Football....

Day 10 & 11....

This weekend I am thankful for FOOTBALL...yes, I said it, I'm thankful for football!

I am thankful for both Youth Football and the NFL! We watch football ALL weekend long, whether it is watching Kyle play on his team, watching college ball, or watching the NFL....we love football is this house!!

My boy has not only grown as a football player this season, he has also grown as a person...he has become a more disciplined, more detail oriented little boy and I owe that change to football and his wonderful coaches. They worked with him all season, teaching and encouraging him. They didn't let him meltdown on the field, or if he did (which was only once) they were great with it and played around him. He didn't like that much and got up and played and hasn't done it again. They taught him how to get knocked down and get right back up! I love watching him play football and love hearing him talk about football. He has a goal of becoming a quarterback next year and is willing to train and work over the next few months to try and attain that goal! Kyle had many great plays this season and I hate that his season is now over....we will wait not-so-patiently for next season!!

Kyle loves watching football...and not just the Redskins! He will watch any game and chooses who he wants to root for....he has NEVER rooted for the Cowboys though, and that makes this mommy happy! I'm glad the NFL and college football is there for my boy to have something to set his eyes on and try to work to! He says he's going to play for Virginia Tech for college and the Redskins after college!!

Doors Closing....

Day 9....

Today I am thankful for the fact that when God closes one door he always opens another! I am thankful that He grants great opportunities to those of us that wait patiently! (even if it is for months on end) :-)

I am thankful knowing that in just over 2 weeks, starting the Monday after Thanksgiving, I will be headed back to work full time, for the first time in nearly 11 years!

I will be the Administrative Assistant to the Healthcare Services Coordinator at MDA of Greater Washington's District Office. I will be working full time in Reston, VA with this wonderful company!

I am thankful that my loving husband gets up early every day to go to work and is home before the kids get out of school most of the week and that we'll only need to cover 1 day a week of after-school activities!

I am thankful that my lovely children took the news well and are actually excited at the possibility of going home with their friends or to karate on Monday afternoons! 

So today I am thankful for employment and the opportunities it will bring to our family!

Sinuses...

Day 8....

Today I am thankful for modern medicine and the insurance that helps pay for said modern medicine! I don't know where we'd be without the tools, instruments, and medications that are available to us today!

After a couple weeks of an on-again-off-again cough, Kyle has a sinus infection! Yuck! But on the plus side, it is his first one this season, and only his 3rd since having sinus surgery last November!

Schooling....

Day 7....

Today I am thankful for my kids school system!

I am thankful that they go to a great school system that has seen lots of very successful adults emerge from it!

I am thankful that they are learning a second language in school and have been since 1st grade!

I am also thankful that they have wonderful school administrators that work with parents and children when a class turns out to not be a good fit for my kids!

I am thankful for the freedom to have my kids class changed, and thankful for the freedom to take my kid out of a program that isn't working for them!

I am sad that Kyle won't be participating in the German program anymore, but very excited to see his learning, reading, and understanding blossom in an all English taught classroom!

I am thankful that he has accepted this change and knows he will do better with it!

I am thankful today that we can have these opportunities for our children and we can make these decisions for them as well!

Freedoms...

Day 6....

Today I am thankful for the many people  who came before us have ensure that we have freedoms! 

I am thankful for the right to vote as well as the right not to vote!

I am thankful that this country isn't and will not be lost to whoever is in that top seat of the government because there is always someone much bigger in charge!

I am thankful that I can not be persecuted for believing that as well!

Remember that whoever is in the White House really has no bearing on where you'll spend eternity!

Techy...

Day 5....

Today I am thankful for technology.

Technology that keeps my husband employed!

Technology that has allowed me to go back to school without having to sacrifice being with my children!

Technology that allows us to see and speak to friends & family near and far!

Technology that allows me to block those unwanted political phone calls!

Today I am thankful for technology!

What Can a Girl Do?

Day 4.....

