I am grateful for....

my four amazing sisters! I have lived away from my family for many years now. No matter how far away me and my sisters are we share a special bond that cannot be broken. They are all inspirations to me.

Ally is my awesome twin, so different, but we know each other better than anyone else. We've been through life together! I always had a partner in crime. She has so much energy and is always a blast to be around. Ally is a shopping queen and my favorite shopping buddy. Her house is amazing- she should be an interior decorater because she's got an amazing gift. She is creative, beautiful, tough, and has such a sweet heart. She's my better half.

Kendra is my oldest sister. We have always been very close despite the 10 year difference in age. She is talented, funny, successful, and the most thoughtful person I know. She doesn't complain despite all of her physical limitations. She endures with a smile. She is a wonderful artist. She is miss smarty pants and is in the process of defending her dissertation. She's my big sister and has been a huge influence in the person I have become.

Alicia is my big sister who has always been a strength to me. I think of her as a peacemaker and she is always helping others out. She is miss busy body and always has lots of projects. She's a super-mom and super savy entrepreneur. I remember going dancing with her as a teenager- she is a great dancer. And I will always cherish our late night conversations any time I visit. She is so easy to talk to and so easy to get along with.

Alana is the reason I moved to Michigan. She let me stay with her and her husband while I got my feet on the ground. She was there for me during one of the most difficult times in my life and I am forever grateful to her for that. I wouldn't have met Tim if she hadn't coaxed me to come to the Midwest.

It's so nice to have sisters that can understand completely our family craziness and still laugh about it. We don't have to explain why we are the way we are because we all just know. We can have fun whenever we are together. Distance still will not separate us. So, big sisters, you are irreplaceable, one of a kind, super-sisters! I love you lots and I think about you all the time.

I am grateful for..(Sunday late post)

Dr. Seuss. What a clever author. I have bought many of his books for Xavier and I don't think there has been one that Xavier hasn't liked. We read Fox in Sox last night and Xavier was giggling the entire time. Those tongue twisters must have sounded hilarious to Xavier. Pretty soon his giggle made me and Tim giggle too. I'm glad Xavier loves to read and that I can read some of my favorite books to him. How did he do it? If I had half the imagination old Dr. Seuss had life would be even more entertaining than it already is. What a gift. I'm glad I can enjoy his talent.

I am grateful for....

Girl's Nights out. Last night was opening day for the movie Twilight. I admit I became a vampire obsessed fan. Well, not that extreme, but I really enjoyed reading the series. So I got together with a bunch of girlfriends and we went and saw the movie yesterday. Since Tim and most husbands weren't up to seeing the movie we got some fun girl time in while the kiddos were in bed. I haven't done anything with just the girls in a while, so it was fun to be out late and not have to worry about my mom duties for a few hours. Plus, the movie was pretty true to the book. The screaming teenagers added a nice affect.

I am grateful for... (Friday- late post)

Tim's family. I never thought moving to Michigan almost 8 years ago was going to be a permanent thing. I thought I'd go to school and most likely move back to Utah when I was done. Well, my plan didn't quite work out that way. I gained the most wonderful family and husband by making this huge leap in my life. I never thought I'd be so lucky to have found such a wonderful guy and that I would love his family so much. They make living away from my family bearable. Many times I forget that I'm far away from my family because I enjoy Tim's family so much. My parent-in-laws are such thoughtful, selfless, fun, and loving people. I am so excited for Thanksgiving because we always play a family football game, shoot skeet, eat lots of food, and enjoy a house full of amazing people. I have learned what family is all about by being a part of the Richardson family. I am proud to share all of their wonderful holiday family traditions. I am also grateful that my children will grow up in a big family and will always have great role models around them.

I am grateful for...

Well I have a couple of things. First I am grateful for chicken noodle soup. Tim and Xavier have been sick today. Tim was basically in bed most of the day resting. I decided I would make him some chicken noodle soup and fish crackers on the side. As Xavier and I were taking them up the stairs- me with the soup in my hands and Xavier holding the fish crackers in his- I remembered all the times I was sick as a kid my mom would make me chicken noodle soup. I don't know what it is about chicken noodle soup, but it always makes me feel better. As I opened our bedroom door I told Xavier to give daddy the crackers. Wouldn't ya know, he ran the opposite direction and started eating the crackers. Before I knew it the crackers went flying all over the carpet. I just had to laugh. Apparently Xavier thought the crackers were his and not daddy's. After all the crackers were picked up we made our soup and cracker delivery to daddy, gave him kisses, and let him get some more rest.

