Thankful.

"Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 5:20

November has always been a month about being thankful, but truly we should be thankful every month and every day for the big and little things in our lives. God has truly blessed me with more than I could have ever thought possible. I am grateful for so much...

I am thankful for a God who is gracious and that my hope rests in Him. 

I am thankful that because of Him I can live to a standard of GRACE and not perfection.

I am thankful for my parents. They truly are the best I could have ever asked for. 

I am thankful that those said parents turned into the best Mimi and Papa for my kiddos. 

I am thankful for a brother that loves me and will always be there for me.

I am thankful for my husband. God knew what He was doing 12 years ago when we were first introduced. 

I am thankful to be a Mom. I am truly blessed to have 3 precious kids to call my own. 

I am thankful for P because she made me a mom first and taught me what it means to love someone so much.

I am thankful for Henry because he is the perfect mama's boy. 

I am thankful for Scott because he completes our family and showed me that my heart could have so much love. 

I am thankful for the Army. It provides so much for our family beyond just a job for my husband.

I am thankful to be a stay at home mom. It has its moments but I couldn't imagine spending my days any other way. 

I am thankful for friends near and far. They make the days and the memories so much sweeter. 

I am thankful for PWOC. It has been such a blessing to me. I love diving into God's word with my sisters in Christ. I love the sweet time of fellowship. I look forward to it every week. 

I am thankful for MOPS. It is another blessing. The time spent with other mommies is just bliss. We have so much fun together whether we are learning about something or making a craft.

I am thankful for the sweet caregivers that watch the boys at both of these programs. These ladies are such a blessing. Having those few hours to enjoy something that is just for me is a treasure!

I am thankful to have a house on Post. Never thought I would say that but it has been so nice here in AZ. We love all the parks and the community feel and the minutes it takes to get anywhere. 

I am thankful for TriCare. Having great health insurance is not just a blessing but a relief. It has truly covered every penny of all our medical needs. 

I am thankful for Speech Therapy and Henry's therapist. She is patient and calm with him. And I love that she gets him and changes up the lesson to fit his mood that afternoon. 

I am thankful for the many teaches that cross my children's lives. It takes a special person to teach our young people. I am so grateful that my kids have some of the best teachers out there. 

I am thankful for the gift of education. It is a precious commodity that not all get to experience. I am grateful that my kids love to go to school and love to learn. I pray that passion stays with them all their years to come. 

I am thankful my family. I do not have a big family but there is still a whole lot of love there. I am blessed to have wonderful group of people that love me unconditionally. 

I am thankful for my "married" family. They have always made me feel like one of their own from day one. They are another group of amazing people that I feel privileged to be apart of. 

I am thankful to be a runner. I do not do it often enough and no where near being fast or going the distance. But I love that I have the ability. It is blessing each time I can get out there and focus only on my feet hitting the pavement. It has become not only a exercise for the body but for the mind.

I am thankful for books and the gift of reading. Every day I read and its a hobby I have always treasured. I am grateful that P has my gift for reading. 

I am thankful for modern technology. I am grateful for text messages, email and Face Time. It helps the thousands of miles apart from family & friends seem bearable. 

I am thankful for social media. I love that I can keep up with friends and family over Facebook. And I love that I can share and find all kinds of ideas over Pinterest. 

There really is so much more to be thankful for than just this list. I am truly blessed beyond measure! Life and everything in it really is a precious gift that should not be taken for granted :)

Veteran's Day 2013

Happy Veteran's Day!

To the brave men and women who serve our great nation, thank you will never be enough!

So thankful for all our service men and women for their selfless sacrifice!

I am honored to be the wife of a soldier and to have ARMY brats as kids. 

This morning, P and I were privileged to walk in the town's Veteran's Day Parade with the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona. It was such a humble experience and I loved seeing all the people line the streets in order to support and honor our nation's finest heroes. Brandon and the boys came out to see the parade and was able to take lots of pictures for me. What a great way to start the morning :)

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" -Maya Angelou

A Day at the Zoo

Today, we headed north to Tucson and visited the zoo. We had been just a couple of weeks ago when we participated in their Halloween festival there. But since it was at nighttime, there were no animals out. We knew we wanted to take them back when we could see the animals :) Today was the perfect day! The weather was nice and sunny and a little warm. We all had on shorts which I think it just funny considering we are only a few weeks away from celebrating Thanksgiving. Only in Arizona I say, ha!

