giving thanks...

Because for the first time, i really didn't take pictures on Thanksgiving - well, i took this one and i actually love it!!. I enjoyed the moment. I lived the minutes. I sat back and appreciated what Thanksgiving is about...I was very thankful on that day . . .

• More than appreciate technology!! We were able to talk to Marie and Erna through Facetime!! It was heartwarming to just not hear them thru the phone, but to actually visualize the conversations.
• That my children are "getting it." . . .this year has been so much easier. The routines are being accomplished, and the expectations are being embraced.
• That I have a honey who meets me half way. . . . the meals, the chores, the few quality time we have with each other, the short and quick laughter.
• For my patience. I've learned to let things go. Its not really worth it to get worked up over the little stuff.
• For holidays - it brings me back to family time with my sister in Oregon. She lives so close, yet are lives seem so busy!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

its my favorite time of year . .

Dear Santa....

Wish me some magic!!!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to:http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? . . to appreciate what is being given. ;)

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? . . getting up before the kids, waking each one of them up with a "Merry Christmas!", followed by a home cooked breakfast... then opening gifts.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? it would have to be cosmetic surgery to the area between my clavicles and waist...and i am serious!!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? reminding my children by reflecting on the memories and reactions (its not about the gift - its about how that gift came about). .. remember our white christmas when it snowed - we dropped everything we were doing, dressed up, and played in the snow??.. or the year that "dad had to hunt for his xmas present with clues?"

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? hands down. SCRABBLE!! - all the time!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? i still play board games with my children.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? disney cruise, because it is magical!!

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? MY WISH LIST would be the 1) Kinect 2) PS3 3) my own pink dsi that i don't have to share with my kids. ;)

SERIOUSLY!!!

is it November already?! Seriously!! Gee, time went by fast! It never seems to end, that as soon as school starts, we are busy! Boys are older and they have that endless amount of homework! And as much as Jade wants to be independent, she's still my baby who needs her hand held.

But around this house, we have a new member in our family - Koa. Bobby wanted him at 6 months old, and I am glad to have him part of us. Its nice to have a dog, who actually is a dog - plays outside, plays and chews on his toys, and yet at 3 months old, he literally is still like a baby.

Creating hasn't been at my peak... Been making gifts - the caterpillar quilt is always a hit and i enjoy making it. I am just dying to scrapbook - and that part of my creating is pushed to the bottom of my list . .

For November, i have a few things to accomplish:

1. Create Christmas cards
2. Take a family photo
3. Decorate house for the holidays
4. Finish up xmas gifts