Happy Thanksgiving

There is so much to be thankful this Thanksgiving and every day. But, today as we reflect and give thanks, I am most thankful for my beautiful and loving family, my kind and supportive friends, and my warm and cuddly dogs who give their love unconditionally. This year, I am also thankful that in this economy, I have a good job, that the price of gas has gone down and hopefully that the stock market will keep rising.

Last night, I had an incredibly proud mommy moment, which makes me even more thankful to have these amazing children in my life. We were choosing a movie to watch together and Nathan took one out and said to me "Mom, we don't watch this anymore, we should give it to a boy or girl who doesn't have a movie." With all the mistakes I have made in raising my children, I must be doing something right and am so proud that he would think on his own to give to others. Nathan has an amazing heart!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Photos from the weekend

Yesterday, I had an appointment to take the kids to the photo store in the mall to have pictures done. I was hoping to get a couple nice pics of the kids together so that I could frame one, and use one for holiday cards. Unfortunately, the photographer was terrible and I didn't like a single picture. So, another person at the store agreed to take more pictures of the kids, and although they turned out better, there still wasn't one in the entire group worth paying for! I was so dissappointed, as I know I know I have beautiful kids, but the pictures didn't even come close to showing their true beauty. They looked posed and awkward, and it was evident by looking at the pictures that they weren't happy.

As we started to drive home, we drove past the Wilde Lake Park in Columbia. The children were intrigued by the waterfall and wanted to go walk around. It was a cool, but very sunny day, and luckily, I had my camera with me. So, we walked though the park and I took pictures of my beautiful children and have one special picture (not here) that will be used on my holiday cards.

Here they are holding hands, and I didn't even ask them to!

Sela was getting tired and cold and not much in the mood for pictures, but Nathan was being adventurous and checking everything out...

Here, Nathan is comforting his sister

Finally, there was one point during our walk when I was focused on Sela, trying to get a picture of her beautiful smile, when I noticed Nathan missing. As I turned around, this is what I saw!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

In school the kids have been learning about Thanksgiving and cooking for their Thanksgiving feast. Yesterday, Bubie and PopPop were able to join them in school for their Thanksgiving celebration and feast. Here are the pictures they sent:

Nathan playing in his classroom before the festivities began:

Getting in costume for the presentation:

N is for Native American (not Nathan) and P is for Pilgrim. (they have been doing letters of the week and learned these two) Nathan was a Native American.

Nathan and his girlfriend:

Finally, eating the Thanksgiving Feast

Sela had a celebration in her classroom too and was so happy to have Bubie there with her.

They sang songs as well.

and it looks like they did some dancing too.

My little turkey:

To see more FAVORITE FRIDAY FOTOS from other bloggers, please check out Sarah's blog.
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Halloween '08

Nathan was really excited about Halloween this year. Sela was excited about her new dress. Here are the kids before school on Friday:

Our neighbors accross the street really go all out decorating for Halloween including piped in smoke and spooky music. Here are a few pictures that were taken before it got dark:





Unfortunately, Sela was quite spooked by all the Halloween decorations. She wouldn't even wear her own costume, and refused to go Trick or Treating. Nathan though was very happy in his costume and loved giving away candy to the kids who came to our house:

Nathan's Class Trip to the Farm

Last week, I went with Nathan on his class trip to the farm. While there, they walked through a corn maze:Each child was able to pick their own pumpkin:

They picked "apples" (velcro'd on to the fake tree)

Saw lots of animals:

Rode horses:

Ground corn to feed to the ducks and chickens:

Rode on the tractors:

Played on the playground:

And, had a picnic lunch:

It was such a fun day and I really enjoyed spending it with my special guy!

After the trip to the farm, we visited PopPop who was raking leaves - here is how Nathan helped:

Nathan's Last Soccer Game of the Season

Nathan had such a wonderful time playing soccer this year - mostly due to his wonderful coaches. But, somewhere during the 3rd or 4th game, it just "clicked" for him and he was a totally different player - scoring goals, running after the ball, and just seemed to understand the game and really want to play. It was wonderful to watch him through this change and I am so proud of his progress! Here he is warming up for the big game:Before scoring his first of 2 goals during the game:

Preparing for a throw-in with Coach Susan:

Playing around with Coaches Chris and EJ during the game - check out the BIG smile!

Checking out the trophy that they received: