Thankful {Oh Snap Linky}

I am not a patient person. I can be selfish and hurtful. I wouldn't say that I'm the most generous or thoughtful. But I'm thankful. Every day my heart pours out thankfulness to my Heavenly Father for all He has given to me.

Especially for these three amazing people.

Photo by 559 Photography

Every time I look at their faces I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I don't deserve them. And even when I'm holding them in my arms I can't believe they're mine and how abundantly I'm blessed.

And I'm thankful that despite all of my flaws, Christ still loves me.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

-Amanda

Oh Snap Wednesday {LINKY} - 11/16

{Another} Harvest Fair

 This one was put on by the High School Ag Department

So much fun!

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Oh Snap Wednesday {LINKY} - 11/9

There is an orchard down the street from our house. Walnuts, I think. Some kind of nut...anyway, it's one of my favorite places to take pictures (of Noelle). 

She calls it "the forest." I can imagine how big it must feel to her. Have you ever revisited a place from you childhood that was gigantic to you back then, but tiny as an adult? Mr. G and I recently drove by the middle school we attended and could not believe how small it is to us now compared to how massive and intimidating it was all those years ago. 

Once she's deep into the "forest" she twirls around and pretends to be Rapunzel. I love watching her play and dance and smile and be the amazing little girl she is. 

One day she'll drive down this street and remember all the times we stopped and became princesses. She'll no longer see the magical forest but hopefully she'll remember all the fun we had chasing woodland creatures and making precious memories together. 

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Oh Snap {LINKY} eyes

My husband and I have green eyes. I always imagined having green-eyed babies, but God gave them both blue eyes. Beautiful, mesmerizing, breathtaking blue eyes. 

I wouldn't have it any other way.

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{Oh Snap}

Oh Snap {LINKY} Going Boo'ing

{Oh Snap}

BOO!

Boo'ing is a fun tradition that we do the week of Halloween. We don't go all out - baking several different treats and making elaborate goody bags - we keep it simple. This year Mr G baked his famous chocolate chip cookies and I made a little tag to tie onto the baggies.

With 10 bags of cookies, a flashlight, and running shoes we set off to BOO unsuspecting friends. 

Mission: Place cookies on the porch, ring doorbell and RUN!

Aaron and Noelle sneaking up to a friend's house. 

Boo'ing is more than a silly tradition. I get so much joy from giving and serving others and hope to set an example for my kids and show them God's love through my giving - even with the smallest gestures and acts of kindness. 

You can print the tag in a set of 4 here - "BOO" tag.

Happy Boo'ing!

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Oh Snap Wednesday - 10/12

{Oh Snap}

A few of my favorite vacations with my hubby:

Helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon and over the Hoover Dam.

Big Sur.

Hawaii - Big Island

Las Vegas - I'm not a fan of Vegas, but this trip was pretty fun. Blue Man Group, great food, and dancing!

Atlantis - Nassau

Great memories. 

Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - Weekend Edition

{Oh Snap}

This past weekend I had my very first yard sale! I spent a couple of afternoons last week going through the closets and found a bunch of stuff that we weren't using or going to use again - most of it new or hardly used. 

The night before the yard sale I organized everything in the garage and tagged each item with a price sticker (from the dollar store) so when 7am came all I would have to do is open the garage. I ended the night with a post on Craigslist and hoped a few people would show up in the morning.

At 6:50, I went out to take the Yard Sale sign down to the main road and there were already people waiting in front of my house. Clearly I underestimated the power of Craigslist. 

At 8am my street was filled with cars and people were stuffing Target bags with clothes, books, and other random things. It was great. Some of the larger items didn't sell, but the rest went fast. 

When I was gathering items, I asked Noelle to go to her playroom and find a few toys that she doesn't play with anymore to put in the yard sale. I was surprised when she came back with 9 toys she was willing to give up. Although, I'll admit that I was bummed that she decided to part with the blue sock monkey that she got for Valentine's Day. I gave her $4 from the yard sale to buy herself something new.

Unfortunately, Mr. G had a water polo tournament so I was alone - not something I would not recommend - but the price tags were a huge help. I only had one haggler, a woman who wanted a handful of things for $2. Not gonna happen, lady.

I ended up making enough money to buy winter clothes for Noelle and Noah and some comfy slippers for myself. Hooray for yard sales!

That night we went to a Fair in a town about 30 minutes away. Friends of ours live right across from the fairgrounds so we had some appetizers at their house and then walked over for Fair food and entertainment.

This is the only reason I go to Fairs. Crowds of people freak me out, but it's worth it for a funnel cake.

Then Sunday afternoon we went to a Fall Festival at a church in our town.

Noelle has always wanted her face painted and she finally didn't scream and cry when she sat in the chair got one.

She picked a Princess crown, of course.

Then nervously sat while the sweet lady who has no idea how to paint a crown artist drew on her face.

Told ya.

But she loved it. And I love seeing her smile.

It was a fantastic weekend. I love this season.

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Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - 9/28

{Oh Snap}

My boys.

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Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - 9/21

{Oh Snap}

iPhone pictures from last week.

Princess Noelle

A beautiful Saturday afternoon stroll downtown

Complete with a giant banana split

I only had two measly scoops :)

Or not------------->

At an old ice cream parlor-slash-diner that hasn't changed since 1920, or at least since my Sophomore year in high school which was the last time I was there.

Two of my favorites: sushi and thrift stores.

Don't forget to check your local thrift store for Halloween costumes. I scored an awesome Lobster costume for Noah for 6 bucks! I found it on eBay going for $61. Noelle also picked up a Disney Cinderella dress in great condition for $5.

Come back tomorrow for my No-Sew Pumpkin Tutu{torial}

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Oh Snap Wednesday {linky} - 9/14

{Oh Snap}

My sister-in-law, Anji, asked if I'd take a few pictures of her new little guy. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him again. He is so tiny and adorable. Isn't it strange that I don't remember Noah being that small but he was just 7 short months ago?

Conlan was such a great baby. He slept through the entire shoot and only peed on me once :)
Here are some of my favorite pictures:

I saw a photo like this one on Pinterest. It didn't come out as well as I planned in my head, but it's still cute. Both of my kids were able to hold their head up straight out of my womb so I wasn't used to handling a very sleepy and wobbly baby. If the pocket was a little bigger it would have been perfect.

Mr. G stood in for my brother-in-law, Lt. Todd Wild, who is serving overseas.

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