Quietness

SHHHHHHH!  Listen to the quietness!  Let your mind go blank and just be!   

Yes I am thankful for quietness.  Now that we are home schooling Jaron and the other three are in public school I am very thankful for the times that the house is quiet. Times when I can just sit in quiet and those moments to clear my mind are rare and inbetween.  I am always thinking about what we will teach or do next with Jaron.  Then the door bursts open with the other three at 3 pm and it's time to adjust my thoughts to getting homework started and finished, getting dinner done, baths and then bedtime...naturally all of this occurs between the time they get home to bedtime at 9pm. In those 6 hours this house is LOUD! So today I am thankful for those rare moments of complete peace and quiet.

My Pups

  Today I am thankful for my pups.  We have two right now and I would LOVE to add another one but it is just not possible right now. One day I will have a little long hair Dachshund.

Bentley is a 3 yr old Schnauzer. He is our little guard dog, always in charge, on guard and ready to attack anyone that comes to the door. He is loving in his little way but is not one to cuddle.  He hates the vacuum and as soon as I bring it out, it's an all force attack against it.  He isn't always the fierce attack do.  He LOVES playing fetch.  Lovers playing with balls of all size; from small bouncy balls, to tennis balls, beach balls and even foot balls.  If you have it in your hand and he thinks it's a ball he will being barking telling you immediately..."Throw me the Ball!"  Very loudly and won't stop till you do. Bentley has a unique story, he was sold to a man who loved him but lost his house in foreclosure.  Becoming homeless and unable to take him he left him in the house with another dog. For how long we have no idea.  The original breeder went to visit her sister and they stopped by this man's home to find the house locked up and could hear the dogs barking.  What they found was deplorable! They got in through a door that was unlocked, found them with no food, drinking toilet water and living in their own feces in a bathroom. She took the dogs home, gave them baths, fed them and got the two dogs the medical attention they needed.  This woman being a truck driver could not keep either one of them and put them up for adoption after they were nursed back to health.  We were blessed to be chosen to take him home with us.  We were prepared to pay her and adoption fee but she refused when she heard we had 4 children.  So Bentley came to live with us when he was just 10 months old.   Such a  rough start but he as adjusted and is very much a part of our hearts and family.

Then we have our Oddie. We believe he is part Poodle and maybe Maltese but we have no idea and really don't care. He is the complete opposite of Bentley.  He LOVES to cuddle, loves to play, is our comic relief, doesn't know anyone as a stranger and if you come to our door he believes you have come to only see him.  He is my shadow most days and will follow me every where I go.  Will lay near the tub when I am in the shower or the door of the bathroom until I come out.  He "needs" to be near me and sometimes it does drive me nuts specially when I am trying to cook dinner and he trips me.  You can go out the door for a second and when you come back in to the room it's as if we have been away for days.  Oddie is 18 mo old and I truly hope that he stays the fun loving puppy that he is.  He brings me such joy!  As I write this he  is laying on my lap licking my elbow.  He is such a little lover and always happy.
    These two are more than just our pets but our family members.  I am not a nut who dresses them, although Sara loves to.  Bentley doesn't mind it but Oddie hates it.  We crate them when we leave home but otherwise they are allowed to be where they want.  They generally sleep with me which is not a problem since Sean generally works the over night shift but when he is home the bed gets a little crowded.  Generally they will hop down or just sleep at my feet other wise they like to get as close as they can specially during the winter.
   So today I am thankful for my puppies.  Ok so they aren't little babies anymore but they are to me my pups and they bring us great joy!

40 Things

Happy Thanksgiving! For 40 years I have celebrated Thanksgiving. Some years I do not even remember, for I was too young. Many years I was barely thankful for what I had but today I am very thankful for even the smallest things. So I am about to attempt to write out 40 things, one for each year I have been alive of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for…

1. My ever faithful Lord and Savior

2. Jesus’ love and forgiveness despite my failings.

3. My husband, I love you Sean!

4. Strongheart Jaron

5. Kristofer the conqueror

6. Tenderhearted Eli

7. Princess Sara

8. My Angel Seanpatrick…you may be in heaven but I am forever thankful that I had 9 months to get to know you and can’t wait to see you in heaven!

9. My parents..Mom & Dad…A constant reminder of what love can do and how you can overcome the many things that life throws at you.

