Well it has been way to long but I want to take a moment to recap what I am thankful for this season. This year for Thanksgiving with all the holiday chaos we ended up having a holiday COMPLETELY alone. I was alittle in shock at first … what a holiday with no running around, no time crunch, unhappy people for some reason or another… NOPE!?!?! The Jenkins had a schedule problem with shopping, naps, and bedtimes so my Sis and family hosted our parents and we stayed home. The Reseighs all went to Jason's Brothers house along with her family, looked like it turned out well.
As for us…. we woke up to a very quiet house, packed up the boys, dressed warm, grabbed some hot chocolate/coffee and donuts and went to the Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was the BEST idea ever! Yes a little cold but we did it and those smiles on the boys faces made it well worth the frostbite toes (they thawed eventually). Stinker saw his PAWS, Paws, Paws… he also was a big fan of the huge Balloons when they would fly over his head. Sport jammed to the bands and loved the entire thing. With our strategic planning we ended up getting in and out of the parade with no traffic. We got home in plenty of time to begin the food prep and relax. Dinner turned out PERFECT… of course tons of leftovers, but that is what Thanksgiving is all about isn’t it? By 5:00 they food was put away, the boys were in PJs and relaxing and I was prepping for my Black Friday chaos. I met up with my Mom and Sister at Toy R us at 7:30 and we went full force until 5am…took a power nap and went back out with the crazies by 8am until 2pm! LOVE IT!
Thankful Recap Top 10 List:
· Top priority my amazing, charming, irreplaceable boys (all 3) my life would not be possible or complete without them.
· A secure job for Hubby and I. We are both budget people that love to plan ahead for our dreams and make them possible BUT within reason. We are so thankful to have secure jobs we both enjoy that make those dreams come true.
· Friends – You win some you lose some. Life really does put you through some interesting obstacles that you just can never plan for. We are so thankful for our great friends/family that REALLY has stuck by our side, offered help in some way, and pushed us along. We know who they are and we would do anything for them as well.
· Sports – I know, I know why, in the world why I admit this?!?! But, its true sports is in our everyday life and I am so thankful for that. Whether it is us all being physical or watching together; it keeps us out of the scary bad things that can surround us and keeps us safe and healthy (that’s my deep thinking going to work).
· Faith – We are so thankful to find St. John Vianney a very welcoming church and family that does not judge our life, our past or even our current choices. We go in there and have a safe place to pray, reflect, and think. Im not a fan of the music program but you can’t have it all and I don’t go to church for music. I go there to reconnect and chat with God and thank goodness he has created this place for us to all feel we can go there when needed.
· Organization – haha that’s silly… NO not really! I am so thankful for the lifestyle my parents instilled in me to be organized and a planner. With a 7yr age gap, husband with an impossible work schedule, and sports/hobbies my planning has kept us together to still accomplish things together and make our time together the best all the time.
· Food – of course having daily meals seems silly but no not really… there are people out there that don’t receive a meal left alone 3 a day AND a snack. We are thankful to have these tasty meals and at times at creativity and fun to them.
· Shelter – So what if our basement was under water for the 3rd THIS YEAR… my boys still have beds, we have clothes, and we have great neighbors. I’ve always liked water… I prefer it by my boat NOT in my basement but yet again…. You have to really pick what is important and what isn’t.
· Learning/School/Tranning – The statement “You learn something new everyday” is very true and we are so thankful for that. I love that Jason and I can share our trainings we have with eachother and use what we learned into our everyday life with the boys. It's even better when Sport learns at school and can come home and teach us!!! And Stinker well…. We learn from him that everything in life can be funny in the mind of a 2yr old… he has taught us that speaking doesn’t necessarily come easy. For example some of his common words “Excuse me = Monkeys” “Baseball = Muckmall” “Rosie = Arrf Arff” “Popsicle = Popabuck”.
· Life - Life each day to the fullest….another statement that is often forgotten but shouldn’t be. Today is a gift that’s why the call it the present. Recently Jason and I have had to go through many unexpected deaths of some very young people…why, how, who… none of it matters it’s the fact that it happens and we need to appreciate all the days and time we have together!
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| Stinker and Daddy watching the Parade from their "special" spot... Standing ontop of a fire hydrant! This dedicated Daddy balanced the whole time for a good view for the little one. |
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| Baby Blue Eyes waiting patiently for his PAWS at the parade. |
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| Cooking time my little Chef. Sport made his very own "Pumpkinly Speciality" ... It was GREAT!!! |
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| Stinker's first Thanksgiving meal he had enough teeth to eat and enjoy. |
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| Handsome boy made friends at the parade (of course). They had a great time watching all together. |
