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10 ThInGs I'm ThAnKfUl FoR

Thanksgiving season always makes me reflect a little over the past year and put things in perspective. So this year I've decided to jot down just a few of the things that I am most thankful for.
1. My family. While I am so grateful for my husband and daughters, and couldn't imagine life without them, I am also thankful for the family I grew up in and the family I inherited when I married Eric. I love them all equally and cherish each one of them. I love my parents for their unfailing support and love. They have always believed in me and been my biggest cheerleaders in life. I am so thankful to have such awesome parents. I love my sisters for their constant humor, optimism, charity, unfailing love and support and their awesome comedic timing (not to mention their willingness to babysit). I'm thankful for my two sisters-in-law. They are wonderful mothers to my neices and nephews. I'm grateful to my brothers-in-law for their funny comments and easy-going attitudes. My in-laws are amazing and so supportive. They've become such a great set of second parents. My two little girls are the most beautiful, sweet natured, stubborn, smart, tenacious, vibrant little souls I have ever met. They are so full of energy and optimism and they make me try that much harder to be a better person. I love them with my whole heart and soul.
Finally, I love my husband for the man that he is. I have been blessed with a loving, kind, and caring husband and father, who honors his priesthood and protects his family. He amazes me with his work ethic and his devotion to his daughters and me. I'm forever glad he's mine!
2. My home. It only takes a moment of watching the news or surfing the internet to see how little some people have. I am so incredibly grateful for the home I have to provide to my children and I never take for granted the fact that it could all be gone tomorrow.
3. My health. I thank my Father in Heaven every day for the health that I have and for that of my family. I pray that nothing ever changes that!
4. My testimony. Just watching my children grow in the gospel is a huge testimony builder for me. Their little spirits shine so brightly! It gives me a much greater understanding of just how much my Heavenly Father loves me. It gives me such a sense of calm and peace.
5. My neighborhood. We have a great neighborhood family.
6. My friends. Eric and I have been blessed with meeting some of the most genuine, awesome, kind hearted friends since we've been married. We've been fortunate to be able to continue those friendships and strengthen them over time. We love them all dearly!
7. My trials. Yes, I really am thankful for the challenges I've had. How else would I learn to overcome them if I didn't have to go through them? Also, they build character, wouldn't you agree?
8. My hobbies. I know this sounds silly, but I do know people who have none. NONE! Yikes, that's just plain scary to me. I would be a crazy person if I couldn't get lost in a good book once in a while, or draw, or sing, or play the piano (on occasion-I'm not that good), or cross stitch, or crochet, or just sit and watch a really good chick flick now and again!
9. My optimism. I am definitely a "glass is half full", the "cloud has a silver lining" kind of gal. I CANNOT see the worst case scenario or plummet into the depths of despair. It's not me, I won't do it. There is always a way to make things better. One of my favorite sayings is, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it."
10. My businesses. I've been given a lot of opportunities to meet new people and help them in ways that others can't. I've learned that sometimes business and family don't always mix, but when they do, it can be the best experience for both of you. I've learned that you always treat people the way you would like to be treated and hope they will, and then learn to live with the fact that most of them won't. I'm grateful for the lessons learned and the opportunities I've had to help someone and make their lives a little bit better!

Halloween 2009

Better late than never, right? It's only halfway through November (how did that happen, by the way?) and I'm just now posting about Halloween. Wow!

Anyway, here's the fam! We're a motley crew aren't we? We have Sharpay-from High School Musical for those of you who are not familiar with those movies (aka Haylie), I'm my usual-a witch (what else would I be?), the Joker (aka Eric), and the green-haired witch (aka Mikaela). I realized I didn't even get a pic of our awesome carved pumpkins this year-I'm really slackin'!
These were taken at Eric's parents' house on Halloween. We got pictures with all the cousins this time. Woo hoo!



I love Halloween!

Going Batty!

I wish I could say I was creative enough to think of this on my own, but everyone would know I was lying so I must admit that I stole this idea from my friend's blog (thanks Becky!).

I was looking for something fun to do with the girls since the weather was less than spectacular the weekend before Halloween. I found this simple and fun idea and the girls LoVeD iT! We painted miniature pumpkins black and after they dried we painted on a pair of eyes and hot glued wings and ears to make "bats". They turned out so cute!

I think this may just become part of our standard Halloween time fare. The girls had so much fun and we ended up painting 13 pumpkins. The best part was it kept them busy and focused on something other than teasing each other...YES!

A small sampling of our labors. They turned out so cute.