bar or special labels on water bottles or even gift bags for my family to take home.  We don't have a bunch of friends over, in fact, mostly just family.  But, I am pretty sure that for now that is okay.  The girls had a great time.  We got to eat yummy chili and cake and ice cream and Isabelle is still talking about it over a week later.  A week later and I still can't believe my sweet girl is three!

Embrace

So as I mentioned, this past weekend we celebrated Isabelle's third birthday.  Usually birthdays are a great time to get lots of great photos of J and I with the kiddos, but not this time.  We decided to put the girls down for a nap early before everyone arrived.  It seemed like a great idea considering how my girls are when they don't get naps.  However, I failed to think about how they might respond to going to bed with no one here and waking up to a house full of people.  They both were a little overwhelmed.

This is Isabelle right after waking up from her nap.  She sat on my lap, quietly, for what seemed like forever.  Isabelle is hardly ever still and quiet at the same time.  It is the only semi-good picture of us together at her party. 

I will post more pics and details from the party next week, so be sure to check back in for some awesome Elmo cake pics!

Also, if you have trouble remembering to get yourself in some photos with your kids, you should start the Embrace movement as well!  Check out Emily's blog here.  She is great!

Isabelle is Three

Can't believe that this baby......

has turned into this baby.

This past weekend we celebrated Isabelle's third birthday.  I had planned to blog about it before today but have been battling computer problems.  So now I have like 20 blogs I need to complete, but I am going to start with Isabelle.

Belle turning three is kind of weird.  I don't feel like she should be that old, but on the other hand I am relieved that there are more things she can do on her own, especially now that I am about to add another infant to the household.  I am sad and happy at the same time.  Plus, she has such a wonderful personality and is so fun at this age that it is hard to stay sad for very long.

Isabelle's likes and dislikes at age three.

Likes:

Sesame Street.  More specifically Elmo.  She even had an Elmo cake for her birthday (pics to come soon). 

Anything related to art.  She loves to color with crayons and markers, loves to decorate with stickers, and loves to paint.  She finally got some paints for her birthday and she said being able to paint was her favorite part of her birthday.

She loves to sing, dance and run around.  That girl is always moving.  Playing outside is one of her favorite activities.

She also loves reading.  She loves books and loves to ask about words and learn how to spell them.

Playing with her sister.  Most of the time they can play very well together.  She told me yesterday that Molly was her best friend.  Presh.

The color red.  She loves the color red.  Anything red is awesome. 

Being independent.  Belle now demands to pick out her clothes each morning and put them on all by herself.  She is all about doing it on her own.  The only exception to this rule is eating.  She sees us feeding Molly and has determined that she must be fed as well.  It is quite irritating.

Calling people by their full names.  She even calls Jason and I by our full names.  It is quite funny.

Dislikes:

Sleeping.  Bedtimes are a bit of a struggle at our house.  She sleeps well at night, it is just getting her to fall asleep that is tough.  She usually wants to read or sing or get up for the millionth time to go to the bathroom. 

Eating.  Belle is one skinny lady.  We go to the doctor today for her check up.  I am anxious to see her percentile for weight.  The foods she will eat are bean burritos, quesidillas, parm-dijon chicken, sandwiches, and fruit. 

Things being dirty or wet.  If Belle gets a little dirt or a little water on her she must immediately change clothes.  There are days where we change clothes four or five times a day.  I pick my battles and right now, changing clothes isn't on the list.

Giving hugs and kisses.  Unless I am leaving it is near impossible to get some love.


Belle is a great child.  She is smart,  like seriously smart.  She is a great big sister (most of the time), and she is super funny.  I think she is the most beautiful three year old on the planet, and I think she thinks the same.  Jason and I can't believe how blessed we are to be her parents.

Embrace the Camera-Sister Edition

It is Embrace the Camera Day! 

And I have pictures!  What the what?  It is sister edition today.  No pics of the kiddos!

 

Our first race ever.  Jason, my sis, my bro and I all completed the OSU Scrub Run.

My sister is a runner.  Like a serious runner.  She has completed many 5k's as well as a couple of half marathons and a marathon.  She is in the process of training for her second marathon as we speak.  It is kind of crazy considering she once told me the only reason she would ever run was if she was being chased.

