Counting our blessings

"Count your blessings name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done."

We are so thankful every day for the many blessings in our lives, but I can't help but be even more thankful today. Here's just a few things we are thankful for today:

• our family, most of all our precious daughter
• our friends
• our home
• our jobs- Cliff and I both have been given our dream jobs in the last two years. How many people can say that?
• our health
• our church family
• a free country and soldiers like my brother who selflessly serve so that we can enjoy freedom

I hope you are all counting your blessings today and every day. It's easy to look at what others have and be envious, but we have so much compared to so many others who are less fortunate. I am also very thankful for having a job that gives me a week off to enjoy with this girl:

Worth the read

I've been following Angie Smith's blog since its beginning. For anyone not familiar, she began blogging while pregnant with Audrey Caroline, a baby who she was told would not live outside the womb. Her story was so amazing, and touched me at a time when I was grieving the loss of our first baby.

Well now she is pregnant again, and I beg you to read her latest post. I love how God speaks to us in such creative ways.

We are loving being off all week for Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year, and I will be back to blog about that and post a few new pics in the next couple of days. Until then, here's a snap of our sweetie pie playing at the park today.

Jabbering

Amelia is constantly jibber jabbering. And by constantly, I mean, she goes to sleep chatting in her own language, she does it in her sleep sometimes, and she gets started as soon as she wakes up and never stops during the day. I have no idea where she gets this!

I caught her pretending that Daddy's ipod was a phone and got some of her chatting on video. What can I say? She has good taste in technology.

(You'll have to go down and turn the music off on her birthday slideshow before playing, or you can just click on the title of this post to view it only and the birthday song won't be in the background.)

Wishing it was an iphone from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Phrases commonly heard around our house

• No, Amelia, you cannot chew on your shoes. Or the remote. Or mommy's cell phone.
• Mimi, everything in this bath tub is here for you to play with and enjoy. Toys, shampoo bottles, wash cloths, you can play with it all. However, you may not play with my razor when I forget to put it out of your reach. I know this ticks you off, but that's just the way it is.
• Even though you are having the time of your life in the tub, all good things must come to an end. Please stop being a drama queen and throwing a fit every single time I get you out of he tub. Would you also please stop throwing a fit every time you have to get your diaper and pajamas on after your bath? We do this every night. You should be used to it by now.
• Amelia, please stop throwing your sippy cup from your high chair with such force that you crack the cup. We are not made of sippy cup replacing money around here.
• Amelia, please stop falling out in the floor every time you don't get your way. That is not the way to get noticed around this house. Daddy and I will walk away from you and laugh at you about it when you aren't looking.
  

It seems like all I ever say to her is "NO" these days! But I know that it must be done, and it will be. Even if it results in falling out in the floor fits. And it does, almost every time. But sometimes I do say "YES." Like when she asked me to take her for a spin around the neighborhood in her new wagon from Uncle Jeremy.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Mimi and I want to wish her da-da a Happy Happy Birthday today! Since he has an away game, Amelia and I will have to eat his cake without him.

I never would have married someone who I didn't expect to be a great father, but it still amazes me and melts my heart seeing Cliff interact with Amelia. They are just crazy about each other. Even after 8 years, I'm still kinda crazy about him too.





We make the same faces when he kisses us! We love you, Cliffy!

Piggy Tails

The princess hasn't been feeling well this weekend, so we've been cooped up. Tonight she felt a little better so we played babies and played with our hair while Daddy was gone to practice.

Yay for enough hair for pigtails!

Halloween and a surprise

I'm still in reminiscing mode, so I had to dig up this one from last Halloween:

We brought that little kitty cat home from the hospital last year on Halloween, and I immediately had to change her out of her precious going home dress into some seasonal attire. She was ticked off that I took her paci out for the picture.

And here she is this year:

Yesterday we took the little ladybug to our friend Tucker's first birthday party. It was such a cute costume party, and all the little kiddos looked so adorable all dressed up. Here's Tucker tearing into his cake:

He destroyed it! It was so cute to watch. I've never seen a child tear into a birthday cake quite like that.

Another one of the ladybug:

We were too busy visting and playing to take many photos at the party. When we got home we hung out in the yard and watched all the trick-or-treaters. Daddy was on a mission to give out all our leftover birthday party candy, and Mimi and I played outside until she wore out. She had already gotten to go trick-or-treating at school last week, so we decided not to go again. Next year, we will be all over it. We live in a great neighborhood for trick-or-treating, and I am already looking forward to it.

Aunt Katie stopped by all dressed up for a party, and Amelia didn't recognize her at first and was scared. But then she realized who it was when she saw a camera in her face:

Always a good hostess, here she is handing out candy:

Then she decided to crawl around in the damp grass like a real ladybug:

She has a runny nose today, so this was obviously not a good idea.

Then, after church today, we went over to Grammy and Papa's house to see a surprise guest:

Uncle Jeremy popped in from Iraq! He's not home for good, just a two-week leave. He didn't tell anyone he was coming home, and just showed up at my parents' house. You can imagine their reaction to see him walk in!

The Davis siblings all together:

Mimi and Aunt Mare in their paisley dresses:

Thanks to Aunt Mare for these pics. I left my camera at home. And just because it is cute and doesn't fit in anywhere else, here's a shot of the princess in her kicks Aunt Mare gave her for her birthday:

Such a big girl now! Aunt Mare also got her the ladybug costume for her birthday, but then ended up getting her more cute presents to open at her party. That little Mimi is spoiled by her aunts and uncles!