New Moon Girls Night

So last night I felt like a giddy little school girl again. Yes, I am a twilight series reader and I admit I have been waiting weeks to see New Moon. (or should I say a year since I saw the last movie) Me and some girlfriends ordered tickets several weeks in advance for last night's show.

We were all supposed to go to dinner, but I ended up going to dinner with Tim and Xavier instead. We had an occasion to celebrate that surprisingly trumped eating dinner with the girls before New Moon. After a ton of hard work on Tim's part and a lot of patience and moral support on mine, Tim finally has a job offer! Bosch has offered Tim a full time position. This happened just moments before I was supposed to meet my friends for dinner. Bosch's North American headquarters is located in Farmington Hills, MI not too far from where we lived when we worked in the Detroit area. During his first 18 or so months he would be in a rotational program. We would do 3 six month rotations, two in the U.S. and one most likely outside the U.S. I really like this part because we could live a few cool places, have some great travel experiences, but then we would end up back in MIchigan close to family again. We feel very blessed and I am so proud of Tim. His hard work is starting to pay off. We should also be hearing from Apple before Thanksgiving and he is flying out to Jersey for some more interviews with Mars. So, we will be waiting to see what else happens and then hopefully we can finally know where we will be in May. This will truly be a Thanksgiving to be grateful for our abundant blessings.

Anyway, back to New Moon. We got to the theater an hour early and the line was wrapped around the entire inside of the theater. It even blocked the ticket booths and people were constantly confusing our line with the ticket line. I must say that New Moon was soooooo much better than Twilight. Jacob was one hot tamale. I'm still not too fond of the guy that plays Edward. He's not quite right for me. So I must say that I was on Team Jacob during the movie a little more than Team Edward. Can't wait for the 3rd movie to come out!! June doesn't seem so far away.

Goal Accomplished

I have finally finished reading Gone with the Wind! I started the book in September and it's taken me this long to finish it, not because I didn't like it, but because it was 1035 pages long. It was officially the longest book I have ever read and I'm so glad I did. The only way I was even able to read a book this long was because I tend to have at least once a week where I cannot sleep. So thanks for my semi-insomniac self for making it possible.
I can now see why its such a classic. The story was a great depiction about love, life, war, coming of age, enduring through trials, and how to fight for what you believe in. Has anyone else read this book? What are your thoughts about it?
I've never seen the movie either, so now I will be curling up with a blanket, maybe cuddling with my hubby (that's if he's up for a chic flick), and watching the movie one night this week.

Thanksgiving Countdown

Last year during the month of November I posted something on my blog that I was grateful for each day. This year I decided to do something different. The first week in November Tim, Xavier, and I made a grateful box. Each day we write something we are grateful for on a leaf and place it in the box. I found a fun countdown list that names something we are grateful for and an activity to do that day to show our gratitude. This is what we are doing this month:

1. We are thankful for our teeth.
Give mom and dad some of your Halloween candy in exchange for a gift.

2. We are thankful for our legs.
Go outside and run and jump!

3. We are thankful for our cousins.
Call or write a letter to one of your cousins.

4. We are thankful for our kitchen.
Cook or bake something fun together in the kitchen. (We made banana bread)

5. We are thankful for good food.
Go to the grocery store and pick out a food that you haven't tried yet. (We picked out pomegranates)

6. We are thankful for Turkeys!
Art project: Make turkeys by tracing your hand and coloring the feathers.

7.We are kind to others.
Think of something fun to give someone in the neighborhood.

8. We are thankful for Daddy.
Do something nice for daddy and be extra nice to him all day!

9. We are thankful for Mommy.
Do something nice for mommy and be extra nice to her all day!

10. We are thankful for the seasons.
Go out and rake leaves together.

11. We are thankful for our car.
Go for a drive and visit a friend.

12. We are thankful for our house.
Play a cleaning game.

13. We are thankful for fun.
Play a game together.

14. We are thankful for our hands.
Art project: Finger painting.

15. We are thankful for our eyes.
Watch a special Thanksgiving show together.

16. We are thankful for our ears.
Play some fun music.

17. We are thankful for books.
Go to the library and pick out some Thanksgiving books.

18. We are thankful for pies.
Go to Grand Traverse Pie Company for some pie.

19. We are thankful for our grandparents.
Call grandma and grandpa and tell them you love them.

20. We are thankful for Heavenly Father.
Go on a nature walk and notice all of Heavenly Father's Creations.

21. We are thankful for our friends.
Make a special visit to some friends.

22. We are thankful for the computer.
Send an email to someone you love- Uncle James. Send him pictures too.

23. We are thankful for all of our toys.
Take some of the toys we haven't been playing with to Goodwill to give to other kids.

24. We are thankful for rest.
Take a nap.

Happy Turkey Day!

Fall Photo Shoot

Fall is my favorite time of year, especially MSU's campus. There are so many trees and the colors are so beautiful and vibrant. So Xavier and I visited daddy at school and took some pictures for fun! Xavier was either chasing squirrels or running around and throwing the leaves in the air, so getting a good shot was a challenge. Here are a couple of my favorites.



Where's the squirrel?



Daddy's #1. These trees are so amazing and alive!



Xavier throwing leaves into the air.



Xavier has such a love for life and teaches me how to live in the moment.



MSU's natural beauty.

Homecoming Parade

This was our first time going to MSU's Homecoming Parade. Kind of sad when I realize that we never went when we went to school at MSU. The theme was "Green" and recycled things. All the floats were made out of recycled products.



Addison, Olivia, Braelyn, and Xavier all bundled up and enjoying the action. Xavier is one lucky lad to be with such cute girls.



Xavier really enjoyed being so close to everything and watching the bands go by. This was about the only time he was actually sitting. The rest of the time we raced behind the crowd. He pretended to be Lightning McQueen and I was Sally. He definitely wore me out by the end.



This was my favorite car. Where can I get my car painted like this? Isn't it cool?



Go Sparty!

S3 trip to Uncle John's Cider Mill

My camera is finally working again. So, now I can catch up on all our October happenings. Our Spartan Spouses group took a trip to Uncle John's Cider Mill. The best part about this trip was that we didn't have to leave with a screaming child who had hot cider spilled on his chest like last year.



We picked out a pumpkin. Left to right: Annie, Adam, Joel, Michela, Yohann, Ewen, Me, Xavier, Brent, and Maria. We had a small group for this activity, but it was a lot of fun. Brent even entertained the kids while we were waiting to weigh our pumpkins by juggling apples.



Xavier and Yohann have become good buds since his family started the program this year. They thought it was so neat to sit in the wheelbarrow as they ate their kettle corn. (Xavier calls kettle corn, kekkle corn)



The boys burned off some energy at the good old Kids Coral. Xavier's favorite spot...any guesses? The train.



And of course, we ate some yummy donuts and drank cider.



Xavier spotted the scarecrows and had to jump on in the cart. He gave them high fives and kisses. What a silly boy.