Giving Thanks: Day 24-The End

Today is Thanksgiving and I have so much to be thankful for!  I am thankful to have a kitchen that has 7 electrical outlets for me to use while I cook.  Our old town home only 1 outlet in the whole kitchen!  Needless to say, I am very thankful for my new house and the kitchen in it.  On a more serious note, I am thankful that my parents came to spend time with us.  We had a traditional and simple feast.  Kaia set the table and made the name cards for each setting.  She was so proud!  My mom and I cooked.  Matt and my dad went to the movie.  We ate around 2:00.  Then, my mom and I started scanning the Black Friday ads.  We left Friday night at 7:30 and shopped until 4:00 a.m.  We.Had.A.BLAST!  My mom and I love shopping especially on Black Friday.  This is the first year that we have been able to go together.  In the past we shopped together via our cell phones.  We met new people while we wanted in line, we had a pretzel and icie at 1:00 a.m., we laughed at all the crazy people fighting for things, and, most importantly, we got some pretty good deals.  Now that we live closer I hope that we can make this a tradition.  I really do love Thanksgiving.  I have a very blessed life.

Giving Thanks: Day 23

Today I am thankful for Christmas movies and freshly bathed little kiddos that enjoy watching them.  Matt was working late and my parents went out for dinner so I lined up the Rowdy 3 and put on "The Santa Clause" for them to watch.  It was definitely a picture perfect moment.  They were all laying together so sweet.  It brought back memories of when my siblings and I would do the same thing.  They almost made it through the whole movie.  About 30 minutes into it Gabriel started his "I am tired so I need to burrow" act so I put him to bed.  Gatlin and Kaia are my children that never sleep so I had to turn it off once it was bed time.  Kaia loved it and keeps asking if Christmas is tomorrow.  I finally had to show her what day it is on the calendar.  We will definitely be using the Christmas countdown this year. 

Giving Thanks: Day 22

Today I am thankful for my awesome hubby!  He took me to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 tonight!  I was shocked he agreed.  He will only watch them once they've come out on DVD.  This is the first one out of the series that I didn't go see at midnight. He felt bad and decided to treat me out to a date.  (Big thanks to my parents for watching the kiddos)  The movie was good and, to me, better than the book.  Matt didn't like it and started making fun of it halfway through. (This caused me to laugh at parts that weren't funny.  Thanks Matty for your lovely commentary) He also said and I quote, "I see some pretty nasty stuff at work but the birthing scene and her drinking blood made me a bit nauseous. It was pretty gross, out there, and over the top.  You should have warned me."  LOL-sorry babe!  I couldn't blame him for that opinion it is a pretty strange book.  I am just thankful that he and I were able to get away and spend some time together.  Hooray for date nights and 3 cheers to my awesome parents for making it happen!

Giving Thanks: Day 21

Today I am thankful for my little helper.  When I was making dinner tonight I asked Kaia if she wanted to help by setting the table.  Before I knew it she had Gramma getting the plates and cups while she grabbed a paper towel and the forks.  Then, my mom came over to me and told me to watch Kaia.  I turned around and she was tearing a paper towel and setting a piece by each plate.  We both laughed when we realized that there was only one paper towel left on the roll so Kaia just tore it into pieces so each person would have a napkin.  This girl is too funny.  I am proud of her problem solving skills though and I am especially grateful for her help!

(Thankfully I had more paper towels in the pantry.)

Giving Thanks: Day 20

Today I am grateful that my parents arrived to spend a whole week with us!  (I love that we are so close.) I am even more grateful for what they brought with them.  My dad found a sweet deal on a piano and they decided to buy it for me for Christmas.  I have always wanted a piano and have dreamed of being able to play.  I took lessons on and off when I was younger but never had a piano to practice on.  I have always had to use just a keyboard.  I am so happy and thankful!  Kaia is thrilled and plays all the time.  It looks like the two of us will need to get into lessons after the first of the year.  Woo-hoo! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Giving Thanks: Day 19

Today I am grateful for getting to spend extra time with my kiddos.  Matt had to work this morning which left me spending the morning with just the kids.  We had a lot of fun.  We played with puzzles, colored, and played basketball.  It was nice to do what we wanted and not have to worry about routines.  Later when Matt came home, we went to the Dollar Tree so Kaia could spend her Tooth Fairy money.  (She lost another tooth!  That is 2 total!)  She decided to buy a microphone and a Toy Story paint set.  She was super excited about her new treasures but was even more excited to pay the cashier with her own money!  I still can't believe how quickly my baby is growing up.  It was a good end to a busy week.

