Giving Thanks: The Spur of the Moment

This week, I've been really thinking about what I'm most thankful for, and I realized, again, that I am so thankful for spur of the moment things...things that don't take a lot of planning...little things that just happen or fall into place. Last week, Steve threw a rake in the back of the car, we both picked up the girls from daycare, and we headed to a local park to jump in the leaves. It wasn't planned and we weren't really dressed for it. If you look closely, Ellie is wearing a nightgown and a pair of dress shoes (which she calls tap dance shoes). It was "crazy day" at her daycare, and that's what she wanted to wear. But here's the important part...some of the very best moments just happen at the spur of the moment. Note: If you look closely in the picture above, Kate is trying to stuff the leaves into her pocket. She wanted to take them home with her. My sweet little girl is a hoarder, I'm afraid, and may one day be featured on a TLC documentary. Ha! Gotta love that girl!The next day, we decided that we needed a bigger pile of leaves. So we headed to my parents house, raked their front yard, and jumped in the leaves for over an hour. This time, the girls didn't get to have all the fun. They had to share the leaf pile with us!
Note: I'm sure that my butt did get off the ground a little more than pictured above (I mean, I was a cheerleader with a seriously mean toe touch back in the day). I think Steve just didn't capture me at the peak of my jump. Let's blame it on his photography skills (or lack thereof), shall we?



Look at those smiles. That's what I'm most thankful for!

And I'm also thankful that Steve has a job with great hours that allow him to be home with us more than a lot of other dads/husbands. I take it for granted that Steve will be home by 4:30 p.m. each day (and some days, when I'm home with two screaming, crying, cranky kids, it feels like 4:30 p.m. cannot come soon enough). But I know that there are many women who wait until much, much later in the evening to see their husbands. I take it for granted that Steve never travels for work and that he rarely gets called in late at night. Without his great work schedule, I know that a lot of the spur of the moment, fun things that we do just wouldn't happen. And so his schedule is definitely something that I am thankful for this year!

Fall Fun

After a recent family photo shoot at my brother's house, the girls got to play in the leaves and bounce on the trampoline...all at the same time. Kate would like to move in, because their house is so much more fun than ours! Here are some random pictures from that day...

Halloween: A Recap

After reading my last post, I realized that it provided an incomplete account of our trick-or-treat night festivities. Don't get me wrong...it was perfect, but it wasn't without some drama and a few tears. Here's a quick recap:

Perfect Tinkerbell Costume bought on ebay didn't arrive in time.
I cried.
Kate told me it was going to be okay.
I asked her if she wanted to be a princess.
She said "Nope. I'm going to be Tinkerbell."
Obviously, she's either very optimistic...or clueless. I think its the later.
Steve picked up woodland fairy costume on his way home from work.
I vetoed it...UGLY!
I stopped crying briefly to call my neighbor.
Miracle of all Miracles...she has a Tinkerbell Costume in Kate's size.
It was green and it passed Kate's "twirl test."
Drama Over.

Did I mention that Kate LOVED her costume? Loved it!

Then this little frog arrived (AKA, Baby Blake) for his first night of Trick-or-Treating

He thought he was big stuff and he kept smiling this huge grin every time I looked at him!

And we're off...

Here's proof of how happy I was...

And Ellie was pretty happy, too...

Trick-or Treat (or Tick or Teet as Ellie says).

Finally...checking out the goods.

Yes...there was drama. But it was still perfect.

A Dream Come True...

Five years ago, Steve and I drove through our small town, watching all the little trick-or-treaters out our car window. It is a moment I will never forget. Neither one of us said anything. I silently wiped away the tears that were streaming down my face, and Steve held my hand a little tighter than normal. I had just had my second miscarriage that August and we had officially been trying to have a baby for over two years at that point. Even though there was no known reason why we couldn't get pregnant (or stay pregnant), our doctor had suggested just weeks before that we try Invitro (IVF). Anyone who has ever struggled with infertility knows how difficult it is to believe that you actually need to do IVF. It feels like a last resort...the end of the line. We were overwhelmed and scared. And watching those sweet little trick-or-treaters skip and twirl and run down the street just reminded us of what we didn't have...what we feared we may never have. And I can't tell you how desperately we wanted to walk down those streets with a little princess or batman, firefighter or fairy. I wanted it so much. I remember pleading with God that night, begging for the chance to trick-or-treat with my own sweet children someday.

This week, on a beautiful fall evening exactly five years after that sad night, I watched again, as two sweet little girls skipped and twirled and ran down the street, their wings flapping in the breeze. But this time, they were my girls - the children I had prayed for and pleaded God to send me. I know that five years ago when I was crying and sad, God already saw this day...this perfect day. He already knew how happy I would be. He already knew the blessings that were in store for Steve and I. And they are truly the most amazing blessings.


I have a lot more photos to share, but these are just two of my favorites. They seem kind of "dream like" and they remind me of my dreams from five years ago. But to be honest, even in my dreams I never thought I would be so happy to be their mother!

Fall Decor

When I was little, I remember how excited I was each year when I got off the bus and saw our front window decorated for Halloween (or Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day). My mom used to decorate the house while I was in school and then hang a few decorations on the front window. It was so fun to come inside and know that our home was ready to welcome the season. So... in the spirit of tradition (and trying to live up to my mom), I decided to spend a few minutes decorating the house for Halloween / Fall before I picked up the girls from daycare yesterday. They loved it and were so excited. Kate took Ellie on a tour of the place, searching for pumpkins all over the house. She kept saying, "Come on Ellie...let's find more pumpkins." Ellie just yelled "Pumpins" and followed Kate obediently. I hope the girls will look back and remember the excitement of fall, and I hope they will have cozy memories of their home all decked out for the season!

Ellie is very attached to this pumpkin!

P.S. Did you notice my auction cabinet in the first photo? I found a place for it. I think I'll paint it white after Halloween so that it matches the cabinet (which Steve made and isn't very proud of, by the way). What do you think?