Thankful!

Most of all I'm thankful for family.
J and Millie. I love them more every day and I look forward to growing even more attached to them over the years. Being a mom has really solidified this family connection for me. I love spending my days with them. I love watching our family grow together and make new traditions.
Dad. Mom. Brother. Sister. This is my family. They're the best. I couldn't ask for a better family. They've shaped who I am today. I still love the traditions I'm part of. And I sometimes miss the traditions that I've outgrown.
All the rest. My extended family is much to large to list but I love them all dearly. 

I'm thankful for the cross. This is what I'm really the most thankful for but thankful maybe doesn't cover it. I'm grateful. It's hard for me to even put this into words. All I can say is Thank you Jesus! Thank you for willingly dying on that cross for my sins and rising again to conquer death. And offering me the free gift of eternal life through your sacrifice. My life is nothing without You. You are the greatest Blessing of all.

Thankful... Day 1

I'm thankful for heat! This has probably been the coldest this season. I think winter is officially here. So while Millie and I recover from our colds, we've been staying indoors enjoying the warmth. I've been particularly sensitive to keeping our house warm because Olivia has sock issues. Every time she notices she has socks on, she attempts to pull them off. It's kinda cute actually. :) But I want to make sure her tootsies stay warm!

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving. I like fall - the beautiful colors, the football, the sweaters. And for me, it all culminates with Thanksgiving. I realize that it's a made up holiday. In other words, there is no significant event that we're celebrating. But I"m thankful to have a day set aside to be thankful for all the blessing in my life. I often don't remember to count my blessings on a daily basis. So this day specifically reminds me to do it! I also love how this is a day for family and food. I enjoy spending time with my family. I love all the yummy, comforting food! At our house the standard fare might be a little different than you're used to. Thanksgiving dinner at Granny's house usually consists of...
Ham. Because Grandpa doesn't like turkey. And ham is better anyhow.
Verenika. Fried, of course. These little pockets of dry curd cottage cheese are a traditional german mennonite food. And they always go with...
Onion Gravy. All the men rave about this at our gatherings.
Potatoes. We either have holiday potatoes, sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes, sometimes even an augratin. They're all good but I like Gran's sweet potatoes the best.
Mos. Growing up I always thought of Pluma Mos as the regular, but now we have Cherry Mos or Apple Mos too. Apple is my favorite. Mos. Hmm how to explain that one. It's a funny kind of soup. It's sweet. Pluma Mos has prunes and raisins in it. You'll just have to try it sometime.
Zwiebach. No meal is complete without these little sweet breads.
Of course there are other veggie sides that we enjoy and there's always dessert but these are the basics of our meal. Just writing about it is making me hungry!

Thankful... Day 2

I'm thankful for my hubby, the great cook! For supper we had steak and butternut squash. I'm not sure what all he did to the squash but it was really good! And the steak... hmm he makes a good steak. He marinated it and cooked it to perfection and make a lovely sauce. He definitely has a gift and I"m happy to be on the receiving end. :)

I'm also thankful for my hubby in general. I am so blessed by his willingness to provide for our family. He goes to work every day and works hard so I can stay home with our baby girl. He excels at his job. His employer speaks highly of him as do his co-workers. I'm so thankful to have a husband that provides so well for us.

Thankful... Day 3

I'm thankful for sunshine! The last few days have been quite gloomy and I've been missing the sun. Today when I woke up and saw the sun was still hiding, I thought of one of my friends who especially misses the sun on gloomy days. She is headed to Texas today, where I'm sure she'll enjoy the sun as well as her grand-babies. :)

Thankful... Day 4

I'm thankful for naps. Millie has a stuffy nose and so she's having trouble with her nap today so I'm missing mine too! Sunday afternoons are made for napping. :)

I'm thankful for nursery at church. I was in nursery this morning and wow, we were busy. There were 6 infants and half of them were crying. And my baby wasn't even in there! I'm so thankful I don't have sextuplets. How overwhelming would that be!!

I'm also thankful for music. :) I love worshiping on Sunday mornings. I love turning on the radio and singing any time of day!

