Day 27 of 365

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

Day 26 of 265

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 25 of 365

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Day 24 of 365

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

Day 23 of 365

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Day 22 of 365

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

Day 21 of 365

You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him. ~Leo Aikman

On the road again.....

I have a lot to update but I am afraid that you will have to wait just a bit for all of it! We are leaving this afternoon for Texas to visit friends and family. The daily quotes will continue but all my normal posts won't be on here for a bit. Hope that you all have a blessed Thanksgiving and I look forward to catching up on everyone's blogs when I return!

Day 20 of 365

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. ~Victor Hugo

Day 19 of 365

Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. ~Author Unknown

Day 18 of 365

Give thanks for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow. ~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!

1. We need sunshine to dry out the ground and grass (plus make our camping trip more enjoyable!)
2. Kendall sang to me to make me feel better and it made me smile.
3. If you want to talk to tomatoes......
4. We have a beautiful family because God brought us together. 5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think if you have money for elective surgery then you can pay a 5% sales tax.
6. Family, friends, and good food makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to camping with my family, tomorrow my plans include hanging out with friends at the campsite for a little bit then coming home to pack and Sunday, I want to enjoy church then Jade's birthday party!

Day 17 of 365

In what you say of another, apply the test of kindness, necessity and truth, and let nothing pass your lips without a 2/3 majority. ~Liz Armbruster

Week 9 of 52

Our girls night out last week in honor of Michelle's visit from California!

******************52 Weeks******************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!

Check out Carin at http://wyomingbarnetts.blogspot.com/ for the rest of the folks!

Day 16 of 365

Remember, if you’re headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns! ~Allison Gappa Bottke

Our diva Kendall

Fall Festival at Kendall's pre-school with some of her loot that she won!

Kendall has been in love with hoodies recently so she likes to put them on!

We stopped for a quick ride during our "mommy/daughter" date!

The many faces of Isaac

Here are some of the fun faces that Isaac gives us on a daily basis! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

There is nothing he takes more seriously than eating!

What would your children say? Wednesday

Kendall has been big on knock,knock jokes the past few weeks. She has picked it up a notch as of last night.....she asked Ben, "why did the monster cross the road?" (After translating for him.....) Ben said "I don't know why?"

Kendall said, "To get to the playground silly!"

She laughed for a good long time about this and so did we! I can't believe that she is growing up enough to be telling jokes!

Go to Marianne at http://familyamericanstyle.blogspot.com/ to see more What would your children say!

Day15 of 365

Good for the body is the work of the body, and good for the soul is the work of the soul, and good for either is the work of the other. ~Henry David Thoreau

Simple Woman's Daybook

Out side my window...it is a beautiful sunny day.
The time is...3:29 pm
Today I feel...thankful for all the many blessings that God has bestowed upon our family.
The weather here...is in the high 60's/low 70's

I am thinking...about this weekend....it is going to be fun but WAY busy for us!
At the moment,I am thankful...for family that supports us no matter what, friends that are there no matter what, and the perfect stranger who gave me a free drink at Fuddruckers on Saturday night.
I am going...to miss Benny tonight while he is doing his night flight.

I am wearing...jeans and a flowerly top my MIL got me a few Christmas' ago.
I wish... you all a blessed day:)
I am working on...Christmas shopping, Christmas cards, and packing for our Thanksgiving trip.
I am hoping...to get a run in tomorrow and the plants into their new home in the planter bed while the kids are at school.
I am hearing...Isaac babbling even though he should be napping!

Around the house...I am happy to report that most of the Christmas decorations are up since we won't be here to put them up the day after Thanksgiving!
I bet you didn't know... we got some exciting news last week!

One of my favorite ...things to do is have a nice, relaxing, hot bubble bath.

Today I am...slacking.
Tonight I'm looking forward to... do something fun with the kids to keep their minds off Ben not being here.

Final Family Portraits of 2009

So these are the final shots from Megan. Check out her photography website at www.abeautifulmoment-bymegan.com/

I had to put a few more stills on here that were particular favorites of mine. We will be ordering prints here so for those family who are chomping at the bit to get them never fear they will be coming your way!

I don't remember what Ben was saying but obiviously it was pretty darn funny!

