Thankful For Life's Blessings

So many people on Facebook are taking time each day to list what they are thankful for this month. I haven't jumped on that bandwagon, and the month is almost over, but each day I am reminded of how blessed I am. Blessed to have a healthy family. Blessed to have a precious little boy. Blessed to have enough to provide for our family. Blessed to have amazing friends that will stay at home with my son while I am out battling Black Friday hell to get him the coolest Christmas present ever. Just blessed.

The past weekend has been incredibly busy, but I have just had the best time with it. James was out of town hunting with clients for the weekend, and Cullen and I had a surplus of time to spend together. It was a tiring four days, but I really enjoyed the fact that Cullen wanted to cuddle and play and read books together.

Recently, Cullen has decided that he has to sleep with a laundry list of items. We have the dog pillow (thanks Tera!), the panda pillow pet (thanks Dana!), the blue silky pillow that probably isn't meant for sleeping on (thanks Jess!), his "Pets" blanket (thanks Peg!), his Carter's blanket (thanks Janet!), and his lovey of choice (thanks Ruthie!). More things to be thankful for. Anyhow, Cullen likes to bring everything downstairs and try to take it to school. Everyday, I hope that he will drop items on the walk through the house, and there will be fewer things to argue about in the car. I'm only mildly worried about attachment issues.

A further example of Cullen's attachment. Sunday night bath required his mouse lovey (thanks Peg!) and his blue blanket. Of course, they got wet, so they had to "sleep" in the bathtub. i.e. I washed them while Cullen slept. It was beyond ridiculous, but he was so happy while they were floating around with him.

Earlier this week, our first box of Christmas presents arrived. My amazingly prepared sister in law sent over our gifts from Japan, and there were a couple of great little birthday presents for Cullen included. We told Cullen his little shirt had a dragon on it. He told us it was a dog. We read the card. He was right. There was also this awesome wooden 3D puzzle of a pig. Cullen has been carting it around the house with him. So precious! Thanks to Chris, Jess, Ben & Claire!

Last night (as with each of the past several nights), we were eating leftovers so I could fulfill another Scout order. When Cullen eats a decent amount of healthy food for dinner, we usually let him have a treat for dessert like a few bites of ice cream, a Hershey kiss, or a few mini marshmallows. Last night, James must have put 20 marshmallows on the table. Cullen shoved as many as possible into his mouth and kept the last few in his tightly clenched little fist before James even put the bag away. James kept trying to get Cullen to say, "Love you, Mommy" with all those marshmallows in his mouth. His very own game of chubby bunny. 

Yesterday, I managed to order our Christmas cards. By the time I combined our Costco discount with a couple of coupon codes, I was able to get the price down to something that didn't make me want to cry, and I paid a little extra for two-day delivery. They will be in the mail to friends and family on Friday. I can't wait to hold them in my hot little hands!

The day before Cullen's birthday, we scheduled family photos with Robin Maxwell over at Life In Bloom Studios. Robin is an amazing photographer, and we are in love with her work. When I was in middle school, Robin was my "coach." I put it in quotation marks, because she honestly just let me be the manager of the basketball team so I wouldn't have to take P.E. I reminded her of this the last time we were there, and she laughed. She told me I didn't belong in P.E. Truth be told, I don't belong anywhere near any sports when I am more than a spectator. Someone could get hurt.

I don't want to ruin the surprise of our awesome card, but this one below is a little sneak peek of her work. It is actually one part of a progression of pictures. As soon as I have the prints in, I am heading straight to Hobby Lobby for a frame. Yay for more Christmas decor! 

Today, both of our offices are supposed to be closing early, so I'll be heading to pick Cullen up from school early (he is one of the 9 students there, down from the normal 65), and we'll be going to the zoo. I'm so excited to have family time!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving with my parents, and tomorrow night our amazing friends, Lee and Megan, will be coming over to help keep an eye on Cullen while James and I head out in the middle of the night to collect discounted gifts for Cullen. Cullen is really excited about the Christmas tree and presents, and that just thrills me. Last weekend, I tried to explain Baby Jesus. He did not care. We'll just keep sharing that story. Someday, it will mean to him what it means to me.

Love to all and Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo ashley