Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Presson's!

Thankful Day 30

I am thankful to say that November is finished and December is upon us.  There are lots of activities to keep us busy this month with Christmas coming.  But the best part is that we are one month closer to having Jef home again.

Thankful Day 29

Thankful for projects to keep me busy at night. 

Thankful Day 28

I am thankful for the family I married into.  They gave me the most amazing husband.  They embraced me  from the very beginning.  Its hard to call them in-laws instead they are just family. 

Thankful Day 27

I am thankful for my family.  They are a loud, fun, loving bunch of people that have help me become who I am. 

My mom and Aunt Melissa

My Dad. Explains a lot about me doesn't it.  HA!

Thankful Day 26

Today I am thankful for technology and the really smart people that make things like Facetime and Skype possible.   Thank you for making it possible for my children to see and talk to their daddy that is so far away.

Thankful Day 25

Today I am thankful for my miracle number 2. She was 2lbs. 5oz. and 15 inches long at birth and while she is identical in looks and birth date to her sister she definitely has her own personality.

She is a busy girl on the move at all times.

Is a very curious girl and wants to know how and why to everything.

 Is really funny and is the comic relief in our family.

 Has a flair for the dramatics.

Finds every reason to get as dirty as possible outside but doesn't like to eat with her fingers. (?)

 Absolutely adores her daddy.

 Is very artistic.

She is fun loving, energetic, talkative, a touch bossy, loves to ask questions, wants to be a mom and loves her family and friends.  She is an amazing little girl and is growing up so fast before my eyes.  I love the young lady she is growing into and can't wait to see what she will do next.

Thankful Day 24

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I am thankful for a good pair of gloves.  The cold weather is tough for me and even painful so I always have a pair of gloves or three handy when the temperatures drop.

Our North Pole Visitor

The day after Thanksgiving brings a special friend to our house.  This is Murray our Elf on the Shelf.  Murray was recommended to us from some friends a few years back before they became really popular.

Murray is our little eye in the sky for Santa.  He watches over all of us and reports back to Santa every evening.  We never know where Murray will be each morning or what he has been up to while we are sleeping.

The last two years Murray has arrived via a North Pole Breakfast.  Thanks to Pintrest for this idea. (Sorry I don't have a link to the pin).  I changed it up a bit to suit our family. 

 Instead of powdered sugar donuts for breakfast I came up with Elf Pancakes. Elf Pancakes are my grandmothers pancake recipe with Christmas sprinkles added to them.

Murray also raids the attic for a few Christmas lights and table settings.

This makes for two surprised and happy little girls.

Thankful Day 23

Today I am thankful for my nice comfy bed and couch where I will be spending Black Friday.  I have worked many retail jobs in the past and have worked my share of Black Fridays so I can happily say, happy shopping to all the deal crazed people out there.

Thankful Day 22

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Today is a day to be Thankful.  Thankful for everything in our lives.  Even though a huge chunk of our household (and heart) is not with us today, the girls and I want to wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Thankful Day 21

Today I am thankful for one of the two most precious gifts I have ever been given. 

She was born 12 weeks premature and weighed only 2lbs. 10oz. 

She was so tiny and fragile I was so afraid to touch her.  Despite her very tiny and too early beginning she has grown into an amazing young lady.

She is a happy girl...

And a serious girl...

She is  sweet like peppermint (her favorite)...

And loves to make silly faces...

Never passes up a mud puddle...

 Loves her daddy...

And has the best laugh especially when she really cackles...

She is passionate, creative, loves animals and her family and is growing everyday into a young lady I am so proud to call my daughter. 

Today I am thankful for Hannah Elizabeth.

Thankful Day 20

I love a craft store!  Its a store full of pure happiness for me.  The girls love it too.  Since we celebrated our Thanksgiving early the girls and I stocked up on a few supplies to get us through the holiday and  weekend.  Crafts, parades, movies and pajamas sound like a pretty good holiday to me. 

Thankful for any craft store.

Thankful Day 19

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Today is a repeat Thankful post.  Today I am so so so thankful for friends.  Today has been a rough day for me and I am overwhelmed at all the texts, emails, phone calls, prayers and visits.

From the bottom of my heart thank you for everything. I am so thankful for each and everyone of you.

Thankful Day 18

Thankful for a hot cup of tea, especially when your throat feels like you ate sand. 

