Thanksgiving Day

Our Thanksgiving Day was both tasty and relaxing. :) We spent the morning playing and watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Then we headed to Mimi and Grandpa's house for lunch with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We ended up eating right about naptime, but the little girls still did pretty well. Our only complaint came from Maggie, because we wouldn't let her play all the games her "big boy" cousins (ages 11 & 12) were playing. Bless her heart. :) There was all kinds of yummy food, but I'm pretty sure Maggie, Rebekah and Rachel's favorite was the after-lunch chocolate treats. :) We headed home with full bellies and full hearts and settled in for an afternoon of resting and watching "Happy Feet" and football. :) We didn't even leave the house for the rest of the day... except briefly for a much-anticipated afternoon stroll that unfortunately had to be cut way short because it was getting chillier by the second. We let the girls pick what to make for dinner (which meant chicken, french fries, and macaroni!) and just played and did a little Christmas decorating for the rest of the evening. It was a challenge for me, for sure, because I had all these grand plans of what holidays "should" be... and what I "should" be doing for everyone. But I'm still recovering from being sick and don't have nearly all my energy back and just didn't have it in me to do all that I wanted to do. And you know what? I think I'm the only one it bothered. Years down the road, I don't think it's going to matter what food we made or what plans we had. I think what's going to matter is that we loved each other and spent the day together. Now if I can just remember this valuable lesson come Christmastime... :) Speaking of Christmas! After we snuggled the little girls in for the night, Scott, Maggie and I put up the Christmas tree! But I'll save that for another post....... :)

hot chocolate & Mary Poppins

Tonight, after the little girls were all tucked in bed, Scott, Maggie and I had a movie night. We watched "Mary Poppins" and drank hot chocolate. Ok, my sweet tired husband slept in the recliner while Maggie and I drank hot chocolate and watched "Mary Poppins" :) He was still with us, and that definitely counts for something! :) We had a grand old time, and it was fun for Maggie to see where the songs that randomly seem to come up in conversation actually come from... i.e. "spoonful of sugar" and "supercalifragilisticexpealidocious". But I just have to mention that the movie is much longer and much stranger than I remember it being...... hmmmmm.....

yes, Maggie is a marshmallow girl and I'm a whipped cream girl :)



we got one good shot of Daddy before he drifted off to dreamland :)


Many more photos to come of all our Thanksgiving festivities... :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week has been nothing like I hoped or planned... I've been quite sick and rather than getting caught up and even ahead on Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations, I've fallen farther behind. Plans have had to change and just when I was starting to feel like I have it halfway together, I completely fall apart and am reminded just how desperately I need the Lord and others. But it is that very weakness that makes me even more grateful this Thanksgiving. I am thankful that when I am weak, then HE is strong (See 2 Corinthians 12:9-10). I am thankful that the Lord is gracious and compassionate. I am thankful that my husband doesn't think twice about stepping in and picking up my slack. I am thankful that my four beautiful daughters love me despite my imperfections and shortcomings... and indeed, don't even expect of me all that I expect of myself. I am thankful that my mama still comes to my rescue, even though I'm nearly thirty and have a family of my own. I made a mental list of the many things I am thankful for... but as I reflect on it today, I realize that it's the small moments that matter the most...

... when I look over at my sweet husband just before we fall asleep and realize again how safe I feel lying next to him at night.

... when I call my mama to say "I need help" and her reply is "I'll be there in ten minutes."

... when Maggie snuggles in close next to me and wraps her arms around me.

... when Rebekah comes running and jumps into my arms to plant a big kiss on me.

... when Rachel says "Love you, Mama."

... when I've been gone, whether for a few minutes or a couple of hours, and Lauren sees me, drops everything she's doing, and crawls as fast as she can to get to me.

... when I see any of my four little ladies sneak over and snuggle up to my sweet husband, their beloved daddy.

These are the moments that bring tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. This Thanksgiving, it's the "normal" moments that I find myself the most thankful for... and I'm humbled by the fact that I'm surrounded by these precious moments every single day. Every smile, every giggle, every kiss, every hug, every "I love you"... "These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive. These are the moments I'll remember all my life. I've got all I've waited for. And I could not ask for more."

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours... from me and mine. :)

bad dreams & valuable lessons

[pitter patter of little feet coming down the stairs]

Maggie: (through tears) "Mommy, I had a bad dream."

Mommy: "I'm so sorry. Come here and sit with us."

