I'm Thankful with Marilyn aka Passionista

I'm telling you guys, this has been a.ma.zing.  I'm so glad that everyone is feeling the love.  I've had such a great response from those I asked to participate in I'm Thankful week that I've extended it through next week!  There is more a.ma.zing.ness coming up so be sure to check back next week as well!  

Before I introduce my next guest I need to get a little housekeeping out of the way.  I would LOVE if you came to visit me tomorrow  {the 20th} at the Holiday Bazaar that I've been slaving away for!  I've got some fun stuff, and I love seeing friendly faces.   It is the 22nd annual  Favorite Things Holiday Bazaar at the Columbia Community church from 9am-4pm.  The address is 150 GAGE BLVD {corner of Gage and Bellerive}.  I'm one of the first vendors when you walk in.  Come on down and say hi!  

Ok now that's taken care of  I'm excited to introduce you to Marilyn.  She is widely known as Passionista and she is fabulous.  She knows how to throw a party, grows organic blueberries, and is super sweet.  Her taste in music is impeccable, as well as her taste in just about everything else! Marilyn is always so grateful, which is why I just had to include her in I'm Thankful week.  Take it away Marilyn!

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a guest on Jenn's lovely blog, and for the pondering I was able to do about all I've been blessed with. I'm sure my thankful list doesn't look too much different than yours....

1. Family - My husband and four children are my greatest joys. Being a stay at home mom means that on a daily basis, their well-being is my number one concern. Every day I'm given countless opportunities to serve them. It's not the easiest or most glamorous job, but I am paid in hugs, kisses, thank you's and I love you's, which I think is a pretty impressive pay scale. I'm grateful for the learning and growth they afford me, and that they are willing to put up with me and my sometimes grumpy attitude :)

2. Faith - The guidance and perspective that my religious beliefs give me are one of the greatest blessings in my life. The knowledge that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, knows me, and has a plan for me is comforting. The promise of eternal families is the most powerful motivator to live a good life. I am so grateful for the teachings and principles that I have learned and am able to instill in my children.

3. Trials - This year, our family has faced and is still facing one of the most difficult challenges we've ever experienced. The choices of one of our family members has deeply affected our entire family unit. It's not easy to talk about or to even understand completely, but I know that this is for our good and that there is much for us to learn through this experience about forgiveness, strength, and unconditional love. Without trials, we wouldn't have the ability to grow and learn, and although it's very difficult while in the midst of hurt and pain to recognize it's value, I am thankful for the lessons.

4. Talents - I can't even fully express how grateful I am to be surrounded by the most amazing people. So much can be learned by the sharing of talents. I feel inspired constantly by friends and family as they cultivate and refine their creativity. I strive to always surround myself with passionate people who love to learn and contribute to society, and as a result, I have a greater desire to push myself to reach beyond my comfort zone.

5. Music - This might seem out of place, but I truly am grateful for the gift of music. It is an important part of my life. For as long as I can remember, music has played a large role. Growing up, my parents and grandparents introduced me to many different genres and their influence led me to learn to play the piano, flute, organ, and to involve myself in various choral programs. Now, as an adult, I blog about music, I teach piano lessons, share my love of music with my children, play the piano and organ at church, and have recently begun to fulfill my dream of concert promoting. Good music is certainly a blessing in my life.

I have much to be grateful for, including material possessions like a cozy home, a reliable car, food, clothing, etc., but if all of those material possessions were stripped from me, I could still be happy because I'd be left with the things that really matter... the things that can't ever be taken away." 


Thanks so much Marilyn!  You have so many talents and I'm grateful that you are willing to share them with us all. I haven't had much opportunity to be around you, but you radiate peace and grace.  Really, thank you.

Ok everyone.   Marilyn was kind enough to offer you a sweet little giveaway.  Her monthly mixes are always perfect for the season and November is no different.  Plus her cover art is darling.  To win your very own Passionista November mix {I know rad huh}, leave some comment love.  The winner will be drawn from the comments only on probably Monday.  You never know with me ;)  Want an extra entry?  Tell us what your favorite Christmas song is.  I'm on pins and needles to see what Marilyn's December mix is!   

