#11 Our Christmas tree

Okay, as silly as it sounds, I love my Christmas tree. I mean...I LOVE IT. I always want to set it up a couple weeks before Thanksgiving arrives and not take it down until mid-January. Chad frowns on the thought of putting up the Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. He thinks it's sacriligous to celebrate a holiday before another one is over. I agree...I guess...but I love Christmas so much I can't wait to decorate the house and I want nothing more than to feel that Christmas spirit and the way the house looks and feels during the holidays.

There's also a bit of sentimental value that goes along with our tree.

When Chad and I were first married, he was working as the general manager of a Goodwill store in Indianapolis. It wasn't a glamorous job, by any means, but we were thankful for his employment there.

Goodwill at the time had a contract with Target stores. They got all of their unsold, returned, and broken merchandise. Chad called me one afternoon and said they had gotten a shipment in and he wanted me to come and look at it. I made the trek to the store one Saturday and was pleasantly pleased to find several Christmas tree boxes in their back storeroom.

Chad said they had taken them out and put them together and they were all complete and in good shape. He had picked one out for us and we brought it home.

That was 18 years ago. Our first Christmas tree. It's still as beautiful as it was when we first bought it. Every year, we talk about getting a new one but we never do.

I am thankful for our Christmas tree and the memories and feelings we have associate with it. Merry Christmas to all of you.

#12 - Laundry

Okay so the task of laundry is not my favorite and I'm not thankful (persay) for dirty laundry. The sorting, the folding, the putting away....not exactly my cup of tea.

When you have children, laundry becomes a way of life. In fact, I do laundry (at least a load) nearly every day. It's the only way I can keep up. When I was sick with the flu recently, I didn't do laundry for four days. You might chuckle and think, "4 days? Please! Like that will make a difference!"

Let me tell you... In four days, I had so much laundry it was stacked up as high as my washer and dryer in TWO clothesbaskets. That, my friend is about 10 loads of clothes!

When you're a mom, you become a sort of master launderer of sorts. You become efficient at sorting clothes, knowing exactly how much detergent, fabric softner, how many pairs of jeans can fit in a super sized load, time it will take to dry the favorite pair of jeans before the bus pulls up in front of the house...etc and you would think this would bring pride to the children of the family to know that their mother knows how to remove dried on ketchup from the favorite shirt.

Ummmm NO! At this point in their life, it has no bearing whatsoever.

What I am thankful for is CLEAN laundry. I am so eternally thankful for a working washer and dryer so I don't have to lug 15 loads to the laundromat and spend my life savings on getting my clothes clean.

I am thankful for a detergent and a clean place to wash my clothes without leaving the comfort of my home.

So, today as I look for the matching pairs of socks and fold that unbearably difficut fitted sheet today, I will not get frustrated. Because I AM THANKFUL FOR CLEAN LAUNDRY!

# 13 - Silly, sweet Sydney

I have a wondeful daughter. She is fun and silly and ditzy and kind and loving. She has a great sense of humor that many people don't get to see because Sydney is incredibly shy. At home she is loud, and crazy, and talks NON-STOP, and sings and is crazy about her brothers and can take a joke better than most. She giggles all the time and usually has something pretty funny to say. Around those she doesn't know well, she is quiet and aloof and shy and timid. Even around family, she is content to stay back and listen and absorb without getting involved and being noticed. She hates to be the center of attention. She hates to be involved in an embarassing situation.

She is starting to break out of her shell a bit which is so fun to watch.

We had our Austin Kids Christmas gathering at my parent's house on Saturday. It was a good time. We always do a White Elephant gift which is guarranteed to bring lots of laughter. Sydney's gift was hysterical. She got a Christmas Disguise complete with platinum wig, reindeer headband, and glasses with the giant nose attached. The family called to her to try it on. Inside I was thinking, "She will NEVER put that on in front of everyone!"

BUT she did! And she giggled the entire time.


It was great!

Needless to say, the Christmas Disguise was a hot item and Sydney wasn't able to hold onto it for long. She was even sad about it because she actually loves playing dress-up with her friends. My brother snapped this picture to capture the event. GO SYDNEY!!!

#14 - Health

Okay...so I'm realllllly behind on my thankful posts. But I have been sick, sick, sick. The flu has rocked our household and I was the first lucky duck to get it. I'm feeling so much better (day 5 here!) but still have quite a tender stomach and tiny meals is about all I can muster without feeling ill.

With that being said, I am thankful for health.

We have battled illness in our house since Fall Break. Elijah and I were very sick with bronchitis and sinuitis and then Noah and Chad got it after we started to get over it. We were healthy over Thanksgiving weekend and then it started up again! It's so frustrating!

Many of you know and realize that when one person in your house gets sicks, usually the rest will follow and it can take weeks to get through it. The more kids you have, the longer it takes to run its course.

