Thirty Days of Thanks

...in no particular order and in honor of November...

I am thankful for...

1.  my eyelash curler and mascara.  My lashes are about 1/8" long, blonde, and point straight down into my line of vision.
2.  my mom.  No one supports me, accepts me as me, gets me like her.
3.  hot water.  For my insanely hot showers.
4.  Phil Collins and his perfection.
5.  the love my high school sweetheart and I share.
6.  and the two happy, healthy children we created.
7.  a country that allows my family and I to freely explore and grow and question and ponder our relationship with Jesus and Christianity.
8.  my dad's health.
9.  choosing to be a stay-at-home mom.  It's the best decision Justin and I have ever made.  I'll forever be so thankful for these years I've spent at home with them.
11.  my thriftiness.  Thanks to number 9, I've had to learn how to be super frugal. 
10.  antique and consignment stores.  And their growing popularity.
11.  smartphones.  And Instagram.  And Pinterest.  And Candy Crush. 
12.  my brother.
13.  his wife.
14.  the nieces and/or nephews that I patiently hope and pray and wait for. 
15.  coffee.  And creamer.  And sugar.
16.  Davis' independence level.  There was a time when his future looked completely different than it does now.
17.  mustard and whoever turned it into a condiment.
18.  Jimi.
19.  learning how to knit.
20.  wine.
21.  my kids' outgoing, hilarious personalities. 
22.  Davis' love of music and
23.  Boogs' love of 'doing it by myself'. 
24.  our military.  This one's so cliché, but those men and women should be thanked every single day.
25.  my friends.  And the time we spend together. 
26.  old photographs of my family.
27.  El Ranchero.   
28.  the beach trips we take every year.  Our best memories are made in the panhandle.   
29.  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  That book changed my life.
30.  live music.  It's the best.

I Want A Football Thing And A Ticket To China

I asked Davis what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

"Let me go look in my room and see what I don't have."

A minute passes.

"I don't know, Mom.  I have everything a kid could need." 

After further thought, he came up with something.  And Santa's got his work cut out for him.

I'm paraphrasing here.  (Deep breath in.)  "I want a football thing with all the NFL teams.  And it would be cooler with Aaron Murray, the quarterback, on it.  But he's not in the NFL.  He plays for the Georgia Bulldogs.  But I still want him on the field.  It would have a button that makes them go.  And if there's a spinner button, I'll press it, and make them spin.  And straight and right and back buttons.  So it can go directions.  You have to press the juke button to juke 'em.  I think the players come with a box.  And I want someone to shout the numbers, like, 'the 80, the 70, the 60, the 50...touchdown!'  The field isn't real grass like outside."  This went on for a while, but I was too busy Googling 'football thing + aaron murray + juke button + number shouter' to pay attention anymore.

He's a 42 pound gift from God.  And that's that.

"Reese, what do YOU want Santa to bring you for Christmas?"

"I don't know.  To China?!?"

Pics, Pics Galore

If you follow me on Instagram you probably sit around and make fun of how often I post pictures.  Come on, admit it.  Well, I thought I'd share some shots from my phone that DIDN'T make it on there...Just from the last couple days...I'm obsessed with taking pictures...Shoot me.

Picking up Wooder from school.

 

I'm excited to see him.

In the car wash.

He's waiting for me to roll down the window as we near the dryer.

 

I'm really fascinated by birds on wires.  Like, why are there just a few loners on the bottom shelf?  Are they outcasts?  In time-out?  On a date?

A nightly game in our house.  It's called 'Dad Or Mom But Preferably Dad Because He Knows How To Throw Better Throws A Football Across The Living Room And Davis Runs And Dives And Catches It And Does A Victory Lap While Jim Chases Him'.

And I missed the magical moment where Boogs helped Davis take his braces and shoes off.  Be still my pounding heart.  

He watches SportsCenter every morning before school while he eats his over-medium egg and buttered toast.  And I enjoy those first few sips of my coffee.  

Jimi got himself a new toy.

Killing my vibe.

Pigeons lurk around our property every day.  Yes, pigeons.  They missed a turn trying to find the local park and ended up here, I guess.  Jim loves chasing them back to their safe haven...the wire.

Topless and coloring and drinking wine and a tiny black horse.

 

3 year check-up...2 months late.  I made them prick her finger to check her hemoglobin and blood sugar levels.  The more educated I get about the human body, the more I look for symptoms and try to diagnose.  I was wrong on both accounts.

 

 

Taking pictures while I chat with the Pediatritian.

 

 "Look.  It's me...on ME!"

Uncle Brother stopped by and gave the kiddos lots and lots of attention.

 Reese thought I was being a really good mom and deserved recognition.

 

 Playing on the Wii.

 

Used up the rest of my homemade mozzarella cheese block on fried slices.  Oh.  Em.  Gee.

Lounging on dad and Jim wants to partake.

And does.

Startled Boobers after her nap.

Friendships



I just love this.  And my friends.

On Friendship
 Kahlil Gibran

 

Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

 When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

 And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

A Vampire And A Witch

For whatever reason, Halloween isn't that big of a deal in our house.  We don't decorate, make a spooky-themed breakfast, or let the kids stay up late organizing their candy.  I'm more of a Christmas enthusiast, I'd say.  I wish I was more into it seeing as how I've got two children and all.  But I'm not.  Maybe it's because none of our neighbors partake either.  That's gotta be what it is.  If THEY were doing it, then WE'D do it too...

We paint - not carve - pumpkins.  And we trick-or-treat.  That's about it. 

Davis wanted to be a vampire.  And I wanted him to look scary as sh*t. 

 

And Boogs chose to be a witch.  Pretty fitting for her this year, I'd say.  Too far? 

 

 

They got into character pretty early yesterday because my dad and Eve and Justin's mom wanted to see them before we started trick-or-treating.  Davis was out in the front yard, fully vamped-out, playing baseball by himself and 'rawr-ing' at every passing car.  And Reese was ready to get back in her regular clothes by 5:30.

We spent the evening with the Prices in their neighborhood.  Davis' opening line at most doors was, "I'm thirsty.  Do you have any blood?"  And he came up with that all by his little witty self. 

 

The kids got SO MUCH candy because we were one of only, like, four groups in the neighborhood.  I need to donate a ton of it since I'll end up being the one that eats most of it I've already eaten a disgustingly large portion of it. 

And this conversation really happened...

Davis: "Why was Jim barking at me?"
Me: "Because he didn't know who you were in your costume."
Davis: "Did I still have on the same underwear?  Yes.  So he has to know it was still just me."

He keeps me so happy.