Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I was trying to catch up on the things I am grateful for, but I didn't quite make it, so I will just write a list. Before I write my list, I just have to say how grateful I am for my life. A couple days ago, I felt such a peaceful feeling of joy and contentment. I was just putting Reese in the bath and felt overwhelming joy for my life. I remember getting these feelings right after I was married and it was wonderful to feel these feelings again. That "peace that passeth understanding". I am grateful for a life that I love to wake up to. With that......Here is my list!

A husband that I love and loves me

A daughter who I adore

A wonderful family

Reese's hugs

our loving dog Sachi who is always excited to see me

the scriptures, prayer, temples

a warm home

running

the blessing to be a stay-at-home mom

a husband that has a good job

and here are things that I really like that I am grateful for

christmas lights and decorations

the Hallmark Christmas movies (I know.....I am getting old)

the multigrain chips they sell at costco (LOVE)

snowy days with no where to go

 

Grateful 11

#11- My ward family
I am so grateful for my ward. We have the most wonderful bishop and our ward is one of the kindest wards I have ever lived in. I think the dynamics of our ward is what makes it so special.  There are the couples that have lived here for over 50 years, then the families with kids my age, then there are the younger families that are around my age. I think this combination of amazing people just brings out the best in all of us. There isn't competition and I feel like Reese has friends as well as grandparents in our ward. Our youth are absolutely amazing and I have never seen so many different kinds of teenagers that have different interest and are all friends and love each other. We have almost 100 youth in our ward and almost 150 primary kids. We are surrounded by good families that raise their children well and we are lucky to call friends.

Grateful 10

#10- Sisters
I am grateful for sisters. Growing up, I have never been close to my sister. To be truthful, she hated me I am pretty sure she would tell you that she hated me.  We have never been close and we would always laugh that we were same blood, but from two totally different worlds. Up until about 2 years ago,  it is nothing short of a miracle that Brandy is now one of my best friends. I know for sure that Reese and Isla were supposed to come into our family for each other, but they have also brought my sister and I as close and sisters can be. I love that Brandy, Isla, Reese, and I always go shopping together, sledding together, and   that Reese and Isla are like sisters. I could have never imagined that Brandy and I could ever be this close and I am grateful for a sister that is such a great example. Our personalities have not changed and we are still very different, but now we love those differences in each other. Brandy is an amazing working women and very confident and can speak her mind. I am a stay at home mom who loves to be home all day with Reese, a lot of days I don't get ready, and I can't find my words when I talk to others. These are just a few differences that I love about my sister.

Grateful 7,8,9

#7-Memorable Days
I have realized lately that I can easily get caught up in cramming so much in a day and scheduling things that the day went by and we did not do anything real memorable. Today I tried to have a more memorable day and it was well worth it. We still had to go to the grocery store and the regular places, but we made a slight detour to the duck pond, which Reese loves. It only took about 15 min, but Reese was so excited and spent the next hour talking about the ducks. Ron had a meeting tonight so Reese and I decided to have a movie night. We watched "Brave" and ate frozen gogurts. Usually I just take Reese up to her bedroom, read her a few books, say our prayers, and put her to bed. Tonight, we turned on her "dream lite" and shut the door so it was really dark and rocked in her chair. It was fun just pointing at the stars on the ceiling until Reese fell asleep in my arms. Reese is a busy body and has fell asleep in my arms probably 3 times in the last 6 months so I love those sweet moments when I get to hold my sleeping child and everything is just quiet.


#8- My Grandma Kawaguchi
My grandma has about a week left to live and she is my hero. She is one of the strongest women I know and  is able to love so unselfishly. She has had a trial in her life that most of us cannot even imagine and I feel that she has endured it for so long because of her love for her family. I am grateful for her strength to endure, her example, love, and her legacy. She truly is my hero and I love her so much!


#9- Pictures...

I am grateful for photographs that capture the moment. We got our family pictures done a  couple weeks ago and Reese would not cooperate, but I am grateful for the candid pictures that were captured when we tickled her.  Reese just makes me laugh and I love her smile. Thanks to my friend Michelle at Aktiva Ink Photography for taking our pictures...

Thankful 4,5,6.....

Continuing to catch up on my Thankful days....
#4- Scriptures
"Scripture power keeps me safe from sin,..............the power that I get each day I read." We sing this song a lot in our house and I truly believe it. I made the commitment to read everyday since I started seminary in 9th grade and have been blessed so much by keeping this commitment. It seems that my prayers are most often answered when I am reading my scriptures and I love them. I also love that Reese loves the scriptures already. She carries around my scriptures and loves to go find them for FHE.

#5- Running, Running, Running (my body)
I would be a complete stress mess if I could not run. I love the feeling of pushing yourself to your physical limits and see how far you can go. I know sometimes I can get frustrated with my body because my legs are never going to be dancer legs, no matter how much I run, but then I remember that my muscular legs have allowed me to run 10 miles today and enjoy so many activities throughout my life.  I have realized lately how amazing the body is and how grateful I am for mine. This body of mine has allowed me to play soccer, run track, cheerleading, distance running, pilates, and many other things growing up. Now, having a healthy body has allowed me to dance with Reese, take Reese sledding, do laundry, clean the house, and just enjoy life to it's fullest. I am grateful for this body that has allowed me to do so many things!


#6- Spoon Me (Skinny frozen yogurt)

This is my go-to treat when I need a sweet fix. They have some new "skinny" flavors which I am addicted to.
                                                                    For a 4oz serving
                                                                          4 carbs
                                                                           40 calories
                                                                   Pure Yumminesss!

Thankful 1,2,3.......

