Puddles of Joy

Dave-o is thankful for rain today. 

After eating his breakfast, he hurriedly put on his shark rain boots and found lots of puddles to jump in.

Pigtails

Today I am thankful for pigtails. They make me smile.

Lonetta's hair is finally long enough for this cute hair-do.

Breaking Bread

As a child, I remember being given the task of breaking loaves of stale bread into bite sized pieces for our Thanksgiving stuffing. I loved this responsibility. My mind would always wander to weekly Sacrament Meetings where worthy priesthood holders would break the bread for all to partake of the Sacrament. 

In the Bible, the breaking of bread was associated with a prayer of thanksgiving and had a religious significance of fellowship in sharing and enjoying the blessings of God. This Thanksgiving I am grateful for a wonderful family to sit and "break bread" with. They are my life and my joy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

No More Training Wheels

I've spent this week teaching Dave-o how to ride his bike. He's been apprehensive about the idea of riding it without training wheels. On the first day of lessons, he called quits after only five minutes of trying. However, today, he soared. It finally all clicked and he didn't want to stop.

I am thankful for confidence in a five year old.

Tips are Appreciated

Upon returning home from the gym, I noticed four children hard at work raking and sweeping my neighbors lawn. When they saw me, the obvious leader of the gang, walked over to me and asked if they could rake my lawn as well. I was about to say no (because this is a job that I wanted my own children to do), but then he shared with me the reason for their temporary lawn service. These neighborhood children were raising money for their friend who has cancer. Well, how could I say no after that. It took them about an hour to finish and charged $8, but tips were appreciated. I of course gave them a big tip. They were so cute to watch. 

While most of the children around here are idly enjoying a week of no school, these particular siblings sacrificed their play time to earn money for a friend in need. They even worked through lunchtime.

I am thankful for this example of charity.

Family Home Evening

I am thankful for Family Home Evening. This inspired tradition truly does bring the family closer to each other and to Christ. Steven has practice with the SJYS (San Jose Youth Symphony) on our designated Monday night, so he misses out. We tried doing it a different night, but kept forgetting. If FHE didn't happen on Monday, it didn't happen at all. 

Standing

Lonetta is getting closer and closer to walking. She stands up by herself (without holding on to anything). But if you hold out your arms and say "Walk to me Loni", she will stubbornly shake her head no.

I am thankful for chubby legs.

Falling Leaves

As I walked outside to go visiting teaching, I saw hundreds of leaves falling from the trees that line our street. Many people say that snow is magical, but for a California girl, falling leaves is just as magical. 

Who needs to spend money on entertainment when a pile of leaves will keep your children amused for hours.

I am thankful for autumn. While I don't enjoy my daylight hours diminishing, I do love the colors, and the smells of this season. The crisp chill in the air, and the cuddling in blankets while drinking hot chocolate are some of my favorite memories.

Inside the Box

Lonetta loves playing in boxes and putting things around her neck.

I am thankful for imagination and curiosity.

One Whole Year of Lonetta

I've been blessed with one whole year of getting to know Lonetta.

One whole year of cuddling her.

Of nursing her.

One whole year of smiles and laughter.

 Of wiping snot and tears.

One whole year of being her mommy.

 Of loving my baby girl.

Because Lonetta is the youngest, 

she has many entertainment choices to chose from 

in the form of her older brothers and sister. 

She has a spitfire personality;

with an angry scream that forces all nearby to cover their ears.

She's discovering her independence while also being a needy mommy's girl. 

We celebrated Loni's birthday a day early so that Grandma and Grandpa Zinn could join us.

She helped me make her cake.

She loved climbing on and learning how to tear her presents open.

Loni knew exactly what to do with this toy flip phone.

She of course loved all the attention from everyone.

Kirsten insisted there be an elephant on the cake, so she sculpted one out of marshmallow fondant.

The next morning, Lonetta enjoyed pancakes with whipped cream for her birthday breakfast. Then she relaxed while being pushed around on her new elephant toy.

Per Dave-o's request, I heated the spa so Loni could splash around in the water. 

We also took her to a nearby playground where she loved going up and down on the teeter-totter and crawling around on the sand.

Happy birthday my sweet baby girl.

Little Ones

 Life with teenagers is busy. Most of the time I feel like my entire life revolves around them. Because of this, I am guilty of not taking Dave-o and Lonetta to kid places, like the park as often as I would like. Dave-o recently went to Bounce A-Rama for his friend's birthday party and the moms in attendance couldn't believe that we had never been there. 

I am thankful for those precious moments that I spend with my little ones doing something fun and childlike. Even if they are few.