Gratitude

My three best friends and I are in an exclusive club. We call it the Finer Things Club. I'm not going to lie, I look forward to our monthly meetings more than just about anything else. We talk books, mommy talk, wife talk, food talk, and just about every other kind of talk there is. These three ladies inspire me, help me, laugh with me, and enrich my life. Thank you Kalie, Amylee, and Whitney. I am grateful for you three!

We decided to do what we are calling the Finer Life Challenge. Every month for a year we choose a topic and make goals for the month. This month, of course we are doing Gratitude. I decided to write down three things that I am thankful for each day...and why. The why part is to really help me connect to what I write down. I'm sort of surprised to say that I have had a hard time with it. I know I have a lot to be grateful for, but I can't write something down unless I had an experience with it that day. So while it would be easy to say, "I'm thankful for nature because...," unless I had an experience that day with nature, I can't write it down.

While the month is not over, I am recognizing a few common themes in the things I write down.

1. Family: Almost every day one of my three things is something family related. Family is what life is all about. They mean more to me than anything.

2. Kindness: I am noticing the kind things people do for me (especially family, and surprisingly strangers) and I realized I need to show more kindness to others so they can feel how I do.

3. The little things: It is the funny thing Hannah says, or the random hug that Tyler gives me. Or it could be as simple as my husband making the bed. I need to appreciate more the little things. Because more often than not, it will be those little things, not the big, that make all the difference.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Be safe and remember that your life is blessed!

A Truly Happy Halloween

Yesterday we truly had a happy day. It started with a half naked Tyler waking us up asking if it was time to get his costume on yet. I can't tell, but I think he was excited!

Next we had Steve's official swearing in to become an attorney. So yesterday was officially the end of our journey for Steve to become a Patent Lawyer! Can I get a hip hip hooray! Feel free to start calling him Stephen Pulley, Esquire.

To finish off the day came my cute kids in their cute costumes. Tyler initially wanted to be a a ninja, followed by a skeleton, and finally decided he wanted to be a knight (because they have swords). I was glad I hadn't started working on his ninja costume when he changed his mind! He is quite a dashing knight! Tyler had the "Trick-or-Treat" part down, but needed reminding on the "Thank you" part. I was surprised but he willingly came home after about an hour, mostly because he was itching to eat some of his treats!

Then there is my cute little witch. After the first house, she clutched the candy in her hand and didn't dare let go of it! Her costume was my favorite! I couldn't find tights her size, so I had to fabric spray the leggings with stripes and I made her cape. The costume turned out cuter than I hoped. Hannah quickly mastered taking a piece of candy from someone and would say thank you. At one point last night as we were walking to the next house, she was whispering to herself, "halloween! halloween!" She also loved her hat, and if it fell off she would yell, "Hannah's witch,"which apparently meant her hat.

We finished off the night by letting the kids (and adults) eat a few treats and reading It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Overall, it was a fabulous Halloween!