What's On My Happy List?

I love, LOVE, Thanksgiving...one of my favorite holidays, if not my favorite...

Here I am in all my glory, ...all gobble, plump and round...after two family Thanksgiving meals! I really have avoided the cameras these last few months but I want this upcoming baby to at least have a few pictures of what mommy looked like while he/she was in the oven. We recently watched some old family home movies and there was a video clip of my mom pregnant with me...however short it was, it was priceless to see. This baby will feel the same one day and appreciate this photo. I hope!

Here is Brie, before our feast, reciting the poem I learned in Kindergarten..."The Ganksgiving Turkey"...my siblings still ask me every year if I'll recite that poem...I can now pass that on to Brie.

Our floating apple candle centerpiece...thanks to Rachel Ray..

Here are a few things that I'm thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day...

Testimony, Turkey, Tums...

Home, Happiness, and Health...

Angels We Have Heard On High (the song), Atonement, Amazing Race (t.v show)...

Naps, Nurturing my children, Nuts (the food kind..almonds, peanuts, cashews and pistachios, yum!)...

Kisses, Kindness, and Keebler grasshopper cookies...

Stuffing, Scriptures, Shopping for Christmas...

Gift Giving, Grandmas, and Graciousness...

Inspiration, Ice-cream pies, i-tunes....

Vlasic dill pickles, Vivaciousness, and Victory (hopefully over a certain football team this very weekend)...

Ice (to munch on), Il Divo Christmas music, IHC (Jaren's employment)...

Nesting (yes, already), No school for 5 days, and Nice Neighbors...

Girlfriends, Gelato (cinnamon), and Gratitude...

I love this clip of random people on the streets of NY sharing a variety of grateful responses to one simple question: What are you thankful for? I loved the simplicity of their answers...from having a bed to sleep on...and no traffic...to being alive...etc. I think my favorite though was the mac 'n cheese response! :) Gotta watch! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We had a lovely day spent with family. Over twenty of us went to the movies Thanksgiving night, some went to OLD DOGS and the rest went to 2012. Good times!!!

What's On My Happy List?

"Twi-hards"

I'm no "twi-hard," that is for sure! The obsession over vampires and werewolves is just a tad bit CREEPY to me...My first attempt at reading Twilight was not successful. Not my cup of tea. Even though I'm not into it, I appreciate the hype and enthusiasm over the phenomenon and am happy and excited for those that are fans. My Kyleigh would be one of those. Here she is with her girlfriends after school today... right before I dropped them off to see New Moon. They were so excited! Kyleigh is "Team Edward" when it comes to the books but switches to "Team Jacob" when it comes to the movies. She knows how to pick 'em! And I would have to agree with her. Edward is so unattractive...ick.! Why he has such a loyal following is beyond me. In celebration of the big movie release, I went to Hot Topic (scary place) to buy Kyleigh the Jacob poster which she has been wanting but that particular one was sold out. Not entirely surprised. :)

Piano Recitals

Can't say the actual recital part is on my happy list... it's the feeling of relief of having it over with that makes the list. It's pretty much pure torture waiting for your child to perform, knowing they are nervous and silently freaking out for their turn at the piano. Kyleigh played Pachelbel's Cannon. She did a beautiful job! She is soooo glad its over...and frankly so am I. We are off to relax now, to watch Saturday afternoon football and eat sushi. YUM!

What's On My Happy List?

Turkey cupcakes...
Emma, Hannah and I enjoyed making these cute spice cupcakes yesterday...they are looking a little frightened to be gobbled up don't ya think?


We survived another Sunday morning...
Sundays mornings are quite the production around here especially when Jaren and I both have early morning meetings. It was also a big day for the kids as it was the Primary Program. I get home from my mtg. and find that three kids are still snoozing away...ahhhhh! Not so good when we are under a time crunch. I only had a little over an hour to get them ready before I had to be back at the church. Not sure quite how we managed to pull it off but here little Brie and Hannah are ready a half hour before church even starts, ready to roll. Eventhough Sunday mornings can be a mad rush I admit they've seem to run so much smoother now that I'm required to be there early. You'd think it would be the opposite. Crazy how that works!

The girls did a great job on their speaking parts. I'll share Brie's because I have hers memorized too...we went over it like a gazillion times! ....Families are ordained of God...Proclamation: Paragraph 7.. It was so cute hearing her try and say those big 'p' words.

What's On My Happy List?

Tis the season to be grateful....

I just wanted to mention the top thing on my thankful list as of late.....MY HEALTH. I'm extremely grateful that I've been blessed with good health throughout this pregnancy. Usually your immune system when you are pregnant is a little weakened, not up to snuff and you seem to get whatever bug is going around. Well... I'm happy to report that I have yet to even catch a cold let alone the nasty swine flu that pregnant women are at high risk of getting this season. eek! I've been able to remain well despite everyone in the fam having some type of the "sickies" these last couple of months. From viral bronchitis, sore throats, head colds and the runs, to fever and coughing, I've escaped it all!

Although I haven't caught anything yet from the kiddos and hubby, I'm certain if I was still at the elementary working with all those school kids I would have come down with something by now. That place is a virtual germ fest. Not working there, AND instead having limited hours at the tutoring center, makes the thankful list as well. Also grateful that I was able to receive the ever sought after H1N1 shot. (You should have seen the line of desperate pregnant women waiting to get the vaccination...) Health professionals say it takes two weeks after receiving the shot to be immune from getting that particular strain of flu. Since I've reached that two week mark, I so hope they are right and I can be free and clear from that worry.

Now if I can just figure out what to do with my swollen ankles and feet. I'm telling you...they are a sight to behold! Although I am grateful that I was able to stuff my "tree trunks" into my high heel boots today... I'm afraid it may have been for the very last time. Couldn't get those darn zippers up! lol Therefore, I had to officially add shoe shopping to my "to do" list. That would be shopping for size 11 shoes. Yes, size 11! It's pathetic really. Can there be anything remotely cute, stylish, and fashionable out there in that size? Wish me luck!

Just to give you an idea...These beauts (so gross...I'm sorry!) came out of

being stuffed into these...

Now the humorous part is when I have to summon a willing participant in the house to help me get my shoes off at the end of the day....Oh the joys of pregnancy!

Pull Emmsie, pull....

What's On My Happy List?

The thought that Thanksgiving is just around the corner...

What's On My Happy List?

Our Halloween Festivities...

Ya gotta love a little witches brew! We love Halloween around here because it provides us with a lot of fun memories. There were too many pictures from the last few days to post so I had to put them into a scrapbook below to share....