November 10

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. ~ Maya Angelou

I am thankful for a girls night out. Beaverdale Holiday Boutique and then drinks.  

Christopher is thankful for Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.

Harrison is thankful for Mock Trial. The trial was today and we did a good job. I can't wait to do it again.

Bennett is thankful that Apollo came over and showed him his remote control car. It was fun!

Miles is thankful that it was the last day of school for the week and that he can do free stuff on the weekend also he is looking forward to his basketball game! (composed and typed by Miles Paul)

Annabelle is thankful for projects. I got a lot of work done and I am ready for my culminating event on corn on the 15th.

Rocco is thankful for Mr. Potato Head. I made a funny tomato head. (He meant potato lol😉)

Emma is thankful for her coat. It is blue and fuzzy and soft.

Rocky is thankful for Giovanni. He is the best and plays with me.

Felix is thankful for his drawing. It is the best. It is a picture of mom and dad and my sister and me and my brothers.

November 9

I'm so grateful there's a you in this world.

I am thankful for clean sheets. Today was sheet changing day and I switched all the beds from regular sheets to flannel sheets. I love clean sheets and I love flannel sheets. Thank goodness for clean flannel sheets!

Christopher is thankful that at least there is no snow with this cold we are having

Harrison is thankful that he got to go to the Iowa Wild game today for Leaders of the Pride. It was a great game and the Wild won, 5 - 3.

Bennett is thankful for shrimp. I love it, it's delicious. 🍤

Miles is thankful for basketball practice today. I just like it, it's fun - stop asking me why! (LOL)

Annabelle is thankful that it is going to be Thanksgiving. I get to see all of my family and that makes me happy.

Rocco is thankful that he can do things for himself. (He was proud of himself for getting his own water and I praised him for his self-sufficiency.) I like to know I can do it myself!

Emma is thankful for Evelyn. She tries to do things that I do but sometimes she can't and I get Beth to help. I like it when she says something funny, like when she howls during What Does the Fox Say.

Rocky is thankful for his mom. I love my mom and she loves me too.

Felix is thankful for cats. I love Frances and Addison.

Evelyn is thankful for pigtails. Annabelle thinks I look adorable!

November 8

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

I am thankful for my plants. Sometimes I don't think they are worth it because they are just 'another thing' to deal with, but I really love the way they look and the unseen benefit of helping to keep our air clean in the winter months. And often times, when I stop to take the time, I love care for them. It's relaxing. Also, I get a giggle every week because I water them on Wet Wednesday or Thirsty Thursday.

Christopher is thankful that Scott got to work on time today. I didn't have to start the day by myself today.

Harrison is thankful for a good Mock Trial meeting. I am ready for Friday.

Bennett is thankful for a delicious dinner. This is great, Mom.

Miles is thankful for Wednesday's.

Annabelle is thankful that she got to go to Maggie's after school. We cleaned up her neighborhood as the "Non-Litterbugs" and played on the trampoline and pretended to be cats.

Rocco is thankful that he got to go on another field trip. We went to WHOTV and I learned so much about how people get their news.

Emma is thankful for Beth. You do nice things to me like helping me when I have problems.

Felix is thankful for Annabelle. I love it when new go to the pool. Ashworth Pool. We do cannon balls and swim and and fun.

Evelyn is thankful for the play kitchen. She loves to cook the play food and then eat the play food!

November 7

Gratitude is one of the most medicinal emotions we can feel. It elevates our moods and fills us with joy.

Harrison got invited to participate in SCIBA (South Central Iowa Bandmasters Association) Middle School Honor Band this year. 7th graders are nominated from their middle school band by their directors. Harrison and 4 of his classmates were nominated and they practiced together along with approximately 100 other musicians today at Ankeny Centennial High School today. Their performance was this evening and it was absolutely wonderful. I love watching him play and I love that he loves to play. I try and stay in the moment, but sometimes it's hard to wait for things like pep band and especially marching band in high school. Today, in the moment, I am so thankful that Harrison has had the opportunity to see what a large concert band not only sounds like but what it feels like to be part of an impassioned group of musicians.

Christopher for Harrison's concert.

Harrison is thankful that he had a great day at SCIBA and had a wonderful concert. I even made two new friends!

Bennett is thankful he got to go to Harrison's concert. It was really good.

Miles is thankful for piano. Piano is fun and I am working on the Russian Folk Dance by Beethovan and City of Stars by Justin Hurtwiz.

