A Thankful Heart

I am so thankful for God.

I am so thankful for Michael.

I am so thankful for Isaiah.

I am so thankful for my mom and dad.

I am so thankful for my granny.

I am so thankful for the time I was able to spend with my grandpa before he passed away. 

I am thankful that he lives on in our hearts and we will meet again. 

I am thankful for the legacy he left behind.

I am thankful for my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I am thankful for all of my wonderful friends (that includes you).

I am thankful for my church and church family.

I am thankful for my freedom and the men and women who fight to keep it.

I am thankful for the simple things in life that make me happy.

I am thankful for my home.

I am thankful for family traditions.

I am thankful for all of the delicious food we are eating today!

I hope you and your family are having a wonderful day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~jennykate♥

Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving...

Twas the night before Thanksgiving...


10 SIMPLE things in life that make me happy...

1.  a GREAT cup of coffee
2. that little ding I hear when I have a new email/comment in my inbox
3. GOOD snail mail from a friend
4. quiet time with a good book
5. Gain laundry soap
6. a clean bathroom
7. white twinkle lights
8. Isaiah's jokes
9. a good chat on the phone...seems as though texting has taken over our lives and it's nice to reconnect over the phone every once in a while.
10. my favorite song coming on the radio

I'm oh-so-thankful.

What are 10 simple things that make you happy?


What are you up to on the day/night before Thanksgiving? 


Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

McLinky Monday - What Am I Thankful For

Today, on The RHOK, Mrs. Hart wants to know what we're thankful for.  I have addressed this topic quite a bit in the last couple of weeks.  I've been linking up occasionally when I can to Seriously, Shawn.  Sorry, I haven't linked up more Shawn!  I was going to use a previous post.  It was such a long weekend and I'm uber tired, but I started thinking that I have so much to be thankful for and surely I can come up with at least ONE MORE POST.  Of course, I am always thankful for my Trifecta...God, Family, and Friends.  So, here's my list of things I'm thankful for this morning...totes off-the-cuff:

I'm thankful for the AH-mazing weekend I just experienced.
I'm thankful for my AH-mazing husband who lets me do my "thang", even when he doesn't get it.

I'm thankful for the time I got to spend with my cousin Kristen.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to "pick-up" a few toiletry items whilst away...and by "pick-up" I mean steal.  I committed a crime for toiletries, people.  I wonder if the cleaning lady knew that it was us who stole 8 bottles of lotion and 4 bottles of shampoo off of her cart.  I'm sure she had to have noticed that they were missing and I'm pretty sure that is what she was telling the guy who was with her when we passed her on the way to the elevator.  I'm not fluent in Spanish, so I'm just taking a guess here, but I think she was saying "That's them.  Those are the girls who stole all of the lotion off of my cart."  I hope I don't get banned from the Westin.  I do love to stay there.

I'm thankful for the nice man at the desk who informed me that you can purchase the Westin toiletries on-line...listed under their "Heavenly Products".  (Funny that they are named "heavenly", because I'm pretty sure my actions were NOT "heavenly".)  Good to know.  I will not need to commit grand theft any longer.  I'll be able to acquire my toiletries in an honest fashion.

I'm thankful for my ability to not get star-struck.  While having dinner with Peter Facinelli, he spent 5 or 10 minutes at our table and I was able to just chat with him like we were old friends...and I remembered my own name.  I did write it on my hand, just in case.

I'm thankful for rest.

Hopefully I'll get to catch up on some soon.  I think Kristen and I squeezed in about 6 hours for the entire weekend.

What are you thankful for today?   Come over and visit the Real Housewives of OKlahoma and link up!  Remember, you don't have to be a housewife or from Oklahoma.  We do prefer that you're real, because if you weren't that would just be weird.

Friend Makin' Monday & A Thankful Heart...all wrapped into one!

