A Month to be thankful

Each year in November I try to make it a point to focus each day on something that we are thankful for. Ideally we really should be doing this every day of every month but with the hustle and bustle of everything we don't always do that. So each day after homework was done we colored a feather and then wrote what we were thankful for. As of today this is what our turkey looks like. He is getting pretty full! only three day left. here is what we are thankful for( in case you cant read it in the picture):

1. Crafts: crafting is a big thing in our family and I personally do crafts as a nice stress release as well as them being fun

2. Pets: We don't have nearly the amount of pets we used to too but we love the few we have left. I am also thankful that they are all easy to take care of.

3. Brothers and sisters: The kids have said many times that they are thankful for each other. I know me and David are sure thankful for our sister and brother. They are the first friends we really have and are still.

4.Our house: We have had quiet a crazy last year and a half and are thankful that we have ended up in a house where we feel safe and comfortable.

5.Parents: the kids said they were thankful for me and David and all we do for them. We also are thankful for our parents. I love spending time with them.

6. Toys: the kids were very thankful to have toys to play with. David and I are thankful that we can provide toys for the kids to play with and be entertained.

7. Flowers: Payten decided that the flowers are very important and that they keep outside pretty.

8. Christmas: We are thankful for all aspects for Christmas. We are thankful for the true meaning of Christmas and also for the joy of giving presents to others.

9. Spending time with family: Family is a very important aspect of our lives and are fortunate to have some family close enough we can stop and spent time with them often.

10.Calendars: Payten said this one but I think I am the most thankful out of all of us in the family. My calendar is normally packed full and I am glad I have somewhere to write things down so I don't loose track of things going on.

11.The bible: we are might thankful for the great bible that we could read about Jesus and learn from him.

12.Good weather: We all have a different idea of what good weather is but me and kids like warm weather but David likes cold weather. I guess that makes at least one of us happy with the weather all year long.

13. Teachers: Payten and Wyatt are thankful for their teachers that teach them so much. They are such wonderful people who really have a passion for teaching young children. thank you!

14. T.V.: We probably spend too much time watching it but I am thankful for educational show I can put on for the kids that they can learn form instead of just watching crud. I am also thankful for the time me and David get to sit down and watch a show together after the kids go to bed. sometime it the only time I get with him all day.

15. Santa: can you guess who put this up their? while we go back and forth with the whole Santa thing I think it is nice for the kids to have an imagination and enjoy a little Christmas magic as long as they understand why we celebrate Christmas.

16.Our car/truck: while I think I am more thankful for my car as it has been reliable this year and the truck has had a rough time I am thankful that we are able to have vehicles and that most the time we have one to take David to work without me having to get the kids up at 4:30 to take him their.

17. Grandparents: My kids sure have some awesome grandparents. They love spending time with them and they sure spoil them. I couldn't ask for any better of grandparents for them. The kids love you to pieces!

18. America: we are thankful to live in America where we are free and  are thankful for all the military who keep it that way

19. God: we are thankful for god and all he has done for us. we pray to him and thank him regularly.

20.Our church: The last year has been interesting at our church but with a new year comes new blessings. we look forward to it all. we are thankful for all the friends we have made and also for having a place to go to worship our great god.

21. Food: we are thankful for the food we can put on our table each day. We often forget how many people go without simple because they don't have any other choice.

22. Running water: I cant imagine not having water readily available. it sure makes laundry, cleaning and cooking easier.

23.Electricity: I am a very cold person so I am very thankful for having heat in my house and being able to have lights so we can stay up past 3 in the afternoon these days.

24. Homework: Payten said this one and I wasn't surprised. She loves coming home and doing homework and I figure lets take advantage of it while she still likes it.

25. School: I am thankful that their are school that we can take our kids to to learn. I just don't have the patients to homeschool so I am thankful they can teach and I can just help work on it at home.

There is still three days left so our turkey will get three more feathers.

From our house to yours we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Operation Christmas Child

For many years our church has participated in a ministry called Operation Christmas Child. This ministry provides shoe boxes filled with small toys and personal items along with a story of Jesus to children around the world that otherwise would not receive anything for Christmas. Payten's children's group this year decided to host a packing party at the church for everyone to join together and pack these presents for the children. Payten and I found many things we donated and also asked grandma if she had anything she would like to donate. Once at the packing party Payten packed four different boxes for four different children. One for a 5 year old girl, one for a 15 year old boy, one for a 14 year old girl and a last one for a 2 year old girl. After packing each box we sat down and wrote a letter to the child describing herself and what she liked and what her family was like. We put our address on the letter so that if they wanted to they could write us. The experience was amazing and it felt good to know we were helping someone else. As we do not have a lot of money we were thrilled to be able to contribute without breaking the bank. We look forward to participating in the ministry for years to come and next year hope to be able to give more then we did this year.

 Here she is picking out toys for her 14 year old girl. they could pick one bigger toy and two small toys along with a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, washcloth, Kleenex, stuffed animal, small notebook, pencil, crayons or colored pencils, gloves, hair ties and a small bag of candy.

 Here Payten is writing her letter to her 14 year old girl. She wrote her name, what she liked to do, what country, state and city she lived in, her favorite color, food and drink, who was I her family and what pets she had and her address in case they wanted to write her.

 Here she is writing her letter to her 2 year old girl. as you can see her box was full.

This was the last box she did. It was for the two year old girl. In this box was all the usual things she put in all her boxes but also a ball and a baby doll which she was so excited to put in there.

Fun halloween traditions start

Halloween this year was like most other years...busy. After picking Payten up from school we hurried to get the kids dressed in their costumes and headed to Uptown to trick or treat with Aunt Heather and all the cousins. It was so nice as the weather wasn't too cold so the kids were not miserable. After stopping at home for a quick bite to eat we went over to our church for a Harvest party and trunk or treating. They played games, went on a hay ride, trunk or treated and finally got way too much candy. Once all the game options had been exhausted we went to go trick or treat at grandma and papas house. The kids had a blast and we were all tired after a long day so we went home late and went to bed.  In case you are wondering what payten is doing in the first pic, she is playing a life size version of angry birds that the guys at church came up with. it was soo cool! defiantly the hit at the party, payten played like four times.