today i'm thankful for good health. i feel crummy today. and sometimes it takes being sick to truely appreciate how blessed we are to feel well the majority of the time. so, i am hoping that good health returns soon. in the meantime, i'll enjoy the quiet while max is at school and luke is napping. it's not going to last much longer.
i'm thankful for my boys. aren't they handsome?
and luke had something going on with his tongue this day. here he is on his 2nd birthday...what a kid. like i've said before, luke is random. always something new. strange most of the time. most recently he is insistent on which legos he is carrying around, and heaven forbid a piece comes off and i try and put it back on in the wrong place. oh my. his world is turned upside down. luke is so gentle. and forgiving...even so young. he often stops whatever he is doing to come give me a hug. and if max hurts him, he just needs a quick love and is right back at max's side, copying everything big brother does.
and jake's first junior high picture. now, he really is getting old! jake is so sensitive to others. when he gets to come to our house the first thing he does is find his little brothers and give them a huge hug. he is also the one male in our house that NEVER fails to notice a change in my hair or new clothes or new picture on the wall. jake always notices and compliments. 
these boys are fabulous and i am lucky enough to be a part of their lives.my thankful posts have been slacking these past few days. i'm sure none of you have missed them terribly. but i have. in fact, the whole purpose for recording something each day that i am grateful for is really just for me. a totally selfish purpose, i know. when the extremely early snow came mid october i was feeling a bit glum. well, more than a bit. i really don't like the cold. like, if it never snowed again i'd be ok. so, to ward off any bah humbug feelings, i decided to take a stab at focusing on the good. and it started off good. then grandpa died. amidst all the sadness, i have still tried to look for things i am grateful for, and have been surprised at how thankful i have felt these past few days. i've been more observant and reflective than usual and have been letting it all soak in...hoping to get back on track. so, thankful posts will be coming back. to help remind me all i have to be thankful for.
I'm grateful for a understanding wife that will still speak with me after I get upset with her or say things that are not very nice and shouldn't be said out of frustration. I'm grateful for the opportunity to make up later. :)
isn't the mind an amazing thing? i mean, the fact that i can remember what it was like to be in kindergarten with mrs. henderson and the really tiny bathroom stalls, or that i feel like it was just yesterday that i was sick, laying on the floor with my pink horsey blanket and marisa let me play with her my little pony and strawberry shortcake and it meant the world to me. sometimes the details are so crisp. other times it's just the feeling that is familiar. i am amazed how a smell can jog the mind and bring back an entire conversation or situation. some days i hang on my memories, hoping they can get me through whatever it is i'm dealing with. other days i want to forget some of those memories. i am thrilled we have the ability to keep memories alive. the key is to remember. looking at pictures, spending time with loved ones, talking with family. i'm spending my time remembering today. and i'm thankful i have the memories.
i am thankful for freedom. i am thankful for our founding fathers who fought for this freedom so that i can raise a family how i choose. i am thankful i can choose what i want to believe. and how i live. and where i live. and who i am. and what i think. and what i say. i am thankful to those who continue to fight for my freedom. and to their families. i am thankful for freedom.
blog is 1 year old today. who would have thought i'd really get so into this whole blog thing? it's been a fun way to capture memories - good and bad. here's to another year of sharing our lives with the world.
after picking the perfect pumpkins at the pumpkin patch (you can read about that here) we decided - ok, so I decided - when mike got home from his week away for work he could help the kids with carving. really, no explanation necessary. this once again proves that luke is a strange child. so happy he's mine.
