Thanksgiving 2010

I just realized that I never posted anything about our Thanksgiving this year. I only took two whole pictures the entire day. Seriously, how do I always do that? My mom sometimes complains that I have so many pics from the Klemme events and not as many from our events. I'm pretty sure it is because when I'm at the Klemme events, I'm just sitting around taking pics of Taryn. They also spend a giant chunk of time taking posed pictures of the families. When I'm at my family events, I'm helping to cook, talking to family, laughing and usually drinking wine/beer. I am making a concious effort to try and take more pics at our family Christmas this year (while drinking wine/beer)!

I have to admit that this year I was not feeling all that thankful on Thanksgiving. We'd had a pretty awful week, and a day of giving thanks just seemed like a mockery. In retrospect, I do have a lot to be thankful for. I know Jess and Mich do this every week, but since I was a Thanksgiving scrooge, I thought I'd have my own thankful blog...

• Being able to live near my family. There is nothing I love more than being able to call my mom on the way to Target to ask if she wants to come. She adores entertaining Taryn (or is Taryn entertaining her?) and it makes my shopping trip WAY smooth. It is just so great to be able to be at all the family events and have our family at our events.
• A job with breaks and 2-hour delays. I am getting ready for my first winter break and I. can't. wait. I also love that when it is snowy out I get a 2-hour delay and am able to drive to school leisurely and safely.
• On the same token... A job with teachers and a principal that I really like. I've always had pretty good luck with having great co-workers and I am glad that has continued. It is so great to be able to wander out of my room for a moment of "adult time" between classes. It really helps maintain sanity.
• Horses. On the way to our house, there is a Purdue horse farm. Taryn has a new thing now where she tends to be quite miserable in her carseat. I love that as soon as we get to that farm the whining stops and is replaced by excited yells of "'orsies" from the backseat.
• Good neighbors. Our next door neighbor is a retired electrician. His wife still works, so he tends to have a lot of time to toil around in his yard, take fishing trips, etc. I love the fact that sometimes he uses his free time to sweep up the leaves in our yard or snow blow our driveway. He also has told Lee that he would help run a new outlet to our dishwasher.
• Our health. Last winter was a very unhealthy time for Taryn. It was her first winter and she had just started daycare. It seemed like she was sick every week. We were also just figuring out her asthma issues. This year, she hasn't had to stay home a single day yet (knock on wood). Lee spent a day at home with some flu-like symptoms, but compared to last year, things are a ton better. I had to spend a lot of time at my doctor during November, but I am thankful to have those behind me and be looking forward to healthy times again.
• My little family. I could probably write pages upon pages about how amazing Taryn is to me. I feel so blessed to have such a cute, sweet, friendly and loving little girl in my life. And my husband's alright too (haha). Lee does a ton around our house including most of the cooking and vacuuming... Two things I hate. Taryn loves her Dada and you can see that he thinks she's amazing as well. It's great to be married to my best friend and be able to joke and laugh with him everyday.