Thankful

I often have trouble remembering to be grateful and give thanks each
day while not worrying about everything else I "could/should be doing" with my time.

I have to constantly remind myself that having a dust-free house, leaning new music for class, being more informed on my current events, etc... are not THE most important things in life... 

I need to fully enjoy this short time I have at home with Kaden.

After browsing through the posts we've made this year, I know that we ARE blessed and

truly have so much to be thankful for.

* Pictures taken (on a cold & windy day) in Dalhart, TX by Jessica Claborn

of JesClaborn Photography

Thanksgiving Break

This year all of the (David) Dows, including Dorothy, got together for a small
Thanksgiving in Amarillo. For some reason we neglected to take many pictures, but here are a couple with Kaden's favorite aunt.

showing Dorothy how to play "Peekaboo Wild" on the iPad.

playing on grandma Shanny's piano

Highlights from this vacation:

• Turkey (I need not attempt a THE turkey anytime soon after tasting this year’s masterpiece! Hurrah!)

• Texas A&M beating the Texas Longhorns (24-17) in the annual Thanksgiving game

• (me) visiting with Jessica for an entire day & enjoying a leisurely lunch (sans children)

• Waking up to a warm & cozy freshly painted bedroom... and FINALLY getting a bed frame/headboard

quiet time in Kaden's room



Little Man WALKS!

Finally. 14 ½ months.  

Kaden has been creeping along the furniture for over 6 months, always very cautious and hesitant to let go- even just to try balancing. 

This weekend we had lots of company including Ben's aunt Mary & Doug. As we all visited, they watched him take a few steps at a time.  The next day my cousin, Andy, spent the night with us on his drive from San Francisco to St. Louis.  As we were talking Kaden suddenly just started walking across the room.  BAM!

And we're not just talking a few steps... We're talking the length of the room
(I KNEW he had it in him) with Andy as our witness!

Thundersnow

I've seldom ever grateful to be wide awake at 5:45 a.m. on a "sleep in" day.

Had I NOT dragged myself out of bed to let Schatzi out, I would have completely missed the sights/sounds of "thundersnow".  (Exactly as it sounds: thunder + lightning + snow = thundersnow)

These amateur photos bring NO justice to how cool this really was!

There was no going back to bed after this awesomeness.  I decided to enjoy the peace & quiet with a fresh pot (yes, POT!) of coffee & pumpkin-spice bread before Kaden woke up.

Intrigued, but not sure what to think...

As usual, the snow was short-lived.  Ben spent the better part of Saturday afternoon picking up & sawing up branches that had fallen all over our/the neighbor's yard.

Walking outside to THIS made me slightly nervous... 

BUT I knew it would have been futile to hold the ladder.

Why not take pictures instead?

Mizzou-Tech Game

In addition to having season tickets to Mizzou football, dad usually buys a set of tickets to a game at a different BIG-12 stadium every year.   For the past 4 years, he has mentioned driving down to watch Missoui play in Texas Tech's stadium... That day finally arrived. 

Kyle & dad made the 800+ mile trip (one way) with Ben & I down to Lubbock last night.

 Jessica with her daughter Shay (6 months). 

Since Shannon went to Texas Tech and Jessica went to Mizzou with me, they also bought tickets to the game.  Their daughters wore a mix of black/gold/red, but McKenna confessed she was rooting for the TIGERS! 

Nothing would have been more satisfying (to me) than beating Tech, but in typical Missouri fashion the tigers fell apart in the 2^nd ½ (a scenerio I've watched too many times) to give Tech a homecoming win.    Damn.

Kyle & Dad Breeze Through Amarillo

Kyle & Dad made a SHORT-sweet trip to our house before the Missouri-Texas Tech football game.  Although (today) I'm (very) sad that they couldn't stay longer, I am glad that we are already in November and the holidays are right around the corner...

Reading "The Hallo-Weiner" on the couch before breakfast. 

Not sure who enjoyed it more.

Enjoying the sunshine while drawing on the back patio.

SO advanced!

Happy Birthday & Merry Christmas... to me

I think I may have used up my birthday AND Christmas… and a few others all at once.

I got NEW windows! Notice the use of the pronoun “I” instead of “we”.

Ben still isn’t sure why I felt the need to replace our "perfectly fine" windows.

Who really cares that they were the inefficient originals from 1955, allowing the freezing winter air & scorching summer heat to pass through? So what if they were impossible to clean? (Literally—we’re talking 55 years of dirt stuck between these panes!)  The fact that you might have had to set things down in order to use two hands and all of your body weight just to open/close some of them?  And who really noticed the long crack in the top window of Kaden’s room anyway?

A little before/after shot from the living room.

I'm happy with "our" decision to go ahead and finally replace them.