thankful hearts

embry

my puppy

playing games

mommy & daddy

hayes & ellie

karate

drawing

the airport

our beach house :)

blackwell

swinging

spiderman

ellie

minnie, nana, papaw, grandpa

my brothers

mommy & daddy

jude & jessie

jesus

when we go to the fair

coloring

my jewelry

pictures

seeing g.g.

playing on the i-phone

lipgloss

going to the pedicure

fruit snacks

hayes

legos

a home

food

clothes

mcdonald's

my parents

my lego book

god

birthdays

school

dinosaur museum

kyle

a god who loves and forgives

a wife who loves and forgives

children who are excited to see me every time

the privilege of pursuing a career that i enjoy

I attempted to capture some pictures of things I was thankful for throughout the day today.

  

I am guilty of getting caught up in all of the little things that seem to go wrong and letting those little things cloud a grateful heart. Now more than ever it seems like things are falling apart around us... whether it be something with the house or one of our cars. But ya know what? We have a house and we have two cars.

And they are just things. And things are temporary.

I'm deliberately making more of an effort to stop and remind myself of just how fortunate I am. I belong to a mighty and loving God, a mighty and loving God who has given me this precious little family to share life with. He's given us a safe place to call home, food for our bellies, air conditioning for when it is hot, heat for when it is cold, good health, fabulous friends and family, great schools, a wonderful church.

I'd say that is blessed. And thankful I am.

May you reflect on what is truly important today and take the time to thank God for each and every one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

sidenote: Something that I am not so thankful for is the decision I made to replace the lights on our Christmas tree. Do not, I repeat DO NOT ever think it is a good idea to strip a pre-lit tree of its lights that no longer work. It is a very bad idea and I have the blisters and bruises on my hands to prove it. Run as fast as you can to the nearest store and buy another tree!

can i get an amen on the weather today?

she was glad to get her swing on.

super e is always up for an adventure.

i love the new smile.

and this... well, it reminded me of this....

august 2008

in a cornfield

it makes me happy that art makes him happy.

kansas city getaway

Kyle and I snuck away to Kansas City for a few days. We had a great time... we always do. We did lots of shopping, knocking out most of our Christmas list! Yay! We explored. We ate way too much yummy food. We met up with bloggy friends (Allison, John Michael and Jenna) and high school friends (Nick and Becky).

We visited Jamesport, an Amish community. What an experience that was. We did see buggies, but we saw more cars. :) We followed a map through the countryside. We discovered a dairy where we did some cheese-tasting, stopped at stores with beautiful furniture and loaded up at the cutest little bulk supply store ever. We also made a stop at a bakery, which could have passed for a scene out of a scary movie. No lights, creaky old floors, people watching you in the dark. I quickly lost my appetite for the sweets I bought.

We got some much-needed time for just the two of us. Now we're refreshed and ready to take on the world! Isn't that right , babe? :)

Thanks to all of the grands for taking care of our babes. 

feelings of failure

Seems like more often than not, I feel like I am failing while trying to be the best mom I can be. Did I discipline the wrong way? Could I have handled that situation better? Blah, blah, blah. I just read a book that taught me a lot and reminded me that it's not just me who experiences these feelings. We all feel this way. Nobody's perfect, right? So I am posting this prayer from Dr. Dobson so I can come back to it quickly when I'm feeling down in my role as Mommy.

"Lord, You know my inadequacies.
You know my weaknesses, not only in parenting, but in every area of my life.

I did the best I could, but it wasn't good enough.
As You broke the fishes and the loaves to feed the five thousand,

now take my meager effort and use it to bless my family.

Make up for the things I did wrong. Satisfy the needs that I have not satisfied.

Wrap Your great arms around my children, and draw them close to You.

And be there when they stand at the great crossroads between right and wrong.
All I can give is my best, and I've done that.

Therefore, I submit to you my children and myself and the job I did as a parent.
The outcome now belongs to you."

Philippians 3:13-14

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

toothless

 SOMEBODY snuck Hayes into the bathroom and pulled his first tooth out. I told Kyle I didn't think the tooth was loose enough, but I was wrong.
It came right out. You can see it took a couple of seconds for Hayes to warm up to the idea that he was missing a tooth. :)

We finished the night off with family movie time... what could be more appropriate than Tooth Fairy?

a fun weekend

carving a pumpkin with papaw 

getting our hair did at salon de ellie 

cherry berry deliciousness 

our favorite trick or treat spot ... GG's!

thanks Mom and Dad for helping turn our weekend into a good time!