Sophie's Thanksgiving Program

Sophie's preschool Thanksgiving program has come and gone and the kids did a great job with their meal preparation and performance.

As always, the tables were decorated with festive crafts and the meal was served after the kids filed in and said the prayer.

"We give thanks, we give thanks, we give thanks for friends and food!"

"Amen!"

Sophie and I were very thankful that Great Verna came to spend the morning with us.  And also that she helped all the children make applesauce earlier in the fall in preparation for this program.

After a tasty meal, the kids returned to the risers to entertain us with their Thanksgiving songs.

Incorporating handmade tom-toms into the music.

Mya & Stella approve of their homemade pumpkin cake.

The three girls with their buddy, Jax.

More friends.

Nana & her granddaughters.

And one with Great Verna too!

These next few crack me up.  Mya did NOT want her picture taken.  Actually, none of them were very excited about this photo op we were having.

But we can always count on Stella to smile!!  

Standing seemed to cheer up the two on the left.

And finally, the best one of our preschoolers.

Lisa's Kids

We are so blessed to be able to take our kids to such a wonderful babysitter during the work days. Our kids are loved and cared for as they would be at home with the bonus of having their cousins and friends to play with every day!

Every one of these kids has been coming to Lisa's house since their mother's maternity leave ended and Lisa knows each of them about as well as their own parents!

As the parents of these spirited, spunky, smart and sometimes crazy children... we wonder all the time how she does this every day, on top of managing her own family and keeping such a warm, tidy home. But she does. And the kids love her. She's super woman!
For a special Christmas gift this year, Lisa asked a friend to take pictures of her with the kids. Groups pictures, individual families and a sweet stacked hands picture. She put them in a collage for each family and gave them to us at our Christmas party this year. What a wonderful and memorable gift.

The Magnone kids: Charlize (age 4yr 3mos), Jaxson (nearly age 3) and Jagger (age 6yrs 3mos). Charli goes to preschool at my mom's school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Jagger is in all-day Kindergarten this year. Their dad is Lisa's nephew and their mom is Nichole, whom I've mentioned several times on my blog.

The Rethman kids: Mya & Stella (age 2yrs 7mos). Next school year, Jax, Mya, Stella & Sophie will all be starting preschool in the Tues/Thurs class! That ought to be interesting! ;)

Love the chipped Christmas nails. ;)

The Riedeman kids: Will (age 4yrs 7mos) and Sophie (age 2yrs 9mos).

We love you, Lisa! Thank you for all you do!!!

I Am Thankful...

...for these sweet children.
For making me a mother and showing me that my heart is capable of loving bigger than I ever thought possible... for bringing even more joy and happiness into Craig's and my heart... for teaching me to pay attention to the beauty of the world... and for reminding me that life is always more fulfilling when you're giving of yourself to others.

On this Mother's Day, I am also so very thankful for my own mother, whom I continue to rely on every day for love, guidance and an open ear. Her unending support reminds me that my work as a mother will never be done. And the older my children get, the more my love and appreciation grows for all that she has done for us.

So, happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! For all that you do and all that you give, your children are blessed. And blessed is our world for your contribution to making it a better place!

P.S. - I took the above picture during our trip to Schedel Garden on Sunday. There are LOTS and lots more where that came from. Stay tuned!

We Are Thankful

Will's nightly bedtime prayer:

(recited on his own)

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this day.

Thank you for mommy and daddy,

Will and Sophie,

Brutus and all of our family and friends.

Thank you for our safety and our health and our freedom.

Please keep us healthy and safe tomorrow.

Help us to sleep well tonight,

so that we can have a good day tomorrow,

be good people and make good choices.

Amen.

We have much to be thankful for this year.

As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, we are taking the time to realize the blessings God has given us. Health, safety, freedom, family... just to name a few at the top of our list.

Not to be overlooked, however, we are also thankful:

1) for preschool parties

2) for our country (saying the Pledge of Allegiance)

3) for silly turkey songs

4) for homemade Tom Toms

5) for little Pilgrims

6) for homemade pumpkin bread and homemade butter prepared by little hands

7) for school friends

8) for babysitters that go the extra mile when I can't be home with my little ones :)

9) for fulfillment and gratitude in our hearts

10) for library books that teach us the meaning of Thanksgiving

(and others that are just fun)

11) for healthy snacks

12) for washable paint and cute, little thumbs

13) for portable seats

14) and personal space :)

15) for a multi-tasking Nana

16) and the bigger portion of a broken wishbone

17) for grandma's sweet rolls!

18) for the bestest sister-in-almost-law we could ever ask for

19) and brothers-in-law too!

20) for indoor playgrounds

21) and botched photo attempts by mommy :)

22) for wonderful cousins we don't see nearly enough

23) for family just like "girlfriends"

24) for gullible attempts to "reach up for the ceiling"...

... and realizing that an under-arm-tickle will follow every time :)

25) for not one, but TWO much-needed, date nights over our long weekend... thank you mom and Marilyn for babysitting... and P.S. "Love and Other Drugs" is an awesome movie!!!

26) for tender kisses on sleepy heads

27) for matriarchs in the family that can manage a FULL Thanksgiving feast + breakfast the next morning in a tiny, hotel kitchenette for our annual tradition at Maumee Bay State Park (think lots of chafing dishes and crock pots!)

28) for Thanksgiving Day parades and music to dance to

29) for grandmas that don't mind playing "taxi" (even with an open container in the "car" - LOL)

30) for ginormous birds purchased from a hard working 4H kid

31) for unshrinkable cotten comfort

32) and poses that are a dead give-away for orneriness :)

("if I can't see you... you can't see me going up the stairs like you told me not to...")

33) for new friends that provide complete Turkey Day entertainment (and, essentially, peace for parents)... who knew that a game of "chipmunks" could be so fun?... or so lengthy? :)

34) for more attempted (and botched) photo moments with our squirmy girl

35) for a whole new set of books that don't belong to us!

36) for furry friends

37) and handsome boys.

We are thankful!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!