[September 30, 2012] Thankful for...putting pictures away (finally!).  Yup, pretty much had a TON of pictures to put away, starting with ones taken in April, and going through the middle of June...uh, yeah, I like to take pictures...and print them too. ;)  So this is just a couple months of pics, granted, it includes a Tiger's game and our trip to DC, but I still have to go through the rest of the summer's pics! :/  And then soccer pics........... :)

 
[September 29, 2012] Thankful for...going down to ArtPrize for the first time this year.  I went to just a few places - the VanAndel and Ford museums, DeVos Place, and the GRAM.  This ArtPrize piece was at the GRAM, and was made out of real eggshells and thread/string...very different, but kind of neat. :)

[September 28, 2012] Thankful for...reaching 100,000 miles in the car!  I am seriously surprised that it has lasted this long...grateful that it has though!! :)  Hopefully it keeps going until I can find a new one!

 


[September 27, 2012] Thankful for...having supper with my friends.  I brought a meal over to my friends Al and Lindy's house, and got to see their little girl again!  We had chicken alfredo, jello, and rolls, and some goodies for them to enjoy later.  It was nice to chat with them for a while. :)

[September 26, 2012] Thankful for...actually being able to watch Scott's soccer game!  This time, the video actually worked, so we hooked the computer up to the tv, and were able to watch them play - it was a lot clearer than the picture makes it seem!  Scott is right in the middle! :)

[September 25, 2012] Thankful for...my sign in my bedroom.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that God has a plan for my future and that I have to have faith in His plan. <3

[September 24, 2012] Thankful for...spending time with my friends!  We tried on some more dresses for Becky's wedding, but it was nice getting to talk to all the girls! :)

[September 23, 2012] Thankful for...early morning dew.  I think it's so pretty in the mornings when there's dew on the ground and plants - sometimes it's the simple things are so beautiful.

[September 22, 2012] Thankful for...a beautiful sunrise.  Shortly after 8am, this was the view out our back windows...foggy, but starting to burn off in the sun - gorgeous...

[September 21, 2012] Thankful for...a new possibility????? :)  I read an article on WoodTV8's website saying that the NCAA toured Grand Rapids and the Van Andel Arena to see if they could host an NCAA basketball tourney game in the future...oh.my.word...I would be BEYOND excited if they played here...hopefully the committee liked what they saw! :)

 

[September 20, 2012] Thankful for...my comfy MSU sweatshirt.  This week it's been getting colder, so I started pulling out some of my Winter clothes...this is one of my favorites!

[September 19, 2012] Thankful for...a successful surprise party!  We invited a bunch of people over to celebrate my Aunt Joan's birthday tonight, and she was totally surprised! :)  Lots of good food (and good drinks too!) - it was a great night.  Today was also my dad's birthday (yesterday was my Aunt Beth's birthday and my Aunt Joan's last Saturday - 3 birthdays in 5 days in their family!), so it was fun to celebrate them too! :)

[September 18, 2012] Thankful for...volleyball starting!  Another year, another season of the Golden Girls!  We always have so much fun together - the ladies who I play with have been playing together for like 20+ years, and they are a hoot!  Tonight we lost all three of our games, with scores of 28-31, 27-31, and 26-31...oh well, we'll get some next time. :)

[September 17, 2012] Thankful for...a "new" necklace.  This was my grandma's, and I normally don't wear necklaces EVER, but I absolutely love this necklace and have worn it quite a bit since having it... :)

[September 16, 2012] Thankful for...the Detroit Lions playing on Sunday Night Football!  I haven't been able to watch a game yet this year, and it was fun to watch them at night for once.  I didn't watch too much of it because the game didn't start until 8:30, and they were losing when I went to bed, but oh well... :)

[September 15, 2012] Thankful for...new art.  I went to the Hudsonville Christian craft show at the fairgrounds today - it was super busy, but fun to look at all the cool stuff people make and build!  I had been wanting to get new letters for my picture frame - right now I have pictures that spell out "FAITH", but thought it would be fun to change it up for Christmas time, so I bought these pictures that spell "PEACE".  I absolutely love black and white photography, and I'm excited to put them up this Christmas! :)

[September 14, 2012] Thankful for...Happy Hour! :)  Some ladies from school met at Boatwerks for Happy Hour after school today - it was fun to just chat with them outside of school!

[September 13, 2012] Thankful for...my dad coming with me to retirement meetings.  If I understand right, retirement is changing for public school employees, and we have to choose one of four options in regards to how we want to pay into our pension.  Once we choose an option, we cannot change it...we will have it for the rest of our working years.  It doesn't make ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER to me - NONE, but my dad's been trying to help me figure out what the best option will be...