Giving Thanks: Day 18

Today I am grateful for an at home date night with Matt! We watched Thor tonight and had ice cream. We don't always get out of the house but I am glad that we make time to hang out.  Matt's schedule has not been as rigorous here lately and we've thoroughly enjoyed having the extra time with him. 

Giving Thanks: Day 17

Today I am grateful that we were finally able to get Gatlin into the Opthalmologist.  About 7 months ago his right eye began turning in towards his nose.  At first I didn't really think that it was a big thing but it kept getting worse and worse.  At the time life was really crazy and hectic (Matt was graduating and we were moving) so we didn't get a chance to see the doctor about it.  Now that things have settled down a bit we went to the pediatrician last week.  He wrote up a referral for us and we schedule the appointment for today.   Dr. Moody is a great doctor and was very kind to us.  He did have some bad news for us though.  Gatlin is going to need to have surgery on both eyes.  He has a lazy eye and it needs to be corrected.  He is also going to need to wear glasses and will probably need more surgeries in the future.  It is a minor surgery but I am still really nervous for him.  Matt and I are more concerned with how he will do after.  How do you prepare a non-verbal, autistic child for surgery?  Matt and I will both be there and we hope that we will be able to calm and comfort him.  I am grateful to be fixing this problem for him but am still a little worried for him.  I am grateful that this can be corrected quickly.

Giving Thanks: Day 16

Today I am grateful for letting the kids stay up a little later than usual.  After dinner, Matt told Kaia that if she hurried and got in the bath that we would watch Shrek 2.  We got everyone and everything cleaned up and popped in the movie.  I think Kaia and Matt were more entertaining than the movie.  Matt loves the Shrek movies and laughs out loud throughout the whole thing.  When he would laugh, Kaia would laugh louder.  They kept re-winding their favorite parts (the part with Puss in Boots) and would giggle each time.  These two are something else and have very similar sense of humors.  I love throwing a curve ball into our routine and having nights like this.  It is one I'll never forget.

Giving Thanks: Day 15

I am thankful that Matt had an early day and was able to get the boys off the bus while I took Kaia to the doctor.  He is rarely home and it was nice to not have to worry about finding a babysitter.  On a less grateful note, my Kaia 'Belle has strep throat.  She seemed to doing much better tonight and ate 2 cans of chicken noodle soup for dinner.  (That's the most she has eaten in the past 2 days.) It looks like she is on the mend and I am very grateful for that.

Giving Thanks: Day 14

Today I am grateful for being able to spend the day with Kaia.  She is feeling a bit 'under the weather' so she stayed home with me.  I hate to admit it but she is the sweetest, sick person.  We were out of food so we had to make a quick trip to Costco.  On our way out, we stopped for a hot dog and soda. (Her throat is sore and I thought a little Sprite might feel good on it.)  We sat and talked.  I ate and she sort of just picked at her food.  Then, we headed home and laid down to watch some movies.  I got a few things done around the house but for the most part we just took it easy.  I really enjoyed today.  It made me miss the good 'ole days before school took my baby away for 7 very long hours. I hope she starts feeling better but, for now, I am just going to enjoy this extra time with her.

Giving Thanks: Day 13

Today I am thankful for Sunday dinners with friends.  We attend a wonderful ward and have had the opportunity to make some really good friends.  Tonight we shared the evening with some new friends, Genevieve, Jeremy, and their two kiddos, Madelyn and Logan.  Matt was so excited because Jeremy is a HUGE sports fanatic and loves playing Xbox.  Needless to say, those two hit it off right away.  Genevieve and I also share a lot of the same interests.  She is serving on the Enrichment Committee at church.  It is nice working with her and planning Relief Society meetings.  Their children are a bit younger than ours but they all seemed to play really well together.  It was a wonderful evening and we look forward to spending more time getting to know this cute, little family.

Giving Thanks: Day 12

Today I am so thankful that we were able to spend the day as a family.  Matt suggested that we take the kiddos to Toys R Us so that they could make a Christmas Wish List for Santa.  Oh how we love Toys R Us! We took our time walking down each isle and let them look at any toy they wanted.  The, I would write down the ones they made the biggest deal out of.  We even let Kaia ride a bicycle around the store.  (Not sure if that was allowed... Oops!)  We had so much fun!  On our way home, we stopped at Burger King for lunch and a little play time.  It was such a wonderful day and really got me into the Christmas spirit.  I really do love this time of year.