{I know its all about Thanksgiving but really, who isn't thankful for Christmas Music!} 
 
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  Happy weekend everyone! 

I'm Thankful with Karina Ink

Hello friends!  I'm loving this week aren't you?  It has been just what I hoped and so much more.  Today Karen aka Karina Ink is here to share her thoughts on thankfulness.  I clicked over to Karen's blog when I noticed a new follower and immediately loved her real-ness.   And she's from Colorado which instantly makes her cool in my book ;) ...  She has been so kind and I'm so happy to have my new friend here today!

tonight, as i sit down to write what i'm absolutely sure will be the most moving piece of literature you've ever read, i have so so very many things on my mind.  this week, i have been invited into the wonderful world of jury service again.  of course serving on a jury always makes me grateful for living in this amazing country & the laws & systems that we have in place to protect our freedoms.  i won't be explaining my jury duty, as i am still in the midst of the trial...but what i will tell you all about is this amazing new epiphany that i've had this past week; i am grateful for the little people that i come home to. it's not really an epiphany to be grateful for the children you have been blessed with, but right now, even as they sleep,  i miss them.  i miss my real life; my life with four little boys.  a life in which my vocabulary doesn't include fancy words like voire dire, where i don't get dressed like i'm working in corporate america everyday, & where my access to people older than the age of seven is extremely limited.

my life where two of the littlest boys crawl into bed with me in the middle of the day.  they put their tiny feet under me & their little bodies curl up while we sing songs about bushels & pecks & little streams that talk.  my life where two of those older boys come racing down the street at the end of a long day at school knowing that i will be there with the door open to greet them.  they compete over who gets to show me the beautiful chalk drawing of the earth or the "super speller" of the week award first.  my life where all four boys crowd into the kitchen all clamoring for attention from one another, from me, for food.  (it could be possible that the food comes before the attention from me, possibly.)

my life where those four little boys are so so very rambunctious.  climbing all over each other while yelling about conquering mountains, painting bathroom mirrors with full tubes of toothpaste, & learning new ways to jump from chair to chair trying to avoid the alligator infested lava rivers while throwing m&m's at the helicopters that fly overhead.  my life where sometimes the crying, whining, tantrums & constant need for food grates at my nerves like a liberace 8-track tape.  this is the part where i tell you about how maybe this little jury experience was supposed to be like a small vacation of sorts.  but at the end of each "vacation day" that i've had so far, i cannot wait until i get home to those four little ninjas.  each night has brought a new challenge for all of us, & a wonderful discovery for me.  my little men miss their mama, & even more so, i miss them.

i miss them so much that i cannot get enough of them each night.  cuddles-kisses-hugs-songs-tickles-& happy tears because each day brings us closer to the day where i will be the one sending them off in the morning again.  i will be the one hugging them inside my door.  i will be the one who gets them all to myself the whole entire glorious week of thanksgiving.  i haven't had a choice this past week of who got the majority of my attention, but i can tell you with absolute certainty, that when this week is over, my choice will be to spend all my minutes....even the alligator lava m&m throwing ones....with my guys.  when we go around the table this year to express our thankfulness, mine will be for the little ones in my life. 

and,

i have the jury commissioners office to thank for reminding me.

happy thanksgiving! 

i hope that you have a wonderful week of family, amazing turkeys, & most of all, a firm knowledge of each & every thing that you are grateful for.

and as for the gorgeous miss jenn, author of this beautiful blog?

thank you my dear for including me in such an amazing group of women.

it was truly an honor to be here today!

I'm Thankful with Heather of Blessed Little Nest

{Hi everyone!  I hope you are enjoying I'm Thankful week, and are loving the peace of it. I am.  I want to introduce you to my friend Heather.  I actually found her fab blog earlier this summer when I made a butterfly shirt for Ivy.  I'm so glad I poked around, because how Heather lives her life has been a much needed inspiration for me.  I've been working towards not having such negative feelings about hard things in my life, and I've been really touched every time I read Heather's blog.  So with out further ado, I give you Heather...}

Hi there Making It My Own readers!  My name is Heather from Blessed Little Nest
and I'm so happy to be part of Jenn's I'm Thankful Week.

