Casey and Shane's Birthday.

February 28, 2021

Day 1,576

Thankful for: 

Casey's birthday. 

Shane's birthday. 

Cake and ice cream. 

Party games. 

Decorations. 

Time with family. 

Time with my grandma. 

Rainy days. 

Days spent entirely inside. 

Whenever we sing, "Happy Birthday," Higbee barks and howls very loudly. 

Birds and the Bees.

February 27, 2021

Day 1,575

Thankful for: 

A lovely day. 

I slept in. 

I baked bread. 

I had a lovely little date with Adelyn. 

We went to Wegman's and bought some goodies to bring to a friend for her 21st birthday. 

I talked with Adelyn about the birds and the bees for the very first time today. 

Adelyn and I prepared a party for Casey's 11th birthday. We prepared an entire Harry Potter birthday from scratch in less than a day. We rocked it, too! 

Thankful for quality time with my baby girl. 

Thankful for coming home to the sweetest boys ever. 

Thankful for good days. 

Tiny purple flowers.

February 26, 2021

Day 1,574

Thankful for: 

The light in the morning. 

The light in the evening. 

Hawks. 

Deer running in the forest. 

Cold air. 

Tiny purple flowers blooming. 

Tulips and daffodils starting to bloom. 

Spring is coming. 

Matt.

February 25, 2021

Day 1,573

Thankful for: 

Matt and the way he loves me. 

The fact that Matt can't keep his hands off of me. 

Matt loves to kiss me and hug me and hold me for a long time. 

Matt is an amazing provider. 

We all have a very lovely life because of him. 

I love the way Matt loves our children. 

I love the way Matt loves to make our home beautiful. 

I love the way Matt puts one hand on me while he sleeps. 

I love Matt's hands. 

I love Matt's eyes. 

I love the way he smiles. 

Matt is one of God's greatest gifts to me. 

List.

February 24, 2021

Day 1,572

Thankful for: 

Cold air. 

Time to walk outside. 

My family. 

Our home. 

Food to eat. 

A car to drive. 

A bed to sleep in. 

Love. 

Cilantro and blue sky.

February 23, 2021

Day 1,571

     Thankful for a good Tuesday. Thankful for the cool wind. Thankful that I saw a haw today. Thankful for my children who are beautiful and good and amazing beings. Thankful for a quick walk with Higbee before dinner. Thankful for a clean kitchen after a good meal. Thankful for cilantro. Thankful for the blue of the sky today. Thankful for bare trees. I'm going to be enjoy them as long as I can. Thankful for cool weather in the forecast. I'm going to enjoy it for as long as I can. Thankful for the hope that it might snow in March. We've had March snow before. Thankful for friends. For family. For time to sleep. 

Hawk, sunset, fresh new day with no mistakes in it.

February 22, 2021

Day 1,570

     Thankful for a glorious day. The sky was alive with all kinds of beautiful winter light. My children were little angels today. I love seeing them smile. Their smiles make me smile. I love hearing them laugh. I've made up my mind to laugh more every day. Even if there's nothing to laugh about, I'm going to do it anyway. Patty and Armando watched Addy and Tobin for me. They fed them lunch and dinner. I was able to get some important work done at school because of their help. I'm thankful to have my family close by. I'm thankful that Patty and Armando are like Adelyn and Tobin's second set of parents. I saw a beautiful hawk when I was driving out of school today. I love seeing a hawk. The sunset tonight was one that made you happy to be alive to witness such beauty and color. I am so thankful for wide open spaces of sky. I'm thankful for little love texts from my husband while he's working. I'm thankful to come home to such a beautiful home in the woods. I'm thankful for a sweet dog who loves me so much. I'm thankful that tomorrow is a fresh no day, with no mistakes in it. 

Ryker's Birthday.

February 21, 2021

Day 1,569

     Thankful for a good day spent with my family. This morning, the kids and I played board games in their newly organized toy room. I baked three loaves of bread. Matt slept in because he was up all night running calls at work. The sky was a lovely blue. It was cold outside. It was a good morning to spend inside. In the afternoon, we went to my brother's house for my nephew's birthday. It was a great time! Great food, great family time, and a great birthday party. My favorite part of every birthday is the afirmations. We tell the birthday person what we love about them, and when we do that, the birthday person just beams. It's a great birthday tradition. 

