Just So Thankful

Today is just an ordinary day, but I'm just so thankful.

...the weather is beautiful.

...I have an amazing husband.

...my kids are healthy.

...I have a few wonderful friends.

I don't know really how to describe it, but the past few days I've just been overwhelmed with being thankful. Do you ever have days like that? Nothing out of the ordinary has happened, but I'm just so thankful. It's a good place to be.

Remembering 9-11

I've been trying to think of just the right words to capture yesterday, the 10-year anniversary of 9-11. It's a day that conjures up many emotions to Americans. It was a day of remembering. A day of rebuilding. A day of being thankful. It was also a day of bringing back images and sounds of that horrific day.

343 - The number of firefighters that gave their lives as they tried to save others. Ask any firefighter I know, and it's just part of the job...the calling. They don't think of themselves as heros, and they often don't get the recognition they deserve.

343...

If you look at the other numbers, there was no other group that lost near that. They ran in, while so many ran away.

It was said yesterday that a firefighter is in the wrong place at the wrong time with the right stuff.

Yesterday, Adam's station dedicated a piece of the North Tower. It was a humbling time just to think of what that steel saw, felt, was witness to.

The memorial 20/20 where they showed the children of 9-11 victims who were unborn at the time had me sobbing. I simply can't imagine looking at my child, seeing their daddy in their eyes, and knowing they will never know him. So last night, I held my firefighter just a little closer, a little longer, a little tighter.

343...you will never be forgotten.

Picture Day

Yesterday, before the rain started, I decided to take advantage of the overcast-ness and snap a few pictures. Might as well have been pulling teeth. How on earth do people get their kids to stand still for two seconds to get good pictures, I ask??

I decided to do some individual pictures first, thinking if I only had one kid outside at a time, they could "focus" better. Haha. Good thought. I tend to picture how I want things to go, but they rarely turn out that way.

I bribed.

I bribed.

I bribed.

And I clicked the button really fast...

Here are a few of Logan. I thought he was going to do really well, when he ran out under the tree and smiled. It lasted about that long... Two seconds later, and he was running around the yard, being a crazy two-year-old. Sigh...at least maybe I got one picture. :)

By the time Adam brought Samantha out, my plans were out the window. :) Here are a few more...

Outtakes...there are more, but here is a sample. :)

And She Crawls!

Over the past few days, Samantha has learned to crawl forward, and today she is really catching on. While I was putting the big kids to bed, I had her in her room playing with some toys, and the next thing I knew, she was out in the hall. By the time I was praying with Kaylee, Samantha was right beside me. Kaylee was laughing so hard she could hardly pray. It was hard for me to keep a straight face, too. Annnnnd...not only has she learned to go forward, today she decide to go from laying down to sitting up on her own, and boy was she proud of herself. I just love it when my kids discover they can do something-those smiles are priceless.

We still have the "for sale" sign in our front yard...I can't wait for the day when it has a little sign on top that says, "Sold!" I know God has it all planned out, His timing is perfect, and I don't need to worry about it, but the wait is hard. We have an open house the first weekend of October, so (if anyone still reads this blog) keep that weekend in your prayers.

Everytime I come back and post something, all I can think of is how far behind I am. I really enjoy blogging, but I have to stop feeling guilty about it. So thanks to anyone who still reads...I appreciate it. I'll post pictures soon...you know, once they get from the camera to the computer. haha...