Outtakes

It's been pretty cold lately, so since we had a warm (almost 50°F!), mostly sunny day today I thought I would take advantage. We got the boys dressed up and took some pictures for this year's Christmas card. Here are some of my favorite outtakes:

Thankful

I set the table up this morning before I started cooking. When Tommy saw it he was so impressed that he decided he needed to dress up, and he convinced his brothers to do the same. It was completely spontaneous and all his idea, but I thought it was so sweet that he felt inspired to put on his fanciest outfit. Before we ate both Tommy and Nic took a turn to pray, and one thing that Tommy mentioned being thankful for was tradition. Considering how last minute this year's meal was, and therefore, how close it came to not happening, his enthusiasm for the day made all of my (hasty) efforts worth it, and for that I am very thankful.

Here is proud Nicolas the pumpkin farmer showing off the fruits of his harvest.

Halloween 2014

Mom's Birthday

Today my mom would have turned 58. It has been a hard day. I'm sad, the kids are sad, and dates like this just make the missing that much harder. We are all remembering mom in our different ways. Kevin and Emily are meeting up for dinner, Katie is making my mom's favorite cake for her family and my Dad, and since today is my one day to stay home and get things in order, I cleaned my house and matched socks.

My sock pile drove my mom crazy. I swear that my children put one sock in the hamper and hide the match in some secret spot for a few weeks before tossing it in the laundry. Thus, even though I carefully match up all the pairs to come out of the dryer on any given laundry day, I have a sock pile. Whenever Mom came to visit she would get out the sock bag (which has since been upgraded to a cute basket) and lay them all out and match them all up. Then she would harass me to throw away the unmatched socks. So today I conquered the unmatched sock basket, which I'm pretty sure hasn't been touched since her last visit a year ago, in her memory. I even threw out a handful of socks for her. That would have made her happy.

Although today has been very hard, I have enjoyed having the space to reflect on my Mom and what a blessing she was to me, and my kids, and to all of you who have been leaving comments and messages for our family. I wish I could be celebrating with her tonight, but since I can't, I am so thankful to be able to celebrate her memory and her legacy.