(Late) Thankful Thursdays- Moms!

So as I said, I'd be having to catch up on "Thankful Thursdays" and unfortunately, last night I was exhausted. So I am doing it today! YAY! Since I previously said I thought of "Thankful Thursdays" around Mother's Day and I did the dads last week, it would only be appropriate to celebrate the wonderful mothers I have in my life.



I am very thankful for my beautiful mother.



My mom has always been such an inspiration to me. She has gone through so much in your life and fought graciously through it all. Growing up, we were not friends. Now though, I can honestly call her one of my very best friends. I know I can call her anytime, anywhere and get advice or just a chat. She has done so much for my family and has supported me throughout my life non-stop. She also treats all her kids as a "favorite", leaving all of us confident that we are her favorite. It has caused a couple discussions amongst us kids (but they know I'm the fave). HAHA She's very loving and sweet with her grandchildren too. I'm very thankful to have a mother like her, to be able to model and strive to be as I have become a mom and woman. Thank you Mom!


I'm so thankful for my sweet step-mom.



Dawn Ann came into my life when I was younger, around 5 or 6. It took a while for our relationship to grow into the great place it is now. It is always so much fun when we get to visit with her and my dad during vacations. It's such a fun time to be able to talk and get to know each other more and more. When I was younger, I remember going to get my ears pierced with her and she was so calming. She still has that about her. She also is so great with her grandchildren. Each of them have a very special place in her heart it seems. We are all very lucky to have her in our life. Thank you Dawn Ann!


I'm thankful for my great mother-in-law.

Crystal has been a very great mother and mother-in-law. She raised Jimmy to be a spectacular man and supported him and us through so much. She welcomed me into her family and been so good to me ever since. She works hard for her family and struggled through many obstacles, always becoming a stronger woman. She is so good with her grand-boys (we need a girl already! HAHA) and loves to be around them. She has always tried to make family first and show her love in so many ways. Thank you Crystal!



To all my moms, I love, adore, cherish and hold you very dear to my heart. I'm so happy to be your daughter and learn so much from each of you as I grow as a mother. You are all very wonderful. Thank you for always being there when I needed you and for my family.

Postponed

Sorry all. Thankful Thursday will be postponed to Sunday. I promise I will post a lovely thankful post then. Just been busy, busy, busy!

Thankful Thursdays! - Dads

Since Father's Day is Sunday, I thought it would only be appropriate to tribute this week's "Thankful Thursday" to the dads in my life! I originally thought of this idea (Thankful Thursday) around Mother's Day but because of my busy schedule, I never got around to starting it, so soon there will be a post for moms.

I have to say I'm such a lucky girl. I have three dads in my life; my dad, my step-dad and my father-in-law. I am so thankful for each of them and for all different reasons.

"The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!"
~Author Unknown

I'm very thankful for my dad! He's such a strong, sweet man.

Growing up, my favorite band was Alabama because Randy Owen was the lead singer. My favorite actor was Tom Selleck. There were never really any reason for those people to be my favorite, except to me, they reminded me of my dad. And to this day, my favorite band is still Alabama and my favorite actor is still Tom Selleck, and still whenever I see either of them, I think of my dad. I really adore my dad. I think it took a while for us to really get to know each other, but I honestly think now we have a great relationship. I love learning new things about his past and all about him. I still feel like his little girl, listening to all his great stories of growing up. He taught me so much. I remember fishing and camping with him since I was so little. He always would let me just cast and reel in, knowing I wasn't going to catch anything that way. He's so easy to be around and has accepted me throughout my life without question. I'm so very thankful for him and having him in my life always.

I'm so thankful for my step-dad. He's so funny and kind.

Dan came into my life when I was very young. It took us a long time to develop the relationship we now have and I really look up to him. I know we didn't always see eye to eye, but I think no matter what, he loved me through all my faults and mistakes. I will admit, he did have to put up with a lot with us kids growing up. And I'm thankful he did. He taught me a lot of life's lesson, though I'm sure at the time I was very not interested in learning any of them. And he taught me this love for music that I don't think will ever go away. He's hilarious and still likes to pick on me, but knows its okay because I won't take it to heart. I'm so thankful that he came into my life, under circumstances no child wishes for to begin with, but now I'm thankful it has happen after life has happened and people are happier. (Hope that made sense. haha)

I'm thankful for my wonderful father-in-law.

