THANKFUL

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We have had a fun few days so far, with celebrations on both sides of our family where we left with tired kids and FULL stomachs!!  But even more so, thankful hearts.  We are counting our blessings for our amazing family and thankful for the time that we get to spend together and that we are all in KC!  Just thought I would do some reflecting on some things I am thankful for today...using the letters of the word thankful.  Cheesy, but a nice reflection time for me!

T - The roof over our heads and the means to provide for our family and help others.  While Jimmy can sometimes call me a Grinch (I'm really not!), we are so thankful to be able to give back through adopting family's and kid's in our areas to provide them with toys, clothes and presents that everyone deserves this holiday season.  We had fun with the kids last weekend shopping at the Target 30% off toys sale and picking up toys for the kiddos that we adopted from their school.  While it was not easy saying "nope, this is not for you" 40 times to each Maddie and Charlie, it's important to us to teach them giving to others is so important.  I am thankful that our financial situation gives us the ability to do these things for others and give back.

H - Having family and friends close by!  While we do have some family that lives out of state, we are so thankful for having our immediate family's in Kansas City and that we are blessed to spend time with them on this holiday and regularly during the year!  I do love a good road trip, but they are far less fun with three kids 4 and under! (and missing my sister on the actual Thanksgiving day celebrations - but thankful she and her husband will be in town for Christmas!)

A - All the BABIES.  Yes, I'm so thankful for Mikey, but also all the babies that we have welcomed into the world this year through family and friends.  We have a new nephew, Jay, my cousin had her little girl, Brooklyn, and we have had many dear friends welcome babies this year as well (a few had twins!).  We are thankful for these adorable babies that are coming into this world and pray for their continued health!!!

N - Nice weather.  Oh my goodness.  We have been completely spoiled this fall.  To say that we are at the end of November and have yet to break out the legit heavy coats is amazing!  I'm sure we will be paying for it in January/February - but for now, I'm soaking in that nicer days this fall meant for more time outside as a family and {maybe} less sickness!!

K - Kids.  I'm thankful for me kids so much.  DUH, right?  But the most thing I'm thankful for about them, besides their good health, is just the love that they have for each other.  After having Maddie and seeing how she and Charlie interacted and grew to love each other, I was more than excited to welcome Mikey into our crew and see how he fit in.  Needless to say, he fits in just perfectly and they LOVE him.  I really don't think there is anything in the world that makes me more happy than seeing the moments when they are thoughtful and sweet to each other.  I mean do they fight - YES.  It's ridiculous.  But those sweet moments make up for all of it - watching these sibling relationships develop is something I will always treasure as a mom.

F - Fun.  Is this weird?  Well - can I tell you that I feel like a different mom/person since I had Mikey.  I can't quite pinpoint the reason, but I'm more relaxed and easy going (I mean I'm still pretty uptight, let's be real - but not as much!).  I've let things go - like my house being clean all the time, the laundry being folded, kids being dressed cute - and I'm having so much more fun.  Having fun when you're supposed to have fun, but also at times I least expect.  Times when I need it the most and when my family needs it the most.  Random dance parties, sitting to play with my kids, snuggling with them in bed...I'm trying to be more present and more aware.  Time flies so fast.  But I'm having more fun and I love it.  And maybe, just maybe, Jimmy will revoke my nickname he has for me as "fun hater" :)

U - Us - meaning Jimmy and I.  I'm thankful for this guy.  For how our relationship has grown and continues to change and evolve.  Three kids, four and under is NOT easy.  But there is absolutely no one in the world I would rather do this with.  Are there times when we hate each other?  Absolutely (like how he somehow sleeps through ALL three kids waking up at night sometimes!)!!  But at the end of the day, he's my partner in crime and I'm so thankful that eleven years ago we fell in love and talked about one day getting married and having some kids.  I'm darn thankful that God helped make that dream come true.

L - Life and the freedom we have in the United States.  This November (and leading up to it) has just been crazy with the election and the results.  I know there are so many that are so unhappy and I'm just not quite sure what to think.  But no matter the results, what I am thankful for is the life I live here in the US and the freedom I have.  That I don't live in a city that is full of war on a daily basis.  That I don't have to be worried about my kids getting shot when they are outside playing.  That I'm not worried of going somewhere and could get bombed.  I know that sounds extreme, but the reality is that there are mom's somewhere across the globe that are worrying about that everyday and the lives of their kids and family's.  We will see what happens from a political standpoint here in good old America, but I'm thankful that I'm a citizen of the United States.

