What I'm Thankful For - 2008

A friend of mine from high school used to always make a list of each thing for which he was thankful. The last couple of years I have tried to do the same. I mean, really it's what Thanksgiving should be about right? You should each make your own whether you share it with the masses, or keep it for yourself, it really helps put you in the spirit for the upcoming holiday. The following is my list of things for which I am thankful this year:

1. My husband, Steve - for all the love and all the fights...my life would not be as full without him.

2. Our puppy dog, Toby - he gives unconditional love and will do whatever he can to make us smile.

3. My neice, Eva, and nephew, Patrick - who knew you could love two little people so much?

4. My family - The Rineys, The Hejnas, and The Sifrigs. Each has a special place in my heart.

5. Good friends - We are blessed to have so many more than below.

6. My job - The schedule sometimes is rough, but it stays interesting

7. Helping Others - Steve and I put together one of the events for St. Baldrick's to raise money for kid's cancer research

8. Our First Year Wedding Anniversary - Steve had the florist do a remake of my wedding bouquet. It was fabulous!

9. Taking Scooter Rides - Steve rode more than I did, but it was fun to go through town on it

10. Kacy & Kyle's Wedding - It was a truly wonderful day guys...thanks for including us...we love you!

11. Completed House Projects - The hot tub is great and SO relaxing!

12. Days on the lake - Thanks Tim! Miss you!!!

13. Birthday Surprises - Steve and Amy threw me a birthday luau. It was great!

14. The Grand Canyon - It was absolutely breath taking

15. Pumpkin Picking with the fam - Patrick was so cute running to all of the pumpkins. It was ADORABLE!!!

Cleaning Day!

Steve and I spent the entire day cleaning, re-arranging, and just generally re-organizing our house with the help of my parents.

It was FABULOUS!!! Organization truly is my bliss.

The whole thing started because my Aunt Beck and Uncle Pete gifted us a second refrigerator so we would have more storage room. SO, we had to find a place to fit the fridge in our teeny house.

It fit quite well in the back room one I purged some stuff. I was a throwing away machine today. Mom had to stop me a couple of times before I threw away something I actually needed. Thanks again Mom!

Steve and Dad installed the fridge and hooked up the icemaker (YAY! We will have ice on a regular basis now.) They also hung the new curtain rods in the living room and dining room. And finally, they fixed our long broken grill! (Now we will have ice AND grilled meat! I won't know how to act.)

It was so cute watching the my men do the "manly" jobs around the house. I kept Mom busy too though. While the boys were installing the fridge Toby and I locked ourselves in the bedroom and then I cleaned out my closet and moved my summer attire to the garage and unpacked the sweaters.

Once Mom got here she joined right in on the action. She and I finished the backing for the living room curtains (we bought thermal panels for the back to save energy and hopefully save us some money). Soon after that was done the boys decided they were hungry so we made a food run. Once everyone had eaten Mom and I cleaned, scrubbed and re-arranged the mud room.

All in all, it was a great day with family. You can't ask for too many of those. We only wish all of our family lived as close so we could spend more time with them.

Below are some pics of the results of our hard work. If you haven't been to our house, you probably can't appreciate the change, but like a doof, I forgot to take "before" pics. We love you all!

Whaddya think?

Steve and Toby were pretty pooped after a long day of work

And the mud room...I know not very exciting.

We finally decided to blog

People keep asking us what's new and exciting in our lives. We don't feel like there is anything to tell when people ask, but this way we can give you all a weekly or bi-weekly update so everyone can stay in the loop.

It seems like this year has FLOWN by. Steve is still working at Liberty Bank and is in school at Lewis & Clark. I am still an Alton Police Officer and love it!

Toby is about as big as we think he is going to get, but he is doing so well. We went to Gordon Moore Park to have family photos taken last week (For our Christmas cards) and he was too funny. I swear we thought he was going to jump in the lake at LEAST five times.

Steve and I are trying to figure out what we are doing for the upcoming holidays since I have to work. Juggling all the families is tiring, but worth it in the end.

Please drop by often and fill us in on the happenings in your lives too. We love you all!
Em & Steve