We ended up getting a year long membership to the zoo. They give a 20% military discount so we were able to get the membership for a great deal! It only takes around an hour to get there and was well worth the drive. The kiddos loved it! All the animals were out and active. We did one of the big loops and then stopped at the cafe for lunch. Another perk having the membership is you also receive 10% off your purchase at the cafe and at the gift shop. After lunch, we finished up the trail and saw so many animals! Our favorites were the giraffes and the elephants. The giraffes were definitely the most active and friendliest. I was able to catch some great pictures of them. The zoo had a whole herd of elephants and they were very active as well :)

We loved seeing all the animals and will definitely be back soon! It made for a great family fun day :)

The Month of October in Pictures.

Henry as Frankenstein

Boo at the Zoo in Tucson

Henry's class performing their fall songs.

P as a Kitty Cat and Scott as Cat in the Hat. 

At the pumpkin patch in Marana.  

Henry with our Jack O Lantern. 

Riding the Tractor Ride at the pumpkin patch.

Henry decorating his pumpkin at preschool.

Ready for some treats at Boo at the Zoo in Tucson.

Our House decorated for Halloween!

At the pumpkin patch!

What A Fun October!

Wow, the month of October just flew by! We had so much fun! I love this time of year even if it didn't always feel like fall outside :) We soaked up the family time and made lots of memories this month.

• On Columbus day, since P was out of school and Brandon had no work, we went to a fun pumpkin patch outside of Tucson. It was well worth the drive and there was lots for the kiddos to do! We even were able to take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and select our own pumpkins. We all got to ride the train and Brandon & the kids rode the tractor ride. We saw pig races and played on the playground. We even ate dinner there. It was lots of fun and we all had a blast!

• Brandon went all out again this year with decorating the house for Halloween! :) It looks so good. He is such a creative person and can make idea he has come together. All the neighborhoods were in competition for best decorated house. I might be biased but I feel our house is the best!! Always look forward to next year and seeing what new ideas Brandon comes up with. Its such a fun part of this time of year!

• The MWR here on Post hosted a Haunted Hay Ride & Haunted House along with kid activities and we decided to try it out. We tagged along with friends and let the kiddos dress up in their costumes. For free, it was an alright event. Not too many kid activities and we were not even going to attempt the hayride with them. Brandon & Henry did the Haunted House. I was shocked but Henry was brave and survived it :) They had a kid friendly Halloween movie playing on the jumbo screen which was neat. All in all, not a bad activity. 

• Another night we headed up to the Tucson Zoo for its Halloween event. It was fun! And all the treat stations were a different theme. The line was a little congested but the kids enjoyed it and liked getting candy at each of the stops. The zoo was all lit up with lights and inflatables and music. Once we got through all the treat stations, we ate dinner at their cafe before heading back home. I would love to take them back to the zoo during normal operating hours so we could see all the animals. 

• Henry started his speech therapy this month. He had his initial evaluation at the beginning of the month. It went very well and eased this mama heart. His auditory comprehension and cognition scores were average. The problems he does have with his speech were on the mild to moderate scale. He will be attending therapy once a week for the next several months. Praying for good results!

• Brandon turned the big 3-0 this month!!! We celebrated his birthday with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings :) And for his present, he picked out a chiminea. We have already used it several times since then! The kids loving roasting marshmallows :)

• We celebrated Halloween with back to back celebrations. The night before Halloween, we attended a Trunk or Treat on Post. It was chilly but the kids loved it and received a ton of candy. Plus, there was a bounce house :) And of course on Halloween night, we trick or treated around our neighborhood. We just did our street and still received more than enough candy! This house has candy galore! ;)

• Henry's class did a Fall Sing-a-long and pumpkin decorating the day of Halloween. It was such a nice treat and we enjoyed getting to see Henry sing with his fellow classmates. It was such a treat! :)

This was such a fun month with lots of family fun activities and precious memories!!! Looking forward to all what it is in store for this family next month!!! 