There you have it friends - getting all deep for you on Thanksgiving.  It's nice to sit down and really think about what I truly am thankful for - things big and small.  Hoping you are able to take time to spend with your family today and this weekend.  Get some good Black Friday deals, but remember all the truly important things in your lives!

Here are my turkey's and I on Thanksgiving at my parent's house :)

Thankful - ROYALS WIN!

It's November 2 now and I'm going to participate in the 30 days of thanks sponsored by Skinny Mom because you know what - we all have at LEAST 30 things to be thankful for!

Instead of posting on Instagram every day, I'm planning on doing a weekly summary with some pictures.  But for now, I'll start with what I'm thankful for on November 1 and November 2!

November 1:

I'm thankful for the KC Royals WORLD SERIES WIN!

Yes, you read that right.  In case you were living under a rock....the Royals beat the Mets in a crazy (as usual) game on Sunday night that we tied in the 9th inning and then completely dominated in the 12th inning.  Holy freaking cow.  Amazing!  

The last time this happened?   I was TWO MONTHS OLD!  Yep, it was 30 years ago!

While I'm not thankful for the lack of sleep these boys in blue have caused the entire city this post season, I couldn't be more thrilled and thankful for the way we have seen this city come together around this incredible team.  But most of all, for the downright joy this has brought my husband.  Jimmy is SO passionate about his sports teams.  Like to a fault in my mind because when they lose it takes him like weeks to shake it.  He's loyal the core and has always been to the KC Royals - through all the years they were downright horrible.  He would drag me out to the K and we'd by the $7 tickets and sit in the outfield on a Sunday afternoon regularly.  It's in his blood this team.

He was over the moon last night.  Literally.  It just makes me happy - everything about it.

Including this shirt I told him to buy me... :)

Source

November 2:

To tag onto the above, I'm thankful for a husband that encourages me to do fun and crazy things, even though I might not want to. 

There is a World Series parade in downtown KC tomorrow durign the day.  I should be at work (I have PLENTY to do), but Jimmy said no matter what he wanted to take a least Charlie to the parade.  Because it really could be a once in a lifetime thing.  He went in 1985 with his family and there is a picture of him (around Maddie's age) that he just loves so much of him in a stroller eating a handful of raisins.  So guess what?  I asked for the day off and we are taking the whole fam (along with the ENTIRE city it feels like - pretty much every school district canceled school - CRAZY!) to the parade.  Crowds and waiting are not my thing in general...add having a 1 and 3 year old to that and yeah - totally not my thing.  But you know what?  I'm so excited.  The adrenaline when you are at something like that doesn't compare.  Since we didn't get to go to a World Series game at the K this year like we did a few times last year, it's the least that I can do - and we are going to have a BLAST!

Here is what the streets looked like during the 1985 parade:

And one just for fun of Jimmy and I at a Royals game earlier this year....

So what are you thankful for as we enter into November?

Join the Skinny Mom Challenge for 30 days of THANKS!  #30daysofthanks

A thankful five on Friday

Well - I've blogged every night this week about my London adventures, so wanted to focus on all the things that I'm very thankful for this week!

The last few weeks some things have happened that have really made me thankful for the friends and family and wonderful support system I have.  Even though it was nothing that directly affected me, there are some things that just make you realize how blessed you are, right?  So in the spirit of that - Five things that I'm thankful for right now!

 

Join the link up too with Darci, April, Natasha and Christina.

{ONE}

My family.

Being away from them all this week made me realize how thankful I am that we all live in the same area (and so close) and how nice that is to have that support and love so close to home!

On Saturday, when I left, Jimmy and Charlie went over to his parents house to enjoy the beautiful weather and play with his cousins.  How great it has to have built in friends like that!  They are all such wonderful little people that Jimmy and I have loved watching grow up and now we love watching them play with our son!!

