Thankful For...

During all the chaos and cooking, and cleaning, and chatting with wonderful people, and wiping and changing messy kids I try to think of a few things that I am grateful for, and every year my list is the same. It is the people most dear in my life and the moments that we share together that make my "every day" so great.

1. I am thankful for Garrett and what an incredible person he is. In sister Hinkley's book Small and Simple Things she has this to say:

"Try, as husbands and wives, not to be too demanding of one another. There must be a little give and take, a great deal of flexibility, and a fierce loyalty to make a home.

In our relationship Garrett does the giving and little of the taking. He is never demanding and ALWAYS patient. I am truly blessed to have you as my best friend, and hope that I do not widdle your patience too thin. (hehe)!

2. I am thankful for sweet little Gavin who knows how to make others smile and is always full of Joy. He is a simple boy and needs nothing more than loving people surrounding him at all times. And maybe a stick or something to swing around.

(Not much right)?

He has a heart that makes any mother melt (Especially me) and a peace about him that make our home feel full.

3. I am thankful for my Vibrant Peanut who knows exactly what she wants and how she wants it done. She is definitely a first born child and Carry's the specific traits that go along with that (Independent, bossy, decisive, helper) and I am glad that she was my first. She is my little helper in all that I do, she had great ideas and never backs down from something she desires. She can play for hours by herself and never gets bored of it (see below). She is sweet and loving and cares about every ones feelings. She thinks that when I say "Keep an eye on Gavin for a moment" it means: Get him in a head lock and then sit on him until mom returns. Thank goodness Gavin thinks it is pretty funny, seeing that he is bigger than she is.

Princess Kenedy in all her glory!

Kenedy's creative imagination coming out as she makes her Gingerbread house all by herself!!!!!

Just one of her MANY tieing adventures with whatever she can find around the house. I wish my camera had better zoom so you could see the detailed knots and all the material that went into making this work.
This activity is a daily ritual and at the end of the evening it takes me nearly 30 minutes to untie and untangle EVERYTHING!

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4. I am thankful for my family and my in-laws for all that they do for us. How much they worry about us, and for how deeply they love my children. I am grateful for having two families that I can turn to for anything.

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My family at the Messiah sing- a-long.

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5. I am grateful for the Lord and his trusting me to bring another special baby into this world (July 2009). I feel that I am my "best" person when I am being a Mother. I feel like this is "MY" thing. I may not always be the World's greatest mother, or the most patient but I do feel that I am the happiest when I am taking care of these incredibly special kiddos. And I love the way my home feels when there is lots of little feet and voices running around, even if the house is a disaster. So we look forward to the upcoming year and all the excitement it has to bring. (I have a sister who just had a baby, and three more sisters expecting in the spring) so there is going to be LOTS of memorable and crazy moments to come.
As this year comes to an end I will continue to be reminded of things big and small that I am grateful for and I hope to make a note of it, but the things that I have listed are a constant blessing in my life and I hope that I may never take these people for granted.