     Thankful for a great time with my family today. Thankful for good food. Thankful for nieces and nephews. Thankful for laughter. For dancing. For bug hunting. For little voices playing make believe. Thankful for the way we sing, "Happy Birthday." Thankful for Ryker. Thankful for his sweet voice, for his kind heart, and his chocolately brown eyes. Thankful that I get to be a part of his life. 

     It was a glorious day, and I'm thankful for it. 

Clutter, chaos, messyness.

February 20, 2021

Day 1,568

     Thankful for a good day spent entirely inside. I made it well over 10,000 steps inside the house today cleaning and organizing. I organized the kid's toy room, the library, the kid's art supplies, I vacummed, I cleaned the bathrooms, I made three loaves of bread, and I made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my kids. I even had time to watch Fried Green Tomatoes. It's a good, good feeling to go to bed tonight in a clean and organized home. As I was cleaning today, I started getting pissed about how many toys my kids have and how messy their toy room was. But I then I thought this: in a very few short years, they will be done with toys forever. There will be no more toys to clean. And when that day comes, I will be very sad indeed. So right now, I'm going to embrace the clutter and chaos and the always messyness of toys. I'm going to enjoy the days when my babies are still children. These days are fleeting. 

     Thankful for a messy toy-filled house to clean. Thankful for dog hair to vacuum. Thankful for a million books to organize and put on shelves. Thankful for home projects that are now completed. Thankful for this life. I don't deserve such beauty and love. Thankful for two people named Adelyn and Tobin. They are the greatest gifts I've ever received. 

Homemade bread smothered in butter.

February 19, 2021

Day 1,567

Thankful for: 

My cousin, Lauren, is home from Germany. I can't wait to go out to dinner with her. 

A dinner date scheduled with my cousin, Jen. 

Two more whole days to be able to spend at home with my family. 

Time to bake bread for a friend's birthday. 

Plans to clean the whole house from top to bottom tomorrow. 

Everybody Loves Raymond. 

Homemade chicken soup with parsley, garlic, tomatoes, parmesan, and wee bit of butter. 

Meatballs cooking in the crockpot all day long. 

Homemade bread smothered in butter dipped in delicious tomato sauce that had meatballs cooking in it all day. 

Candles. 

Melting snow. 

Higbee cuddling with me. 

Plans to lift weights and buy running shoes. 

Hot tea. 

Ice cream. 

Amber beads. 

Hugs from Matt. 

The smell of our home, especially when I've been cooking lots of garlic. 

Ordering pictures for our family tree wall. 

Looking at pictures of my babies when they were babies. 

Things to be thankful for. 

Time.

February 18, 2021

Day 1,566

Thankful for: 

Time to bake homemade bread. 

Time to bake homemade cookies. 

Time to make a good dinner. 

Time to watch TV. 

Time to nap. 

Time for afternoon delight. 

Time to read to my babies. 

Time to walk Higbee. 

Time to look at the sky. 

Time to be thankful. 

Time to read. 

Snow Day tomorrow.

February 17, 2021

Day 1,565

Thankful for: 

Snow and ice in the forecast. 

The day off tomorrow. 

Time to make bread and cook good food tomorrow. 

The feeling of not having to set my alarm clock for tomorrow morning. 

The feeling that my entire family will be home together tomorrow. 

Kale, feta, turkey, and red onion.

February 16, 2021

Day 1,564

Thankful for: 

A good day at work. 

Being able to carpool with Patty to and from work today. 

Coffee. 

Cold air. 

Salad for lunch. 

Walking after dinner with Matt. 

Kale; lots of kale.

A feta, turkey, and red onion sandwich. 

Coming home to my husband and our babies. 

The feeling of going to bed early. 

Tea and peanuts. 

Chips and queso and shows.

February 15, 2021

Day 1,563

Thankful for: 

A day to relax. 

Laying on the couch and watching shows with Matt. 

Eating chips and queso while watching shows. 

Working on home projects with Matt; we like to make our house beautiful. 

Homemade cookies. 

Rain. 

Blankets on couches. 

Walks in the rain. 

Lots of time to hug and kiss Matt. 

A good day at spent entirely at home. 

Snowtubing.

February 14, 2021

Day 1,562

Thankful for: 

A day adventuring with my family. 

Seeing frozen trees in the mountains. 

Going to a very snowy place. 

Snowtubing. 

Going out to eat with my family. 

Spending time with Matt's mom. 

Watching my kids have fun. 

Eating junk food on the ride there and back. 

Strawberry Bubblelicous gum.

Ranch Corn Nuts. 

Bare feet. 