My parents were also there to help out and invited Jimmy and Charlie over for dinner on Wednesday night.  While I mentioned it made me homesick face timing with them all, it also made me realize how lucky we are to have them all so close and that they can go pick up Charlie early from school to give him a few hours of fun "riding the bike" and playing "pinball" with Nana and Papa!

{TWO}

My friends.

Oh jeez.  I don't even know where to start.

I am thankful for all our friends.

My long-time friends from elementary school that our time together is approaching over 20 years as friends.  Thinking of all the things we have been through together all this time and how wonderful it is to still have those constant people.

My husband's friends that I now am lucky enough to call my friends.  He sure picked some good people to run along with in high school.  From the guys, to the girls, to the spouses that all those people have picked - it has been such a blessing seeing their support and love for us over the years and I have loved how my friendships with them have grown enough that they now can call or text or email me.  I love that.

My college friends.  Wow.  These past weeks have truly shown me who strong our bonds are.  I will say our bonds of wine and silver blue because we are Pi Phis and that is where we all met.  But while that's where we started - it's something more than that.  Much more and much bigger.  It's unbelievable to me how we have people scattered all over the country and how we still band together when one of us needs support - during the good times and the bad.  I am so so thankful for these strong, fun, hilarious, loyal and gorgeous women that I was lucky enough to be sorority sisters with.

{THREE}

I am thankful for our jobs.

I know this might seem like a weird thing to be thankful for, but in all honesty, when you both work outside the home 40 hours or so a week + travel time, it says a lot when you are both happy.  I mean a lot.  I would say that my life has changed for the better in many ways with the recent job change.  And it's so nice to see how that has transformed our life at home as a family.

We eat dinner together (that is not dinner that ALWAYS only required 5 minutes to be cooked) and we have time to play at night before we put Charlie to bed.  We don't come home totally stressed out or sit on our phones or computers all night working.  While we might not be the richest people in the world, Jimmy and I are on the same page that money isn't everything.  And we have learned that money won't always make you happy.  It's the life you live and the people you surround yourself and also the work you do, whether you are paid for that or not.

So yes, I'm thankful for our wonderful jobs that provide us the income for all the things we want and need but also that they also keep us happy (for the most part!).

{FOUR}

I'm thankful for our church.

Lucky for us, we didn't have to switch churches when we moved about 25-30 minutes away from ours.  It is a big church in Kansas City and has multiple campuses, which one of those just happens to be 5 minutes for our house.  While we were hesitant to try it out, as we knew it would be different going to the smaller campus versus the main one, we have been so happy.  And we are actually really enjoying the smaller church atmosphere a lot.

We have already met some great people, Charlie is doing great in the nursery during the service (which he wasn't at first, but now that he knows the girls there, he loves them) and we are slowly but surely starting to get more involved in classes, groups, etc.  I'm so excited to start the Alpha Marriage class that they are offering on Friday nights this next Friday.  We did Alpha together before we got engaged (or maybe married? I cannot remember), but this is different in that you sit at a table with just your spouse and eat dinner while listening to a speaker and then have time after the speaker to talk, ask each other questions (with I believe some fun prompts) and get some quality time together.

When I saw this class advertised, I knew we had to do it.  Every parent knows how hard it is to get a good date night in and when you do, you realize how long it's been just the two of you and find yourself wondering when the last time was you had a really good talk (or is that just us?!).  So I cannot wait to have some good time alone with Jimmy and some great conversations.  Just what we need as our life is about to get a lot more crazy with baby girl on her way!

{FIVE}

I'm thankful for Jesus and this time of Lent and Easter.

Easter is that holiday where even if you don't go to church regularly, you are likely to go on Easter Sunday.  And of all the days of the year, I would say it's one of my favorites to go to and hear all about Jesus and his resurrection.  Thinking about the ultimate sacrifice that God made of watching your own son hang on the cross for the forgiveness of all our sins.  Yep, that's pretty amazing.

So yeah, I'm thankful for God and Jesus and the wonderful feeling I have of knowing there is a heaven and that no matter what, in good times and bad, He is always with me making sure I know that eventually it will be all right.


