Tomorrow's Turkey Day!

Well, I made it! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and this will have to be my last thankful post (and probably my last post for a while! I need a blogging hiatus.) Anyway, between the sleep-inducing tryptophan, uninhibited face-stuffing and giddy excitement of upcoming Black Friday sales I'm pretty sure I won't be on the computer tomorrow. Can't wait!

Friends and neighbors: me (sorry, no makeup!) Sandra, Amy, Jenn, and Tiffany

So, last but certainly not least, today I want to give thanks for my friends. I've never been the type of girl who has needed to have lots of friends. A couple close friends at any one time suits me well. However, as I look back on my life I realize that I've been blessed with dozens of close friends that have each been in my life at one point or another, right when I needed them. So thanks so much to all my friends! Life is so much better when you have friends to share it with! Happy Thanksgiving!

"I count myself in nothing else so happy

As in a soul rememb'ring my good friends."

- William Shakespeare

An attitude of gratitude.

Tonight, as the computer was scrolling through our pictures on our screensaver, I saw a picture of a sunset that I took in Cambria this summer and I realized something- that picture in no way embodies what that moment was like. At that moment I was breathless because of the majesty of the earth. It was one of those moments when you realize that you are but a blip on the radar. I felt humbled. There is a reason why a picture never does a moment like that justice. It's because it's not just about what you saw. It's about how you felt. So, today I'm thankful for the beauty of the earth and I vow to find more moments to appreciate it.

3 days until Thanksgiving!

And I'm thankful for the United Way. Ok, this probably wouldn't be high on my list most years but I really wanted to post about the service opportunity we had the other day. A couple of weeks ago I went to a conference for parents with kids with Special Needs. United Way had a booth there and after talking with their representative I asked them if they ever had volunteer opportunities that involve the whole family. (Will and I have always said that we wanted to start volunteering at least once a month once the boys were old enough to.) To my delight, she said that they actually had a Family Volunteer Day coming up the next weekend and even the 3 yr old could help out. Yay! That's just what we were looking for. Upon returning home, I told Will about it and found out that the Michigan/Ohio State game was at the same time! Bummer! But wait! (This will blow your mind!) Will, knowing that the game probably wouldn't go well, welcomed the diversion! This was shocking to me because he says that he hasn't missed a Michigan/Ohio State game since 1985 (and I believe it!) But he knew this would be great way to teach the boys some important lessons.

So, this past Saturday morning we woke the boys up early and headed to the food bank in Provo to receive our assignment. They gave us directions and we promptly headed to Hoofbeats for Healing, a therapeutic horseback riding arena in Spanish Fork. The boys were surprisingly excited to help. We spent the morning cleaning out storage trailers and shoveling and leveling out dirt in front of their indoor facilities. We really did have fun and the boys learned that helping others can make you happy. Great experience and we plan on having many more like it. Here's a few pics from that morning.

Will shoveling dirt. I was too but I stopped to take this picture. No lie!

The boys raking out the dirt to make it level. Well, let's just say they gave it their best shot. What more could I ask?

And here's Cooper hard at work. He was so cute just following everyone elses lead.

Coleman and Cooper both worked really hard picking big rocks out of the dirt and tossing them aside.

Great job, guys! Let's go check the website for another service project!

I'm thankful for the little things!

10 little things I'm thankful for:

1. Spanx.
2. Towels right out of the dryer.
3. When husband does the dishes.
4. The popcorn setting on the microwave.
5. Clorox wipes. (I love bleach!)
6. Clearance sales.
7. Hoodies.
8. A good laugh.
9. TiVo.
10. Online shopping.

5 days until Thanksgiving

And I'm thankful for the fine arts! Here's Cooper's latest contemporary dance number. He was very serious about this performance. He kept chasing Coleman out of the room because he was laughing at him. You may not catch it but in the middle of his dance Will says, "There's a lot of expression in this piece." Misunderstanding what his Dad said, Cooper proceeds to pretend to brush his teeth.

Thnx fr th Mmrs

I'm so thankful to my parents for lots of reasons. One of those reasons is because they gave me 4 amazing siblings. The kind that love unconditionally and laugh hysterically at all the same nonsense. We know each other in a way that is really rare. An understanding meant only for siblings. I love that we are all so different. It makes our family so fun and interesting! Another reason I'm thankful for my parents is because they worked so hard to make my childhood special with lots of fun traditions and lots of family togetherness. This post is dedicated to my Mom and Dad, my 3 sisters and 1 Barbie-playin' brother! Love you guys! Happy Thanksgiving!


That was then:

This is now:

Chad and I dancing with Beeper at the children's museum. Chad's an awesome dancer, obviously.

Celeste, Briana, and me at a baseball game in West Virginia.

