Daniel's 3rd birthday

Today is Daniel's 3rd birthday. Wow. No exclamation mark, just Wow. It's so hard to believe that less than three short years ago we started the journey of parenting. Wow. Amazing.

Here are some photos of the happy party. Daniel got some fun new toys, we had some great friends and family over to help celebrate, and everyone had a good time.
The family

I'm three!

One of his new toys

The jungle birthday cake

Cute shoes you can win!

Head on over to Dexter's Super Savvy Mommy to see a great chance to win some darling shoes for your little one. You are supposed to pick two pair that you would like to win, in case one is sold out. I had the hardest time just picking two pair - they are all so cute. So head over and try to win a pair yourself - or just do some shopping!

Thankfulness Day 13

I am very thankful for my dear friend Brenda - what a blessing to my life she is! Brenda and I met in college, and have been great friends ever since. During my time in the hospital, she came over and spent numerous nights at our house so she could be there for the kids when James needed to be at the hospital. The kids just love Auntie Brenda! She was a lifesaver for our family! I couldn't ask for a better friend - and not just because of what she did recently. She has always been there for me, in good times and bad - laughing with me, crying with me, praying with me and for me, getting into mischief with me! I love you Brenda! Thank you for everything!

Thankfulness Day 12

My Great Grandma - Gram as she is known around here - is a huge blessing to our whole family! Ever since we have brought the kids home, she has been right there, eager and willing to babysit any time, for any length of time, that I need her. The kids absolutely love her, and get so excited when she comes over. She always has little treats and presents for them - isn't that what grandmas do? - and isn't afraid to get down on the floor and play with them. And she does all this at the ripe age of 80 - can you even believe it? I can only pray that at her age I have as much energy as she does! Please add her to your prayer list, though, as she goes in for surgery in January to deal with an aortic aneurysm that she has had for a few years now. The doctors finally feel that surgery is necessary, so she goes in sometime in January to have a stent placed in her heart. Please pray that everything goes well. I am so thankful to have her in our lives!

Thankfulness Day 11

You know, I realized after reading over my entries, that I have neglected to post my thankfulness for three little people that mean the world to me - my children! Oh, how I am thankful for them! They bring a whole new dimension to my life - full of laughter and joy. Now mind you, my children are far from perfect little angel children - they have their moments of whining, crying and temper tantrums! Our days are not filled with butterflies and lollipops! But they are normal everyday children, doing normal everyday things, and sometimes causing me to just stop and wonder how I got so darn lucky! I love my children, and I so enjoy watching them grow and learn and explore. They make me laugh constantly, and scream occassionally! But I wouldn't trade them for anything. Oh Lord - I'm so glad you knew what you were doing when you gifted us with these children! And sometimes I wish You had provided a how-to manual to go with them!

Thankfulness Day 10

OK - I am thankful for something kind of silly today. I am thankful for warm, sunny, 70 degree weather! I know, I know - it's been more of 32 degree weather lately - which is EXACTLY why I am thankful for WARM weather!! Trying to get three children bundled up to head out of the house in the morning for preschool drop-off is a nightmare lately! First, the bundling, then the inevitable diaper change after bundling, then the re-bundling, then the complaints that the car is cold, then trying to get car seats buckled around winter coats, then scraping the windows.....do you see where I am going here? I am SO SO SO thankful for our summertime warm weather, when I can, for the most part, just throw the kids in the car and go!

Great Christmas Idea

I just found a fantastic idea for Christmas - actually, the whole month of December - that I am going to start. It is the 25 books of Christmas. This family collects Christmas books for their kids, and now have almost 25. The will read a different one each night of December up to Christmas. Then the books get put away and saved for the next year. What a great way to celebrate each night before bed!Here is a link to the blog post so you can see for yourself - she's got some great photos to illusrate it! The Christmas Books. And when you are done reading her post about books, click on her banner, and you'll go back to her blog homepage. And then settle in with a cup of coffee and a notebook to write ideas - she has tons of them! Have fun!

Thankfulness Day 9

I am so thankful for my husband! He works hard every day to provide for our family so I can stay home with the kids. He is completely involved with the kids, participating in every aspect of their lives. We've been married for almost 15 years, and I've always known what a rock he was, but it was very evident this month when I was in the hospital. He juggled the kids, the house, and spending time with me in the hospital. He makes me laugh, and knows how to be goofy (something I need to learn how to do!). Helps with household chores, and doesn't consider staying home with the kids as babysitting! He is definitely the love of my life, and I so appreciate him!

Thankfulness Day 8

When I started this project, I thought - 21 days of Thankfulness - that should be easy. And yet, although I am thankful for so much, it is hard to put into words something different every day. It really makes you examine the day, and think more about the little things than the big things sometimes.

Today, I gathered the kids and we went to a friends house to make a Christmas Project - canvas bags with iron-on transfers of the kids' photos. They turned out really cute, and I'm sure the grandma's will all love them!!

But what I found to be thankful for is the camraderie of friends. It was so nice to just hang out for a couple of hours with good friends, good conversation, and some healthy laughter! Our kids, for the most part, all played well together, and we had a good time. And then, to top off the day, I received a beautiful floral arrangement and candy from my secret sister, and another good friend brought a meal to us for dinner.

Life really is good, and it is the friends around me that help make it so beautiful!