A LOT to be thankful for.....

I am SO very thankful for my family. I learn more and more every day just what feelings my parents have had for me all these years through my feelings for my own child. I must say it has made me even more thankful for the wonderful people in our lives.

It also means a lot when Brooke is asked at school what she is thankful for and she tells the class, "My momma Vicki and my daddy Steven." I have heard so many other kids be thankful for the pets or their toys....so, this means even more to me!

This time of year we don't get to spend as much quality family time with Steven as we would like, due to cotton stripping. But, I am thankful for this time for many reasons. To sound silly, absence DOES make the heart grow fonder. Brooke and I both miss our time with Steven terribly, but it does make us grab onto him when he is home and make the most of our time together. It also makes me get out of my own routine and try to think of ways to keep a little girl's mind off of the fact that her Daddy isn't home.

I am thankful for my angel of a daughter, who never seems to get tired of....well, ME!

I am thankful for friends who try to make Momma's feel like princesses too!

We've had a LOT of play dates, book readings, craft time, lunches and dinners with friends.

With friends at a Princess Tea Party.

Her "hurry up and take the picture so I can eat this thing" look.

Brooke and Brooklyn.

We've done things I cannot say I would have normally done. Such as waking up earlier than normal on a Saturday morning to go have breakfast with Santa. Thanks to wonderful friends giving us tickets, we will finally have a professional picture of Brooke with Santa!

This year, she sat in his lap like SUCH a big girl, told him she wanted a violin for Christmas and when the photographer asked her to smile she had the sweetest grin on her face. She hugged Santa and told him to have a Merry Christmas. I cannot wait to see the pictures, and of course I will share when they come in.

Brooke and Marleigh after Breakfast with Santa.

I am thankful for my child's very own sense of style. I let her at least once a week choose every single thing she is wearing without me changing a thing. She seems to now color coordinate really well. It may still be way too many accesories for my own taste, but she walks around with such pride because she dressed herself without any help.

I am thankful for everything (well almost everything) Brooke is learning at her preschool. She loves going to school and asks every single morning if she can go today, even on the weekends.

This week they had their Thanksgiving Feast, so she was ecstatic to get to eat with her friends. Here she is with her classmates.

Even though we DO miss Steven, I am very grateful to him for all the hard work he does in order for me to be able to stay home with Brooke. I don't think he could ever understand just how much I appreciate and enjoy this time with her. Steven, thank you for all the sacrifices you make for OUR family. Oh yeah and for putting food on the table too. Wink, wink.