I am thankful for ... READING

Little words, little sounds
Little verbs, little nouns
Little noises, little voices
Little people all around.

Learning letters
Sounding them out
Taking their time
Thinking out loud

Reading becomes fun
There is reading all around!
As the littles fall asleep
They dream among the vowels.

American Girl Dolls by Kendal

I am plastic, but I am sweet.
When I brush my hair it looks so neat.
My food is fake so I am always hungry.
When dogs lick me it feels yucky!

Everyone around me is a giant.
Sometimes I get a snack and try to hide it.
When the house is empty I wake up-
That's when I drink cocoa out of my cup.

I am an American Girl Doll-
Yes that's me!
And I'm as happy as I'll ever be.

Written by my daughter. :)

Life

I am thankful for the food I eat;
Others might not have such treats.
I am thankful for the air I breathe
Others cough, sniff, and sneeze.
I am thankful for my family
Others I see seem sad and lonely.
I am thankful for my land and country;
Others only wish to be free.
I am thankful for the flowers and trees;
Others can't enjoy the beauty I see.
I am thankful for my life full of joy and glee;
Others might be happy, but they will never be me.

Warm and Cozy

Heat in my car.  

A warm coat to wear.  

Finger-less gloves with mittens attached.  

Clothing and shoes,  

A place I call home, 

With blankets, couches, and soft cozy things 

To keep us warm.

Today I am thankful for being warm and cozy.

Today I am thankful for...

1:00 pm - Search for a chair on Craig's List.

1:05 pm - Find a chair that is exactly what I had in mind.

2:00 pm - I can't stop thinking about this chair.

3:00 - 5:59 pm - Still thinking about the perfect chair.

6:00 pm - It's MINE and I am so VERY THANKFUL!!!

10:42 pm - Did I mention I LOVE the chair. :D

ToDaaaaaaaaay I am thankful for beautiful, breezy, warm days when I can have the screen door open and enjoy the backyard with the kiddos. We played on the swing set, strolled in circles in the grass, watered weeds, and made a mess. =)

Horrible blogger here stopping in to say hi! lol

I am thankful today for a husband who is willing to take time off of work to help me with the kids when we all are being seen by the doctor. I am starting to resent doctors for not coming to MY house when the babies are sick... Okay, not really. But, wouldn't that be nice? =D

Tonight my hand is burning from editing drawings all day. Sometimes I wish I could just *think* and WALAH!... everything is how I want it to be in my head. But no, I have been clicking the mouse to the computer for the last 2 hours after a full day of "off and ons". I have to stop and think that I would not have this crippled hand (ok only how it feels =) if it weren't for my book orders. So I better stop complaining and start being thankful for business. So tonight, hurting hand and all, I am extremely THANKFUL for the book orders that made this possible. =)

Today I am thankful for Fred's. More specifically cute, cheap hats. And even MORE specifically cute, cheap hats from New York and Co. that are in Fred's for sale. =) I don't particularly like myself in hats, but there is a possibility that I will have to start wearing them more often than normal so I ventured out today with a mission. I don't do well with shopping. I can't ever seem to find what I am looking for on those days when I can actually buy something. Today I found what I was looking for and it was the first store I went to go looking at. Yay Fred's.

I am thankful more than it seems. Really. I promise. Being thankful on a keyboard is much harder than it seems. Really. I promise. =)

Today I am already thankful! Imagine that!! lol I am feeling extremely thankful for vision insurance. I had an eye exam and was able to get some much needed glasses yesterday. Today I am taking my 8 year old for her eye exam and most likely glasses. And this same brave little 8 year old started the braces process on Monday. Spacers and glasses in second grade..... doesn't get much better than that!

Today I am thankful for night. I am walking around feeling like I have a newborn again after Ryleigh-Ann was awake in the middle of the night for the first time in literally 6 months. She sure is welcoming this 8th month in with a bang! [ok I know this is pretty minor, but it FEELS so much bigger lol] I cannot wait to get in bed later, and I am so thankful that we don't have a lifetime full of days!