The bottom line is, I am thankful for health. Yes, we might have had the flu and bronchitis and sinus infections and colds but on the whole we have health. We don't have an illness that can't be cured with medication, we don't have a debilitating disease, we don't have a mental illness that prevents us from taking care of ourselves and making decisions.

We have health!

I am holding on to that this holiday season as I dish out the Advil and vitamins and take temperatures and soothe aches and fevers. I am thankful for the health my family has.

With that being said...

As I travel to family gatherings, as I sit with my own husband and children around our Christmas tree and open gifts, as I enjoy family meals and play games together over the holiday, I don't want to lose sight of those that aren't able to enjoy the Season because of their lack of health for whatever reason. I want to God prick my heart over these next days of rejoicing to continue to remind me to lift up the sick and suffering.

Today....be thankful for health.

#15 - Thankful for my BFF

I love my best friend. She has been my best friend since I was around 12 or 13. We spent nearly every weekend together when we were in high school and we endured broken hearts, car accidents, idiot boyfriends, pregnancy, break ups, you name it, we've been through it. We have laughed so hard we've cried. We don't have to talk every day or week to know how important we are to each other. I love her more than anything and I'm thankful our friendship has survived all these years. She is silly and goofy and wonderful and kind and sincere...all rolled up into one person. I couldn't be happier to call her my best friend.

I love you, Holly!
By the way...if I come up missing, have Holly questioned first. She is going to KILL me for posting some of these pics!!!

Noah's Snow Art

Noah has a wonderful sense of humor. He really is a funny kid and this, I think, proves it.

This is what greeted us when we looked out our front door after Noah had supposedly gone out to "shovel snow."

Wow! You gotta love this kid!!!

#16 - Moscato Wine

Okay, I am not a big wine drinker. I find it a little bitter and I'm definitely a sweet wine kind of girl. When I drink wine, it must be a white wine and it usually is Pinot Grigio.

Last night, Chad had to work the late shift so I decided to take Sydney and Noah out to dinner and then grocery shop. They begged to go to Olive Garden. We rarely, and I mean next to never, go there. I love it, don't get me wrong, but it is so expensive that we don't indulge ourselves very much.

We went and they were giving out samples of their Moscato wine. This is the description of it, if you've never had any:

Castello del Poggio Moscato

Castello del Poggio Moscato is made from the muscat grape and originates from the Piedmont region of Italy. This wine, which means “Castle on a Hill,” is lightly sparkling, with lush notes of apricot and honey. On its own or paired with a dessert, the wine offers a sweet finish to any meal.

Oh My Goodnes...it is delicious! I think it could quickly rise to the top of my favorites list! While I'm not normally thankful for alcohol, I am thankful for new and fun discoveries that give that giddy feeling like I've discovered something absolutely amazing! I bought a bottle for Chad and I and he liked it alot too!

If you get a chance, and you like sweet wine, give it a try. YUMMMMM!

Some snow pics

Wanted to include these in the below blog but forgot! I decided to make them into a separate blog.

#17 - Thankful for SNOW!

I may have some haters with this blog but you're just gonna have to suffer through it.

I love SNOW! Now I'm not talking late February or March snow... I'm talking about Christmas, Tis the Season to be Jolly, wonderfully, white, sparkly stuff that "makes the season bright Snow.

We are supposed to have some sort of storm this weekend. It's supposed to start of with rain and then snow all day Sunday which might make for a nice 2-hour delay for Monday or even a closing :) but there are so many conflicting reports that no one is really sure what is going to happen, how much we're going to get, or how long it will last. I guess we'll see! But I'm excited! I love the way snow can fall in these big, huge, dense flakes but hit the ground in near silence. It coats everything like it's washing it clean. Everything seems purer when it snows. There's something romantic about a snowy day, whether it's morning or evening. I love it.

Now...on the opposite side of this, no. I do not like the slick roads, the icy conditions, the greasy slush... but that's not what I'm talking about.

My kids love playing in the snow. It is one of their favorite things. Elijah has grown out of the desire to bundle up and throw snowballs and make snow angels, but he still loves snow. Noah could play outside for hours! He loves to shovel snow, which is nice because he always wants to clean off our sidewalks and deck and I never have to beg him. What a good boy! Sydney loves to eat snow. She was just talking last night bout all the sweet treats she would try to like make with snow (to be honest, not really sure about that girl but she sure is cute!)

Snow! Beautiful, season changing, throw your scarf and mittens on, and enjoy the SNOW!

#18 - My Noah

I am very thankful for my kids. Each one of them is so different from the other which is the biggest reason why each of them are so precious to us.

Now it's time for me to dote on Noah.

My wonderful, spirited, energetic Noah. Funny. Silly. Genuine. Tender-hearted.