10. My 3 brothers and my sister…memories of my childhood : )

11. Best friends – In no certain order… Angie, Michele, Deanna, Leah, Marty, Jessica

12. New friends

13. A warm place to call home.

14. LIVING IN KY – We love it here!

15. My dogs – Bently and Oddie…what a pair you are!

16. Two cars that are paid for!

17. New Haircuts!

18. Warm winter coats

19. Crock shoes

20. Diet soda

21. veggies and dip

22. Turtle cookies…as Kristofer says, “Sweet glory” they are good!

23. MY DISHWASHER : )

24. Modern technology

25. Seasons of Rest

26. Dolls…I love dolls.

27. Klove radio

28. Facebook – connecting with old and new friends

29. Board games-Scrabble

30. My wonderful neighbors.

31. Video games

32. Playing Uno and Pacman with Sara

33. My granmother’s ivy that is growing strong and I have had for 9 years.

34. My ceramic Christmas tree that was my great grandmother’s.

35. Living less than 3 minutes from the stores I shop at.

36. Redbox…yes I love cheap rentals.

37. Pumpkin Spice Coffee and creamer

38. The ability to walk without crutches or a cane.

39. Pain medicine

40. Ability to worship in a free country without fear of being attacked or thrown into jail.

WOW I did it! I knew I could but with all the storms we are facing and going through I wasn’t sure I would come up with that many things. Oh I have so much more I am thankful for mainly all that God has and is continuing to do in my life and in my family.

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!

Happy Thanksgiving

"AHHH....I'm stuffed!" Just what the cook wants to hear. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! For the last couple of years we have celebrated this day sparingly. Two years ago we drove to KY to spend time with our friends and family there. Last year I made a turkey but none of the other delights for the day, Sean had to work and the kids could of cared less about what we ate as long as they got to eat.

But this year...like years past we have much to celebrate! We are so thankful for all of the many things God has blessed us with! This year we had a wonderful friend of ours over for dinner as well. Ken and Darlene have been great friends and have poured their love on us and our children in great and small ways. Darlene went to Chicago to be with her niece who just had eye surgery due to complications with diabetes. Keep her in prayer, the doctor is unsure if she will ever see again and she is only 24! So we had Ken come and have dinner with us. He is a joy to be around, full of life and laughter. In fact I have mentioned them before, and our family fall pics were taken in their back yard. The live on the lake and it is just breathtaking there. They have their home for sale right now so if anyone is interested in a lake front 3 bedroom 2 bath home with boat dock in southern Illinois let me know.

Anyway, I made all the typical yummy foods....

Herb (Mrs Dash Chicken Herbs Seasoning) Roasted turkey

Mashed Taters

Cranberry Stuffing

Gravy

Broccoli Casserole

Candied Sweet potatoes

Fresh Green beans

Fresh Cranberry sauce

Biscuits

Veggie Tray with dip

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pies

Oh and can't forget the Cheetos. Yes the kids, well two of them anyway had Cheetos with their turkey. Sara and Eli enjoyed helping me skin the potatoes and sweet potatoes. Sara really loved helping me prepared dinner today. I know that I will cherish today's time of teaching her how to peel the potatoes and watching her has she tried to teach Eli!

I have to say this year was the best Thanksgiving dinner we have had in a long time! One because of great food and company but even more so because all the diaper heads sat at the table...including Kristofer. As most of you who read my blog know, Kristofer is on the autism spectrum and has many sensory issues. Part of his sensory issues deal with oral issues, he can not stand certain textured foods and the smell and sights of some foods sends him into orbit and causes him to start gagging. Eating lunch at school (brings his lunch) has given him much practice about looking down at his own food so as not to gag or be grossed out. Normally when we eat dinner he usually eats super fast or not at the table. Today for the first time, he was able to sit with us at the table and not gag. There was no screaming, whining or complaining at all from him. YAY! It was a peaceful dinner! It was great.

Oh we have gone out to dinner and he has done well but that is usually because we are all eating the same thing as him (pizza or chicken & fries, ect). But today he chose to sit in front of the broccoli casserole and mashed taters...two things that normally send him gagging and running to the bathroom. I thank God for helping Kris be able to remember to use his social stories and remember to look down or away from the things that gross him out. It was pure heaven to have everyone sitting and enjoy their dinner and participating in the conversations.

This week we put the tree up and I painted and created a new ornament for SeanPatrick. Something I haven't done at all. All the kids have pics of them from their 1st Christmas on the tree. Well this year I decided I wanted a pic of every one of my precious children on the tree. Here is a picture of the ornament I made for SeanPatrick...

You can also see a little bit of the popcorn and cranberry garland Sara and I made. We had a great time last night stringing the popcorn and berries. I plan to make another strand or two to make the tree look fuller. The tree is a bit lopsided and bare despite the ornaments. Next year I hope to get a real tree. This year we were planning to but we are going to Florida for vacation, unfortunately not at Christmas, before hand but we are thankful we get to go. It's been 3 years since the kids have been back to Florida. They are so excited! Anyway we decided to save the money we would have spent to get a tree and use it to go to Florida. I think its a great trade.