"Give Thanks at the Rememberence"

Amellia took this picture of a beautiful sunset we were blessed with the other night.

Each year I yearn for a more thankful Thanksgiving. The make up of Halloween is barely washed off before the gaudiness and materialism that clouds Christmas is upon us. We can scarcely find a quite moment or honorable nod to the toil of those who built our nation and left us with the plenty abound. And just as He is slowly erased from his own birthday celebration, remembrance to our Savior and our Father are replaced with gluttony. 

I cannot say that I have not fallen prey to forgetfulness. I cannot allow myself to get caught up again. I feel this pull to gratitude when I reflect on my life. We all have joys and trials that have made our lives what they are and who we are. 

I felt there was risk this year for us to be caught up in all the bustle of our life. We are in the middle of so much change and chaos that I have felt out of myself. I didn't want to loose another holiday season to regret and missing precious moments. I think Heavenly Father heard my thoughts when I received a post that was sharing a Thanksgiving Devotional. 

An inspiring family has created this daily devotional for the Thanksgiving season. I really feel that it has made a difference, at least for me. I may not see the affects on my children for years but I know that their souls cannot helped but be touched by the scriptures, poems and stories. 

If anyone is interested in this devotional here is the LINK.

Olivia turns Six

On October 29th my baby girl turned six! It is really hard for me to believe actually. Besides the fact that to me she still looks like shes four and she still sucks her thumb :( she will always be a baby too me. For a few years I thought she would be the official baby of the family, but that changed :)

Six important things to know about Olivia.

1. She loves the color orange.
2. She loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups- obsessively!
3. She is pleasant in the morning and always greets me with a smile.
4. She is a willing helper that I can count on.
5. She inherited my temper- poor girl.
6. She loves to sing and dance especially with her 2 favorites, High School Musical and Camp Rock.

She loves "butter cups" so much that she wanted me to use that as the theme of her birthday party. I was a little unsure of how I was going to pull that off. This is what we came up with:

We decorated in Orange and Brown- what else??? :)
My talented hubby helped me create invites that looked like a Reese's wrapper.

 

I decided to use "the Gang" to solve a mystery of who ate Olivia's butter cup. I made up clues that went along with each character in a game which led them to Scooby, of course, who was the culprit. {And he would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those meddling kids! } They had lots of fun doing that and playing with the characters.

 

They also had fun eating a Reese's treat and playing "Blind Man's Bluff" in the back yard.

One of those days

I'm having one of those days where I just cant get motivated to get beyond the bedroom. The chaos of our surroundings {our basement is almost finished and the rest of our house is clutter while things wait for their new home} is overwhelming me. I don't feel like dealing with school today either. So I'm just wandering around doing nothing and then being irritated by that. I decided stop complaining and blog but then what to blog? NO one likes to listen to complaining....

So here is what you get for a post. My girls have a new, current favorite song. Its funny cause Evan likes to think hes Michael Buble and sing along. I dare you not to want to dance around!

Burning the Midnight Oil

Decided to make some changes and updating tonight while I wait up to fill Evan's feeding pump. I've found it is easier to stay up then to get up after only an hour or two of sleep.
Its quiet in the house and I can get things done. One of those things to do is a blog that chronicles my experiences with my sugarfree sweetie pie :) I hope it will be a treasure for us and a help to someone else.
nighty-night!

Please No Heart-attacks

Yes I know, a post. It has been almost a year. I am resolved to pick it up again and start a new one. This is a lot to ask for, of myself, but I need this outlet back. So be on the look out. For now enjoy a picture!