Gratitude: Day 5

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

Saturday is doughnut day at our house and normally LaVor takes the boys. Unfortunately, he had to work today so doughnut duty became my job.

I scrounged up all the cash I could find and we headed out the door. I tried to calculate what we could afford while we were in line but I always seem to be off. Of course Doodlebug needed his milk and The Lime needed his Sunny D (blech!) so that took up even more of our precious budget.

We ended up being $1.03 short so I told Mary to put the milk back. "No, no!" she said. "Just pay me next time."

Bless her heart!

You can't trust many people these days but I was so appreciative that she trusted me enough to return next week to pay my remaining balance. This is how she and her husband provide for their family and she absolutely, positively did not have to do that for us.

But she's right...we will totally be back next week to pay our debt and order another dozen doughnuts.

Gratitude: Day 4

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

In a world of perfect families, houses, cars, hairstyles, clothes, bodies, children, etc., I find nothing more refreshing than seeing the real side of someone.

I had to drop off a binder to a teacher a few months back and she opened the door, only to hide behind it and say that she was ugly. I replied with, "No! You're real!" I expressed to her how happy I was that she opened the door, even though she hadn't done her hair, put on make-up, or even got dressed for the day.

A friend of mine told me how she suffers from extreme depression. She's probably the most upbeat, positive person I know but she confirmed that it's only because of the medication she's on and just last week, she was having a hard time getting out of bed to face the day.

I find comfort in seeing other kids act out and parents disciplining them (and using the exact words LaVor and I do) because it makes me realize my kids are normal and so am I.

I appreciate seeing other moms whip out the Halloween candy as a means to control their unruly toddler.

Life is hard enough without comparing ourselves to others and trying to obtain an unrealistic perfection. I'm grateful for people who keep it real and don't care who's watching.

Gratitude: Day 3

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

Whew! What a night! I'm glad I'm on this end of it because what a doozy.

Being called as the First Counselor in the YW presidency was not something I was gung ho about. I hated being a teenager and am relieved often that I don't have to live through that horrid stage of my life ever again. But now that I'm over the Mia Maids, I sort of do have to re-live it.

14-15 is a hard age. Throw in being a girl and it's even harder. We're dealing with some issues in our class and I'm at a loss on how to deal with it. I threw around some ideas for our activity tonight and at the last minute, the plans changed and I had to come up with something new. That left me feeling extremely overwhelmed, frustrated, and defeated, and I left the house in tears.

On my way to the church, I asked Heavenly Father to lead the meeting because I didn't know what to do or even how to do it. I asked for peace and comfort, not only for me but for everyone.

I remembered an activity we did when I was in YW (it was combined with the YM), where we each had a little booklet and we passed it around for people to write positive things about us in it. Since there's been some contention in our class, I thought this might be a good activity to alleviate some of it but also help the girls to realize the gifts and positive qualities they have (I was able to turn it into a Personal Progress activity). We each had 30 seconds to write in each others' books and I bore testimony at the end of how wonderful it is that although we're different, we all have so much to offer.

I waited to read my book until Friday afternoon. And boy, were those prayers answered!

I hope the girls left the activity as uplifted as I did!

Gratitude: Day 2

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

We've been in our current location for three and a half years and for three of those years, I hoped and prayed for a friend that I could really call a friend.

Two years ago, I was re-called to the Primary presidency, under a new president that just moved into the ward. We were a young presidency, all of our kids being 10 and younger so we had lots in common. I thought to myself, "Yes! This will be my opportunity to meet that friend!" But month after month went by and I wasn't making a connection with any of the presidency. In fact, I probably had the complete opposite feelings from what I was hoping for.

Fast forward to March of this year. Something literally clicked in me overnight and I had a prompting to write a note to the president, expressing my gratitude for all of her hard work and dedication. I dropped the note off with a brownie (because I remembered that was her favorite dessert), sent her a text message to check her porch, and was on my way. Within minutes, she replied with, "Thank you so much! This has been an answer to my prayers!"

Since that day, we have created a wonderful, strong friendship that I am SO grateful for. We've baby-sat kids when the other has been in a bind, we've gone on double dates with our husbands, we've laughed until we've cried, we've realized we have so much in common with each other, we've thrown baby showers together, we bring the other one medicine when husbands are out of town and kids have fevers, and we've grown to love one another. My favorite, though, is our one night a month (or so) that we go out, just the two of us, eat dessert, and talk until the store literally kicks us out (like what happened tonight).

Our kids love each other, our husbands text message each other during church, and I can honestly say I found that friend that I prayed and hoped for.