Annabelle that I filled out my brownie pan at school. It gives me the opportunity to bring a comfy item to school on Friday.

Rocco is thankful for his cousins (June & Jett visited last night). They are awesome.

Emma is thankful for her little brother. He arrived yesterday at 1:18pm and weighs 9 lbs 10 oz. His name is Harrison Glenn. 💙

Rocky is thankful for his mom. She is the parent helper today and will take me to school and I love her.

Felix is thankful to come to my house. I love Beth's house days!

Evelyn is thankful for twirling. She twirls and twirls and twirls. And then laughs and laughs and laughs.

November 6

'Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding. ~ Alice Walker

I'm not usually a big fan of the 'Monday's, meh' phenomena. To me it has always been another day of the week with its own ups and downs. Though lately I have been feeling like we need more three day weekends. This weekend has been so nice with almost nothing to do and no where to be. I guess I will really be ready for Thanksgiving break. 🦃

I am thankful for pumpkin pie. Bennett has been begging me to make one and I am so glad I did.

Christopher is thankful for chili. (also, his wife is a good cook)

Harrison is thankful that he finished his book. That's 4 down and 36 more to go for Battle of the Books!

Bennett is thankful that his toe has been fixed. A few months ago, Bennett cut his toe nail too short. This lead to an ingrown toe nail and two months of me thinking it would heal up on his own. I finally called a podiatrist and she said that the side of the nail needed to be cut out and the root killed. The procedure was this evening and was gruesome to watch but it already looks so much better. He had a granuloma over the nail as well that needed to be cut off. And Bennett obviously feels better.

Annabelle is thankful for math. We did fact fluency for the first time this year and it was fun.

Rocco is thankful Harrison, Bennett, Beth and Chris. I love that they are part of my family.

Emma is thankful for the baby doll Daisy. I love playing with her; she has cute eyes and she moves however I want her.

Rocky is thankful to play downstairs. I love Legos.

Felix is thankful for jumping. That boy loves to jump!

Sundays

Gratitude turns what we have into enough.

It's been a pretty gloomy start to November. The temperatures continue to be below normal and the sun has only peaked out a couple of times. Today is windy, chilly and drab. I am holed up at Smokey Row, taking time to get ahead in this blog, meal plan for the week and just get out of the house. I like the 'no home' distractions of a coffee house, the smells, the mix of people and the different reasons they are here and honestly, the boys started playing monopoly yesterday and I have a strong aversion to being in the house when they start that up! Ugh, that game is the worst. Harrison has my hate-to-lose edge and Bennett tries so hard to best his brother at everything and when he fails, he starts messing around and dropping the dice on the floor and saying things like 'I rolled a 3' when really he rolled a 5 but that would have put him on Harrison's hotel and... that game drives me nuts.

They all surprised me and brought a game. Family ❤️ 

I am thankful for leggings. I think this is a ridiculous thing to be thankful for, but I love putting them on and being comfortable all day long. And it took me a couple of years, but I am finally comfortable wearing them out of the house, mainly because I found some shirts that work well with them. I'm also grateful I have the resources to have options such as this.

Christopher is thankful for Sundays.

Harrison is thankful that he is ready for his band concert. The way to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice.

Bennett is thankful for scooters. I think they are fun to do tricks on.

November 4

This is a wonderful day. I've never seen it before. ~ Maya Angelou

It's game day! I personally struggle with my football fandom. I grew up in a football loving family who watched Monday night football and celebrated BIG when the Bears won the Super Bowl in '85. And I mean big. We learned the Super Bowl Shuffle, wore Jim McMahon headbands and got to stay up for the whole game - on a school night! Walter Payton was and is still is one of my idols. I love football. But then there is science. And CTE. And violence perpetrated by men. And the fact that the NFL is a not for profit company. What kind of messed up s*#^ is that?? But yet, I still get dressed on Saturday and Sunday mornings with my favorite teams in mind. And right now, my absolute favorite team is the #15 in the nation Iowa State Cyclones.  🏈❤️ 💛❤️💛🏈 #bestkempfsecret

Update ~ they lost 16 - 20 to West Virginia. Ugh.


Today I am thankful for my friends. I have gotten to see almost all of them in the last week and it has been a bright spot in my year. While thinking back on my relationships, I realize that the work that I have put in to finding and keeping my friends is so worth it. There are thousands of books and articles written on the values, benefits and joys of friendships. Obviously they are all spot on. P.S. Bad Girls Christmas is hilarious - even more so with friends.

