Thanksgiving. I love this week. Everything is focused on family, food, and tradition. Three gratitude posts, starting today. I wanted to get specific, not just make an elementary list.
My family is tops. They tolerate my quirks and foibles.
I'm grateful for Tucker, who's willing to text me a few times a week, even though he's snowed under with work, school, and now real snow.
I'm grateful for Lily Jane, who's willing to babysit her three younger siblings occasionally at night now, even though the prospect scares her a little bit. And she's great with the three of them.
I'm grateful for Micah's willingness to do his homework every day, right when he comes home from school. None of my other kids had 45 minutes of homework a night when they were first-graders (that includes 20 minutes of reading). But he does it every day, almost never complaining.
I'm grateful this little pixie is willing to learn behaviors that are Mom-centric. Like kisses, hugs, and especially raising her hand when I say, "
Who's Mommy's girl?" She also willingly submits to thousands of squeezes and smooches daily.
I'm grateful this little Rum Diddy is willing to hug and kiss his mom on command. The dude is exploring boundaries and limits right now, especially how to command attention (Is spanking or punching a more effective adult attention-grabber?), but he still says his name is
"Hyrum Kimball Denton, Mama's boy." How can I ever stay mad at that?
I'm grateful that my Idaho daughter chose such a great man (this is the most current shot I have of her--pirated from her blog) that takes great care of her. And that she is so willing to include me in her escapades at school, managing an apartment of boys and going to school all while gestating.
I'm grateful for a husband that willingly takes an idea of mine and improves it and completes it all in the same day. And for a son who willingly gives up most of a Saturday to help his dad.
I love you all. Thanks to my Heavenly Father who has willingly shared them all with flawed, imperfect me--
totally-happy-to-focus-my-life-on-them me.
Jen, how very sweet of you to put a pic with every item! I have a feeling that you are going to have a great holiday! hugs, Cathy
ReplyDeleteI'm grateful that you share your wonderful family with us wholeheartedly. It's really heartwarming to see such a great family, especially during this time of the year :) By the way, it looks like Heidi is doing pretty well with her pregnancy. How exciting it must be to know that this time next year, you'll have a new family member to be grateful about :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a special family!!!!
ReplyDeletewhat a sweet post Jen. . .
ReplyDeleteI love the photos and the specifics for each person in your fam!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Great Thanksgiving post, Jen, I love it! Heidi looks absolutely adorable with that lil' bump, too ;-)
ReplyDeleteLurve this post, LURVE your family. They make my heart happy too. And clearly I need to start teaching Max that Mama's Boy line.
ReplyDeleteIs it just me, or did anyone else want to see your "idea" that Brad made for you. Thanks for leavin me hangin there.
What a lucky lady you are! Such a sweet family (and I can't believe that little Lily is old enough to babysit her siblings! I remember when she was my Gracie's age - approximately, anyways!) And Heidi..I LOVE that girl, too! Thank you for sharing your sweet family!
ReplyDeleteWhat fantastic kids you have. That mama's boy line- that's the stuff of magic I say!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Allyson-what was the idea & project Brad & Ben were working on? I love that we have this opportunity and reminder every year to recognize all we have to be thankful for, and to verbalize it as well!
ReplyDeleteIt just makes me happy to read your blog! Enjoy your family and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And since Hyrum is one of the most spirited little boys I've ever met, give him a special hug from me. Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteLove all of these pics.
ReplyDeleteThat little baby belly is so exciting!
Such sweet thoughts about each one of them too!
This post was a great idea, and I enjoyed reading it VERY much.
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed with a wonderful family, and you deserve it.
=)
Can't believe I forgot broken Dad! Funny! Guess I was just too happy he was here at all. He was originally supposed to leave Monday morning, but had a 9 am meeting he was called to & so had to leave Sunday night instead. Bummer, but he's coming back Tuesday night, so not awful.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Lily was like 2, we got to babysit her for a couple days and it was right when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out. All she wanted to do was watch it! And she'd always quote it too. It's funny to see her reading it! Haha she was (and still is) a cutie.
ReplyDeleteCan you give me Heidi's link to her blog?
Lots of special things there to be thankful for. Glad you shared them.
ReplyDeleteJen, you are a lucky lady to have such a great family, but I have a feeling you already know that!! I bet they're pretty fond of you too :) Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
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