Grate: 14

• good friends
• smiles
• reading books to little ones
• mopping the dining room floor
• friends for my children
• piano lessons
• yummy food
• sitting around the table with my family
• time spent cooking with my children
• Landon in a little pink apron
• cookie making
• clean kitchen counters
• husband
  

Grate: 13

• primary (also grateful the program is over.)
• husband
• Landon
• family
• scriptures
• a home cooked meal (especially when I'm the one cooking it.)
• good friends
• talents
• piano
• the gift of tomorrow
  

Grate: 12

I am grateful for my family. Not just my little family that all look like my husband and live with me in this little house (although I am always very most grateful for them.) But for my family that grew up with husband and I in our childhood homes. I am grateful for the values we learned there. I am grateful for the deep constant and consuming love we have for one another.

Sometimes that bond between siblings and parents isn't strong. I am grateful ours is. I love my family so much, and what more, I know every single member of my family (all the additional 9 of them) feels the exact same way. I love Brandon's family so much, as I know he does, and, believe it or not, I know they love us almost as much.

What a blessing to grow up in families that realizes what a blessing family is.

What a blessing to have parents who love each other and who show that love and respect to their children. Who teach the gospel by both word and deed. What a blessing to have a family rooted in service and love. You can't be much more blessed. And to think both Brandon and I grew up in such homes boggles my mind.

SO MANY BLESSINGS for two little people.

Grate: 11

• parents
• my country
• my freedoms
• brothers
• grandparents
• prayers of gratitude
• health
• muscles
• my body and the amazing blessing it is and all the things it can do
• my family's health and safety
• paint samples!!!
• laundry
• Christmas lights

As I said my prayers I fell asleep counting my blessings. The things that stuck out to me the most:
I am grateful I can feed my children. I'm grateful that even when the bank account is low there is food in the pantry, blankets for their beds, coats on their backs, and a roof over their heads.

What an immense blessing that is.

And how humbling it is to think on these blessings. They are of the most basic manner and so the most often forgotten for me. There is nothing in this world that means more to me than this family I have. To be able to provide for their most basic needs, to know that my children aren't going hungry or cold, and that they have a comfortable home to come home to, it is, in itself, such a powerful blessing.

Grate:10

• my brother's "surprise" visit. ;)
• good books
• community
• dinner
• library day with the boys
• my suburban started
• productivity
• new keyboard (so my computer works now!)
• my brothers in general
• family
  

Grate: 9

• a dishwasher
• prayer
• children
• early morning workouts
• baby Max
• family
• Uncle Clinton
• lava hot springs, McDonalds, and Costa Vida (family had a fun post-harvest trip)
• a clean house
• Christmas music
  

Grate: 8

• husband man and his patience, compassion, conviction, and love
• the look in my man's eyes when he looks at our children
• minor furniture adjustments
• good friends
• good books
• cute boys to distract me
• Kami's crayon pictures (today she drew one of Candace from Phineas and Ferb. She even narrated it "What was that? Are they up to something? They are busted. They are so busted." Phineas and Ferb made a water slide in the back yard FYI)
• having patience again
• service
• my primary calling
• one on one time with Landon
• the smell of fresh cut grass on a crisp fall afternoon
• hubby's work ethic
• extended family
• life
• music
• Cooper's excitement about the small things
• a warm bath with a good book
• rootbeer
• gratitude (makes for a fantastic day/week/month)
• the amazing girls I get to have in my home every week for piano lessons
• cleanliness
• warm blankets
  

Grate: 7

Today on pinterest I found this picture of a saying. First of all, I'm going to make one for my Thanksgiving decor. Secondly, and most importantly: How true is this?!
True story: Just days ago I sat at Brandon's laptop typing my "Grate:1" list. I was scanning the room and my brain for things I was grateful for that day. They just kept coming, more and more, over and over, things I was grateful for. As I was listing my blessings Landon came up to talk to me. Same kid I've had all day, speaking in the same voice I'd been listening to all day. However, this time I listened to him while looking for things to be grateful for and, surprise, I ended up being grateful for him.
Now, I am always grateful for Landon, but it brought me so much joy to remember why. I was so very grateful for all his little nuances. Grateful for his size, his voice, his personality. Then I started noticing Cooper sitting on the floor next to me and I listened to his little voice, his imagination, his interactions with his sister... this process kept going with each child, each and every thing I saw, every thing I thought of.
There is so much joy in counting your blessing. Each blessing is like a little "I love you" note and as my blessings kept tallying up I couldn't help but say to myself "My life rocks!"
The Lord has blessed us with so much. It is phenominal to me, this process of counting (remembering) blessings. Life is good. There are a million reasons to be happy. If you don't believe me, start counting (remembering) your blessings.

• husband is done with harvest!! (so fantastic to have him home)
• a casual day out with hubby
• jimmy johns
• healthy kiddos
• snortable flu "shots"
• paying off debt
• family workout time
• sore muscles - such a fantastic (and painful) feeling
  
• NAPTIME
• my husband: so caring
• daughter
• paying children quarters to clean the kitchen
• food network magazine
• my dad
• a beautiful paint job on my house
• daughter's ballerina bun
• bath time
• general conference
• fantastic neighbors
• piano lessons
• public library
• new windshield wipers
• family time
• motivation
• sense of accomplishment
• coats
• brothers
• thanksgiving
• a helpmate
• having an infant in our home
• bookclub
• my children
• lds.org
  

After the kids did my Jillian Micheals workout video with me, we read scriptures and headed to bed. I spent some time in their room reading stories and helping Cooper with his letters. We are reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for bookclub. After finishing the first chapter we sat on the floor (past our bedtime) and colored pictures of what we had just read.
Now I sit here typing this blog post and Max is sprawled across my lap with his hands behind his head sound asleep.

