thanks...giving

today is the one day out of the year that the calendar reminds us to be thankful. sadly, like most of us, i fail to always have a thankful heart so today i would like to share a few things i am thankful for.

i am thankful for Jesus and the ultimate sacrifice he paid for me.

i am thankful for my husband who loves me unconditionally. 

i am thankful for my beautiful daughter who continues to amaze me every time i look at her. 

i am thankful for my parents who have made me the person i am today.

i am thankful for my little sister and brother with whom i share my best memories.

i am thankful for my friends who i will always be able to laugh and cry with.

i am thankful for my church who has helped me realize that moving away from my family wasn't leaving it all behind; rather it was starting a new chapter in life and becoming part of a new family.

i am thankful that God has given me the breath to breathe and the words to type how thankful i am to Him.

happy thanksgiving...

lauren

family time

so cliff and i have started this new thing. we are not like most couples because i work two nights out of the week. so that's two nights that we don't spend with each other. then there's wednesdays, sundays, and a few more days and when it comes down to it time as a family is limited.

so we decided that two nights out of the week. not weekend. but all those other days in between we would stay at home with the family. no going out; however, friends can come over. i cook and we spend good, quiet, well not so quiet (do you know my husband?) family time together! it just makes it easier to say "no" to things that come up that try to take those days away from us.

sidenote: last night during family night i was playing christmas music. this is not uncommon for me. it is november after all. so while i was cooking cliff must have heard my music and got some christmas spirit because when i walked in the dining room the christmas tree was up. now, i usually decorate after thanksgiving but since the tree is up- it is staying up. so the christmas spirit is visiting the craig house early this year.  :)

update

so em just turned one and she is getting so close to walking! if not for her stubbornness, i think she would already be walking :) we are trying to encourage her to keep her shoes and socks on. this is something she is not good at. this morning i put socks on her. about 30 minutes later i found them floating in the dog's water bowl...silly kid! cliff's personality...i mean her personality :) is starting to show more and more. she is so funny but she does have a moody side too...i have no idea who she gets that from :). anyway, i just wanted to update some friends who don't get to see her much!

on a sidenote: the holiday season is getting closer and that is super exciting! i love everything about christmas! i even start listening to christmas music in october. it's just the best time of the year. i can't wait for santa this year...does anyone have any good ideas about christmas gifts for a one year old??? 

have a great thursday!

lauren

PRAY

i'm not sure how many people actually read my blog but if you do please pray for kayleigh!

happy birthday

well today em turned one!  i'm so happy that she is growing up to be such a beautiful, smart and healthy girl. i look at her and can't believe that time has gone by so fast. it feels like just yesterday i was holding her for the first time! it's so cool to see her grow up! her personality is really starting to show. she is so goofy... definitely a trait she gets from her daddy! she is also so sweet and loving. i hope that she always has those traits! 

 we did some fun stuff today to celebrate her birthday. we started the day off eating breakfast at cracker barrel. if you didn't know, this has been a craig family tradition since i met cliff! cracker barrel is one of my favorite restaurants and we always go there for my birthday. this year we got to take em for hers! after we ate, we took her to the aquarium and world of coke. she loved looking at the fish at the aquarium but i think the world of coke was more for our enjoyment :) 

we ended the day at panera for dinner and a birthday cupcake for dessert! what a great birthday!

here are a few pics of our fabulous day! 

this is how we eat

oh spaghetti night....

time flies when you're having fun...

so this past weekend i shopped for em's first birthday party which is crazy! we are having her a little first birthday party at the church with family and some of her little friends. i can't believe she is almost one already. time sure does go by fast! it seems like it just yesterday when we brought home our little yellow love bug :) now she is crawling and talking...of course saying everything but "mama". it's so cool to see her little personality coming out as she gets older. she's so goofy...i wonder who she gets that from? :) anyway, i have some recent pics of her....i'll get those up soon. here is one from the beach a few weeks ago. enjoy.