A Season of Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving Tree

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. Psalm 136:1

This year we've felt especially blessed with how God has been working in our lives and we have so much to celebrate. Here are some updates from us and some things we're thanking God for this week:

• Annah started reading and loves to try and sound out new words. She can read three and four letter words with short vowels. We're working with a kindergarten language arts curriculum and we'll move on to first grade level in the fall. She also loves to practice counting, loves her daily "Right Choices" devotional book and loves to do art projects and go to ballet. Annah also loves to help in the kitchen any time she can and we usually bake or cook together at least once a day. She helps so often that I can now let her do most of the weekly bread making, I just help her with the kneading part. Annah will turn five in two weeks!

• Mira turned eight in September and just finished another season of soccer. She's been with the same team and coaches for three years and loves it. Mira's real passions however are reading, writing and drawing. She has been writing all sort of stories and making lots of books, and her talent for drawing has become evident. She's taking after her two talented artists aunties and her grandpa in Denmark. Her talent for story telling and writing, along with her spelling, grammar and vocabulary are also amazing and she takes after her "Mimi" (my mom) there. She recently wrote a three verse hymn called "Oh, Won't It Be Wonderful" about what it will be like in Heaven. Most afternoons you can find Mira curled up on the couch with a big book or at the school table working on another book. She's been taking piano lessons and can already read music can play several hymns and other songs.
  

• The girls and I have been going to a twice-monthly mother-daughter club called Ruby Girls. We enjoy time with our friends, working on a project like baking cinnamon rolls or sewing aprons and a devotion time.

• My grandmother "Granny" moved in next door with my mom in September. We see her often and she comes to eat dinner and spend the evenings with us twice a week. We all love having here, Annah especially. Although she has dementia and can't always remember who we are, she is happy and cheerful. Annah enjoys tucking Granny into bed at night and loves to help her get into her pajamas, getting her a hot water bottle and singing her goodnight songs.

• Our baby boy is growing well and is healthy and very active! I'm a little more than six months along now and if all goes as planned we look forward to meeting our baby in late February or March. We're still struggling with name ideas because we can't agree and can't find any names we really like, but hopefully we'll come up with something soon!

• Last year we worked hard at paying off our car and streamlining (tightening) our budget so I could realize my calling and dream of just being a mother. As of January 2010, I'll be able to just focus on my home and family and I'm so excited to enter this season in my life. Although we won't enjoy the same luxuries or even some things we think of as necessities we had when I worked (I've been doing public relations consulting part-time from home the past eight years), we think this is the best thing we can do for our kids. I'm looking forward to a more family-centered lifestyle.

Autie Lissa and the girls My younger sister Lissa has been home since September, staying with my mom next door, and we all love having her around. She's also a big help with the girls.

Granny, Annah and I

Baking cinnamon rolls at Ruby Girls
Mira working on one of her books - this one a horse book she started at 7 am on a Sunday morning!

Our progressive Thanksgiving party with good friends. We get together with these three other families often for football games, dinners, BBQs and just hanging out. We had a fancy feast last weekend and we all had a great time. Here are the kids at the "kid's table".

Shane's mom, step-dad Darell and brother Dale joined us for Mira's birthday and we're so blessed with such an awsome family!