grateful

this year i give thanks to much..

here are just a few in no particular order.

{my husband}

he is my best friend. i feel so grateful that i love his company above all. he is silly, and caring, and attentive and works so hard to provide everything for us.

{minie}

of course i am grateful for her.

she is my first born, my guide into motherhood. she pushes my buttons more than any other human being to date. but i adore her. i love that she is willing to try anything. she is quick to learn, and quick to please. i am so thankful for her laugh, and her silly games. as mad as i can be she always makes me smile... hearing "soowwy mama" from her lips is nothing short of perfect. she makes everything exciting in our lives, and my heart cannot hold the amount of love i have for her.

{poppy}

she is my sweet spot. i cannot think of her without feeling that familiar pang in my heart. she loves to be loved. she will melt in your arms... and she loves me. she always wants me. she's unhappy when i leave a room, and cries if i happen to walk past without picking her up. she is loud, and silly, and so independent. but she knows what she wants and she goes for it. i am so grateful for her coy little grin, and her sweet baby noises. she is what made us a family for real. my dark haired cherub. i will never go a day without thanking the Lord for giving you to me.

{my parents}

i am so grateful for the home they always provide. there are six of us.. yet i know we all feel individually loved and secure. no matter what, i always know where i've come from. my parents, whether sick or well, rich or poor. they are always there. their love is constant and reassuring. and in my lowest moments i know they are there. i know they will love me. and because of that, i know i will be okay.

i am grateful for them. grateful for their never ending service. and grateful for their example.

{seasons}

i may complain, but i love our state.

i love the changing of the seasons. i often try to pin-point my favorite but as soon as i decide upon one, the sticky summer air grows a chill, the leaves begin to change, and the whole process starts itself over again. i will never grow old of seeing the world around me change. every season i enjoy more. every season my children grow more, i fall a bit more in love more with my husband, or i make it through that incredibly difficult time... worn down, but just a little bit stronger. i can map my life through the seasons.. and every time a new one arrives i can't help the excitement of what it may hold.

{the gospel}

i am grateful for my Lord, Jesus Christ.

i have never questioned His existence. i feel His love... His sacrifice.. always. i know He is my redeemer. i know that through Him, anything is possible.

i know this.

and i am grateful.

i am thankful everyday for the opportunity i have to live with my family, with Him again.

{food}

i love to eat.

bottom line.

i am so grateful for food.

i love the smells. i love the way it looks. i like to cook it, i like to watch it being cooked,

and i looove. to. eat. it.

my perfect date is centered around a scrumptious full course meal, that took a good amount of time to ingest. couple that with my hubby right along side me.. well...

let's just say it happens enough for me to feel VERY blessed.

:)

{my sisters}

they are my best friends.

i talk to at least one of them everyday, and most normally all of them.

i am grateful for my unique relationship with each of them. i love when we get together and just laugh. i love that we know each other so well, that we can finish each others sentences. we know each others faults, and we accept them.. we laugh at them.. we love them.

i love being a mother with them. we are in the trenches together, and i couldn't do it without them.

{tv}

yes. i love tv.

i am grateful for it.

i am grateful for it's company on those late nights i can't sleep.

grateful for the quick moment it allows me to shower each day by entertaining my children.

that hour each night before bed... i love it. it is one thing i can count on to help me unwind, forget, and escape for a moment.

what can i do?

just accept it i guess.

{my camera}

i love my camera. through it i have seen so much.

it has forced me to stop in those silly moments and hold them still forever.

i love looking at the photos it produces. so many of the times i don't even realize i am capturing what i have. i love that it allows me to see the people i love in a different way. it documents my feelings so much better than i could ever dream of explaining.

it has given me confidence... made me feel like i can make a difference. has given me a way to feel like i contribute. it gives me a creative release. it has helped me be strong when i couldn't... when families hearts are broken, it has helped me to give them something they won't ever be able to replace.

i have so much to be thankful for...

my cup runneth over.

i hope your day is a happy one,

and that you all get that lovely turkey day nap.

:)

happy thanksgiving

my chicken soup

{minie and her dancin' bad self}

we've been sick this week.

and by we, i mean me. but let's be honest...

when mama ain't happy ain't nobody happy.

so really it might as well be all of us.

we've left the house once in the past four days, and the TV is now officially the 5th member of our family. Playhouse Disney has gotten us through many a rough hour.

thank you mickey mouse.

another new favorite past time for minie is watching herself on my phone. after seeing video after video of this darling first born,

i decided they were too cute to not share.

in my snarling, sniffling , hacking state these have made me smile.

i'm banking on this nastiness being gone by the weekend,

here's to hoping

{singing a little Taylor Swift}

*ps.

please pay no mind to my barking in the background.

5 days straight of having no voice is not as fun as one would think.

minie and the princesses

isn't she delicious?

i know it's a bit of a faux pas admitting those feelings publicly about your own children...

but it's true. she is darling

yes... insanely frustrating a good hunk of the time

but really, really cute.

