Christmas was wonderful! It started with the entire family at Papa and Grandma's on Christmas Eve. What an awesome family I have. I love the ages...the kids range from college kids down to preschool! Makes for incredibly interesting dynamics. Then it finished with Christmas day at our house.

Shaun woke up at 7:30, followed shortly by Sydney. They got Haoyi up and then the festivities began. I gave Beka a Hello Kitty water cooler on Christmas Eve and Sydney loved it. So, when she woke up to find that Santa had brought her the same thing...well she was amazed at how clever Santa is! Shaun spent hours in the evening playing with his construction set. Hopefully, we won't see too much of the holiday boredom this year.

And Haoyi loves her vacation to San Francisco. And I admit it...Mommy and Daddy are pretty excited too!

It's Monday morning. I'm on vacation. And I woke up at 4 in the morning! Ugh...

Brian got some of my old photos digitally scanned. What a treat that is! So watch for lots of old layouts coming up.

Papa came this morning. We have snow and cold weather here. So today I'm grateful that in this kind of weather, Papa is still able to get out and come to visit on Saturday morning.

Yesterday was a snow day and I am grateful that I was able to work from home. It made it so much easier than if I had gone into work in that awful weather.

I am so grateful that I have enough money to buy gifts for the people I love. I am so grateful that I have enough money to buy food and keep the house warm.

I am so grateful that my children are home with me and that I'm not wondering if my babies are ok somewhere halfway around the world.

I don't know how it is possible that I fall further and further behind with each moment. But possible it is! I think that I need to learn to savor the small victories. Example: My Christmas tree is up and fully decorated. I will focus on the decorated Christmas tree. The tilting angel at the top, the garland that is clumped together and the ornaments that are hung from the bottom of the tree on a strand of Christmas tree lights! Brian is responsible for the tilting angel and Sydney and Shaun share responsibility for the clumped garland and the ornaments hung on the strand of lights (because it's easier Mom)!

I will NOT focus on the cardboard boxes that are stacked, unwrapped, beside my tree. I will NOT focus on the fact that my Christmas cards are not yet mailed...nor will I focus on the fact that they are not yet created. I will NOT focus on the fact that my Christmas cookies aren't baked for our Cookie Exchange at work. And I ABSOLUTELY will NOT focus on the fact that I don't have my shopping done.

As a matter of fact, I believe that this day will best be faced by a complete lack of focus!

Shaun and Daddy are boxing on the Wii, I've got the hot tub cleaning and Sydney is turning circles in the living room! What a perfect ending to a very nice holiday! We have 3 weeks and the Christmas holidays are here. Lots to do before that happens. I've done no shopping, we don't have a tree, we have swimming lessons and gymnastics this week, plus one basketball game for Sarah and three basketball games for Zeb. My favorite time of year!

This has been such a great long weekend...if you can call 5 days a long weekend! Here's a layout that I did! I haven't had much time to scrap but I'll surely get a few more done before the weekend comes to a close!

I'm so behind...do I say that over and over again? Tomorrow is National Adoption Day. Here's my layout...words fail to express the feeling in my heart.

How can a week have slipped by since I posted? This time of year is craziness for me! I LOVE it! But it is craziness! Since I last posted, we had swimming lessons, missed gymnastics because of Open House at school, Shaun's sixth birthday along with a party at Pump It Up, Abby's first basketball game, three basketball games for Sarah and the normal chaos of day-to-day lives.

I did get a few layouts scrapped. You've got to read the one about Shaun and Hannah.

It's Sunday night and I missed posting yesterday. Since I post my gratitude the morning following the day that I was grateful, I need to post Friday's and Saturday's gratitudes.

On Friday, it was gray and damp and cold in Iowa. It also snowed. Not enough to stick on the ground but enough to make me feel old and crabby. It's way too early for snow! But then as I was thinking about what I was grateful for, I realized that I am incredibly grateful to live somewhere that has all four seasons. When I lived in a place with no snow, I missed it! I was born and raised in the midwest. To me, the world requires four seasons.

