an attitude of gratitude

Next week we will have been back in the US for 6 months already! In some ways it has been super easy to transition back to normal life- Target, Walmart, 2 cars, 24 hour pharmacies. And in some ways it has been really difficult- tighter budget, more time commitments, trying to make new friends.

But this past month we decided to try and focus on our blessings and to try to do more for others. There are a lot of people (in the US, and throughout the world) that are struggling far more than we are, and we are truly, truly thankful for our material, spiritual, and all of the other blessings in our lives. :)

I forgot to put this photo on the last post- Spanish Moss. :)

We are thankful for the beautifully diverse world we have to live in.

We are thankful for 3 healthy, happy children.

Jacob has learned to hold things and now everything goes into his mouth as quickly as he can get it there. We find it's a challenge to teach our children about gratitude. We want to give them what they need, and many of their wants... but we also want them to understand that there are so many who have to go without and to have compassion and charity. I know little kids are pretty naturally egocentric, but we're still discussing ways to help them understand this. Any suggestions?

This is our "Thankful Tree."

Throughout November we talked about things we were thankful for at dinner time and put them on our tree. Some of my favorites: Halloween, 'snowmans' & Father in Heaven (from Toby,) my brothers, cheese, & Ariel (from Charlotte,) a singing voice, the mountains, & Julie (from Rob,) and Robert, Chinese take-out, & prayer (from yours truly.)

Oh look, it's the Savannah river again. (My organizational skills could use a tune-up.)

Fall photos from the CSRA

That's the Central Savannah River Area ya'll.

We heard about this place not far from us where you can walk or bike along the Savannah River and canal, so one Sunday afternoon when the leaves were prettiest, we took the kiddos for a stroll...

Pensive Charlotte- see it does happen sometimes.

This face! I love it.

I am really loving this Fall weather in Georgia.

Summer was brutal, but if the other 9 months of the year are this lovely, then I'll take it!

Halloween happenings

Hello again.

Three children certainly eat up more of my time than two did! I've also upped the ante by joining the YMCA gym and trying to exercise there 3-4 times a week. So, along with ballet, library storytime, and playgroups, our days have become quite busy. I will do my best to not let the blog go too long without posting.

The Halloween festivities this year seemed to go on and on and on.

Two weeks before Halloween we went to Kackleberry Farm.

This was the gentlest, sweetest, most lovely donkey I have ever seen. He actually wanted to be pet by children-- even when they clearly had no food to offer. I want one. ;)

We did the first stage of the corn maze.

(By all reports stage 2 was much more challenging and time consuming, so we opted out. Maybe when our kids are a bit older.)

We had our family photo taken on a giant rocking chair!

We did some other fun stuff too. The kids did a zip line, rode slides, watched singing rooster puppets, and fed the goats, sheep, and other animals. And we also picked out 2 pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. It may have been a real pumpkin patch, but it was not very sincere, and with the addition of the fire ant hills throughout... well, next year we may just pick them out at Walmart.

A week later we carved our pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns. (Actually, I carved pumpkins to Toby and Charlotte's specifications - because it was too "cold and smooshy" for them to be involved with- while Rob held the baby on the porch swing. Sometimes I wonder why I am the only one who cares about these traditions in our house.)

Toby is ready to fight bad guys... as long as they're not too scary.

Charlotte's pumpkin is a witch stirring her brew from one of those pattern dealios. Charlotte is attempting to look sweet and innocent like Snow White.

Charlotte's ballet class encouraged the kiddos to wear their costumes to class. This was also the day the parents were allowed to come in and observe. I took several short videos, but Charlotte was often behind another little girl and out of sight. I like this one though. I'm glad she is enjoying it and engaged in what the class is doing and listening to her teacher. :)

We also wore costumes to storytime at the library.

Then we attended our church Halloween party and trunk or treat.

Snow White, Casper, and Spiderman.

And THEN it was finally the big day.

REAL door to door trick or treating! Rob took Charlotte and Toby around the block while Jakey and I handed out candy. The kids were back after an hour and fully satisfied with their booty. They helped hand out candy for the next hour and had so much fun with that, that Charlotte wanted to hand out the candy she had collected as well! (Weird kid.) Rob and I however were quite done with Halloween at this point so we vetoed that plan, blew out our pumpkins, and outened the lights.

The kids had a blast. Which I think is the point of Halloween for us. It is the one holiday that is just about being silly and having fun and eating treats. And that is ok. :) Before bed that night Charlotte told me that some people had given her "whole handfuls of candy! I don't know why! I'm just a little kid, I can't eat that much candy you know!"

Happy belated Halloween.

belly laughs

I can barely get a little laugh out of Jacob. He smiles at me all the time and is cuddly and adorable. I figured he just wasn't a big laughter kinda guy. Then yesterday, I saw this....

Clearly, Rob knows something I don't.

I'm so glad he is our kids' daddy and my sweet husband. :)