Second, I am grateful for Xavier's sense of humor. I didn't think he could have a sense of humor yet, but Xavier gets a kick out of scaring mommy and getting a rise out of me. (sounds like somebody else I know..I won't name names, but it starts with a T and ends with an "im") He used to just poke his head around a corner and scream so that I would be surprised. During our Halloween festivities he acquired a black spider ring. As a joke I would always pretend to be scared when he showed it to me. Today he found it in one of his toy baskets and showed me the spider. I pretended to be scared. Then it became a game, he'd keep hiding it and then showing it to me just to see my scared face over and over. No matter how many times he did it, he would laugh hysterically. It's fun to be able to play those games with Xavier. We have lots of laughs together.

I am grateful for....

sleep. Today for some crazy reason Xavier didn't wake up until 9 am. This was so wonderful because the night before last I only got 3 hours of sleep. Over the last couple months I've experienced nights of insomnia. For some odd reason my mind just races with this and that and I just can't seem to turn it off. So I end up staying awake until 4 or 5 in the morning. I love it.....not really. Being someone who has always been able to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, this has not been very fun to deal with. Xavier must have known that I was totally exhausted and needed a good nights sleep last night. I definitely got it. Yahoo! I feel much more refreshed and energized today!

I am grateful for...

my heated seats. When we owned our Jetta we discovered the wonderful world of heated seats. Ever since, it has been a requirement to get this feature in every car we own. When we bought our Accord it came with the heated seats. Thank goodness. Today was a super cold morning and my butt was super happy when those heated seats got to work. Hey Tim and I deserve warm bottoms after living through so many cold Michigan winters. ;)

I am grateful for....

FOOD! I have come a long way over the years. I wasn't brought up with the best eating habits. My mom worked full time my entire life, so meals were usually made from a box or if my dad was in charge, it was mostly fast food. When I was in high school I started to change my eating habits. Since moving away from home I pretty much avoid fast food as much as possible. I guess I got my fill when I was a kid and it doesn't even appeal to me. I'm not saying fast food is bad, it has it's purpose, but when you grow up eating fast food more often than home-cooked meals it gets a little old.

When I married Tim he didn't marry me for my cooking skills. As newlyweds Tim did most of the cooking. It wasn't until I became a mommy and a stay-at-home-mom that I actually started cooking regularly. I have come to really enjoy cooking and cooking healthy meals. I have realized that when you have great recipes cooking can be fun! Plus it makes me feel good when I have cooked a good healthy meal for my family. Now the tables have turned and I do 90 percent of the cooking. Who would have thought? I'm sure if you ask Tim, he never would have believed the day would come when I would cook as much as I do. Now I am always looking for new recipes to try. It's always exciting to try new foods and I never feel like I am saying "it's spaghetti again tonight."

Oh and if anyone has a recipe they would like to share feel free!

I am grateful for....

church. I am so grateful that I can go to church every Sunday and feel the love of my Heavenly Father. I was not having a good morning today. Tim had to go study at school all morning and I was trying to get some things ready for church, get myself ready and get Xavier ready. Xavier was just a little stinker today and I think I put him in time out about 4 times before Tim got home. I just remember thinking that I was not in the right spirit to go to church. But I realized I needed to go to church. I am grateful I went because I was able to partake of the sacrament which is my favorite part of church. The best part though was that this week was our primary program. I think this is everybody's favorite week in church. But I just realized what a wonderful church I belong to. I am so grateful for the nursery program, for the primary program, and for the young men and young women's programs. Having served in all of these auxiliaries I realize what wonderful programs they are! They help us to instill great values in our children and it's a wonderful way for our children to be around other wonderful people. These programs are truly inspired and I am grateful my son and future children will be a part of them.

I am grateful for.....

the opportunity to create, carry, and give birth to babies. I have only had one so far, but our friend's just had a baby this week. We went to visit them in the hospital last night and I was able to hold their beautiful baby daughter. I forget how little a baby is when they are first born. Having a baby is such a miracle. There are so many things that can go wrong from start to finish I am amazed so many come to the Earth healthy. There are many people who are not able to get pregnant and I am so grateful to have experienced pregnancy. Being able to give birth and have children of my own is such a blessing and honor. I love being a mom!

