A very thankful time of year

Wow!  I can not believe that Thanksgiving is this week!  I have mixed feelings about my favorite holiday this year.  While it is still my most favorite holiday, it is just that little bit tinged by my dad's news of cancer that came last year at this time.  We actually found out on Black Friday through a phone call from one of my dad's doctors.  So it brings to mind all of the things that I am so thankful for this year.
 I am thankful for getting to spend time with my dad and family in general this past year.  After the initial diagnosis, we were not even sure that he would make it to see Griffin's birth.  This year we will be spending the holiday together as a family.  Eating delicious foods, stratagizing about the next mornings shopping adventures, maybe a Wii tournament of some sort, and watching some football.  Things that maybe got taken for granted a little before will be treasured this year as memories.
 I am thankful for all the things Chris and I have been blessed with.  We have a happy, loving marriage.  Our two boys are happy, healthy, and growing.  We have two vehicles to drive, a house to live in and keep us warm, food in our refrigerator and cupboards, and jobs that allow us to be a little extravagant at times.
 I am thankful for relationships.  Relationships with family and friends.  I am thankful for old relationships that have been stable and reliable for years.  I am thankful for newer relationships that are blossoming and spontaneous.  I am happy for friends that are childless, fellow parents, and grandparents for all the wealth of knowledge they provide. 
I am thankful for new experiences and opportunities. 
So as the Thanksgiving holiday gets rushed through to Christmas, I just wanted to say that I truly am thankful and grateful.  I am blessed beyond measurements and am happy to have the chance to acknowledge it.  We hope that your family's Thanksgiving is blessed!  May your turkey be moist and potatoes lump free!

Griffin is on the move...

So our little Griffin is all about doing things in his own time and as a second child I can appreciate this.  It does make me paranoid over those silly milestone "standards" and all, but Easton was a little like this too and I should know better than to generalize all children into one category.  Each child is their own person and develops at their own pace.  Anyway...  On Tuesday he turned 7 months and had previously rolled over from front to back and back to front a handful of times but that was it.  Well low and behold, this weekend he figured out that if he rolled over and then rolled again he moved a bit closer to what ever he was trying to get.  And he hasn't stopped since!  He rolls and rolls and rolls until he gets stuck at a wall or piece of furniture.  It is pretty funny to watch, but we remember very clearly Easton doing this same thing before he started crawling.  So it is a little bitter sweet since Griffin is our last that he is moving out of the baby baby stage and into the almost a toddler on the go stage!  Watching your children grow and learn new things is a great joy in life and we fully intend to enjoy this new stage with Griffin!