Gratitude (Big and Small) ~ Always

Mali ~

Heya, babe. The beginning of the month began with still trying to process the grief from losing Abby. Full of ups and downs. It was perfect timing for your big pottery project that you have been working on for a couple months at school to be ready to come home. You surprised me with a giant mug you made in art class that was originally for my birthday but instead, arrived to help cheer me out of my "missing Abby funk". It is perfect and as you can tell from my face, I love it so much! It was so worth the wait!

As a funny side note before moving on for now...I went to see some psychics as a desperate attempt to process my grief, talk to Abby, and obtain closure in some form or fashion. Two of my visits were very interesting, but those are stories for another day. The funny part of this side note comes in the fact that when you would ask me about my visits when I got home, you'd ask, "Mom! How were your visits with the sidekicks?" Sidekicks? Ahh...psychics aka sidekicks. I guess that makes sense when you aren't familiar with the word psychic yet. Haha. You are adorable!

The beginning of November wasn't all about grief though...there was a big celebration as well. Lao Lao turned 65! We took a walk in the beautiful sunshine on her birthday, and you and I also surprised her with a vegan birthday cake and many other vegan treats from Pattycake Bakery. Yum! It was different than your average cake (much more dense and rich) but I liked it. You? Not as much. But, it's cake (hello?!) so you still approved anyway.

Happy, happy birthday, Lao Lao! We are so fortunate to have you!

As usual, there was lots of time spent with our animal friends this month. We miss our Abby, but are so grateful for our other babies still here. Furry buddies definitely make our days more enjoyable.

doesn't this sweater make Suzy look like a little librarian?

Suzy is such a gentle soul that this deer actually came closer
to her as she stood perfectly still staring/talking to her
(I swear she has made friends with almost all the local deer)

Double G loves to climb me like I'm a tree

While November brings Thanksgiving, it also brings us that much closer to Christmas. In that spirit, Daddy and I got out for a date night to do some recon for Christmas shopping and of course, have some laughs in the process.

things like this are some of the many reasons I love your daddy...
he's so silly!

we can always count on Daddy to do anything for a
laugh (or as an attempt to embarrass you) hahaha
(those are MY shoes, btw)

Thanksgiving was slightly earlier this year and we had a most enjoyable meal with Joe and Tina and their family. It was relaxing, full of laughter, and just an all around good time. We needed that warmth and kinship this year. The Yersavich crew are good people.

As usual, we played lots of games after dinner. We inevitably play a game (or two) that I have never played before and it's always so much fun. This year were Telestrations, Headbandz, and Chameleon.

After we came home, I was so filled with joy that I asked you both to take a family photo in front of the tree...and to my surprise you all agreed ~ I love this photo (especially Suzy's tongue)!

I am so grateful for you all...my family, my tribe

And speaking of grateful, did I mention Audrey Ayi? Where would we ever be without our Audrey? Here she is on one of her visits, teaching you more about sketching. I love your relationship with her.

And what are the holidays if you can't stuff your pets into tiny holiday jammies? As you can tell, Suzy did not mind in the slightest...GG, on the other hand, was a different story. He went limp and fell over when I got him in his jammies. I don't think he forgave me for two days. Ha.

As you've probably been able to tell from some of the other pictures, we just had to put our tree up early this year. We were in desperate need of some holiday cheer and what better way to do so than to put up the Christmas tree and lights around the house. What do you know? It worked! Definitely helped boost our spirits. 

I made this ornament from one of my favorite memories
with you this year - your first concert (P!nk)!

Daddy surprised us by putting up all the lights ~ there were still a few
more that went up in the windows later but, looks great, yeah?

Rounding out this month of gratitude, you were able to go to breakfast one morning with Daddy and Papaw. I absolutely adore the relationship you have with Papaw. You like talking to him and asking him questions and he is really great about listening to whatever you have to say. Growing up without any living grandfathers myself, your relationship with him means a lot to me. I'm so grateful I get to witness it.

And finally, you also got to spend a day out at Uncle Kevin and Aunt Beth's with your cousins. Always, always, always a treat for you. Once again, growing up as the oldest cousin (by quite a bit), I did not grow up with any type of peer relationship with my cousins, so...it's really neat to see you have that for yourself.

While all of that brings our November to a close, I will say this...what I am most grateful for this month is you (and Daddy); our loving, quirky pets; our warm and safe home; our extended family (given and chosen) who love us unconditionally; enough nutritious food to eat; our health and the gift of modern medicine; the caring adults at your school who look out for you and nurture your development; and our ability to weather adversity together and always (eventually) finding ways to smile or laugh through it all. There is, of course, much, much more to be thankful for...these are just the items on the top of my head tonight. In the big events or small details, there is ALWAYS a way to find gratitude in life. But...you already knew that, didn't you?

I love you, kiddo. 

You make gratitude easy for me.

Love,

Mama