I am grateful for....(Friday's late post)

Tylenol. Tim came home a little early on Thursday. It was actually sunny outside for the first time in days. We decided to go to the school by our house and play for a little bit. Well, Xavier had a basketball in his hands and started running toward the court. He tripped over the ball and fell on the pavement face first. He hit the ground pretty hard and managed to bite the inside of his lip. He had two big teeth indents on his inner lip. It started gushing blood as soon as it happened. Xavier was pretty upset. He has had a permanent fat lip for the last couple days and some scabs on the outside of his chin. Thanks to Tylenol he has been able to sleep at night without the pain of teething and a sore lip.

I am grateful for...

Prayer. I have found that I rely on prayer a lot these days. There are many stressful things that are going on in our country and also in our family life with Tim being in school. He's been working hard to try to find an internship, but companies have been slow to recruit and slow to get back with him on any type of second interview or job offer. So, we are just waiting things out. I have found that prayer sometimes is the only thing that helps me stay calm in these stormy and uncertain seas.
Xavier has been showing more interest in saying prayers rather than just listening to us pray. Every time we say meal prayers or night prayers he always starts us off by saying "Heavenly Father, thankful for day" meaning "Dear Heavenly Father, we are thankful for this day..." I guess I say that a lot at the beginning of our prayers. At dinner tonight he also started saying "thankful for basketballs, thankful for park, thankful for ice." (he was more interested in chewing on the ice cubes than he was on eating his dinner.) It's so cute to see what he comes up with on his own. I'm glad that he is learning that prayer is important in our home.

I am grateful for...

Technology- mainly the internet. The internet is wonderful for many things. I had a busy day today and I was throwing together a last minute dinner.I wanted a specific recipe so I just googled what I wanted and endless choices appeared before my eyes. How great is that? Anytime I need to research a doctor, a toy, compare prices on different items, look at grocery store adds, email, blog, catch up on the news, watch an episode of Heros or the Office that I missed, and on and on....I can just search the internet. I love it. It is a wonderful thing as long as I don't spend too much time on it.

I am grateful for.....

Cuddle time. Even though Xavier is always on the go during the day, he still likes to cuddle at night. Lately he's been asking to cuddle before we put him in his crib and I love it because I've always been a cuddle bunny myself. This morning Xavier woke up at about 5 crying and repeating "cuddle mama, cuddle mama." Waking up to those words, even though I was dead tired, put a smile on my face. Tim likes to cuddle too, which has always been one thing I enjoy before falling asleep. Hugs, kisses, cuddling--the human touch is a wonderful thing.

I am grateful for....

Exercise. I just got home from a good workout and I feel great! I admit, it's my addiction. I have to exercise regularly. If I don't exercise it affects so many aspects of my life. When I exercise my stress level is lower, I sleep better, I am in a better mood, I'm a better mom, I have more energy, I feel better about myself, I eat better, and it motivates me to get my other tasks on my to-do list done. I love to exercise!

I am grateful for.....

Today! I'm currently reading Snowflower and the Secret fan. In the book the narrator experiences death in her family. But it's not her parents that die, it's her very young siblings. It made me realize that tomorrow is never guaranteed. So today I am grateful for another day with the people I love. (Sorry this is kind of a depressing post)

I am grateful for...(Saturday's post)

I asked Xavier what he was grateful for and he said "BALLS!" So to go along with that I'm grateful for football Saturdays. We got to go to our final home football game today as a family. It was soooo cold, but we braved the cold weather. I love college football and being able to show my school spirit. Being able to sing my school's fight song and cheer for my team is always fun. This was Xavier's first outside football game and he was pretty excited. Not to mention it was fun for the entire family. Plus, MSU was up 14 to 0 when we left. They did end up winning the game, but we were a little frozen by half time. Xavier had so much fun he fell asleep walking the 2 miles back to the car. How he fell asleep in freezing weather is beyond me.

MSU is playing awesome this year. We beat U of M which hasn't happened since Tim and I had our first date 7 years ago. I got to watch MSU win against Wisconsin last week which was the best game I've ever seen. And we'll go to a good bowl game this year. Thanks for all the memories of Saturday football MSU. GO STATE!!

