thanksgiving turned black friday

Wow, November is about to scream right off the calendar!
I better get Thanksgiving blogged before visions of sugar plums are dancing in my head.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving day with my mommy and my sister's family.
It was a great day!  Thanksgiving may be our favorite holiday together.
It was also sad and weird.  This was our first holiday without Ken, my stepdaddy.
There was a moment when we all gathered to pray for our meal that his absence was so noticeable to everyone.
But nobody said anything.
Wow, we are so thankful for his time with us and his influence in our lives.

I didn't take a single photo of Thanksgiving.
It wasn't on purpose.
I just forgot.
I already regret it.

Thanksgiving quickly turned to ads from the newspaper.
Suddenly, we all jumped up from the table and took off for Wichita.
We spent some time with Ken's mom, Ruth, in Wichita before we started shopping.
Our black Friday shopping started by 4:30 on Thursday afternoon.
We took a 4 hour break about 1:00 am for a nap and shower.
We got home from Wichita Friday evening about 6:00.
Yep, lots and lots of shopping.
Lots and lots of things marked off my list.
We made some fun new friends while standing in line at Walmart for 3 hours and Gordman's for 2 1/2 hours.
We ran into people we haven't seen for a while.
I truly do love all the people and excitement on black Friday.

My niece, Ellie, is a kindergartner this year.
When her teacher asked the class at the beginning of the month what holiday is in November, she excitedly exclaimed "Black Friday!"
That's my girl :)

thanks living

Thanks living - A friend used this term this week and I've been pondering it ever since.
She didn't define it in her fb post but she has defined it with her life.
Thanks living - a lifestyle of thanks for every small and big blessing in my life.
Wow, my life and attitude would be so different if I would remember this every single day.  Not just 1 day a year.  Not just for a season.  Every.Single.Day!

Like many of you, I'm thankful for my gorgeous, healthy family; my funny, fabulous friends who make me laugh and cry everyday; and so much more.

But mostly, I'm thankful for a Savior who took my sins upon His back so that I can live eternally with Him.  Let me never forget the many blessings He has poured out on me and my simple little life. 

Oh yeah, and I'm really, really thankful for a large Sonic happy hour diet cherry coke and some black Friday shopping :)

Happy Thanks Living

11.11.11

Veteran's Day.
A day to honor those who are serving or who have served our country in the armed forces.
I will do a better job of honoring these amazing people while they are living.
But today, I'm remembering and honoring a very special veteran who went home to be with the Lord way too soon.
Kenneth Michael Bradrick served 20 years in the US Navy.
Photos courtesy of Xpressions by Kim (Kim Stahly).

warrior bowl

The football season ended this weekend.
The 2011 Warrior Bowl.
Some of the happiest moments of my life.
Some of the proudest moments of my life.
Some of the hardest moments of my life.
Some of the saddest moments of my life.
All wrapped up into one weekend.

I love these boys.

It's no secret I could watch my little man play football every.single.day. 
And that still wouldn't be enough.
Happy and proud.

This tournament was the end of Eli's Warrior football career.
So sad.
He has had the most phenomenal coaching staff and team mates.  We really could not have chosen a better team for him.
Not only did his coach teach him how to be a better football player, he helped develop Eli's character.
So happy, proud and thankful.

We won our first game on Saturday morning against Goddard,12-0.
The wind was blowing 190 miles/hr which made the balmy 40* feel like 15*.  Well, sort of.
But, it really didn't matter.
So happy and proud.

We played Rose Hill on Sunday morning and won 25-19.
Bright sunshine and crisp morning air.
I don't think I've ever felt so exhilerated as I did when that exciting game came to a screaming end.

We played Derby in the championship game Sunday evening.

Well, actually, the boys played but the moms and sisters were pretty excited.
I LOVED wearing Eli's jersey while he played!
I think the moms may have been excited and anxious enough to beat Derby.  But, we let the boys play :)
We were ahead the first 3 quarters of the game. 
And then the wheels fell off our wagon.
All four wheels.
At once.
We were ahead 18-8 with 6 minutes left in the game.
We lost 38-24.
Yep, that's right.
Derby scored 30 points in the last 6 minutes of the game.

Our boys left it all on the field.
There were tears streaming under their helmets.
Tear.my.heart.out.

Once the shock wore off, they had one last huddle and Warrior battle cry as a team.

Wow, I really do love every one of these boys...and his family...and our Warrior family.
I'm so proud of what these boys have accomplished over the last 4 years but especially of what they accomplished this season.
I'm proud of their character and their sportsmanship.
I'm proud of be a Warrior mommy.

pink warrior

My favorite part of autumn is watching Eli play football.  I could seriously watch him play everyday and not tire of it.
As if I wasn't already super proud watching him each weekend, he asked for some pink gloves to wear while he plays.  Well, that made me cry.
I love it that he is passionate about breast cancer awareness.  I love it that he has taken my cause and made it his own.  I love it that he's proud to wear his pink gloves to honor his mommy.

I love it that he is cool enough to wear his pink gloves and do fun hand jives on the side lines.  He makes pink very cool.

I'm not very happy to see him checking out the cheerleaders during the game.  But he does look tough :)

My favorite play of every game is the kick off.  Eli sets the ball and makes sure every member of our team is set and then he gets them stoked for a big kick off.  It's really a cheerleader/football player play and I love it!

I don't think pink makes him look any less tough.  He's still a mean, lean, tough little player.

Wow, I love that kid.  I love being his mom.  Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for all the fun and spunk he provides for our family.  I'm proud to be #42's mom.

tinkerbell

I feel so liberated this Halloween!
I've never been a big fan of this "holiday" but I've never been brave enough to admit it.
But this year, I discovered there are lots of other "un-fun" moms out there. 
Whew, what a relief!  I'm not alone. 
Beki referred to herself as the halloween grinch.  I like that description.
I'm not opposed to Halloween for religious purposes.  I just think it's a lot of work to get a bucket full of candy.
I really, really don't like the scary part of Halloween.  Just not my style.

My poor Abi has been on the short end of my anti-Halloween stick.
I've never put any effort into her costumes.  Just pulled stuff out of the dress-up toy box.
But this year, I decided I owed her.  She wanted to be Tinkerbell.
Surely, we could come up with something Tinkerbellish.
We made a green and white tutu, designed a fun bright green costume, spray painted some shoes and borrowed some wings.
Wah-lah, Tinkerbell!

Add a purple jack-o-lantern bucket and it's a happy trick-or-treater!

We had the most perfect weather for Halloween this year.  A calm 65-70* all evening.
We traveled to the grandparents' for candy and then made the round in our neighborhood.
I don't think we've ever taken Abi around our neighborhood.
She loved, loved, loved it!

Hannah spent the evening with Grandma Susan handing out candy after basketball practice.
Eli had football practice and then hung out for a while at home eating our candy before going out with his friends.

It was strange taking just my baby out for trick-or-treating but she loved it!  She got to make the list of people to go visit and she was the center of attention for the evening.

I'm still not a big Halloween fan but this may have redeemed the holiday for me. 
It's hard not to get caught up in Tinkerbell's enthusiasm!