*Here's to hoping and PRAYING that this does not become an occasional occurance*

My thankfulness really seems to be few and far between on here, but life has a funny way of not stopping,and lately it has been full speed ahead! I AM capable of being thankful and busy at the same time...just not always a thankful blogger...

It has been sooo windy today, and especially tonight. It makes me nervous because here the only times we have lost power it was due to the wind. =/ What I am thankful for today is Christmas decorations on the INSIDE of my windows. I have had my heard set on pre-lit Christmas wreaths for a while now and finally got some this weekend. It was a little hard to make them work, but we figured it out and thankfully the only way was on the inside of the windows! Kind of like how it rains right after you wash your car.. it would have been just my luck to have all of this stuff outside just to get rained on and blown away. But nope! Not this time!!

Flowers

Yesterday I had a wonderful surprise. I happened to walk into the office to check my email and saw a UPS truck stopped in front of the house. I am expecting a few little things from different FB purchases/trades so I was thinking it was one of those. Then, I see them carrying a big long green box that said "ProFlowers". My heart skipped and I couldn't wait to see what was inside.

What a SURPRISE! I opened the box and there were at least 4 dozen roses (white, red, pink, and yellow) and a beautiful red vase to put them in. I so love Brad, and little things like this make me love and appreciate him even more. I have been smelling the flowers all night as I sit here drawing for the shadow book and I must say that fresh flowers smell amazing. Especially combined with sleeping children, a warm cup of leftover coffee, and completing the last drawing for a book that I have been working on today. (All drawings done in one day- yay!)

Tonight, I am thankful for flowers!!!

2010 Christmas Card

Snowflake Band Black Christmas

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Tom Ayto Tomato Chaser

Click here to view this photo book larger

I had a conversation earlier in the week with my sister about being discouraged and feeling like a certain issue was not moving forward. That afternoon, the ball started rolling, and since then I have had about 5 potentially new things come up! It is so exciting, and tonight I am thankful for new orders and potential business!

Today was the first Saturday in the last 4 weeks that I have woken up in my own bed... and it was WONDERFUL! I feel like we are living back in Greenville lately, and it probably won't feel any different until after the holidays. Being gone every weekend makes for some really hard Monday's with the kids and an extremely unorganized feeling. That being said, today Brad and I got some things done at the house, took a walk with the kids, visited the fire museum, went shopping and bought some Christmas CD's, tried a new BBQ place for dinner, and bought some great stuff for the house tonight from our neighbors. =) Tomorrow I am looking forward to being home and going to church, which we have not done in weeks. I am feeling so thankful for a day full of Goose Creek, Brad, Kendal, Carson, and Ryleigh-Ann!!

Tonight I am thankful for sleeping kids....two down and one to go. Thankfully Brad has #3 and I am free to sleep!!!

Shutterfly

I LOVE SHUTTERFLY!!!! I am sooo thankful for 0.00 when I go to pay/checkout. I was able to get 20% off my order total, plus I had a $35+ credit, plus they had a sale buy 1 book get 2nd 50% off, plus I got free shipping. I checked out with a remaining credit of almost $5.00!!!! I love it. Tonight I saved around $70 or so, and for THAT I am THANKFUL!!

So I used to shop at Goodwill all of the time back in Greenville when it was just Kendal and I. Money was a lot tighter, and I was surprised at the deals I would find. Over the last couple of years Walmart and Old Navy (and birthdays) have become my main source of clothing for the kids, but today we decided to make a trip to Goodwill in Mount Pleasant. We actually did very well in there although the time needed to go through the racks of clothes isn't exactly fun when all 3 kids and a husband are waiting. Or when Kendal screams "This is CUUUUUUUUTE!" at every item of clothing she looks at. LOL Needless to say, I was able to get about 10 items of clothing, 2 books, and a harp type of instrument (don't ask) for around $24. YAY! Tonight I am thankful for saving money!!