thanksgiving 2011 highlights:

cooking cooking cooking

10 lbs of the creamiest potatoes you've ever tasted

Mimi's stuffing success

pushing strollers all over the house

little girls giggling

7 pies- including the most delicious pumpkin pie i've ever tasted, the most delicious apple pie i've ever tasted, and of course the famous razzleberry pie that makes all my dreams come true with every bite

50 buttery rolls

the most gorgeous turkey i've ever seen (and delicious, too. even though i tend to think turkey is weird and only eat it on thanksgiving)

the most beautiful table settings / fall decor

black friday shopping (at 3 am, with M. we are such weirdos!)

perfect weather

lovely morning runs on the beach

digging in the sand

cutest cousins playing non-stop with minimal fighting

sweetest sleeping Ruth

talking and laughing and poking fun at each other (dry cups vs liquid cups)

lots of playing outside

running and splashing in the ocean

a perfect beach sunset

time flying by

thanks Mom & Pops for such a memorable week.

and now, i can't believe the holidays are here. i'm sitting here sniffling and coughing my guts out- but i have christmas music blasting, so all is right in the world. i adore Christmas time. who doesn't? can't wait to get our tree and dress her up tonight!

xoxo

gratitude snippets: day 4.

this morning i should probably write about something profound that i am grateful for- seeing that it is the actual thanksgiving day.

but really my mind just keeps thinking about how grateful I am for morning runs on the beach (they are my happy place)...

and all the delicious food i get to eat today- including homemade pies and rolls... all of which i will shamelessly indulge in, to 100% capacity, with zero guilt, thanks to said run.

oh, and sharing the beach run my people was pretty awesome too.

hope you get to enjoy a delicious thanksgiving with some of your awesome people, too.

happy thanksgiving from so cal!

xoxo

gratitude snippets: day 3

today i am grateful for road trips.


i am grateful for these long car-rides that always involve some combination of the following: watching beautiful sunrises, singing songs, playing games, watching movies, eating treats and snacks, taking lots of potty breaks, stopping at farms, reading books, talking, crying, sleeping with a crink in your neck, yummy drinks, a massive amount of bedhead, and...the promise of ending up somewhere pretty cool.















so excited to be spending thanksgiving with my family- i even get to meet my new niece, Ruth! i'm so excited, i can't stand it.

Ellie was up at three am at my bedside telling me it was time to go. needless to say, she is pretty excited too.

hope you get to spend the holiday with people you love!

xoxo

gratitude snippets: day 2

today i am grateful for my body.

there are lots of random thoughts i've had about it this morning. sure, it is ever-changing and ever-aging these days. it does not look like it did when i was 18. i have stretch-marks, blemishes, scars, and flabby skin in unflattering places. i have gimpy fingers, and i bruise wayyy more easily than i used to. my once perky boobs are now deflated and small. and if i'm being honest, i feel like i am always determined to exercise more and eat right-er to lose that infamous last 5 (or 10) pounds. but my body is wonderful. some reasons why:

i can go on a run pretty much whenever i want (well, when my kids cooperate). i am no professional, marathon runner- but i love going on runs. they are my holy place. and i am so grateful for my healthy knees, my strong heart, and my willing feet that can carry me through this hobby.

somehow, my body created and delivered 2 healthy babies. this thought never ceases to amaze me. i cannot believe that our bodies can perform such a miracle. and every time i really look into the eyes of my little girls, i remember what a huge blessing it is that my body could do that.

now that my babies aren't so young, i often get a full-nights' sleep. i know some peoples' bodies don't allow them to do this. i am a very grouchy person when i am sleep-deprived, and so i am so grateful for the many nights of rest that my body (and my girls) allow me to get.

amazingly, i have been able to nurse both babies as long as i wanted to. but truth-be-told, i am also grateful to be done nursing and to get my body back (hallelujah!) just last Friday (a little more than a week ago), Alice had her last feeding. i admit, i was the one who needed to be weaned, not Alice. you see, she's become such a wiggly, active thing...she's just much too busy for me and my snuggles anymore...and i was too stubborn to give them up. until finally i did, and now i am doing a happy dance. unfortunately my boobs were weaned along with Alice (meaning, they are shriveled little grapes...not even big enough to be called raisins)- but it is so wonderful to now not have someone needing some part of my body multiple times a day. i am also grateful to not be ravenously hungry like i was when i was nursing. and i am grateful to be able to wear a big push-up bra (without worrying it will punch alice in the face while feeding) to cover-up the effects of 2 children. because even though i am grateful for my body, it doesn't mean i am not well-aware of its flaws.

xoxo

gratitude snippets: day 1

day 1:

tonight i am grateful for family home evening.

