The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone, and our family of three had a very relaxing and quiet holiday weekend. I think the best part was putting up the Christmas decorations. Jason knew that I had a hard time spending Thanksgiving by ourselves, but he knows I LOVE to decorate, so he suggested "Christmastizing" on Thursday. We put the tree together before Rylan's nap and he kept wanting to hang the ornaments before it was even complete. Then we started stringing the lights right before he went down for his nap. During his nap, we finished the lights and I prepared dinner. When Rylan woke up, I took him right to the table and he did not have a chance to see the tree. Well, let me tell you when he saw the tree after dinner he was SOOOO excited! It was priceless. He went on and on saying oooh Dadda, oooh Dadda, tree Dadda... It was great! He did help me put up a few ornaments after that and has enjoyed all the decor since.

Jason also has is old train from when he was a little boy. J thought it would be a good idea to set it up for Rylan and upon mentioning it, I think we heard choo choo Dadda, choo choo Dadda, about 500 times :)! He loves watching it go around the track a couple of times a day! We can't wait to see if Santa will bring Rylan a train this year!

We also took out "Elf on the Shelf" on Thanksgiving and Elf has been watching over Rylan each day and flying to report to Santa every night. Rylan has to find Elf when he wakes up the following morning because Elf always seems to land someplace different. We have enjoyed watching Rylan get very excited over the life-long Christmas traditions that will always remain in our hearts.

Lastly, we played our first board game with Rylan yesterday...Candyland! He did really well, amazingly enough. He had no problem waiting his turn and enjoyed finding the matching colors on the board from the card he drew. My favorite part of the experience occurred when he was kicking our butts and way in front of us. Jason and I were right next to each other near the beginning, and when it was Rylan's turn, he moved back to where we were and said, me, Mama, Dadda, because he wanted to be near us. So sweet!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has been an interesting year, but there is still so much to be thankful for. First and foremost, thank you God for my family's health and happiness. I love my husband and little boy so much and appreciate the opportunity you have given me to be a wife and mother. Thank you also for the health of the rest of our family, for we love and cherish every moment that we get to spend with them. Last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for the faith that I have in you to guide me down the path that has been chosen for me. I know I may not always understand it nor realize what I may be asking for, but I trust that you will always help me along the way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Simple Things

I read a very simple quote today in my MOPS newsletter that struck me..."Dishes, laundry, and even showering can usually wait, but every second of being a mom can be life-changing." I love being a mom and feel so lucky and blessed to be able to stay at home...the greatest opportunity in the world!

November fun!

It has been a very busy last few weeks! From surgeries to sickness, and several doctor's appointments later, I think we are finally on the mend. The day before Halloween, Jason had an elective foot surgery on an issue that has been bothering his left foot for the past five years or so. The surgery went well, but with over a three inch screw inserted through his heel, the recovery time is long. The doctor is hoping that J will be able to begin to put weight on it in about three weeks. He is managing to get around pretty well on his crutches and scooter. Yes, I said scooter. I do need to get pictures of that! Rylan and Daddy had a pretty good time racing around the house the other day. Rylan ran with his shopping cart while Daddy zoomed around on the scooter...nice!

I cannot forget about Halloween even though it was kind of surreal through all of the chaos. Rylan was the cutest little turtle I have ever seen, if I do say so myself! He really enjoyed trick-or-treating with Andrew and Casey and quickly got the hang of it, even though luckily he did not realize that he was receiving candy each time! It was a perfect Texas Halloween night and we all had a blast. Missi was able to enjoy it also because she was here helping me out with Rylan and the patient. I would not have been able to make it through those first several days without her. On top of all of that, my birthday was during this time as well, and it was nice to have Missi here; it gave me a little time to take a break for the day!

Rylan and I are finally getting over our little illnesses, ear and throat infections respectively. My poor little guy had been cooped up in the house since last Wednesday because his fever would just not break. Today we were finally able to leave. Yeah! We ventured out to a great little place called Dewberry Farms. We had so much fun running around, riding the corn train, jumping around, hay ride, playground, goat feeding, and so much more. It was a very enjoyable and much needed day!