Day 1......... 30 Days of THANKFUL COUNTDOWN......

 

JUST SO THANKFUL FOR MY FAMILY!

Day 2.....

THANKFUL FOR GAMES!

ALL KINDS OF GAMES!

THEY MAKE YOU LAUGH,

THEY MAKE YOU THINK,

THEY MAKE YOU COME OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE,

THEY HELP YOU SOCIALIZE,
YOU CAN SEE EVERYONE'S "TRUE COLORS"
COMPETIVENESS COMES OUT!
I'M THANKFUL FOR THE TIME WE SPEND PLAYING GAMES

Day 3.....

My Thoughts have been on Coleman this past week.

He is finishing Boot camp in Missouri.

He graduates December 15th.

He was up for the top award..."Distinguished Scholar Award"

They picked the top 2 guys in each group which

consisted of 160.  Out of 3 patrols of 160, the top 2 competed this past

Tuesday.

Coleman missed it by 1 point!

He's still just as awesome

to all of us and we

all know how hard he has worked!

He did come in first in the Board of Review

which to me would have been the hardest competition!

&

The 3.2 mile run carrying 50lbs of weight

Anna & Coleman

Coleman & Grandma Lama

Only a few weeks left and he'll be back to work in Vegas.

It's been a long 5 months.

Thankful for our oldest son Coleman

Day 4.....

SO THANKFUL FOR ANNA'S TRIP HOME

SHE HAS BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS TRIP

SINCE WE MOVED HERE TO AUSTIN IN JUNE.

IT WAS ALL SHE WANTED IT TO BE.

TIME SPENT WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS.

THANKS TO ALL

WHO MADE

IT

SPECIAL FOR HER.

THANKS TALLY FOR DRIVING HER EVERYWHERE!

Day 5.....

I WAS THANKFUL FOR BAILEY'S COURAGE TODAY!

THERE WERE SEAGULLS EVERYWHERE ON THE BEACH

JUST WAITING & HOOVERING OVER ANYONE

WITH FOOD!

WE HAD SOME EXTRA BREAD THAT I GAVE TO

THE BOYS.  WE TOLD THEM TO RUN DOWN THE BEACH

BEFORE THEY GAVE IT TO THOSE CRAZY BIRDS.

CHRISTIAN WAS A LITTLE FREAKED OUT BUT BAILEY

SAID HE'D DO IT!

HE STARTED TO RUN WITH THE BREAD AND THE BIRDS WERE

INCHES ABOVE HIM!

CHASING HIM!

IT WAS SO! FUNNY!

NOT FOR HIM I'M SURE.

HE FINALLY DROPPED THE BREAD!

FREEDOM........!

THANKFUL FOR BAILEY'S COURAGE

TO GIVE US A GREAT LAUGH

Day 6.....

SO THANKFUL FOR BEAUTIFUL PLACES

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX.

IT WAS ABSOLUTLY BEAUTIFUL

&

WE ARE JUST 5 HOURS AWAY!



Day 7.....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FROM SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX.

IT'S BEEN ONE OF THE WEIRDEST THANKSGIVINGS EVER!

JUST GARY & I & THE LITTLE BOYS!

WE REALLY MISSED ALL OF OUR FAMILY.

THE ANNUAL FOOTBALL GAME

COOKING TOGETHER

SITTING TOGETHER

EATING TOGETHER

LAUGHING TOGETHER

PRAYING TOGETHER

&

JUST BEING TOGETHER.

BUT I AM THANKFUL FOR OUR LITTLE FAMILY TODAY



Day 8.....

So Thankful for cell-phones!

What did we ever do without them?

We can call our kids whenever we want to talk with them.

They can call us!

Oh the blessings of modern day technology.

DAY 9.....

THANKFUL

FOR.....

DOWN-TIME

Time to relax & play!

 Time to have fun & be creative!

 

Today is one of those days and I love it.  All I really have to do today is gather stuff for South Padre and pack a few things for our little adventure to the coast for Thanksgiving.

Let me tell you how weird it feels to be going on a little trip with only two kids!  Not only that.........but not being with all of our family for Thanksgiving.

 

DOWN-TIME

EVERYONE NEEDS IT

DAY 10.....

I'M SO THANKFUL FOR ALL OF MY CHILDREN'S

FRIENDS!

THEY HAVE BLESSED OUR HOME

AND WE LOVE THEM ALL!

MACEY & KATHY AT HER BAPTISM

ANNA, KARLI, ASH, MICHELLE

STUART, BRAD, COURT

TALLY & CHEL

CHRISTIAN, ETHAN B., ETHAN A., BAILEY

DAY 11.....

SO THANKFUL FOR COOLER WEATHER!  IT HAS BEEN A LONG HOT SUMMER AND IT IS FINALLY COOLING DOWN JUST A BIT.

