Today I'm thankful.

As I sip my coffee and smell the non vegan cinnamon rolls baking in the oven, I thank God for all of our blessings and for everything he has given us.

Too often, I focus on what we can't have, and the things that will come with patience, and faith, in Gods time. 

But this morning. I look around at the here and now. And I'm thankful. 

I'm thankful for our family. Our parents, who love us more than anything. Who made us the people we are and who would give us the world if they could. I'm thankful for our older sisters, who always have a watchful eye over us to make sure we are not an embarrassment to the family and making good choices. I'm thankful for our nieces and nephews. Who remind us to act silly and love the way only children do. To let loose and have fun. 

I'm thankful for our friends near and far. The guys who love my husband just as much as I do. And who have been with him for as long as he remembers (and also the times he can't remember....)

I'm thankful for the bestest set of friends I could ever ask God for. The ones who have cried with me in all of my lows and celebrated with me in all of my highs. They are beautiful. Smart. Successful. And the best women I know. 

I'm thankful for our health, our freedom, the house that keeps us warm, the clothes on our back, and the food on our plates. 

I'm thankful for our jobs and our education.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to pay it forward. Like in a Starbucks drive thru or by simply buying a bag of groceries for the homeless. For the opportunity to give back to people and animals we don't even know. 

Im thankful we get to love a little five year old named Beauty who lives an entire world away. For the chance to follow her and pray for her throughout her days. For the chance to give a tiny percent of what we have to ensure her basic needs are met and she receives an education, love, and care. 

I'm thankful for puppy classes. 

That start on December 6th. 

I'm thankful for the kisses Pappy and Wally like to give Ernie and lulu. Even if Lulu hates it.  I'm thankful for the (sometimes) peace between the fursiblings. 

I'm thankful for our Fennel litter: Ernie, Lulu, Pappy, and Wally. Who have helped us in more times and situations than you'll ever know. Who bring us joy and laughter and chaos.

We can't imagine our lives without them. They are our babies. And our family. 

I'm thankful for my husband. My best friend. My Partner in crime. My soul mate. Who loves me much more than i deserve. And who (after six years) still makes me laugh and makes me feel like the only and most beautiful woman on Earth. 

I'm thankful for the fun times. 

And the calm times. 

But, most of all, I'm thankful for God. And his unconditional love for me. For my salvation and his forgiveness. Every time I see the sunrise or sunset, I think about him and his incredible love and grace. 

Happy thanksgiving, everyone. God bless. 

Decorating for Christmas

Well, it took us an hour and a half to get the 30 miles home tonight. 'Tis the Season!!

So............. I tried my hardest to hold out until Thanksgiving to put the tree and Christmas decor up. I didn't make it that long. SHOCKER, right?? Christmas is one of my guilty pleasures. And the pretty lit Christmas tree makes waking up on a Monday morning SO MUCH BETTER.

Pappy and Wally were better than expected. Surprisingly enough, after yelling "NO!" a couple times -- they eventually got the point that we didn't want them playing with the Christmas ornaments or chewing on the branches. Every once in awhile they need a little reminder, but for the most part -- they're doing great. Ernie and Lulu even joined us upstairs while decorating and all four furbabies got along excellent! It was Christmas family time. And it was perfect. Complete Bliss.

 The cherry on top: THEY SLEPT 5 HOURS STRAIGHT LAST NIGHT!

Matt and I feel completely refreshed. Rejuvenated. Heck, maybe we'll stay awake past 8:15pm tonight........... Maybe.

These are quite possibly the sweetest pictures I've ever taken of the babes. And how many shots can I get of Wally laying under the tree??? NOT ENOUGH. Melts my heart every time.......

A cup of joe and kids.

I contemplated writing a bunch of different posts and sharing one a day, but I figured this would be easier. Plus we are on our way to Rockford to celebrate my dads birthday and I figured now is as good of a time as any. Speaking of birthdays!! Happy 28th birthday to Courtney! You're old!!! And I love you. 

We received an update on our beautiful, Beauty. Which was so so welcomed because I've been worried about her health and everyone else's at Potter village Orphanage in Ghana.  Thankfully, she is healthy, precious as ever, she loves dogs and nursery rhymes. 

Isn't she so sweet?? 

After my long bitch fest post about Pappy and Wally peeing everywhere in the house, someone from their rescue  recommended belly bands for them to help with their marking and incontinence. It was about the funniest thing we've seen all damn month. Poor little babies.....

It totally helped. Except they both HATE THEM. figures......

Yesterday, we hosted Matts sister and her family. After visiting for awhile and opening a bottle of wine THEY ASKED US TO BE GRAYSON'S GODPARENTS!!!! We're so honored and sooo happy. 

We also leanrned during their visit that two young boys and two crazy puppies ARE REALLY FREAKING STRESSFUL. 

We will stick to sponsoring Beauty, being Grayson's godparents, and a Mommy and Daddy to our four fur babies for quite a while. Way way way way wayyyyy too stressful..........

So today we're going to celebrate my dads birthday (that was on Wednesday), it's Courtney's birthday today, and last night Matt got his birthday present for his birthday on December 12. What does a 31 year old guy want for his birthday??

Oh you know, a coffee maker, coffee grinder, and fancy schmancy fair trade, organic coffee.  Sweet!!!

We threw out our Keurig awhile back (because it was on its last leg) and had every intention on buying a Keurig 2.0 until we found out that IT ONLY WORKS FOR KEURIG COFFEE!! Pfffff 

So then we thought about buying a regular Keurig then I read this article written from some microbiologist or something that said Keurigs are unhealthy (pretty much mold central and certain areas are unable to be cleaned) and bad for the enviorment. Blah blah blah. (And Of course I believe EVERYTHING I read on the Internet!) Matt wanted a coffee maker that he could make multiple cups and bring to work. So we got a super standard, super pretty, red, 20dollar coffee maker from Walmart. Classy, huh?? (.... And I don't know how to use it. Thanks Keurig)

Old man. I love him. 

By the way, if I knew how to copy and paste links from my phone into this post, I'd totally share the article. You've had to see it in your newsfeed!!!

Otherwise just google it. I think it's titled "why I kicked my Keurig to the curb" or "the day I kicked my Keurig to the curb". Something like that. Same diff. 

So even though we didn't make it until thanksgiving... We made it longer than we have in the past five years.  That's progress!!! We totally decorated for Christmas today!! 

With our yummy Christmas cookie flavored coffee, grumpy cats, and "destroy/chew on everything we see" puppies..........  More pictures to come later. Isn't this just so sweet though!!!?