Deer Season

Jarrett did a little bit of hunting a few weeks ago. He got a 9 point buck - 305 pounds. Oh, by the way, this was hunting with the semi. An altogether unfortunate situation for the deer & the truck. I had to take some pics of the damage. It looks bad - $9,000 worth of bad. Thank goodness for insurance!

The truck will go in the shop next week, new & improved. And, once again, Jarrett will be a happy boy. He has been a little grumpy since his baby got smashed up.

If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can't I

The Wizard of Oz has been playing on a loop for the past couple of weeks. I love it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (a tad late) & weekend update

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We definitely did. Food, Family, Fun, Football. It was a good day. I had a plan in my mind to do a big Thanksgiving post. Instead, I spent the day enjoying all of the people I am so very thankful for.

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We spent the long weekend decorating the house for Christmas & winterizing. Jarrett mowed the yard one last time. I did NOT go shopping on Black Friday. The girls & I spent the majority of the day Friday, Saturday, & Sunday in our pajamas. It was so relaxing. These 4 days off work were amazing. So very relaxing. I can honestly say, I did not think of that place once during this long glorious 4 day weekend.

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Here is what my mantle has looked like since about Labor Day weekend. I took pics of it, but never actually got around to posting them until now.

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And now, a prayer request for my BFF Haley (who I convinced to start a blog). Her father-in-law Bill passed away very suddenly today. Prayers for strength & peace for her mother-in-law, Bev and their entire family.

Thankful for Family Time

Making Thanksgiving crafts & coloring with my girls was an excellent way to spend the evening Monday night.

As I type this, Liv is looking over my shoulder. She is chatting me up about her day & how school is going.  I like the little quiet time I get to have with just me & Olivia. She has a lot to say.

Rachel went to town to get dinner with Jarrett. The girls fight about who gets to go with Daddy. Tonight was Rachel's turn in the rotation. I'm sure she will come home with something useless from Wal-Mart because that is why Daddy is more fun to run errands with.

We have a full day of Thanksgiving festivities tomorrow. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Family. Food. Football.

More importantly 4 days off work. Count them 4. So excited for that. Always excited for time off work with the fam, but especially now. Work has been less than fun this past month. I have never needed a 4 day weekend more in my life!

{November Thankfulness #22}

this kitty has brought so much joy to my Olivia...not so much Rachel. but Olivia LOVES Snooki.

now if I could just get Snooki to not chase Rachel up the hallway every single time, maybe Rachel would love her as much as Liv & I do.

21 - just pictures no words

19

Today, I am thankful for the wonderful day that we had.

My Mom & Dad invited us to the Illini game. Boo to the Illini sucking it up in th 2nd half. I swear if there was only 2 quarters to a football game, we would be phenomenal. I digress...

We went to breakfast, the game, & an early dinner. It was so nice. Very fun.

Also, I would like to note, Olivia got a strike today at bowling. I missed it, but I am so proud of her!!!

TGIFibromyalgia & Thankfulness

Today, I am thankful...extremely thankful that it is Friday.

This week at work has been, in a word, craptastic. I am very happy to be done with this work week. Tonight, Breaking Dawn is out in theaters. I want desperately to go see it, but I just don't know if I can go to a 10:00 movie after working all day. I may try it out though.

Thankful for Haley & Bowling

This is my BFF Haley. I have talked about her before, right here.

She is my best friend, since we were little kids growing up in Kenney.

Last year, she talked me into bowling with her on Thursday nights. I am not very good. I try, but I am not that great. I am so thankful for her & thankful that she convinced me to bowl with her. I doubt I will ever be a great bowler. But that is not the point of those wonderful Thursday nights.

I get to spend time with my best friend. I get to have a night off from my regular motherly & wifely duties. (haha duties - that was for you Haley - I know you would laugh at that too.) I get to have some ME time. I get to relax & enjoy myself. I get to laugh too loud. I get to gossip. I get to just hang out with Haley. Too often, we let life get in the way of hanging out. Times have changed since we would hang out every single night of our lives on The Square. Thursday night bowling lets us enjoy that same feeling again.

I love you Haley. And I love bowling with you on Thursdays.

Thankful #15

My Parents

I can't even begin to express how thankful I am for my parents.

You know, how when you are a kid, you take your parents for granted? Well, now that I am a parent - I am so very thankful & appreciative of my parents.

#13

Lucky Thankful #13

Sarah, I am so thankful to have you as my sister. You are my best friend. You are hysterically funny. You are a wonderful mother to my nieces & nephews. You are a great sister.

Thank you for motivating me to lose weight & get healthy. I appreciate all of your guidance & support, even though we are on opposing teams.

thankful

I just can't say how thankful I am for these girls. They make me laugh.

They make me smile every single day. They are silly. They are funny. They are my life.

Look at Rachey, flippin the bird & she doesn't even know it.

Rachel's 4 year old Check-Up

Rachel Claire

4 yrs old

Dr's appointment on November 11, 2011

Very healthy.

Very smart.