I NEVER do this.  EVER.  I'm posting twice today.  This just doesn't happen on Jenny Kate's Spot.  So, mark this day down.  I already linked up to McLinky Monday over at The RHOK with my favorite Thanksgiving food and recipe. Then, I read the message from Becca on Facebook saying that she was hosting FMMs and wanted everyone to post and stop by and link up...I always try to help out my bloggy friends when I can.  Besides, I love FMMs and miss them when I don't participate.  It's how I've met some incredible blogging friends!  I tried to think of a creative way to combine McLinky Monday, FMM, AND 25 Days of Thankful (with Shawn)...but I just couldn't do it.

With this post, I'll be able to link up to FMMs being hosted by Becca @ The Texas Darlings 

and 25 Days of Thankful hosted by Shawn @ Seriously Shawn

Becca asked us to list what we are specifically thankful for in 2010...our Top 10 of 2010, which falls right into Shawn's 25 Days of Thankful!

Here's my Top 10 of 2010...

One - My family.  I love them so much.  Anytime I have a bad day or things are going rough, I remember that I have them to come home to and all is right with the world.

Two - Fun times.  I love to have fun.  Life is too short to be boring.  So, I'm thankful for all of the fun I've had in 2010.  

Three - House Addition. I'll post an update this week!  Pinkie promise.

Four - Twilight.  I know this sounds crazy and a little far-fetched for some of you, but it has brought a lot of great things/people/experiences into my life.

Five - My extended family.  I'm the oldest of 15 grand kids and I am so close to my cousins, aunts, and uncles.  I don't know what I would do without them.

Six - My friends.  I love them so much.  They mean the world to me.  They talk me down from "ledges", tell me it's OK to have chocolate when the world has me down, support my addictions, and keep me sane.  

Seven - Reading!  I love my books and I'm especially thankful for the ones that change my life, make me think, and give me a different perspective.

 Remember this?

Eight - Blogging.  What would I do without all of my friends who live in my computer?!

Nine - Coffee. You knew this would have to make the list, right? I've gotta have my Starbucks!

Ten - My church.  I'm over the children's department at church and I love it...love me kiddos and my church family.

What are you thankful for?

Stop by The Texas Darlings or Seriously Shawn today and link up with a Thankful post!

McLinky Monday - Thankful For Food

This Week's Question @The RHOK is:

What is your favorite food at Thanksgiving dinner?

Lord knows this is a good topic for me.  I love food.  I love Thanksgiving...and I especially love Thanksgiving food!

Our Thanksgiving takes place at my Granny's house.  If you read one of my posts from last week, you know that my Granny is the best cook EVAH!  She's better than the Pioneer Woman, for reals.  She deserves her own cooking show.  We've thought about compiling a collection of her recipes into a cookbook, but how do you do that with a person who cooks with a "little of this" and a "pinch of that"?  I guess Granny's recipes will have to just continue to be passed down and enjoyed by her family.  Lucky me!

So, since my Granny is such a stellar cook, she is in charge of all the important stuff like turkey, dressing, and gravy.  As a side note, we have DRESSING, not STUFFING.  It's a rule at the Barney house...no stuffing.  The side dishes are left up to the rest of us...well, some of us.  There are a couple of people and I won't mention any name *achem, V and mom* who aren't allowed to don't really cook side dishes.  My Aunt Bev makes the best broccoli and cheese casserole you have EVER tasted.  She also makes some amazing hot rolls.  Somebody makes mashed potatoes...there are a couple of people who are qualified to do that.  (We take this food making business serious.)  I like to believe that I am pretty good at making green bean casserole.  I've confessed my LOVE of green beans on the blog before.  I think that if you really love something, that kind of helps you to be good at it...so, I'm a good green-bean-casserole-maker!

Here's my recipe: (I prepare for a large family, so excuse the quantities.  You may need to cut everything in half)

4 cans of green beans

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

1 large can of french fried onions

Worcestershire sauce (If you can say this correctly, I would like to give you some sort of award)

black pepper

Combine green beans, soup, milk, worcestershire (to taste), black pepper (to taste), half of french friend onions and 1 cup of cheese.  Put ingredients into baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350.  Then top with remaining cup of cheese and french friend onions and bake for an additional 10 minutes (cheese should be bubbling/melty).

