giving thanks

november has come and nearly gone but this month of thanksgiving has not been forgotten. as everyone has been listing daily thanks, i have made mental note for all the blessings i am grateful for. however i don't want the moth to slip away before i get the chance to write down some thanks givings.

i'm grateful for my incredible husband. he does so much for our little family

we were talking the other day how blessed we are. there are so many people in need and many are struggling to meet their basic needs.... we have been blessed with everything we need and more. mitch and i have wonderful jobs and work with wonderful people. we have been truly blessed with steady incomes.

i'm grateful for my two white fluffy fur babies. they bring me so much happiness. they made me a 'mommy'.

i'm grateful for my nanna. i would have never guessed that my sister would become one of the most closest and dearest of my friends. i consider her my soul mate. she understands me in a very special way.

i'm grateful for my sweet girlfriend jaclyn. she has been an angel in my life. god gave her to me as a visiting teacher, however she has become so much more! she is someone i trust and have the privilege of calling my friend! everyone needs some as sweet and incredible as her as she is to me. thank you for blessing my life sweet jaclyn.

i'm so very blessed to have my foundation. i was raised with so many wonderful examples. the older i get the more i realize how it has sculpted who i've become.

i'm grateful for the opportunity i had to learn yoga. it has brought me to a better place in my health and mind.

that is only scratching the surface in all of my incredible blessings. i'm so grateful for everything that i {we} have been blessed with!!

clean up

yesterday was the start of clean up.
packing away pumpkinland and getting ready for thanksgiving
oddly enough it was refreshing

Thanksgiving: Dayley edition

 Mitch's place... with love from Ashley lol

 My turkey vs. Mitch's turkey

 Ashley made the most incredible, delicious pumpkin cheesecake ever!!!

Mitch even ate a little slice!! 

{he hates pumpkin}

It was that amazing!!!

 Raspberry Pomegranate Jello Salad..... Best dish ever!! YUMMY

 Kennedy trying to put her dolly in the dishwasher :)

 Piling up the plates

Dinner was so delicious

Ashley had this darling idea to cover the table with paper 

and we could draw, or list the things we are grateful for.

a counter full

I'm so grateful for Thanksgiving this week!!

Family, Food, no work....

Life can't get much better than that.

I have Thursday and Friday off.

Lucky lucky me :)

Our counter is filling up with vitamins and supplements...

I filled up a little baggy to take with me to work today.

Mitch makes sure I take all my 'goodies' everyday.

What a good hubby.

This evening has been wonderful for me.

I surprisingly had lots of energy this evening

making good use of it... I washed our bedding, made dinner, vacuumed, de-haired our quilt....

I feel good.

I came up with a BRILLIANT idea today.

Just the thought of it relieves some stress.

Mitch thought it was really brilliant too.

We are hiring my sister to clean our house top to bottom, corner to corner once a month.

She is an amazing cleaner!!! 

I can't wait to have her come next Monday!!!

It'll be a win win for both of us.

Last night all my family got together to celebrate my cousin's birthday

Mitch had a marathon day between work, teaching YM and a 2 hour meeting.

Sadly he wasn't able to join me.

I had a wonderful time though.

My grandma and grandpa were able to make it

My aunt Susie and cousin Nora, Ben, Dan, Lexi and Cameron

I'm really glad I was able to see them since our thanksgiving is with Mitch's family this year.

Dinner was delicious.

Thanks for everyone who cooked the tacos, enchiladas, rice, dessert.... mmmmm

Happy Monday

Hope you had a good weekend!

Food and Family.... what more could you want?!!

This year I was in charge of bringing the best mashed potatoes ever :) plus a pumpkin cheesecake.... but I gave into a regular pumpkin pie when we were at Costco. lol. $5.99 can't be beat and it was BIG. Not to mention it turned out rather delicious!! When I was nannying I learned how to make the Hart's favorite mashed potatoes. I LOVE cream cheese and they definitely loved cream cheese. I learned how to cook many things with cream cheese. :) And it was always so delicious! So for thanksgiving I had to bring some of the most delicious mashed potatoes ever. Mitch LOVES LOVES LOVES mashed potatoes. I swear he could eat a whole bowl if I allowed him to. lol. So not only was I bringing mashed potatoes for 17 people one of them being Mitch I needed to make sure I had enough. Savannah slept over wednesday night and in the morning she was a doll and helped me cube my potatoes. She kept saying she thought I had plenty.... I said just a few more.... a few more..... She headed home before they were finished cooking and Mitch helped me finish up. Oh they were yummy.... sour cream ..... cream cheese..... butter.... garlic salt..... oh the wonderful flavor!! Then I dished them into my serving bowl - 4 qt serving bowl.....

Needless to say I had plenty of mashed potatoes :) LOL. Everyone enjoyed them!! Dinner was absolutely delicious! Nothing is better during the holidays than family and food!

{ Our 2nd Thanksgiving together }

We had plenty of food and wonderful company! I really enjoyed having my aunt and cousins there this year. After dinner we spent some time browsing the black friday ads and then we played games! AH I LOVE games! We even included my grandma and grandpa. Ever play the game Oink Piggy Oink? Well we got grandma in the middle and this is how it went.
Grandma: "quack quack quack quack quack quack....."
everyone giggles under their breath
Susie: shrugging and looking at everyone didn't know what to do so she "quacked" back.
HA HA HA good times!!!
We had such a wonderful time hanging out with family! I'm truly blessed and grateful to have each and every family member in my life. The time sure passed quickly on Thursday!
Soon we were headed home to our cute little boys.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgivings

• I'm grateful for my wonderful husband Mitch. He is the most amazing man and I couldn't be more grateful to have him in my life! He is my very best friend! I'm grateful I get to go to sleep next to him, wake up next to him, he's always there to listen to me, he is patient with me, we get to enjoy time together... I'm incredibly grateful for my husband and for him always being there for me. I'm very grateful that we will be together for all eternity
• I'm grateful for the gospel and for all the joy and comfort it brings into my life.
• I'm grateful for my family. They are such a blessing in my life! They have help sculpt me into who I am today. My family brings so much happiness to me. I know I can always count on them to be there when I need them.
• I'm extremely grateful for my sisters and for the best friends they have become!
• I'm grateful for my 2 four legged children :) My two puppies bring me so much happiness.
• I'm grateful for our house. I love having our very own place (even with the recent plumbing problems. lol) Its ours and I love that we can make it our own!
• I'm very grateful for both Mitch's and my jobs. I'm grateful I love my job (even when I struggle through the winter months)
• I'm grateful for my warm and comfortable bed
• I'm grateful for working cars
• I'm grateful for my talent and my cameras! I find so much joy while photographing people, places, and objects!
• I'm grateful for PEPSI :)

There are so many things I'm grateful for.... I need to be more consistent with expressing my gratitude for all that I am blessed with. I am grateful for life and everything I have!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!