[September 12, 2012] Thankful for...online soccer broadcasts.  Dordt was playing at a school in Cedar Rapids and they had video of the game!  We were super excited that we would be able to watch the game, until we tried to start watching the girls' game, and it would play for 3 seconds, and then buffer for 10...grrrrrrrrr.  Anyways, we went over to my Aunt Joan's house because they have faster internet, and we improved to having it play for about 8 seconds, and then buffer for 15 seconds......needless to say, we didn't stay long, and just kept up with the live stats.  But we tried to watch it!  Maybe another time... :)

[September 11, 2012] Thankful for...early bedtimes (and remembering lost ones).  I've starting going to bed earlier and earlier, and it's pretty sad that tonight it was before 9pm...oh well.  Also, thankful for remembering those who were lost on 9/11 and the families who lost their loved ones.

 

[September 10, 2012] Thankful for...Goof Off.  I was lucky enough to sit in some sap this morning at school.  All of us were playing outside in the sandbox and after I got up, found a nice sticky spot on my pants...hopefully this will help!  The pants are in the wash right now - fingers crossed they're still wearable! :)

[September 9, 2012] Thankful for...a beautiful Iowa sunrise.  We left shortly before 7am to head back to Michigan.  It was a really nice weekend, but kind of a bummer that I won't get to see Aubrey and Scott until Thanksgiving... :(  November will be here before we know it though!

[September 8, 2012] Thankful for...one last soccer game.  Today was probably the last time I'll be able to watch Scott play soccer... :(  It's been a part of our lives for the past 15/16 years, so I'm going to miss it.  He says he'll still try to play on summer leagues, but it's just a totally different level of play...anyways, it was a good game, and fun to watch!

[September 7, 2012] Thankful for...soccer again!  We left for Iowa early this morning (3am!) and got to Dordt in time to see Aubrey play her game, and then watch Scott.  Aubrey hurt her knee pretty badly in her game, and might not be able to play in her next game - pray that her knee heals quickly so she can get back to her D line! :) 

[September 6, 2012] Thankful for...little gifts.  This was a flower that one of my kiddos picked for me today...it's a little sandy, a little tattered, but it's perfect to me - if that sounds a little cheesy, it is, but I love it! :)  Today was our 2nd day of school - I absolutely LOVE working with the 3-year-olds this year...it is going to be sooo much fun! :)

[September 5, 2012] Thankful for...meeting Natalie Grace!  My friends Al and Lindy had a little baby girl just about a week and half ago, so Katie and I got to visit her tonight...such a little peanut! :)

[September 4, 2012] Thankful for..lesson planning??? :)  Actually, I am, because I'm ready to get the school year started.  It's going to be super busy working with the 3-year-old special ed. students, but it's going to be fun and I'm excited to get to meet them all tomorrow! :) 

[September 3, 2012] Thankful for...my new camera!  It came by UPS on Thursday, so I was able to use it this past weekend...it's pretty much just an upgrade from my other camera, with some fun new features! :)

[September 2, 2012] Thankful for...a pit-stop on the way home.  We stopped at Cabela's somewhere in Indiana so that Uncle Bear could pick up something for his boat, so the rest of us just wandered around.  Jack, Joel, and I spent some time looking at all the different animals in the store.

[September 1, 2012] Thankful for...a perfect ending to a great weekend!  My cousins Jon and Dawn and their kids, TJ, Luke, and Antje came to Dordt from Colorado for today's soccer game, so there were 14 of us there cheering on Scott and Aubrey!  Scott scored another goal (with about 3 minutes left in the game to tie it up, and they ending up winning in OT!).  It was so fun to see them again since we won't see them until next summer, and for all of us to be together was so great...

[August 31, 2012] Thankful for...seeing Scott and Aubrey play!  Boys played first and won 6-2 (Scott scored 1 goal) and girls tied 3-3...they both were good games to watch!

[August 30, 2012] Thankful for...a road trip to Dordt!  My Aunt Joan and Uncle Bear, cousins Joel and Jack, and my Aunt Beth and Uncle Randy are all heading out with my parents and I to Dordt to watch Scott and Aubrey play on Friday and Saturday.  Some other family members are coming on Saturday, so it's going to be a busy and full weekend, but awesome to be around everyone!

[August 29, 2012] Thankful for...my suitcase...because I'm packing, again!!  It seems like this summer I've used my suitcase more than I ever have before...but this time it's to go out to Iowa for a weekend visit! :)

[August 28, 2012] Thankful for...catching up on my reading.  This summer I really got caught up on my Sports Illustrated magazines - I even got to read the issue about the Olympics before they started at the beginning of August!  And now............I'm still reading the issue that came out the week of August 6 - yikes!  So I am currently reading about Ryan Locte and Michael Phelps' Olympic races they have coming up (that got finished about 3 weeks ago).....oh well, not much I can do except try to catch back up again!  That probably won't happen until Christmas time though. :)

[August 27, 2012] Thankful for...iced coffee.  We just made a new batch of Hazelnut - it's kind of tasty. :)

[August 26, 2012] Thankful for...my cousin Alec!  He is leaving on Thursday to move into U of M to start his FRESHMAN YEAR OF COLLEGE!!  Oh my word, I can't believe he's that old already!  So, Sunday, we all had supper together and hung out, and said our goodbyes until Thanksgiving, but........my mom and I might see if we can make a trip out there some weekend.  It's about 10 hours shorter than a ride to Dordt, so it can't be too bad. :)