Thankfulness, Accomplishments, & Excitement!!!!

I <3 November! This month is such a GREAT month! We have the opportunity to show thanks and be thankful and I am very EXCITED to continue to do that :) I am so THANKFUL for the fantastic weekend that we have had. Brooks and I double dated with the Deane's Friday night. We had dinner and went to see the movie Life As We Know It. The movie had some sad parts, but overall it was so cute and sweet. Bryson spent the night with Grandma Dee Dee and slept till 9:30 for them. I do not understand this because he has NEVER slept that late for us, it makes me very JEALOUS, but I am glad that he was good for them and I am THANKFUL for the time that Brooks and I got to spend together as a couple. 

Yesterday morning, I ACCOMPLISHED something that I haven't done in a while. Brooks and I participated in our 3rd Pumpkin Fest 5k. It was a little chilly and I was terrified that I wouldn't make it, but THANKFULLY I did. My 1st mile was 10:54, 2nd was 11:30, and the 3rd was about 14 minutes. I was proud of the first 2 miles, but I struggled on the last. I haven't done 3 miles since May, so although I am not happy with my time, I am THANKFUL for the fact that I beat my time from last year by a minute. My AMAZING husband took 2nd place in his age group and finished in his best time ever at 23:20. He was at the finish line and I still had 1.2 miles to go, but he has worked his tale off to get there, so I am very happy for him. 

We pondered whether or not we should take the dogs to Pumpkin Fest yesterday. They have never really been out in public, around crowds, or been on their leashes much, so we were not sure how it would go....but we gave it a try! Brooks had Diesel (St. Bernard) and I had Jaxson (Pug). Needless to say they got lots of attention and they had really good manners. We were very impressed with their behavior and everyone else seemed to be impressed by the odd brotherly pair. Many people wanted to touch "Beethoven" and others thought Jaxson was the cutest, so they got equal attention. This was a huge ACCOMPLISHMENT for us and the dogs and we are THANKFUL that they cooperated!

This morning Bryson woke up at 5:30...not really a SHOCKER since we set the clocks back. We now have him "trained", THANKFULLY, to get his cup out of the fridge, turn the TV on, and let us sleep through 2 cartoon shows. We all got up about 8 and went to church. We came home and the work began......I decided that it is time to start preparing the house for the Holidays with a little Fall Cleaning. Bryson and I worked on my closet and drawers for most of the early afternoon. All my winter clothes have made the move from side of the closet to the other and all winter shoes and boots have replaced the flip flops and sandals. During this transition I pulled out and packed for the Bahamas :) Bryson found my wedding dress in the spare closet and he wanted to see it...then he wanted me to try it on (I almost got it zipped), then we looked through our wedding album and discussed when and where Brooks and I got married....so that took a while, but I was EXCITED to share those precious memories with him and he seemed EXCITED to hear about it. 

At this point I have ACCOMPLISHED all of the upstairs closets, dusted all the furniture, cleaned the dust from the ceiling fans, and vacuumed upstairs. I still have stuff to ACCOMPLISH downstairs, but I am happy that the house is almost ready for Thanksgiving and EXCITED to think that 3 weeks from today we will have the smell of Christmas trees throughout the house!

I am VERY EXCITED to get this week started......we will be leaving for the beach on Wednesday :) My New Hampshire in-laws are already there for the week and we will get to spend some time with them on Thursday. Mom and I will leave sometime Thursday night for our mini vacation and the boys will stay back and spend some time with Brooks' Dad and family!! I am already thinking about how I will miss my boys, but I am SO EXCITED to go somewhere with warm sunshine for one last time in 2010!!!

We are all very EXCITED about the upcoming weeks and the Holiday time that we will get to spend with family and close friends. It's this time of year that we all have so much to be THANKFUL for! So the challenge for the week and weeks to come is to show how THANKFUL and GRATEFUL we are to others by helping and sharing our treasures with them. This challenge comes from church this morning....there are MANY out there that need and want for even the simplest things that we take for granted. You decide how you want to help......it could be something local or something that will reach across the world, it could be something free or a nice generous donation....think about this and think of a way that you could help someone in much greater need than you, so that they will have something to be THANKFUL for as well :)
Enjoy your week, you make it what it is, so strive for the BEST and don't settle for less!!!! Love the THANKFUL Derting's :)