The best part of Thanksgiving

We had a great, low-key Thanksgiving dinner yesterday with just our family and Grandma BeBe and Grandpa Brian. The food was great and we had a good time.

The hands-down highlight for me was at the table when I was talking with Emilee. She commented on how she loved Thanksgiving dinner. I told her that Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday. She came back with the comment that was not surprising at all coming from a child.

"My favorite holiday is Christmas!" Well of course it is. Isn't every child's favorite holiday Christmas. Afterall, its the one day they know they will get spoiled with way too many gifts.

Then she finished her sentence. "Because Christmas is Jesus's birthday and I love to think about Him."

It touched my heart so deeply that I almost turned on the water works right then and there. What a sweet spirit I have in my home. How did I luck out to get a daughter like her? I certainly didn't give her enough credit. I am so thankful for her!

A great quote...

I discovered this quote the other day, and thought it was beautiful and thought provoking. I would love to hear others' remarks on it.

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,but that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.There is nothing enlightened about shrinkingso that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously giveother people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our fear,our presence automatically liberates others."

By Marianne Williamson
quoted by: Nelson Mandela

True Humiliation

Children have a way of keeping you humble. Just when you start thinking that you have the brightest, cutest most well behaved children....they do something to keep you in line.

I took the kids out to have donuts this morning. We went into the shop and there was this lady there (I'm sure you've all seen one like her before)....sitting there, not looking quite "right"....like maybe she lives in a special home nearby but can get out and walk around the neighbor hood. She's just sitting there, with her mouth kind of hanging open, slumped in her chair just kinda staring into space with glossed over eyes.

After about 5 minutes, Emilee askes VERY loudly, "Mom, can people die with their eyes open?" while she stares at this lady.

I wanted to die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could have launched into a conversation about tact, about people with differences, etc. However, I was too busy trying to shove the rest of the donut into Melia's mouth so we could high tail it out of there!

Something in my ear

Have you ever just been sitting around. Maybe you're watching a good movie, sitting at your computer (and really, chances are it's the computer....admit it) or driving in your car when all of a sudden you feel something in your ear? Your ear tickles like something is a movin' and a grovin' in there?

Logically you know (or really really really hope that you know) that it's probably just your hair, but you can't shake the feeling that you have some horrible insect in your ear canal. I mean, if you're sitting still and just fine one moment, your hair is not going to just jump up and shake around in your ear, right? So it might be a bug? But then really, how common is it for bugs to crawl into people's ear in the middle of the daily activities (don't even get me started on the horror stories about how many spiders humans swallow in their sleep!)

*shiver*

So please, let me know you've experienced the same thing, or give me the name of the best psychologist in Washington please.

The scariest thing about Dentists...

Is not the drill, the shots or any other one of the torturing devices they have there. It's the Dentist himself. Why? Because he has the power to tell us whatever he needs to make money. How are we going to know any different?

I took Emilee to the Dentist a year ago. After waiting for TWO hours in the waiting room, we got in. They couldn't get Xrays on Emilee, because her mouth is so tiny (and she is so anxious) that she had a rough time getting the film in her mouth. But still, without Xrays, the Dr. was able to tell us that she had 3 cavities she would need to come back to have work on. She also, according to this dentist, needed about 6 teeth pulled. Nevermind that she was 5 years old and hadn't lost any of her baby teeth, yet. His reasoning was that her teeth were so crammed in there together, that her older teeth would not be able to come through.

We never went back to that dentist again because I had a weird feeling about it.

Fast forward to last weekend. We found a new dentist (one who is open on Saturdays. Hooray!) We got in within 5 minutes of waiting. The hygenist was spectacular and made Emilee feel at ease. They got Xrays this time because they were patient, and had these little tiny films for little mouths they could use. And guess what? No cavities! In fact, not only did she have no cavities, but the Dr. commented on how GREAT her teeth looked! THey even took her picture and placed it on the No Cavities wall. Oh, and as far as pulling teeth, she lost 6 teeth this summer, all on her own. Sure, she lost 2 teeth for every one that is coming in, but it's a lot less tramatic that going in and having them all yanked!

It makes me sick that I could have just listened to the Dr. and gone in, possibly traumatizing her at the tender age of 5 about Dentists for the rest of her life just by listening and blindly following one man's advice. A man who was probably trying to make more money by suggesting procedures there was hardly an oz of reasoning behind. I'm so greatful to have found a great Dentist! One who actually cares about teeth and not doing procedures. Three Cheers for Dr. McCullough!