Thanksgiving 2011

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving weekend is over and done. Thanksgiving is my very favorite holiday. I feel like it is the last holiday that hasn't been overly commercialized. Sure, there's talk of Black Friday deals and shopping weekend, but Thanksgiving Day is a day of food, family, and reflection for all that we have to be thankful for. It's the perfect time to pause and reflect on our many blessings before the craziness of Christmas sets in.

We headed to Sacramento to walk with Heather and her family in the Race for the Hungry in the morning. It was rainy and we weren't sure what to expect. But, it was a great walk full of nice people and beautiful scenery thru the Fabulous 40s and the Sac State campus.

Braving the rain. Sara stayed warm and dry

Heather and her family

Heather and I

Fall Foliage

Fall Foliage in the Fab 40s

Finish line is in sight....

After the race, we headed up to Roseville to my brother's house. Sara had a blast playing with her cousins and was asleep before we reached the main road.

The Parker and Kenny Families

Parker, Kadden and Kenny Families

Letters to Sara: 1.4 months

Dear Sara,

Happy Thanksgiving! You are 16 months old today. You continue to amaze your daddy and I. It seems like every day you are learning something new. You continue to be more beautiful than I ever imagined you would be, and you're every bit the miracle and blessing we prayed for all those months. I am so incredibly grateful that God sent you here for your daddy and I to love and raise. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day!

Here's what you are doing at 16 months:

• You are quite the helper getting dressed these days. You love shooting your arm thru the sleeve of your shirt. Once dressed, you think taking your arm out of your sleeve is the funniest thing ever.
  
• You pull up on anything and everything
• You love opening and shutting the drawers
• You blabber up a storm. You just go and go. Sometimes, I swear, you are telling me a story, you just can't form the words yet. You say mama, dada, and "dao" for dog.
• You walk all over the house pushing your stroller and dino. You are a speed demon!
• Your hair is really growing in. You are our little hairy head!
  
• You love playing with balls. You like to release the ball from your hand, watch it bounce away, and then crawl as fast as you can to catch it.
  
• You continue to be a fan of books. You enjoy looking at them and enjoy taking every last one out of the basket in your room.

You are my greatest blessing, Sara. For you, I will always be forever thankful. Nothing will ever change that. A thousand kisses a day on those sweet cheeks will never be enough.

xoxo,
Your Mama

"You are grace, you are beauty, you are love beyond measure and a gift without price."
A Baby Blessing, Author Unknown

Photo from AllRecipes.com

I made Beef Stew last night with a new recipe. I was skeptical when I tried it....but it was pretty darn good. I struggle with the slow cooker from time to time. I really don't like slow cooker recipes that require pre-cooking most everything and dirting multiple pans. Isn't the point of a slow cooker is to do the cooking for you so you can do other things? Most beef stews that I've made require browning the meat prior to throwing everything in the cooker. This one didn't, so I had to try. I'm glad I did!

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used more like 1/3)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf (I used 2 because that's what fell in)
  
• 1 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked paprika)
  
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 potatoes, diced (mine were small; so I might use more next time)
  
• 4 carrots, sliced (I'll add more next time)
  
• 1 stalk celery, chopped (I used 2 because I wanted to use it up)
  

Directions

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Thankful Thursday

Today, I'm thankful for friends.

I recently started following a blog called the Gypsy Mama. I was reading a blog post earlier this week that really struck a cord with me. Here's the link:
Gypsy Mama

Several lines struck my in particular:

I'm so used to hearing the polite answer I think I’ve forgotten how comforting the real one is.

It’s powerful when a friend steps out from behind fine and looks you in the eyes.

I'm thankful to my friends who are brave enough to get down and dirty with me. Brave enough to move beyond fine.

What a Weekend....

This was a good weekend...good and busy! Saturday was spent grocery shopping, running errands, hanging out with Heather, pruning the pomegranate tree, and cleaning the house. Today was all about organizing the garage, rearranging the office, cooking dinner and a DIY project.

I need a space for my crafts and the way the office was set up just wasn't working. So, I moved the table and put the leaf back in, so it's desk on one side and crafts on the other. I'm loving it and already have my eye on a couple other DIY projects via Pinterest....my new obsession...aka time suck on the Internet. More to come......

The desk will never been this clean again....I had to take a picture to remember it by!

Wrapping Paper and Ribbon Holder.....love it!

Thankful Thursday

Tomorrow is Veterans Day....11.11.11. So, I am thankful for our Veterans.



I am thankful for the men and women who have put their own lives on hold serving the United States for the freedoms I take for granted everyday. The way my family lives, the peace we enjoy, is due, in large part, to the veterans of this country, both living and dead. I'm forever grateful and indebted to the men and women who have given so much in the name of freedom. I hope I can live in a way that is deserving of their sacrifice.

I'll leave you with words from Ronald Reagan:

"We’re gathered today, just as we have gathered before, to remember those who served, those who fought, those still missing, and those who gave their last full measure of devotion for our country… One of those who fell wrote, shortly before his death, these words: ‘Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.’ Well, today, Veterans Day, as we do every year, we take that moment to embrace the gentle heroes of Vietnam and of all our wars. We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause… Our liberties, our values, all for which America stands is safe today because brave men and women have been ready to face the fire at freedom’s front. And we thank God for them.” – Ronald Reagan

November 8th....then and now

November 8, 2009

November 8, 2010

November 8, 2011

Thankful Thursday...

Today I am thankful for Growth....

I know that every late October and early November for the rest of my life will turn me into a sentimental, sobby mess. I reflect back to where we were 2 years ago at this time and I am struck by the contrast of where we were then and where we are now.

Two years ago, Brian and I were in a very dark place. We had been trying to have a baby for several years. We had been on a nightmarish roller coaster of infertility treatments since the beginning of the year. Month after month, we experience fear, excitement, anticipation, disappointment, and nervousness all in one not-so-neat little package. We were in the midst of our IVF cycle. I was pumped full of hormones and had a hard time dealing with much of anything. We went to my pre-op appointment and met with my doctor the day before Halloween. I clearly remember her being dressed as "Thing 2" from Dr. Seuss.

One year ago, I was still in the post-partum haze. We had become parents to a perfect baby girl. I felt so incredibly blessed. I was still in shock that Sara was ours and we got to keep her forever. I cried every single day in those first months. I was joyously overwhelmed. I had been back at work for a couple of weeks and trying to figure everything out. The work was the same, but it felt so different. I knew that because God chose to answer our prayers and bless us with a child, I wanted to be a mother just as much as an employee. I didn't want to miss anything, but how on earth could I do both? This year, we had a beautiful baby of our own to dress up for Halloween. Our little Sara cow.

This year, I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle it all. Some days I'm not the model employee and some days I'm not the model mother. On the worst of days, I'm neither model mother or employee. But, I keep trying. I am still joyously overwhelmed. I am a mother and Brian is a father. Our days with Sara keep getting better and better. She is just so much fun! So, as we passed out candy and partook in the festivities of Halloween, I sat back and drank it all in. How on earth did I get so lucky. Lucky I am, and so, so grateful.