My family

I know, it's generic, but I am thankful for my family.  I am blessed and thank God everyday for my husband, my girls, our health, and our friends. 

I am also thankful for our first-ever family picture!  This is a picture of a picture  (:

Game Night

I'm thankful my girls are finally of age where we can all participate in game night!  For those of you that know Ellie, she's not the most passive, patient child (ha!), so trying to play games that she could not be included in made enjoying a game very difficult!  I have to say now with her age and competetiveness, she is quite the game-player!  (As long as she wins!) 

I think this might be a great year to get games as gifts for the girls this Christmas.  My mom always likes to go with a theme for the girls, and I think board games would make a great theme!  There are some great ones out there, Ellie is playing a strategy game called Blokus, which is an awesome game!  We also like Cadoo lots too.  But I would love to build up on some classic ones like Scrabble and Monopoly.  With all the technology out there, sometimes we forget the real fun can be a simple game of go fish!  Let the fun begin!

I'm Thankful for my Dad

I call myself pretty lucky.  As my girls are growing up, they want to hear stories of me growing up more and more often.  As I share these stories, I realize how different they are from what they are experiencing.  I wouldn't trade my childhood for a minute, and it makes me sad to think that my girls won't have the memories of riding horseback, spending night after night with cousins, combining the corn, baling hay, swinging on the barn rope, walking through the field to my cousins, playing Monopoly all night with my cousins.  Yes, my world revolved around my family and cousins.  I know my girls are growing up having fun with friends and neighbors, but it is very different.  There is a beginning and an end, and "how did my child do, did she mind her manners, clean up?  We'll have to do this more often..." type of thing.  Spontaneous at the Martin household was the word.  There were no playdates, just days....  days all day outside.  So many of my memories trickle back to my parents and their stability in my life.    My Dad... a man of little words.  But He didn't need to speak.  Love him!  With all my heart!  He has never stopped growing into something new... farmer, deacon, chaplin, nurse, director... and it's not over.   There are always forks in the road, we just have to have faith and choose.  I have Faith in my Dad.  And I know he will choose the right path, still to this day.  God has a plan for him and he has touched so many lives at Hospice in Middletown, maybe it's time he made an impact somewhere new.  Where?  I dunno, God has plans for him.  Big plans. 

Thankful for volunteers

Making up my mind and feeling good about it has always been bery hard for my.  Maybe part of it is the side of me that always wants to please everyone, or the part of me that puts everyone else first.  Whatever it is, I am definitely a wishy-washy kind-of person, which sometimes leads me to being taken advantage of.  I have been doing lots of slef-reflection lately, and I vow to all my friends and family to focus on what is important (YOU!) and to not worry about the little things.  Since I have worked the last two years, I feel like maybe I put off some of the things I take for granted in life (YOU) and I know that I am on borrowed time here on Earth. 
Right about now you are asking why are you thankful and why the calendar picture?!?!  Well, let me tell you, I can't say how hard it had been to leave The Academy and the staff and pull my firls away from an incredible educational experience, but for personal reasons, Rob and I decided I am a much better mom (and wife) staying home and I thank God everyday I can do that (this year). Transitioning from public to private was HUGE for my girls.  There is so much my girls miss about The Academy, but I have to say God (and Granny) was looking out for us when we decided to simplify life.  I have to say I have found my "happy place."  I am so happy being home.  I am blessed.  Some moms are better moms working, I am definitely a better mom (and wife) being home. 
The picture is a reflection of how we lucked out with Ellie's teacher in kindergarten.  She sent this schedule home for the volunteers- she actually had so many, we were only able to help out once a month.  Wow... I like that.  I am thankful that there are that many volunteers each month that want to help in the classroom in the public schools... I like it... I am thankful...

Thankful

So thankful living in a great town.  I love the downtown area in Lebanon, one of our favorite things to do is just go walk around.  Today, Ellie and I did just that.  It was a perfect morning, so crisp and cool, and great hanging out with my favorite little person.  She was a good sport and posed for me at a few favorite places.

Thankful

As I kissed my hubby good-bye tonight, hating sunday travel for him, I sighed a deep breath, and began our Sunday rituals: practice piano, finish homework, shower (wow 3 girls use lots of water with 3 showers!) and began our bedtime stories.  Emily is reading The Secret Garden to me (she seems to love books about hardships- Little House on the Prairie and Addy- American Girl are her favorites), and Erika is reading to Ellie, I am laying in bed and can't thank God enough for what an incredible life He has given me.  After hearing today's homily at Mass, I understand how important it is to live life to the fullest as we are all on borrowed time here on Earth; our true time is with God in Heaven.  Father talked about how important it is to be patient in today's world, that all good things come with time.  Wow, I needed to hear this.  Although I believe God has a plan for all of us, sometimes I feel like I should interfere just a bit and speed things up some.  Like with my Dad's job with Hospice, I want it to all work out for him RIGHT NOW.  And my friend's daughter with cancer, fix it NOW.  In thinking about life's day to day challenges, there is so much to be thankful for in the Here and Now.  Right now, in this tiny little moment.  So for the next 11 days, I look forward to posting the little things that I am thankful for. 

Babies, oh do I love them!  My sister had baby Landon last week and I can't tell you how precious he is, how beautiful Katie looked after delivering him, and how incredibly proud Brian was.  What more do you want?  Babies.  Love 'em.

What to do with all that candy...

So much candy... ever wonder what to do with it all? I found these great tips on Parenting.com website- some fun ideas...

In the kitchen:

1. Freeze it. Throughout the year, add it to milkshakes, sundaes, ice cream, and plain cookie dough. (For a quick milkshake, add mini Butterfinger or Snickers bars to ice cream or frozen yogurt and milk. Bonus: add a banana!)

2. Bake it into cakes. Try peanut butter cup cookies or brownies with fun-sized candy bars inside. Or just put on top of cakes and cupcakes, or stir into icing. (For great recipes see recipegoldmine.com/candybar)

3. Make it a (sort of) healthy snack. Fill celery stalks with cream cheese and top with Peanut M&M's.

4. DIY Trail Mix. Open bags of little candies like M&M's and make your own trail mix by adding pretzels, nuts and dried fruit.

Adults Only:

5. Pair it with wine. (starchefs.com)

6. Make homemade flavored vodka. Just drop it in a bottle and let it soak for awhile to make your own homemade, creative tasting alcohol.

7. Put chocolate into your coffee for a quick, easy mocha.

8. Keep some in your purse for when you need a sugar fix, or your kids need to be bribed.

Get crafty:

Make an advent calendar for November: Put candy in Dixie cups and cover with tissue. On the tissue, write numbers 1-30, and place the cups sideways on a large poster board to form a calendar. Let kids punch through the tissue to get their treats each day. (alphmom.com)

9. Use it as a learning tool. Let kids practice counting or do their math homework with little Reeses Cups or Hershey Kisses.

10. Turn it into a science experiment! (scientificblogging.com)

11. Save it for a gingerbread house.

12. Send to school for treasure box.

13. Take it to school's office, it will be gone in no time!

14. Donate to nursing homes, fire stations, women's shelter.

15. Send it overseas. (operationshoebox.com will gladly take donations)

16. Just eat it!