This week on FaceBook someone started a challenge to post every day something for which one is thankful. I love challenges like this. It helps me realize what's important and how much God has blessed me, and us. I challenge you to think of something specific every day from now until Thanksgiving to be thankful for. Write it down, share it, dwell on the things that are good in your life. My hope is that you and I will begin to see all the wonderful things in our lives, and find something good in a seemingly bad situation. Today, I am thankful that my children are physically and mentally perfect, even if it means they have the ability to throw a tantrum!

Murray

Murray is our dog. He's a chocolate lab. We got him when he was a puppy in 2003, which makes him about 6 1/2 years old now. But the cool thing is, he doesn't look or act like a 6 year old dog. Not that I'm an expert on dogs' ages, but, I have to say, Murray is one fit dog! He and I used to go for runs on the farm near where we lived at that time and he always enjoyed it. He began to realize when we were going simply by what clothes I was donning. Even to this day he remembers my "go for a run" clothes and he gets happy and excited when he sees them being pulled out of the drawer.

Since we moved, Murray and I don't go for those same runs anymore, but he's found a new passion: chasing the boat! He hears that marine engine fire and his ears perk up! He'll chase that boat and keep pace with it for the length of the lake. I'm quite impressed because top slalom ski speed is 36mph. Most of the people skiing around here ski at 34, but Ora is still in the young men's age group that skis at 36. Murray is very careful to keep his eye on the skier too. If a skier falls during his pass, Murray puts the brakes on himself and watches to make sure he's okay.

Murray is a great dog for our family. He loves to be outside as do we. I get a kick out of every time he rolls over on his back, twisting from side-to-side and end-to-end, and I especially enjoy watching him slide on his back down our hill. I believe he's gone from top to bottom in a single slide before. But he also is very protective of us. When he senses "danger" he barks so tough, even I would be scared to mess with him. But he's all bark and no bite. He has never once snapped, nipped, or even growled at the kids. If something, or someone, bothers him, he quietly gets up and goes away.

He loves to be the center of attention too. He'll bug you til you pet him! And he's so soft and silky, you just enjoy running your fingers in his fur. He loves a good rub behind his ears too. If he's especially wanting attention he nudges your hand or your arm with his nose to make your hand fall on top of his head. He's so smart to figure out how that works!

We all love Murray very much and we are so proud to call him our dog. We are blessed to have him in our home.

Big Words!

Today I overheard Meadowe use the word "Impressive." And not just to say it, but with intonation and in context. Ora's always thought that using large words was a sign of intelligence. I know she's a smart girl.

Finn can count from 1 to 9, and it's the cutest thing I've ever heard. "whan, too, fee, fore, fie, six, semmen, eit, nie!" And he points at something different for each number.

My children are geniuses!

A Little Bit of Everything

So, it's been a while since I've been up here to add new photos and stories. And I've given it some thought: Why, if I can update my facebook at least once a day, can't I update my blog more often? I have pictures to share, and stories to tell. Why don't I take the time to do this more often? So, I'm going to try something new. Just a little bit every day instead of a lot once a month. It may be just a quick story of something one of the kids did or said, or it may be a big deal of an activity for one of them. And so, rather than try to recap the past 6 weeks (yikes! has it really been that long?!) I'll start with today, and, should I run out of material (fancy that!) or if we have an extremely boring day (hey, it happens) I'll tell a great one from the past!

Meadowe is thoroughly enjoying preschool and loves learning letters and sounds. She writes her name all by herself. Today she came home with rice in her pockets. I asked, "What's with the rice in your pockets?" Matter-of-factly she replied, "We played at the rice table today." Nothing special, as if it's something she does every day at school, but I know she really enjoys doing that.

Finn gave us a serious scare on Saturday. He slipped and busted his forehead open on the rocking chair. Yeah, it scared me. It was a deep gash and blood ran. He bawled, understandably, and I just wanted to get to the doctor. We went, and we feared he'd need stitches. But the doctor simply said, "no, I think we can Dermabond it." What? "It's superglue for the skin." Blessings abound! I'm so thankful she decided to go that route to minimize scarring and recovery time. Finn's a trooper though, and he doesn't seem to even notice his booboo.
Meadowe was once again WordGirl for Halloween, and lucky for Finn, he got to be Captain Huggyface. If you're unfamiliar with WordGirl, her television program airs Monday through Friday on your local PBS channel!
Sunday, Ora had the opportunity to return to the Lucas Oil Stadium and take in another Colts home game. He and I went there a month ago for a game for my birthday, and Sunday he went with a friend. The new stadium is an architectural marvel and we enjoyed going there, as I'm sure he and his friend enjoyed it again.
And here I am with a couple of good friends enjoying the evening out together! We had a great time together and shared some great laughs!