At Dad's wedding last summer. A rare photo of all of us together.

Today, I'm thankful that I'm so easily amused!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

What do I have to be thankful for? Everything!

And I'm thankful that this collection of photos is now a book, DVD, and CD just in time for Christmas! Enjoy!

Today, I'm thankful...

...for my health! Will and I just watched Biggest Loser and while I really enjoy the competition aspect of the show I think what is most striking to me is watching people begin to believe in themselves again (or sometimes for the first time ever!) People let themselves get so downtrodden and beat down by life that they just stop caring for themselves. In a sense, they stop living. I know what it's like. I've been there. You see, after Cooper was born I found myself terribly overweight with debilitating post-partum depression. Coleman was handed an autism diagnosis at right around the same time and I was lost. I was plagued by nightmares every night and I knew that something had to change. The stress was getting to be more than I could bear. Here's a pic of my mom and I around that time (Nov. 2005.)

Oh man. I honestly remember that day so clearly. I wore a girdle under that sweater just trying to suck it all in. Wow. Anyway, I finally decided to start caring for myself so that I could care for my kids the way they needed to be cared for. We bought a treadmill and I started running. It became my stress release. The nightmares went away. My confidence came back. Even the autism didn't seem quite so scary!

Today, I'm still running at least 3-4 times a week. I don't run to get skinny. It's certainly not about fitting into a size 2. I run to survive another day. Well, that's a bit melodramatic but you get the point. I run to keep my mind clear, my body healthy and what I huge difference it's made in my quality of life. So, I can't help but feel blessed and thankful for my health this Thanksgiving. Who knows where I would be if I hadn't decided to start caring for myself a little.

11 Days and Counting

I'm posting really late. It's almost midnight so I'll make it short. Okay, something that I'm thankful for. (thinking) Well, I'm thankful for my 700 TC down comforter and my big poofy pillow. I know it's lame. I'm sorry! I'm so tired it's the only thing I can think about! I'll think of something good tomorrow. Nitey-nite!

12 Days 'Til Thanksgiving

Michigan's record is 3-8 this season and if you know my husband, you know that means some very contentious Saturdays at my house. So today, I'm thankful that football season is almost over! All I can say is- phew! It's about time! (By the way, Will says he's glad it's over, too.) Go blue! And please play better next year!

Countdown to Thanksgiving (cont.)...

It's my 2nd consecutive Countdown to Thanksgiving blog post! And today, I'm feeling thankful for something that I'm not sure I could live without- Google! (These are in no specific order, by the way. Google is great but not necessarily a close second to my husband and kids, knowumsayin?) Anyway, I use it at least two dozen or more times a day. I am a Google dependent. Pretty sure that if I had to live without it people would ask what happened to me. "Alicia always seemed so creative and informed. What happened?" In reality, I don't think I've ever had an original thought pass through my head. Everything I do is some form of something that I saw on the net. I need a recipe- google it! What the heck is a fartlek? Google it! What time is the movie? Google it! Need ideas for a lesson handout? Google it! You get the idea. I'm not necessarily a bright lady but imagine how much dumber I would be without Google! Ever had to live even just a day or two without the internet and felt completely paralyzed? I have! It's so sad but true. What an amazing thing to have all this info right at our fingertips! Yay Google! Yay computer! Yay fartleks! (Google it.) ;)

Countdown to Thanksgiving...

I was driving down the road yesterday and saw a house with all their Christmas decorations out. Come on, people! It's not even Thanksgiving yet! I mean, don't you think that's skipping ahead a bit? So, in order to give Thanksgiving the attention it rightly deserves, I've decided to do a blog countdown to Turkey Day. Everyday from today until Thanksgiving I'm going to post something that I'm thankful for. So, here goes!

Today's is a no-brainer. It's what I'm most thankful for- my 3 boys. My life would be much less exciting without these guys. What would I do with my time if I wasn't yelling at them to wipe the seat or to turn down the TV or eat their veggies? (And that's just Will!) Sure, maybe I would have a lot more sleep, a lot less wrinkles, and the pre-baby body back. And maybe I would've have finished college and gone on to be a famous book-writing psychologist and maybe I would be traveling the world right now and competing in ironman triathlons. And maybe, just maybe, I would be the first woman on the moon (has a woman done that yet?) Hmmm...Wait! What was I talking about again? Oh yeah! (So sorry. I lost my focus for a bit.) Anyway, what I was saying is that none of that would ever be worth not having the loving support of a sweet, hard-working husband or the treasured soft kisses from 2 beautiful sons that the Lord created just for me! I am so blessed this and every Thanksgiving if they were the only thing I had to be thankful for! I've learned to love in a way that no other people or things could have ever taught me. Thanks guys! MMMWAH!