In 2007 my life changed forever when my infant son died after a difficult battle

with bacterial meningitis. Through the journey of Samuel's life, and his loss, God taught me that

I could live a more vibrant and joyful life than I ever thought possible.  My heart was broken and

God stitched it back together with more love, compassion, hope, and joy than ever before.

Now I spend my days finding the lovely that exists in life, and I feel grateful every day.

I'm grateful for all 6 weeks we had with Samuel.

I'm grateful for the people that worked so hard to care for him.

I'm grateful for the strangers that we met along the way that showed us kindness and grace.

I'm grateful for family and I'm grateful for the way God loves and comforts us.

Just 2 months after Samuel died we were faced with our first Thanksgiving.

We didn't know what to do.  Hosting family and friends for dinner, as we had done for years,

didn't feel right anymore.  Thanksgiving felt so much more personal.  I felt so full

of gratitude and needed to do something with it.  I needed to share it,

so we decided to start a new Thanksgiving tradition.

Now on the night before Thanksgiving my husband and I stay up late and bake.
We bake treats for the group of people that touched our lives during Samuel's life.
We want to share with them our gratitude for the work they do. 

While we bake we talk about Samuel and his importance in our family.
We talk about the hospital and the amazing people that work there every day to fight
for our kids, and others just like them.  We talk about hospice and the angels that work
there.  We talk about our living children Henry and Piper, and how we want them to
grow up understanding where their brother spent so much of his life.  We talk about
how important it is for us to show our gratitude, even if it's just in a small way.

When Thanksgiving morning rolls around we head out as a family to deliver the treats.
We visit the PICU and the hospice home that cared for Samuel so we can give thanks.

This will be the fourth year we are following this new tradition
and it still feels right for us.
For us, it feels good to truly give thanks on Thanksgiving.

Thanks again for asking me to be a part of this special week Jenn!

xoxo- Heather

Thanks for sharing your traditions and love with us Heather! I'm always blown away by your kind heart.  

I'm Thankful with Karen of Life According to the PRP

 Ready to rock?!  My first guest for I'm thankful week is my friend Karen.  Karen can cook and entertain like nobody's business. I know because we've been throwing awesome parties together for the last year for the ladies in our ward.   She is an awesome mom, like, seriously awesome, and I  hope I can be as amazing as she is when I'm 35 and seven months.  Which is, you know, quite a ways a way.  Ah hem. Anyways.  Karen is magical with words, spoken + written, truly,  and  I'm so happy to share her with you today. . .

I'm completely tickled that Jenn asked me to do this for her. I am in awe of Jenn; her amazing talents and her sweet, sweet spirit so being asked to contribute to one of my favorite reads was a real treat. I only hope I can do her justice! I've been thinking for several days about the things I'm thankful for. It seems like such a long list and I could go on and on so narrowing it down was a bit tricky.

My husband tops that list. My decision to marry him is the best thing I've ever done and the goodness that abounds in my life right now can all be attributed to that beautiful day in September just over 13 years ago.

My kids come next; those four perfectly imperfect spirits that fill our home and keep my world spinning round and round have given me more joy, more love, more learning, than I thought possible.

Chocolate would be near the top of that list.

Indoor plumbing.

Fleece jammies.

Pandora.

OPI nail polish.

You get the idea.

But what I wanted to talk about today, what I've been wrestling with no matter how hard I tried to shake it, is that I'm thankful for time. For what's behind me and what's to come. To put it simply, I'm thankful for the chance to grow up.

Let me explain.

As it sits right now, I am 35 years old. 35 years and 7 months if you want to get technical. And my life at 35 years and 7 months is a pretty darn fantastic. I have my challenges, for sure, but I have learned a lot and I finally feel happy in my skin. It wasn't easy getting here but I can promise you that there has been a palpable change in the way I see myself, my life, and my world as I've gotten a wee bit older.

In my 20s, I was consumed by the whos, whats, hows, and dids of my life. Who thought what of me? Who said that? What should I do? Are they mad? Did I disappoint them? Are they judging me? Do I need to apologize? Should I have said/done/worn that? Do they still like me?

It was exhausting.

