I came across a show last night on the history channel about how Thanksgiving came to be. Of course much of it was about the pilgrims in Plymouth who I've always been fascinated with--so much so that I talked my mom into going there this last summer for a week. Fabulous trip that I'd do again in a heartbeat but I'm getting off the subject...right, Thanksgiving. While I'm watching this show a historian starts explaining that the tradition of this holiday actually predates the pilgrims and goes all the way back to a day celebrated by Europeans every year in the fall in which families would go to church for the whole day and spend it there thanking God for all His blessings that year. They actually fasted the whole day since it was spent in church. I found it interesting (and a bit humorous) how this holiday has evolved. Now instead of a united day of abstaining from food so we can focus on expressing our heart's gratitude, we come together as a nation in stuffing our mouths with more food than any other day of the year while Grandma forces everyone at the table to say at least one thing we're grateful for!
Regardless of how this day is celebrated, it's always good to remember what it is we're thankful for and hopefully we all work at counting our blessings more days than not. And there is an endless list in my heart of all that I'm grateful for. Family, love, good friends, health, a warm home...as the list goes on a person can't help but knowing who it is they are saying "thank you" to. There's an old song that you've probably heard that goes "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..." and that's what I hope and pray His ears hear tomorrow. Pure and simple praises of thanksgiving.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
And Now She's Six
I'm not sure how this happened so fast but Sage, who came into this world a teeny, tiny 5 1/2 lb baby girl, is now a tall, blond haired six year old. Excuse while I run to get the tissue box...
Birthday's are so exciting for children and I guess I never thought of how fun they were going to be for us, the parents, to throw. We'd been contemplating what kind of party to have for months and many ideas were tossed around but the one that stuck was an art party. We would have a time for painting in which every kid would get a small canvas to paint on. Her cake was also meant to inspire creativity in each of the guests by giving them all mini frosted cakes and tons of candy to decorate them with. The rest of the time would be for playing and just hanging out. The best part of this party was that since we've moved closer to home, she would get to have seven cousins, five aunts and uncles and five grandparents in attendance. Yes, it was loud and at times a bit overwhelming but we've been looking forward to getting to have these moments with family for quite awhile now and are savoring it so completely! We had Sage's party on the 12th which was actually my oldest brother's birthday which Ehren so graciously shared with us. We made his favorite tater tot hotdish for him among the plethora of other food that was served and if you've ever had it, you know it's a basic meat, cream of mushroom and vegetable mixture with tater tots on top. Brent and I have never actually made it but it was quite simple to do except that we were also making a similar vegetable dish, everybody's favorite green bean casserole, that has french onions on the top. When Brent went to pull the green bean dish out to put the onions on, he realized that he had put the tater tots on the wrong dish. We had a good laugh over this and Brent just cleverly scraped the tots off the green beans and put the over the meat mixture and the dish was saved. You really couldn't tell the difference because, let's face it, it's only meat and a few different canned vegetables that make them different.
Sage loved her party and the gifts were all just so perfect for her. She hates being the center of attention so having to open gifts in front of everyone and even hearing everybody sing "happy birthday" to her is probably her least favorite parts of her birthday parties. But every gift given was so thoughtful and just right for her that she has not been seen without either wearing a gift or playing with a gift since. Yes, Grandma Jane, even the soccer girls have seen a lot of play time :)
Surprisingly, turning six was a little hard for Sage. She kept telling us that she wanted to stay five because five was her favorite even after we tried to convince that being six was just as great. I'm not really sure why the fixture to five but I'm sure she'll be able to accept this new numeral as time passes. Can you imagine what turning 40 is going to do to her?
I can't say enough how proud we are of this little girl. She's a funny, smart, thoughtful, beautiful, sensitive and caring girl and one of the two greatest gifts that God has given to Brent and myself.
Birthday's are so exciting for children and I guess I never thought of how fun they were going to be for us, the parents, to throw. We'd been contemplating what kind of party to have for months and many ideas were tossed around but the one that stuck was an art party. We would have a time for painting in which every kid would get a small canvas to paint on. Her cake was also meant to inspire creativity in each of the guests by giving them all mini frosted cakes and tons of candy to decorate them with. The rest of the time would be for playing and just hanging out. The best part of this party was that since we've moved closer to home, she would get to have seven cousins, five aunts and uncles and five grandparents in attendance. Yes, it was loud and at times a bit overwhelming but we've been looking forward to getting to have these moments with family for quite awhile now and are savoring it so completely! We had Sage's party on the 12th which was actually my oldest brother's birthday which Ehren so graciously shared with us. We made his favorite tater tot hotdish for him among the plethora of other food that was served and if you've ever had it, you know it's a basic meat, cream of mushroom and vegetable mixture with tater tots on top. Brent and I have never actually made it but it was quite simple to do except that we were also making a similar vegetable dish, everybody's favorite green bean casserole, that has french onions on the top. When Brent went to pull the green bean dish out to put the onions on, he realized that he had put the tater tots on the wrong dish. We had a good laugh over this and Brent just cleverly scraped the tots off the green beans and put the over the meat mixture and the dish was saved. You really couldn't tell the difference because, let's face it, it's only meat and a few different canned vegetables that make them different.