Thankful Day 17

Today I am thankful that every day is a new day.  There are days that don't always go as planned. There are days that I definitely do not win the "Mother of the Year" award or the "Wife of the Year" award.   Maybe I didn't get enough sleep (happens a lot), maybe I'm not feeling well, or maybe the good Jannette was left in a parallel universe during the night.  Whatever it may be I am not always the best version of myself and it is comforting to know that there is always tomorrow to try again. A do-over.  Some times the next day goes worse than the one before but then... there's tomorrow.

Thankful Day 16

Sleep does not come easy to me nor do I get a full night's sleep on a regular basis. Today I am thankful for sleep, even for just a few hours.

Thankful Day 15

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Today I am thankful for pay day and the man who works really hard to provide for us.

Thankful Day 14

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It is a rare thing but I am thankful for quiet time. I try to sneak it in whenever I can (usually very early in the morning) but I feel that its necessary to keep my sanity and be a good me.

So thankful for quiet moments.

Thankful Day 13

I was not an avid reader growing up.   I think because it required you to sit still and I had more important things to do.  I read because I had to.  Things are different now.  Somewhere into my 20's I was introduced to the Harry Potter series and after that I was hooked.  My mom loves to read (she is a reading teacher) and was always reading something. My dad and her would talk about certain books and how great they were and I would just roll my eyes and think they were crazy.  I hated when my mom wanted to go into a bookstore and look around. I couldn't understand why she wanted to spend what felt like and eternity in store with books.  Now I am that crazy person talking about books and dragging my girls through the bookstore.  I guess you do grow up and become your like your parents.  :)

 Today I am thankful for books and the escape it gives me to run away from reality for a few hundred pages. 

Lunch Update

I haven't posted lunches in awhile.  Don't worry the girls have been eating but it has been very busy lately, especially with the upcoming deployment.  I haven't felt as creative lately or I forget to take pictures of their lunches.  So here are a few lunches from the last couple of weeks.

As you can see this lunch was right before Halloween.  The girls had PB&apple butter silly pumpkin sandwiches, pretzels, a pumpkin muffin, homemade applesauce and Halloween marshmallows.  This was packed in their Easy Lunchboxes.

This lunch was packed on Halloween.  RIP Halloween until next year.  The girls had a PB&J gravestone sandwich, snack mix, yogurt in the spider cup and green grapes with candy eyeballs.  I loved the grapes, they made me laugh while making their lunches.

This flower has a very 70's vibe, don't you think.  This was a PB&J sandwich with fruit leather decorations, sour cream and onion corn puffs, yogurt with sprinkles and peaches.

This was a tired morning lunch.  The girls had a PB&J sandwich cut with our airplane Lunch Punch cutter, yogurt with sprinkles, and strawberries. 

Both of the girls have had an increased appetite lately (growth spurt?) and had been complaining that they were still hungry after they ate their lunch.  This morning I made sure to pack plenty of food but when I cleaned out their lunchboxes after school neither one of them had hardly touched their lunch.  When I asked why they didn't eat it they said they weren't that hungry today.  Ugh, you can't win.  I packed them an acorn and leaf PB& apple butter sandwiches, pretzels, cereal bar, an apple cinnamon leaf shaped muffin, yogurt with sprinkles and a GoGO squeez.

I promised Thanksgiving lunches for the girls on Fridays but last Friday I couldn't get it together to make one so I made one for them yesterday.  They had a turkey shaped PB&J sandwich with fruit leather feathers and eye, pretzels, greek vanilla yogurt with frozen berries and a GoGoSqueez.

We had BLT's for dinner last night and used all the bread, thankfully I had bagels.  They have a toasted mini bagel with peanut butter and apple butter, crackers,  homemade apple chips, grapes and greek vanilla yogurt with frozen berries. 

Thankful Day 12

I grew up in the desert southwest where trees are few and far between.  Cactus yes, trees not so much.  When we moved to the east coast 12 years ago it was a big adjustment for me.  There were trees EVERYWHERE!  I had no sense of direction and was very irritated that I couldn't see what was behind those dang trees. But then the most amazing thing happened...Fall!  We have seasons in the southwest but its more like summer, football, winter, summer.  I had never experienced the beauty of seeing the leaves change colors.  The only thing I can relate it to is the gorgeous sunsets we have in the desert.

We have 3 maple trees in the front yard.  The first one turns to a rich red, the second one turns a glowing orange and the third turns a bright yellow.  I love to watch them change colors.  In the mornings there is this amazing orange light that comes through the windows.  I love to take my coffee cup and stand and stare until the sun moves enough to change light. I can say that as much as I love the southwest I adore the fall season on the east coast.  I may not love all the work that the leaves bring me but then we wouldn't have the annual leaf jumping after a good workout of raking.  Today I am thankful for those dang trees.