Thanksgiving: Top 10

So, yesterday at Savannah's school they did a top #10 things they were thankful for as part of a Thanksgiving program. I decided I would write my top 10. So, here it goes! These are in no particular order.

1. Jesus--If it weren't for Him, we could have none of this other stuff. I am daily thankful for my relationship with Jesus and thankful that He knows me, provides for me, forgives me, and loves me unconditionally.

2. Brent--I am thankful for his loving, patient nature. I am thankful for his hard work and commitment in the military. I am thankful that he loves me unconditionally. He is my best friend and I can't get enough of him.

3. The kids--I am thankful for these two little people who bring so much life into our home. I am thankful that they are sweet, goodhearted children. I am thankful for their smiles, hugs, laughs, noises, songs, and their innocent and unconditional love.

4. Our parents--I am always thankful for the love, support, and guidance that our parents bring to our lives. We have been blessed with parents who love us and care for us deeply. How could you ask for more?

5. Our family--We are thankful for our brothers (Matt and Jason) and our sisters (April and Kristen-had to add her in there!). We wish we could see them more but love them deeply! We are thankful for the newest sweet thing in this family, Mr. Van C. We are thankful for our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Our family has helped shape us into the people we have become and taught us some valuable lessons that we will be able to teach our children.

6. Old friends--I am thankful for friendships that continue to stand the test of time. That, even though we do not see each other often, when we do, we feel as though we have never left. For my newer older friends from NM and DC, who have been our families when we didn't have our own for support. I am thankful that we have friends all over the US and even some in other countries that love us and pray for us.

7. New friends--I am so thankful for all the new friends who have come into our life in such a short time. We have had an outpouring of love and kindness from people who barely know us. We are thankful for the potential long term friendships we will have with these people before we leave for our next adventure.

8. Health--Even though we have had our share of sickness in this house, it has not been life threatening. We have been blessed with good health and wellness.
9. House--We are so thankful to be celebrating the holidays in our own home. We love the space it gives us and are so thankful God has provided us this place to lay our heads.

10. Jobs--I am thankful that during this economic crisis, we both have jobs. I am thankful there is no threat of Brent losing his job. I am thankful that I enjoy my job and that it is flexible for a stay at home mom.

We are truly blessed! I hope you take the time to remember all the things you are thankful for.

We are thankful for each of you.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

BIG BIG GIRL!

Look what we did today :)


Picking out the ear rings

Waiting

1..2..3..Pop

Sooo pretty

Happy girl again!

Good day

Today's menu:

Breakfast:
Banana
Half Waffle

Lunch:
Chicken Casserole

Snack:
A few chips and salsa
A cookie

Dinner:
Salad with Lite dressing
3 mini corn bread muffins

Snack:
Strawberry salad

Ran 1 mile pushing two kids!

How'd today go??

Well...I went on a short walk, but no other exercise. It was a long day of activity and cleaning and working, so no time for exercise. I had craft night at our house and everyone just left. Todays menu included:

Breakfast:
Three chicken mini's

Lunch:
Chimichanga and a half

Dinner:
Chicken Casserole
Green Beans
Strawberry salad (mostly sugar free and lite)

Snack:
Granola Bar
Strawberries

Not terrible....

Confession time

So, I must confess....

Back in May, I was losing weight for my brother's wedding. I was doing great! Partly because I was more disciplined and partly because (sorry boys) I was still nursing. I was keeping track of my weight loss online and had lost 9 pounds. Well....my confession is I have gained ALL of it back since we have lived here! I am going to start my weight loss program again and see if I can get closer to my goal weight. This means I must lose 16 pounds. Since I am not nursing, this is going to be much more difficult than before, especially since the holidays are coming up. I must confess my eating sins on here each day so that I can be help accountable for what I have done. I will also post my accomplishments. Hopefully one of these days I will be in shape. We have been "barely" doing the P90x videos, but nothing religious. I have a little situation lingering since Parker was born that I am also trying to fix so that I am able to work out at a maximum level. My first specialist Dr. appointment will be December 11. Until this is fixed, I can't work out a ton, which means more dieting WHICH I HATE!

I was trying to think of another goal date to have my weight lost. I hope to finish sooner than this, but I have decided to use my friend's wedding, which is at the end of March, as my mark. That gives me a little over 4 months to lose it. That is only 3.5 pounds a month. SURELY I can do this or better. I just need to quit gaining weight! I was down to a size 6, now back up to a 10. Sheesh. NOT GOOD.

Ok...so here goes my eating confession:

Breakfast:
Half Banana
Half Cinnamon Roll---YIKES
Tiny square of sour cream and sausage casserole
Two strawberries
Two apple slices

Lunch:
Six chicken nuggets
Side salad with ranch

I ran/walked for about 45 minutes

Dinner: (haven't eaten yet, but that's what's on the menu)
Chimichanga with sour cream

Unfortunately, I am going scrapbooking tonight and feel as though I will be tempted to eat something bad for me. Hopefully tracking my intake will help me refuse.

We'll see how things go.

Animal Kingdom

The family went to Animal Kingdom today and we had a GREAT time! I love that we can just hop in the car and go to Disney! What fun!

Farm Day

Breaking Beans

Savannahs Pre School Class

Found her hidden pumpkin with her name on it

Horse race

Getting eggs

Savannah with friend Shelby

Giddy Up

Savannah's school recently had a farm day where the kids got to ride a pony, a train, and learn to milk a "cow." They also leaned how to break beans. It was so cute. Savannah was a precious little country bumpkin!!

Comparisons!!

Here are a few pictures of Savannah and Parker on their first birthdays....pretty neat how much they look alike!

Colorado Springs

Brent was in Colorado Springs for a couple of weeks, so I took the kids across country to see him and, of course, the pretty mountains. We were hoping to see some old friends, but Mother Nature had other plans and dumped over a foot of snow! Although we weren't able to get out as much as we had hoped, we saw some great views and spent some good time together. Here are some pictures from the trip.




Pike's Peak behind the clouds

Garden of the Gods



So cute!

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the Gods





Brent bought the kids new warm PJ's as a surprise for their arrival!



Cadet Chapel at the AF Academy

No, not a meteor shower, just snow captured by my flash!



LOTS of coloring

Road on the AF Academy



She would touch it, but only for a second...it was too cold!

He thought I was funny just asking him to touch it!

Sweet babies on the plane!