I am grateful for... (Friday's late post)

I am grateful for music. I haven't ever had much of a singing voice and I only took piano lessons for 4 years when I was younger, but I have always had a love for music. No matter what mood I'm in music can make me happy. I can listen to music when I'm cleaning and it helps me actually enjoy doing my chores. I can listen to music on a rainy day and it doesn't seem so gloomy. I can listen to music when I'm tired and it gives me an extra burst of energy. Music is a wonderful art that I enjoy every day. Xavier seems to enjoy music as much as I do. I've been checking out CD's from the library for Xavier that have different styles of music. Right now his favorite is Rock n Roll. Anytime we are in the car he shouts "Rock n Roll, Rock n Roll!" until I turn it on.

I am grateful for....

friends. Xavier has so many friends to play with it's wonderful! Today we took a walk to a school that's in our neighborhood. Xavier likes to play on the playground at the school. There is an after school program that children are a part of while their parents are at work. Every time we've gone to the school this after-school group has been playing outside. There is this little boy named Javon. He is 6 years old and is so cute with Xavier. He just follows Xavier around the playground kicking balls, passing balls, and showing him how to use the playground equipment. Every time we leave Javon gives Xavier a big hug and asks if we're coming back tomorrow. Xavier always seems to make a friend wherever he goes and I love that he loves people.
Where would we be if we didn't have friends in our lives? They laugh with us, they cry with us, they celebrate with us, they make us better people, they push us to succeed, they help us when we've been knocked down, and they teach us new things. Friends are a blessing in my family's life.

I am grateful for....

I am grateful for my right to vote. It is truly a great time to be a woman because we can do so many things that women before us were not able to, including our right to vote. Yesterday Tim and I voted! It's neat to have been able to participate in such an important election.
I told Xavier as we were leaving the house that daddy and mommy were going to vote for a new president of the United States. The entire time we were driving to our precinct Xavier kept repeating "Vote, vote, vote". Xavier has also chanted "Obama" a lot. I think he picked it up from all the NPR I've been listening to. When I asked Xavier this morning who the President of the United States was he simply replied, "Barack Obama". I think it's so hilarious to hear him say his name. I guess John McCain just didn't roll off Xavier's tongue as well as Barack Obama.

I am thankful for....

Beautiful sunny days in November. Today has been absolutely gorgeous. I didn't even have to wear a jacket today, it was that warm. Xavier and I took a walk to the park, played our hearts out, and walked back home. I definitely didn't think we'd have any more days like this left, but I am taking advantage. I love fall when the leaves are changing colors, a cool breeze is blowing, and the sun is shining. Thank you for today!

Our Happy Halloween!

I am grateful that....

Xavier didn't hurt himself today! It's always a good day when there are no injuries, but today was especially good. I woke up this morning and heard Xavier babbling in his room. I love to wake up to his happy little conversations. I poked my head into his room and said good morning. I told Xavier I had to go to the potty and I would be in to get him in a minute. Next thing I know I heard a BOOM! At first I thought it was just him kicking his crib like normal. But then all of a sudden I see this little midget pop his head out of his bedroom door. Well what do you know, he sprung out of his crib like a cat. I couldn't believe it. He acted as if nothing crazy just happened. He just wanted to get out of that crib and apparently didn't want to wait for me to do it. Way to be proactive Xavier and I am glad he walked away without any broken bones!
I love how Xavier is starting to almost talk in sentences and is always jibber jabbering about something. The other day we were driving in the car and we passed our church. All of a sudden Xavier said "Church, Jesus" and I said "Yeah, we go to church and learn about Jesus." Then I said "Do you know how much Jesus loves you Xavier?" He replied quickly, stretching out his arms, "This much!" I couldn't believe that he remembered us telling him that. I love that he is beginning to learn such big concepts for being such a little person.
Xavier is my pride and joy!

A Month of Gratitude

So I'm taking this idea from my sister. Thanks Alicia for the idea. Since Thanksgiving is this month I'm going to post something I am grateful for every day. This will be a challenge to remember to post something every day. I hope I can do it. Today I want to say that I am grateful for my husband. I don't think I tell him enough how grateful I am for all he does for our family. So I am saying it today! He is working so hard right now to do well in school, work, and find an internship. He is constantly on the move. Not only is he doing all that, but he still manages to find time for us and for his church callings. What's amazing is he manages to stay positive and he never complains. You're amazing, Tim! Even though I tend to give him a hard time I am SOOOOOOOO grateful for all that he does to insure that we have a comfortable future. I love you Tim and your hard work does not go unappreciated. 6 more weeks and you can take a breather, babe. Hang in there. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!