{photo taken by Harlow Photography}

now before i go into any more detail i must confess: we have a history of being HORRIBLE at holding regular family nights. M and i would go on little kicks of "trying to be better"- but i honestly think that up until a couple of months ago, the longest we ever went was 2 consecutive weeks of FHE. (tail between the legs). we have no good excuse, seeing that both of us were brought up by awesomely goodly parents who taught us better than that and did hold regular family nights. but for some reason it just didn't click with us and we consistently fell short. i admit that it might have had something to do with me not wanting yet another thing to have to plan and be in charge of and nag about (Debbie downer, i know). and that's the truth of it all in a shelled nut. we used to be crappy FHE-ers.

well, a couple of months ago, i had an epiphany that i was not excluded from our prophet's counsel to have family nights. I decided that i was being a lazy-butthead, and our family could really benefit from gospel-centered lessons. we needed some good family time. and we needed to teach more about Jesus and the stories from the scriptures, rather than just assuming the girls would be fine and learn it eventually.

so we started having family night. we started with coming up with Family Rules. and one of them was to have family night every week. we haven't missed since. it makes me feel so happy to type that.

Alice loves it. she squeals and dances and marches around the whole time. Ellie loves it! she loves the scriptures. she loves singing the songs. she loves our special treats that we only get on Monday nights.


she even mimics FHE on other nights and pretends to give us lessons and do activities.

i feel a little ashamed by my lack of faith and obedience in following the little things -- specifically in having family night -- because for us it has turned into such a big thing- such an incredible blessing. sure, the lessons are usually simple, and we get easily side-tracked...but i promise, our family has already grown closer and created new memories...and its only been a couple of months! and i guess i realize that in not having FHE, we were just withholding blessings from ourselves. which is silly, no?


so tonight, i'm grateful for FHE. and hope we keep it a family tradition forever and ever.

xoxo

a thankful thursday

a few weeks ago, my little family had pictures taken by the wonderfully talented Denae Harlow.
i wanted to wait to post any pictures, since i obviously will use one or two of them in a Christmas card that i'll be sending out- and i didn't want to ruin the surprise.

but i just couldn't wait...
i love them too much.

the more i look at the pictures, the more my heart is filled with love and gratitude for these 3 adorable people who have filled my life with so much meaning and purpose.
we've had some situations surrounding us in the last little while that have just really made me look at my own little family and just be so grateful for the blessings that somehow are mine. how did i get so lucky? i can't quite be sure. all i know is that 10 years ago, i dreamed of a handsome husband who'd love me and be kind to me. i dreamed of having kids and being a mom. i dreamed of being happy.
i'm a definite believer that dreams can and do come true, even in unexpected, unplanned ways.
i love this quote by Camilla Kimball, one of the sweetest most genuine ladies to ever live (not that i know her personally or anything- just by stories i've heard of her, and stories i've read of hers):

"you do not find the happy life. you make it."

i think it's true. you can't always go looking for something bigger and better than what or where you are. it kind of reminds me of the thought "the grass is always greener on the other side..." but what i think is it may be greener over there, but that doesn't mean your grass isn't green, so make the best of it, right? at least your grass isn't brown! but then again, i think sometimes, for whatever reason, the happy life finds you. and really, i feel like the happy life has found me. sure, sometimes things are topsy turvy. Ellie cries about nonsensical things, and Alice hangs on my leg while i pee, and M decides to fix a fence 10 minutes before we need to leave somewhere... but my life is full. full of love. full of smiles. full of memories and bruises on our foreheads. full of tears, of both heartaches and joy.

and so today, i am grateful. most grateful for these wonderful people that i get to share the happy life with. because it wouldn't be that without them.

 {p.s. my mutant finger made a surprise appearance! i tried to disguise that poor pinky with finger-nail polish...but how can you disguise a mutant?? you can't. poor guy.}

{all images were taken by Harlow Photography c/o Denae Harlow. she's awesome, huh?}

life is good.

xoxo