thankful...day 27&28

Day 27:

Mom:

On her birthday, I am thankful for my mom, or pretty much known on this blog as Grandmommy.  The kiddos and I could not ask for a better mom/Grandmommy.  We are thankful for her and Dad/Granddaddy and all they do for us!  We love them so much and can't wait to see them on Friday!  If you ask the kiddos what their favorite place to go is, they would tell you Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house!

Not today's pictures, but they will do...

Here's one from Wednesday....

Avery:

Grandmommy's Birthday & Jesus.

Evan:

Getting Presents.

Ellie:

Eating breakfast.

Day 28:

Mom:

Friday is actually our "Thanksgiving" around here...

so instead I am thankful for "black Friday" although I don't like the new times...I still love the shopping experience!

Avery:

Christmas lights.

Evan:

Christmas lights.

Ellie:

Christmas lights.

thankful...day 25&26

Day 25:

Mom:

On the 25th I am thankful for great friends who can watch my kiddos whenever I need it...like yesterday so I could volunteer in Avery's class.  I don't think I could be a stay at home mom without all this support!  

My kiddos also have tons of fun when they get to go to their friends' houses...just look at these two girls!

I am also thankful for books and our local library.  I love the libraries around here and the kiddos love going there!  Books are always a favorite of mine, either reading them myself or reading to my kiddos!

{Evan took this picture of us...so a little blurry..but what bedtime books look like}

Avery:

Santa

Evan:

Library

Ellie:

Dinner

Day 26:

Mom:

Today I am thankful for school breaks and being able to spend extra time with my boys!  I am ready for relaxing, eating, shopping, and partying {for Evan's 5th birthday}.

Today after school to start our break...Avery wanted to "paint" like the Indians did so the boys painted with with a little mud.

{The boys' handwriting in mud.}

Avery:

God. 

I have a little story about Mr. Avery for today...

I get this newsletter today from school where each kid was supposed to say the thing they were MOST thankful for...of course most of the class said their family, or at least a person...what does my child say...skylanders!  Yes, a video game he is most thankful for apparently.  The kid whom I have been asking for 26 days now what he was thankful for, without ever prompting him {and yes he has told me skylanders too}, should have came up with plenty of good answers by now...I mean just today he told me God!  However, when asked in front of his classmates when everyone else is saying their family, he thinks the best answer is skylanders :)....oh boy!

He did make up for it later tonight by creating his own list of things he is thankful for {again without asking him to do it} and this is what he came up with...

Evan:

Cars. {play cars}

Ellie:

Jesus.

Santa Elfy's {our elf on the shelf} calendar

Okay here's another entry to help prepare for the craziness that will start in a few days...

In the month of December there is nothing worse than it being 10 pm at night and you have yet to figure out where your little elf is going to end up for those excited kiddos first thing in the morning.  Don't get me wrong I really do love our little Santa Elfy, or Elfy as we call him, but it can start to get a little stressful to think up new places.  I haven't tried this system before, but this year I have made a calendar so I know exactly where that little stinker will be everyday...and I can prepare beforehand for it!  None of my ideas are elaborate at all...I am ALWAYS for ease and doing things the fastest.  This calendar also correlates nicely with our Advent calendar...you see if we wrote letters to Santa the day before, Elfy is going to bring back the response from Santa the next day or if it happens to be "Grinch" day {aka everything is green} then Elfy is going to start us off right by turning our milk green {some days are just thrown in for fun and don't work together}.  Please fill free to use it if you want!  Check back in December for our fun pictures!

thankful...day 23&24

Day 23:

Mom:

On a cold, cold Saturday I am thankful for our warm house and lazy weekends.  No we don't have much laziness around here these days, but I so appreciate them when they come!  We also spent a lot of time crafting for fun, and getting things ready for the holidays/birthday coming up!

Avery:

Grandmommy & Granddaddy

Evan:

The ice on the pond. {A big thing that fascinates my kids every year, when the ice forms on our little pond in the backyard.}

Ellie:

Watching Daddy's movie {Ryan got Planes for the kids to watch}

Day 24:

Mom:

Today I am thankful for our faith and our church home.