[hugs and snuggles]

Mommy: "What was your bad dream about?"

Maggie: (through more tears and sniffles) "I was lost and I couldn't find my way back home."

Mommy: "Oh baby, Daddy and I will always come find you."

[short prayer asking Jesus to remind our precious girl that He is always with her.]

Mommy: "Look at Daddy and me for a minute... don't you worry because we will always come find you. Promise."

[more hugs and snuggles, tucking our sweet baby in, and praying again that the Lord would give her good rest and sweet dreams]

After all was said and done, Maggie slept peacefully, her soul resting in the knowledge that Jesus is always with her and that Mommy and Daddy will always come and find her when she's feeling lost and alone. I thought maybe you needed a similar reminder today... Jesus is always with you and your heavenly Father will always come and find you when you're feeling lost and alone. Open your eyes, awake from the bad dream, and you'll find that He's waiting for you... offering hope and peace and rest for your weary soul.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified... for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)

"May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us." (1 Kings 8:57)

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Jesus, in Matthew 28:20)

"God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5)

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken... Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him." (Psalm 62: 1-2, 5)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
(Isaiah 40:28-31)

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

One of my very best friends from my college days came to visit this weekend! I hadn't seen Kelly since a visit this past spring didn't go quite as planned... and I hadn't seen her husband Adrian since their wedding last October! So a visit was definitely overdue. :) We had a great excuse... Kelly was starting her Thanksgiving break AND Denver & the Mile High Orchestra was in town for a concert. Kelly is pretty much the reason they were here, by the way. When I lived in Colorado, I delighted in having friends come and visit and I took great care in planning exciting itineraries to keep them entertained. When Kelly came out to visit, I looked to see if there were any concerts in town, and sure enough, Denver & the MHO was at a local church. I had never heard of them, but thought we'd go for it anyway. I'm so glad we did! We absolutely loved the show... and have been fans ever since. So when the theater was just getting started and they were talking about booking the 2009 season, Denver & the MHO was the one show that I really pushed for. So it was only appropriate that Kelly would be here for it. :) Lynn agreed to stay with the girls for the entire night! Which meant that we got to go out to dinner, go to the meet and greet, see the show, AND go out for dessert! What a treat, indeed! I came back feeling like I had gone on a mini-vacation. :) Thank you, Grandma!! :) It was great to spend time with Kelly and Adrian... and Scott even got to join us for most of dinner and part of the show! And to top it all off... this was the first Christmas concert of the season. Scott dedicated a lot of time this past week to decorating the theater and it looked great. And if you're not familiar with Denver & the MHO, they have a big-band/Michael Buble kind of feel... PERFECT for a holiday show! Good food, good friends and good music adds up to a fantastic evening. The McCaslins stayed the night with us and we all went out to breakfast together the next morning... the girls LOVED playing with Ms. Kelly and Mr. Adrian, so they were thrilled to get a bit more time with them. It was a great way to start the "Christmas season." It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Body after Baby - complete!

The Body after Baby challenge hosted by Mama Notes is COMPLETE! I definitely slacked this week and unfortunately did not reach the 15 lb loss that I was hoping to reach... but that's ok, because I'm just getting started here. :) I am very pleased with how the challenge went... double digit weight loss plus five inches off my waist and four inches off my hips. I have two more major goals: be done with the baby weight, and get rid of the "newlywed" weight - which is the 10 lbs I gained in the first few months of marriage. I am not sure how long it will take me to accomplish these goals... I am not even going to try to worry about it this week... but I would still love to have the baby weight off by New Years. I realize that trying to lose weight over the holidays is very difficult, but I also figure that now's as good a time as any. :) I will definitely keep you updated - although probably not as frequently. :) Thank you so much for the encouragement, support, and accountability!!

FIRST STEPS!!!

We've had a busy week full of family and friends and playdates and parties. For some strange reason, I've taken a total of zero pictures. Very unlike me. I'll work on that. :) But the BIG NEWS of the week is that Lauren took her first "real" steps last night!! She's been standing like a champ for a couple of weeks now, and has occasionally tried to move one foot forward, but ends up taking a nose dive into the floor. Last night, while our house was full (perhaps she was waiting for an audience?!), she decided to take a couple of steps in a row! She ended up on the floor after those couple of steps, but I was super excited!! After everyone had gone home, and we were getting the girls ready for bed, she took a couple of steps and STAYED STANDING! Woohoo! It was a very exciting night in the Bass house. :)