Thankful November {day 22}

I have these four friends, for whom I am incredibly thankful. They're known around here as "the girlfriends."  The relationships are deep and timeless and I am blessed by the history and future I have with these ladies.

One of them is having her first baby {it's a boy!} and the rest of us had the honor of hosting a baby shower for her today.

It was a book-themed baby shower {thank you pinterest for the pinspiration} so guests were greeted at the door with the classic fairy tale beginning.

The theme continued inside with Little Golden Books displayed on the shelves of this ever-expanding library.

Favorite children's books inspired the menu as well. Desserts first {because you only live once, right?}

We had Poky Little Puppy chow, apples and dip from The Giving Tree, lemon Blueberries for Sal cupcakes, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie cookies and milk.

Before we indulged in the dessert {you didn't think we actually ate dessert first, did you?}, we had Goodnight Moon crescent sandwiches, Very Hungry Caterpillar fruit kabobs and cheese slices, pasta salad from Strega Nona's magic pasta pot, and veggies stolen by Peter Rabbit from Mr. McGregor's garden.

The request from the guest of honor was a simple shower so guests enjoyed a leisurely lunch,

celebrated mama and baby by giving lovely gifts,

 

 

and created an alphabet book with hand drawn or collage images.

We asked guests to bring a favorite book instead of a card {where was my camera!?} so mama went home with a crate of books to get baby's library started.

And it all ended...



I am thankful for the gift of new life, for friends, for moms, for gracious guests, and for my wonderful husband who entertained our own children away from home for nearly four hours today.

Thankful November {day 17}

Today I am thankful for extra time in the morning with these four blessings. A late start at school meant they got to sleep in and I got to bring them to school.

I asked them for silly faces. This is what I got. Why do the tongues always come out?

Then I asked for a group hug {which quickly turned into wrestling, but you don't need to see that part}

And finally I asked for sad faces because they were missing their usual time with daddy on the way to school. As you can see, some were sadder than others. 

Thankful November {day 16}

Today I am thankful for the gift of music and the opportunity to hear our children's choir worship God through scripture and song.

Thankful November {day 14}

I'll bet you thought I forgot to be thankful. Nope. Just got busy. On {day 4} I was so proud of myself for being only one day behind (that's like being on time for me). Now I'm ten days behind (ten days?!) but I refuse to hang my head in shame for three reasons:

1. One of my goals for doing "Thankful November" posts was to encourage me to think about all of the things I have to be thankful for each day. And I have been!
2. Another goal for "Thankful November" was to encourage me to get my camera out more often. And guess what? I've done that too!
3. Finally, and probably most importantly, the reason I'm behind on this is because my life is full. It's full of family and friends and community that God has given me to love and I've been busy doing that. And that's a good reason to be behind.

So on to {day 14}...

This little girl here was my earliest to get teeth and, consequently, is also the earliest in losing them {beating her older brother in the tooth-loss department by one now}. The first two she lost were on the bottom and barely noticeable when she smiled. But last night her Grandpa {because her parents are wimps when it comes to teeth} pulled out one of the wiggly ones on top and all of the sudden she became eight...or nine...or ten...or some other unimaginable age far off in the distant future {she's really only five}. But I digress...

She was so brave when it was being pulled. Other children {who shall remain nameless} have faced teeth pulling with whimpering, tantrums and fun games of hide-and-go-seek. Not Elise. She was actually giddy. No fear, no tears. Just an adorable "gapped" smile when it was all over. So today I am thankful for the bravery and determination Elise faces life with. Whether it be riding a bike, crossing the monkey bars or losing a tooth, she is not afraid to face the risks because her eyes are on the reward.

Thankful November {day 4}

Last winter our kids tracked enough sand into the back entry that we could have made our own beach. One day, less than 24 hours after sweeping the entire entry, I swept up this dustpan full of dirt. Yes, it took less than 24 hours to create all of this. Every other time I'd done this, I finished feeling frustrated at the futility of my effort. But this time the Lord reminded me that my sin is like the dirt in my entry - it appears every day. And every day I am saved by His gracious "sweeping up" of my sin. 

