Day 16~ Madeline

Madeline is our youngest. She is sweet natured, caring and giving. She has a huge heart and a quick brain (she will happily tell you the difference between a paleontologist and anthropologist if you give her the chance). Madeline loves to read, sing, dance and simply loves life. She is fearless and willing to try anything (which is one reason I'm not too surprised she was the first to have a broken bone).

This past year she has become quite interested in the plight of others. She has checked out books from the library on how to do good things for others and on forming clubs that are set up to "make a difference". When the school PTA Reflections contest started this year Madeline immediately wanted to participate. The theme this year is "Together We Can". Students submit entries in various styles of art related to the theme. Maddie took awhile to come up with an idea- but once she had it- she stuck to it!Her entry reads: Together we can make people feel better. You can donate your hair. They will make wigs with it for people who lose their haor from having cancer. I am going to donate my hair on November 22, 2010.

Maddie donated her hair yesterday to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths donation program. We chose Pantene for a couple reasons over Locks of Love. Both are excellent programs, but Pantene fit us better. Maddie is over the moon excited about her new haircut and the fact that she is doing something that will help others in need. She also loved her first "real" haircut at a salon! Complete with hair wash and hot towel! When Maddie told me she wanted to do this I knew we had to do it right! So I took her to the wonderful person that cuts my hair, Hala. Hala has been styling and cutting my hair, and my parents hair for about 15 years. She did all the hair styles for my wedding and my sister's wedding. I knew Maddie would be in good hands with her! Maddie grinned from ear to ear through the whole cut. One of the requirements for donating with Pantene is that the hair must be 8 inches long. Once we had the hair cut- Hala then took the time to give her a style. She is already asking how long until she can donate her hair again. My sweet Maddie has a heart of gold and an inner beauty that makes us so proud!

Day 15~ Our house

I love my house. I'm am thankful to have my house. I love being in the same neighborhood Rick and I grew up in and the fact that the girls go to the same school we both did.

Our house is on the small side but we are comfy. I think we are fortunate to have all girls so we don't have to worry about them sharing a room (though they may complain about it one day- for now they seem to enjoy being together). I love listening to the giggles at night when they are supposed to be asleep.

Being in this house for 6 years has provided so many memories. We moved in when the girls were 3 months old. Our BIG move was that we WALKED down the street with all the babies from my parents home to ours. We had been living with my parents for 6 months while renovations were done on our place. We are so grateful for their generosity in opening their home to us while I was on bed rest and when the babies were born. And I know they were happy to have us; as well as excited to get us out of there! :o)

It's a great little house- with so many memories. And what I love most is that we can compare the girls and how much they have grown over the years with pictures like this: They aren't in the same order- but the difference is amazing! Top: Madeline, Emily, Ashley

Bottom: Ashley, Madeline, Emily This house will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Day 14~ Fraud Protection

Yes, tonight I am very grateful for the fraud protection on my ATM card! Bank of America came through tonight and called when "unusual" activity showed up on my card. Thinking it was probably set off from our trip to Vegas, I called only to find out that was not the case. Luckily, no money was withdrawn (they were only at the "test" phase) and I was able to cancel that card and order another one. I will gladly wait the time it takes to mail me a new one for the peace of mind knowing that our account is safe.

Day 13~ Jib Jab anyone?

We love ourselves some Jib Jab Elves. I am thankful for the entertainment it provides us every year! It's always a countdown once November hits to when the Elves are ready. We were so happy to see a new holiday performance available today! Here are the O'Connors doing their best hair band act! A little something to get you in the holiday spirit (and something that provides hysterical laughter from the girls- which I can't get enough of!)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Day 12~ Sisters!

Today I am thankful for my sister. She is an amazing and beautiful woman and I’m very happy that we are so close. Sara is 5 years younger than me. My mom says it was like having two only children when we were growing up because we were in completely different places and had completely different interests.

Sara has a great talent of being calm in a storm. She has an awesome sense of humor and she will always listen when I need someone to talk to. I am grateful for the friendship we have. We’ve always believed the statement; “Chance made us sisters, hearts made us friends”.

My mom is very close with her sister too. There are several more years between them, but they have always been very close. Just as my grandmother and her sister were close. Here is a picture of three generations of sisters- my grandma and her sister, my mom and her sister, my sister and me. And here are the present 3 generations of sisters- my mom and her sister, my sister and me, and the triplet sisters. The second picture is from our last night in Connecticut this past June.

Sisters play an important role in our family and I can only hope that my girls will have a similar bond throughout their lives. Sisters are forever I tell them!

Day 11~ Veterans!

I think its safe to say that everyone today is thankful for our nation's veterans! What we need to remember is to be thankful for them the other 364 days of the year! Several of them are in my own family and very close friends. In fact- we are a strong military family on both sides (Rick's and mine) and represent all branches of the military. Here are a few of many veterans, past and present:

My dad was in the army. He is my hero.Dad when stationed in Germany. My mom and dad still have reunions every other year with the couples they met while serving in Germany. Their most recent reunion was last month in San Diego.

My dad's dad, Louis was also in the military and that is how my grandparents met~ they were pen pals during WWII. We have all the letters that my grandfather sent to my grandmother. She numbered them and had them in order. It truly is amazing to read their relationship form and blossom through letters!

My mom's family has many veteran's also. My uncles served in the Navy. My grandfather, Irvin was a merchant marine. Here he is with his father, Knudt. Many others on my mom's side were in the Coast Guard. Some even went on to work for Electric Boat, building our nation's submarines! We got to visit the Submarine Museum while in CT this year. Uncle Carl walked Emily through all the buttons. She was ready to set sail! We got to tour the USS Nautilus. The first nuclear powered sub. My great-grandmother, Grace Mahoney had the honor of christening (or sponsoring) the USS Cod in 1943. Here is a photo of the commemorative postmark from the date she sponsored it. This was an important event for our family and my great-grandmother was very proud to have had this honor.

Rick's family has his paternal grandfather who was a career Marine. His uniform was on display at his funeral a couple years ago. Rick's maternal grandparents both served in the army. His grandmother, Betty was a nurse. His grandfather, Miles, was a warrant officer.

When Rick's grandmother passed away a few years ago the family presented Rick with the American flag that was on her casket. We know she was proud of her time served and we are proud to remember her and all our family members that have served.

And here is our most recent family addition to the military! My cousin, Josh entered the United States Air Force this year. We had the pleasure of getting to spend some time with him while we were in Connecticut, before he enlisted. We are so grateful to Josh for his service. The Air Force is lucky to have him! We think of him and pray for his safety daily.

It takes a special person to decide to enter into the military. It is not easy and the challenges and sacrifices are great. We are so thankful to all the men and women (and their families) that have served and currently serve to keep our country safe. Thank you!

sorry for the delay!

Sometimes the best laid plans don't go as planned! We just got home from spending 4 days in Las Vegas! It was an amazing weekend! I brought my laptop with me with all intentions of posting. Well- the internet wasn't free in the hotel! yeah- threw me for a loop too! So I have some great posts that I will be posting tomorrow after work as I am off to bed! But I bet you can guess that one of those posts will be that I am grateful for VACATION!!! :o)