A Week of Thanks - Day 2

When I thought about doing this, I didn't really realize just how much I needed it. I had a really bad day today. And I really didn't want to sit down and think about 5 more things that I am thankful for, because frankly - I wasn't really in a "thankful" mood. But just sitting down and thinking really changed my attitude. So lesson learned - next time I am needing a pick-me-up - just think of all the things I am thankful for!!

I really had intentions of taking new pictures of all my thankful things, but that didn't happen today. Besides - it's been fun to go back through my old pictures!

#6 - Friends

Me & Michelle in Mexico (2003)

Near and far, old and new - I am so grateful for all of them! I've had some friends since high school, and some new ones that I've met in the past year, and they all really do mean so much to me. I am so thankful for all that they do for me and that they are all always there - whether it's for a shoulder to cry on or a friend to laugh with. I wish they all lived closer!!

#7 - The Beauty of the Earth

Early morning - Mt. Timpanogos

I consider myself very lucky to walk out to this view every morning. I've lived in Utah now for almost 12 years now, and I am still in awe of the mountains every time I look out. And I'm equally in awe when I go to the ocean. There are so many beautiful places on this earth, and I am so grateful that God created such an amazing place!

#8 - Those who have - and still are - sacrificing for us

Vietnam Vetrans Memorial Wall in Washington DC

I admire those who are so brave to fight for our rights and our freedoms. It is so sobering to me when I learn of and see things that people have had to go through so that we can have what we have today. One of the most sobering experiences of my life was on the D-day beaches in Normandy, France. Seeing the craters left from the bombs and weapons, and then moving over to the thousands of crosses for those who died. And I am so thankful for those that serve today and sacrifice so much for us.

#9 - Travel

Jamaica!! (2004)

I have been so lucky to have been able to travel to some amazing places. I have about 100 other places I'd love to go, and hopefully I'll be able to hit some of those on my list. But just having the opportunities I've had and continue to have is definitely something to be grateful for! There is just something about being able to visit a different environment and to experience new sights, sounds and tastes - it gives me such a rush! Whether close to home - like Vegas - or across the globe - like Paris, I love each location and can't wait to explore even more!

#10 - The love of cooking

Coconut Snowball Cupcakes

This one is both a curse and a blessing. I'm sure that if I didn't enjoy food so much, I'd probably not obsess about my weight so much, but food is just so good! I am so grateful that it is so fun for me to cook and bake. I know that for a lot of people, it is really a chore to get dinner on the table every night. But I love it!! And not only am I grateful that I enjoy cooking, but I'm also grateful for the means and resources to be able to cook and feed my family. That's something that I don't think of often, but I know a lot of people around the world don't have access to food like I do. And I'm so grateful for a family that also loves food - I think we will have more pies on Thursday than we are going to have people!!

A Week of Thanks - Day 1

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the food, but I especially love the opportunity we have to really reflect on what we are thankful for. And whether times are good or times are bad, I know that I can always find so many ways to count my blessings.

I had intended to post something everyday this month that I am thankful for, but seeing that the month is already almost over, and Thanksgiving day is almost upon us, I'll do a crash course this week, and post 5 things each day that I am thankful for. Some of them will be big, and some of them will be small. Because there are so many things to be thankful for!

We'll start with the big ones:

#1 - My Husband

Josh & I on our wedding day just over 4 years ago

We celebrated our 4th anniversary just a couple of weeks ago. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He tells me that he loves me multiple times a day, and I never realized how important that is in a relationship. In 4 short years, we have been through better and worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health - and we are still standing strong. I am so blessed to have this man in my life!

#2 - My Daughter

Abbi at about 7 months

Oh, how this little girl has changed our lives! I was laying on the floor tonight playing with her, and she was crawling all over me, laughing the whole time. I often find myself wondering how I lived before that laugh. Even on her worst days, I can still look down and her and my heart is filled with joy and love. She can always make me smile and gives meaning to my every day. I cannot imagine my life without her in it.