Christopher is thankful The Ohio State (didn't) came to town. Iowa 55 Ohio State 24

Harrison is thankful that we can park two cars in the garage. Me ~ that's what you are thankful for?!?! H ~ Yeah! It's a good thing!

Bennett is thankful for the series The Flash on Netflix. We finished season 1 and it is really good.

November 3

Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles. Notice them.

TGIF! It's hard to believe we are 3 whole days into November. The jack-o-lanturns and witches have been put away and the turkey decorations have made their presence known.





Our morning walk was full of leaves. The kids really took notice of all the different sizes. And a long stop was made so that we could roll around in all the fun. 🍁













Today I am thankful for my littles. They have kept me laughing all day long.

"I'll pay for the hotel. Cause Mama's got all the dollars." ~ Emma
"I had a dream last night I had an eyeball on my butt. It could see my farts." ~ Felix
"What's a nightmare?" Me - Ummm, its a dream you don't like very much. When have you had a nightmare? "(shoulder shrug) About 5 years ago." ~ Felix
"This is my juice (brought with him this morning). It looks like pee but it's not." ~ Rocky

Christopher is thankful that it Pagliai's for dinner!

Harrison that he was very productive in his student council meeting. We made signs for Combat Hunger.

Bennett is thankful for waffles. They keep me from starving. (he has a lot of first world problems)

Miles is thankful that it is Friday. I get to spend more time with my family. (heart melt)

Rocco is thankful for field trips. I just learn so much when I am on them.

Emma is thankful for her dad. He turns on lots of good music for me like Ariel, Moana, Emma's playlist, Earl Scruggs, & Willie Nelson. He plays all kinds of music.

Rocky is thankful for Halloween. I got a lot of candy. (this is repeat from Wednesday and I usually make them think of something else, but his eyes were so happy thinking about his costume and the candy that I let it slide 😁)

Felix is thankful for getting presents. I got gum and guns for my birthday! I really like gum.

November 2

Be grateful for all you have, but never settle for less than you can be.

The weather has been fabulous for cozy sweaters and thick socks. This has not been conducive to outdoor play. But, (staying on theme) thankfully there seems to be a calm with the wind and a slight rise in temperature. The sun even peaked out for a while and the kids played outside after school. They needed that outdoor time!


Today I am thankful for the moon over downtown Des Moines at 6:00pm tonight. It was huge and with the hazy clouds it looked like a planet out of Star Wars. I was driving or I would have gotten a picture.

Christopher is thankful for half days at work.

Harrison my new hair cut. I really like it!

Bennett is thankful reading. I am at a really good part of my book. (The Fourth Stall)

Miles is thankful that he had school today.

Annabelle is thankful for P.E. I beat other teams 4 times and scored 3 hoops.

Rocco is thankful for friends playing with him at recess.

Emma is thankful for mommy. She does nice things for me.

Rocky is thankful for cherries. I LOVE cherries!

Felix is thankful for the kitties. I love the kitties.

Evelyn is thankful for books. She spent 10 minutes today putting 4 board books on the table and then going from chair to chair reading different ones set at the different spots.

Thankfulness season

When asked if my cup is half-full or half empty, my only response is that I am thankful that I have a cup. ~ Anonymous

It's my favorite time of year again. Thanksgiving. It just warms my heart. As a history major/historian/educated person I understand that the true story of the original Thanksgiving is much more complex than what we celebrate today. And while I teach and share that with my children so that they continue to know the histories and truths we as a society sometimes gloss over, I also teach them that traditions are important and taking time to be thankful and grateful for what we have is important.

Today I am thankful for Harrison. We spent the evening shopping for new clothes and shoes. He has an honor band concert coming up and his first Mock Trial competition and he has grown 2 or 3 inches since he last wore pants! I know that I am biased but Harrison is the most wonderful combination of kind, funny, considerate and sarcastic. He is a joy to be around and makes me laugh like I am a teenager again.

Chris is thankful that it was just a tiny bit warmer today.

Harrison is thankful for a great Mock Trial practice. I have my cross-examination all done, my closing is awesome and I'm ready for any question they ask me as a witness. I've got this!

Bennett is thankful for take-out. Because we NEVER get it and I really love take-out.

Emma is thankful for her Ariel doll from her birthday cake. I love it because it's Ariel.

Rocky is thankful for Halloween. Because it makes me happy.

Evelyn is thankful for blankets she can put over her head and wear like a cape.