What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving (with a fun video)

With the Carter Thanksgiving celebration last night and my family's today - I'm conjuring up lots of memories from just a year ago when I found out that Charlie would be a part of our lives - what a day that was.  And oh so much has changed and we have so incredibly much to be thankful for.  We are thankful for our health (and health of our families and friends), our wonderful families that we get to see so often, our friends, our jobs, the roof over our head...and the list could go on and on really.  So many things to be thankful for.

One of the main things we are thankful for this Thanksgiving and looking back over this past year?  Yep, you guessed it.  That would be Charlie.  So thankful for the healthy and good pregnancy I had and the great labor that brought this little man into our worlds.  We are so thankful that he is happy, healthy, funny, smiley and just so cute you cannot help but fall in love with him over and over again.  And while I like him just the way he is, I am thankful that he's growing and is a big, strong boy.  Yes, like I said...so so many things to be thankful for this year.  We are counting our blessings and saying our prayers.

Speaking of this growing boy...while he's been rolling over a few times, it's definitely now very consistent.  Consistent enough that I finally got a video of it!!  Yeah!  I just love how he looks so surprised after he does it.  So fun to watch him grow!



Wishing you and your families a very happy and wonderful Thanksgiving!!!   Here's to the start of a great holiday season of fun and joy to everyone!

Dating my boyfriend

Are you confused by this title?  Well, it's really dating my husband.  My husband Jimmy.  But here's a few things that I'm starting to realize as each day, week, month, year so quickly passes of being married.  Not so much "advice" just thing that we have found we have to make sure we do:

1. You have to date keep dating each other - just like you did when you were boyfriend and girlfriend.

September 2005 - Brooks and Dunn concert

Hanging out in Manhattan in September 2005

Valentine's Dinner (met in Topeka) 2007

When you first start to date someone it is SO fun.  Remember when you first meet someone or remember when you met your significant other (or spouse)?  Think about some of your first dates.  Oh.my.gosh. I mean for most of us we are talking head over heels.  I remember Jimmy and I went to a movie called "Must love dogs" as our like second date.  Then we drove ALL around Kansas City until like 1AM talking about things.  Just because we liked each other so much we didn't want the night to end.  I wanted to know everything about him.  And he wanted to know everything about me.  Never a dull moment.  Smiling ALL the time.  And when we kissed goodbye, all I could think about when I was walking to the door was about the next time I was going to get to see him again.  It makes my stomach flutter and my heart happy just typing about it.  Those dates set the foundation for what is now our marriage 6 years later.  Those first dates for anyone - whether you married them or not - are just so dang exciting.  And what made them so exciting was the anticipation, the unknown and the desire to either continue to get to know that person or to run away from that person as fast as you can (trust me....I had a few of those in my dating days).  So guess what?  I truly believe you have to work to recreate those dates and moment even X number of years later.  And I mean dates.  Like you dress up, go out to dinner and talk to each other.  I try not to be cell phone couple (even though Jimmy will say that I'm addicted to facebook on my phone) when we are one dates because I try my best to revert back to that 19 or 20 year old girl when I first met Jimmy.  We stole the surprise date night idea from a friend I work with and really - it was one of the best things that happened to us.  Even though we have been majorly slacking in it lately (even this weekend I chose to go hang out with our nieces and nephews and forgo the surprise date night on Saturday...), I do think they are super fun and important.  Even trying to incorporate it into Jimmy's Christmas present this year....but you get the picture.  Go on dates.  Have fun.  Pretend you are not adults, you don't have the 17,000 responsibilities and worries and concerns that are going through your head each day.  It's worth the effort.  And the smiles.

2. You have to work hard at being married. And sometimes it's hard...

Yep, this face says it all.

