Our Thanksgiving Week!

We have enjoyed the BEST week this week!! Wyatt has been off since noon on Monday and we have enjoyed every single moment with him home! Wyatt LOVES his job so much and we are even more thankful for the time they allow him to have off! He gets to choose 5 weeks off each year and we are so blessed by this time together!! God has blessed us SO much this year with Wyatt's new job and special time as a family! We are so thankful for His continual provision!!! Here is what we did this week!

Monday night we got some super exciting, and totally unexpected news!! Some of our dearest friends are moving back to Springfield and we ARE SO EXCITED!!! :):):):) So ,we spent Monday night dreaming about how life is going to change again...and for so many FUN ways!! :)

Tuesday was such a FUN day! We went to school on Tuesday morning and Wyatt came and read to the kiddos in their classes and attended our Pilgrim Pizza parties! Then, we enjoyed our weekly lunch out with my mom! Tuesday evening we got our Christmas pictures taken and went to kids night at McAllister's since we were in town!! I love the banter that Wyatt and our kiddos have...we all just laugh and laugh when we are together, it is such fun!!

Wednesday we woke up and headed out to have breakfast with my dad!! We had a BAST!! My kiddos LOVE their grandparents so much, it is such a JOY to be able to spend such special time with them!! :) We had gathered some toys and clothes to give away to the kiddos that don't have any, so as a family we drive over to the Victory Mission clothes store and handed over our bags of goodies! It was so special to have our kiddos who are SO BLESSED by so many things, have such compassionate hearts!! We prayed over the bags of clothes and toys right there in the store and then headed out! Our Maddie and Zack asked who was going to get their things...they were SO excited to be able to share!! We pray every day that our kids will have compassionate and loving hearts to everyone, we were SO proud of them!! Wednesday evening, we went and spent some time with Wyatt's family for Thanksgiving! We had a nice time and look forward to having them to our house for Christmas!!

Thursday morning stated off with pancakes and my precious little family sitting around our table together, talking about what we are thankful for! This is a tradition on our family and Wyatt and I felt that it was something we wanted to continue!! It was hilarious...all of the things our kiddos said they were thankful for!! :) When we got to my parents house my Aunt and Uncle were there! Shortly thereafter another Aunt and Uncle showed up with my Grandparents and sister and brother-in-law! I LOVE my extended family and always have, but it is such a blessing to get to know them as adults!! They will always be my Aunt and Uncle, but they are also my friends, they have GREAT parenting advice and are just fun to be around!! :) I love my family! After an A-MAZING lunch (my mom is the best cook EVER:)) several of us went for a walk and then came home and started planning out our black Friday deals!! We also gathered around the table to share what we were thankful for! It was pretty awesome hear what God had done this year in each person's lived!! We serve a MIGHTY God, who LOVES us and HEAR's us each day!! WOW!!

Thursday evening my mom, sister Aunt, cousin and I headed to Wal-Mart about 9:30 to get our black Friday deals!! After making two trips in and out of Wal-Mart (we had to load our cars so we could go back in and find more!:)) we headed over to Target!! We had a GREAT time together and made some fun memories!! I got home about 4:30 a..m!! Friday we met our family at Hemingway's for breakfast and enjoyed some last minute time together!! Then we went over to the playland!! Our M and Z LOVED it!!! We spent the rest of the day shopping and napping and just being together!!

This morning we stayed at HOME and enjoyed the morning together!! We are looking forward to getting out this evening and meeting up with some sweet friends!! WHOO-HOO for an AWESOME week!! {And we STILL have TOMORROW!!!!!!!:)}

"Sorry"

I hate it when people use this word, to get out of things! You know...the heartless, mindless, non-commital, just-say-it-because-you-feel-like-you- have-to say-something-- "SORRY!" Grrrrr!! It is absolutely one of my pet peeves!! (DO you know the "sorry I am talking about!?!) You absolutely cannot mean that you are sorry for something if you say it 100 times within a 5 minute period!!! It is obvious that you don't mean it...you are just trying to show that you realize that you are doing something wrong and want to address it in the most non-commital way possible!! I see this in kiddos, I see it mostly in adults and it is a word we are teaching to our kids that really holds NO meaning and purpose!! DON'T say it if you don't meant it!! Our words must be spoken with intention and purpose, not just to get out of something!!

Since our kids are SO close together, they kind of figure things out at the same time!! :) Our kids are really good friends, they love to be together and appreciate that they always have each other around! Just recently have they figured out how to argue! Oh boy...take a deep breath and keep typing! :) In our household whenever someone gets into trouble they are required to say that they are sorry and ask for forgiveness!! Now, this is no easy task my friends, it is HARD to ask for forgiveness for doing something wrong to someone else!!! We also don't allow our kids to say grumpily or rudely, "SORRY!" and brush off whatever they have done! How will they EVER learn from that!?!? They won't friends, they won't lean, in fact they WILL learn that they can be rude and disrespectful and get away with it!! Like many adults have!! Our kids must say, "I am sorry for______, will you please forgive me for ______!?" They aren't allowed out of time out until they say these words!

These words aren't just for our kiddos! Wyatt and I also tell each other that we are sorry for whatever specific reason and ask for forgiveness!! Parents must always take the lead and set a good example because your kiddos are watching, every move you make!! Scary right?! Whether you realize it or not, they are!! There are many times that I have to ask for forgiveness from my kiddos for acting grumpy or for not taking special time for them!!

As I have been thinking about this, I have often thought about my relationship with God! How often do I say "SORRY" to God and not really mean it!? How often do I brush off a mistake I have made or a sin I have committed without really stopping to think about it and ask for forgiveness!! I am so thankful that our God is One of love and grace, otherwise I would be in BIG trouble!

So, as I step down from my soap box, I will wrap this post up with this!! If you really ARE sorry, don't just try to brush it off with a brash "SORRY!" Put on your big girl (or big boy) underwear and say you are sorry and ask for forgiveness because you really are sorry about something and you are seeking forgivenss!!