Thankful

Giving Thanks

Posted on by Amy
Thanksgiving seems to kind of get a raw deal these days.  Right after Halloween, the Christmas craziness kicks in to full gear in stores, in ads, and so on.  Thanksgiving seems to have been relegated to the position of being nothing more than a signal that it’s time for Black Friday sales to begin.  
Well, I protest.  Thanksgiving may not be as magical and glitzy as Christmas, but it’s a pretty darn cool holiday.  It’s about history, tradition, family, and of course, being thankful for what we have.  And I am oh so thankful.

How in the world could I be anything but thankful every day?  I have a wonderful husband who is an awesome father to our girls. I have two beautiful and healthy daughters.  I am more than halfway through a third healthy pregnancy.  I am so fortunate to have been able to conceive and carry two healthy children and to have a third baby girl on the way.  Even though this is my third pregnancy, I still marvel at the wonders of growing a little person in my belly.  Every time she kicks or wiggles, I can’t help but put my hand on my stomach and smile.  It never gets old.  Never.  And I am so thankful.  

I’m thankful that my girls have each other and love each other so much.

I’m thankful that my husband works hard every day, and has worked hard for a very long time, so that we are in a position where I am able to stay home with our girls.  It’s the best job in the world and I am so lucky to do it full time.

I’m thankful for so much more.  But today, after spending the day with my husband and our girls, eating food that someone else cooked, watching football, and just enjoying each other, I am so full of gratitude for this.  For my family.  For our home.  For my soul mate.  For these beautiful little souls and their baby sister.

Happy Thanksgiving.

And Baby Makes Three…

Posted on by Amy
Three little ones that is.  You might remember this post around New Years when I said this regarding my happy anticipation of this year 2011: “And my hubby and I agree, that we would like to grow our family by at least one more little soul, so maybe 2011 will bring another tiny bundle our way.”  

Well, we didn’t quite make it in time for 2011 to bring us another little bundle, but March 2012 will do very nicely.  Here is our little bundle at about 14 weeks gestation.

 
We haven’t told the girls yet. Lass is too young to really understand of course, and Miss doesn’t yet understand the concept of waiting months for something to happen.  She’s already talking about Santa like she thinks he’s going to come and bring her more Care Bears any day now.  So, I’m just putting off the inevitable question of “When is the baby coming?” for a little while longer.  I think maybe we’ll wait until after the ultrasound that will hopefully tell us baby’s gender in a few weeks.  Then we can tell them specifically that they are having a little brother or sister.

We are so thrilled and feel amazingly blessed to be expecting a third child in our family.

Turkey Cookies

Posted on by Amy
Yesterday Miss and I made cookies. Turkey cookies made in the shape of her hand. I’m a competent cook, but I’m the first to admit, I’m not very good at baking. Not yet anyway. I never got into it until recently. The pie a month ago, and now cookies. I tried to get Miss into cooking with me, but because of the danger from knives and the stove, I decided baking would be easier for her to really help with. And she seems to really enjoy it. She was so excited yesterday to get her apron on and get to work in the kitchen. Plus she loves washing her hands, which is how we started, of course.

Then we traced her hand to make the pattern for cutting the cookies (and then had to wash her hands again. Duh.)
She got freaked out by the noise of the mixer at first.
She didn’t have to worry about it for too long though, because my $1 garage sale hand mixer, purchased at least 12 years ago (though rarely used), finally died on me. So we switched to an easier method, clean hands and then a wooden spoon. That was easier for Miss to help with anyway.


Unfortunately, Lass woke up right when I put the cookies in the oven, and trying to nurse her, while switching the cookies around halfway through, and then keeping an eye on them because they were probably going to be done before my timer went off didn’t really work out. It worked perfectly fine for her, because she got fed. But the cookies didn’t fare so well.

Nevertheless, they were still tasty and decoratable, so we waited for them to cool so we could complete the turkey transformation. Miss chilled with her sis while we waited.

Finally the cookies were cool and the decorating commenced. Miss was naturally just as interested in eating the frosting and sprinkles as putting them on the cookies, but we eventually got them done.


And of course I had to let her sample the finished product.

So, as I said, I’m not a baker. And I’m really not an artist, so the cookies are very ugly. But I am proud that they do sort of resemble turkeys. A little bit. I mean, as much as a hand resembles a turkey. And of course, the whole point of the exercise wasn’t really the cookies anyway. I had a wonderful time with my girl.
Today we had a very relaxing day. Miss and I caught the end of the Macy’s parade. We only saw the last 15 minutes or so, but it was enough to see Santa at the end. Can I tell you that I cried when my girl’s face got the most magical expression on it as she watched Santa waving and dancing and got to see the reindeer? It was a perfect day for reflecting on all that I’m thankful for.