ABCs of Thanksgiving - year 2

Lauren took some great pictures of us lately

All right, last year I was missing my second grade classroom (well, sort of) and I made and ABCs of Thanksgiving. So, here goes again - some serious, some ridiculous...

A - Auburn - this was the first of my list last year as well. But, it was such a prominent part of my life - how I grew up, family tradition, years spent there, where I met my husband and so many great memories! And, where we spend almost every weekend in the Fall! And, how fun has this year been to watch?! I love Auburn when they are terrible, and I love them when they are undefeated! War Eagle!

B - Burke Burke, of course. This junior weasel is SO SILLY!! I wondered how he would be, since Turner has been so smiley and silly in his almost 2 years of life. Fortunately, John Burke is pretty similar. He LOVES attention, loves to smile and laugh and watch people - especially his brother. He is very busy - like his mama, he never wants to miss anything!! Right now he is grabbing at the computer and trying to eat the edge! And, he kills me because he likes to sit with his legs up in a V position - with his feet by his head?! Flexible, I guess. Silly.

C - Covenant - this is our church. I grew up here, and our pastor of 30 plus years is about to retire. It is neat to come full circle. Mom used to be the Children's Director when we were younger and we were "church rats" - up there all the time. Well, I guess I have 2 new "church rats" with as often as we are at that place! God has blessed me with a wonderful part-time job where my children are able to love their teachers and classes and I have some precious adult time!

D - Dynamic Marriage Study - we just completed this wonderful bible study with about 10 other couples in our church. It was an 8 week course that pushed us out of our comfort zones, and made us realize what our needs are, and how we can better serve our mate and their needs. I highly recommend it or something similar just to keep your marriage in check. God has challenged us and reminded us that he made us specifically for each other and what a blessing that is!

E - Eating out. Chick-fil-A is where we frequent the most. I can't remember if I have written about Turner getting recognized when we go in there. We walk in and 4 or 5 of the sweet women working there will yell his name out, he will pretend to act all coy and then run up and hug them or give them high five. They love him, and it is hilarious to watch other people in there wonder who in the world we are. It is pretty sad that we are just in there all the time - not famous! And I have to give a shout out to our friends the Harlesses who we eat 97 percent of our meals out with. Bless them for putting up with us!

Turner and York Harless

F - Family - God has blessed us with such wonderful extended family, and then our own little family of 4. When John Burke was born, someone wrote on my blog about a family of 4 and it hit me that that is what we are!! Crazy - I forget sometimes that I am responsible for 2 children - in my mind I don't seem old enough. But, then someone calls me ma'am, and I remember I am!

G - Grandparents - Heath and I are blessed to still have 3 grandmothers and 2 grandfathers living. My 2 grandfathers, though, are in pretty poor health. I don't know how much longer they will be around, but one is 91 and the other 92, and they have been a wonderful blessing and example for all of my life. I am blessed they have been a big part of my life this long, and I pray God prepares our hearts as they leave this world for a much better place.

Turner with Grandad

H - Heath! Thank you, God, for making him my other half. I make him crazy (and he does the same, don't feel too sorry for him!), but I love watching him as a wonderful husband and father. He is kind and passionate about many things, and strives to lead our family and grow spiritually, and we are working on loosening him up more and more. :) He does own jeans, now - for the last couple of years. That is major!

I - Internet - Blogs are so, so fun for me to keep up with! I love the pictures and stories and random knowledge I pick up from them. I do have to watch it, though, because I can become obsessed. If you know me well, this probably shocks you that I would become obsessive with something. But, in moderation they are really fabulous!! Facebook, too, especially now that my husband is FINALLY on it! And trying to secretly beat me in friends. I am on to him.

J - Jeep - don't you worry, we just hit 158,000 miles and we are still trucking. And I got new brakes this weekend and I was amazed how much smoother the ride was! Two words - paid for. Makes me appreciate it so much more!

K - Keys - Turner and John Burke are always amazed by keys. And they both can sense when we are ready to go and they are almost always thrilled. Turner will start saying bye before I can get John Burke in his carrier. And lately, Turner's favorite things (besides cars) have been keys because he insistent that "he drive". Behind the driver's wheel is his favorite spot. Hilarious. We live in the car!

L - Laughter. I love to laugh and luckily these 2 keep me laughing every day. And the sweetest thing has happened as they have begun to entertain each other, and I will look back in the car and see them "talking" and laughing at each other. It is so, so precious!

M - Mom camera. I got it for Christmas last year. Even though it is big and not always easy to take places, and the lens had to be repaired a few months ago - it is a great way to track how my little monkeys are growing and changing! I have 3,500 pictures on this computer as we speak - and I am not even a "camera person". Gina, Evan, Kate - that is you!

N - Naptime!! People ask how it has been with 2 children now, and it has been much easier than I thought. Especially when I can count on Turner resting for several hours in the afternoon!

