Crops...

I am thankful for crops....When I first started scrapbooking, I did it in the comfort of my own home. I couldn't understand why people would want to spend money to go somewhere to scrapbook when you could do it from home for free.

NOW that I have children and a busy home life, getting out to a crop is fabulous...It is really the only time that I can find time to actually scrapbook! I LOVE crops for the time that I have set aside to only scrapbook, for the social time with friends, and for doing something I love with my "out-of-the-house" time.

These pictures are from January 2009 at Right at Home. January is a great scrapping month for me because the winter is a bit slower for my photography business. January is also the time that Erica, Rebecca and I head to the Holiday Inn, Taunton for a weekend crop. Friday at 6pm through Sunday at 2pm...just fabulous!

Loving kids...

I am thankful for kids that love each other and play together...most of the time! We absolutely have our moments of fighting and jealousy, but overall, there are quite a few things that they love to do together. They love to play outside (especially in the sandbox), they love to play house (cooking with their kitchen and playing with their "teddy" animals upstairs), they both love to do puzzles and art projects together and they love play-doh.

Just recently, Pat (our daycare lady on Mondays) told me that she has never seen such a loving brother. When he is there, he is saying, "Kelsi, sit next to me, Kelsi play with me, Kelsi here have this, Kelsi I love you....This is MY sister Kelsi." She can't get over it!  That made me so happy...I hope that he is always protective of his sister and that they always remain close as they get older!

Trips to Florida...

I am thankful for our trips to Naples...Tyler and Kelsi love to visit their Noni and Nono and sleep in their house. Tyler talks about his "bed on the ground" there all the time (and Kelsi talks about sleeping in her bathroom - but that will change this year!). They love the pool, the beach and the zoo that we always visit! We are thankful that we will be making our annual trip again this year...Special thanks for our "early" Christmas present of airline tickets!!

(Photos from April 2009)

Cousins....

I am thankful that my children have cousins...Although we don't get to see everyone very often, we spend a lot of time talking about everyone! It is something that I had always wanted as a child (my two cousins were quite a bit older than me, so we weren't together very often), so I am so happy that my children will grow up with theirs!

.com computer....

Today I am thankful for Tyler's Click-Start Computer...He got it when he was two and couldn't really use it until he was 2.5 almost 3 (Here he is 3.5). He still uses it almost everyday...and he has learned SO much from it! I honestly think that he learned how to write his name from it - just from seeing his name and letters so much!

Just this week, he is now calling it his ".com computer" (dot-com computer). I think he hears web addresses on all of the tv stations, and he has now associated it with his computer....he is such a riot!!

Good friends...

I am thankful for good friends...This weekend we went out for Douglas and Brent's birthdays...We headed to CBS Sports Scene (overlooking the stadium) and had a great time. Douglas was overly thrilled when we had the waiters sing to them...it is totally his favorite thing (haha)....The super cool thing is that the cakes were "on the house"...Todd and Troy went to school with the manager and he totally knew Erica and even recognized me...amazing...So nice of him...

This is the same group that went to Falmouth this summer for a couples weekend...We have since named it The Falmouth Shore after a slightly rough end to our night...reminiscent of the show The Jersey Shore that is very popular now!  So I have to say that I am thankful for my Falmouth Shore Friends!

Home cooked meals and a fabulous pot...

I am thankful for home cooked meals...Most often they are made by Douglas (in the recent couple of years), but sometimes, I make the time to cook (and if not, I am his little helper!). Regardless of who does it, it is always nice to have a hot meal at the end of the day. We always eat as a family (except for when I am working - then they are down to 3), but for a little while there recently, we were eating out more often than we should. We have gotten back on a "home cooked  meal" kick for the last few weeks and I am thankful for that. These pictures are from one night when I cooked. I made a Kale and Lentil soup from a Racheal Ray recipe and used my dutch oven that I am also thankful for! It is a rather expensive pot, but it well worth it! There are so many recipes that call for it and it works like a charm!!