Giving Thanks: Day 11

Today I am so grateful for all of our Veterans!  Kaia's school had a special program.  The Boy's Scouts did a flag ceremony and the kindergarten classes sang.  Kaia did great and looked so cute standing up there with all of her friends.  I love that her school took the time to pay respect to all the veterans and that she is learning about the history of her country.

Giving Thanks: Day 10

Today I am so thankful that Matt was born!  Today is Matt's  29th birthday.  I bought him a surround sound system and we had ice cream cake after dinner tonight.  Kaia was especially excited about his cake.  His day was a very lucky one.  He is currently doing an infectious disease rotation.  He was suppose to go to work this morning but the doctor called and canceled because she had a dentist appointment.  He was excited because he only had two surgeries scheduled for later.  He called to double check the time only to find out that the surgeries had been canceled too!  WOW!  He was so happy!  He had his birthday off from work.  What are the chances?  He sent the day playing video games and just took it easy.  He definitely deserved that.  Happy Birthday Matt/Daddy!  We sure do love you and are very grateful for you!

Giving Thanks: Day 9

Today I am oh, so grateful for my backyard!  The Rowdy 3 were outside jumping on the trampoline for over an hour tonight.  It was so fun to stand and watch them from the window.  I was able to make dinner in peace and clean up.  But, most importantly, for me, I watched my babies interact and play with each other.  This is becoming a much more common occurrence in our home.  I wasn't sure if the day would ever come that our boys would start to engage themselves in an activity with others.  This simple, average, everyday thing is HUGE for our family.  Kaia is usually the leader and dictates what they play.  Gabriel is pretty passive and will do whatever Kaia has him do.  Gatlin is bit more independent and prefers to do what he wants and usually observes the other two.  Here lately, they have been acting out the movie "Bolt".  Kaia is Penny, Gabriel is Bolt, and Gatlin is Dr. Calico.  I love when they play this.  It is the funniest thing to watch. I am going to try and video tape them one day.  It is hard because when Kaia sees a camera she starts posing and then wants to look at her picture.  She is a silly girl. We are just so happy here and LOVE our home. 

Giving Thanks: Day 8

Today I am thankful for being able to meet new people.  We had our Relief Society activity tonight.  I started talking with one of the sisters in our ward.  Her daughter, Kemme, is Gatlin's primary teacher.  I expressed to her how amazing her daughter was and that Gatlin loved being in her class.  We got talking more and I found out that she has been working with special needs children for years.  She shared a lot of good ideas of things that I can do with the boys.  She even offered to work with me at home.  She has such a big heart and is so passionate about helping these special children that God sends to us.  She is just as amazing as her daughter.  I feel so blessed to have met her and look forward to getting to know her even better.

Giving Thanks: Day 7

Today I am thankful for a couple of things: first, productivity.  I was so productive today and accomplished a lot of things that I needed to get done.  This is big for me, considering I am usually a big procrastinator and not at all efficient.  This is something that I have been trying to change about myself.  I have gotten better and have learned that a "To Do" list can really work wonders.   I printed out a weekly "To Do" list and sit each Sunday and fill it out.  It has really helped me out.  I should have done it sooner.  Anyway, I am just really proud of myself today!  I am also thankful for Gatlin and his adorable personality.  This morning I had to drop something off at their school.  I was able to peek in on their classes.  Gatlin was sitting on the carpet working with his teachers when I came in.  I started talking with Mrs. Melasky and he snuck off and started playing in the "Pretend Play" area.  Mrs. Redmon went over, took his hand, and starting walking him back to the carpet.   On his way back, he stopped, grabbed my hand, looked up at me and smiled, and started pulling back to the carpet with him.  It was the sweetest thing!  Sometimes I wonder if my boys even know who I am.  Apparently, he thought I should join him.  It melted my heart and just made my day.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stay but I am going to observe their classes on Thursday.  I can't wait!  Today has been a good day and a great start to the week.

Giving Thanks: Day 6

Today I am grateful for Sunday.  I love starting out a new week fresh with a clean slate.  It is nice to be able to go to church, feel the spirit, and hear lessons that leave me feeling inspired.  After church, I usually take it easy and just spend time with my family.  For some reason, this day just rejuvenates me and preps me for the busy week ahead. I LOVE Sunday!