Now neither of us can never move.

Gratitude: Day 1

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

This week The Lime's school is having Parent Teacher Conferences. I have to admit, I've been a bit nervous these last few days, especially after he told me he's been going to The Learning Center with two other students for reading. He has improved tenfold since the beginning of the year but then I hear other kids his age read their talks in Primary and all I can think about is we've got lots of work to do.

Since day one, The Lime's teacher has been supportive, understanding, kind, patient, loving, and overall pretty wonderful. When he had to essentially miss the first week because of his arm, she was more concerned about him getting better than anything else. She does fun activities with them on Fridays and taught them an awesome cheer for College day. She reminds me of my sister-in-law, Krista, with her sweet demeanor. You can tell she genuinely loves what she does and is so good at it.

The Lime learned a lot last year, and I'm grateful for the time and work his teacher put into kindergarten. But this year has been even better and I know a huge part of it is because of his current teacher. We couldn't have asked for anyone better!

Halloween...oooohhhh!

I know most people can't wait for Halloween to be over with all of the trunk-or-treats, fall festivals, and class parties. But we missed our trunk-or-treat this year and The Lime's school is anti-Halloween, so I soaked in every second that I could!

I decorated the first weekend of October, we got The Lime's costume a few weeks ago, and we were itching for the 31st to arrive (mainly so The Lime could wear his costume...it sat in his closet this whole time because I'm a mean mom and insisted it stayed there until Halloween).

Doodlebug and I attended a potluck with some friends from church. He refused to wear his bandana and eyepatch, which was crucial for his costume because without it, he just looked like he was wearing regular clothes. When we arrived at the party, they had a huge inflatable cat in their yard and I made a deal with him that if he wore the accessories, I'd let him pet the cat. It worked and he wore the stuff the rest of the day.

The Lime got out of school early, we put Doodlebug down for his nap and attempted quiet time with The Lime, our neighbor invited us to take some of their pumpkins which was a blessing because we only had one little one, our friends dropped off some sugar cookies, and then we headed to the mall for our first round of trick-or-treating. It was a zoo so we only made a loop around the lower level before heading home where LaVor was waiting for us. Between our own trick-or-treaters and trying to eat dinner, we finished in record time to make the rounds throughout our neighborhood.

He enjoyed the Sees lollipop

The boys were on a roll and it didn't take long for Doodlebug to get the hang of it. As soon as he'd get candy, he'd start screaming, "More! More!" We saw neighbors, and friends from school, and Doodlebug had to pet every dog that he saw. In fact, he was more interested in the dogs than receiving candy. Poor kid is deprived.

It sprinkled a little in the beginning and sporadically throughout our walk. But we were down the street and it started coming down. We made two more stops at some of our favorite neighbors and then we called it a night and began the candy gorging.

Both boys got lots of compliments on their costumes. One lady walked up to her screen door saying, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" and continued saying it until we left. It was hilarious.

The day/night was a total success and now we're reaping the rewards for the next few weeks. Happy Halloween!

Doodlebug - Tally Mark 29

-Loves to call LaVor on FaceTime. When you ask where Daddy is, he says, "Green!" because the icon is green.
-Has to point to anything Halloween related and say, "Halloween! Ooooohhhhh!" and then waits for me to repeat it.
-Wears his helmet even when he doesn't need to. Leaves his head nice and sweaty.
-I watch two little girls twice a week and Doodlebug has fallen in love with the older one. Anytime the phone rings, someone knocks on the door, we get ready to go somewhere, etc., he asks if Sophie is involved with it. When it's his turn to say prayers, he says it by himself and always thanks Heavenly Father for the two girls and their parents. It's the sweetest.
-Loves to watch PJ Masks or as he says it "Me May Maa."
-Is still infatuated with dogs and has even started asking if he can pet the ones on the tv or iPad.
-Has to give The Lime a kiss goodbye before he heads off to class every morning.
-Knows all of his colors and can count to 10.
-Thinks that everything is his and has a hard time sharing.
-Will barely let you say "amen" at the end of our bedtime prayers before asking for a book.
-Started riding The Lime's wooden balance bike a few weeks ago but only because we told him it was a motorcycle.
-Asks if every white SUV is Omi and GrandPop.
-Prefers to sit on the little tray of the stroller rather than in the seat.
-Has to have his blanket, water bottle, and George when he sits at the table, watches a show, and goes to bed.
-Fits the stereotype for a 2 year old but is the quirkiest, silliest, chubby cheekiest 2 year old I know and we love him.