Very sassy

35.6 pounds = 42%

can't remember exact height but I do remember that was 25%

Thankful for Veterans

Veteran's Day 2011

I am thankful, beyond words, for all of the brave men & women who choose to serve our great country. It is because of these heroes that I am able to sit here & babble on my little blog. We are immensely lucky to live in such a wonderful country. This freedom we enjoy was not free. My heart breaks for the families who have lost people who have lost their lives serving for us, protecting us, giving us the freedoms we so very often take for granted.

I am proud of the veterans in my life, past & present.

To my dearest goob of a cousin Kirk - Thank you for being more brave than I ever could be. I am so incredibly proud of the man you have become. Thank you for your service to our country. Thank you for being a real-live hero. I love you always.

Grandpa & Grandad, happy veterans day in heaven. You are both so very special to me. You are both in my thoughts daily. I love you & I miss you greatly. 

November Thankfulness #10

Today, I am thankful for this little girl.

She is so smart.

She is hysterically funny.

She is incredibly sassy.

She is my very favorite 7 year old in the whole entire world!

Thankful Number 9

My dream come true.

Jarrett, I am thankful for you making me a wife & mother. That is all I ever wanted to be. You gave me that.

I am thankful for you in spite of you complaining about the weather constantly for the past couple of days.

I am thankful for you in spite of your jokes about my cooking abilities, or lack of. (Lots of people accidentally burn taco shells.)

I am thankful for you because you let me fall asleep at 8:00 last night & took care of all the nightly wrap up stuff on your own.

{8}

November Thankfulness #8

My bestie Laura is back at work. Although I am sure it breaks her heart to be away from her sweet sweet babes all day, it sure does my soul good to have face time with her. I missed her. And not in a weird way. I felt like a different person when she was gone from work for 3 months. That does sound a little weird now that I read it. But anyway, I promise it's not weird. I am a creature of habit & not being able to eat lunch with her, or just hear her voice or talk in person with her -- well...it really kind of sucked. I could feel how I was acting & reacting differently. Jarrett did too.

So my thankful #8 is for your Laura. I heart you. You are one of my very best friends in the whole entire world. I missed you greatly. And I am so very happy you are back. Even though, we both know how hard it is to leave a sweet precious baby after a long maternity leave, I'd like to think returning to be with me makes it a little bit easier. Lord knows I am happier with you here.

numero siete

this is going to come off shallow, but i promise there is a good reason i am thankful for social networking.

 oh, the book of faces - you have allowed me to reconnect with my peeps from highschool that i lost touch with. i get to see pictures of my cousins & their families that live far away.

And twitter - oh how I love thee. stalking celebrities, athletes, & more. love!

November Thankfulness #6

my sassy little singer

standing on the coffee table

foot stomping

head shaking

i love this little girl more than my own life

i am thankful for her each & every day

#5

I am thankful for my whole entire family. We spent the day celebrating my late Grandpa's birthday. It was so much fun. Good food, hilarious stories, a camp fire, and lots of fun. I am thankful for each & every member of my family. 

Happy birthday in heaven Grandpa! We love you & miss you every day.

Thankful {four}

sometimes i complain this house is too small

we don't have enough room for all of our stuff

doesn't that sound like a horrible problem to have. we have too much stuff that it doesn't fit comfortably in our house?

proof that i take things for granted.

i am thankful for this little house in the country. we are blessed.

Parent-Teacher Conference & Thankfulness #3

this evening we had Olivia's parent-teacher conference. overall, a very good report. we are very proud of her.

the teacher did give us a couple of things that we may want to focus on with her. #1 she needs to wear her glasses. mrs d. said she has to remind her several times during the course of the day to put her glasses on. the trouble is, we told her they are reading glasses. so she thinks that she only has to wear them when she is reading a book. in reality, she should be wearing them anytime she is working on a paper or anything close-up. i was concerned that her time off school due to surgery & her recovery period may have impacted her. her teacher didn't bring that up at all. thankfully it doesn't seem to have had an impact on her studies at all.

tonight, a rare treat, Jarrett subbed for my bowling team. it was so much fun. i think i have him convinced that it is a good time. i am sure we will see him there again...as needed.

Rachel seems to be fighting a bit of a cold. she didn't sleep very well last night, which translates to mama not sleeping very well. my bed is looking so good right now.

I am thankful for a good progress report for Olivia, fun times with my husband & BFF Haley tonight, and my super cozy pillow-top bed. 

Thankful Day #2

Today I am thankful for Olivia. Well, in reality, I am thankful for her every single day. But on this day in particular, I am thankful that she wanted to sit with me on the couch & have some snuggle time. That almost never happens anymore. But tonight she walked up to me & every so softly asked "can I sit with you for a little bit?" Of course I let her. So there we sat for a good 30 minutes with her resting her head on me & my arm wrapped around her. It was wonderful. Thank you, Olivia.

November Thankfulness - #1

During the month of November, I am going to blog every day about what I am thankful for. This is going to be beneficial for me. It is going to serve as a much needed reminder of how truly blessed I am. I've got a lot of great things going. It's just easier sometimes to focus on what is not going exactly the way I have planned.

On this day, November 1st, I am thankful for the happiness this harvest has brought to my husband. This has carried over from him to me to our girls. This has been a very nice snowball effect of happiness. He even let me run the combine. I was just a little nervous, but I did a ok job.