I know I am a little behind of writing down what I am thankful for, but I thought that a week late, was better than never. There are so many things concerning the gospel that I am grateful for so I will not mention most of those things. I love this time of year to celebrate thanksgiving and spend time with family and friends. To take some time to just step back and reflect upon all that we have been blessed with.
#1- Temples
November 5th marked the anniversary of our sealing to Reese. Truly one of the happiest and emotional days of my life. I remember walking into the temple carrying my little baby and was the proudest mom in the world. As my little family all dressed in white walked thru the temple, everyone knew that we were about to be sealed and even though they didn't know us, they were excited for us. The sealing was beautiful and I have never cried so much in my life. I will forever be grateful for temples and the sealing power that I can live with my family forever.

#2- Adoption
Adoption has truly changed my life in so many ways. I am grateful not only for the opportunity to adopt our beautiful daughter, but the whole process. I have never been so humbled in all my life, but I am grateful for the testimony that I have gained through it all. I have learned to trust in my Heavenly Father in so many ways.
I am grateful for the selfless sacrifice of Reese's birth parents. They gave us such a priceless gift and I hope to one day be able to adequately express my love and gratitude to them. And then their is Reese..... she is my world and I love everything about her. We have a family now and Ron and I love being parents and are grateful for the opportunity it is to be a parent. Adoption gave us this and we hope to be able to adopt again and love another baby just as much.

#3- Laughter

Life would be so dull without laughing. I remember a time in my life when I was in college and so focused on school and working that I would forget to laugh. I know I wasn't laughing because I remember laughing until I cried at my sister's bridal shower and thinking, "I have not done that in a long time." Now, I laugh everyday! Reese is a little comedian and she thinks I am pretty funny too. Her laugh is so contagious and she thinks she is hilarious. Just last night I was sitting on the ground and eating some pumpkin dessert. Reese came over and sat down in front of me and just started saying, "Mmmmmmmm." Then she would look at my dessert and do it again, "Mmmmmmm." The funny thing about this is that Reese will just usually come up and start eating our food so I'm not sure why she was hinting so much that she wanted some dessert. Today, we were at Hobby Lobby with my mom and Reese was just trying to run away from my mom down the isle hysterically laughing. I could hear her laughing an isle over and couldn't help, but start to laugh. Running in a store is probably really inappropriate, but anyone that knows Reese, will soon realize she doesn't walk anywhere, she runs. 

19 months

 19 months and on the go go go. Reese has such a dynamic personality and I love everything about her. She definitely has her favorite things these days which causes a lot of excitement. She is talking a lot and I feel so bad when I cannot understand what she is saying. We have started putting her in time-out and I think we have been pretty unsuccessful. I usually put Reese in her timeout chair and she immediately starts to pull one of her silly faces. So I end up turning my head so she cannot see me laughing. Then I try to talk to her and ask, "Reesie, do we hit other people?" Then she looks up to the ceiling and says, "ummmmmmmmm, yes". Which I then turn my head again so that she doesn't see me laugh. So if you see my child throwing a tantrum, please understand that we are working on disciplining without laughing.

So here are a few of Reese's favorites at 19 months. 

Reese loves

-The Lorax movie (she prob watches it at least once a day)

-Yo Gabba Gabba 

Ron's IPAD ( she wants to play on it everyday when ron gets home from work)

-M&M's

-ice

-her silk pillow

-bubbles

-Playing hide n seek in the entertainment center

-wearing glasses

-flowers

-balloons

Some memorable things that Reese has done this past month are.......

-I found her with a spoon and my deodorant and having herself a little snack. Yuck!!

-screamed  "Lorax" during sacrament. 

-I know there were lots of funny things, but I cannot think right now.

The first real snow fall came about a week ago and Reese loved playing in it. This was her first time actually playing in the snow and it was priceless to see her reaction. I can't wait for the next snow storm so we can make a snow man.

watching a little "Lorax" with Isla. Who needs recliners when you have laundry baskets.

This is what we see a lot of at 19 months:) Reese loves to pull down her diaper and run around. Sorry about the crack shot, but it's just too funny.

Why I love October....

 It seems that each month I am discovering new things that Reese has not done before and it is exciting to me. Last year I was so excited to take Reese trick-or-treating for the first time, but this year, she actually enjoyed it. I thought I would jot down some of the things I love about the month of October......
1.) Dressing Reese in all the cute little Halloween outfits

2.)Making fun Halloween treats (thanks to pinterest)

3.) Getting "Boo-ed".  I still love the excitement of trying to drop off a treat and ringing the doorbell without getting caught.

4.) Painting pumpkins.  We didn't paint this one, but the ones we decorated were super colorful and had stickers all over them.

5.) Costumes. Reese was the cutest little super hero this year and she loved running around with her cape flowing.

6.) Another reason to see our friends. This is Reese's friend Charlie and they are so cute together.

7.) Our ward Halloween Carnival. The young men and young women in our ward put together a Halloween carnival for all the primary aged kids each year and this year was especially fun. There was a fishing game, face painting, obstacle courses, cotton candy, a balancing game, and lots of candy and food. Reese had a blast and loved getting lots of attention.

 At the Halloween carnival. Reese and her cute friend Meghan.

8.) Trick or treating with the cousins.... It is always so fun to see my nieces costumes and have the girls go to a few houses together. My mom being the amazing grandma she is, ordered pizza's so the kids could have some food before they went out and we could all be together. Reese walked into the first couple houses and I had to make my way to the front and grab her out of the houses. Luckily we knew the people and they didn't mind:) She loved knocking on the doors over and over again. She loved running from house to house and loved getting candy. It was so fun to see her excitement in everything that was going on. Halloween was just a fun magical night.