Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year Thanksgiving was quite different for us.  It was quiet and understated, and just perfect.  Normally, we have lots of family or friends for dinner.  It's usually a hectic day, and at some point I freak out and get overwhelmed, usually with some tears.  This year, I cooked Thanksgiving dinner in my pajama bottoms, blue flannel with snowflakes on them.  Everyone hung out and relaxed, the kids and I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade all the way through and LIVE.  Football was on the rest of the day.  Jon got to take a nap, Joe finished painting his volcano, and Jocelyn wrote a mystery novel.

Later, Joe set the table and it looked just lovely.  He also helped me put all the food on the table.  At dinner, we all talked about what we are thankful for.  Joe was thankful for his family and friends.  Joci was thankful for the whole world.  I was thankful for a husband that works hard to provide for his family, and for children that are so awesome.  Jon was thankful for the food on the table, the roof over our heads and his family.  We all agreed we were thankful for our Jarvis who, in turn, was thankful for all the turkey he got!  We are so blessed.

I did miss my family and thought about Dad a lot.  He would have liked to have had ham, and we didn't, we stuck with turkey this year.  Although, I made a booboo and forgot to take out the neck giblets, oops.

After all that, and to my grateful heart, Jon and the kids cleared the table and did the dishes, while I changed out the laundry.  Then we all gathered and watched Cause for Paws and talked about how happy we were that we rescued Jarvis.

It was the most chill Thanksgiving we have ever had and I really loved every minute of it.  So chill, in fact, that I didn't get any pictures, oh well.  I'll share these pictures, though, of last year's Thanksgiving.  I didn't blog about it as it was right after Dad passed and I was not in the mood for blogging.  But we did have a lovely Thanksgiving all together, which he would have really loved.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving as well.

Thanksgiving, 2014

Gratitude Assignment

I am grateful for my family. I am the luckiest person in the world to have the most amazing kids, they are beautiful both inside and out. I am grateful that my soon-to-be five-year-old still loves to cuddle with me, and loves to hear me tell him his special story of when he was born again and again. I am grateful that my daughter has an iron will that will serve her well when she is older. I am grateful that she finds joy in the most mundane of things and that she is a ‘little mommy’ at heart and that she lets me try fun new hairstyles with her beautiful hair.

I am grateful that I am married to a man that likes to cook and likes to surprise me with little gestures and gifts all the time. I am grateful that he is a good Dad and that he loves our children.

I am grateful that I have two awesome parents and that they are still alive to spoil their grandchildren rotten. I am grateful for all the help that they provide us, and that they really enjoy spending time with us.

I am grateful that I have a job, even though it is very stressful right now. I know that there are many, many people affected by our nation’s current economic crisis with lost jobs and worse, and so I am grateful that I have a steady income that I can depend on. I am also grateful that my boss allows me to work from home on Fridays so that I can spend more time with my kids and also save some $$$ on babysitter costs.

I am grateful that I am a fairly creative person, and that I have a space all to myself that I can get creative in. I am also grateful that I am able to share so much with all of you, thanks to the internet and all of our technological advances of late.

I am grateful that my friends appreciate me for me, and that I do not have to put on a show for them.

I am grateful that I have become more wise the older I get and that one of the many lessons that I have learned is how to be at peace with my messy house. Ü

Wow, there is so, so much more that I could add to this, it makes me feel great that I took the time to jot just this down. You should try it, too, it really boosts your mood.

Go to http://www.operationnice.com/ for more information. I love this website, and I hope you will too!