#3 - My Dog

Max when he was just a puppy

Ok, if you are not a dog person, this might not make sense. And 5 years ago, I might have made fun of someone who listed their dog as one of the things they are grateful for. But this little guy was our first child, and he will always be special to me. I love how excited he gets when you get home, even if you've only been gone for 10 minutes. I love how he loves to cuddle and how he keeps me warm in the winter. I love how he loves unconditionally. And I love how I can see him and Abbi becoming such good friends. I can tell there are lots of happy days with the two of them together in the future!

#4 - My Family

me & my sisters on my wedding day

I have the best family. They have stood by me through thick and thin, and have loved me and supported me even when I made decisions that they didn't agree with. My sisters are my best friends, are always there to give me advice, and are so much fun to be around. Every member of my family is such a good example to me, and I strive to be like them. And I've also been blessed with such great in-laws. They have always been there for us and have done so many things for us that I can't even count. I am a lucky girl!

#5 - A Passion

My beautiful niece Sydney - taken at a recent photo shoot

This might be a silly thing to add to the list, but until the last few years, I never really realized how important it is to have something that you are really passionate about. I have found that passion in photography. It is something that makes me excited, and brings something out in me. It is my escape, my way to keep myself sane. And I'm so grateful for those around me that have been so supportive.

I'll be back with 5 more tomorrow!!

Picture Catch Up

Wow - it's been a bit quiet around here. The funny thing is, after I caught up from Abbi's 9 months, then Halloween, I actually contemplated doing NaBloPoMo for November. Now the month is halfway over and I am finally posting! Good thing I decided against posting every day!

I don't really have anything big to even post about right now. But I have been trying to move all my photos off my computer onto an external hard drive, and I thought I'd share a few random pictures before I move them off and file them away.

No story for this one - just that I love my little girl and think she is the cutest thing EVER!!


Funny how playing in Max's toys is so much more entertaining than playing with her own toys. At first, I tried to keep her away from his toys, but it's just not happening. Besides, it keeps her occupied for quite some time!


Her other favorite game - playing in mommy's purse. She loves to pull everything out - one by one. Another game that keeps her occupied!


Just another shot of my cutie hanging out in her carseat while I was taking family pictures for my brother and his family.


A few from the family festivities before Halloween. We didn't carve pumpkins that night, but everyone else did. Abbi had fun just playing with the pumpkin. We also sang Happy Birthday to Kirra and Amy, and we ate WAY too much pie and cake!

Hopefully I'll be back to posting soon!!

Happy Halloween!

I was SO excited for Halloween this year - just for Abbi! I am extremely privileged to have a wonderful mother-in-law who sews beautiful things. Months before Halloween, Josh and I had already discussed what we wanted to dress Abbi up as for the holiday. Ever since she was born, we have nicknamed her "The Bug", so obviously, we wanted her to be a ladybug. We told my mother-in-law, and she really came through for us!! We had both looked online for some ideas, and both loved the idea of one that we saw with a tutu. But my MIL came up with the rest of the costume herself, and I couldn't have pictured a better costume. And surprisingly, the only thing Abbi tried to pull off was the hat!


We started off the day by going over to Josh's sister's house for lunch and for Abbi to get dressed up to show Josh's mom that all her hard work really paid off. We stuffed ourselves with tacos and Abbi had a wonderful time playing with her aunt and her cousin.


That night, we went down to my parent's house to show off her costume. I wasn't really planning on actually trick-or-treating because Abbi doesn't even eat candy, but we wanted to show people her costume because she was so stinkin' cute! One of my sisters - Janell - showed up with her husband and kids so we went with them around the cul-de-sac by my parent's house. We also saw my brother's wife and their kids as they came back from trick-or-treating. Then before heading home, we stopped by to visit my dad and brother, who unfortunately missed out on all the fun of the night because they had a deadline coming quickly for tile in my brother's new house.

(I tried to take a picture of the wings because they were amazing, but Abbi wasn't really cooperating!)