Giving Thanks: Day 5

Today I am grateful for LSU's victory over Alabama!  I really do love this time of year.  The best part of the night was when Matt and I sat down to eat our pizza and Gatlin snuck out of his room to join us.  The kid is such a picky eater but he LOVES pizza.  It was like he smelled it from bed.  He ate with us and watched a little of the game before we put him back to bed.  It was a good day and it ended with a good night.  Good times, good times...

Giving Thanks: Day 4

Today I am thankful for brotherly/sibling love.  These two are something else.  We just recently bought them bunk beds and yet they still end up sleeping together in the same bed.  Matt tucked the kids in bed tonight while I was taking a shower.  When I went in to tell the boys goodnight, they were lying together in the bottom bunk.  Gabriel was laying vertically in the bed above Gatlin's head just singing away in his own little language.  Gatlin was laying very quietly with his beloved blanket listening.  It was the sweetest thing.  We have been blessed with two very precious little angels.  These guys have been through a lot in their short 4 years of life and they have many more obstacles to overcome.  At the end of the day, I am just so grateful that they have each other and share such a unique bond.

Giving Thanks: Day 3

Today I am very thankful for two things: eating lunch with Kaia and having the opportunity to volunteer at her school for 3 hours!  Another mother and myself worked together cutting, laminating, gluing and cutting some more.  It felt so good to give of my time and help out these wonderful teachers that do so much for Kaia.

Giving Thanks: Day 2

Today, I am thankful for my new calling at church.  Two weeks ago I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Relief Society.  I am still quite nervous and pray daily that I can live up to the expectations this calling brings.   Despite my nerves, I am looking forward to growing and learning more about myself as I serve the women of our ward.  We had our second presidency meeting today.  I am so fortunate to be working with 3 amazing women.  I am so grateful for their love and support and for the guidance from my Heavenly Father.  I am pretty sure that I can do this.  (I can't help but think of myself as the train from the "Little Engine that Could")

"I think I can. I think I can. I think I can."  

Giving Thanks: Day 1

Today, I am thankful for this sweet, loving, silly, sometimes difficult, incredibly amazing little girl.  This Saturday she lost her first tooth.  It had been wiggly for quite sometime so we were preparing her for it to fall out.  We got her all ready for bed that night, put her tooth safely in an envelope, and under her pillow for the tooth fairy.  She wanted to read "Alice the Fairy" for her bedtime story that night.  We went to tuck her in and she said up and said, "Ok, I am ready for the tooth fairy.  Where is she?"  Matt and I chuckled and had to explain to her that the tooth fairy wouldn't come until she was asleep.  She was a little disappointed but got over it real fast when we told her that she was going to get some money.  She went right to sleep after that.

Recently, I sat down with Kaia's teacher for her 6 week progress report parent/teacher conference.  I am proud to announce that my baby girl is a genius. (Well, she is to me anyway.) She scored the highest out of all the kindergarten students in reading and math.  She can read, write, and loves to draw (she got this from her Daddy).  She showed me Kaia's journal that she had been working on.  She explained that Kaia did everything right but always insisted on drawing a picture of her mommy for each entry.  I almost cried as she flipped through each page showing Kaia's drawing of me with the letters M-O-M at the bottom of each image. Her teacher had nothing but great things to say.  She lights up the room when she walks in.  She knows all of the teachers and has them all smitten with her charm.  Her teacher told me this cute story a few weeks ago: The school had to combine some of the kindergarten classes due to budget cuts.  When the other teachers caught wind of this they were all wanting to have Kaia come to their class.  Mrs. Lombardo, her teacher, quickly chimed in and told them all that Kaia was hers and was not going to leave her class.  I thought this was so funny.  It made me happy to think that so many people love my daughter. 

Kaia is also doing well socially.  She has a lot of friends in class.  Mrs. Lombardo shared another sweet little story with me one day.  There is a boy in Kaia's class named Charlie.  He has a bit of a processing delay and often needs several verbal prompts to complete tasks.  It was the end of the day and time for everyone to clean up and get their backpacks ready.  Mrs. Lombardo said she looked over at Kaia, who had already finished, and over heard her saying, "Come on Charlie, it's time to clean up and get ready to go.  Come on you can do it.  I will help you."  Kaia helped him clean up and put his backpack on him.  Her teacher said it was one of the sweetest things she had seen.  Since then, Kaia has sort of put Charlie under her wing and helps him often. 

I love this girl.  She is my dream come true.  I am a mother because of her and I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve such a beautiful child.  I couldn't have picked a better girl and I am just so grateful that she picked me to be her mommy.