Hinze family Christmas tree expedition

This afternoon we piled in the family minivan and drove to to local lowes to search for the perfect tree. I know it sounds cheesy but the best smelling and shaped trees are Fraser firs and sadly they don't grow in Florida. So given the choice between cutting a tree at a local farm that was not quite right or getting a Fraser we decided to go with tradition and get the same as always.

I must say that the choices were slim- lots of trees must have been put up over the weekend.

In my mind I was looking for a smaller tree- about 5.5 feet but in the end I think we ended up with a 6.5 foot one. Mike called it a Charlie Brown tree but I think it's perfect!

We had lots of choices for sure and in the end we almost went with the tiny one but the other one grabbed our interest.

Of course we watched Christmas Vacation twice before we went to get it. It would be breaking tradition to not watch it before hand. In fact we watched it before thanksgiving this year!

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Thankful Day 6

Today I am thankful for babywearing. I accomplish so many things while wearing Maris. Today I voted while wearing her on my back. I've done lactation consultations with her on my back as well! I can guarantee she will nap if I put her on my back in the kinderpack almost every time.

Thankful, Day 5

Today I am thankful for impromptu dinner parties with five friends and five babies in highchairs and two brave husbands. In all there were 7 kids - 5 being a year and under. They were all so well behaved it was amazing!

Thankful day 3 and 4

It's been a crazy weekend so I'm combining the two days together...

I'll start by writing what Maddie and Wyatt were thankful for this weekend.. I asked them and they both agreed that they were most thankful for their baby sister Maris. I'll have to remind them of their thankfulness in another year when she's 2 and terrorizing them!

This weekend I am thankful for the ladies in my knitting group. We got up insanely early Saturday morning (4:35 a.m. for me) and went to the pajama sale at Unwind. It was actually a yarn sale - but you could wear your PJs (and I did). We meet every Tuesday and knit, chat and share our lives with one another. I have enjoyed the new friendships and new knowledge about yarn, knitting and crochet.

Today I am thankful for my husband who is an amazing boat captain and fisherman. We dined on super fresh yellowfin tuna that I made into sushi tonight. It was divine. I am thankful for a man who provides not just financially for his family, but also provides food - whether it's fish or wild game.

Pow wow

Yesterday I got to be a chaperone on a field trip with maddies class. We went to the annual intertribal pow wow. I always love going to it. Last year Maris was about a week old when we went. It was amazing to consider how much she's grown in a year! I was assigned 3 students in maddies class. We watched the dances, looked at the educational booths and did a little shopping.

Maris even joined in the dancing a bit :)

Thankful, Day 2

Tonight I am thankful for satellite phones.

Mike is about 150-160 miles offshore tonight - chasing tunas. Anytime he's on a long trip with the Mixed Nuts guys he calls and checks in on their satellite phone. It's mostly for emergencies - but they know how important it is for the kids to talk to daddy and for Mike to know that everything is safe on the homefront.

Fishing is slow he said - they're fishing on the back side of the full moon -the fish are full already. I pray for their safe return - and some tuna would be nice :)

Thankful day 1

It's been one of those days - you know the kind when you could totally get whiney and I'm not talking about the kind that comes in a bottle (although that would be nice). I spent most of my day in bed - feeling nauseous from the bug that my children lovingly shared with me. I haven't eaten anything and only drank some sprite. It was early release so my rest time was cut a little short...

But despite being puny and wanting to curl up and hibernate - I am still thankful. So to start the season of thanks I'm going to write about some of my thankful things.

• Today I am thankful that my two older children are old enough to keep an eye on their baby sister while I bury my head under a pillow to try and stave off the nausea.
• I am thankful for a toddler who loves her brother and sister so much that she is enthralled with them long enough for me to rest a bit.
• I am thankful for a husband who picked up pizza on his way home from work and managed to feed the kids while the baby and I slept a bit this evening.
• I am thankful for the tuna trip that Mike is leaving on at midnight. Even though he will be gone from us and so very tired when he returns it means a little more money saved and hopefully some incredible sushi this weekend!
• I am thankful that we had two house showings in the past day and none today. I just couldn't have pulled it off.
• I am thankful that I was able to talk to two moms about breastfeeding today. One expecting and one having a hard time - both will find the help they need and get things figured out. I love sharing my passion with people. 
• I am thankful for new shoes/boots for all three kids. The selection process was daunting - who knew Maddie would grow to be so picky about what she likes? LOL but after about 10 emails back and forth with their grandmomma a consensus was reached! Maris is going to be so excited to get her little boots. She only has 1 pair of real shoes at the moment and demands them on her feet every day. Now she'll have choices!

That's enough to cover the first 6 days of Thanksgiving - but I realize that I have so very much to be thankful for that I can think of more than one thing a day. I am blessed to be able to do this.