Should We Really Only Be Thankful for One Day?

We stayed home for Thanksgiving this year which was nice. If I do not say it enough, we are L.O.V.I.N.G our new home. I mean, there could not be a better home out there for us. Sometimes I will just look around and think "WOW! This cannot really be my house?!" I hope that feeling will never fade, for it makes me smile and thank the Lord for the sweet blessing of how we came to have this home. There were lots of tears, anger, patience, sadness, hopelessness, more patience, comparison to others, laughter, doubt and more patience. But I am reminded each time I look around that God's timing is WAY better than mine, otherwise we would not have THIS house. I pray that this home will always remind me of just that, God's timing is better than mine! It is just one of the MANY things I am thankful for this year (2012). 

So we stayed home and went over to my parent's house for Thanksgiving. Yes, I have a house, yes I have an amazing kitchen table that can seat ten that my wonderful father-in-law made (another thing I am thankful for...my father-in-law and his amazing talents), and yes I have a kitchen in which to cook a Thanksgiving meal in, but alas I am not ready for that kind of commitment. My mom and my mother-in-law (two more things I am thankful for, two wonderful mothers!!) both do AMAZING Thanksgiving meals, and I am just too selfish to give that up yet. Maybe one day.

Allison and Dan came, Sarah was home and Nana came as well.

It was just a relaxing day. We got up here at home and had a leisurely morning getting ready. We headed over to my parent's house mid morning, in time to catch some of the Parade and some breakfast casserole, and surprisingly (except not) Lyla loved watching it and all the "allooooons"!!! (balloons).

We were able to just hang out and enjoy being together. Another thing I am thankful for, being not only physically close to family, but also relationally close to family. I wish the rest of our family lived here as well....maybe one day!

I am so thankful for my own family the Lord has given me. I have such an amazing husband, who works so hard that I am able to stay home with Lyla. He is the best daddy to Lyla. He loves me unconditionally and more than I ever deserve. He is such a servant and always put me first...even when I do not do a good job serving him. I have the sweetest daughter who I could not possibly love more. She is my heart and I am loving every moment of watching her grow up. I am so thankful for her health and her life. Her heart is so full of joy and love. Laughter fills our house because of her. I pray for her little heart that she would continue to grow to love Christ.

Have the most amazing sisters, whom I am so thankful for. What in the world would I do without the two of them? They have been there for me both in happy times, sad times, and hard times. They truly are my best friends. They kinda make me want to give Lyla a brother or sister someday so that she can experience that same amazing bond. Someday. Maybe.

And my dad. I couldn't ever forget to be thankful for him. What an amazing man God chose to be my dad. He leads well, teaches well, listens well, serves well, and loves well.

Sometimes I think about where I would be without all these people and things. Would I still be thankful? Would I still love God? Would I still trust Him with my world? I want to believe I would. When trying times happen or bad things happen or when I compare myself to what others are doing or have....That is why I cannot be thankful only for one day. If I was, I would so quickly forget everything I do have. I have so much more than I ever deserve. Because you see, if you knew my heart you would know I really deserve nothing. So I am thankful for GRACE. Thankful that God sent His Son to die for me. Even if I was the only one here on earth, He still would have come. Thank you Lord for so graciously giving me so much to be thankful for. Help me never to forget it. I so desire to live with open hands. 

A favorite these days, her babies.

Bow...off....

Carrying baby in her baby bjorn.

Showing Nana and Aunt Allison

With the love of my life.

Snuggling with momma and daddy.

So thankful for the family God gave me.

My two favorites.

Jump, jump, jump. Those little legs rarely stay still.

Our family.

Loves her Aunt "Da" (Sarah)

"DAAAAAA!!"

"Don't leave me!"

Kiss those baby cheeks.

Uncle Dan and his baby, Marley

The girls.

Lyla and Aunt Allison.

The table

Lyla and Uncle Dan

"Let me check out your teeth Allison"

Baby kisses

Dan and Allison

Sisters

Mimi, Momma and Lyla...it is bedtime!

Halloween

Anyone who knows Lyla, knows that she loves all things Barney, or "eye-ee" as she says. So of course for Halloween, she had to be Barney. Yes, we could have done Baby Bop (the girl dinosaur with the pink ballet slippers and pink bow) but her love for "Bop" just is not quite as strong as it is for Barney. 

