Thankful.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving WEEK! The weekend before Thanksgiving, Mylie and Blake stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Breach. They had such a blast and got to be farm kids for the weekend. They rode in the pickup, did chores, and had a fabulous time. Jeff and I also had a nice weekend, including two dates in two days. Unprecedented! Sunday afternoon the whole Breach family spent the afternoon together having lunch and just hanging out. It was a great day.

Mylie and I were both out of school all week. Monday, the kids went to daycare while I did a little work and a little Christmas shopping. Tuesday it was cold and icky - so we all stayed home and enjoyed our nice warm house all day long. Wednesday morning we left to go to Idaho Falls. The roads had been nasty and some of them closed on Tuesday so we were a little hesitant about going. The drive which normally takes 4.5 hours, took 7 hours. Ugh. To say it was a long day was an understatement. Thankfully Jeff drove like a rock star, the kids were quite good in the car, and I had a great book. We were definitely happy to arrive in Idaho Falls.

Thanksgiving was fabulous. Mom cooks Thanksgiving like no one else and it was a fun day. The guest list included, Grandpa Hammond and Grandpa Jack, Ben's family, Bailey, Jalyn and her kids and Uncle Doug and Aunt Marilyn. Of course we missed Courtney, Jason and Lila.

The kids all had so much fun playing all day Thursday and Friday. On Friday, I got to have lunch with TeriAnn and her husband Dylan. It was so strange to be having lunch with her and telling Mylie how TeriAnn and I met when we were HER AGE! Yikes. Does that make us old? We hadn't seen each other in three years, so it was so great to catch up. They are expecting their first baby, so we had lots to talk about.

Later Friday afternoon, Jeff and I shopped and shopped. Goodness, I really love shopping. I think we are about done with our Christmas shopping, which is great, except I still like to shop!! LOL. We decided we had better head back early in the day on Saturday since there was supposed to be a storm coming through. Before we left, Papa had to take the kids on the 4-wheeler again. For some reason Blake did not want to ride in the sleigh this time, he wanted to help Papa drive.

It was super cold, but the kiddos loved it! I think we were just ahead of the weather because we made it back safely in good time. The news that night told a different story about the roads, so we were glad to make it back safe. Sunday we did not even get out of our pajamas. I have been battling a bad cold/cough for over 2 weeks, and the kids woke up sniffling and coughing yesterday. We called it a day and just relaxed and napped and tried to get ready to get back in the swing of things.

There are so many things I am grateful for this year. I am grateful for this little family I have. For a wonderful husband that I love with all of my heart. For two little kids who have my heart. I am grateful for our big family. We are both so lucky to have wonderful parents and families, and our kids are so lucky to have the best grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am grateful for our home and our jobs. I am grateful we have cars that run well and health insurance. I am grateful that we believe in God and that we live in America. I am grateful that we can provide for our children spiritually, temporally, and emotionally.

I am grateful. And I love this time of year where we take time to slow down and remember all the reasons why.

Time Marches On ....

This morning was Jeff and I's first time ever going to parent teacher conferences. It was great to hear from someone else how neat my kid is. For some reason it seemed kind of fitting that today was our first parent teacher conference and that nine years ago today, Jeff proposed to me. Nine years ago is a long time! I look at us then, and I look at us now. So much has changed in our lives, but I would not change it for anything.

But time does go fast. It is hard to believe my baby girl will turn six next week. And Blake is growing into such a boy, there isn't much toddler left in him. Though there was a moment earlier this week, he had just gotten up and I was changing his diaper. He was still kind of sleepy and he stretched and yawned ... his whole face scrunched up and for just a moment, he looked exactly like he did as an infant. I wish I could have put that in a bottle. Or when they both want to climb up on my lap and snuggle with me, I'd like to bottle that too.

It makes me think about what the next nine years will bring. When Mylie is 15 and Blake is almost 12, will they still argue over who gets to sit with Mom? Will they still talk my ear off all day long telling me every single little thing that happened in their day? Will they still be best friends?

But time marches on, there is no way of knowing what the future holds, only the knowledge that you need to enjoy each and every day!