give thanks.

Despite the amount of complaining I seem to do these days......stressed about the build......stressed about being home alone with the kids.....stressed about work.......I have LOTS to be thankful for.

I am so thankful for Austin. He is such an amazing little boy. My favorite is all the imaginary play he does right now. Right now Austin loves animals and trains. What could be more amazing than combining the two!? Thanksgiving day we got out an old train set since my parents are still holding on to lots of our childhood toys. They are anxious to give it to us and get it out of their house, but it's probably a good thing they haven't packed it up for good. All of these old toys are Austin's favorite!

My mom recently bought Austin a cape and a mask. He loves putting it on and running around the house making an airplane noise. He loves when Jackie comes over to play and he was happy to share his super powers with her.

We were all looking forward to the wonderful weather that we heard would happen on Thanksgiving. We were all ready to get some family pics updated. Ava took a long nap in the morning and Austin took a nap in the afternoon. Before Ava was ready to go down for her 2nd nap, Austin was just getting up. Austin doesn't love to do anything when he first wakes up. I felt we didn't have a choice but to dress him up and get outside as Ava was already yawning and rubbing her eyes.

We got a few pics of the family or at least did our best to at least all be in the same frame regardless if everyone was smiling or not.

I am so thankful for Ava. She is so sweet and happy. Such a joy to be watching her meet milestones. She is a beautiful subject for photography and at least holds still for the most part. I can't believe it's already time to start thinking about her first birthday party. I know it will come fast once the holidays are here so it's never too early to start planning.

I am thankful for Jason. There isn't anything we haven't endured together.  Building can certainly put a wedge or a cliff for that matter, in any relationship. This process has pushed us to our limits and with it being around the corner from our move date, I can say that I see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are constantly saying how tired and stressed we are. He is my rock, end of story.

I am thankful for Family. Over the last year, my family has been nothing but supportive through our building process. We are knocking on my parents door at 8am, budging into their lives, and they don't even blink. We spent the full day of Thanksgiving doing what we do best. Play Hard and Love Hard. I don't really look forward to the big meal as much as I look forward to the aftermath. Everyone is full and ready to relax. The boys watch the football game in one room, while the girls craft and stamp in the other. As the night progressed, we all ended up on the floor playing with the kids and singing songs. Austin was a bundle of energy and loved chasing Jackie around and around.

I am thankful for Friends. I know most of my friends are wondering where I even am. I have disappeared from the earth. We live in this rented condo which has been great but is a disaster. I never want to have anyone over because it's not even worth trying to make it presentable. I think everyone is understanding of our situation and how crazy life is. I can't wait to start inviting people over and catching up.

There is so much more to be thankful for but I am also thankful for the few moments at night to myself and right now, this is one of them, so I am going to leave it at that and go back to catching up on the never ending DVR. The house is a mess, dishes need to be done, laundry has to be folded......but that can wait, the good feeling from mindless tv cannot.