Thank You Thursday

1. I'm thankful Abby enjoyed her birthday. She woke up this morning to the house decorated with streamers, balloons, and her stuffed animal friends donning party hats. She ate it up! I ate that up!!

2. I'm thankful my daughter has such a wonderful grandma.  Gail, you flew here and made this a birthday to remember.  Thank you for all you do for her; for us!!!

3. I'm thankful it snowed today.  It looked just like the gray afternoon Geoff and I left Hanscom Air Force Base six years ago to meet our first baby.  Snow on Abby's birthday.... perfect!

4. I'm thankful for my boss for allowing me to leave school early today to be at Abby's school for Grandma's experiment.  And thank you, Lisa, for covering for me so I could go.

5. The best part of my day was capping it off as I do every year on Abby's birthday.... reading On the Day You Were Born and paging through her baby pictures in her scrapbook.  She loves to hear the stories and I love to tell them.  I love my girl!

My Golden Girl

Abigail's golden birthday.  A big day for our little girl.  She woke up to find the house decorated in her honor.  She went to school today where she was blessed with a visit from her Grandma, Professor B, a science specialist in Washington who shared an experiment with Abby's kindergarten class.  After school we came home opened gifts, had Grandma's famous chili soup and birthday cake.  As if all of that wasn't enough it was onto gymnastics for two hours.  Ahhhh, busy day.

It was a golden birthday....

{Abby's Drawing From School Today:

Grandma Phillips, Abby, Mom and Dad}

{Happy Birthday, Abby!}

{Assisting Grandma}

{Professor B Makes Elephant Toothpaste}

{Mommy and Abigail}

{Love of Learning, With Love From Aunt Heidi and Uncle Kevin}

{Rod and Reel.... Thanks Grandma and Papa}

{Garnet and Diamond Necklace.... Thank You Grandma Phillips}

{Grandma's Love.... The Best Gift of All}

{Happy Birthday To You!}

{Hitting the Bars}

L is for Lauren

Grandma Phillips is in town.  It is a special treat to have Grandma visiting, so she and Daddy picked Lauren up when preschool officially ended, leaving me at school for two and a half hours without my Lauren.

While we are only together for a brief period during lunch, I missed having her smiling face around, and I certainly missed leaving school together.

When I picked her school work out of her mailbox I couldn't help but hold it close to my heart.  Not having her there made me treasure her even more.

This week she is working on the letter L.  L is for Lauren, ladybug and lion.  And L is for love, because I love all of her little creations!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Today's vanity license plate asked "Why Not". Why?  What do they even mean?!

2. Grandmas are special people.

{Grandma Phillips Tells Abby About How Much Snow They Have in Spokane}

3. Today must be apron day.  This cute little creation by my clever friend, Susie: www.decorateyoursoul.com/?p=2257, and a late Christmas gift from my sister-in-law; I got my very own pretty little thing. I love them both!

4. I wonder if my grandpa knew.

5. On Friday night Geoff drove us home in blinding snow.  It's hard to believe we currently have none.  Now that I said that will there be a massive blizzard?  [I hope so!]

6. You had me at altered cheese box: www.lollychops.com/lollychops/2011/01/the-altered-cheese-box.html.  I love creative people!

7. Putting my feet up, enjoying good conversation with the ones I love.  It's the best drug I know!

8. Have I mentioned I love a clever idea?! www.17turtles.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year.html.  What super-fun clock!!!

9. I want a sewing machine. For many reasons, but I'm dying to put it to use in my cards and other clever projects.  I'm obviously starved to get myself into a new project.  Either that or I'm avoiding decluttering this house!

10. Possibly the cutest Santa anything: www.jenniwren32.blogspot.com/2010/12/little-something-from-santa.html.  But that's not all, this blogger has a bounty of creative goodies: www.jenniwren32.blogspot.com/.  Blog-hopping.  That's what I've been doing tonight.  For the life of me I couldn't come up with ten randoms (crazy, I know) so I went shopping for thoughts.  Creativity galore out there!

Ten Lessons From a Broken Toe

1. I have a new appreciation for the Dutch.

2. Cleaning out your car wearing a wooden shoe in January can certainly numb your toes; I don't think that is what they meant when they told me to ice my foot.

3. The importance of your toes is highly underrated.

5. Proof I am becoming more important to my children financially and less in mother ways: they continue to function at full capacity now even when I don't.

6. Five hours at work brought far more sympathy for my broken toe than more than five days at home.... with the exception of my grandmas, of course.

7. Anyone who underestimates the severity of a broken toe either has never broken one, hasn't broken one in over a decade therefore forgetting the degree to which is sucks, is cold-hearted, or is a down right mean person and should be avoided.

8. Move all stools out of harms way.  The humidifier that rests on the stool that damaged my poor little piggy has now PCSed as they say in the Air Force: It's found a Permanent Change of Station.

9. It appears my children have left half their body weight in crumbs throughout the back seat of my car.  While this really has nothing to do with my broken toe, it will be nice when they can clean up the car themselves so I can rest my ailing digit.

10. For some reason I keep thinking about a resident I had in college. In a drunken stumble she broke off her two front teeth in the shower.  My toe will heal and I still have my teeth.  For that I am grateful.

Changing of the Guard

Out with the old, in with the new. I hate New Years for that reason. An end of the good, a venture into the unknown. Something about it I find very depressing. The mental anxiety has eased over the years, but nonetheless we're changing the guard....

Good-bye 2010

• Abby turned five.
• I made Grandpa a Sunshine Cake for his 80th (and his last) birthday just like his mom made him as a child.
• Lauren turned four.
• The girls completed their first year of gymnastics and were selected for preteam.
• We took a vacation to Washington again this summer, and explored Spokane and Idaho, too!
• I took in a Twins game at the new Target Field. Awesome!
• Our summer trip to the cabin with Shawn was highlighted by a visit from a bear.
• I started my new job at preschool.
• Lauren started preschool.
• Abby started kindergarten.
• Our family lost my grandpa.
• I broke my toe seven hours before we were supposed to leave for Minnesota for Christmas.

Hello 2011

• Abby celebrates her golden birthday and Grandma Phillips comes to celebrate!
• I vow to put less on my plate.... take on less and finish what I start.
• I vow to finish the projects I start.
• I vow to clean house. Pear down the junk. Eliminate the clutter.
• When I come home this summer I am going to clean up my room, my collection of untouched hodge podge from high school, college, babies.... it is time.
• Of course I would also like to reclaim a hot body, but did I ever have one?  Hmmmm. Probably not. I'd love to get back in shape, so I'm also adding that to my list.
• I want a new vehicle. Need one. Badly. Can't wait to see what 2011 brings me.  Not just my vehicle, but all of it.  I vow to make it the best year I can!

Flashback Friday

After our drive back to Owatonna in blinding snow following this evening's hockey game, it is with a fond smile that I remember moments of warmth gone by....

Summer 2007

{July--Lauren Swimming at the Cabin}

{August--Abby Playing with Grandpa's Squirrel Food at the Cabin}