Thanksgiving Countdown... Day 5

Today, I'm thankful for...

the little moments in life spent as a family.
 

Those that know us (or ever read our blog!) know how few and far between those moments can be- especially during the past year. Thankfully, this year it has gotten much better, as my husband is less prone to come home at 10pm and more likely to make it home for dinner... yay! And I can truly feel God smiling down on us when He surprises us with a bit more then "the little moments". Those bring me great joy, as I don't even have to count the fingers on one hand, how many minutes I was able to "divert daily" with my husband that day!

Take yesterday for example. It truly felt like a Saturday (so I don't know what today feels like, as Joel's on call). Joel was able to spend 2 hours with us this afternoon, and it was such a blessing! We went to Parmenter's, which if you know anything about SE Michigan, they LOVE their cider mills... and this one of the best! Cider mills are known for two things (besides inflated prices)- cider donuts and non-pasteurized apple cider. YUM! So after feeding the ducks a huge grocery sack of bread (the results of my freezer finally biting the dust- sigh), we were able to enjoy some cider, cider slushies and spice donuts, while Liam played on their little playground. Such fun! Not to waste the opportunity, my husband even made some new friends (he walked upto an Asian woman and said "Konnichiwa") that were FOB (but more American-cultured then most) :)

The ingredients for their yummy cider...
and another blessing of cooler weather- the bees are gone!

 

Never too cold for a cider slushie! :)

Parmenter's has the best donuts I've ever had. Hands down.

Aiden wasn't too thrilled about us staying so long to talk to Kayo

It's days like these though, that refuels my tank so that I can survive the days when I feel like our family is practically non-existent. These moments, like cider mills... dinners together around the table... watching Liam play tiger with his Daddy... seeing Aiden giggle when he sees Joel's face... these are the moments I'm thankful for... because no matter how little they may be time-wise, they are huge investments in the lives of our children and family as a whole.