The feeling of coming home and showering after a long day out and about. 

Days spent entirely at home.

February 13, 2021

Day 1,561

Thankful for: 

Days spent at home completely with family. 

Not leaving the house all day long. 

The way the windows in my room look in the morning. 

The woods in the morning. 

The winter light at sunset. 

Hugs and kisses from Matt, Adelyn, and Tobin. 

Walking Higbee in the morning. 

Relaxing at home. 

Friday four.

February 12, 2021

Day 1,560

Thankful for:  

Friday nights. 

Watching TV on a Friday night. 

Not having to set the alarm for the next day. 

The feeling of being safe and sound at home. 

The woods in winter.

February 11, 2021

Day 1,559

Thankful for: 

A day called Thursday. 

One more day until the weekend. 

My family and our home. 

The woods in the winter. 

Bare trees. 

Winter light. 

Cold air. 

Deer running through the woods. 

Hawks. 

Things to be thankful for.

Snowy afternoon.

February 10, 2021

Day 1,558

Thankful for: 

A snowy afternoon. 

Everybody Loves Raymond. 

Hugs from Matt. 

A new cabinet in our laundry room. 

A two hour delay tomorrow. 

Higbee. I love the way he cuddles with me. 

A sandwich for lunch tomorrow. 

Snow in the forecast. 

Time for bed. 

The feeling of catching up on work that has been piling up. 

Another short list.

February 9, 2021

Day 1,557

Thankful for a good day at work. 

Thankful for my family. 

Thankful for things to be thankful for. 

Thankful for time to sleep.  

Short lists of things to be thankful for.

February 8, 2021

Day 1,556

Thankful for: 

A fresh, new week. 

Fun days at school: Little House on the Prairie Day. 

Cold air. 

Things to be thankful for. 

Short lists. 

Superbowl Sunday.

February 7, 2021

Day 1,555

Thankful for: 

Homemade bread. 

An entire day at home. 

A day to sleep in. 

A day spent with family. 

Hugs, cuddles, kisses. 

Books. 

Chili. 

Football cake. 

Watching Addy and Tobin watch the Superbowl with Matt. 

The feeling of going to bed early. 

Good day even with a change of plans.

February 6, 2021

Day 1,554

Thankful for: 

A good day even though we had a change of plans.

A long walk. 

Tobin's lungs are stronger than they used to be. 

An entire day of watching Everybody Loves Raymond. 

Time with Patty. 

Time with my kids and Patty's kids. 

Friday four.

February 5, 2021

Day 1,553

Thankful for: 

The beginnings of two beautiful loaves of bread rising for Ryker's birthday tomorrow. 

The feeling of being home for the next whole two days. 

My family. 

Our home. 

Good Thursday.

February 4, 2021

Day 1,552

Thankful for: 

A good Thursday. 

A very productive day at school. 

A sweet email from my husband. 

Hugs and kisses and love from Adelyn and Tobin. 

Patty, Armando, and their babies. 

A good salad for lunch. 

Homemade bread. 

MOD pizza with Heidi. 

Hot tea and peanuts. 

Big, cozy sweaters.

The feeling that tomorrow is Friday. 

Wednesday's short list.

February 3, 2021

Day 1,551

Thankful for: 

A good day. 

Cold air. 

Crunchy snow. 

Higbee's eyes. 

Adelyn's eyes. 

Tobin's eyes. 

Matt's eyes. 

Love. 

 

The feeling of being windy outside and cozy inside.

February 2, 2021

Day 1,550

Thankful for: 

A whole day spent at home with my loves. 

Lazy mornings. 

Time to sit outside in the cold, cold air. 

Time to sled. 

Homemade bread. 

Bacon, turkey sandwiches. 

"Sanderson Surprise" for dinner. 

Everybody Loves Raymond. 

The feeling of being windy inside and being cozy inside. 

A nice phone call with my Grandma. 

Cozy clothes. 

Time to read to my babies. 

A hot, steamy shower. 

Making blueberry muffins with Adelyn. 

Kisses from Adelyn and Tobin. 

Matt; he's the best husband. 

Smiles from Tobin. 

Hugs and cuddles from Tobina and Adelyn. 

Higbee; I love him so.  

Our peaceful home.

February 1, 2021

Day 1,549

Thankful for: 

Our peaceful home. 

Chili. 

Good food. 

Time to play outside. 

Our fire pit. 

Time to talk to Matt. 

Time to sled. 

The snowy trees.