It's going to be tricky!

Time to get ready for Christmas.  We decorated our house yesturday, which I was a little hesitant about since my little one loves shiney things and danger.  Now they're combined so it should be super fun! 

P.S. Not my baby

The other stumbling block is my 5 year old.  She is NOT good at keeping secrets, for example, buying daddy presents.  This is how it usually goes:
Pick up present and put in shopping cart.

Megan: "I can't wait to tell daddy we got him a blah blah blah"

Me:  "NOOOOO!!! You can't tell him.  It's a surprise.  He can't find out until Christmas."

Megan: "OK. I won't tell him we got it.  I"ll just tell him we looked at it."

Me: "Nope."

Megan: "OK, I'll say Hey dad we went to the store and we did NOT look at the blah blah blah.  And we definitely did NOT get you one!"  (you have to hear how she says definitely, it's SO cute!)

Me:  "Megan, you cannot even say the word blah blah blah.  You cannot tell him we did or did not look at it.  You cannot even tell him we even went to the store."

Megan: "OK."

Get home.  Walk in the door, "Dad, guess what we got you a blah blah blah!"

So we may not have the element of surprise this Christmas morning.  But it sure is fun trying.  Ahh, I do love Christmas.

Give Thanks

I love Thanksgiving.  I love the chance it gives us to ponder our blessings and give gratitude for all that we have.  I love that it starts the holiday season, the season of giving. 

I have many blessings to be thankful for.  Here are a few that are not too peronal, and I can share.

I am grateful for my lovely family, for our children and the love that we have for each other.  We welcomed a new baby this year.  I have enjoyed seeing not only our family grow, but our love multiply as well.  It has been a beautiful blessing.

I am grateful for our home, job, and our abilities/skills and talents that God has given us that help provide for our needs.

I am grateful for the desire to not give up when life is hard.

I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father, whose love is constant and unconditional.

I am grateful for our Heavenly Father's plan, the Plan of Salvation, to know where we came from and why we are here.  And for our Saviors atonement.

I am grateful that we are not expected to be perfect.  We can learn from our mistakes, and try better next time.

I hope this season of thanksgiving lasts longer than a meal or a day.  I hope we recognize our daily blessings and give thanks often. May you be blessed to spend time with your loved ones today. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

A Gift for Yours Truly

I have decided what I want.

I want a contraption/gadget/button that is easily available, (like in the palm of my hand), that I can push whenever I want to slow... down... time.  Or the power/magic/ability to do so. 

And I know exactly when I would use it:

When my baby is asleep. 

One Mississippi,Two Mississippi... Joyous peace!

When my husband is in mid-compliment.  

I'd enjoy that in slow motion! 

"T h a t   c a s s a r o l e     w a s     A M A Z I N G.

 H o w   d o   y o u    d o   i t  ? ? ?"

Slow motion high five.

Right after the correct amount of make-up has been applied,
and my clothes are still

un-wrinkled/peanutbutterandjellied/slobbered on. 

and

Right after I finish cleaning the house. 

Self explanatory.

So, if any of you find this contraption in your SkyMall magazine or what have you, please, BUY ONE!  Then tell me so I can buy one too!

A Warm Heart

Today I was grateful for hot showers on cold days!  While enjoying my hot shower, I was thinking about how good it feels to be warm.  We would rather be warm and cozy than not, right?  Warmth is always accepted. 

That made me think about the warmth of the heart.  If our bodies crave warmth, I'm sure our hearts do too. 

So my thought for the day is: Don't be affraid to do something nice.  Let's try to warm as many hearts as we can this holiday season.  It's hard to give a wrapped present to everyone on our list this Christmas, but it's not hard at all to give a gift that warms the heart.  Give a smile, hold a door, shovel someone's driveway, do whatever you can. 

Our deeds of kindness will warm the hearts of those that need it. 

Feelin' Knitty

Today it is snowing.  When we woke up there was a good 4 inches on ground already!  In my last post I told you about our plans to make Christmas gifts for each other; well, today I feel like knitting a baby blanket or cute hat and enjoying this winter weather.  Of course, I'd probably have to learn how.  But that's what I feel like doing, sitting on the couch with a cup of cocoa and knitting away.  Let's hope somehow I get to do that.

In other Saturday news, my husband built a smoker.  Yup, built it all himself.  He's pretty talented.  So we're going to eat some delicious brisket tonight!  Something else to look forward to!  Ahh, sometimes life is good .