Eddie has always welcomed me into his family. I even remember saying he loved me before his son ever did. Haha! He also was very supportive and sweet when my family was moving to Florida, stating that I still had family there (meaning Jimmy's side of the family). And he was right. He has some of the best Vegas stories around. And he tells them better than anyone else could. He can get everyone rolling on the floor. And he's a die-hard Yankee's fan, even trying to convert Jake into one. He really is an incredible man. He helped raise Jimmy and the other kids into amazing people. He's worked hard and sacrificed a lot in life, and I really admire and respect him even more so for that. He is always there for his wife and family, and on call as a babysitter all the time, which I'm very thankful for. :) I'm very thankful he came into my life and I was accepted into his family, treated just like a daughter.

To all my dads, I love you very much. More than I can express. And I'm sure I don't say it often, but I am VERY thankful for all of you for so many more reasons than listed here and adore each of you. It is such an honor to be called your daughter. Thank you for all you have done for me and my small little family.

And a special shout out to all dads out there, thank you. "Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad." ~Anne Geddes

Happy Father's Day!

Until next time, have a good one!

Thankful Thursdays!

As I said in my previous post, I've decided to do Thankful Thursdays where I express why I'm thankful to have certain people in my life. This week, being the first time I'm doing it, I have to of course talk about my incredible boys!

I'm very thankful for my sweet husband!


He is just a great guy. He's always so good to Jake and I. He works hard so Jake and I can stay home together. He helps out when needed, lends an ear when I need to vent or just talk, gives great hugs and kisses for no reason at all and spoils us rotten. He's strong, smart, sweet, supportive, handsome, silly and such a great husband and father. I'm so thankful to have a husband who will protect and provide for his family under any needs and loves us unconditionally. I love him with so much heart and soul!

I'm very thankful to be the mother of this wonderful little boy!


Jake is such a gift to me. He's taught me so much more than he will ever understand. He taught me what it is to be a mother; he taught me appreciation for my parents; he's taught me to look at the world different and to look at myself differently. He's my favorite little buddy and friend. We always have such a blast together (when he isn't getting into trouble). I'm so happy I get to be the lucky person (along with Jimmy of course) who can call him my son. I'm very thankful to be able to be trusted to guide and help him through his life. It is so humbling to have him with in my life forever. I love him more than words can explain!

May into June

Let's see if I can catch everyone up on what has been going on with us Belanger's since (and on) James' birthday.

Well, I must say Jake is one talented little bugger. Here is the present he made for his daddy for his birthday.


Okay, I admit, I helped him write everything out. :) For Jimmy's birthday, we went to a delicious dinner at Benihana's. He got pretty spoiled by Jake and I and all our families. Thanks to everyone. We love you all.

The next day, I had lasik eye surgery. I was so nervous, but now I'm thankful and happy to have it done. I was so hesitant to do the surgery for personal reasons but after talking to my mom, I was comfortable doing the surgery. I can now see 20/20. Wooohhooo!

The following Wednesday, for my Mother's Day gift, I got a "J" tattoo for my Jake on my back. I don't have a picture but it sure is beautiful and precious to me.

Then that weekend was Memorial Day. As we do every year, we went camping with my dad, step mom and other family members. This trip was a little... rough. Jake got beat up!

On day one, he fell off a picnic table bench, causing his teeth to split his bottom lip and it to swell and bruise. Day two, he was riding a little bike, it tipped over and then his teeth went through the top of his lip. By this point, it looked as though he had lip injections. Day three, he was running by the pool (as several of us were telling him to slow down) and he slipped, hitting his head on the pool deck. Along with all those big events, there were several trips and falls which caused bruises and scratches up and down his legs. He sure had a bad weekend and believe me, he milked it!

BUT other than those crazy moments, there were some fun times. I unfortunately didn't keep my camera out much. But Brock took a picture of us on a hike up one of the trails. So beautiful there.

Then we went down and had ice cream... where all the kids dog piled on Jimmy. At the last moment, after Jake freaked that daddy was getting hurt, he jumped on top.

The weekend was pretty fun and relaxing for the most part. But I don't know if Jake would have said the same.

This past weekend, we were able to celebrate my grandpa at his 80th birthday party!

He is such a sweet and generous man and we were honored to be there to celebrate with him. So much of the family was able to join. Here are a couple pictures of the family, though there are some repeats in the pictures, and MANY people were missing from these pictures. It just shows how many people's lives he has impacted.

Up at the mountain where the party was, Jake and Jimmy took a little four wheeler ride and I had to throw it in here. HAHA

So while our last couple weeks have been so busy, they have been so much fun! We have been able to spend some time with so much of our family. We are so happy and blessed we could do that.

And now that I have caught up again, I will try to do a better job at keeping up. I've decided to do a weekly post on Thursdays called "Thankful Thursdays". It will be highlighting people in my life whom I am thankful for. So keep an eye out. More random posts will be included also of course. HAHA

Until next time, have a good one! :)