Another free photo slideshow by Smilebox

I'm thankful for the wonderful friends we have made here in Illinois and that last week I got to spend extra time with several of them.

On Monday and Tuesday I did a lot of shopping with Melissa Ricks at the craft store and the mall. I am thankful for my super smart friend Melissa and her beautiful smile and fun personality; she is a joy to be around. I'm grateful she and Trevor moved here and that we all get along so well.

On Wednesday, after preschool, Missy McConkie and her kids came over so we could make turkey cookies with the girls. This mostly consisted of the girls staying out of the way while we made the cookies and the boys eating the decorations, but it was a lot of fun. Missy suggested we take the cookies to our Thanksgiving dinners the next day and then take the left-over cookies to the assisted-living center down the road from us for the residents there. We did take the girls to Cordia Senior Residence on Friday morning and my heart was full as we visited with the people there and had the girls "perform" some songs for them. I am thankful for my wonderful and talented neighbor Missy for being an awesome VT partner, for her wonderful spirit of charity and selflessness, and for always being there for us in a pinch.

On Thursday morning Kyle went and played football with the Elders in our ward and had a really fun time. I'm grateful for all the good friends he has in our ward and for the fun they have together. When Kyle came home he brought a surprise - a movie for us to watch together as a family. We enjoyed spending time together since he did not have to work.

On Thursday afternoon we headed over to Jeremy&Amy Curtis' house for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great feast which included a "turdunkin" (a duck in a chicken in a turkey) and many wonderful pies! I'm sad I don't have any pictures because I forgot my camera and Kyle forgot his phone. The Curtis's have been our good friends for the past 3 years as well. I'm thankful for the easy fun we always have when we're together and for Will and his "lick-kisses"! Amy is an awesome friend and co-teacher. I love her easy-going nature and am so excited for her to have a baby GIRL in just a few short weeks.

Also at the Curtis's house were Liz and Alan Ricker. Liz has been living in Indiana for the past few weeks on a rotation and poor Alan has been home alone but she got to come home for Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for Liz's friendship; for late nights talking, shopping trips, "just girls" get-away's, and for lazy Thursday afternoons hanging out doing nothing at all. She's been a blessing I'll always be grateful for.

Last, but certainly most important - Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were spent with my bestest friend of all - Kyle. He's been working so hard it's sometimes difficult to spend much time together when we're both awake, but he had the whole weekend off and we spent nearly all of it together, just the way I love it. I'm grateful for Kyle - for his positive attitude, hard-working nature, and loving kindness for me and our children. He's the best friend a girl could hope to be married to and I'll forever be grateful I was lucky enough to find him.