A Thanksgiving toast from my three year old

The night before Thanksgiving, as Dylan was getting ready for bed I tried explaining Thanksgiving to her. I told her it was a day to celebrate all that we are thankful for. She surprised me by saying she was thankful for me, her Dad, and Hayden. Then she went on a ten minute spree of "I'm sankful for... trees, rocks, horses, dogs, cats, go-gurt." You name it, she said it. She was so cute. As she climbed into bed I asked her if she would like to say the toast for Thanksgiving dinner and she said she did, then she went to sleep.

At dinner, she was seated with her napkin in her lap ten minutes before the food was on the table. She was starved and couldn't wait to toast. Her toast was perfect. She help up her wine glass filled with sparkling cider and said, "I am sankful for the moonlight that shines in my room and onto the floor. CHEERS!" I felt like weeping. What a wonderful thing to be thankful for.

I don't really have time to write but...

I was just drinking my morning cup of coffee and listening to Hayden talk to a toy. Then I looked out the window as Dylan scurried by and I realized today really is the perfect day to celebrate all that we are thankful for. My list could go on for miles! My family, friends, health, and happiness all deserve a day of celebration. Thanks does not actually do justice to how I feel at this moment, suffice it to say, I am happy and humbled to be a part of my own life! :) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Happiest Place on Earth

One of the myriad benefits of having children is once again seeing things as a child. The innocence and believability of all things great and small becomes real again through the eyes of our children. For instance, as we grow older, Christmas often loses its luster as we focus on the negative aspects of the holiday: budgeting gifts, wrapping those gifts, spreading ourselves thin as we try to visit ALL the relatives, losing the extra pounds gained, etc. etc. But now that I have children, especially one that truly believes in Santa, the holiday has a renewed beauty. Disneyland regained the same luster when we took Dylan for her first trip last week.

The colors were brighter, the people nicer and everywhere I looked I saw magic. I felt positively giddy when I saw the castle and wanted to shriek when I saw princess characters floating about. We bought Dylan an autograph book for meeting the characters, but really I felt like I wanted my own.

In all the years that I have visited Disneyland, this was the first time I actually watched the fireworks show (back in the day it was the BEST time to ride rides because everyone else was watching the show!) and I actually felt like weeping. The beauty and surprise of the fireworks left me feeling astounded.

The carousel held new magnificence to my childlike eyes and I rode right along with Dylan and my sister-in-law, Ileene. It has been years since I actually rode one; I normally stand next to Dylan, now she’s big enough to ride alone, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to feel the magic too.

I couldn’t tell Dylan no, when she wanted something I bought it… or my brother, Tommy did! I was brokenhearted when she lost a Tinkerbelle toy, and then promptly bought her another.

I could have watched her on the teacups for the rest of my life and then died a happy person. Then I rode them with her and life somehow became even better. She screamed and laughed; I screamed and laughed, too.

Watching Dylan’s face light up when she first saw Pluto made me feel like I might explode with gratitude. I’m not a big believer in God, but I thanked whomever for allowing me to be there for that exact moment in her life.

Disneyland is magical. Thank you, Dylan, for helping me to SEE again!