Turkey Time!

I am so happy to celebrate this year as a family five. We started the Thanksgiving tour at my Mom and Dad's house with a lunchtime feast. We played, we ate, Jenna cleaned, and we played some more (just checking to see if the sis is still reading my blog!).






We then headed to Jeff's Aunt Margy and Uncle John's house for feast number 2...yup, back to back feasts. The turkey was not the only thing stuffed that day!! When we arrived Roger (Jeff's dad) was surprised to see us since he did not think we would make an appearance...but, as the only California Murry "kids" we have to represent.

The final feast was on Friday in Irvine with my dad's extended family: 38 family members!! It took 3 turkeys to feed this crew!







After that we came home with three very tired and very full little turkeys. It was a great year, and already the
girls are gearing up for Christmas!!

11 Things in 2011 Thanksgiving

I want to remember the things that God has done this past year in my life, but since my memory is short, here are 11 things from 2011:

1. The blessing of Rachel Lee. There really is nothing like this cute, active smiley charming baby girl of mine. God formed her and created her to fit in our family and to bless us and others with her sweet disposition. I am truly blessed and when I sit and think about how wonderful ALL my girls are I am moved to tears. Seriously crying happy tears and thankfulness right now.

2. My husband. The other day I was complimented that my kids seemed to be balanced in taking care of themselves but also know when to ask for help. When I was asked my secret I simply said, "I married well." Jeff really keeps me balanced in my thoughts and feelings, and helps me as I try to parent our girls. He is the greatest person, and although there are things that drive each other crazy about each other (gotta keep it real y'all), he is a blessing beyond blessings, and I can't believe we've almost known each other half of my life!!

3. A stable job that Jeff really enjoys, and the privilege of being home with my girls.

4. Making financial ends meet every month and seeing God provided month after month in surprising and incredible ways. Truly amazing!

5. HEALTH! After all five of us completing our rounds of antibiotics I am grateful to be healthy and active, and to have a healthy happy family again. You never know how great it feels to be healthy until you are sick.

6. Our church...with all the quirks and crazy things that happen, our church strives to love God and love our community, and it's neat to be apart of a gospel centered church.

7. Garage sales. One day I will devote an entire post to my findings in garage sales and include tips for you all who want to get the most bang for your bucks...but for now, I will say PRAISE GOD FOR GARAGE SALES!!

8. Friends. I've lived in California for three years this January, and although I still miss my friends from Boston (although most of you Boston folk no longer live in Boston) I am so thankful that we can stay in touch through blogs, facebook, texts and calls. I am also thankful for the friendships that we have here in San Diego, and praise God that I am developing some deep friendships with people around me.

9. Running. I love running.

10. Sleep. I love sleeping.

11. A book club that has both inspired me to read different genres and has made me FINISH books!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him you creatures here below
Praise Him above you heavenly hosts!
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. AMEN!

Total Love

Giggles

We love our little Rachel Lee giggles!!

School Time

I have two excellent student enrolled in Mommy Preschool this year: Kate and Hannah. Kate attends Monday thru Thursday (Friday school is closed) and Hannah is only a Monday/Wednesday student.

Kate is a delight. My favorite part of teaching her is that I delight in her silliness. This was a conversation the other day:

Holding up a flashcard of letter C
S: Kate, what letter is this?
K: Can't tell you (said in a sing-songy delicate voice)
S: This is school though, so you can :)
K: You have to guess it...
S: I know what the letter is, and I want to see if you know it.
K: I'm thinking of it...do you know what it is?
S: Yes, it's letter C.
K: Yes it is. Very good. Now, what's the next letter?

She's so cute too! When she doesn't know an answer she either evades the question or says, Toodle. In fact, even when she does know the answer she sometimes just says Toddle. It's her word for anything, and she uses it often around the house.

I love teaching her and am so glad she has joined Mommy Preschool this year!

Hannah is an excellent student as well. She surprises me with all that she knows, and I have started checking out some beginner readers from the library. She prefers to listen to me read, but she has all the reading readiness skills, so now I am just waiting for her to want to read.

She is so eager to finish workbooks, and often competes with Kate to try to finish her page first. This was a conversation between the two of them:

H: Kate, I bet I can finish my page first.
K: I bet you can.
H: Ready, go!
K: WOW! You're doing a good job! (not even starting her work)

It really is a blessing to see my girls grow in their skills, and I really enjoy being able to stay home with them and be apart of these early skills. Praise God for the good gift of family, and the blessing of being together!

And another one of Kate writing her name:

Fail

Hannah and Kate were sitting on the ledge of the fecnce playing so nicely that I wanted to snap a picture of the two of them.


Then I thought...Wow, wouldn't it be great to get a picture of ALL three of my lovely ladies?? I picked up Rachel Lee, and...




...another failed attempt to get a good photo of all three. But, I have to say, that even crying Rachel Lee is a beauty!

VIP Day

If your school was having a bring someone special to school day, who would you pick? Well, Hannah picked none other than..
GRANDMA SUE!!



Kate literally collapsed on the step as Grandma Sue drove away with Hannah and she stayed home with me and sleeping Rachel Lee, crying silent tears of shear sadness. But when Grandma Sue returned she took Kate out to Starbucks for a special vanilla milk with whipping cream...who could ask for a better VIP?

Waking up with Dad

I am very fortunate to have an early rising husband who gets up with my early rising girls (as well as unloads the dishwasher before I am up!). The girls love their time with daddy too. Here they all are, piled on a couch reading a book before I got up. It was so cute, but of course, by the time I came back with the camera the moment had almost passed.

Dancing

Hannah is in a whole new phase of art. She spends soooo much time coloring, painting, cutting, gluing and taping. Here is a picture she made for me of me dancing:

With all the busyness of life, I am blessed that she thinks of me dancing. I love her outlook on life! And what a talented little artist, right?!?

What's Out There?

This little girl stood at the door saying, "Ba-ba-ba" for about 30 minutes straight. What kept her there??

Her daddy was doing some yard work and she was watching him and wanting to be out there with him.

She loves the outdoors, and more than that, she LOVES her daddy. Can't say I blame her since I too love the outdoors and even more than that, I LOVE Jeff.

Cutie Pa-tutie

First PARENT - Teacher conference

We just had our first parent teacher conference where I was the parent and not the teacher. Although it was for preschool and not elementary school, I loved getting to sit across from her teacher and just talk about my child for a little. We were given a goals sheet where she checked off the things that Hannah could do, and it's nice to have a second opinion validating what I already knew: Hannah is brilliant and delightful in every way. Here she is, dressed as a super Superhero, Spider-girl, on her way to her preschool parade.