Thankful...

I am thankful for friends, new and old. I am thankful for my Lynchburg friends who knew me growing up and will always understand certain things about me because they know about growing up in our hometown. I am thankful for my William & Mary friends who knew me when I finally learned to let loose and learned to really enjoy life. I am thankful for my UVA friends, both classmates and neighbors, we had a wonderful year together in Charlottesville and I only wish we had longer to hang out. I am thankful for my Sylvan friends, the best work friends a girl could find. I still miss that job sometimes and love that we helped so many children and had fun doing it. I am thankful for good neighbors, both in Westlake and in Craig Ranch. I love having friends who are also neighbors. There are no pretensions. They know who you really are, how messy your house really is, how you look doing yardwork in your grubbiest of grubbies, and they still like you anyway. So thankful. I am thankful for my fellow mom friends, the ones who have helped me figure out motherhood and have been there for the triumphs and bumps along the way. I feel so blessed to have met so many wonderful friends through my children and I know that many of these friendships will be lifelong ones. I am thankful for my knitting and blogging friends who I have met simply through a shared love for this craft. I love sharing ideas with you and all the creativity you inspire in me. On this day where I get to see one of my best friends ever, I am so thankful for friends. So for all my friends, old and new, near and far, casual and best, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving Eve, safe travels and much happiness this holiday season.

Thankful...

N had his Thanksgiving feast today at preschool. I am so thankful for the wonderful preschool that he attends. I am thankful for the loving and creative teachers. I am thankful for the community of parents and grandparents who came together for the feast today. I am thankful that B was able to take off work to be there with N and I. I am thankful for the fact that I was able to bring my grandmother's Pineapple Hotdish, a favorite family recipe that always reminds me of countless wonderful holidays spent with my grandmother and other extended family members. I am thankful that I am able to attend all of N and J's school events as I am blessed to be a stay-at-home mom.


I am thankful for these two funny, beautiful, loving little boys. I am thankful that most of the time they seem to really like and enjoy each other. I have hope that they will be lifelong friends. I am thankful that they are healthy and generally happy. I am thankful that we are able to provide them with a secure home, a loving family and three meals each day.


I am thankful for B and the man that he is. I am thankful that he takes the time to be with his sons and works to help them be the men we want them to be. I am thankful that he loves me even with my lackluster housekeeping skills and haphazard cooking skills. I am thankful that he puts up with, and sometimes even encourages, my knitting and other crafty ventures. I am thankful that he's been in my life for the last 16 years and can't wait to have him for many more.



I am thankful for these sweet baby girls. I am thankful that they were in need of rescuing when we were ready to bring them into our homes. I am thankful that they are already such close friends. I am thankful for their sloppy kisses, their wagging tails and their unconditional love.

I am thankful for good friends. I have such great ones in my life. I am thankful for old friends who will always be there even when we go years without seeing each other. I am thankful for all my "mom" friends who are there with me as I travel along the challenging path of motherhood. I am thankful for my good Texas friends who are already like family.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my sister who will always be my very best friend. I am thankful for my parents, my brother and all my wonderful nieces and nephews. I am thankful for the family I married into as well as the one I was born into. I am thankful to grow up with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. FAMILY is such a huge part of my life.

This post could keep going and going. I am thankful for all the wonderful blessings in my life. Thank you for sharing this adventure with me. I am thankful for you too. Thank you for giving me a place to voice my thoughts and opinions and stories. I really am thankful for the audience you are and the support and feedback you give.

Yarn Love

Just read this essay and had to share. Click here and enjoy.

J's artwork

J just brought me this picture he made. On the left is an eagle in North America and a shark below it in South America. To the right is J in Texas, a lion in Africa and a kangaroo in Australia. At the bottom of the page is a polar bear in the Arctic.

I thought the whole thing was really cool. Had to share.

Payton Update

Well, Payton's name has stuck. She seems to respond to it and the boys like it--so Payton it is. As you can see, she and Pepper are still having a blast.




Payton is just enough bigger than Pepper that we've decided not to let her get on the sofa. But I felt bad for her sleeping on the floor, so I made her a dog bed. I just bought some really soft fabric and made a big pillowcase and then filled it with three pillows. It was really easy to make and I can just slip the pillows back out to wash it. And the fabric I picked matches Pepper and Payton perfectly :).

As you can see, Payton is enjoying her bed.


I made one for Pepper too. Hers is smaller (just two pillows inside).
But Pepper would rather just sleep on the sofa.

But N really likes her new dog bed.
These were so easy and inexpensive to make. The pillows were $2.50 each. I used a coupon to buy the 3 yards of fabric.

Happy Saturday, everyone! Hope you have a great one!

My Bucket List

I decided to enter this contest and thus I am posting about things I want to do before I kick the bucket. These are not in order of importance, but in the order I thought of them today.

1. Go skydiving--hopefully with one of my boys when they are old enough.
2. Go to Germany with B and drink beer and eat chocolate.
3. Go para-sailing with my sister.
4. Get a knitting pattern published in a magazine (or e-magazine).
5. Have a girls weekend away with my sister and best friend.
6. Go on a family trip to Alaska, Australia or Africa. J would be SO thrilled.
7. Design a knitting pattern that other people actually knit (one more complex than the Purse Scarf and the One Skein Chunky Cowl.)
8. Help make the world a better place.
9. Raise my boys to be confident, caring individuals.
10. Celebrate my 60th (at least) wedding anniversary.
11. Use all the yarn in my stash :).
12. Learn how to do something athletic--play tennis, score a soccer goal, hit a baseball, throw and catch a football, throw a basketball into the basket, go snowboarding or surfing--something that teaches me new skills and that I can play with my boys.
13. Take dance lessons with B.
14. Meet my grandchildren.
15. Go whale watching.
16. Knit B a sweater that he LOVES.

This was fun. I'm sure I will think of more things. How many of these do you think I will actually do? I hope all of them.

This is my entry in the Just Ask Bucket List Getaway Giveaway. Just Ask offers a breast and ovarian cancer screening and is encouraging people to share 15 things that I want to enjoy in my lifetime as a reminder to be aware of my health. Want to enter? Head over to TodaysMama.com to get the details.

So what's on your bucket list?

Anyone seen my boys?

They were just here. I took them out of the bath and then they disappeared. Hmm...

Round-Up of Halloween Photos

Catching up on some Halloween blogging. Here's the fun in photos:

Our neighborhood Moms group Trunk or Treat:


J as Batman and N as Spiderman:
My Spiderman and his best friend:


J's Kindergarten trip to a pumpkin patch on a very foggy morning:

N before his preschool Halloween parade:

N's preschool class (minus one butterfly who felt too shy to be photographed):

Pumpkin Carving! I love N's expression in this one:
The finished pumpkins. J's is the tall one with a "shark mouth." N's is the "happy face."

The boys convinced me to put up some spider webs. They loved putting spiders in them.

Our sign and candy:

I didn't get a good picture of our boys on Halloween night as N refused to cooperate, but here's a good one of J and our zombie neighbor:

Hope you all had a happy Halloween!