Three More...

I figured that I wouldn't have time to post on Sunday with my travel plans, but I ended up staying so busy yesterday, too, that I am now two days behind! So today you get three things I'm thankful for...

4 - My job. I have to admit that I complain about my job sometimes. Everyone does, right? But at the end of the day I am so very lucky to have a great, steady job that I can do from home... especially in this economy. A huge part of that is probably due to my boss to be honest, as she is a mother of three and very family oriented. And Marriott as an overall company is family-based and really does all it can to help make their employees' quality of life better. I know I won't do it forever, but for now it allows our family to give extra money away to those in need, buy fun stuff for Jake (and occassionally for us), do home improvement projects, and travel when we find the time. We will enjoy the dual income while it lasts, but do all that we can to really live off of one.


3 - My girlfriends. Growing up I moved around a lot, but always seemed to have a best girlfriend no matter where I went. Many of them I am still in touch with, grab random lunches and dinners with when we're in the same place at the same time, and a few I try to see at least once a year. When I moved to Small Town, USA I met so many people, but it did not take long to find a few great gals that have become my family. And the first thing I did when I got off the plane on my current business trip to Miami? Got together with my old "Bachelor" gals for a good ol' fashioned gab-fest (although I have to admit that I really miss the quarterly trips to Disney with this bunch). There is nothing like a girlfriend to tell you that you look cute when you feel lousy, pick you up when you're feeling blue, laugh with til your tummy hurts, or confide in when you need a true friend. And the best part is that there is always room for more!


2 - How could I go seven days without mentioning this guy? Oh Jake, you melt my heart. That's all I have to say about that.


Only one more to go and then it's TURKEY TIME... or National Pie Day as I like to call it. That is truly the most important part of the meal if you ask me!

Five to go...

It kind of goes hand-in-hand with yesterday's post, but today I am thankful for my home sweet home. We literally had one day to find a house when we moved up here, so after weeks of scouring the Internet, we visited about ten in one day. This one was on our "yeah, right" dreamhouse list, but we took a look anyway and fell in love. Our timing was perfect as the previous owners had just closed on a smaller house across town and were in a bit of a bind, so with our first offer, it was ours! We closed in record time, moved in, and have made it our own through many, many wonderful projects and changes. After bringing our son home to this house, I can't imagine ever wanting to live anywhere else. In fact, I have told Josh that if we ever have to relocate we will have to find a way to put it on the back of a truck! So it looks like we'll be staying put for awhile. We bought a home that was much bigger than we need in the hopes that we'll fill it up in the coming years.

On another note, I am posting a picture of myself for little Jake to look at over the next couple of days. Tomorrow I am boarding a plane and heading to Florida for business, sans Jacob and Josh. Let me just say that it's less than 12 hours before my flight and I am still in denial that I have to go. So Jake, if you miss me, here is a picture of me and you to remind you of that mommy-lady that you love so much. I know that your daddy will take great care of you, but please do not grow or learn anything new until I get home on Wednesday. I love you so much!

I hope you're all having a great weekend! If I can't post tomorrow due to my travels, I will make sure to post two things on Monday.

6 More Things I'm Thankful For...

After a year and a half in the Midwest (after five years in South Florida) , today I am thankful for Small Town, USA.

The people are friendlier, the community is closer, and just about everyone reaches out a hand to help someone in need. In terms of places that I want my son (and future children) to grow up, we have found our paradise. From Main Street to the county fair, Paint the Town, the Christmas Walk, and all of the other fun year-round festivals, it is family-friendly fun all the time. I am so thankful that ministry brought us here where we have met some of the most wonderful people on earth (and I truly mean that to those of you from around here who read this) and have been able to put down some roots. Never in my life did I think that my first child would be born in Northwest Illinois, but I could not be happier about it! I will forever be a small town girl at heart.

7 Things I Am Thankful For...

One of my oldest friends, Maury, did this over on her blog and I thought it was a great idea. She started by saying:

I'll be doing a post a day until Thanksgiving about something I am very grateful for. Why don't we make this fun and you do it, too.

Today, even though you're probably tired of hearing about him, I am so very thankful for my husband.

There is nobody that I know that works harder, challenges me more, or inspires me to be a better person other than him. As a pastor he provides council to many hurt and broken people, but does not take it home with him. Instead, he somehow finds a way to tuck all that away so that he can be at his best when he's here. If it were up to him, we would go bankrupt from giving all of our money and possessions away, but his wife won't let him! :) And of course, my love for him grows everyday watching him be a dad to our little Jakie.

I realize that I could fill my 7 days with just about every person in my family... I have great parents and in-laws, great sisters, and an awesome extended network of grandparents, aunts, and uncles. I know that they are truly blessings in my life and I do want to acknowledge them even if they all don't get their own posts. I'd like to take the next 6 days instead to really dig deep and find the blessings that are outside of this special group of people, so please know that you are counted among the best of what I am thankful for. With that being said, however, chances are that my little Jakie will probably get a post of his own... I can't resist.

So with 7 days until Thanksgiving, what are you thankful for?

What do you get...

... when you have a squirmy baby during diaper changes???

a MAJOR baby diaper wedgie!

I didn't even know that was possible. One day he may kill me for this, but it was far too funny not to share.

On another note, sorry for the lack of posts lately... not only have things been crazy busy (as they usually are) but I have also been feeling a bit uninspired. In fact, I've hardly even taken pictures this month! And since I work from home and spend most of my day staring at a computer screen, I have zero motivation before or after work hours to continue to do so. Especially now that my son is doing such uber-cute new things everyday. For those of you who are wondering, yes, he can walk behind his dinosaur toy pictured here... watch out world, it won't be long before this kid is walking! *sigh* If it were up to me, he would crawl forever as I am a huge fan of the crawl. But I'm learning everyday that no matter how hard I try, I just cannot make him stop growing. I remember hearing all the time before I had kids, "oh they just grow up so fast!" and it just seemed like a cliche thing to say. But man, once you have a kid, you really know what they mean! Jake has been with us now for eight months already and I can hardly believe it! But at the same time, I can hardly remember life without him.

Hopefully I'll be out of my blogging funk soon for all of my faithful readers, and seeing as the holidays are coming up, I'm sure there will be plenty to post about. Jake's Pawpaw arrives tonight and will be with us thru Thanksgiving, then before I know it, his Uncle Michael, Auntie Mindy and cousin Adam will be here to celebrate Christmas with us! I think I will have plenty of material in the coming weeks.

Thanks for stopping in, even though I haven't had much to say lately! Next time I'll make sure to include a picture of the kiddo's face... although who can resist that little pinchable tush!?!

The other day I decided to give the dogs a bone, so I looked under the kitchen sink

When I pulled the bone out of the packaging I was a bit confused to find that the filling was gone and the outer shell was only partially in tact

Upon further investigation I found that something had nibbled its way into the bag

Which then made me take a closer look to realize that the mess under my kitchen sink is this little creature's new home.

Ewwwwwwww.....

I wish I could say that the story ends here, but it doesn't. I wish I could say that I did not jump about six feet in the air and scream like a little girl when I saw the culprit scurry behind the bag of dog food, but I can't. I wish I could say that I courageously and responsibly took care of the problem, but I didn't. I wish I could say that the dogs will get fed regardless of the sighting, but I cannot commit to that. What I can tell you is that I am going to love my husband even more than I already do once our unwelcome guest is gone. Ahhhh, the perks of marriage!

Under the Weather

Even though the little man is not feeling good...

You certainly wouldn't know it! He is still all smiles for us!

I think he'll be back to his old self in no time!

Now if only Josh could fight off whatever Jake shared with him we'll be all set!