Sometimes I even substitute the cheddar flavored french fried onions.  It's delish!!

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

Head over to The RHOK for more Thanksgiving dishes and recipes!!

A Thankful Heart -- Day 1

"No matter what happens, always be thankful..." (1 Th. 5:18)

Over the next month, as often as possible, I'm going to be posting things I'm thankful for.  

I'm thankful for so many things.  I feel very blessed.  

Sometimes my "thankfuls" might be "profound" and other times they may be silly or things that are only important to me.

Today, I'm thankful for the ability to go into the kitchen and just "whip something up", as my Granny would say.  

I have her to thank for this ability.  

For lunch today, I went into our kitchen here at the office and made myself some chicken and dumplings...my Granny's easy recipe.  

After a conversation with a co-worker, it dawned on me that not everyone can just go into the kitchen and make something.  My ability to cook definitely comes from my Granny.  She is a wonderful cook.  I hope that one day I am even half as good as she is.

So, a big shout-out to my Granny (even though she doesn't read my blog...she doesn't even know what blogging is) for letting me hang out in her kitchen and watch her every move...and ask a million questions.

Thank you, Granny!  I LOVE you!

I'm linking up today with Shawn at Seriously and her 

25 Days of Thankful!

Hurry over and check out more "thankfuls"!

What are you thankful for?

Pictures from Thanksgiving Weekend

I know that Thanksgiving has already come and gone, and that we're already posting things about Christmas, but I wanted to share some of the pics from our Thanksgiving weekend.

Here's my lil' Indian...This was some of the things Isaiah made at school to celebrate Thanksgiving and Native American Days. He was doing his Indian call here...I should have taken some video to post. Quite entertaining.

Thanksgiving day at my Granny's...men doing what they do best...sleeping and watching football.
We had lots of YUMMY pies! Isaiah's favorite were the pumpkin!

My cousins Natalie (Nat-Nat) and Noah (No-No)

More of my cousins...we were scouring over the Black Friday ads...making our lists and mapping it out! Do you see the intensity on every face?

The day before Thanksgiving I got off work early and my cousin Allison and I went to see New Moon for the 3rd time! Whut Whut?!

On Saturday, Michael and I went to the Bedlam game in Norman and we had Thanksgiving with his mom and dad while we were there...good times on both accounts. Sooners won and Thanksgiving with the in-laws was good! However, if you talk to Michael, he's probably going to bring up the fact that I LOST our tickets. Yeah, probably the mistake of the year. It'll take a while to live this one down. I was carrying my cute red clutch that Julie got me and I kind of have a nervous habit of snapping it shut and unsnapping it...not thinking about our tickets being tucked inside. So, I think during the time we were waiting in line to get something to drink before going in to the stadium, the tickets slipped out of my clutch. Not good. Last game of the year...our biggest rivals...most costly face value tickets...plus, we already had tickets and now had to buy more! Yeah, as I said...not good. The good news is that we got some more tickets for a fraction of face value price and went in to the stadium to find out seats unoccupied, so it ended well....and my Sooners won!
That was my Thanksgiving weekend. Hope your's was wonderful. Counting down the days 'til Christmas!

Thanksgiving Thankfuls!!