This statement is so interesting to me.  When you get engaged - you hear this statement from the brutally honest people, but also the people that love you most.  They congratulate you and tell you how incredibly happy they are for you.  And then they take a look at their spouse across the room and give them a little eye roll (a fun eye roll, but yet still an eye roll.  Aren't sure what this looks like?  Just ask my husband or really probably lots of people's husbands) because they know.  They know it's different when you are married.  I'm not sure exactly what it is that is different (lots of things are different when after you say the I do's), but it's like you enter this "married club" and all of a sudden after a few years, months, weeks, or even hours (haha), you seem to get it.  You get it that sometimes you drive each other absolutely insane.  Sometimes you feel like that person is doing (or not doing) everything they can just to make you want to scream.  Sometimes you feel like you want to wring their neck because you are supposed to be living this life and maintaining your household together - but one too many times you feel like it's just you doing it or they feel like it's just them (yes, I admit that it does go both ways).  And all of a sudden you realize what everyone was talking about.  Like how about 3 weeks after we got married and Jimmy had finished moving in and we felt more settled, that was the moment that I got sad because I felt like I "saw" him less now even though we lived together.   I mean literally it was the weirdest thing ever.  What am I talking about that I see him less?  We just got married, we freaking live in the same house now...we are together ALL.THE.TIME.  But guess what?  What was missing was that QUALITY time.  That time that when you aren't together all the time you spend texting each other, talking on the phone about how each other's days were or going on dates and staring into each others eyes (you know you love that part).  So there, I admitted it.  Two weeks into marriage - we were already doing an abrupt change.  I wasn't about to let us get "comfortable"...let alone just come home EVERY night and retreat to separate rooms to watch separate TVs (now if you for one second think that doesn't happen at least once or twice a week in our house, you're wrong....because it does and it feels so darn good to sit...what I was trying to say that it's not allowed EVERY night.  Because I like to talk to my husband and watch TV or movies with him or spend time with him every now and then....). Long story short, it's important to recognize that it's not always easy and not beat yourself up for not being perfect.  Life is that cool that you can realize what is going on and redirect in a blink of an eye.

3.....and sometimes it's so darn wonderful that you can't stand it.

There are moments.  It's as if time stops and you never want that moment to end.  In the beginning of a relationship it can be that first time that your significant other picks hanging out with you over going out with his/her friends (which I thought was a huge deal because who wants to just stay in when you're in college?!?!).  Or when you get in a big fight and you are an hour apart and he drives that hour on a weeknight at 9PM even though you insist you won't see him because you have class at 8AM.  But he still comes even if he gets to see you for 10 minutes to talk in person - because he wants you to know that he cares.  And you still to this day swear that might have been the moment you looked back on and realized that he was "the one" because you were worth that 10 minutes to him then and you always will be.  The moments that he introduces you to his family for the first time (and how nervous you were) and the moments now when you are with that family and feel like life wouldn't be complete without his family (now yours too) in your life.  I could go on and on and on.  I really could.  

Here's a few "on and on": How nervous and handsome he looked when he asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.  When he tried to put my wedding ring on the wrong ring finger in our wedding ceremony and I couldn't stop laughing.  Knocking our first wall our in our house together - having no idea what we were getting ourselves into.  The date nights out.  The date nights in.  Hanging out with old friends, making new friends and laughing with all of them.  When things get hard and you start to cry and you know that you look ugly crying - but all he's thinking about is how upset he is that you are crying.  The look on his face when you say you love him more than anyone else ever.  The weird language you have created with each other that other people need a dictionary to interpret.  Watching him play with his nieces and nephews and imagining the day when he's a father to your children.  Talking about the fact that your future children could quite possibly have bright red, curly hair with glasses and braces - and smiling thinking about how your personalities will come out in them.  Going to church together and praying together.  And kissing goodnight.  Every night.  With each other. 

Yes, you have to keep dating all the time.  Married or not married, keep making sure that every once and a while you go back to the way you felt on your first couple of dates.  That feeling that you couldn't get enough of.  Remember why you fell in love.  No it's not going to be easy to be married.  But guess what?  In my opinion...it's worth every up and down, smile and tear that come along with the ride.  So this month of thanksgiving and every month after - I am going to remember to be thankful for my husband that I really love - even the moments when I might not like him very much (dirty dishes and laundry will do that to anyone....) - and make sure to revert back to circa 2005 every once and a while.  But also remember that we can have that same spark in 2011, 2012 and ON and ON and ON...

Baseball game in Oklahoma (summer 2006)!

Christmas Dinner 2005 

Royal's game in 2006

Summer trip to OKC in 2006

Christmas dinner 2006

Jimmy's 22nd birthday (2006)

Senior year date party - 80s theme (2007) 

My 21st birthday - wow.

