Thankful Thoughts

I have thought over and over again about this post. In fact this isn't even the post I want to write, but I figured since Thursday is Thanksgiving, there is a lot I have to be thankful for. I have decided I am most thankful for my family, which was clearly heavenly sent. I have a mother and father who are loving, a brother who cares and is willing to give all he has to help someone in need (what an example he is). My husband, how did I get so lucky? He truly is my best friend.

I also am grateful for my two kids. Bradley is the most sweet and kind three year old. I watch my neighbor's daughter and if I can't get to her right away, he is there and telling her it's ok and I'm going to be right there. He found a picture of me in my early twenties tonight. He said, "It's mommy!" When I look at it, I see the difference years have made. Bradley didn't care. I told him he could have it and he decided where to hang it in his room.

Sweet little Amelia. How could I not be thankful for her. I had no idea having a little girl would be so much fun. Already she loves to dress up and play. She's great at sharing and gets into cuddly moments. My favorite is her "surprised" face. So much a favorite that we made it one of our pictures to put in our Christmas cards.

Growing up I always wanted a sister. I have been very close to some and have some of the best friends in the world. This past year I honestly feel like I have a sister and I am so grateful for this woman in my life. I have never thought of someone as a sister like I do her. She tells me when I'm wrong and she tells me when I'm right and one day I will write a post about her, but needless to say this woman is an inspiration to me, a motivation and family. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings so I won't reveal her name, and maybe she knows who she is and maybe not. Regardless to this woman all I can say is thank you for being my sister!

A Child of God

For those of you who do not know, I love to pray. I pray a lot. I always have a prayer in my heart, I pray before I go to sleep, I pray throughout the day. I definitely need to work on praying when I first wake up in the morning, but typically I'm getting mauled by my son or Amelia is crying and I'm going to her.

My son is a very inspirational little boy. He has learned to pray on his own and has had my husband and I pray before meals on his own accord. After our bedtime routine Bradley and I pray together. Last night my husband (who is Atheist) decided to kneel by the bed with us. I asked Bradley who he wanted to say the prayer.

"Daddy."

"Ummm...Daddy doesn't do the prayer thing," Chris confessed.

Bradley then sat up in his bed and got face to face, more like nose to nose, with Chris and said, "You say it Daddy."

So Chris prayed. It was simple and childlike, but Bradley was very pleased. Later I thanked my husband for participating when he didn't have to. He said he didn't mind and Bradley made him laugh. I hope for more nights where Chris will listen to our prayers or will say one. It brings a whole new element of attractiveness to him.

Bradley is a very inspired little boy. He knows when to pray, he enjoys church and he LOVES reading my scriptures, which really involves him opening them up and saying, "WOW!" He will do this page by page. I am so fortunate to have a three year old who is so close to our Heavenly Father and LISTENS to him.

The veil between children, especially little children, is thinner then what it is for us and for that reason I am eternally grateful. When I say veil, I mean before we came to this earth we lived with our Father in Heaven in what was called the pre-mortal existence. We chose to come to this earth to be tried, tested, gain bodies and become more like Him. When we came to this earth, a veil was placed over us and we don't remember our pre-mortal existence. You can learn more about it and why we are on this earth here. Because of this knowledge I KNOW I am a child of God and He loves me. He loves each and every one of us.

Many people feel or believe that you cannot get answers to prayers, but that is not the case. Prayers are answered. We are all children of Heavenly Father and he hears our prayers. He loves us and he wants to help us, we just have to let Him in. I get answers to my prayers all the time, it may not be the answer I want but it is an answer, which in turn encourages me to pray more. We just have to be open and listen to that still small voice.

Trick or Treat?

Halloween is a favorite of ours. This year Bradley chose to be Buzz Lightyear and Amelia was a lamb. I can't believe it's her first Halloween! It feels like she should have already had one under her belt but it wasn't the case.

Every year at our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, you can find out more about what we believe here. Anyway in the Rome Ward, it is tradition that there is a trunk or treat. It's when everyone decorates the trunks of their vehicles and distributes candy to the kids that come. I have no idea if other wards/branches do it but Rome does. This happens to be Chris's favorite event, other then the occasional pot luck he attends. Chris is atheist so to have him attend any sort of church function is a BIG deal. I LOVE he is so supportive of our little family and participates in things that are important to us.

Anyway we decorated our trunk and sure enough we got hit with our small group of children, over and over again until all the candy was gone or nearly so. We also got hit with the camera. I knew I should have worn make up but ran out of time to throw something on. Prior to the Trunk or Treat there was a mummy wrap, donut eating contest, cookie decorating, sack races and an egg race, as well as a "fishing" game.


Neither Bradley nor Amelia made it home without falling asleep. We ended up letting them sleep in their costumes, minus the head gear. Chris woke up with Amelia in the middle of the night and left with a smile on his face because she was "a little lamb chop, sleeping in her bed."

The day following the Trunk or Treat, Bradley had a Halloween party at his preschool. The kids all gathered together for a group picture, then headed out of the classroom for a "parade" throughout the building. Bradley LOVES attending school and he has a great class.



Bradley is in the front row here. Bradley did tell me, while wearing the costume that he was Buzz Lightyear. When I asked where Bradley was, he said, "Bradley's over there," as he pointed to a random wall in our house. Let's just say he likes to be "in character" this Halloween season.



This is my proud little man walking in the parade at school. Such a happy kid and he came home with A LOT of treats that day.


Halloween night was my favorite. We were going to do trick or treating for our family home evening but Chris sprained his ankle so it was all up to me. I had both kids and a stroller. We went to my cousin's housing development and enjoyed the nice little walk. EVERY driveway we left Bradley and I yelled, "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!" Amelia kept pulling off her head gear, but turns out it kept covering her eyes. Once we realized this, she was fine with it. It was the PERFECT night to go trick or treating, it was warm and just a joy with my kids. I love my little family so much. I am very fortunate to have two great kids and a wonderful husband. I couldn't ask for a better family.