Today on this Thanksgiving Day, I am oh so thankful for all the blessings in my life. The most obvious ones are

• God
• Jesus, my Savior
• my amazing close-knit family
• Michael
• Isaiah
• my cousins who have been like sisters and brothers to me through the years
• my brother Josh and niece Gracie living in Oklahoma
• the best friends a girl could ask for
• old friends
• new friends
• friends who live in my computer...ALL of you...I'm so thankful for each and every one of you
• my church family
• knowing what is important in life
• a home
• a job
• that my Grandpa is here to spend another Thanksgiving
• my Granny's pies
• plenty of food
• resources to help others
• Christmas is around the corner
• coffee
• Black Friday shopping (it's like a holiday all in itself!)
• New Moon...I'm serious y'all...I love that movie
• Eclipse will be here in 216 days
• party planning because it makes me so happy
• time off to spend with my family
• the sun
• the moon
• the seasons
• my new cranberries and spice candle that makes my house smell like the holidays

I'm sure I'm missing something. I'm pretty much thankful for everything around me...it's hard to list everything...well, I guess I could just say I'm thankful for EVERYTHING! That's what Isaiah put on our Blessings Tree in our Sunday School room...if a 5 year old can do that, then so can I. I'm thankful for EVERYTHING! How about you? What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Love you guys!♥

Thursday Thankfuls

I can't believe that it is already November and the holidays are upon us! I don't know where this year has gone...time goes by so fast these days. I wish there was a pause button. I do love this time of year though and I love having the opportunity at Thanksgiving to really reflect and think about things I'm thankful for. I was telling Isaiah the other morning that it's almost time for Thanksgiving and he says "what's Thanksgiving?" I told him that "it is a time of year that we count our blessings and remember the things we're thankful for". He said that he was thankful for the "beautiful fall leaves", and "his family", and "the Upside Down Show", and "sausage and cheese breakfast sandwiches"...and then he just went off into silly talk and being thankful for just about everything that was in the car and things we were passing as we were driving to school. I was thinking about it after I dropped him off and it made my heart happy, because we should all be thankful for everything we have...whether it's big or small...we should be thankful. I love that he can see the big picture. I'm trying to see the big picture and be thankful for everything from my family to the granola bar I had for breakfast.

Today I am thankful for...

• My Family - each and every one of them (even the ones I get ticked off at)
• My House - even though it is WAY too small, it's mine and I love it.
• The ability and resources to help people - even in small ways
• My Family's health
• The hot cup of coffee I'm drinking as I type this...and the cute mug that it is in, the one that makes me think of the sweet friend that gave it to me...just one more thing to be thankful for.
• the beautiful fall leaves on the tree right outside my office window.
• New Moon (and my PAR-TAY) will be here in 14 days, 13 hours, and 45 minutes...but who's counting?! =)
• All of YOU! I'm so thankful for blogging. I've met so many wonderful friends. Some of you are now friend IRL and e-mail buddies. I love you guys! Just to think, without this blog, I would have never met any of you!

What are you thankful for?

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!♥

Thursday Thankfuls

My last Thursday Thankfuls of November. You know when I started these I was planning on just doing them through November...'til Thanksgiving, but I just love them so much that I'll probably continue doing them...for a while at least. We'll see. So, here are my last Thursday Thankfuls of November:

1. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For having the hope of a better tomorrow and the peace of knowing I'm in his hands. Like I say in my bio, He is always so full of grace and mercy. I totally don't deserve it at times, but I'm so THANKFUL that He gives it anyway.
2. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my family. They love me in spite of myself and I'm sooooo THANKFUL for that! They are the reason I am who I am.
3. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my friends. They mean so much to me. They're there for me when I need them the most. They listen to all my crazy ramblings. They love me for me. I couldn't ask for more.
4. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the yummy Thankgiving dinner I'm about to eat...and for all of the extended family that will be surrounding me...and for those that couldn't be here.
5. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for Black Friday...yeah, I know pretty pathetic...but I'm thankful for the girl time I'm going to have tomorrow, the laughs, the sales, the good buys, the start to the Christmas season, Peppermint Mochas, more laughs, good times, a movie, breakfast/lunch/and dinner out, mom and me time, time with friends, more sales, more good buys, a car full of goodies, and then finally getting back home in the wee hours of Saturday :)
6. On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the fact that I get to start putting up my tree and all the Christmas decor and legally listen to Christmas music!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my wonderful blog-land friends!!! Love you all!