Grandma Ali, or Braamaa (as minie likes to call her) took me and mins for a girl's date out to the "princess show" friday afternoon.

i saw an add for the Disney's Princesses on Ice and told Alice about it. she immediately bought tickets and a big girl's afternoon out was planned. poppy had to take one for the team this year. her little one year old self just couldn't handle 2+ hours of sitting still.

obviously, minie was enchanted.

she sat the whole production through with excited outbursts of joy. she simply loves the princesses. specifically Belle. Alice bought her this dress a while back, and well... Belle is just the cats meow in this little lady's eyes. in minie lingo she is "Beeyell".. and it's quite adorable. anything fancy is belle-esque. nice jewelry, a dress, sparkly shoes. she despised having earrings changed in ears up until about 2 weeks ago when i told her they were special belle earrings. she'll wear anything if she thinks belle approves.. so yes, you can't imagine all the belle accessories that have suddenly popped up into our life... forget santa.. if she does something naughty belle wouldn't approve of... well she might as well put herself in time-out.

my smoosh..

braamaa promised her any gift she wanted from the shops that lined the halls. there were princesses galore. shoes, tiaras, wands, cups, shirts, dolls.. anything frilly, sparkly and girly. however, after a 2 second glance to the darkest forgotten corner of the display minie saw and KNEW what she had to have.

beast.

yes, mangy, ugly beast.

there was no deterring.

who is this girl?

as soon as he was placed in her arms, she snuggled, loved and twirled him circles. she asks for him first thing in the morning, and loves to remove his cape and inform us all that he is then the "naked beast!!!" appropriate?? probably not..

the girl is maybe a little crazy.

sadly my camera wasn't aloud past the security gates entering the arena.

something about professional cameras and Disney's copyrights...

blah.

the show was actually quite entertaining.

definitely better than the circus.

really, when does Disney ever do wrong?

needless to say, it was a glorious afternoon.

times like these make me relish in the fact that i have daughters.

minie has asked every day since to go back to the princess show.

thanks again Grandma

:)

celebrating our poppy love

i'm still a little shocked she's one.

we had her one year well child check today

and i promise you

it was just last week she was a tiny newborn going in for bilirubin tests.

*sigh*...

on the up side of things she comes in perfectly average for all her measurements, and is a glowing, healthy, smooshy, busy busy 1 year old.

she's our right kind of perfect.

we enjoy her. i mean, really enjoy her.

if you can believe it i think deep down we are grasping at any babyhood that might be left in our small house,

and happily she is there to oblige all our needs.

sissy lou.. we love you.

i love throwing big birthday bashes. i just do.

they are lots of work, and yes i do realize the girls will probably never remember them.

but i like it.. and at the moment they seem to as well.

so.. yes. i'm done explaining myself to you all.

these pictures have no rhyme or reason. just my girl at her first birthday party...

presents,

singing,

food,

bouncing,

and

balloons..

oh my.

the prized gift.

conveniently minie has also acquired a whole new slew of toys.

it scares me a tad that at 1 and 2 they already scream {loudly} and scratch each other over who gets what when.

happy birthday poppy..

all over again.

xoxo my tiny stink

happy birthday

then...

now.

my poppy louise,

today you are one year old. you are the sweet spot of our family. no one can resist your crooked grin and sparkling eyes.

you are beautiful. every time we are out someone will stop us to tell us that. you bring so much joy to our lives... the first time i held you i was in awe. you looked nothing like i expected. you were foreign and i felt like i didn't know how to be your mom. but with you i grew. i have such a special love for you my baby girl. you demand my attention.. and i adore that. never have you been left in the background.. you have always made sure we know you are here. never has a baby cried so loud, so quick. miss zero to sixty. but we don't mind.. because the minute you are scooped up, you shower us with cuddles and coos and smiles. oh, miss louise. you melt us all.

your sister loves you most. when i see you two together, i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were always meant to be together. who was i to ever question having you so close? you live to see your minie every day, and she lives to see you.

you are a mover and a shaker.. you want to be in the thick of it all. holding still for a diaper change is something we have yet to witness. you can squirm out of any situation. you hate wearing bows and are constantly tugging at your hair. you giggle when i wrestle to put them in, and drop them to floor with a grin. you little stinker :)

i love being your mom. i love the peace you bring to our family. the beauty, the noise, the completeness. 1 year ago today it all began. it was a blink of an eye, a quick moment, and you were here. how a year has come some quickly i can't fathom.. i want to slow it down, and gobble up every millisecond i have with you. i know my life will always be bright with you in it.

i love you to the moon. thank you for coming to me.

happy birthday my baby girl.

xoxo,

mama

our halloween

was your halloween as grand as ours was this year?

i can't hardly believe it has already come and gone, and as i sit hear working my way through the girls candy bags

i feel a bit shell shocked really.

and not just because this season has flown by (which it has)

but because this whole YEAR has flown by. remember last year?

remember how i was hugely pregnant,

and minie was an only child dressed as an adorable piglet?

how on earth did she manage without her always there side-kick?

her partner in crime, her forever favorite clothing matcher?

it truly is quite unimaginable,

and we all couldn't be more grateful for our darling matching pair of purple kitties.

we spent our evening at the gregory's. our neighborhood is a little hit and miss seeing as we live in the more industrial side of town, so quite frankly their hood was perfect. their street was quite festively lined with trick-or-treaters, blow up ghosts, carved pumpkins, and of course our beloved greg's.

traditionally we trek it down to nannie's for the night for some tasty billie chili and a nannie spectacular halloween bash.

however, this year my mom was a lot under the weather due to unexpected knee surgery, so us kids had to fend for ourselves. it actually felt quite adultish, and a bit off seeing as it was the first time spending the holiday way from Hidden Oaks..

but we still managed quite nicely.

:)

here is minie giving you her best "meow cat" face.

i had a lot of fun getting their costumes ready this year.

minie was by my side every step of the way

and she has never been more excited to wear something.

let's face it..

she rocked the purple cat.

my sweetest kitty... miss poppy louise.

the trick-or-treaters.

minie was a star when it came to running from door to door.

when everyone else was ready to call it a night

she was still begging for more,

and was practically dragging her candy laden bag up and down the streets.

pops and grets.

they were both totally fine with their one sucker and leisure ride from house to house.

can't really say i blame them...

and then it got dark and cold and was time to call it a night.

i've said it before,

i'll say it again..

i love this holiday.

i love my kids for making it all fun again,

and i love having my family so close to celebrate it with.

happy halloween.