This.
This is what I am grateful for.
Family.
What a blessing it is to be surrounded by those I love so dearly and to be reminded, through them, of how much my Father in Heaven loves me and the beautiful, comforting, fantastic, joy filled plan He has for us, His children.
God is SO GOOD.

Grate: 6

• daylight savings time (extra hour = boo-yeah!)
• ward family
• choir
• primary kids
• mohawks (faux-hawks)
• friends
• cute little girl's curly hair
• husband
• Max's fan base
• a comfy bed
• sore muscles
• talents
• soup weather
• heater
• skype
• being surrounded by cute boys
  
• family
• technology
• free kindle for the iphone
• free books for the kindle
• education
• motherhood
• my small people
• striped curtains
• mexican food
• traditions
• dear friends that feel like family
• ben and jerry's ice cream
• messy ice cream faces
• cuddling blankets
• scripture stories
  
• creativity
• family time
• a month to count my blessings

Today while getting ready for church I overheard Cooper helping a distressed Landon get his shoes and socks on. "See bud, it's not that hard. It's okay. You can do this." I am grateful for that moment. Watching my kids show love to each other is one of the happiest moments of my day. What a blessing!

Grate: 5

• harvest completion!!!
• husband
• kids that like each other
• Saturday jobs
• project completion
• clean clothes
• house and home
• bodies
• workouts
• mommy daughter time
• book club
• friends
• crockpots
  

Grate: 4

Today, and everyday, and always, I am grateful for my husband and my best friend (they're the same person, naturally)

Grate: 3

• holidays
• husband. ALWAYS grateful for husband
• family
• inspiration
• creativity
• project completion
• Christmas music
• leaf piles
• being friends with Landon
  
• elmer fudd hats
• giggles
• morning exercise so I don't have to do it at night :)
  
• fantastic neighbors
• my beautiful daughter
• our community
• baby's long nap
• bedtime
• accomplishment

And, odd as it sounds, I'm grateful I picked up my messes so I don't have to wake up to them tomorrow.

flushed

me. "Mommy has to go potty."

landon. "my gonna come with you. my gonna make sure you don't fall in. that would be sad. then we wouldn't have a mommy. there would just be a daddy and kids...
but maybe gwen would come over and flush the potty and get you out...
but maybe not."


later that day

landon. "my just need to come with you when you go potty to make sure you don't fall in. also, you can't poop in your underwear. my need to make sure you don't that."

Grate: 2

My brother is
home from the Ukraine!!!

Grate: 1

• harvest pizza parties
• piano lessons (love those kids to pieces)
• paydays
• powerade monies
• scrunchy man grins
• max and his wonder eyes
• patience
• my kids
• husband
• my dad: and his phone calls to say he is thinking about me (he does it all the time and it makes me happy)
  
• my friendship with my sister
• an easy/quick dinner of mac and cheese and ramen noodles
• cute kids in cute Halloween costumes
• motivation
• November
• remembering that I don't really hate my dog, I actually like him
• husband (can't say it or think it enough)
• dishwasher
• inspiration
• the YW who heart-attacked us and brought us cookies
• a home
• new friends
• flannel sheets
• motherhood
• family
  
• the sound of Cooper writing his letters (curl down, kick your toe, start at the top...)
• Landon and his everything. The intelligent way he forms a sentence, his grammar, his explanations...
• the friendship amongst my children
• prayer
• my brother Jamison (miss his gentle presence in our home)
  

This.
I am grateful for this.

One might get the impression you're not a fan...

Max is wearing army green fatigues today, so it makes perfect sense to be feeding him green beans.
He, however, is not understanding the logic.
As I manipulate bite after bite into his mouth (he's at 3 bites now) he musters this compliant grin-ace (it's a mixture between a grimace and a grin) and, interpreting what I see in his eyes, he is saying
"dis is gross. dis is so gross."
But as a perfect gentleman he keeps a forced smile plastered to his little face.
He's trying his hardest to disguise his gags but it is just not happening. I keep witnessing these micro-gags as he is obviously mumbling to himself "keep it down man, keep it down."
Bless his little missionary soul (as it is obvious this little boy is honing in on his mission serving skills: gag down inedible food is missionary 101)

Sometimes I am able to catch him off guard and, since he is in the habit of putting things in his mouth, I am able to sneak a bite in. His expression... priceless... let's imagine the scrunchy "spit it out!" face in combination with the "oh crap, I'm going to gag!" face.
So precious.

So you all are thinking "Good heavens woman, feed him something besides green beans!" As if green beans are gag worthy. But here is the catch: it's not just green beans. Pretty much if it's not mom made it's not whetting his appetite.
The first time I fed him rice cereal he made it 2 bites with the "keep it down man" mentality and the he succumbed to his rebelling stomach muscles, gagged through the following bite, and then promptly threw up all over his bumbo... it was rough.
There have been only two other times I have managed to get more than 3 bites of rice cereal into his tortured little body.
He was so sick he projectile vomited for 15 minutes straight.
Both times.
I kid you not.
We don't force him to eat rice cereal anymore. (nobody's that cruel. Plus, with that violent of a reaction both times I worry he has an allergy)

Which brings us full circle... green beans. Not a super big fan... but so far no projectile vomit.
Hang in there kid, in 6 months I'll make you edible food.