Sage loved her party and the gifts were all just so perfect for her. She hates being the center of attention so having to open gifts in front of everyone and even hearing everybody sing "happy birthday" to her is probably her least favorite parts of her birthday parties. But every gift given was so thoughtful and just right for her that she has not been seen without either wearing a gift or playing with a gift since. Yes, Grandma Jane, even the soccer girls have seen a lot of play time :)
Surprisingly, turning six was a little hard for Sage. She kept telling us that she wanted to stay five because five was her favorite even after we tried to convince that being six was just as great. I'm not really sure why the fixture to five but I'm sure she'll be able to accept this new numeral as time passes. Can you imagine what turning 40 is going to do to her?
I can't say enough how proud we are of this little girl. She's a funny, smart, thoughtful, beautiful, sensitive and caring girl and one of the two greatest gifts that God has given to Brent and myself.
You would think he's giving a special performance from the looks of this picture but don't believe it, he has no idea what he's doing! This was a guitar that Grandma Bev gave Sage. She's notorious for giving random gifts and this was certainly one of them. Sage has been adamant about not taking guitar lessons and yet we hear her strumming away whenever we're out of the room.
Grandma Jane, Grandma Bev and...who is that? Oh yes, that's Nana using Clare to block the camera. It's a sad fact that 75% of pictures taken of Nana have only shown bits and pieces of her body and rarely ever do you see her beautiful face.
Cake decorating time. More candy and frosting were eaten than actual cake. Oh well, they seemed to enjoy it at least.
Almost all of my favorite kids in the whole world. We're only missing cousins Sarah and Adam who live out in NY.
Sage loves her sleep and this big day called for a little nap while the kids were watching a movie. She wasn't the only exhausted one, Brent and I were in bed a little after 8pm that night!
As typical of me, I got so caught up in the actual painting time at the party that I completely forgot to take any pictures. So last night I took this with the girls hold their pieces of art. Oh, they are so proud!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Ramblings
Every time I go to pick up Sage I always get a chuckle at the scene just before the bell rings. Dozens of parents stand in a semi-circle around the schools entrances, staring at the door in quiet patience for their kids to emerge. I always wonder if anyone else ever thinks to themselves how ridiculous we must look. Very few chat with each other and impressively, in my opinion, very few use those minutes to chat on their phone or text someone. We're all just waiting for that first glimpse of our child's face. I'm curious as to how this scene will change now that the temperature is steadily dropping!
Poor little Clare has had an awful case of croup this week. Her breathing was so raspy that even Brent got pretty worried and it takes a lot for him to get to that point. She stays so sweet through it though, telling us in her cracked, whispered voice that she thinks she's feeling better. I don't know where she got that sweet attitude from because neither Brent or myself are pleasant people when we're sick. Today was definitely a better day and to add to it, it started snowing for the first time this season while she was sleeping. Looking out the window was like watching a snow globe settle after a vigorous shaking. When I picked up Clare from her nap, I told her I had a surprise for her and brought to the window, watching her face the whole time. She just got a sleepy smile and quietly said "It's snowing! That means it's almost winter. That means it is going to get colder." Goodness, she has no idea how right she is!
We're getting ready for Sage's sixth birthday this Friday and party on the next day. I'm emotional about her birthday as usual but looking forward to getting to celebrate it with almost all of her cousins. Pictures and details are soon to come!
Poor little Clare has had an awful case of croup this week. Her breathing was so raspy that even Brent got pretty worried and it takes a lot for him to get to that point. She stays so sweet through it though, telling us in her cracked, whispered voice that she thinks she's feeling better. I don't know where she got that sweet attitude from because neither Brent or myself are pleasant people when we're sick. Today was definitely a better day and to add to it, it started snowing for the first time this season while she was sleeping. Looking out the window was like watching a snow globe settle after a vigorous shaking. When I picked up Clare from her nap, I told her I had a surprise for her and brought to the window, watching her face the whole time. She just got a sleepy smile and quietly said "It's snowing! That means it's almost winter. That means it is going to get colder." Goodness, she has no idea how right she is!
We're getting ready for Sage's sixth birthday this Friday and party on the next day. I'm emotional about her birthday as usual but looking forward to getting to celebrate it with almost all of her cousins. Pictures and details are soon to come!
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