Oh So Thankful!!!

I try to be thankful each and every day for the wonderful blessings in our lives and around Thanksgiving it is the perfect time to really think of all that we have to be thankful for. In this year that we have welcomed sweet Emily into our lives and as Kate has just turned another year older we are obviously thankful beyond what words can express for our sweet girls! I have watched as many people on Facebook have been giving thanks daily during the month of November in honor of Thanksgiving. Since I never do anything but share my blog posts on Facebook, I thought it would be fun to think of 30 things that the Speyrer Krewe is thankful for and just note them all in this post. In no particular order--

1. I think that I can speak for all of us in the Speyrer Krewe and say that we are all thankful to have one another!
2. We are also thankful for our extended families! Kate and Emily are so blessed with wonderful grandparents and lots of fun cousins, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents and many others!
3. I am thankful to have recently been able to stay home with my girls rather than return to work!
4. I am thankful for Nick, my great husband and excellent Daddy! He works hard, plays hard, takes amazing care of our girls and helps me out around the house.
5. I am thankful to be a mom!!
6. I am thankful for a roof over our heads! I love our house!
7. I am thankful that I have been able to breastfeed both of our girls! Excellent bonding experience and saves $$ too!
8. "DD" (DVD) players both in the house and in our cars
9. Coffee. Even though I haven't had caffeine in about 4 years I still love a good cup of decaf coffee
10. A glass of wine after getting the girls in the bed
11. For the addictive laughter of my little girls. Emily is ticklish and I can get a good chuckle out of her every night while getting her ready for bed. Whenever something really gets Kate laughing I do my best to keep it going no matter what it is because there is no better sound in the world than a true, heartfelt, no-worries-in-the-world laugh from your child.
12. I am thankful for my parents and in-laws. Having children has given me a whole new level of love and respect for our parents. It is impossible to know just how much they love you until you have children of your own. My wonderful parents have taught me so much, I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for them. And my father-in-law is one of the kindest people I have ever met and I am thankful to him and my mother-in-law for making my husband the man he is today. I wish I had more time with Nick's mom and that our girls could have met her, but I am thankful that I was able for the time that I did have with her and know that she watches over us every day.
13. I am thankful for technology. I don't know what I would do without my iPhone, iPad and our Mac
14. My camera! I may not be taking as many pictures as I should these days (I mean I should never stop taking pictures!) but I try to capture as many of the special day-to-day moments as I can.
15. My sisters and brother- and sister-in-laws
16. I am thankful that Christmastime is upon us! It is my favorite time of the year! I love the decorations and giving gifts to others. I am also enjoying getting to teach Kate all about Christmas this year.
17. I am thankful for friends, who although I may not see or speak to them all the time, when we are able to spend time together we are able to pick back up where we left off
18. Kate's school. Most importantly Kate loves it and I am able to give her friends to play with on a regular basis in a safe environment. It also give me a little quality time with Miss Emily
19. A husband who likes to cook
20. Nick is thankful for LSU sports--most importantly football but he is also a devoted fan who follows pretty much any sporting event that LSU participates in

Kate is thankful for...

1. Blankey
2. Paci (still working up the gumption to take it away from her)
3. All things Mickey/Minnie Mouse
4. Her Santa "DD" (DVD)
5. And probably the current top ranking toy--a Leap Frog picnic basket

Emily is thankful for…

1. Her big papasan swing. I don't think we could nap without it
2. The fact that she has been able to get her hands/fingers in her mouth the last couple of weeks. She is definitely looking like she'll be more of a thumb sucker than a paci girl…braces here we come
3. Her space heater, noise maker and bed. She is such a great sleeper and I truly believe it is due to these factors.
4. Her daily bath. She loves it!
5. Her sister Kate. Emily already thinks that Kate is one of the greatest things in the world. When she can, she is always staring at Kate and loves when Kate talks to her and gives her kisses. (I am also thankful that my girls love one another. It is an amazing thing to watch--that from birth Kate has truly loved Emily like she has always been here, and as I said, Emily already thinks Kate is pretty great!)

I think I could go on for many, many more…I'm so glad we have so much to be thankful for! I know Nick is also thankful for many of the things that I am thankful for and many more. He just wasn't given the chance to have any input in the list :) I hope all of you have had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving! Enjoy a few pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend--

Emily snoozing with Pop Pop at Aunt Fanny's before Thanksgiving dinner

Kate and Connor playing at Aunt Fanny's

Kate and Connor enjoying their Thanksgiving feast

We were happy that Uncle D, Aunt B and Claire stayed with us for most of the weekend. Kate and Emily had a lot of fun playing with Claire!

We hosted lunch with friends on Saturday and we all had so much fun watching all of the kiddos play