I am Thankful for...

Thanksgiving is an interesting holiday. We express our thanks about the things in our life by coming together and over eating...I am not sure how that shows gratitude, but hey, I play along every year. No matter the events that actually happen on Thanksgiving day, I still come away thinking about the things I am thankful for. I wanted to list a few of those things for you:

1. My wonderful children. No two things could bring me greater joy than they can. I go to bed every night amazed that I could be their mother. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they make me scream, and they make me happier than I have ever been in my life.

2. Aaron, of course. He is an amazing father to my two wonderful children. He gives them so much, physically and emotionally. He is very good to me as well. I have a good life and I am happy, and I owe that to Aaron. Thanks baby, for all you do.

3. My Heavenly Father. I am saddened sometimes by the world we live in...where television, media, and many social circles have turned being a conservative christian into meaning you are crazy and out of touch with reality. Well, I am neither and I am not afraid to say, thank you God, for giving me everything that I have, for making me everything that I am, and for caring about me so much.

4. My father for teaching me, when I was a teenager, the importance of giving no matter how little you may feel you have. Even though we didn't have much, my father always tried to give more to others. Thank you Dad for teaching me that I can always give to those who are in need. On that note, however, I do appreciate the opportunity to decide who I can help, so please, Mr. Obama, don't tell me my virtue is "selfishness" because I don't want you to decide what organizations my money goes to.

5. My relationship with my sister. It has been many years in the making, but I love what it has grown in to. She is a constant for me. She lets me vent, but keeps me grounded. She seeks my advise, which I so love to give. She helps me understand why I do or say the things I do and say,both the good and the bad. We have been through a lot together and I hope she knows that I will always be there for her, as I know she would be for me.

6. Aaron's family. They are a refuge for me. They have welcomed me with open arms and have shown me so much love over the last 10 years. I often say that my sister is the only family I have left, but I know that it is not true. Aaron's mom and dad are my mom and dad, Aaron's brothers and sisters are my brothers and sisters, and I love them as such. Thank you for being a family I can be proud to say I am part of. I love you all.

7. Facebook. Really, I am hardly ever on it and I have less than 50 friends...but it has kept me in contact with people I only speak to on occasion, and it has allowed me to reconnect with friends I have not seen in over 15 years.

8. Movies (and I should say books), like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Mama Mia!, that remind me the importance of having good friends. I am terrible at keeping in touch. Many of you can attest to that. But then I experience stories like these that slap me across the face and help me see that having a few good friends can get you through just about anything and life does not draw the same kind of happiness without them. I really need to do better.

9. Laughter. Daniel's laugh is infectious and Miriam's laugh is genuine. Every time I hear either I feel so much peace. Their laughter reminds me how important it is to let go of all the things that I find myself wrapped up in each day and just to sit down and have fun with them. Also, my favorite part of the day is when I climb into bed with my husband and we laugh with each other about so many things. I am willing to sacrifice some sleep for bits of laughter with Aaron. It is hard to worry about the stresses of life when you are laughing together.

10. My home. Honestly, there are many things I would change about it physically, but I am so thankful for my home. It is a warm shelter to rest our heads. It is the place where we find joy together. Even if it is not my dream home, anywhere that I am safe with my family will always be a wonderful home. And I am thankful to Aaron for working so hard to provide us with a nice place to live.

11. My freedom. I know I live in a country that is not perfect, but there is no where else I would rather call home (although I look forward to seeing so much more of the world when I grow up). I am thankful for my uncles who served a lifetime in the military to give me the freedoms I have today. I am thankful for Aaron's brothers who have sacrificed so recently to help me feel some peace of mind as they try to make our world a more peaceful place. I am thankful that with a lot of work and dedication my husband can own his own business. I am thankful that I can choose where my children go to school and that there are no limitations for them if they just put there minds to it. I am thankful that I can go to the church of my choice without fear that I will be killed doing so. And, although I am nervous about what the next four years will bring, I am thankful for a government that is not a dictatorship. A government that is not ruled by one man who is only concerned about his own well being. I still have faith that even though I do not agree with our President Elect and the majority of the Senate...our country will still be run with the intent to do what is best for its people. Please don't let me down Mr. Obama.

I am thankful for the holiday season which makes it so easy to reflect on the things I am thankful for. Hopefully I can live my whole year expressing my gratitude to my God and to my family, because, really, everything else means so little.

Buster

This is our dog Buster. He is a miniature schnauzer. He has been a part of our family now for over one year. It has been a big adjustment to have him with us, but we have enjoyed him nonetheless. The kids absolutely love him and he brings me a bit of joy as well, that is when he is not chewing up everything in site and pooping on my floor. My favorite part about having him around is that Miriam seems to always have a friend around. He has licked away her tears and has been a very quite reading partner. She just loves it when he will lay on her while she reads her books at night, and sometimes she will read out loud so he can enjoy the story as well. He is a great friend to our family and I can no longer leave him off my blog.

I really need a hobby!

I will start by clarifying, I am a "happy housewife". I love having the opportunities to spend very precious moments with my children, I love being available to attend school functions with them, and I love being home when they get home from school to hear all about there day. That being said, however, being home all the time has some (of course, very few) drawbacks, which include, but are not limited to, mundane chores around the house. Until recently one of my least favorite chores was folding laundry. Aaron will attest to the fact that he would have trouble finding socks in his drawer and t-shirts in his closet. They were clean but only to be found in a pile sitting in the window in the bedroom or in baskets in the laundry room. Well, as much as I am hesitant to admit, I found a way to remedy the boredom of laundry folding, and it is called Netflix! I decided I would rent television shows that I have always wanted to see but could not get Aaron to watch with me. I started with 7 long seasons of Gilmore Girls, which I thoroughly enjoyed (and knew Aaron would rather stick a needle in his eye than watch one whole episode). I have since moved on to Smallville (yes, both shows were and are on the CW and are probably geared more toward those in their late teens and early 20s, but I will admit I am not the most sophisticated woman out there). I am in season 5 and seem to be a bit obsessed with continuing on with the story of young (and hot) Clark Kent saving the world against an unusually large number of psychotic teens who really only have a desire to kill everyone in sight. Although this is probably not the most thought provoking and intelligent tv writing out there, it has given me a greater fondness for Superman.

