One more on the subject of thankfulness

If you've never received a text from your husband which reads: "Pls take bear head out of freezer. It needs to defrost to take to Dept of Fish & Wildlife tomorrow", you can thank your lucky stars.

I, on the other hand, am not feeling too thankful-- or lucky-- about this task.

Speaking of thankfulness...

We're pretty sure if Ryan could verbalize his thankfulness, he would tell us that he is grateful for balls. His first word, uttered months ago, was "ball." And his fascination with the round objects in his world continues to grow.

He is constantly scanning his surroundings for balls. A ball laying on a front lawn as we walk by leads to frantic pointing and chanting, "ball, ball, ball," in his sweet little voice. Pumpkins on a porch receive a similar welcome cry, "ball, ball, ball." In fact, I'm pretty sure the only reason he eats blue berries is because they fall into the "ball" category.

Last week at music class, we sat next to a very pregnant woman. Ryan toddled over and tapped her stomach, smiling back at me in wonder. I said, "yes, baby," and gently pulled him back to my lap. He immediately reached over again, tapping her belly. Then, to my embarrassment, he tried to lift her shirt, chanting, "ball, ball, ball," convinced that she was smuggling a basketball underneath. It was a long class trying to keep him away from the "ball" lady.

This week in music class, he spent much of the session with his nose pressed against the glass door, peering into the hallway. There sat a stool with tennis balls placed on its legs to allow it move quietly. Ryan was enamored with those four tennis balls on the legs of the stool. "Ball, ball, ball," he repeatedly chanted as I tried to coax him back to the singing and dancing happening inside the walls of the room.

Yes, indeed. We are pretty sure this little boy is most grateful for the plentiful supply of balls in his world.

Thankfulness

It's that time of year again-- the time of year when we try our best to pause our busy lives for long enough to recognize all of the goodness around us. Our thankful tree once again adorns the dining room, where adults and children alike add to the growing number of tags on the tree. If you peek at our tags you'll see that we are thankful for "turkeys to eat," and "a bed and house," and "our cousins." And so much more.


We are thankful that Curtis made it home safely from the annual Elk Hunt (with two elk and a black bear in tow). Lucy is thankful for a ride around the block in Grandpa's famous CJ Jeep.

We are thankful for two great fall sports seasons-- soccer for our Lu-bug, and volleyball for Mary. 

 We are thankful for the grandparents being close by to watch this little guy grow!

We are thankful when we watch Ryan stop, giggle, and hug the dishwasher when it happens to be in its wash cycle. He reminds us to relish the littlest joys.

 We are thankful for doting big sisters who give gentle pushes on the swings.

 And who tenderly help navigate bumpy paths.

Yep, so much goodness!

German Genes

True to his strong German work ethic, Papa offered to rake our leaves while visiting this weekend. How proud he was to discover that his granddaughters pitched in! That apple (ahem...leaf) doesn't fall far from the tree.