thankful (29)

The dishwasher is a simple thing in life that I am 

very thankful for. In our previous house we didn't 

have one and I always dreaded washing the dishes.

Now I am able to hit the button on the dishwasher at

night and have clean dishes in the morning!

thankful (28)

 This year we are talking more about the true meaning

of Christmas. The girls are beginning to grasp what 

Christmas is all about and it makes me and Nathan so

happy! We want them to know that Christmas is not

all about presents and how much you will get, but rather

it is about the birth of Jesus and God's gift to us.

Thankful for the true meaning of Christmas!

thankful (27)

We have been in our current house now for a little
over 2 years and we couldn't have asked for better
neighbors. In our old house, where we lived for 5
years, we also had the best neighbors! We still
like to go and visit our old neighbors.
We have neighbors that we can count on and
know that we are safe with. They are there to help
with cutting our grass, fixing our cars, letting
us borrow things, watching our girls and letting
them play in their yard.

Very thankful for good neighbors!

thankful (26)

I am thankful for the sunshine! I was watching

a show about Alaska last night and how there are

only four hours of daylight. I don't think that I could

live there for that very reason. I love to wake

up and see the sun coming out for the day. 

I love to just sit on the porch and soak up

the sun rays on a fall or even a winter day.

I especially love the summer with all of the 

sunshine. After it has rained for a couple

days, I look forward to seeing the sun come through

the clouds the next day. 

Thank you God for the sunshine!

thankful (25)

We just had a "date night" and the picture that 

we took turned out really blurry and too dark:( So, this 

picture will have to do. This is where we wish we had been 

able to go on a date night:) 

I love when we get the chance to go out on a date. 

We try to go out somewhere, anywhere, by ourselves,

twice a month. Recently it has been once a month and

was less then that around the times that we had a little baby.

Now our youngest is 14 months old so we are looking

forward to more date nights:)

When we went out last night, the girls were asking me

why I was all "dressed up" and where we were going. 

Then Natalee asked me how I met "daddy." I 

 told her a short version of our long story version of how we met.

 Then Lydia said, "how old do I have to

be until I get married?"

 Nathan overheard the conversation

and quickly said "36."

 Lydia said, "Well, mommy was only 19

when she got married." 

Nathan, "That was different. I guess you have to 

be at least 23 until you get married."

I love being able to tell the girls our story and how

God brought us together. Nathan and I both felt that

night the urgency to pray for their future spouses.

It seems so far away for that time to come but

yet we know it will come so fast. 

I love our date nights for...

*uninterrupted conversations

*peaceful dinners

*time to talk about "us"

*time to have fun and laugh

*walk through wal-mart without having 

to do my grocery shopping

*get in and out of the car without carseats

*check off some things sometimes on our "errand" list

*coming home to girls sleeping in their beds

It is a lot of work to set up a night for us to go out

and sometimes the girls are not all at the same place. 

Once we do leave them I have to focus on not 

worrying about them while we are gone, but I'm hoping

that will get better as they get older....it should:) 

Extremely thankful for date nights!

thankful (24)

I am extremely thankful for my siblings and Nathan's siblings. 

Our life would certainly not be the same without them.

I love being able to hang out with them and for the

girls to know them so well. I love that they

are willing to watch the girls for "free."

Each one of them are a blessing in our lives!

Right now we live close to almost all of them! 

 I have 4 sisters, 1 brother in-law and 2 sister-in-laws

 all within 10 minutes from us. Nathan's two brothers

 are within less then 30 minutes from us. My two brothers

 and 1sister-in-law are within 4 hours but we are fortunate

 that we get to see them often:) And last but not least, I

 have a sister and brother-in-law that currently live

 about 14 hours away (but it is temporary and we hope to

 see them more often soon:)

Our girls love each of them soooo much and me and Nathan do too!

Nathan's siblings...Andrew, TJ and Jenna

My siblings...Blake, Courtney, Kimberly, Luke, 

Elizabeth, Tori and Bekah

Blake and Andrea

Courtney and Landon (with one of their boys, Will)

Kimberly and Sergio

TJ and Luke

2 sister-in-laws- Natasha and Jenna

Liz

Tia 

Jenna

Bekah

thankful (23)

The girls just had a swim meet and swam so well. I was so 

proud of them! It brings back many memories of

when I swam at their age. They love it and I'm thankful for 

their healthy bodies that allow them to be able to do sports, 

like swimming. It has built their confidence and keeps

them in shape for sure!

At this last swim meet, my mom and dad took 

the two little ones after the girls first event. It was so nice

cause Nathan was home sick and I was able to focus on the 

older two swimming their events. They each swam five events

and during the in between time I was able to sit and talk

 with them, buy a few things from them concession stand

 and be right there on the deck waiting for them to swim.

They enjoyed it and I did too! 

Lydia was focused and waiting for the whistle to 

get in the water for her backstroke event:)

She ended up placing 2nd and was so excited

about getting her best time yet!

Natalee swam a 25 fly in the 8 and under for the first time

 in a meet and did great! She had a beautiful stoke and was

so proud of herself for doing a good job and placing 2nd!

Thankful for their love for swimming and healthy bodies!