What I am Thankful For.....

There are so many things to be thankful for this holiday season. I have a loving husband who is a wonderful father and great provider for us (and awfully good looking too!), I have children who are healthy and each day are growing up to be unique and wonderful little people and we have a little black furry creature who loves us and the warm laps we provide for him. Whenever I am having a stressful day and bemoan my life I try to remember all of the wonderful blessings I do have, and remember all of the people out there who are not as fortunate.

Here are some recent photos of my little blessings. I wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving and encourage you to recognize and cherish all of the blessings in your life.

The other night Amelia refused to let anyone else feed her other than her big brother.....it was very sweet.

I got the kids dressed up and took some photos for our Christmas card this year...it was a bit challenging but these are the photos that turned out well (out of about 100 that I shot!)

The finish line....

One week ago today Paul and I completed the Trail of Two Cities Half Marathon here in Fresno. It was a great run and a very well put together event. This was my 3rd half marathon and Paul's first. We both did well, finishing in respectable times. Paul completed the run in 1:55 and I did it in 2:06, which is 4 minutes faster than my last half marathon. We were sore and tired Sunday night and Paul swore he'd never do another run....and then a few days later we signed up for another half marathon in Huntington Beach. So February 7, 2010 we will run yet another 13 miles and hopefully improve our times again!

The photos of the half marathon just posted to the www.runfresno.com website and we plan to order some, so check back later for photos of the run to be posted!

My Little Pumpkins...

What a busy week with all the Halloween festivities going on. While Amelia didn't really get what was going on, Alex was in a frenzy waiting for Halloween to come.

On Monday we took the kids to the pumpkin patch for our annual pumpkin photos and to pick our pumpkin to carve. The kids didn't disappoint with cute photos this year!

On Thursday we carved our two pumpkins. Paul worked on the big one, carving the Batman symbol at Alex's request (thank heavens for pumpkin stencils online!) while Alex and I worked on his small pumpkin.

On Halloween it was craziness around the Soares household! Alex had his last soccer game and then soccer team celebration. He received a trophy which he was very proud of. He really enjoyed playing soccer and I was impressed with the dedication of his coaches. The presented all the parents with a DVD of the season they had put together! I was touched by the thoughtfulness, especially since I am so crazy about documenting every moment of my kid's childhood...in case you haven't noticed.

After nap time we headed over to our good friend's house for some trick or treating. Alex and Sean were both dressed up as Batman and declared themselves "Batman Brothers." They shared this with every house they visited for trick or treating and everyone seemed to find it quite amusing. Amelia was the cutest little pig you have ever seen and Paul and I dressed up as Jon and Kate Gosselin and I think it turned out pretty well!

Paul and I also were quite accomplished this week, both running 10 miles in preparation for our half marathon next weekend. Even though I have run 2 half marathon's before I am feeling nervous for next weekend's event. With all the craziness going on lately I don't feel as well trained as I have in year's past but I am looking forward to running it with Paul. Check back for photos!