T H A N K F U L

Since this is the month to focus on the things that we are so very thankful for...I thought I would share the things that I'm T H A N K F U L for.

The first thing that I'm THANKFUL for is God who watches over us each day and gives us strength when sometimes we don't think we have it in us to get through some days. He is always there to listen.

I'm THANKFUL for the country we live. That we are free to make our own decisions like who to worship, what president we want running our country, the freedom to say whatever we want and the choice to make any dream come true.

I'm THANKFUL for my friends and family. Without friends and family life would boring.

I'm THANKFUL for my little girl, Grace. I just can't imagine my life without her. She brings such joy to my life.

And last but certainly not least, I'm THANKFUL for my amazingly handsome husband. He is such a great leader to our family. He has such wonderful qualities that he brings to our family like strength, patience, kindness, tenderness, and love. He's always taking care of everyone else before himself. He's one of the most selfless persons I know and I love him dearly.

Happy THANKSGIVING everyone!

18 months

Where does the time go...Grace turned 18 months on November 19 and I think we are already in the "terrible twos."

Grace definitely has a mind of her own and most things have to be her idea. She loves to say "no" and shake her head to yes or no questions Mommy asks. She is still such a picky eater. Daddy is the ONLY one who can get her to take bites of her vegetables. But, then again Daddy can get her to do most things. I think this constitutes a "Daddy's Girl." Grace's favorite things to do right now is dance, twirl in circles, look for the stars and the moon in the sky (although we haven't gotten the concept that the moon is only out at night), she loves to wrestle with Daddy, loves to hold on to someone's hand to march or run, read books, stack things on top of one another, write on the chalkboard, play with Mommy's tupperware, have Mommy's put lipstick on her and then she, also, likes to put her own powder on with Mommy's makeup brushes, have mommy rock her to sleep, suck her thumb while rubbing something soft whether it be her lovey or something else, and most of all watching movies in the car.

She's beginning to talk more and more. Jeff and I are starting to understand more of what she is saying.

Here are some new words that she can say:



moon, star, PaPa (this is Jeff's grandfather), Mommaw (this is my grandmother), Tracey (this is my sister-in-law), Chad (this is my brother), yes, no, march, side (which is outside), snack, and I'm sure that there are some more that I can't think right now.



She's is getting so tall and all those baby rolls are beginning to fade a bit. Mommy is sad because she is looking more and more like a little girl than a baby.



Here are her stats from the doctor:



weight: 25lbs. (60 percentile)



height: 31 1/3 in. (50 percentile)

Jeff and I just can't thank God enough each day for the wonderful gift He has sent to us.

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.

Grace was the cutest "Dorothy" ever!

Thanks to my mom's wonderful creativity and seamstress abilities that worked their magic. :)

As the Scarecrow says, " ...I'm not afraid of anything - except a lighted match."

Grace too felt the same way. She loved to look at the pumpkins and "pet" them, but make them into a jack-o-lantern and light it with a match and you can forget about it. She was so afraid of all the jack-o-lanterns sitting on the porches. Jeff had to carry her up to the few doors that we went to and believe me there was a deathly grip with her legs wrapped around him as a reminder not to let her down.

Pumpkin to Jack-O-Lantern

We had my family over to our house the Sunday before Halloween to carve pumpkins.

Let me preface this event first...Grace does not like her hands to be dirty at all.

So, when Jeff and I cut the pumpkin open we asked her to come take a look inside. At first she wasn't too sure, but soon came over to take a peep. Then, I asked her to feel the inside...with a lot of hesitation she stuck her hand in the pumpkin only after Mommy did it. She quickly pulled it out and looked at her hand and proceeded to rub her hands together to get the slimy stuff off her hand. It was too funny to watch! After that she pretty much stayed far away in hopes that no one would ask her to go near it again. Although, at the very end I asked her to come and help me carve the last little bit and of course she came right over only after telling her she could help me with the carving knife (something that is typically a "no-no").

See what you think of all of our creations...

Not too scary!

Pumpkin Patch

Okay, I'm a little late on posting our trip to the pumpkin patch.

Jeff and I took Grace to visit a pumpkin patch at a church close to our house. At first she wasn't sure what to do, but as soon as I showed her she could pick up the pumpkins...that was all it took. I think her favorite part was trying to sit on all the wood pallets that the pumpkins were sitting on. She would find a place by a pumpkin and sit right next to it and pet it like a dog. Finally, after a while of walking around, she found a pumpkin and took it to Jeff as if to say "Daddy this is the one I want!" and Mommy found herself a big one to carve for the house. Jeff and I always find such joy watching her experience and learn new things.

Stay tuned for the pumpkin carving and Halloween costume...