Thankful... Day 5

I'm thankful for my phone! I probably spend too much time on the phone some days. But I enjoy that connection. I've always been more of a home-body, though now that I'm at home, I find myself craving outside connection every once in a while. 

I'm especially thankful for clear nasal passages! Today Millie has a nasty cold and is quite stuffed up. Thankfully she's still been able to sleep. But she hates having her nose cleaned. J had a cold a couple weeks ago and so Millie started copying him by fake coughing. It was pretty funny! Sadly, now she really does have a cough. Colds are a part of life and at least they don't usually last too long. I hope Millie feels better by Thanksgiving because she's in line to get a bunch of hugs from family she hasn't seen for a while. :)

I'm thankful for Nebraska football! I may have already mentioned it but I love this time of year. I look forward to Saturdays game every week. In college I was in Wyoming and sadly didn't get the game most weeks. But my mom would either tape the game for me or record it off the radio. So by Tuesday or Wednesday I would get an audio tape or a VHS tape in the mail. I would excitedly take over the TV in the lodge or pop it in my tape player and start cheering. My roommate always told me I was crazy to be so excited because I already knew who won. But I couldn't help still cheering and yelling at every play. :) Now I have to admit that if the game isn't very exciting, I sometimes fall asleep. What can I say, I'm a mom now! Cool fall games are my favorite. I love pulling out my puffy red winter coat and bundling up. And I love squeezing into my seat at the stadium and feeling the warmth of so many excited fans. I love Nebraska football!

Thankful... Day 6

I'm thankful for Fridays! Fridays are the days that J comes home in a great mood. We can relax and look forward to spending the weekend as a family. He doesn't have to think about work until Sunday night.

I'm thankful for my parent's generosity. I know that Grandma loves to get outfits for Millie just because. But I am truly thankful that Millie can be well clothed!

I'm thankful for warm water! :) I love taking warm showers this time of year when the house is particularly cold. Simple pleasures are the best!

Thankful... Day 7

Thanksgiving is next Thursday. But I've already been noticing Christmas decorations everywhere I look. The mall is covered in lights and swag. Downtown has up the 12 days of Christmas decor. My neighborhood entrance has their wreaths hung. And Christmas sales are already in full swing. 
It makes me a little sad and mostly annoyed. What about Thanksgiving!?! I realize that Thanksgiving is about family and food and isn't commercialized as much so maybe that's why Christmas seems to come sooner each year. But I love Thanksgiving. I particularly love all the fall decorations. The colored leaves and vibrant colors are beautiful! Thanksgiving feels like the last hooray for enjoying fall. I also enjoying spending time with family. I enjoy this at every holiday but Thanksgiving in particular reminds me to be thankful for me. And Thanksgiving is about football for me! The day after Thanksgiving is always the the last Nebraska football game of the year. So this year, one way I'm specifically trying to enjoy this Thanksgiving season is to share what I"m thankful for in the next week.
Today I'm thankful for my wheels. I took our car in to get a few things fixed, including the breaks which have been setting off a beeping alarm whenever I turn right for weeks now. It was driving me crazy! So they gave me an old school ford Taurus to drive for the day. Wow, not even my Buick regal was this rickety. I am looking forward to having my Passat back at the end of the day!
I'm thankful for the words I get to enjoy spilling from Millie's lips. She has learned how to say mama and dada. And though I know she doesn't know she's calling my name, it's still a joy to hear. I love having conversations with her!

Trying to Christmas Shop

I've started my Christmas shopping. But as I browse through the stores, I can't help but fall in love with stuff for myself!! 

I always get in trouble at Aldo. What can be better than a store that sells purses and shoes? Nothing. Well maybe if they also gave away chocolate. So I went in looking for shoes for my hubby and totally fell in love with this purse and these adorable wedge boots...

But I held firm and stuck to the plan and my budget. But boy am I looking forward to Christmas. I know Christmas usually means new clothes for me. Each year I think I should consider being more practical with my wishlist. But that's no fun!