My sweet little man finally smiling for Megan!

Kendall showing off her boots!

Day 14 of 365

In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony.
-- Eva Burrows

day 13 of 365

Families are the compass that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
-- Brad Henry

Day 12 of 365

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
Mignon McLaughlin

Day 11 of 365

Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.
Mark Twain

New dining set

I took some before and after shots of our dining room. I need to do one good shot of it new to put up here but this gives our family an idea of what it turned out like! Just click on the pictures to enlarge them! We can't wait until our New Year's party to put the leaf in and really use it to entertain!

Friday Flashback

This picture is from our second honeymoon to Puerto Rico in 2004. I have been wanting to snorkel after watching Survivor last night so.....

Check out Alicia at www.minyards7.blogspot.com/ to see all about Flashback Friday!

week 8 of 52

******************52 Weeks******************

52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
Ok,ok so I am a day late and a dollar short....didn't have time yesterday to post this :-)

This is our last ladies bible study of the year. I so enjoyed our time together and can't wait until January ladies!

Friday Fill-ins

1. The last band I saw live was Kenny Chesney with Michelle and Erin. (Pat Green and Gretchen Wilson opened for him.....good golly that was in 2005!)
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is time spent with family, counting my many blessings, and of course TURKEY! (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)
3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is a little chaotic at times but I love it!
4. Thoughts of our upcoming trip to Texas fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear tall pants instead of petite!
6. Bagpipes are a super neat instrument.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to enchiladas with the family, tomorrow my plans include Kendall's school fall festival and a girls night out to celebrate Michelle being in town and Sunday, I want to do more Christmas shopping!
Please visit http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/ for those of you that have been asking where I get this :-)

Day 10 of 365

A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.
Hugh Sidey

Day 9 of 365

A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles.
Mignon McLaughlin

Happy Veteran's Day!

day 8 of 365

True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.
Clarence Darrow

Happy 234th Birthday Marines!

Day 7 of 365

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
Nathan Hale

Day 6 of 365

A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away.
Bil Keane

Sneak peek of our 2009 family pictures

Although I know that it annoys Ben, I like to have family pictures taken every year. (I love photography and the kids change so much. My MIL calls it making a memory.)

Megan from "A beautiful moment" took our pictures again.
Love this one of Benny and I!

She was a camera hog today :-)

There will be more but this is Megan's sneak peek that she gave us. We will see the rest whenever she is done editing them!

Check out her website at
http://www.abeautifulmoment-bymegan.com/Abeautifulmoment-bymegan.com/Welcome.html

Day 5 of 365

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me".
Erma Bombeck

I am going to take McLinky off of here for the time being until we get more people participating. Please just leave a comment with your blog so I can check them out :-) Happy quote hunting!

Friday Flashback

I wanted to do Friday Flashback yesterday but had a pounding headache and couldn't do it so here it is on Saturday!

This was in the late 90's for Halloween. Love my STEELERS!

Go on over to Alicia's at http://minyards7.blogspot.com/ to see more Friday Flashback!

Day 4 of 365

The perfect normal person is rare in our civilization.
Karen Horney

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!

1. Plans and schedules seem to fly out the window when you are a Marine Corps wife!

2. I'm happy when things are controlled by God and not me. (He has a much better grasp on what I need!)

3. The last thing I drank was pink lemonade.

4. One of the most valuable things in my life is my family.

5. I like extra cheese and basil on my pizza.

6. Dear November, I love the fall colors, the weather, and I am so thankful that you bring Thanksgiving so we can see family!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching Brodi and Colbi so JT & Kelly can go to their MC ball, tomorrow my plans include major league house chores and Sunday, I want to have a wonderful family portrait shoot after church!

day 3 of 365

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey Fierstein

week 7 of 52

******************52 Weeks******************
52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. We are always the ones behind the camera, this is YOUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. We are glad you are joining this challenge. More importantly your family will really enjoy having you in the picture. Thanks for playing along! Oh, you can just jump in now with 1 of 52, you're not getting off that easy! Now go take a picture!
*********************
Kendall and I before the Halloween parade
My handsome little cowboy and I.
Go check out Carin at http://wyomingbarnetts.blogspot.com/