Which brings me to my next point (this is a very random thought process, but it works for me), if I were to choose a fictional character to be infatuated with, it would be Superman. This thought came to me as I was talking with my husband about being "a freak" about the Twilight movie coming out...well in less than 45 minutes. I assured him I was not a "freak" about the book or the movie. I did enjoy it. I had many sleepless nights over wondering what would happen next, and read the first 3 books twice, but a "freak", really? I have not bought wood signs that say "Bite Me", I do not wear a "Team Edward" t-shirt...besides, if I had chosen a shirt it would have said "Team Jacob", and I do not have "Edward Cullen" written across my mini-van with a big heart in the middle.

I did not admit my infatuation with Superman to Aaron, of course, he still has not stopped teasing me for calling him at work and telling him that the guy installing our cable was cute. What would he say if I told him, Edward Cullens great and all but I would choose Smallville's Clark Kent, or Christopher Reeve for that matter, over Edward Cullen any day of the week My reason for picking Superman is that Clark Kent is your every day guy who happens to also be able to save the world with his awesome strength, incredible speed, body of steel, super hearing, and knack for shooting fire out of his eyes. Needless to say, I would choose to be Lois Lane over Bella Swan.

So, after evaluating my thoughts I realized, very strongly, that I watch way too much Smallville and I really need a hobby. Something that would stimulate my mind, increase my life skills, and just make me a better person overall. And I don't think going out and buying Superman comics would count.

Again, why am I blogging?

I know that someday I will catch the vision of blogging, but right now, ugh! On Friday I spent over 2 hours trying to customize my blog. I tried to download a super fun blog template, but that was a joke. I know they try and make it easy and idiot proof...anyone can do it..even if you don't have computer skills...well apparently not anyone. I went back to the real idiot proof templates, but did lose some information (not all, thank goodness), so I had to go back and fix some links and pictures. Needless to say, by the end of the three hours I was yelling at my children, yelling at the computer, and yelling, to whomever would listen, about my blog. I got very little else done the whole day and felt very unproductive. I walked away saying to myself that I was done blogging. But, here I am again, Monday morning, spending even more time on my blog, and although I got my original information back, it is still not what I want. I will continue to try to make it what I invision, and someday, I am sure, it will be a happy outlet for me.

Miriam's Baptism

Miriam was baptized November 1. We were so happy she made this choice and she was so excited. I hope that I can help her know and understand the great blessings she will receive by becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a life long personal relationship she will have with her Heavenly Father and the Savior. She will always have the Holy Ghost to help her make choices and be happy. Everything good in my life comes from my membership, including Miriam. I only hope I can help her find the joy and happiness I have found. She is one amazing little girl and will do many great things in her life. I am so happy, and honored, to be her mom.

SpiderMan and a Witch

If you ask Danny who he is or what his name is he always replies, "I'm Daniel Michael 'Spiderman' Jardine". So, I guess it was appropriate that Daniel was SpiderMan for Halloween. He ran from house to house yelling "SpiderMan" and "let's hurry". He had a lot of fun this year and the less than 30 minutes that he and Katie went trick-or-treating was just perfect.




Miriam got way more than 30 minutes this year. She was able to go with her older cousins Abby and Kloee this year, as well as Max (no parents allowed). I can't believe how big they are all getting. They were gone for a while and got loads of candy. We are grateful for the close relationship Miriam has with her cousins. They are like big sisters to her and she was so happy to be with them this Halloween.

Miss You, Mom!

It has been three years since I lost my mom to breast cancer. Of course, I think of her often year round, but when October 19 rolls around she is on the forefront of my mind. This year, however, she has remained at the front of my thoughts. I have been thinking a lot of how much I miss her. I think of how she would find Daniel to be quite entertaining. Danny is quite a joker and loves to make people laugh. My mom would have a ball getting him to play little jokes on his mom and dad. I also was thinking of how she would buy Miriam a WebKinz every chance she could. Miriam would give her a list on a regular basis of all the new WebKinz available and my mom would bug me to take her to the store to get her one. And I have especially been thinking a lot about her since Miriam turned eight and we prepare for her baptism this weekend. It is hard to have events like this happen in our lives and not have my parents here to share it with. Although I try and think of the bigger picture, I still wish you were here mom and dad! We miss you and think of you often.

Against my will and better judgment

Against my will, and better judgment, I finally decided to start a blog. At first I did not want to conform to the rest of society and add my name to the ever growing list of people blogging. I would be just like everyone else; listing all the wonderful things my children did recently, displaying my favorite songs and books, and if I am really brave, laying out all my grievances for the world to see. If you know me at all, you may know that most of the time I don't like to be like everyone else (even though I am really afraid to be too different), so I kept putting it off. But, with a little persuasion from some...especially a dear friend on the other side of the world, I have begun the process of blogging. Don't worry, it will be like all the other blogs you see, lists of all the wonderful things my children did recently, links to my favorite songs and book titles, and I might get really brave and tell everyone how I really feel about religion, politics, and, well...blogs!