Noah's toddler years were a non-stop barrage of chasing after him, cleaning up his messes, pinning him down, treating his bumps and bruises. In fact, to the innocent bystander, I'm sure it probably seemed like a circus at times. When he wasn't eating the dirt, the trash, and the dog food he was playing in the dirt, the trash, and the dog food. He was our ER baby as he always had accidents like falling through ceilings (yes, it's true!) He could sit in wet or poopy diapers for hours and when I'd go to change his diaper it always ended being some sort of endurathon of running, chasing, wrestling, and practically sitting on him just to get clean pants on him. I was constantly putting band-aids on him, treating bumps with ice, and we had a constant tube of Neosporin in various places in the house intended for use on Noah.

Not long ago, we were watching some home movies of the kids when they were little. Elijah began to chuckle. I asked him what was so funny. He said, "Noah." I looked at him with a look of question and he explained. "Mom, you always talk about how busy and active Noah was and I never really understood what you meant until we sat down today and watched us in action. One minute he's under the table, the next minute he's being chased down because he has something he shouldn't, the next minute he's sticking cheese puffs into the waistband of his diaper to save for a later treat." Elijah, by this time is cracking up. And he finishes it by saying, "You're right, Mom. He never stopped. Not once." And I agreed. The only break we had was when he slept.

Meanwhile, Chad and I have to just look at each other and smile because we know the heart that beats inside this lanky and long-legged boy of ours is that of a loving and sweet boy who adores his family, takes pride in his schoolwork, and would do anything to make someone else feel better about themselves.

I am including a short video of what we lovingly call "the lipstick incident." This is Noah at his best. He is two in this video. I had left the living room to answer the phone. When I hung up, THIS was what I found. While it was frustrating, I also found it very funny and I tried very hard to seem angry but ended up having to leave the room because I was just about to crack up! If you will notice, Noah is trying his best to "seem" upset and remorseful for what he has done but really can't muster the proper tears or reaction.

In the end... I'm thankful for Noah. Very.

#19 - My favorite cookbook

This is my favorite cookbook. This is the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, copyright 1953. From the time I was a little girl, this is the cookbook I remember my mom using to make many of our family favorite recipes. From cream puffs to snickerdoodles, this became a fixture in our kitchen growing up. My very favorite recipe is the amazing apple dumpling concoction she would make. It would come out hot from the oven and we would pour milk over the top to cool it down just enough to eat.

I am thankful for my mom and how she would spend time with me while I was growing up to teach me how to cook and how to follow recipes. I love that many of her well-loved recipes have worked their way into our home to become dishes my husband and children love and request just like we did when we were young.

I asked if one day, mom would pass her beloved cookbook onto me and she gave it to me a few years ago. I use it all the time. Everytime I pull it from the shelf and flip through it, I can feel flour granules on the cover, see the stains of vanilla on the recipes of well-loved desserts, and the memories of my childhood with each turn of the page.

Thank you, Mom for teaching me how to cook.
Thank you for passing on a great heirloom and a wonderful memory from my childhood.

#20 - Baking Christmas Cookies

One of my favorite traditions that we do with our kids is baking Christmas cookies and decorate them. We give them to our neighbors and we have a blast doing it. It is a tradition I'm very thankful we started and our kids look forward to it every year. We use a recipe out of my favorite cookbook and we have tons of cookie cutters that we have collected over the years. I think when we started out, we had a star, a bell, a candy cane, and a Christmas tree. Now we have about 20 different shapes and each one has their favorite.

We spend the evening baking, icing, eating, and laughing....A LOT!

This year was no different. Sydney has become quite an artist and she iced an amazing Santa on her ornament cookie HOWEVER.... she tried to make him holding a present but she messed up and it looks like Santa is holding a gun!!! Nothing says Merry Christmas like Santa holding a handgun... SHEESH! We laughed and laughed even though she was disappointed with the outcome of something she worked so hard on. Chad always has good intentions when he ices cookies however all his snowmen have red, robot eyes and look a little on the evil side. It's pretty funny!

We love this tradition and look forward to it every year. Being a mom is the biggest blessing and I'm so very honored to get to watch these kids of ours grow up and take some of the traditions we have always done when they were young and apply them to their lives when they have families.

So much fun!

20 favorite things

So...there are 20 days until Christmas Day. 20 days! I can't believe it. I have a had a pretty frustrating year at work so far but even though, there is still so much to be thankful for. I want to spend the rest of December counting my blessings, as I believe all of us should. There is so much to be thankful for. I have these three beautiful and amazing children that I love more than anything and I'm so proud of. I have a wonderful husband who is fun to hang out with and is an absolutely fantastic dad. We have a wonderful home, we're both employed, food to eat, cars to drive, good health....the list goes on and on. But there are some things that might seem silly or ridiculous that I'm still very thankful for. I thought I'd post some of those things here during December. I hope you enjoy!!!

Merry Christmas, all!