Attitude of Gratitude

One of my daily guidepost entries this past week encouraged readers to carry an "attitude of gratitude". I have been mindful of all that I have and after a day full of family, food, outdoor play and more food, I am very ready for bed (the turkey effect), but wanted to take a few minutes to comprise a quick list of some of the things I am grateful for in my life:

1) My family. My husband who has given me the greatest gifts of all (our children) and loves me despite all my imperfections. Kaleb who allowed me to first wear the title "Mother" 7 years ago and continues to amaze me with his wit, compassion and curiosity. Myles who encourages me to go faster, play harder and laugh louder as I try to keep up (both mentally and physically). Norah who with her sweet disposition, determination and intense gaze has shown me that surprises can be wonderful indeed! My mom who is always there for me in thick and thin. My husband's parents and grandparents who raised him as a Christian and taught him the basics of what it takes to love and honor your family.
2) Health - as I pray for family, friends and others I am ever aware of how very fortunate we are to have three healthy children and good health for ourselves as well.
3) Jobs for both my husband and I. I am grateful in a struggling economy to have professional jobs that allow us to provide for our family.
4) Sweatpants and slipper socks.
5) Bubble baths - occasionally even by myself!
6) Knowledge - books, education and insight gained from mentors. Knowledge is power.
7) The basics - water, food, electricity, shelter, clothes, cars, health insurance, etc. All the things we often take for granted, but have come to rely so heavily on.
8) The innocence, magic, wonder and pure joy that radiates from children. I love to see their eyes light up with a simple discovery.
9) Our church family and faith. In a world full of pain, I am grateful to know there is a God who connects us all and offers us hope through fellowship with one another.
10) Freedom - of speech, of religion, of life. So many other countries don't know the indulgences we do in the USA.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day with their families and friends!

Watch WALL-E

Really, too cute. I'm a big fan of Disney and this is no exception. Love the plot of a little robot finding love, but the overall message should hit home to adults too about how we care for ourselves and our planet. The boys really liked it and I love hearing them say "WALLLLL-EEE". Good movie for the whole family.

Picture Perfect

We finally were brave enough to take the entire party of five to get pictures taken! I've been wanting pictures of my three little bears together, but have put it off for fear of all that might go wrong. It took about two hours to get everyone dressed and cleaned only to get to our 3:10 appointment and be told they were running behind and there were 5 people in front of us. If people just walk in, they try to fit them in to the schedule so I'm not sure why we even needed an appointment . . . Dilemma: do we wait or leave??? We decided to wait since it was such an effort to coordinate in the first place. Thankfully, my mom was with us and she brought the boys drinks and snacks and I even remembered a bottle for little lady - I have no idea where I could have gone to nurse if I'd had to.

Almost two hours later, we were finally called back. I'm really proud of the kids for being as good as they were and we did manage to get some good shots, enough to satisfy our goal of Christmas gifts for the grandparents. The boys even put on dress shoes for the shots (which will probably be the first and last time they are worn) and trust me getting them out of their crocs typically involves tears and tantrums (mostly mine).

I got stuck reviewing all of the pictures by myself and being the indecisive person that I am I had the hardest time making up my mind. I went in there with thick skin, thinking I would stick to the special and maybe a couple extra sheets tops. True to form, I came out with well over $100 of pictures and since I spent over $69, I also got a c.d. with all 103 images to make more copies of when I want to! I'm posting a couple of all the kids together, though we also had family shots, couple shots and individual shots.

Lessons learned from this experience:
1) Never make a Saturday picture appointment, especially in the months of November or December.
2) Bring lots of snacks, drinks and quiet toys/activities for the kids.
3) Bring support whenever possible to help with the little ones!
4) Have a game plan for how many pics you plan on purchasing and stick to it. Use restraint . .
5) Be well rested and carry an optimistic attitude - you'll need strength and patience to make it through!

Quotes to Reflect On

In my quest to "never stop learning" I read everything from textbooks to food labels. I've decided to start including some of my favorite words of wisdom. I'm always adding to these inspirational quotes, so check back often and feel free to share some of your own.

"Always give your children two choices at mealtime - take it or leave it." ~Unknown
*I think this is great advice, but as a short order cook, I'll admit, it's not one I am personally following . . .

I can do anything through He who gives me strength~Phillipeans 4:13
*This has gotten me through many roadblocks in my life.

We have not inherited the earth from our ancestors, we have only borrowed it from our children. ~Ancient Proverb
*Makes you a bit more prone to "Go Green".

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.
~Alexander Graham Bell

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.~Albert Einstein
*Amen!

Don't take life too seriously; you'll never get out of it alive.~Elbert Hubbard
*Just funny . . .

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~Unknown

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, from Women and Beauty

Mothers of little boys work from son up till son down. ~Unknown
*And all those hours in between too . . . : )

Have no fear of perfection--you'll never reach it.~Salvador Dali

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. ~Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
*Section of the poem - the entire poem is wonderful, but this last thought is one to remind us all to live without regrets.

In the dreams of an unconscious mind lie great mysteries unknown, locked away in a silent soul.~LLB
*I attempt to write poetry on occasion . . . . It's good to unleash, like keeping a journal, or writing in this blog!

Keeping the Peace

I decided to retract my earlier "Come Together" blog. I still stand behind my words, if you had the chance to view it before it was deleted, but just feel like politics can drive an unnecessary sword in relationships. Plus, I want for my children to understand that while we are entitled to our opinions, we also need to be mindful of how our words can affect others. We must all choose our battles wisely - which is always good advice when you have children!

Halloween

Was it just me or were there drastically less houses giving out candy this year? We take our kids to my parent's neighborhood and usually every house has their lights on, eagerly awaiting trick-or-treaters but this year a good 50% of the houses were dark. It could be the economy or the ever-present fear in most families these days that they could be victims of violence or the growing trend in trunk-or-treating. I personally let our kids do trunk-or-treating, trick-or-treating and every other Halloween party in between, not because they need the candy, but because when you pay $50 per costume you want to get as much wear out of it as possible! The kids were super cute this year - we had Luke Skywalker, Batman and Little Lamb. They had tons of fun at trunk-or-treat and we only had to bypass one neighbor's house this year (they had a gory mannequin on their porch that the boys decided wasn't worth getting close to for a piece of candy). I adored dressing up a little girl this year in a ridiculously furry outfit complete with pink trimming. She really was not that impressed though!