This 3rd week of November, I am thankful for....

Music and Laughter! And in our house, there is lots of it. My two boys absolutely love to dance and sing and just be silly whenever possible! Want proof? Here are a few examples of music in our home and lots of pictures of the boys just being silly ♥

This week, I am Thankful for....

This week, I am thankful for everyday heroes. Those people that serve our communities day in and day out ,risking their lives to help others. These are jobs that scare me to death and although I would be so worried about my boys if they pursued one of them, I would be so very proud as well. Obviously, I am talking about police officers, firefighters and EMTs/Paramedics. My boys are obsessed with these professions and we have a full emergency garage at our house. It's full of fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, rescue helicopters and anything else the boys feel should be available to serve in any emergency (4 wheelers, tow trucks, "rescue" motorcycles....). We have played "911. What's your emergency?" a number of times and the boys have saved people from accidents, burning homes, hazmat situations. They have rescued animals from burning barns or from people trying to steal them. Troy has given numerous talks on fire safety to children and he has a full staff of "fire kids" trained to help him. Oh and we can't forget that Buffy was the "fire dog" when she was with us. Plus, I cannot tell you the number of tickets they have issued for traffic violations. As you can see, the boys take their job as hero very seriously and are the first to notice any vehicle with sirens and must analyze what they could possibly be dealing with, where they are going and such each time we see one. We are also very lucky to have so many friends and family that work in such professions so this thrills the boys and their eyes light up when we say "Did you know that so and so is a firefighter (or police officer or EMT...)" It's such a look of admiration that warms my heart. It helps also that everyone we meet is so eager to talk with the boys, show them around the equipment or let them help in some way! These people are truly heroes in our eyes!
And to show the love my boys have, here are some pics. You will notice there is a favorite though...

Troy had to be his hero for Halloween

 To the left is there Emergency Vehicle garage. You can't see just how many we have, but trust me....a lot

 Because every fire station has a pole

 Getting the tour....

Happy Birthday my sweet Will!

Last year I began writing letters to my boys on their birthday. This was what I posted last year just before your 2nd birthday, and so today, my sweet boy, you are 3 years old! And what a year it has been! I thought I would share some favorite pictures of the past year to show what all you have been up to

Being a silly boy

 Enjoying some farm fun!

 The 4 wheeler was a huge hit this year

 Playground adventures galore!

 Trying hard to be like your big brother ♥

 Driving the boat at the Islands with Aunt Karen

 Seeing the animals at the Luray Zoo

 Pool time!

 Riding your first amusement park ride

 One of many pictures of you getting into stuff :)

 Learning to pedal!

 Dying Easter eggs ALL ALONE!

 You started using the big boy swing

 Finding out you LOVE to paint

 And that you LOVE music

 And with your favorite "women" as you say! You are such a Granny's boy

To my sweet 3 year old boy,
I want to thank you. Thank you for all the joy you bring into our lives. Thank you for constantly keeping me on my toes and not allowing me to get bored. Thank you for the laughter you bring each day! Whether it's through your silliness, saying things that are just hilarious, or the things you do where we just have to laugh because "only Will" would do it. You brighten any room you enter as we notice every time we take you anywhere. All eyes go to you and people just smile ♥ And if we happen to go somewhere without  you, everyone asks about you. You have learned so much this year and I am just so proud! I adore you my sweet boy and hope you always know how much we love you! And to quote another friend, I thank God for allowing me to be your mother ♥

My weekend of thanks!

