30 Days of Thanksgiving Days 21-30 & Debrief

Day 21: Today I am thankful for girlfriends to hang out with this evening. And also thankful that the swelling in my hands and feet from yesterday has gone down this morning.

Day 22: Thankful to have Daniel and that he is such a wonderful father to Leeland. Nothing like waking up this morning to my boys talking football and touchdowns. 

Day 23: Thankful that we have made it to the 3rd trimester with our baby boy Hayden.

Day 24: Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! Here I am so thankful for Daniel, Leeland and Hayden (on the way.) So blessed to have a roof over our heads & food on the table. And most importantly, thankful for my God who is the provider of it all.

Day 25: Today I am thankful that we have everything that we NEED. It's no secret that when you drop to one income, it gets a little tighter, but I can honestly sit here and say that I am content with what we have. Feels weird to not be shopping on black Friday like I usually do, but there's nothing that I want or need. Happy at home.

Day 26: So thankful today and everyday for the men and women who serve our country in the military. But on this day, I'm especially thankful for my brother-in-law Nate! We love you buddy and miss you so much, look forward to having you back on this side of the pond. Happy birthday buddy- there will be a cake ready for you when you get back.

Day 27: I'm so thankful that I have such awesome in-laws. It's really great to have such selfless, loving, and supportive adults for Daniel and I to go to. Love you guys and I know that Leeland really loves his G-Ma and PaPa too.

Day 28: Today I am thankful for the ability to create. I love dabbling in crocheting, sewing and baking- I do not consider myself a pro at any of them and am always learning new techniques but I must say that I really enjoy my crafting hobbies. And it makes me feel even better when I can save us a little money by making things myself.

Day 29: Today I am thankful for MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers)! Adult interaction and fellowship for Mommy, and lots of fun, cool toys and children for Leeland to play with for a couple hours.

Day 30: Thankful today for free guest passes to the Natural Science Center that were passed along to me. Looking forward to taking Leeland for the 1st time and also spending time with friends and their children. What a blessing that person gave us and they have no idea how much it means to me.


Just to say a little bit about this Thanksgiving project-- it has been incredibly fun, challenging and also eye opening.  All of us like to think that we are innately good and that as "good people" we are of course gracious, courteous and thankful.  But I'm not afraid to admit what this project truly was-- this was a CHALLENGE.  Coming up with something new each day to be thankful for aside from the hum drum food, clothes, shelter was kind of difficult.  What an eye opener to truly sit and reflect and open my eyes to the MANY blessings that we have as a family! And what a perfect time for my eyes to be opened: 1) During this season of mass consumerism, I am now so much more focused on what the season is truly about and 2) Money has never been more tight around here than it is now.  I can sit around and mope about it and be depressed about it, or I can think about all that we DO have.  


Hope you all have enjoyed your season of Thanksgiving-- Christmas is coming next.  I encourage each of you to focus on the reason for the season.  Don't get caught up in the "me, me, me" "buy, buy, buy" attitude of our society.  Blessings!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Days 1-10

I'm not sure entirely where this idea came from.  I feel like there was something similar done over the radio on KLove last year during the month of November, this year I have noticed lots of friends sharing in the fun on Facebook so I decided to join them.  I have been posting daily on Facebook in my status something that I am thankful for, for each day of this lovely month of November.  For recording purposes, and reflecting on later I guess, I would like to post those on the blog as well-- so here's what I came up with for Days 1 through 10.

Day 1- SO thankful to be at home everyday with our little Leeland. Cherishing all these moments with him and memories made.

Day 2- Thankful for awesome Christian musicians and Christian radio broadcasting-- songs that are encouraging and uplifting to me, and that I love to hear Leeland singing along to. 

Day 3- Thankful for a healthy pregnancy thus far and to have 24 weeks behind us. Also thankful for my midwife appointment this afternoon, and hoping Leeland can hang through it because I didn't get a baby-sitter. 

Day 4- Today I am so very thankful for my best friend and husband, Daniel. He's the man of my dreams and I am so happy to be married to him! :D Thank you Daniel for all your hard work for our family, can't wait to snap green beans with you when we're old. ♥

Day 5- Though I am really missing my Mommy today, I am thankful for the almost 8 years of my life that she was here. Thankful for the love and memories that we shared. (17 years today, love and miss you Mommy)

Day 6- Thankful for the weekends and quality time with my family. With our previous jobs, Daniel and I hardly ever saw each other, we were always "tagging in and tagging out" to care for Leeland. Now we get 2 full days a week to rest and relax! 

Day 7- Thankful for the roof over our heads and the food on the table.

Day 8- Today I am thankful for loving, caring and supportive friends. Friends who I don't see near often enough (sorry about that) but are always there.

Day 9- Today I am thankful for the knowledge shared to me by a dear friend about cloth diapers and for our stash of cloth diapers. They have saved us SO much money and have been super fun to use too. 

Day 10- Today I am thankful for Leeland and that he lets me sleep in every morning. Very appreciative of my sleep these days, as I know that I will be greatly deprived of it in about 15 weeks or so.

Baby's 1st Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was SO much more fun this year because of all the new babies! Leeland was of course celebrating his 1st Thanksgiving this year, then my sister's little boy is only about a month old, and my brother-in-law's baby was also celebrating her 1st Thanksgiving at only 9 months old.  We spent the morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and then headed over to my parent's house for lunch.  Then after lunch we came home and while Leeland and Daniel took a nap, Lilly and I went for a walk around the apt complex-- had to burn off some calories before the next meal.  Then we went to Daniel's parents house for dinner.  There was lots of eating, relaxing, checking out the sales ads, and playing board games.

Did I forget to mention that I made 2 cakes?  My mom wanted me to bring a side, but I requested bring dessert because that's more my thing.... and then I also took a cake to Daniel's parents house to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday!