Thanksgiving Eve

 As I seek to find gratitude and teach the kiddos the same, I know we have so very much to be thankful for. Even when we weren't living through a pandemic, the hospital setting where I work is a constant reality of how much we should all appreciate our health, our families and our lives each and every day. It is never lost on me just how grateful I am for all that we have. This week we tend to express that even more, and I found myself in a constant state of 'thanks'. 

A bit of thanks in the form of photos 

Our favorite fur-neighbor. She holds your arms when you pet her and makes it incredibly challenging to get any yardwork finished.

My amazing suite-mates/team at Abbott. I only get to see the other 2/3 of my team in a virtual platform most of the time, but I'm grateful for this amazing group! They are dedicated and work tirelessly but most of all, make work more enjoyable.

My favorite 4 legged suite-mate that I get to dog-sit every once in a while. 

A new team for Sidney that she has embraced and loved and they have welcomed her with open arms. These girls are fantastic and just what she needed

My AMAZING mom who is there for me every morning when I call; and who loves up on the kiddos with all of her heart. 

This group of friends from freshman year in the dorms at SCSU. We created a bond that we never have let go and the memories just keep coming. 

Lincoln's gathering his own group of buddies, and though they are l-o-u-d and crazy, they are a fun group of boys! 

I am forever grateful that Sidney has finally found a love for reading books. Her dear friends introduced her to a romance author and she is hooked. 

Bonus, she puts her phone down for hours at a time when she gets going on a new book. 

We are all thankful for Regan's friend group. She is in the midst of some challenging years and making the safe choices can sometimes be hard. So so grateful for that head on her shoulders. 

Much of those good decisions are influenced by Regan's strong desire to play softball at a higher level. I am grateful for the opportunity to chase her around the state as she attends prospect camps and tours colleges, searching for the perfect fit. 

But I am even more grateful to that woman on the bucket below, and the countless hours spent together.

 Coach Becky loves seeing Regan's passion to put in extra work and is always willing to stay late after practice whacking balls at her, or giving Regan private lessons.

They spend hours together and never tire, and I'm so thankful that she shares her talents.

We thought we were going to lose her at the end of the last season, and man were there tears! Lucky for us, we're still together :) 

But most of all, I'm thankful for each and every one in this picture. 

Yes, we have our moments. And yes, occasionally we need a break from one another. But they are my everything and I love them to pieces. 

Find ways to give thanks and wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Fall around here

Before we get too far into winter, I better recap fall or I'll forget what happened. We are moving at light speeds lately, and I don't want to forget anything. 

It's not a true change of season unless we get over to Como Conservatory and check out the sunken gardens. This time, I told the girls maybe they should have a wedding in that beautiful place some day. I got a few sideways smiles. But it's just so pretty! 

We had our first fire of the season in our fireplace. Man do we love that thing. It's so toasty warm and everyone usually cuddles around it at some point in the day. We sure get good use out of it. 

We taught Lincoln how to ice skate, in 10 minutes flat! Honestly, that boy picked it up faster than I ever anticipated. He used a walker for a very short while before announcing he was ready to let go. Ryan took him back a few days later and he did great. Thinking Santa has some gifts in his bag for our new skater :) 

Sidney painted Lincoln's face like a tiger.
 On more than one occasion. 

Sadly, they neglected to use Crayola brand markers and he was left with streaks across his face for days. Opps. 

Regan and I ran another turkey trot on Thanksgiving Day, pretty sure this is now an annual event. It was much colder than last year, and my "snot catcher" sure came in handy!

We celebrated Grandma Jan's birthday with gifts and a trip to town to help her decorate for the holidays. 

And upon buying our own Christmas tree, we had our first visit to the big guy (who wasn't such a great big guy since his daughter was hollering "HI DADDY" from around the corner). Yikes!

Now onto the holidays! 

Thanksgiving out-take

Before the hoopla of Thanksgiving, I tried getting a "birthday picture" of the kids with my mom. It was her birthday the next day, so fitting to grab a photo. 

Lincoln was good taking his own picture, but increased his crabbiness when his sisters joined the picture. By the time I wanted one of all 4 of them together, this was what he looked like. 

HA! 

It wasn't perfect, but eventually I got him to at least look at the camera :) 

Turkey day 2017

 We started off Thanksgiving a little different this year. Working in health care, rehab to be more specific, I am thankful every single day that I have the ability to exercise. In fact, as odd as it sounds, I'm incredibly thankful to be able to run. So it seemed fitting to start off my Thanksgiving day with a quick 5K. 

To clarify, this was totally not my idea. In fact, see that other girl in the photo below? It was her idea. Regan's friend Adrian wanted desperately to run this race, but her parents are not runners. As she and Regan enjoyed cross country over the fall, the idea to run the Turkey Day run grew and suddenly included me! None of us parents were willing to let the girls lose with 9,000 runners, and it seemed safest for someone to run along side. I volunteered myself, knowing it would be a good way to start the day. 

The beauty that morning was stunning. We ran through downtown and near the river. It was a gorgeous morning (yes, a little chilly but at least it wasn't windy!). 

I was so proud of the girls! They stuck with it, running the entire time. I paced them at 10 minutes/mile and although they were winded, they never needed to stop. I tried striking up conversations with them, but could tell they were both too tired to think and too out of breath to respond :) Super happy to have spent the morning with my oldest! 

 After the run, we got to join the rest of the crew and prepped our Thanksgiving meal. 

Four days before Thanksgiving, Ryan got the bright idea to deep fry the turkey this year. I sort of did a 'face-palm', because again, working in health care, I envisioned spending Thanksgiving in the ER due to burns. So we both read and watched and scoured the internet on "how to cook a turkey without killing yourself". There are some pretty great reads out there! 

I'm happy to announce it was a complete success! No one was injured and Ryan was beyond pleased with the outcome of his bird. I can't say the smell of it was anything grand, we had to open 6 windows and the front door (think greasy fast food joint); so much for that delicious cooked turkey smell. Apparently in his mind, it was totally worth it. 

At the end of the day, I felt so much love in my heart and as always, am so thankful for these three cuties who call me mom. 

Thanksgiving and a snowfall

Living in Minnesota, we never quite know what to expect for weather around Thanksgiving. There have been years when it is bitter cold and miserable, one (not terribly long ago) where we wore sweaters and ran around outside, and then there was this year: snow. 

Yep, a beautiful pretty snow came down just enough to make a mess of the roads and allow the kids to go outside and explore. 

Lincoln pitched a complete fit when we tried to put his snowpants on. And the boots?, that was worse! He downright refused his new winter coat and insisted on his (much too small) jacket from last year. But eventually, he ventured outside with Regan and Sidney and had a complete blast playing in the snow. 

The best thing about having three kids, they have each other! And goodness do they love to play together. 

Oh we have plenty of fights, I'm not painting an all rosy picture!

But when things are just right, they are exactly just right.  

We spent Thanksgiving at home with family. All of the grandparents made the trek through the snow and we even had Hope with us (love that girl!). 

I neglected to take very many pictures as I was busy cleaning and cooking but we sure have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

And at the end of the night, after everyone had gone home and we were getting ready to bring Hope home, I turned the corner to find Lincoln snuggled up by the fire, flipping through my phone. I'm positive he was watching videos of himself, or YouTube videos of trains. 

No doubt that I'll get a picture of him exactly like this in another 14 years. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Giving thanks

This Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. So very much. This was one of those weeks where I reflect on our health and am forever grateful. I can't even put into words how thankful. 

I looked back on all of our Thanksgivings as parents and was reminded that it was Regan's first Thanksgiving that she took her first steps! Oh how I remember the excitement in her (and our) face! 

A lot has happened between 2006 and now. Most importantly, two more beauties have joined our family to make us complete. As this Thanksgiving season is upon us, we say thanks for all that we have. 

Life: Happiness and Health

With working (nearly) full time and 3 young children, sometimes it's all we can do to stay afloat. I wrestle with being "good enough" both at home and at work. Knowing there is always more to be done on both fronts: an extra hour at the hospital could wrap up a lot of work, but the loss of an hour with the kids is time I will never get back. The house needs tending to, my car looks like a bag of pretzels exploded inside and the kids are begging for some attention. And by the time they go to bed, we both crash on the couch in pure exhaustion. This is life. I've read a lot of inspirational pieces lately, but a few have hit home. One (which I don't have a copy of), told me to stop looking for the next milestone/opportunity, and instead, enjoy the current moment. Boy are we trying hard to do just that. Not looking for what next week or next month has in store, but swallowing up the time we have right now. Enjoy it to the fullest. 

The second was this letter, because it really is funny and matches our lives exactly right now (I've shortened/edited it a bit): 

"Dear Toddler Mom,

There are smushed Cheerios on the seats of your car.  You went to work with a Donald Duck sticker on your rear end…and didn’t find it until this evening when you were cooking dinner. 

