Thursday Thanks Tank #112

Each Thursday I make a list of my thankful thoughts. I spend time throughout my day appreciating the little and big things in my life. My posted list gives you a glimpse of my thankful heart.

My heart is full of thankfulness this week.

I am thankful for:

1. My parents: They are here visiting. It is such fun to have them with us.
2. My daughter: She turned two on Tuesday. She is everything sweet to me.
3. My boys: They melt my heart sometimes. They did that this week as they loved on their sister.
4. My husband: He inspires me. He compliments me. He keeps me going.
5. Chocolate cake: Oh, the cake my mom and I made was so yummy.
6. Gingerbread lattes: I have had quite a few lately.
7. My kids' school: I am pleased with what my kids are learning. I am thrilled with how attentive the school is being with my son's allergy and his asthma.
8. Positive Conferences: I had my 2nd son's conference today (his teacher was sick during the scheduled time). Both conferences were wonderful. I am so encouraged.
9. Friends: I am blessed by friends that love me and my kids.
10. The weekend: This one is going to be a good one. I am so ready.

I am thankful for my family.
Here's the latest photo from my daughter's birthday:

My Sweet Girl

My sweet baby girl turned 2 yesterday.

She added sweetness and lots of pink to our house. Her brothers have adored her since the day she arrived.


2007- peaceful and sweet

2008- first thing in the morning on her birthday

2009- just after waking on her birthday


The boys love birthdays. They are very excited about celebrating their sister's birthday. We are going to to do that today.

The boys have been teaching her to hold up 2 fingers and say 2. They can't wait to have cake. My oldest and youngest boy complained about the Tinker Bell decorations. (My 4 year old: "I like her birthday but I don't like princess stuff.") My 2nd son made her a card, which made me smile (and grabbed at my heart a bit).

Here's the front of the card.


More pictures of my sweet birthday girl coming soon!

Regret, Revelation, and Hope

I am home. Two children are with me. But, I feel alone. I am isolated, desperate for peace.

I should be full of honor and praise this morning.

I am full of regret.

My heart's cry found comfort this morning in these words: "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." (James 4:8)

Comfort, relief and revelation are poured on my soul.

God is with me but I am still responsible for my failures.
God is with me.

Even in the desert that I pull myself through, He is with me.
His companionship hugs my hardened heart.

I press on. I have no choice but to continue through my day.

I choose to cling to the promises that give me hope.

Enjoy Life: Nut-Free and Delicious

My family has been loving Enjoy Life products lately.

Enjoy Life products are free of the eight most common allergens. They contain no: wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, fish or shell fish. They are also made without casein, potato, sesame and sulfites.

I am impressed with their standards. If you deal with food allergies, I'd recommend checking them out: www.enjoylifefoods.com.
They also have a wonderful blog: http://www.enjoylifefoodsblog.com/

Now let me tell you what we tried out.

A few months ago, I was contacted by Enjoy Life and asked I would be interested in sampling some Enjoy Life Granola products. They sent my family 3 packages of granola: Cranberry Crunch, Very Berry Crunch, and Cinnamon Crunch.

The kids couldn't wait to try them out. We had them the afternoon they arrived. When I explained they were nut-free, my son that has a peanut allergy was really excited.

He tried them all out.


His favorite was the Very Berry Crunch. Out of my three boys, 2 of them loved the granola. Both my husband and I enjoyed it too. I just snacked on it plain, right out of the bag. I think it would be wonderful mixed in yogurt. My third son enjoyed it the most, I think. In fact, he preferred it over the sugary cereals I offered him the next day. He had a bowl of granola in milk.


This week, I received some Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom bars that I won from an Allergy Twitter Party.


Again, my son was thrilled to get a treat that was allergy friendly.

I made him share with his brothers.

They all really liked the candy bars. My boys each had a favorite bar.
It worked out perfectly because we had 3 varieties: Boom Choco Boom: Dairy Free Rice Milk Bar, Boom Choco Boom: Dairy Free Rice Milk Bar, and Boom Choco Boom: Dark Chocolate Bar.

I was not surprised that they each preferred something different.


I was surprised by how good the candy bars tasted. The part I couldn't get over was the dairy free. Dairy free chocolate? Oh, but it was really good. My favorite is the dark chocolate bar.

These products were wonderful. I know we will get them again. They are available at several local groceries stores and they can be bought online.

If you deal with food allergies (or even if you don't), I'd suggest checking them out.

If you want to check out some other wonderful food related posts, including some delicious recipes, head over to Ann Kroeker's blog for Food on Fridays.