Gift #530- A Boy's First Visit with Santa

We went to the Tree Lighting ceremony at the Naval Hospital last night.  Bo met Santa for the very first time.  As you can see, he was very excited!  As you also can see, Bo's little brother did not find it quite as exciting.

Gift #529- A Bare-Bottomed Christmas Tree

Having a bare-bottomed Christmas tree is a true blessing because it means that I have a Henry in my house who so proudly and persistently made it that way.

Gift #528- A Cup that Overflows!

It has been so very long since I have written.  Not because I have had nothing to be thankful for.  On the contrary actually!

First of all, I am so thankful for our summer spent on Avery Street.  Avert Street is way more than just a little street in the middle of a little town.  It bears the name of my mother and of my "sweet" little girl.  It is where I learned how to ride a bike and how to drive a car.  It is where I trick-or-treated every Fall and where I hunted eggs every Spring.  It is the site of a little barn-shaped home where I celebrated Valentines day by candlelight and New Years Eve with shotguns!  It is where all roads lead.

I am thankful for a boys first catch and for the memories that he made with his uncle.  Thankful for Bo's first American birthday and for the family that we shared it with.  I'm thankful for the new Commanding Officer of  the VMFA-312 Checkerboards.  Thankful for all that he does for our family. I am thankful for my new home and for its beautiful view- from the inside looking out and the outside looking in.  I am thankful for a big double sink where I can bathe 2 babies at the same time.  Thankful for these kids of mine who have followed their dad and I around the country and across the ocean and back with so much courage and resiliency.  I am thankful to be back at our old church home- thankful that it still feels like home.  Thankful for the new friendships that the big boys have made.  Still so very thankful for the friendships that we have all made along the way. Thankful for weekend visits with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  Im thankful for a Thanksgiving spent with family and for a double oven to warm all of the trimmings.  Im thankful for little boys in hooded jackets, little girls wearing big girl underclothes and sweet little heads in home made Indian headdresses.  Thankful for first earrings, first haircuts, first movies, and first days of school!  Im thankful for 13-year-olds and 2-year-olds and for the crazy joy that they both bring to my days.  THANK-FULL!