So, while I'm not really happy about the weather right now, I'm happy that I live where I get snow! (Someone please remind me that I said that in February!)

I missed a day of posting my gratitudes yesterday. I need some more "fall back" time to rest up. But, while I missed posting, I didn't miss being grateful. What a wonderful challenge this is...causing me to focus on so many things that I should be grateful for.

Yesterday was a busy day. Work is crazy busy...and then straight to gymnastics...followed by supper...followed by pretty much collapse in exhaustion.

But yesterday, even though it is absolutely crazy there, I was grateful for my work. I enjoy my job. Sometimes it is stressful, but I'm surrounded by nice people. My boss is a good person...really a good person. And she's smart. So, while it's not always easy and not always fun, I am grateful for a good job. I don't think that it will be impacted by the economy. There is plenty of work to do. I work with good people. I'm grateful for that.

I really don't do much "whimsy" in scrapping. But this family picture was perfect for doing a layout like this. And Sydney LOVES it!

Sydney really got into the presidential election in the last few days. See, Sydney lives in a split household and so it's not easy as a 4 1/2 year old to sort out who is right...your mom or your dad. For about a month, Sydney has been able to find Barack Obama in the paper or on TV and turn to me and say, "Mom, that's your guy."

But in the past few days she has wanted to know how we elect the President. I've really only explained the popular vote...we'll leave the electoral college for later...but even that is difficult. "Mom, I don't understand what you are saying. What is the most votes?"

We've worked through that but on Monday night when she was getting ready for bed she said, "Mom, I just don't know who to pick. McCain or Obama." I smiled at her and explained that she didn't need to worry about it. And either way, on Tuesday, something historic would happen in this country. Either a black man would be president or a woman would be vice president. "What is a vice president?" So the education started again.

Yesterday, she told her dad on the way to school that she just couldn't decide who to pick. "Dad, I don't know who to pick for president. This is difficult." Shaun piped up..."And I don't know what Grandma picked for my birthday present either." So picking presidents or picking presents...both are difficult.

What am I grateful for this morning? I'm grateful for the right to vote. Really, really grateful. I'm grateful that I love someone who usually holds different political opinions. It allows me to understand that good people hold different political views. (And believe me, we both REALLY have STRONG views.) I'm grateful for my children who keep my life interesting and full of fun with their questions and comments.

And, I'm really grateful for the changes in this country that elected an African American as president yesterday. There are plenty of changes in this country that haven't been positive in my lifetime. But this change in attitude sure is!!!

For day four of the gratitudes...I'm grateful that we could fall back this weekend. Seriously, deeply grateful. I get tired...bone tired! So when given an extra hour that isn't packed with activity, I'm grateful!

For the third day of the thirty days of gratitude, I find that I’m grateful for the challenge! Seriously…this is fantastic. It’s really changing my focus. Thanks to my friend Sally for suggesting this!

On Monday, November 3rd, 2008, I’m reflecting on yesterday. I had time to spend in the hot tub yesterday morning before church. It was gray and foggy. Many of the trees have lost their leaves and were nothing more than empty black branches against the gray mist. It caused me to be grateful for the way that God made the bright colors. How dull the world would have been if everything had been in shades of gray. But that’s not how He made it…He made it full of beautiful, vivid colors!
There were other things that happened for which I was grateful. But I think that I’m going to keep this one. I don’t know that I’ve ever really thought to be grateful for the bright colors in this world. Fifty-one years and I’ve been taking them for granted. Thank You Lord for giving me a life so full of wonderful things that I take some of the most wonderful for granted.