O - Outside - this weather has been unseasonably warm and awesome! Turner loves to play outside, and I know we will have to hibernate in a few days when it really does start getting cold outside, so I have loved the extra months of fun weather. And maybe I am just getting older, but I keep noticing how pretty the fall leaves are as they are changing. Especially in our retirement community and the street leading up to it!

Playing with cousin Ellie

P - Phone - my phone keeps me connected. While sometimes bordering on addiction, it is nice to be able to contact and stay in touch with so many friends and family through talking, email and text - especially on the go! Life saver!

Q - Coupons - "Q" is what the fancy bloggers call coupons. And I am such a fancy blogger. Wow. I wasted so much money over the years by not clipping coupons or paying attention!! Today I went to the Target on 150 (forget how awesome it is), and was able to save over 22 dollars on diapers and formula and some toys for birthday and Christmas just by clipping and watching the ads. Not hard, people. And don't even get me started on deals at Publix! God provides so much through the little things, and I can see each month how little savings add up (especially for this one-income family).

R - Reality - I have learned that being honest and open is very important to me. I love it in other people. It reminds me why I love my friends, they can be real with me and I with them. How refreshing. Friends are such a blessing.

S - Sugar and caffeine - Diet Dr. Pepper and Coke (and the real stuff), desserts, candy - while I know that this baby weight is still not all the way gone, it is too hard to give up these loves!! I try to make healthier choices, but that is all I can do. I am just being honest!!!

T - Turner Bug. This kid wears me out. But I treasure my time with him, because I see how quickly it passes! He is already almost 2!! I love that his default is to laugh about something (though we have already been making our way steadily in the 2-3 year old fits), and how curious he is. He has a sick obsession with his duck and paci - one that I am fine continuing for a while (see N for naptime:)) and cars.

He found my shoe

U - U-Verse from AT&T. I hesitated to leave Charter (not that they were that great, I just don't do change well!) But this Cable/DVR is amazing! You can record 4 shows and watch a fifth (and I have done that!) And there is a box in Turner's room, the den and our room. So he can watch Sesame Street on DVR in his room (not that he will sit still long enough to do that!). And we are saving about 60 dollars a month! I think I am a little too excited about t.v., but I love it.

V - Heath is stepping in for this one. He is home early from work and he suggested V for victory - because we are 11-0. And the Republicans took the State House and Senate and U.S. Congress, among others. This is totally Heath, in case you were wondering.

W - Words Turner is saying - I love how he is learning new things every day. A couple of his teachers mentioned he has just started talking more (well, that they can finally understand what he is saying!) This weekend I heard him say "that" and "over there" quite a bit, and he is trying to tell the difference between in/out and up/down. More like dat and over der, but still. And he loves Cordie (Gordon the dog) and saying "eat" and he will take him his food, and then put the scoop back in the laundry room. He loves "cucks" still (cups and/or anything involving water), and "dogs" and "Burke Burke" and his favorite, "Daddy." He will continue to say "Daddy, Mommy, Mommy, DADDY" and then throw in "Pap" (Heath's dad), "Pop Pop" (my dad), "MeMe" (Heath's mom) and "GiGi" (my mom, sometimes pronounced She She, like he is french). I think I mentioned on here that he loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle" and will throw any of these names in there at will to the tune. And he recently called Lindsey "See See" - no clue on that, but he won't stop. And yesterday he called Derek "Dee", which is also the name of one of his beloved Mother's Day Out teachers. These are all words he says with out prompting, dant tu. (Except he usually screams "DANT TUUU!" and "peaz" and "Bye!" and "Hey!!") And today I named everyone standing in his classroom (about 10 people) and he pointed to them as I said their names. He's a genius.

Pointing out the window at "Cordie"

X - Exploring - Turner is CONSTANTLY exploring, and his brother is trying hard to catch up to him. I keep catching John Burke flipping around on the floor and trying to scoot, though he cannot crawl yet. Last night I picked up my clothes in the closet, and Turner spent over an hour walking out of it with new treasures - my shoes, Heath's shoes, hats, shakers, belts, etc. He would walk out, parade what he found around the den, and then run it back like a hoarder before we took it away from him. Crazy.

Y - Yakina, Shaneka, Dee, Tenicia, Delois, Deb, Mary, Wanda - to name a few. Some of my fun co-workers at Mother's Day Out. And a couple of them read this blog!!! Yay - I love y'all. Thank you for being painfully honest with me - always. Especially when I was 8 and a half months pregnant and one of y'all said I looked like a dinosaur. Still trying to figure that out...

Delois with her boy, "John John"

Z - Zero teeth for the baby. Please, for us we have 6 more months if he's going to be like Turner. Consequently, he is still nursing. (And I HATE spending money on formula!!)

We have so much to be thankful for. It is so nice to have a time of year to reflect on all of our blessings. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...and War Eagle!!