Thankful Slacking

Posting everyday was a great idea.  Then life hit and time slipped away.  So many things I am thankful for, from incredible family to great friends and a life that overall is great.  There are ups and many downs, but God is Good and provides well for us and I am so thankful for this path of life I am on.

Over the past weeks it's been good.  I had a belated birthday evening out with girl friends.  I let loose and enjoyed myself immensely.  There was boxes that were packed.  Warm weather lent us to an evening fire, hide and seek in the dark, and tons of giggling from the Littles.  School conferences went exceptionally well, solidifying that Max and Noelle are not only flourishing academically, but their behavior is at an all time high (it's so nice teachers don't see the typical behavior that goes on at home!).  Teachers praised each of them and I let with a big grin on my face, sincerely proud of both of them.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and my lack of Thankful posting is no reflection on the amount of thankfulness I posses.  My good intentions slipped away and although my blog isn't being kept up with, I still make it a daily point to take a few minutes and truly reflect on this life that I am thankful for.

I Am Thankful Day 7 (Thursday)

Thursday School is a true blessing and I am very thankful for this wonderful program.  I am able to schedule meetings (despite not having a paying job I do attend a lot of meeting for various functions that I volunteer for) clean up around the house, catch up on my DVR, oh, it's pretty wonderful!

Zane saying the prayer during Chapel Time.

I Am Thankful Day 6

As much as they do drive me nuts, I am thankful for our animals.  Growing up we always had animals around the house.  Usually two dogs and two cats, fish, small rodents, birds, etc. I always said I would never have my own (I also said I wanted at the most, one child) because of the gross factor. Slobber, puke, poop, the grossness of animals was never ending and I wanted no part in it!

I grew up and realized how important having animals in the house was. Not only great companions to us and the children, it has taught responsibility, compassion, patience, humility, and many other things.  I'm still grossed out by the bodily functions, but they are few and far between.  The many Kodiak interaction between animals and children far outnumber the times I have ever questioned having animals.  Also, the protection factor of having two large black dogs, alerting me to any person that comes to the house is a great feeling.  Yeah, they are pretty important and we like them!

I Am Thankful Day 5

Today, and everyday, I am truly thankful for my Husband, Tom.  He happens to be my true partner in life. Days when life seems to get stressful he calms me and is there to listen to my worries and gives reassurance that everything will be fine.  Not only an incredible partner he is also an awesome Dad.  Coming home, ready and willing, to quickly jump into "Dad mode" the moment he steps into the house.  The children light up the second they hear the garage door open and run into his arms when he comes into the house.  He gently sweeps them up, hugging and kisses and asking questions about their day, relieving me.  God knew what he was doing putting us together and I am very grateful for our partnership each and every day.

I Am Thankful Day 4

Today I am thankful for boys that wrestle.  Maximilian understands that he is older and bigger.  He exercises restraint when Zane attacks, and knows when to get it back to him.  At times I want to shout at them to stop, but I know this is good for both of them and it is what boys do. 

I Am Thankful Day 3

Today I am thankful for caffeine.  Yes, it's very minor, but with the time change, children were up WAY too early and coffee was very much needed.  Plus I get to drink it from my very awesome "Super Mom" mug.  

I Am Thankful Day 2

Lazy Saturday mornings with no plans is what I am thankful for today.  Noelle and I curled up on the recliner, watched some morning cartoons and did some girl chatting too.  I love mornings without plans!

I Am Thankful, Blog Style Day 1

I've seen it on Facebook the last few years.  People post something they are thankful for each day of November.  This year, since my blogging has taken a turn towards slowing down, I want to jump start it with posting a picture of something/someone I’m thankful for each day this month. 

Today I am thankful for enjoying time with these two precious little ones.  They bicker over the littlest things (“No it’s a dark red not a medium red”) but conjure up great imaginary play, share reading time together, throw things at each other, cuddle together, and always bring joy to me. They are a great pair and I am truly grateful to stay at home with them.

Halloween 2013

Never a favorite Holiday of mine, the children a plenty enjoy it.  It’s fun to see all the cute costumes too.  Although, they were much cuter when they did not have an opinion about what they wanted to wear! 
The white undershirts were busted out and four Roehrig's climbed on the table and dug into pumpkin guts.  Although the girls are usually, especially Noelle, taking every measure to avoid getting dirty, they really got into caving this year.  I stayed away, using the camera as excuse not to scoop the gooey orange guts out! 

My patience and lack of artistic skill was again present as I was chosen to carve faces.  The kids gave direction and I carved.  It’s fun to see the detailed creations other families come up with for their pumpkins.  For us the simplicity of the ionic Jack O’ Lantern, with small variations, works well.  This keeps our monsters' pleased, for now.

Pumpkins ready, costumes out, candy bags retrieved from the depths of the basement, we were ready.  Max and Noelle packed their costumes to wear during their afternoon school parties.  Violette and Zane wore theirs to Thursday School.  Noelle was going as an Asian Princess and even let me do her hair before school!  There was even minimal gripping about it!

Max felt left out and needed to be a picture with his big sister. The result melts my heart.  Noelle looks so mature and I know I’m bias, but rather beautiful.  Max, stoic and serious, but with their heads so close together you can almost feel their admiration and love for each other. 

Violette and Zane were cute as ever, sporting Bat Girl and Skeleton costumes.
All the children had a great time during their school parties.  The Elementary School did a school wide parade for the parents and we cheered on the children as they proudly showed off their costumes.  From school we picked up pizza (the line was so long because all parents seemed to have the same idea as me, no cooking dinner on Halloween!) ate, and dressed for trick-or-treating.

My Asian Princess, Ninja, Bat Girl, and Skeleton!

The rain never ceased, at all.  The temperature was kind, staying steady in the mid 60’s.  The rain, and increasing winds were not a deterrent and I was impressed with the perseverance of our troops.  The biggest complainer, no surprise, was Noelle.  But after awhile, when the weight of the candy became more appealing she hustled from door to door and stopped whining. 

The wind picked up and turned our umbrellas inside out and pelted droplets into our eyes. The temperature made the rain more tolerable, had it been 38 degrees pure misery would have set it.  I remember many Halloween’s with snow coming down.  This was much better than that!

By the time we arrived home the children were shivering, face paint was dripping, and shoes were soaked.  A warm bath and looking at their candy cured it all and ended Halloween.