And even though from the outside it looked like I had it together (or maybe it didn't) I was a wreck inside. I couldn't make my own decisions for the life of me. I asked other's opinions on everything. I was in constant fear of disappointing someone or offending someone or losing relationships that I thought were crucial in my life. So I became a yes-(wo)man. I would do whatever people asked of me. I would sacrifice my own wants and needs (and those of my growing family at times) for the wants and needs of others. I had stretched myself so thin that I barely recognized who I was.

And then I turned 30.

Then 31.

32....

And here I landed, at 35 years and 7 months and I can tell you that the maturity, the grounding and centering of myself that has occurred over time has been the single greatest gift I have ever given myself.

And I am so thankful for that.

You always hear people say that your 20s are the best time in your life. And lots of wonderful things happened to me in my 20s. I graduated college. I got married. I had babies one and two. And every day, I took steps and made decisions and discovered who I was so that I could get here, to 35 years and 7 months. And for me, here is so much better than there.

I think when you're unsure of yourself, when you look outside of yourself for validation or acceptance or love, you give your power away. I know that sounds like the tagline from some after school special (remember those?) but it is so true! You say to the world "tell me who I am so I can be that person!" But when you grow, when you experience trials and hardships, when you are forced to look at who you are and decide if you like what you see, you get all that power back. And that power can be life-changing.

I don't need others to tell me what to do. I don't have to rely on the words/actions/thoughts of others to determine what kind of day I'm going to have. I don't have to wear certain clothes or style my hair a certain way. I can do what I want. I can be who I am. I can feel good about why I am here, the job I have to do and I can take my place in the world with my head held high. I can know that I am exactly as I was intended to be. And finally, that can good enough. I, with my shortcomings and insecurities and issues, am good enough.

And so, in this season of Thanksgiving, when I look around and stand in awe of the world around me, I can take a moment to celebrate the journey that's gotten me here. I can be thankful for the chance I've had to grow up. To figure some things out in this life and try and be better, day after day, year after year. I can be thankful for all the days that are behind me and the ones shining brightly in my future. I can be thrilled with what I've learned and look forward to all the lessons headed my way. So yes, I'm thankful for time. For growing up. So incredibly thankful. This growing up stuff is pretty darn fantastic. All 35 years and 7 months of it.

Thanks Jenn. This was just what I needed, just when I need it. I heart you.

Thank You Karen! I heart you too!

You can read more from Karen at Life According to the PRP.

I'm Thankful

Hello!  Welcome to I'm Thankful week!  I'm over the moon about how things have come together to share something just a little bit different with you all this week.  

I'm not much of a share-er.  It isn't that I don't really want to, I'm just not that great at it.  I would love to tell you more than "Hey!  Look what I made!"  I wish I could tell you about things that are hard and things that make my heart happy. I even try sometimes, typing and erasing and typing and erasing.  I just can't quite get it right in those moments.  

And while I am trying hard to work on it, I've gathered up some of my favorite ladies who have a knack for words, and saying just what all of us are thinking.   Some you may know and love.  For the same reasons I love them. Or there may be a new face, that touches your heart.  I've asked them to share with you this week their thoughts on "thankful".

My hope is that we can all come here this week, and have a little peace.   And come away feeling thankful.  Thankful for every part of our lives.  Thankful for the hard parts and the things that make our hearts happy. 

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Now I may not be a fabulous writer, but I do know how to say thank you.    
  To start off I'm thankful week I got in touch with the owners of a local shop called Greenies.  ;)
And they have agreed to sponsor an awesome giveaway for you.  

Have you heard of TOMS shoes?  For every pair that you buy they donate a pair to kids who don't have any.  Kids who can't go to school because they don't have shoes.  Kids who get sick because they don't have shoes.  Its amazing. I heart TOMS.  I heart people who use their amazing talents to give.  So I would like to give you a pair of shoes.  So that one more child can have shoes.  

To enter leave a comment here.  Leave a comment on any post this week.  Blog about it and tell me about it.  Follow along and tell me, whatever you want.  Just let me know what you are thankful for.  I'll pick a winner from all comments the day after Thanksgiving.  
{Winner will receive a pair of Classics in their size.  Color may be subject to availability}
 

I'm thankful for shoes.  I'm thankful for my life.  I'm thankful for all of the people in my life who make it the life I'm thankful for.  Thank you!