I didn't get to post this weekend on here so I will do a weekend of thanks. I definitely am thankful for my wonderful husband. We met thanks to my cousin in Dec. of 1999 and have been together since. Has it been easy? No, of course not. Like any relationship there are ups and downs, but every time I look at the big picture, I know how blessed I am to have such a wonderful, stable, intelligent, hard working husband who is an amazing father. I have had so many issues (which we don't need to get into....) and he's been supportive every step of the way and I truly believe that many others would have given up a long time ago so for all of these reasons, I am very thankful for this handsome man in my life ♥

I also have the most wonderful and supportive friends. I have always been a bit shy and reserved so making friends has never been the easiest of things, but as I have gotten older, I have realized how important it is to have true friends.  I have a few friends that have been with me for years that I rely on and I am so grateful for and feel like I can turn to them for anything. After becoming a stay at home mom, I really wanted to meet other moms, so I attempted to start a group in my town. That didn't go far, but I did meet a few mothers that I have stayed close with so although I was disappointed the group didn't continue, I am thrilled that I made such great friends through the attempt! I also made an awesome decision a couple years ago to join a training program for the Charlottesville Women's 4 Miler. This was one of the best decisions I have made because I have met so many wonderful women that are so supportive and simply amazing. It's been such a blessing getting to know so many of them and I have come so far since then because of them! Lastly, there is also a group of women that I have gotten to know online through a site called www.justmommies.com. I went there when Troy was 6 weeks old looking for help on sleep issues and have stayed there since. I know many people are skeptical, but I have had nothing but a great experience and received a lot of support and love. As a stay at home mom, I have used this site as a way to have adult conversation and talk about the kids and life in general, when I didn't have other options. I was very lonely in the beginning, so this group of online friends has helped me tremendously.

And lastly, this weekend, I am thankful for my church family. I have been going to this church since I was little and although I left when I moved away for a few years, I always have come back to them. It's a small church, but it has a huge heart with the wonderful congregation  we have. The support they give to the members and the community is so wonderful so for them I am very thankful.

On this 3rd day....I am thankful for....

My in laws. Yes, you heard me. I adore all my in laws--mother in law, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law....Yep, I realize what a rarity this is to enter into a family and really and truly love everyone. Again my biggest complaint is that we just don't see each other enough. (Or is that the reason why I love them so much.....???? :) ) We only get together once a year as a group with maybe a scattering of visits when it's possible, but with the crew spread out all over the country, it makes visiting more often a challenge. This is why we love our vacation to the 1000 Islands in NY so much because it's the only time we are all together so not only is it a vacation, but it's a chance to visit and catch up. Thank God for email, blogs, cell phones, and texting because it does help us to share stories, pictures and just chat! These are pictures from our trip in 2009, and not everyone is there, but just a sampling :)

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Day 2 of Being Thankful!

I must admit that I have the best family--immediate all the way to distant relatives. I love when we have family get togethers and enjoy spending time with each different side of my family. I definitely know how lucky I am that this is the case since not everyone has such wonderful relationships. My only complaint is that we are unable to get together as often as I would like. There are so many people I would like to mention but given that I have a large amount of cousins, aunts, uncles.....that would take forever and a day, so I will just say to all of my family--you know who you are ;)--thank you for being wonderful and supportive! And since I am horrible about taking pictures at such gatherings since I am always running after 2 kids, here's the best that I have (still pretty great, but I have left out quite a few)

Anaka and Antonio ♥ with my boys

My Dad ♥ with Jackie and Anaka♥

 Mom and the boys ♥

 Aunt Zelia, Jenny, Joy, Hannah and Kristen ♥

 At last year's joint bday party with Aunts and Uncles and Friends♥

 Brandie and Lucas♥

And just in case those on Jay's side of the family were curious as to why you weren't part of this....stay tuned for tomorrow's ;)

It's that time of the year!

I absolutely love Thanksgiving. Always have and always will. It's just such a wonderful time of the year to truly reflect on all the blessings. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me and I really have been very negative and frustrated. That all ends today. Will I still have my rough days? Sure. I can't say my entire attitude will change since I am still unable to do so many things, but when I find myself getting negative and grumpy, I will know it's time to think about all the wonderful people and things in my life! Today, I want to talk about my boys. Parenting is in no ways easy. It's downright hard, but these two boys are so very special to me and I adore them. I am so thankful that I have been blessed with 2 healthy children and hope they always know how much I love them!