This year we made the rounds to the Lloyd's house for lunch, back home for a quick nap, then to the Riley's for dinner. What a day we had! Lots of food, fun and fellowship with family and friends. I have had enough turkey to last me for a while! My favorite part of these family gatherings is watching Emily and Aiden interact with their cousins. Here are a few pictures of our Thanksgiving for you to enjoy. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too! 
Thanksgiving is a time of good food with family and friends, but it is also a time to reflect. As I look at my life and all that has happened in the last year, I am blown away with all the things I have to be thankful for. It was not the easiest of years, as I experienced many trials and tribulations both personally and in my family, but with the hard times, there were also many, many great times.
A few of the things I am thankful for are:
* Jonathan – I am married to the most wonderful man in the world. He is so kind, caring, uplifting and helpful. He is the best Daddy ever and is a very “hands on” daddy. Jon loves us with an unconditional love and shows us every day in little ways like helping with bath night, doing dishes, snuggling with the kids, giving back rubs, taking the kids to the park, watching Grey’s Anatomy with me, and so much more. He works so hard at his job while allowing me to stay home with the kids. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful, Godly man, and I love him with all my heart.
* Emily – What a precious little girl I have! She is so full of life and loves exploring the world around her. It is amazing to me that even though she is language delayed, she expresses herself so well! Lately, she is really showing an amazing amount of empathy and compassion with Aiden, her cousins Abi and Hailey, and Mommy and Daddy. She has a huge heart and loves to be a helper. I am so thankful that God chose me to her Mommy.
* Aiden – Mr. Tiny Hiney is definitely a Momma’s Boy. Aiden was a HUGE surprise for us this year, but I cannot imagine our life without him. His smile and eyes light up a room and he can always make me laugh…even when laughing is the last thing I want to do. I am SO thankful for Aiden’s vision and for his strength as he deals with his torticollis. I am so thankful that God, in His perfect timing, knew we needed Aiden in our family.
* Our families – This year I have really learned to lean on our families, both mine and Jon’s. Our family members helped us time and time again with babysitting, financial burdens, listening ears, and support. I can honestly say that until this year, I had taken our families for granted, but never again.
* Kelli – I have the most amazing sister who will graduate from A&M this December! Kelli is constantly amazing me with her strength, humor and ability to multitask. Whenever I want to be encouraged, I call Kelli. When we were growing up, if you had told me that I would one day be best friends with my sister, I would have called you a liar. Boy was I wrong! I am thankful for a sister that doesn’t pretend to always know the right answers or right things to say. I am thankful for her honesty and the million laughs she so easily generates. I am thankful that she is a wonderful mommy to my niece, Abi. But mostly, I am just thankful that she is MY sister.
* Friends – I am so thankful for my friends – those I see and talk to all the time and those that are never far from my thoughts and heart. If I were to be completely transparent, I would have to say that this has been one of the biggest areas of change in my life during the past year. I have met so many incredible friends this year that I have grown to love while having to say goodbye to some incredible friends as well. I am thankful for all of the wonderful memories and for all the support my friends have provided for me and my family. It means so much to me just knowing they are there, even if only in the heart.
* Provisions – I am so thankful that we have a home to live in, an income that pays the bills, and good health. These things are so easily taken for granted, but this past year, I have seen so many family members and friends who don’t have these things. I never want to take my life for granted, but instead want to treasure every minute of it as we are never promised tomorrow.
These are just a few of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and time with family and friends. I also hope that you will take some time to reflect on your life and the things that you are thankful for.
Emily and Aiden are finally getting to the point where they play together and enjoy each others company! It is so sweet to hear them jabber back and forth and watch them share toys. Tonight, as we were getting the kids ready for bed, they had other plans. Emily and Aiden wanted to have some play time without any adults around so they holed up in Emily's room for a while. Jon and I were cracking up listening to the squeals through the door and when we tried to enter, Emily wasted no time kicking us back out!
Lately, Emily has really been into stuffed animals and dolls. She sleeps with them, pushes them around the house in her shopping cart, takes them in the car when we leave, and even gives them pretend food and water. She is a great little mommy! When her friend, Lindsey, turned 4 last weekend, she had a birthday party at Build A Bear Workshop where all the guests were able to make a stuffed animal to take home! I just knew this party was going to be right up Emmy's alley...and for the most part, I was right! She had so much fun looking at all the choices with her daddy and finally picked out a bunny that would later be named Zooter. The hardest part of the party for Emily was the wait time as each child took a turn stuffing their new friend and Emily was the last one to get her turn. Needless to say, she did not handle this part very well. She did everything from lounging under a store display to throwing an all out tantrum right at the feet of the guy stuffing the animals. However, when it was finally her turn, she was so excited! Her little face lit up as Zooter 'came to life' and she could not wait to give her new friend a huge hug. So sweet! After all the kids finished their animals, we all went down to Los Cucos for dinner and cake. Emily and Hailey were the last to leave as they had to collect all the extra balloons to take home! We all had a great evening celebrating Lindsey's birthday and Emily was able to come home with a new best friend. Welcome home, Zooter! :) 
Fall is here and it has brought us beautiful weather just in time for all the festivals, parties and Trick or Treating! We have been very busy playing outside and Halloween weekend was no different. The day before Halloween I took the kids to a Halloween party that was put on by our play group. The kids had so much fun showing off their matching monkey costumes, eating "healthy" snacks of cupcakes and candy, and playing with their friends. Later that evening, they got BACK into their costumes and met Hailey at Gymboree for a party followed by attending a carnival at Hailey's school. At the Gymboree party, Emily's favorite activity was the arts and crafts station while Aiden LOVED going down the slides. Even though there was a lot of fun things going on, the highlight of the Gymboree party was Daddy got home from his week long trip to FL in time to see the kids all dressed up and playing!!! Emily's reaction upon seeing him was PRICELESS as she jumped into his arms and refused to let go! At the carnival, Emily and Hailey were able to use tickets to play games for prizes, get their faces painted, and decorate a cookie for a snack! It was a very long day but full of so many fun activities! It goes without saying that the kids slept really well that night! Here are a couple of pictures from our day of parties. 
