{We are Thankful}

One night this week, while my kids were throwing down the delicious dinner I made (OK, really? They were not savoring the leftovers like little orphans from African would, and they totally had the dawdles) we played a little alphabet thankful game, and we've played it every night since. I think it's going to become a week before Thanksgiving tradition, where we try not to duplicate anything we've said the nights before. Some of it's silly, some of it's heartfelt, but all of it's true. We had so much fun spending some real time thinking of all the things we have been blessed with! Here's a few of the highlights:

We're Thankful for...

A: apples and aunties (but NOT ants), appetites, and air fresheners

B: brothers, beauty rest, and the Book of Mormon, beans, and barf bowls (both the girls had the pukes), broth and blogs

C: Caroline, cats and candy, clocks, church, chocolate, and cinnamon bears
D: Dad, dishes, daughters, and "dee-dee-dee!"

E: Elizabeth, egg nog, energy, and exercise

F: food, friends, forks, fishies, and fire

G: garage, garden, and Grandparents, Guitar Hero, galletas (cookies), and guys (Elizabeth's addition -- !!!)

H: house and heaters, hats, hot tubs, hot dogs, and heat (can you tell it's was 1 degree outside today?)

I: imaginations and inside voices and indoor plumbing

J: Jesus, jam, jelly, and jump ropes, Jack-in-the-Box egg rolls and mini churros

K: kind words and Kinder eggs

L: Louis, laughing, and love, "lame" (what we would shout if we didn't like an idea -- so harsh!) and lights

M: Mom, microwaves, and movies, midgets, Monopoly, Mountain Dew (Todd only) and marshmallows

N: Nana, nutella, and neighbors, ninjas and noodles

O: Optimus Prime (yes, really) and octopi

P: Papa, popcorn, pillows, pizza, and peas, Phineas and Ferb marathons

Q: quiet, quick oats, and quick grits

R: roads, roses, and restaurants, recliners, rippling muscles (Todd-again!), and reading

S: smiles, sisters, sunsets, and Swedish Fish, Santa and strawberries

T: turkey, talents, tractors, towels, town, and timely responses
U: umbrellas, uncles, and underwear

V: voices, vacuum, and 'victories, life's little'

W: Wii, whispering, washing machine, watermelon, and white chocolate

X: xtra-lovey-dovey-family, xtra-creamy anything!

Y: YOU!, yogurt

Z: catching some Zzz's, zit cream, and zoos

Happy Thanksgiving!