It's Sunday night and the girls are all in their beds, presumably sleeping. At the least, they're being quiet. It's been quite a week for the Spicers, beginning last Sunday with Halloween; this may be the most exhausting holiday of them all!

Tuesday was Election Day, something we had been looking forward to and working towards for several months. When I made the decision at the beginning of the summer to go ahead and file for re-election to the local school board, we all talked about the commitment it would take as well as the time necessary to run a campaign. In Wyoming, local SB candidates do not file until after the primary election in August, so we had some time to get ready and get a game plan together. That's not saying we actually did any of that; in fact, we really didn't do much of anything until the first or second weekend in September. Credit Maggie for finally pushing me to design and order signs (which she went ahead and did). We worked hard for several weekends pounding stakes into the rock-hard Wyoming dirt, studied traffic, and copied other candidates. In the end, we placed nearly 140 signs in and around Rock Springs advertising my candidacy.

Elections are something that I am superstitious about. While I wasn't nervous about the election results, I was unwilling to make predictions or post-election plans. Something about karma and being humble drives my thinking. Anyway, we made plans to attend an election-night party with two other candidates, one for SB and another for RS City Council. Then, it was time to huddle in front of the radio and wait for the sketchy election coverage to announce the winners. I expected to hear results by 7:30pm, 30 minutes after the polls closed. However, the results were delayed and in particular the SB results were simply not announced until 8:00pm or so. When they were announced, we heard that I had carried all but two precincts in the county, but my friend who was also at the party had not won a seat. Winning this year was bittersweet, because I was sure that he would win.

In the end, I'm thankful that I won my seat back, and I'm optimistic about the future of education in Sweetwater Co. I'm thankful that the election is now over with, and I can concentrate on other things. Finally, I'm thankful for the support I received from my family and friends, but particularly the support I get from my wife; she made sure that my name was visible out in the community, and she stood beside me during the whole process. Thanks Maggie, I'm thankful for your love and support!

Today I am thankful for...

lazy Sunday afternoons.

Need I say more?

Today I am thankful for...

music.

I love music; pretty much all of it.

My current obsession is Bruno Mars' Just The Way You Are.

Small Successes

I haven't posted my small successes in a couple of weeks so I feel like I could just go on and on. However, I am going to list just one and in my mind it's huge:

1. I survived October!

October is as crazy, if not more so, than Christmas in this house. So, surviving this is no small feet! We had 6 family birthdays, 3 friend birthdays, a wedding {that JTS photographed and all of the girls were in}, two business trips, the Sage Elementary Fall Festival, homecoming in Laramie, multiple class parties, multiple Halloween parties, preparing for the election {and of course the election this week} and SO. MUCH. MORE!

Whew, we made it!

Today I am thankful for...

books.

“There is no substitute for books in the life of a child.”

^{- May Ellen Chase}

“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations--

something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.”

^{- Katherine Patterson}

Today I am thankful for...

our dogs.

MacGregor the Scotty



Frasier the Boston Terrier



Harry the Standard Poodle



Finn the Cairn Terrier


A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.
~Josh Billings

The Thanksgiving Challenge

Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of at least one thing that you are thankful for and write it. "Today I am thankful for..." This little challenge comes to me via Facebook but is worthwhile all the same. However, I thought my thankfulness might get lengthy or even sappy {given my recent state of mind} so, best to be written on the blog.

Today I am thankful for the health of my children. On of my best friend's children is having some serious medical problems right now and watching her endure this is very difficult to say the least. I can only relate in that we only ever want the absolute best for our children and when any issue arises that threatens that it is devastating. This particular situation just breaks my heart. So today, my beautiful, strong, healthy girls are what I am most thankful for.

They are the focus of my life and I love them beyond measure!

However, today I am also thankful for the gift of friendship. I have many girlfriends and few that I am blessed to call my very best friends. Without whom, I often wonder, would I ever make it through {a day, an hour, a cold; a PTO event, parenting crisis, etc.}. We rely on each other for A LOT: a text, a call, a drink, a compliment, a lunch date, a shoulder to lean on, an ear that will listen, someone that will laugh at you and, as I have been reminded again this week, we need each other. To embrace with our mutual love, lift up, look into each others eyes and say:

"you are going to survive this; we are here and we love you."