I try to go to all of her races.  I have only missed three.  One that was out of town, one when I was in the hospital and one I am not sure why.  I usually try to get a pic of us together at her races. I haven't succeeded each time, but in the spirit of embracing the camera I thought I would post pics from her races I have attended and put in the pics I have of us together.

pretty sure this is her first Tulsa Run.

Route 66...think she did the half.

Our second OSU Scrub Run.  This time my bro-in-law and niece joined us.

Aquarium Run with Lauren

Tulsa Run...I was preggers with Isabelle

first marathon

another Tulsa run...i think

OSU Scrub Run this year

This last pic is from her latest Tulsa Run.  She is pretty amazing.  She inspires me to run....and then I think...run?  what?  that is crazy talk.  I think jogging is more my thing.  It sounds better than running really, really slowly.  I love my sis.  She is my bff and I think she is pretty awesome!

November

I looked back at my blog and how much I have written during the past couple of months and I was pretty sad!  I have so much I want to write about and so little time to do it.  Unfortunatley, I don't see my schedule getting any easier in the next couple of months. 
The holiday season around our house is a little chaotic.  And that is putting it mildly.  Between birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all that accompanies those events, I barely have time to work, much less to blog.  Jason and I both being from divorced families means that at Christmas we get to enjoy something like 423 different celebrations...okay so that is an exaggeration, but it is a lot.  We also used to travel during the holidays, but now that we have two kiddos we try to stay as close to home as possible.  We have also decided that every Christmas morning will be spent at home just our family.

the girls last year

Here is a glimpse into what we already have planned the next couple of months!

This weekend we will celebrate Isabelle's 3rd birthday with mostly family .  Our mostly family will include at least 18 people.  I will also be Christmas shopping for the girls this weekend.
Next weekend, the one before Thanksgiving will be spent with close friends.  One couple on Saturday night and one couple on Sunday for lunch.  Since Jason and I don't get to hang with friends very often I am super looking forward to next weekend!

The week of Thanksgiving is going to be busy with relatives visiting from Utah, Nevada, Kansas and Washington.  We will be preparing and eating lots of yummy food and watching our #2 Cowboys dominate during their weekend game. (hehe)
While you may think things would slow down, we also have my brother's birthday, my niece's birthday, Jason's birthday, Jason's office Christmas party, Christmas celebration with Jason's mom, celebration with my dad, celebration with my mom, and our own celebration with just our family.  Then another visit from Jason's mom and after all the celebrations are over with, we have three weeks to paint and decorate and build furniture for the big changeover of the rooms in our house.  Oh, and then sometime on or before January 19th I will be having a baby!  And those are just the things that are already on the calendar.

It is going to be CRAZY.  Most of it crazy good, though, so that is a plus.  It is easy for me to get overwhelmed this time of year.  It is easy to focus on the negative things, rather than all of the positive ones....SO this year my goal is to remain positive and enjoy and embrace the craziness.  And I hope to be able to blog more than like once a month!  We shall see!  What are your holiday plans?

Pumpkin Patch

Yes, I realize that most normal people would have already blogged about this, but I am behind.  I am, however, trying to catch up!

We took the girls to the pumpkin patch the weekend of Halloween.  That was our first mistake.  The place was BUSY.  The second mistake was me forgetting a pair of shoes for Isabelle.  I blame pregnancy brain.  I actually picked up her shoes as we were leaving and instead of putting them in my purse, I put them in her shoe bucket!  Needless to say, it was a short trip to the pumpkin patch.  Belle wore Molly's tennis shoes (over a size too small) and Molly stayed barefoot (which worked out great until she was screaming to walk around).

Also, you should know, my kids don't really like having their picture taken.  That makes it hard to get lots of really cute pics of them posing next to pumpkins.  Here are the only ones we got that are worth putting on the interweb!

J and the girls checkin' out the goats.

Isabelle was fascinated by the big pumpkins.

Seriously the only time I could get here to hold still(ish) for a picture.

Great pic of J and Molly....minus the fact Molly refused to look at the camera!

Even though we were there only a short time, I think the girls enjoyed themselves.  They each picked out two mini pumpkins to take home.  Molly tried to eat hers in the car on the way home!!!  That girl  is always eating!!!  Next year I will be sure to go before Halloween and I will be sure everyone has shoes.