Happy Thanksgiving to All

Thanksgiving this year was marvelous; we spent it at Greg and Leslie's house with them, Kristi, Jake, Kinzi, Whitney, and Parker, Adam's cousin Dean, and Grandpa Smith and Grandma Lorna. While a huge family gathering with everyone present is always a party, it was nice to have a small group. Since there were only six little kids present, the chaos was notably reduced which made a nice, relaxing afternoon.


The food was spectacular as usual: Leslie's excellent turkey breast AND cinnamon-glazed ham, sweet potato casserole complete with broiled marshmallows, potatoes and gravy, green been casserole, corn casserole with tons of cheese on top, fresh cranberry sauce, stuffing, cran-grape salad, 12-layer jello, Lorna's rolls with three different varieties of homemade jam. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie and lemon-cheese pie--two of my very favorites. I ate and ate and ate, and definitely had a food hangover afterward. Aah...I love Thanksgiving!



My favorite part of the holiday was the cute shirts I made for my kids. I used some recycled men's V-necks for Amber and Karli's (she insisted on a tank top, the crazy kid) and two hand-me-down ready made shirts for the boys. The letters are all scraps of old t-shirts appliqued with brown thread, and "adorable" on both girls' shirts was spelled out in rhinestones. They were darling!

Rex and Whitney had a blast together.

Karli did lots of puzzles while waiting for dinner.

Parker taught Case how to be even more trouble than he already is.

Case was thrilled by every bite of food; he'd squeal and laugh every time the fork approached his mouth.

Thankful to be adorable.

I also made Karli's headband out of old t-shirt scraps; those roses are my new favorite item to craft.

Thankful to be awesome.

Little turkey.

I'm thankful for these cuties!

A Crazy, Wonderful Life

Everyone who reads my blog will know exactly when the batteries in my camera die; they're dead. Hence, the shortage of posts lately. That's not the only reason, though. Life is speeding up for me and our little family. I can't believe how quickly the days fly by, the laundry just keeps piling up, and the dishes move from the cabinets to the table to the sink seemingly on their own. Between my job, Amber's school, and the hundreds of trips to the doctor's office, I feel like I live in a blur. It's a good blur, but it's insane!

I always love November and the heightened sense of gratitude that I feel. This year has been great mixed with not-so-great, and I'm feeling right now like we're stuck in a rut. While things definitely could be (and have been) worse, I'm ready to move on to the settled-down-and-established phase of life. Then again, I wonder if there ever will be a phase like that for my family. It seems like the world has changed significantly in the past ten years. Will there ever be such a thing as job security? Does my lifetime view of "middle class" even exist anymore? Call me a real pessimist, but I am starting to think that we may be scraping by in one way or another for the rest of our lives.

I gave a talk in church last week about President Monson's conference address entitled "The Divine Gift of Gratitude". It helped me remember that the important things in life are the things I already have: my husband, our kids, the gospel, a testimony. I am glad I had to speak on that talk, because I really need that reminder now. This is an awful thing to say, but I feel like we've suffered through the starving student era, had babies, paid our tithing faithfully, and we've paid our dues. I'm ready to be over that!

Here's to a bright future, enduring hope, and a wonderful holiday season filled with love and happiness. I'm blessed to know what I know, and to have a Heavenly Father who loves me. I know that I have a Savior who makes it possible for me to repent of my sins and I feel divinely blessed to have Adam, Amber, Karli, Rex and Case in my life. We have wonderful parents and family members who bless us daily. I appreciate all of their help and kindness. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!