thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in the Mountains

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Thanksgiving in the Mountains

First of all, please excuse how quiet andthenthey has been.  I had grand plans to write a few blogs while we were away for Thanksgiving, but I dropped my phone in the toilet right when we got to our house.  It spent the whole weekend in a big bowl of rice, and thankfully has made an almost full recovery.

Anyway, we had a wonderful weekend up at Sunriver for Thanksgiving with my Dad and Step-Mom and her brother and family.  We went up to the mountains on Wednesday, and drove on packed snow from before Willamette Pass all the way to Sunriver.  I’ve never seen that much snow, for so long.  Luckily, we got to do the drive during the day, so it was sunny and clear.

We got to the house in time to play in the snow a little bit before dark.  Alma loved it and would have stayed outside longer, despite her cold, wet fingers and legs.  The promise of the big bathtub was the only thing that could lure her inside.

andthenthey sunriver 01The next morning, Thanksgiving, we went to visit our great friends, the Gosses, in their new home in Bend.  It was another snowy, beautiful drive.  It was fun to finally get to see their house, and to get to see them!

The rest of Thanksgiving was spent playing in the snow, cooking dinner, and eating.  I made the turkey this year, and everyone added something to the table.  It was wonderful.

andthenthey sunriver 02 andthenthey sunriver 03 andthenthey sunriver 04On Friday we braved the below freezing temperatures and went to the High Desert Museum.  I love this place so much.  It holds so many memories of my childhood.  The otters (who weren’t on display), the indoor scenes of the West, the old settler’s cabin and sawmill.  It’s all there, all the same, and all incredible.  I loved sharing it with the girls.  Plus, it was amazingly beautiful in the snow.

Alma took this photo of me and Jesse.

andthenthey sunriver 05 andthenthey sunriver 06 andthenthey sunriver 07 andthenthey sunriver 08We went back to the house to watch the Civil War and learn how to knit. Harriet has such a sweet relationship with my dad.  He’s certainly one of her favorite people.  I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

andthenthey sunriver 09 andthenthey sunriver 10Then, we tried to go to the tree lighting.  It was just too cold, and we left before Santa got there and the lights were turned on.  It was still fun, and Alma got to talk to Rudolph and Frosty.  Here’s my favorite exchange:

Alma:  Rudolph, I saw your friends being mean to you!
Rudolph: *nod*
Alma:  Do they let you play with them now?
Rudolph: *nod*

It was sweet to see her so concerned for Rudolph.  She has a sweet heart in her, that’s for sure.

andthenthey sunriver 11

Friday Gratitudes 2

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This has been a long week that flew by.  In the moment, I couldn’t believe it was taking so long, but last night I realized, ‘hey!  It’s Thursday!’  I love that.

10.  Books – Alma has gotten so good at sitting through a book, even books with lots of words.  I love it.
11. Muscles – First training day for Couch to 5K.  My muscles were soooore, but it was a good kind of sore.  Grateful to have strong legs and a body that can put up with what I give it.
12. Pancakes
13. Wine
14. Nanapapa – Dinner with my dad and step-mom. I love how Alma says their name as one. “Nanapapa, nanapapa!”
15. Rach – we had an amazing nanny last year while I was teaching. She and Alma have formed the most incredible bond. Alma freaks out and lights up when she sees Rach, and I think Rach feels the same way. We still see her a couple times a month and it is lovely.
16. 2110 – while on my training run (ha), I finally met the woman who lives in my old house. We live about a half mile from the house I grew up in, and we walk by it all the time. I have wanted to meet the owners for a long time, but never saw them outside. On the 16th, the woman was getting the mail, so I introduced myself. So fun to hear that they have a daughter who sleeps in my old room.

There you have it, folks! So much for which to be grateful! Here’s to my next week of gratitudes! What have you been grateful for the past week?

One Little Word – Gratitude

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I have done Ali Edward’s One Little Word project in the past, but I’ve never really done much with it.  In 2009 my word was FOCUS because I was in grad school and knew that I needed to focus on my schoolwork, my marriage, my friends, whatever I was doing.  It worked for me that year.  Since 2009, I can’t remember if I ever picked a word.  Obviously it didn’t leave in impact if I did.

Every November, I like to do the 30 days of Thanksgiving, or 30 Days of Gratitude on Instagram.  It is fun to intentionally think of something everyday that I was thankful for.  It was often little things, but those things are important, too.  It feels so good to pay attention to, and acknowledge the things for which I am grateful. I want to feel that way the whole year.

For 2014, I want to really focus (there’s that word again) on being grateful.

Here’s a confession: Being home all the time with Alma and Harriet is really hard.  I spend a lot of time calculating how much time until Jesse comes home, we have a play date, my parents are coming over, nap-time… I don’t know that I am the kind of person who thrives being a stay-at-home full time parent.

That isn’t saying I don’t enjoy my kids, or my time at home with them.  I really love them, and get a lot out of being with them.  While it is hard being home, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to leave them (especially Harriet right now) somewhere else, or with someone else.  Whenever I do get a break from them, I find myself rushing back home to be with them again.  And boy do I miss them when they’re sleeping.  It’s a confusing feeling… when they’re awake I can’t wait to get them down, but when they’re down, I just want to hang out with them.

Anyway… I want to be grateful for this time.  I want to be more grateful during the time I have with my daughters.  I will never have kids this age again.  Alma is so funny, and I love watching her learn new things.  Harriet is just waking up to our amazing world.  I also want to be actively grateful for other things in my life.  I really am very lucky to have such a full life, I want to give thanks for it.

Gratitude. 2014, bring on the things for which to be thankful!