It was such a fun day - I can't wait until she is old enough to actually say "trick-or-treat!"

Pumpkin Patch

It's so funny, because even though Abbi is only 9 months and I know she won't remember any of this when she gets older, I was so excited for pumpkin shopping this year. It's just something that is not as fun when you don't have kids. And even though she might not be able to remember it, at least she'll have pictures of her first pumpkin patch!!

We originally went over to a "real" local pumpkin patch, where you can go and pick your own pumpkins off the vine and everything. But after realizing that you had to pay to get in plus for the pumpkin, we decided to go somewhere else. (They had all sorts of activities and things to do, so it made sense, but since Abbi is only 9 months old, we didn't really think she needed all the other activities! Maybe once she's a couple years older.)


We went just up the street to a little pumpkin patch. There were still lots of pumpkins to choose from! We had fun going around and picking out a pumpkin for each of us, and taking lots of pictures along the way.

And this is going to have to count for my "Mommy & Me" photo for October. I haven't been doing so well at that lately.
We had a fun time, and I think Abbi did too!

9 Months

I can't believe Abbi has already been with us as long as she was in my belly! She is getting so big, and doesn't even seem like a baby to me anymore. But it is getting to be so much fun - her little personality really is starting to shine through!

At 9 months, Abbi:

• is weighing in at 19 pounds, 10 ounces and is 28 1/2 inches tall. That puts her in the 65th percentile for weight and 85th for height.
• is moving around like crazy. I actually thought she'd be walking by now, but not yet. But she loves to stand, cruise and crawl, and does not like to sit still.
• hates laying on her back. I dread having to change her diaper or her clothes because it takes so long and we have to find ways to distract her!

• loves Max. 2 of her favorite games - playing keep away with Max and having someone hold her while running after Max. Both get giggles out of her every time! I can tell that Max loves playing with her as well (most of the time - as long as she isn't pulling his tail or his ears!)
• she loves to grab a hold of whatever she can get into her hands. It usually ends up being my hair or the skin on my neck and chest - both of which hurt terribly!
• has 3 teeth and 1 on the way. Her bottom 2 were already in, but she surprised us by getting one of the top side teeth! The other top side tooth is now coming in, so soon she will look like a jack-o-lantern.

• puts everything in her mouth - as shown in the picture above. At least she doesn't think everything tastes good! This is a time I am so grateful that I get to stay home with her everyday - I'd be terrified to leave her in daycare, putting everything in her mouth, with the swine flu running rampant!
• loves to eat. She is still nursing like a champ, but she really gets excited when it's time to eat her solids or snacks. Seriously - if I put her in her high chair and take more than 7 seconds to get her food to her, she will start to throw a fit! She's eating pretty much everything I give her these days, but she really loves her veggies. And Gerber puffs. And bananas.
  

• loves to imitate. She will usually cough if you cough, or laugh if you laugh. And it always makes me smile!
• knows the word "no", but mostly thinks it's funny. Anytime I tell her "no" and that she shouldn't be doing something, she'll look at me and start shaking her head back and forth and start laughing! She'll even start shaking her head before I tell her no if she is doing something she knows she is not supposed to do!
• can wave bye-bye, although she usually faces her hand towards herself!

• mostly just babbles, but we can sometimes get a "dada" out of her, but she has only said "mama" once. But she loves to talk, so I can tell that once she starts making sense of the words, she is really going to be a talker!
• is mostly sleeping through the night, although she doesn't usually last more than 10 hours. We had to let her cry it out, and unfortunately, it took much longer this time than it did the first time. But now she'll usually make it until around 5am without waking up. Too bad the dog still doesn't sleep through the night, otherwise, I might be able to say I'm sleeping all night, too!

I seriously can't believe how much joy this little girl brings into our lives. I cannot imagine life without her now. And I know as she gets older, it's just going to get better!

Wordless Wednesday - Before the Snow

(Yes, I know I said I'd have a real post up today I lied!)