Date party 2006

Condo kisses 2008

P.S. Where did my desire to post this come from?  Check out this blog and read about her marriage story.  I stumbled upon this and found it to be an interesting story about marriage and how they continue to work through their issues to make their marriage whole again.  And reminded myself to be thankful for my husband and continue to work on our marriage each and everyday.

So thankful

Now I know this is November and the month that the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving occurs which really starts people thinking about everything they are thankful for.  I would attempt to post something I'm thankful for everyday but the reality is (a) I usually never have time to blog everyday - ever.  If I post 2 or 3 days in a row that usually means that I wrote all those posts in one setting and just set them to post on different days to trick you... or (b) I would never even cover in 30 days all the things that I'm thankful for.

However, I will tell you that I'm blogging right now about all the things I'm thankful for as this wonderful, amazing, so-needed weekend is about to come to an end.  I think I list will do on this one.

I'm thankful that ~

~ I got to spend time 3 HOURS with 2 of my best friends from when I was just a little kid on Friday night (Katie and Lauren).  Drinking wine, eating food and most importantly, catching up and having oh-so-real conversations that you just need to have with your best friends that will always listen, never judge, tell you like it is and love you no matter what.  So thankful for best friends ~

~ I got to SLEEP IN until 10AM - yep, you read that right - 10AM on Saturday morning (of course minus the 5AM dog wake up and feeding, but hey, that's life).  I honestly do not remember the last time we got to sleep in with nothing to do, nothing planned or no where to be on a Saturday morning.  It was heavenly to catch up on sleep and have some Saturday morning snuggle time with the husband and 3 pups.  So thankful for rest and relaxation - even in small doses ~

~I got to have lunch with Emily and celebrate the news that she and her fiance Jeff are going to welcome a little baby BOY (Jackson Dale) into the world this March!!  I loved picking out a onesie for him that says "My middle name is handsome" and looking at the adorable baby Gap clothes that they bought right after they found out it was a boy.  Such a blessing for both of them and can't wait for his arrival.  It also helped that there was again, those much needed friend conversations, lots of laughter and at the heart of it all - a throw back to the college days.  BWW (aka Buffalo Wild Wings).  Now a Saturday lunch couldn't get any better - wait yes it could!!  If only Vanessa would have been there and hadn't gotten so sick last week and had to stay in Houston.  I think we talked for 10 minutes about how sad we were that she couldn't make it back to KC that weekend.  I know she was beyond sad, but we missed her still at lunch and pretty much everyday because I wish she lived 6 blocks from me again!  So thankful for best friends and wonderful life events ~

~ I got to spend Saturday night with some great friends from work to celebrate a baby that will arrive for my co-worker and his wife in February!  Great to hang out with some great work folks and meet some new people.  While I was there, Jimmy was holding up our original commitment that evening at the St. Joe yearly auction to raise money for the school.   His mom is the principal there and we usually go every year, but since this baby shower came up, we had to split time.  I was so sad to miss out, but I know Jimmy had a great time with his family and Mike was a great stand in date...so thankful for new friends and new family ~

~ Sunday.  Wow.  I'm pretty sure it has been the most fabulous Sunday in a long time.  Up at 7AM, breakfast with Jimmy at FirstWatch (the Bacado omelet and coffee....yep, could get used to that everyday), and topped it off with an amazing church service and sermon on the key to happiness - yep I took notes.  Then Jimmy became my "personal trainer" and we lifted  weights together.  So hilarious but fun - especially when he commented that he has "nice shoulders" that he's never seen before.  Then a day of picking up leaves (Jimmy) and cooking, laundry and homework (me).  Topped off with delicious potato soup and watching Bridesmaids.  So thankful for a peaceful day ~

Most of all in this post, I thankful for my husband.  This weekend was exactly what I needed after a not-so-great week.  What I most needed and am most thankful for?  After I had my breakdown - literal breakdown - on Saturday afternoon, Jimmy listened to me, said nice things to make me feel better and guess what else?  He signed us up for dance lessons - starting tomorrow night!  Haha, well see how that goes.  

Overall?  So thankful.  Very blessed.  Excited for all the fun things to come!  Hope you had a great weekend!!!