Thankful Thursday

It's that time again...Thankful Thursday!

This week I have so much to be thankful for. I love taking a moment each week to really think about my blessings...it puts things in perspective and reminds me of the many, many wonderful parts of my life!

This week i'm thankful for:

~Sleep. I feel saner, calmer, and more organized now that both kids sleep through the night almost every night!

~My parents, who invited the kids and I over for dinner on Monday. (Dan was out of town.) It meant a lot to have a night where, even though Dan wasn't home, I didn't have to do the night-time routine completely alone.

~Rhody Bloggers. I went to an event last night (hosted by the fabulous ladies of Rhody Mamas) and spent time with some of my Rhody Blogger friends. It was nice to get a rare night out and leave the kids at home!

~The holiday season. It makes me happy to hear the Christmas music in the stores and see all the decorations. I know people mutter and groan that it's too early...but I love it!

~An exciting upcoming blogger opportunity that I really can't wait to share with all of you in a few weeks.

~Stephanie's week at school. She had a great day both times she went this week. She's finally turning a corner and school mornings aren't the miserable nightmare that they were for a while!

I'd love to hear what you're thankful for this week! And link up if you're a blogger and wrote a Thankful Thursday post. As always, thank you to Joanna of Baby Gators Den for hosting. :)

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Rhode Island Beach Memories

Happy Friday everyone!

Today, my friend Carla over at All of Me Now is hosting our weekly Rhody Blog Hop. Today's prompt:

"In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Rhody Bloggers are linking up honoring and celebrating the beautiful beaches of Rhode Island. We’re each sharing a cherished memory of an Ocean State beach. You’ll find links to a wonderful collection of beach memories at the end of this post"

I love Rhode Island. I always have, and always will. It's my home state, and the place I hope to stay forever. It has my heart, this tiny little state. 

I was blessed to grow up 5 minutes from the gorgeous beaches of Rhode Island. When I was a kid, I took it for granted that we could see the ocean whenever we wanted. I couldn't fathom that there were people who had never even seen it once. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the vastness and beauty of the ocean. The local sea wall became the place I went to calm down, to seek refuge from any challenges I was facing in my life. The ocean was a balm, soothing my soul from any heartaches. 

When my children were born, I was eager to introduce them to the sea wall. I took Stephanie for walks in her stroller when she a tiny baby. My mommy friend (Stephanie's best friend's mommy) and I met along the wall once a week while she was on maternity leave so we could walk with our little ones.

When Joseph was born, it was close to winter and we didn't get to the wall until spring. But I loved introducing him to one my favorite places when we finally made it there. I spent this last summer walking the wall 3-4 times a week, trying to lose more of my baby weight. The kids loved watching the water, and I was thrilled to be instilling a love of the ocean in them at such a young age.

One of the landmarks along the Sea Wall is the Coast Guard House restaurant, which also holds a special place in my heart. Dan and I went to brunch there for our 2nd anniversary celebration, and for Father's Day when Stephanie was 1. I attended a baby shower there for a friend whose road to motherhood was paved with heartbreak and devastation. There are memories of that restaurant that I will hold in my heart forever.

 

Most recently we took Dan's family there for brunch when they were here from NY to celebrate Joseph's 1st birthday. Just two short weeks later, the restaurant looked like this:

Photo courtesy of the South County Independent

Photo courtesy of the South County Independent

Parts of my beloved sea wall collapsed as well.

Photo courtesy of the South County Independent

It is very sad to see these pictures, but I know that our state will rebuild. We will come out of this stronger than ever. I for one am thankful that it wasn't worse...because it definitely could have been. There are others along the East Coast who suffered much greater devastation, and my heart goes out to them as well.

Hurricane Sandy did a number to Rhode Island's beautiful beaches. It also affected many, many families in our little state, who are still suffering the after effects of the devastation. If you want to help, click here to connect with Serve Rhode Island, which is coordinating efforts to help families affected by Sandy. (Thanks to Carla for sharing that information with everyone!) 

You can read other stories of Rhode Island beach memories in the link section below, and if you have a post to link up, I'd love to read it!

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Random Photo Challenge!

Happy Sunday everyone! (Ok, so it's Monday. I started this post yesterday, and forgot to publish it until today. I caught the "Happy Sunday" just as I was about to hit that publish button. It made me laugh at myself.)

My friend Liz over at Learning to Juggle has started a photo challenge. Each week she posts a challenge and participating bloggers post a picture (or pictures) that correspond to that challenge.

This week's challenge was find the oldest picture you digitally have access to. I decided to go through my phone and find the oldest picture there. Since I'm a phone-photo hoarder, the oldest picture on there is the very first one I took when I got my android phone back in January 2011. (We recently upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy 3, but my pictures all transferred over thank goodness!) 

Isn't she adorable? I can't believe how little she was, and this was less than 2 years ago. I also think her brother looks a lot like her! 

I hope you all have a great week! xoxo

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