I am also thankful for quality time with my sister ;).  One of our favorite things is "binge" reading book series and then seeing the movie together....first Harry Potter, then Twilight, and now the Hunger Games!  I love that she lives close enough that we can do these things together!  I couldn't ask for a better little sister!!!

Avery:
Wrestling.

Evan:
Wrestling. {With each other and Ryan}

Ellie:
Dora.

And a few other pictures from this weekend...

thankful...day 21&22

Day 21:

Mom:

On the 21st day I am thankful for being able to eat with this boy at his school's Thanksgiving lunch!  Love them all!

Avery:

School lunch.

Evan:

TV

Ellie:

Babies.

Day 22:

Mom:

Today I am thankful for my scrapbooking hobby and being able to do it with great friends tonight!  I love documenting our life both on this blog and scrapbooking!

Avery:

Library.

Evan:

Library.

Ellie:

Babies. {again}

thankful...day 20

Day 20:

Mom:

Today I am thankful for being able to take the time to do things just for me.  As a mom we often don't focus on doing stuff for ourselves, but it is so important to still do those things that make us happier because then you are a better mom.

I am thankful for our gym membership...especially in the colder months!  Although I may not always like working out during the process, it always makes me feel better when I am done!

I also love to be able to do crafts for me.  I made this wreath today...and it only took 15 minutes and 15 dollars!   

Avery has also been into doing art lately :).

Avery:

Pizza. {while eating pizza}

Evan:

Food & drink.

Ellie:

My MOPS teacher.

thankful...day 19

Day 19:

Mom:

Today I am thankful for our latest family member, Bella Michelle Stark, or just Bella for short.  After losing our first dog, Hippo, whom we had for so many years it was kind of an adjustment to have a puppy all of a sudden in our lives.  She is pretty much the complete opposite of what Hippo was, she's very friendly to others, loves to play, and loves toys...which Hippo in her old age cared for none of that :).  She is also a puppy, which comes with it potty training, learning not to jump up on everyone, not destroying everything in the house including the kids' toys, and keeping her from biting the kids when she gets excited.  We are still working on a lot of that puppy stuff, she is slowly getting better.  You can't help to love the way she snores when she sleeps, how she has to be right next to you when she chews on her bones, the way she waits by the door or window until you get home, how excited she gets when you give her a treat, and how she loves playing with the kiddos.  Bella has stolen all of our hearts and she is definitely apart of our family now!

And what I am most thankful for with Bella right now...she hasn't touched any of my Christmas decorations...even when being left home alone with them!  I just had images of whole trees being destroyed because of one little puppy.  I knew I loved her :).  

Avery:

Walking home from school.

Evan:

Santa coming.

Ellie:

Food.

Here's some other pictures from today of E&E playing in the leaves!

thankful...day 18

Day 18:

Mom:

I am thankful today that my kiddos are best friends with each other.  Yes, they do fight over something pretty much everyday, but they also play really well together.  They enjoy playing with each other and miss each other when apart.  One of my favorite things is watching these good moments when they are having fun together.  I hope this never changes!

Avery:

Ellie.

Evan:

Food.

Ellie:

Making leaf piles.

our Christmas advent calendar

We interrupt our thankfulness to share my Advent Calendar Ideas.  This is my basic plan for what we will be doing daily for the month of December.  If you want to steal any ideas...or the whole thing...it is yours!  I can't wait to begin again this year!  

Here is some Pinterest links for some of the ideas.

 3 - Handprint Christmas Tree

4 - Grinch Kabobs

13 - Pine Cone Christmas Trees

17 - Make Christmas Lego Shapes

18 - Candy Canes made out of beads

20 - Make Reindeer Food {our recipe is just oatmeal and sprinkles}

thankful...day 17

Day 17:

Mom:

Today I am thankful for holidays.  I pretty much love them all and love decorating for them all.  Christmas is by far my favorite holiday.   It is so magical, especially when you have kiddos.  I know it's early, but this happened today.  I kind of have an obsession with Christmas trees and there is still one more yet to come!  Thanks to Kelsey for coming and helping out...even though she didn't agree with the timing ;)!  I am thankful for having a great sister today too!!!

Avery:

Christmas decorations.

Evan:

Christmas decorations.

Ellie:

Christmas decorations.

{The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!}