Day 6 - My Handy Man

I am so thankful that I have the BEST husband around. He is so great to put up with me buying a house that I absolutely loved. And then I set out to change EVERYTHING about the house that I originally loved. This includes all new doors and trim. I don't know why he puts up with me, but I am so thankful that he does. I don't know what I would do without him.

Day 5- Halloween

This year I have decided that I am thankful for Halloween. I am usually dreading it coming around every year because I lack in the creativity department when it comes to costumes. But now that I have a little one who is old enough to start enjoying it, I am starting to enjoy it too. I love seeing that little grin when the candy hits the bottom of the bucket. And I love that he still grabs my leg when he sees something that scares him. It's a relief to know that Mommy is still comfort to him.

Day 4 - Time

I am always obsessing about time. What time is it right now? If I wake up I HAVE to know what time it is. I HAVE to know what time the baby ate. I HAVE to know what time Hayden went to sleep, what time Craig will be home. You get the idea. So today the thing I am thankful for is the fact that my husband is teaching me not to be so worried about time. He covers the clock in an attempt to make it pitch black. I must admit that at first it really bothered me. But now I am learning that it is quite nice to not have to know what time it is. I'm actually sleeping better at night. And if the baby wakes in the middle of the night, she gets herself back to sleep! Maybe he was right all this time that I didn't need to have that darn clock shining so bright. And I don't HAVE to know what time it is all the time.

Day 3 - Apple Blossoms

We have lived in our house a 2.5 years already and one thing I love about this place is my little apple tree. One thing that Mrs. H was proud to point out when were looking at the house was that there were 8 peach trees near the front gate and a lone apple tree in the front yard. She told me that the apple tree had only put out one apple since she planted it, but that the peaches did pretty good. Well, needless to say, I have a brown thumb and know nothing about peaches so they have all quickly died. It doesn't help that the horses like to nibble on them as well. But my apple tree is thriving. In fact, when we fenced around the house I made sure to have the fence encompass the apple tree so that it would not become of victim of the horses as well.





It's not a very tall tree. Maybe twelve feet, but this year the blossoms were beautiful. The bees were swarming all around and I noticed the start of apples! They didn't get very big this year. In fact, they were rather small, but the horses didn't seem to mind when I pitched a few over the fence. I kept waiting to see how big they would get and then realized they were becoming victims of the worms and black birds. But for a few short weeks we had apples. Green apples at that!

Give It A Spin

This picture came to me as soon as I hit post on last night's blog. I'd like to say that I'm thankful for all the money I won on the show, but that's not true. (I have wanted to be on this show for about 25 years). What I'm thankful for is the time that I spent as a little girl watching this show with my Great-Grandmother. We called her Wuh-Wuh. I can remember watching this show in the evenings with her sitting on the bench in front of her fireplace wearing a sweater in July. She always had a Dr. Pepper in her red glass and crunched on ice until it was gone. I tried to solve the puzzle before she did, but I was never as quick. I was so proud when the total number of puzzles I had solved at my young age exceeded ten. I hope that she enjoyed that time with me. I am so thankful that I have that memory, but even more thankful that tonight I got to snuggle on the couch with my son watching this same show. He seems to love it as much as I do.

What I'm Thankful for...

I know it's just a few days away from Halloween, but Thanksgiving is right around the corner. So, right now I am asking myself what am I truly thankful for. The list is long. It includes many simple things. It also is packed full of some things that no words can describe. So for the next month, right up until Thanksgiving, I am going to post a picture a day. It is my attempt to show what I am grateful for and why. I'm sure not every picture will bring a smile. After all, we can't be just grateful for the happy times. We have to learn that the sad times can be treasures too.

As I was mentally sorting through the pictures I have, Hayden came in with the biggest grin on his face. I couldn't resist snapping his goofy smile and decided this was the best shot to start off my challenge. Obviously I could start off by saying that I'm thankful for this child. That goes without saying. But what is in this photo that I am thankful for is that he still laughs at the silliest things. That won't always be the case so I better enjoy it now.

Reagan 8 months and 9 months

I didn't do Reagan's pictures this time. Since I don't have an indoor studio it limits me to what I can do. Plus I rarely have time with just her since I am now working at Hayden's school. Her 8 month pictures and 9 month pictures were just two weeks apart so there is not much change (not that there really is on a monthly basis anyway). You will notice two different costumes. I just love the pink butterfly, but since we live in Texas I know she would burn up. I found the Tinkerbell costume for $15 at Toy's R Us and couldn't pass it up.

8 Months

9 Months

On an exciting note, Reagan is walking. You can see in her Tinkerbell pictures that she is standing. She is taking a few steps at a time without holding onto anything and I know it won't be long and she will be walking everywhere. I can't believe that at 9 months it is already happening! Someone should tell her she is too young to be walking!

Big Truck Day

It's been a while since I have posted and I have few things to talk about but today it's just about Hayden's "Big Truck Day". A girl that I am working in the nursery with told me about this little event. It was put on by a Longview ministry and admission was free. All they asked was that you bring a jar of Peanut Butter as a donation. Not a bad deal! And all for a good cause. This kind of event is right up every little boy's alley. Every type of big truck that you can think of was there. There was a DPS helicopter, a fire truck, a trash truck, a GIANT dump truck, a school bus, a crane, a S.W.A.T. truck and even some Monster trucks. The National Guard even came with a tank like vehicle (I'm not sure of the proper name) and a couple of other trucks. I have to say that this is the first time that we have been able to completely keep Hayden in the dark about where we were going. And he was so surprised! We couldn't get out of the truck fast enough.

Here he is in the tank. How cute is that? I couldn't get him out of it and he told Daddy to get me so I could take his picture.

I love this picture. It makes me think that someday he might really be riding around in one of these things. And in 20 years this is exactly how I will picture him. It sure is tight quarters in there though.

Let me just say that walking under this crane was extremely intimidating. The fact that ANYONE could get into the cab of it worried me. I kept picturing some 3 year old little boy turning a knob and dropping the hook on some poor unsuspecting parent. 'Cause if it had happened it probably would have been my 3 year old little boy!

The other highlight of the day! I don't know why he likes trash trucks, but he does. It was a little stinky, but that didn't seem to bother him too much.

I was impressed by this one myself. They didn't allow anyone to get into it, but sitting on the railing was cool to him.

The largest dump truck that I have ever seen! The tires alone were nearly as tall as Craig. Hayden wasn't wanting to get in this one until Daddy climbed up there with him.

Right after he got on the bus, this (and I have to be nice)boy got on and immediately started trying to close the door. His parents were not around to stop him and somehow he managed to get the door locked. Hayden had a little moment of panic. The guy sitting by the bus had to go through the back door and open it from the inside since he couldn't find the key. Needless to say, he doesn't look too thrilled to be having his picture taken after that happened.