31 Random Facts About Me

I have never done one of these posts so I thought it would be fun! And since there are 31 days this month, I figured 31 would be a good number to start with. Perhaps, I will do more of these in the future :)

1. I am the youngest of 2. I have a brother who is 3 years older than me.

2. I seriously have the best parents! They have been married for almost 35 years! What an inspiration.

3. We didn't move much when I was a kid but I still ended up going to 4 different elementary schools.

4. I graduated in the top 5% of my high school class and had 10 college credits before I even started college.

5. I had my first job at 15. I worked there for 2 years.

6. I am a Believer. I accepted Jesus as my savior when I was 13 at a Chrysalis Retreat.

7. Growing up I wanted to be a doctor. My dad even nicknamed me "Doc."

8. I've always loved kids. I started babysitting when I was 11.

9. In fact, my second job was a child care giver at a local church daycare/preschool. I worked there for over 2 years.

10. I met my husband when I was 15 but we didn't start dating until after I turned 16.

11. I have an impeccable memory! I can remember events like they were yesterday. I can even remember my dreams. My dad says that Ellis' and elephants don't forget! And its very true.

12. I got my permit when I was 15 and my restricted license just 3 months later. My first car was my dad's Doge Dakota truck.

13. I even had a parking spot my sophomore year of high school :)

14. I had a pet bird named Bob when I was a little girl.

15. I've always loved to read. I cannot not remember reading.

16. For our first dating anniversary, Brandon gave me a promise ring and I bought us two tickets to an Atlanta Braves game.

17. My favorite drink is sweet tea. I could drink it all day long.

18. I also really wanted to be a teacher when I a kid. I played school all the time growing up.

19. I love to shop at Target!

20. My favorite all time show is Gilmore Girls. I own all seven seasons on DVD.

21. Brandon left for Basic Training less than 3 weeks after we got married. We still have the letters we wrote to each other during those months.

22. Our favorite vacation spot is Disney World. I am blessed to have been there 4 times in 3 years. We just love it there!

23. I could eat out every day and night. It can be a bad habit but it just makes me happy.

24. I do love to cook but often find myself in a rut when it comes to meal planning.

25. We have had four different dogs since we have been married.

26. We have also had ten different cars between us plus a motorcycle since our 8+ years of marriage.

27. I love coffee but I do not like to drink it hot even on cold days. I prefer mine iced.

28. I use to take piano lessons. I wish I would have stuck with it.

29. I battled both anorexia and bulimia in my teen years. I prefer never go back to those days.

30. I love to run because I also love to eat :)

31. I have always wanted to be have kids and be a stay at home mom!

Friday Favorites

Today, I am sharing some of favorites for the kiddos! With Christmas and birthday season (for this household, 3 birthdays back to back in fact) quickly approaching, I've been searching and researching gift ideas. We have a ton of toys between 3 kids and lots of toys between the two boys. I have been weeding through most of them deciding what they really play with or might play with down the road. With us living in Arizona, the weather really is ideal for outside play and a bigger bonus is that our house is set up for outside living too. At the back of the house, we have a semi covered patio that is partially bricked in with a gate. So its perfect to let the boys out there without me having to be out there as well. I can see them through the french doors and neither one can reach the lock to open the gate so its a win win situation. We also have a huge covered car port at the front of the house as well as a sidewalk. So needless to say, most of the toys on this list are intended for outside play. All 3 kids really love being outside and there have not been too many days that we have lived here that is not a possibility.

This is on Scott's short list for his birthday. I think both boys will love playing with it! 

This is also on Scott's wish list for his birthday. He loves playing with his cozy coupe and I just know he would love to have this little addition to make playtime better!

Oh my word, this toy is so much fun!! All 3 kids love this thing!! We were able to play with it at a friend's house and they all want one for our house. It would be a great addition :)

This is another fun little toy that I have on both P and Henry's Christmas wish lists. I can see future races in the drive way and side walk. 

And what outdoor fun would be complete without this adorable picnic table! :)