Ella in Christmas poncho

Well, with Thanksgiving now behind us, we all know I can't help myself.  I have a little of the Christmas decorations up & couldn't resist these of Ella in her Christmas poncho/hat that my mom made for her last year.  Working on some pics of Ms. Jessie, not an easy task at all, but I'm trying!  Also, still working on editing the Thanksgiving pics.  Hope you all are getting in the Christmas spirit & that you have a great day!

I think this expression says it all "Really, already, mom?"

Sundays are for pretty dresses

**Back from Michigan & working on editing our Thanksgiving pics.  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving**

This dress is from Nuna (my mom) & I couldn't resist putting Ella in it for church on Sunday.  It was unseasonably warm that day & she looked precious.  She totally knew she looked pretty too & she made sure everyone at church saw her dress.  I worked the nursery on Sunday & she went around to all the adults grabbing her dress until they told her how pretty she looked...little diva!  One thing I am noticing more & more is that when I use my 50mm lens, I can totally tell.  The pics just don't have that certain sparkle that they have with my 85mm lens.  Perhaps, Santa will bring me a better quality 50mm lens for my camera **hint, hint** (Dear Santa, if you're reading amazon has a 50mm 1.4 lens here :)  Here are a few snapshots of my little one in her "heirloom" dress.  Love her!

Thankful

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever."

~Psalm 107:1

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought it appropriate to reflect on being thankful.  So many things for which to be thankful, where to even start.  

1) Health: If anyone of my family were not healthy, Thanksgiving life would be very different

2) Happy Home: I realize how fortunate I am to have a great marriage, beautiful children, & a lovely, warm & more than comfortable home.  We are truly happy & blessed!

3) Freedom: I think as Americans we really take this one for granted, I am grateful for Freedom to worship & to pursue our interests/desires.  Freedom to live our lives as we wish & (mostly) not be infringed upon by the government

4) Abundance of food: As we get ready to sit down to a huge feast tomorrow, many will not have that luxury.  Many kids will be hungry tomorrow night after all of us are passed out in a food coma--this is a need that I really want my girls to see when they are older.  When they are picky eaters or throwing food, it makes me angry, b/c I know somewhere a child is hungry

5) Family: Very thankful that God provided me with a husband & family of my own.  Thankful that the girls have each other, a daddy that adores them, & 4 grandparents that love them very much.  Thankful for the extended family we have & our church family that also love us & our girls

Honestly, I could go on for pages, but I'll stick to these 5.  Here's a poem about being thankful that I liked  (I especially liked the last 2 lines, any other moms relate??) & some snapshots of Ella in her Thanksgiving hat (see the comparison below--my how she's grown since last year).  Enjoy & have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know everything,

for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,

because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge

because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary,

because it means you've made a difference.

6 months old

18 months

Thanksgiving art

While I have been busy with laundry/cleaning, I had to keep the girls occupied.  Here are some snapshots of them doing art together.  They love to color & paint, although, the painting can be messy, the results are precious to me.  After all, what is Thanksgiving without Turkey hand print art!  Have a great Tuesday :)  P.S.  I love that you can go online & print off what ever coloring page you want...it's great, google is my friend...

My little lefty, she always uses her left to color

This one uses her right mostly, but can use both

Little hand print turkeys

Slightly larger hand print turkey

Our morning art projects

Trikes

Here are a few snapshots of the girls riding trikes, well, I should say one trike.  Eventhough, they each have a trike of their own, they fight over this one.  Silly girls!  Some are duplicates, just b/w for grandparents sake. I am busy getting ready to travel on Wednesday, but had to post these of the girls.  Hope you all have a great Monday!