I AM ALWAYS READY FOR THE SEASON CHANGES.  IN THE FALL, I CAN'T WAIT TO GET UNDER WARM BLANKETS AND WEAR ALL OF MY WARM SWEATERS AND LONG SOCKS.  BUT THEN IN MARCH, I'M REALLY READY FOR SOME WARM WEATHER TO PLANT FLOWERS AND GO TO THE POOL.

IT'S PERFECT HERE IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW!

SO THANKFUL!

Day 12.....

THANKFUL

FOR

CHILDRENS BOOKS!

I THINK I COULD SPEND HOURS

LOOKING A CHILDREN'S

BOOKS!

WE LOVE OUR NIGHTLY READING TIME

AND DID I MENTION THAT BAILEY IS BECOMING A GREAT READER?

THANKS TO HIS AWESOME TEACHERS

@ ELM GROVE

Day 13.....

Today I'm Thankful for Anna who has benn so

patiently waiting to fly back to Vegas

to see all of her wonderful friends

and family members.

She will get to stay for 8 days!

She'll just float from one

home to another spending much needed time

with wonderful people who

love  her.
Brad just returned from his mission to Perth, Australia
so they should all have a great
time at Dale & Laurie's
It will probably be the weirdest
Thanksgiving we have ever had!

Day 14.....

I'm thankful for

PINTEREST

(a great website full of wonderful ideas)

Christian has to take the snack for his class tomorrow, so I was checking on pinterest for a fun Thanksgiving idea that we could do together.

This is our little version of an idea we had found........

THEY ARE LITTLE THANKSGIVING INDIANS

FULL OF CANDY!

THEY WERE REALLY EASY TO MAKE

I JUST CUT OUT CIRCLES FROM A ROLL OF CRAFT PAPER

SEWED AROUND THE OUTSIDE, LEAVING A 1" SPACE

TO PUT THE CANDY IN.

THEN I FILLED IT UP, STUCK THREE LITTLE FEATHERS IN THE OPENING,

STAPLED THEM & THE OPENING SHUT

THEN HOT-GLUED SOME GOOGLY EYES ON AND DREW

A HEADBAND AND A SMILE.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A LITTLE TURKEY IF YOU ONLY HAD TO DO 6 OR 7.

BUT DOING 22, WE TRIED TO MAKE IT EASIER

THUS, THE INDIAN!

THANKFUL FOR PINTEREST!



Day 15.....

I'm Thankful for approaching holidays

It's November 16th and time to be getting out all the Christmas stuff. 

 Not putting it up yet, just getting ready!!!!

Last year I found some awesome 75% off deals. 

What's even more awesome is that I had forgotten about them!

So............

When I looked in this one box, It was like an early Christmas present!

GREAT STUFF for a GREAT PRICE at that.

It was so exciting.  I look forward to next week when I have a whole day

to decorate the house and make it feel all Chritmasy and wonderful.

I will put on my new CD by Jim Brickman,

light my gingerbread candle,

and make some magic!

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS

                                                                     hOllY

Day 16.....

Since this is the THANKFUL month and I've been thinking about all the things I'm thankful for, I decided to send my kids who are not living with us each a special card titled............

"10 Things I Love about You"

It's been hard not being able to see them as often as we used to.  I still think about them, worry about them, & pray for them often.  I have a desire to leave them "part of me" as life seems to pass quickly.

My testimony, my thoughts, my feelings, my loves, my talents etc.

I hope they save what's important to them but mostly I hope they all remember how much I have loved being their mother.

Day 17.....

I'm thankful for yummy fruit!

One of my favorite foods

Day 18.....

I'm Thankful for.....

The Power of Fasting & Prayer

Miracles can happen and testimonies can be strengthened

Revelation is active and hearts are softened

I
Really
Love
The Blessings that come through
Fasting & Prayer

Day 19.....

I'm thankful for service opportunities

SERVICE MAKES YOU HAPPY

SERVICE HELPS YOU FORGET YOUR OWN TRIALS

SERVICE IS ADDICTIVE

SERVICE CAN BE HARD

SERVICE USUALLY COMES WHEN YOU HAVE OTHER PLANS

SERVICE BLESSES YOUR LIFE

SERVICE BLESSES THE LIVES OF THOSE YOU SERVE

SERVICE MAKES YOU FEEL JOYFUL

SERVICE HAS NO TIME FRAME

SERVICE IS A COMMANDMENT

SERVICE = LOVE

Day 20.....

I'm thankful for.......

BAILEY

Who turned

"10"

Today
11-11-11

He is.....

KIND

FUNNY

SMART

ATHLETIC

FULL OF ENERGY

OBEDIENT

HUNGRY

&

GROWING DAILY

HE IS A WONDERFUL GIFT TO OUR FAMILY

AND

WE LOVE HIM TONS!