Today is the second day of the thirty day gratitude challenge I'm doing. Yesterday was Saturday and somehow it seems that it is easier to be grateful on Saturday. Sydney, Shaun, Papa and I started the day at Sarah's first basketball game of the season. The game didn't go well but it was fun.
Then Brian and the kids and I went to Indianola to vote. We had about a ten or fifteen minute wait to vote. The atmosphere seemed so serious. I don't know if that was caused by the fact that people who vote early are more serious about it or if people feel the enormity of this particular election.
In the evening, Sydney and Papa and I went back to watch basketball. The last game of the day was played at Dowling. We've spent so many hours at Dowling watching games. It caused many of those memories to come rushing back...some good, some bad.
So what was the one thing that I wanted to capture from yesterday that filled me with gratitude?
I got to watch another ballgame with my dad. There have been hundreds. After all, we've been doing this for 45 or 46 years. I grew up across from the football field and the baseball diamonds. Dad spent lots of time there and so did I. Whether it was watching Dad play softball or following behind him when he ran chains down the sideline of football games or going to Drake football and basketball games or helping him with Randy’s Little League teams or going with him to Tennessee to watch Hannah play AAU ball or watching Zeb play football, basketball and baseball or watching Sarah this weekend… Yes, I’m grateful that I got to watch another ballgame with my dad!

November 1---I've accepted a challenge from my friend Sally to participate in a 30 day blog challenge. It's 30 days of gratitude.

Today, I'm grateful for a phone call that I received yesterday on my way to work. I was driving in to work and my cell phone rang. This startled me because I rarely get phone calls at this time of day. It was a call from Sydney. She wanted to say goodbye to me.

Now we have a routine each morning. I get Sydney dressed in the morning...literally dressing her! She loves to have her mommy dress her and while she is quite capable of dressing herself...and does so anytime that Mommy isn't going to work...I know that there will be a day in the not too distant future when she won't even want my advice on what clothes to wear so I take the time to dress her in the morning.

Next in the routine is going into Shaun's room and getting his clothes out in the morning. I pull all of his clothes out and lay them out for him to get dressed. Before I leave, I go in and give Sydney a hug and kiss. Then I go in and ask Shaun if he wants "huggies". Some days he does and some days he moves into that "big boy" stage and answers no. Then, from the kitchen door, I yell "Bye". Sometimes this goes on for three or four exchanges...sometimes I get no answer.

Yesterday was one of the no answer days. But when Sydney came downstairs a few minutes later, she told her dad that she was sad. He asked why and she told him that it was because she hadn't said bye to me. So he told her that he could solve that problem...and he called me so that she could tell me bye.

Lots to be grateful for in that little story...1) a daughter who still wants to tell her mommy goodbye in the morning 2) a husband who wants his little girl happy 3) a son who sometimes still wants "huggies" 4) cell phones.

Thanks Sally for the inspiration. And the photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't resist capturing a photo of the way our mornings often start.

Here are a few more layouts that I've done recently.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. We have gone each year since Sydney came home. That first year, she was so timid. I couldn't help but think back on that yesterday as I watched her and Shaun running around.

A beautiful day here in sunny Iowa. The temperature is 65. The kids are begging to walk to Grandma and Papa's...so as soon as Haoyi goes to her Girl Scout party, we will be on our walk. Here are a few layouts that I did this weekend.

There are so many memories that come rushing back to me...memories that I want to scrap! I don't want to lose these precious memories...and yet, there is never enough time. I know that many are already lost.

If my kids ever wonder how I feel about them...here are a couple of pages that will tell them.

Well...51 isn't feeling so bad! We are moved back into our old house...that deserves a post of it's own. We have been without internet for two weeks so it's a relief to have that again.

It feels so right to be back. The kids love the freedom of having their own yard with a trampoline and swingset and a driveway that is long enough for them to take their bikes out and ride them. Last night we celebrated my birthday with a family dinner. We grilled hamburgers and brats. I made homemade potato salad and a new recipe called Apple Snickers Salad. Then Angie brought birthday cakes and we ended with those and homemade ice cream. Randy went out and played on the trampoline with the kids. No surprise there!

Hannah called tonight. It always makes me so happy when I get to talk to Hannah. Even if it's only for a few minutes...and it was because Brian also loves to talk to Hannah!

I watched Zeb play two baseball games yesterday. The first game he hit one to the fence and got a triple. He played shortstop, catcher, 3rd base and pitcher. He's playing with kids from Norwalk. Even though he switched schools, he still has friends at Norwalk. I love to watch him. He's such a good kid. I'm so proud of him.