And never to be outdone....today I am thankful for Girl Scouts!!

I seriously never thought I'd be a Girl Scout Leader, but here I am in my 5th year as either an assistant leader or leader and loving every minute of it!

Allie on a lashing an older troop made!

Me and my girls have experienced so many wonderful things through Girl Scouts! They have both done things that they never would have even considered if it hadn't been through Girl Scouts!

Kayleigh braved her fear of heights and ventured up into the tress on a ropes course last year!

Kayleigh getting ready to do a ropes course!

High in the trees!

We have sold cookies (many, many boxes of cookies), we've been to encampments, lodge camping trips, slept with the dolphins, sang songs, and even rocked the national mall with 200,000 other Girl Scouts! 

I am thankful for what this organization is giving to girls...thankful that they know they are just as good at everything as boys are....even peeing standing up, which both of my girls can do now (in the woods)!

I am thankful for the many families and girls that I get to be a part of their lives....thankful that they have stuck by me through transitions and thankful that we are still going strong as a troop!!

This year we will begin our Bronze Award, sleepover at the first ever "National Girl Scout Cookie Sleepover", sleep in a cavern, go snow tubing...and all this among all the regular Girl Scout things we do!

(on a side note, I realized with this post that we are missing a lot of pictures....got to ask the hubby about that)

Be Prepared...

Day 3....

Today I am thankful for Cub Scouts! Where else can you tour the FBI, sleep on an old pirate ship, sell outrageously priced popcorn, and race wooden cars for fun? What's not to be thankful for?

Archery at summer camp!

Not to mention archery, BB guns fishing, and summer camp! Where can one go wrong with Cub Scouts!

Wet at summer camp!!

Kyle won first place in his Den and Level!

Kyle's winning car!

Today this is what I am thankful for, as my little boy LOVES Cub Scouts and is able to do so much through them!! I hope he continues and one day earns his Eagle!!

My Love...

Day 2 of what I'm thankful for!

Today I am thankful for this man...

Yes, he's wild & crazy & goofy...but he's mine...and for that I am thankful today!  

For without him, my Day 1 post wouldn't even have been possible! :-) 

We've been through think & thin together and I wouldn't have it any other way!

I am thankful for his hard work that has allowed me to stay home with our children for nearly 11 years now!

I am thankful for his love and understanding and craziness!

I am thankful that we were brought together...even in the not so "traditional" way and that we have, together, overcome tough times and move forward together as a couple!

I am thankful that he is home nearly every night, reading to the kids, playing with them, and just being a dad to them!

I am thankful that he loves me and I love him,

today that is what I am thankful for!

3's a Crowd? Nah!

Happy 1st day of November!! I honestly can't believe November is here already, Christmas will be right around the corner, and then we'll step into yet another new year! Craziness I tell ya, craziness!!

So for the month of November I am hopefully (notice that is hopefully not definitely) going to post everyday with what I am thankful for! This isn't hard in and of itself, because there are many things I am thankful for...it's finding the time to post these said things that is the hard part!

So, today, the 1st of November, I am thankful for God's gift of 3 healthy (relatively speaking sometimes) children. They may seem to always be sick, or always be needing something from somewhere, but in the grand scheme of life, they are healthy and happy! We've had our ups and downs, been to the ER more times than I'd like, but we aren't fighting cancer or any other terminal illnesses. They are able to walk and run and jump and play football. They go to school and are taught, they go out with their friends and socialize. I know there are many, many, many parents that don't have this. And yes, I do realize that they too are thankful for their children and what life brings them. I read a blog this week of a little princess who was born on Monday, and she lived only 10 1/2 hours, yet she touched so many lives in those short 10 1/2 hours, and her parents are thankful for that...they're mourning yes, but they are also rejoicing in the lives that their little girl touched. It definitely puts the snotty noses, braces, ADHD, and skinned knees into perspective! So, hug your kids and be thankful for whatever they bring your way!!