So Much To Be Thankful For!!!

I haven't made much time for blogging lately, and I have really been feeling like there is a little something missing, and I am pretty sure that its that I haven't taken time to really reflect on our days.  We have been so busy...good busy, but never the less, still have some pretty full schedules.  Things are always crazy in our family from September through the end of the year, and then we get a few months to breath, but instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, I am really trying to focus on making our days memorable and not just going through the motions.

This thanksgiving was spent with Kyles side of the family (we switch off every year) and it was a lot of fun, and the Seahawks won...YAY!!! The boys did great, especially for not having a nap, and the food was as yummy as always.  I started off the day on my own... Early in the morning, right at sunrise, Kona and I took a drive out to Browns Point Park.  The 27th wasn't just Thanksgiving, it was also Dawn's birthday.  Gosh, I miss her.  Every day, I think of her, and the fact that he birthday was on Thanksgiving this year really made me appreciate my life and my health, and the time I have with my family, as she reminds me that you never know how long you have and how important it is to treasure, and enjoy life everyday!  It was a gorgeous morning... windy, but bright and sunny.  Kona and I went and took a walk by the lighthouse and brought Auntie some flowers... it made me feel good to visit her... although there isn't an actual place that she was laid to rest, I feel her the most at the lighthouse... one of her favorite places :)

With Thanksgiving, also come a 4 day weekend!!  We spent the first day organizing the garage and getting the Christmas lights out.  I took a load to the dump and we took some stuff to the Goodwill... then on Saturday, we went down to Watson's Nursery in Puyallup... they have a couple Reindeer :)  They are behind a chain-link fence, and weren't very active, but we were the first ones there that morning, so the kids had them all to themselves, and they thought it was pretty cool that Santa let his Reindeer come down for a visit before their big trip :)

I also realized how thankful and LUCKY I am to still have my 9 chickens because the little girls are pretty brainless... It was freezing cold outside, I mean, I think it was more snow then rain, and the little hens are running around outside like its nothing.  Normally, when it rains, they stay in their coop or covered run, but you would have thought it was summer and they were just playing in the sprinkler.  So we had some chickens that were wet all the way through to their skin, and it was getting dark...and down into the 20's.  Now, they probably would have been fine...heaven knows that chickens have been around way before man, but I felt bad for them.  I plugged in their heat lamp, and I made them some nice hot oatmeal... Yes, I cooked them hot food and gave them warm water in their feeder... needless to say, they survived... haha spoiled little ladies!

 

The rest of the weekends until Christmas are going to be very busy... sometimes even probably a little overwhelming, but hey... at least I have family that wants to spend time with us, and being overwhelmed with so much love and fellowship is much better then the alternative :)

And... this is how Grandpa Monty hangs his Christmas lights... The boys thought it was pretty awesome :)