As winter approaches, and with it the salt and sand that will inevitably make its way into our house, I anticipate many more dustpans to fill and empty. But this year the filling and emptying will be done with a deep gratitude for God's never ending grace and mercy. So today I am thankful for this dustpan full of dirt.

Thankful November {day 3}

Today I am thankful for the incredible teacher that my kids have had for kindergarten and the awesome school we partner with for our kids' education. During the first few weeks of school, Elise's class learned about the life cycle of a plant. After planting a bean and measuring it's growth at school, Elise brought the tiny plant with one leaf home in a dixie cup. After re-potting, plenty of sunshine and consistent {or not so consistent} watering...

her little bean plant has two tiny beans.

Thankful November {day 2}

Today I am thankful for a peaceful Sunday morning with extra time for coloring in the sunshine.

Gratitude

It's November. November could possibly be my favorite month of the year. It's the month that begins our celebrating {three birthdays and three holidays packed into two months}. It's the month that culminates in my all time favorite holiday {Thanksgiving, in case you didn't guess}. And it's the month that motivates so many to consider and share all they have to be thankful for.

Not to be left on the sidelines, I've decided to challenge myself to a daily "thankful" blog post during the month of November. The purpose is twofold: to get into the practice of remembering daily all the things I have to be thankful for, and to be more regular with blog posts {it's been nearly two months since my last one}. Some days (like this one) will be longer. Others will simply be one picture and one sentence. So visit often this month and join me in remembering the many wonderful blessings that come from the Lord.

This first day of November was one I anticipated for many weeks. After more than 35 years with the same company, my mom finally retired and we had the privilege of hosting a small dinner party in honor of her many years of faithful service to her company and, more importantly, to her family. So today, I am thankful for my mom; for the tireless hours she devoted to caring for me {and now for my children}, investing in me, encouraging me, crying with me, rejoicing with me, loving me. She is a wonderful example of what it means to have a servant's heart {it even took stern convincing for her to sit and relax at her party!} Love you, Mom! 



Now wipe away the tears {I know all the Tupper-related family needs a tissue right now} and enjoy a glimpse of this party celebrating "the next chapter" for my mom.

Though this picture is a great example of how back light will ruin a photo, this banner expressed the sentiments of all who gathered for the evening.

The table was set and adorned with the colors of the season.

Covered books labeled our food {thank you, Dad, for providing the delicious spread from the U Garden}...

drink...

and dessert. I was in charge of desserts {which is why there were three}. All my mom's favorites: bread pudding with brandy sauce...

lemon cake...

and apple crisp.

The youngest attendees were happy to be part of Grandma's big day and happier still that they'll get to see more of their Grandma now that she's not working.

On Finishing

On a chilly Saturday morning about two weeks ago I started the day as I never had before: I awoke early, donned my running gear and headed out to race in my first 5k. In May when I started running again race day felt so far off. But in the weeks leading up to it, I began to wonder if a summer's worth of training was enough.

Turns out it was, and I finished my first ever 5k with this lovely lady by my side.

With goal #2 complete, I'm considering what's next. I'll never run a marathon, or even a half, even though I think it would be really fun to have one of those 26.2 or 13.1 stickers on my car. But maybe a 10k...maybe.

School's In

It's quiet around here today. Yesterday if it had been this quiet I would've been worried. Today the quiet makes me just a little sad. You see, the reason it's so quiet is because three of our blessings started school today.

As I look back over these photos and think about how things have changed, I'm astonished that it only took two years. Yes, just twenty-four short months. When you're in "the thick of it," everyone tells you how fast the time goes. But, you know, you're in "the thick of it" so you just smile and nod. And then you see how you go from:

just one first grader...

to a second grader and a kindergartener...

to a third grader, a first grader and a kindergartener...

and then you become one of the everyones that gets the smile and nod from the parents "in the thick of it."

Happy new school year to our three "big kids."