When You Dont Feel Like Being Thankful.

As humans I think we have an innate sense of avoiding the bad and hunting out the good. 

Even more so as Americans. 

We try to avoid the hardships of life like if we can control our way through it everything will be fine. 

We are told to be thankful and keep your chin up through it all. 

But their is one thing we forget. 

We forget we cannot control the uncontrollable and we have emotions attached to every situation, every moment, and every action we make. 

Sometimes I dont want to be thankful. 

Sometimes I want to feel sorry for myself and my family. 

I want to yell at others who complain about parking tickets and their coffee not being right- 

Too many sugars you know. 

I want to scream " Do you know what real problems are?!" 

The last 6 months have sucked.

 They have been filled with sorrow and grief, uncertainty, frustration, and change. 

All of these from every. single. aspect. of our lives. 

In yet we have to keep on keeping on. Keep the routine for our babies, be present so we can give guidance, and some how find our new normal. Try to resume old hobbies and keep our house clean. 

Pretend to be Thankful when we dont want to be.

 Show thankfulness that our children are healthy, we have some place to call home, and food to eat and enjoy. 

So this Thanksgiving I will practice Thankfulness even when I dont feel like it. 

6 Months

Continuing on the theme of how the kids are all so different here are all the kids 6 month pictures. 

Bristol May 2010

Boden October 2012

Brooklyn November 2013

Each One is Different

This weekend the Grandparents took all the kids for us to catch a break. Well mostly me since Matt had to work all weekend but we did get in a nice dinner one night. 

During dinner we slowly ate our food and talked about - you guessed it - the kids ha. 

We both laughed at how unique they each are even though they are so close in age growing up under the same rules and parents. 

Bristol. 

Oh this girl. She is a strong willed one but so amazing. Whatever she decides to do as she grows she will do with all her heart and excel at. Smart, oh man is she observant and smart. She has a love of people and animals and I truly think she will make a difference in the world. 

Boden. 

He keeps us laughing with a mischievous sense of humor. He is just as stubborn as he is smart and thinks he is at least 5. He makes friends where ever he goes with that crazy mane of hair! 

Brooklyn. 

What a little love. She loves to cuddle and is always ready with a smile. 

( This picture she was a little unsure of the crazy kid tackling Boden.)

She loves to sit and watch the big kids and is content just hanging out. 

Very much go with the flow and relaxed. 

They keep us laughing and make such a well rounded family. 

Basement : After

First off I realize that it might not seem like that big of a "before and after" their is a lot of stuff that doesnt really stand out in pictures ( ie fresh coat of paint on the stairway) and where we still have a long way to go before finishing the basement - it was done on a free budget. :) 

Step one: lightly sand the stairs to get off 13 years of dirt. Then paint with a durable white paint and blue stripe down the center to help hide future dirt. :) 

Also you can still see the dog chewed stairs... 

A place for coats/ shoes/ mittens/ hats ...

View from stairs... a new workout space or jumping area for kids. Also a perfect place to make blanket forts. :) 

Clearly we still have lots of work to do in the other portions but this will help get us through Winter with wet clothes and boots. Also a good place to work out when babies are sleeping. :) 

Happy Veterans Day

These pictures were taken about 4 years ago when my Brother graduated from Basic. 

( He would probably kill me for posting these ) 

 Today I thought about Veterans Day and what it means to our family. 

We have so many people in our lives who have served our country - my Brother, Matt's Uncles, Aunt, and friends. 

I am thankful for the sacrifice of time. 

Time given to a cause bigger than themselves for something they believe in and wanted to contribute to. 

 

I am also thankful for the families who miss these servicemen/ women on holidays, birthdays, and the small everyday moments but continue to support and love them as if they are never apart. 

When I look at my own children I wonder if any of them will one day say they want to join the armed service.

 Just thinking of that makes my heart break a little. 

So from my heart thank you to all those who serve our country. 

Basement Mudroom Make Over

We have lived in our house 3 years now. If you have ever been here one of two things have happened. You weren't allowed in our basement or actually saw our basement and considered submitting us for hoarders. It is not pretty.

Exhibit A:

Atleast we are patriotic in our clutter? :) 

Previous owners locked their dogs in the basement ( which the dogs slowly ate) So sad. 

The garage through the basement is the main way I enter in and out with the kids

especially in the winter with snow/ muddy boots etc. I decided 2 weeks ago Id had it with our black hole and wanted to fix it up. However, Matt informed me we did not have the dollars for my grand ideas. Out to do SOMETHING I give you the "free" mudroom make over. 

( I say free cause obviously I had to buy these supplies at some point but everything I used we already had on hand) 

So here is the before. Once I put away a blanket fort that has turned into a hobo town downstairs Ill take my " after  " photos...  :) 

Another Week

Today is Tuesday which means Ballet/ Tap for Bristol and me wrangling and entertaining two babies for 45 minutes in a dance waiting room. Thankfully there are other kids who Bo likes to play with and plenty of room to play. He just gets a little upset when B gets to go into the studio and he cant. 

Bristol and Boden are both fighting colds - Bo seems to have the worst of it which is a bummer cause his usually turn unto ear infections. Fun stuff. 

Matt is on his 15 day days/ mid cycle so I have been researching things for the kids and I to do this weekend. 

The holidays are rapidly approaching so Matt and I have started talking holiday plans/ decorating/ gifts for the kids. I think this year B will really get what is going on and enjoy the season. Its going to take a lot of extra effort for me to get " into the spirt of Christmas" but Im hoping Bristol's enthusiasm rubs off. :) 

I have been busy "cozying up our house" and making it more us. I love the beautiful decorated homes who are always spotless and dont look lived in. I can appreciate the time and effort they take - however I want my kids to be comfortable and make our home accessible to everyone. A home to everyone - not just me.  So far my reading corner in the livingroom is getting a lot of use and helping us to turn off the TV and spend more time with books. 

The rest of our week consists of driving Bristol to and from school, our church Moms group, library time, and errands.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Photos from our recent trip to the Storybook Hayrides