Now just in case you are wondering, toddlers of today are just not that in to Barney. He is what you would call "retired". They don't play Barney on tv, and besides a "knock-off" Barney stuffed doll, that is not even cute, with a heart in the middle of his body that plays music, they don't even sell Barney in stores anymore. Of course my child would choose to obsess over the hard to find character. One time I was checking out of Target and I was buying a Barney DVD that I had found, and the girl at the check- out said "They still make Barney? I did not even know kids still liked him." I told her it was rare to find Barney anything and that when I did, I bought it. E-Bay has become my best friend when is comes to all things Barney. Yes, we are having a Barney birthday for her 2nd birthday and pretty much everything has come from e-bay. 

My parents kept their old VHS tapes of Barney from when my sister was little. Those things are vintage!! It is kinda funny to see how Barney has evolved over the years. Yes, my parents also still have a VHS player as well. Thank goodness for Netflix. They have hundreds of Barney movies and you could say we pay for a Netflix subscription just for Barney. Hey, whatever works!

Anyways, I found a Barney costume on e-bay that I just knew Lyla would obsess over. As soon as it came, we opened it and she wanted to put it on right away. It came a couple weeks before Halloween, and we definitely had a little Barney running around our house for the month of October. She was too cute in it! It was perfect because it was so warm, that even if the night of Halloween was freezing cold, she would not need to wear a jacket and cover up her costume. 

We had just moved into our new house, and our neighborhood threw a Halloween party before the kids went trick-or-treating. It was such a fun way to meet people and get to know some of the kids in the neighborhood. We went up to the cul-de-sac after Adam got home and ate some dinner, met some neighbors, and they had fun games for the kids. All the activities they had, Lyla was right in the middle wanting to be a part of. It was fun to watch her with the other kids. They had a pinata, and you better believe Lyla was up there swinging the bat to try and break it. As it started getting dark, we decided to go ahead and start trick-or-treating, so that we could still get Lyla to bed at a decent hour. Adam went home so he could hand out candy to anyone that came to our house and I took Lyla. I did not know if she would understand the whole trick-or-treating thing, if she would get tired of walking or what. That girl LOVED EVERY MINUTE!! I loved watching her. We went with our neighbors who live across the street and once we went to a couple of houses, she totally got in to it. After every house, she would point to the next house and say "house". She did not want to go home, she did not get tired and she loved all the treats she got. I kept asking her if she was ready to go home and she would say no and point to the next house. She was totally bummed when got home. She would have kept going. So fun! And like any other kid as soon as we got home, she wanted to check out and eat her candy. We let her pick out one piece to eat before going to bed. It was a fun night with our little Barney!

Our little Barney!

Ready to trick-or-treat.

Eating dinner at the neighborhood cul-de-sac party.

Getting ready to take her turn at the pinata.

Watch out!

Starting the sugar-high early.

Barney and Daddy.

Barney and mommy.

Our family.

Beach Trip with Mimi

In the middle of July, Lyla and I had a few days to take a short vacation to Hilton Head. Just my mom was there, so we enjoyed a little bit of girl time at the condo with her. There are few things I love more than relaxing, on the beach, with a sweet toddler. It was such a great few days, it was hard to leave. We missed Adam, but man, being at the beach with little responsibility, watching you sweet girl run around and enjoy the waves is pretty priceless. 

It was such a drastic change from a few months back when Lyla really wanted nothing to do with the ocean or sand. This trip was so much fun and we could not get her out of the water! We also found some other fun things to do. They have a puppet lady that comes to Coligny Plaza to do fun things with the kids. Lyla loved this, and even wanted to get involved participating in the puppet shows with the big kids. We hit up the outlets, but let's just go ahead and admit, this is not very fun with a one and a half year old. We rented bikes and Lyla loved riding around the island on the back of my bike. We visited the splash pad and went on walks with the wagon. My mom and I enjoyed cooking meals and relaxing on the couch watching mindless tv, working on photo books, and staying up way too late. And we spent lots of time at the pool and on the beach.

She loved running back and forth to the water, feeling the waves rush over her tiny little feet and building in the sand. I must say she actually preferred the beach this time to the pool. Lyla loved watching Millie (my parent's dog) chase her toy into the water and bring it back a million times. 

Just want to eat her up.

Running to the water.

Ready for the next wave.

Love that tummy and her outie bellybutton. 

So much fun!

Love this!!

Watching Millie.

"Oh hey Millie. You love the water as much as I do!"

"Let me throw the toy, Mimi"

Evening stroll.

Digging in the sand.

Splash pad is always a favorite.

No doubt she will always make friends.

Sweet pictures our last morning.

My big girl.

Love her.

Walking to the sand.

"Come on mom!"

Pretty flower.

Sandy toes.

Last look at the ocean.

My little model.

At the puppet show.

"Elmo can come home with me."