The tantrums are at a whole new level.  How dare you turn on { garbarge trucks }, when he clearly wanted { trains }?  I mean, he asked for "ucky", but don’t you read minds?  Also, he wanted chicken nuggets for dinner- no, wait, now he wants pizza.  Or cookies.  No cookies!  Stop it, mommy.  Apple juice, please?  Is avocado a fruit or a vegetable?  Doesn’t matter, that’s all he’ll eat for dinner anyway.  Did he just throw the apple juice on the floor?  And these are just the tantrums that we can semi-explain.

What about the tantrum on the way to the park the other day?  When you had to carry a flailing screaming toddler all the way home?  You had no idea what caused it, but you were sure someone would stop you and accuse you of kidnapping that poor little guy.  Actually, you wished they would have.  Maybe the nice officer would give you a ride home.  Or just turn on his siren – that should distract him, right?

The laundry you just folded is now artfully strewn across the floor.  You can’t remember the last time you used the restroom without fingers sticking under the door or someone yelling “Moooommmmmmmyyyyyyy” through the door.  Is there a wine delivery service in town?

I know today seems hard.  But soak it up.  Because one day you’ll wish for these days back.  Someday you’ll shed a tear thinking about the little hands that were “helping” with the laundry.  You’ll miss the hours spent dancing to  music.  Crashing cars off the edge of the couch.  Plus, think of all the calories you burned carrying a thirty pound resisting child home.  Definitely enough for a margarita, right?

Soak it up.  Sing “Let It Go” at the top of your lungs.  Run in circles around the house.  Have a wine break as necessary.  It’ll all be okay.  Bedtime is near.

You’ve STILL got this, momma." 

Reading that, talking to friends, it all helps. The girls are older and how quickly we forgot just how different having a toddler is. But I just know we will miss it when this phase is over. So we're hanging on for dear life! 

The last piece, I stumbled upon and it resonated hard with my own line of work. The stuff that happens inside the walls of the hospital, it's tough. Day in and day out, we are faced with scenarios and problems that are sometimes unexplainable. They're sad and emotional; but they make me so very grateful for the health of my family. Something taken for granted all too often. 

"Truth be told, happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them. Imagine all the wondrous things your mind might embrace if it weren’t wrapped so tightly around your struggles. Always look at what you have, instead of what you have lost. Because it’s not what the world takes away from you that counts; it’s what you do with what you have left." 

A great reminder for this month of thanksgiving. 

An early Thanksgiving

We celebrated an early thanksgiving this weekend as Ben/Jon were able to be in town. Ben made a mess out of our kitchen but created a wonderful meal for us all to enjoy Saturday evening. He worked the day away, while the rest of us took Lincoln to his very first movie theater experience (I got the most giddy when they told me the popcorn was made with cottonseed oil...no butter!). Lincoln sat patiently for an entire hour before he started to get restless. Not bad. And he felt like such a big boy attending a movie with his older sibs!

From the get-go on Friday, Lincoln took a liking to Jon and insisted he play with him, change him, and help get him snacks throughout the entire weekend. Lucky for us, Jon obliged and played trains, trucks, danced, watched YouTube videos all with Lincoln by his side! 

Of course, whenever Hope comes around, the girls are all over her. We played a few rounds of Twister before it was on to some made up game of charades (that somehow even I got suckered in to!). We laughed so hard at our ineffective attempts to act out words and squealed for joy when someone guessed it correctly! 

Love this extended family of ours and the fact that we got to spend some time together in the spirit of Thanksgiving. I know how thankful we are to have each other, and it's safe to say the kiddos are thankful for them too (I snuck a peek at Regan's reflection journal for school tonight and Regan wrote about her meal and how much she enjoyed it!).  

We spent Sunday at Minihaha exploring and showing everyone a place we love so very much. 

While we waited for the rest of the crew to pick up some coffee, we played around at the park. Ryan and I chuckled at these little teeter-totters....with rubber tires on the ground below to prevent a big THUD. 

"back when we were kids...."

We were lucky that Regan climbed up here before Grandma Jan showed up! She might not have appreciated those heights as much as Regan does :)  

Eventually we made our way over to the falls and headed down to hike around. Lincoln did plenty of walking around (which made for a nice nap later in the day), including down 100 stairs....Regan may have counted :) 

It's no secret, that we love this place. The pictures are stunning and all of us just love to explore all of the nature around. 

Disclaimer: I took a LOT of pictures! 

(we're missing Hope who had to work all morning)

Thankful this November for quality time with family!