Thanksgving Feast!!

( Pictures of the family-- Traditional olive fingers, and the second has the picture that shows the fancy cans of Shasta-- like I said the kids don't miss the good stuff. Now I'm totally picking apart our T-day dinner picture , no tablecloth, no fine china and crystal, the kids aren't dressed up-- Martha would be so displeased! ) You can see the school in the background-- that is so nice, I love sending the kids off each morning and watching them walk into the school.

After cooking for six hours and keeping the kitchen clean and the kids outta my hair, we finally had our Thanksgiving Day dinner. It was small and simple, but the kids really don't miss all the fancy stuff. So, I made a few family favorites, found a new one for James ( the stuffing hater found a stuffing dish he actually liked, of course it took the longest to make with roasted chestnuts and sweet italian sausage ).

The highlight of the day was using the web cam to see cousins we hadn't seen in years. The kids in Utah ( four of them ) and my six were having a blast showing off for each other and talking at the same time. They had a great time and we look forward to using it again for Christmas day. My parents haven't been with my kids for Christmas in eight years, so even it is only via web-cam, they will still be part of our holidays. We live in such a great era, we are all so blessed.

So, I feel guilty not posting a thankful list, but I am tired and ready for bed. Tomorrow will have to be the posting for my gratitude list. I had to laugh though, when we went around the table telling one another what we were grateful for, Baylie said " I'm grateful I don't live in India" Who knows where that one came from. Funny though-- not that we don't love India, we have a missionary from our ward there-- but glad to be American.

Homesick for old friends

I haven't posted for a while. I don't know why, just not in the mood lately. I am not in the mood for much. My trip to Utah left me a little homesick and a call to friends in Wyoming made me nostalgic. I guess during the holidays we all get a little moody, homesick, etc. Especially when you are the one living so far from family and friends.

What makes it worse is the weather is so beautiful, the gas is so cheap, the kids are so bored, I just want to load the van up and take off for the week. But, no, that is not in the cards for me this year. We will be spending the holiday at home, being relaxed and enjoying the comforts of pajamas until late in the afternoon.

So, maybe in a day or two I will get out of the funk I seem to find myself in. I do have the web-cam ready to go. I sent one to my parents so we can chat online during all of the festivities. Maybe that will soften the homesickness.

Tagged-- so here goes

My friend Larissa tagged me on her blog a few weeks ago and I am finally getting around to responding-- so wish me luck ( I hope this is how it works ).


8 Favorite T.V. Shows:

1. Life
2. Criminal Minds
3. The Menatlist
4. Bonnie Hunt ( very funny )
5. Any new Education Week/Women's Conference talk on BUY-TV
6. Ghost Whisperer
7. Those 48 hours type shows ( mystery )
8. One for James - BYU football, basketball, soccer, whatever BYU is playing

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Brick Oven ( I haven't been there forever, so hopefully it is still as good as I remember )
2. Kind of lame but I am on a Chick-Fil-A kick right now, don't know why
4. A great Chinese restaurant here in town we found with some friends after Stake Conference
5. A Mexican restaurant in town ( Don't want to give away names or place so any creeps out there won't find me and my kids-- so e-mail me if you want to know )
6. Olive Garden/ Macaroni Grill - tastes the same but are both great
7. The Pizza Factory
8. Hogi Yogi-- love the yogi part, does that count?


8 Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Went to work for the last weekend at 6:30 am!!
2. Enjoyed my weekly Sam's Club run with James 7:30 am
3. Tried to take a nap, but found James in the basement watching football instead of keeping the kids away from the piano and computer and the guitar-- so no nap for me
4. Larissa will probably laugh-- ironing!!
5. Took the girls shopping for long pants-- winter suddenly arrived
6. Picked Alex up from debate and dropped him off at the movies with some friends
7. Went out to dinner with James and some friends
8. Came home, watched shows on the DVR while James snored away



8 Things I look forward to:


1. My new family room furniture, which according to The Secret, should be miraculously appearing any day now, just because I wished it.
2. Loosing weight-- of course
3. New clothes ( because I have lost so much weight nothing fits )
4. Visiting Utah this summer
5. Seeing all of my children in the temple, all together
6. Going on a long vacation with James once the kids are all grown and gone
7. Driving a new(er) car someday soon
8. Feeling like I am doing okay at this whole "life" thing


8 Things I Love about Fall:


1. The beautiful colors
2. The wonderful weather
3. Not a fan of Halloween- but I love the excitement in the air for the kids
4. Watching Kyle and Brandon play their little hearts out on the soccer fields
5. This is a stretch, but sending the kids back to school-- is August part of fall?
6. If August is part of fall, then November is too? My anniversary ( 14th for the temple, 21st for the wedding )
7. Kind of weird, but pulling up all the dead flowers and prepping the ground for next year
8. Hearing leaves crackle under my feet while I am on a walk


8 Things on my wish list:

1. Still waiting on the new couch
2. A nice new car
3. All of my scrapbooks to be done
4. A nice family vacation to somewhere far away-- like South Africa or Ireland
5. My kids will stay close to the church and be willing and humble servants
6. My kids will have many more good memories than bad when they look back at the short time they had as children.
7. All student loans paid OFF!!
8. I will be a size 8/10 someday


8 People I tag:

Sorry, not gonna tag, Larissa's is the only one I really follow at this point. Maybe I will sneak up behind you someday and tag ya-- so be on the look out.

Answers to Prayer

At the end of the historic presidential campaign evening, the kids and I read scriptures before bedtime. I was feeling a little saddened by the outcome, and concerned for our country's future, for my children's future, when we read the following scriptures from Helaman 5:

2: For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.

3: Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law or justice, save it were to their destruction.

12: And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fail.


Need I say more? I am so thankful for the gospel and for the scriptures that always have a comforting message, regardless of the comfort we seek. I feel a stronger need to prepare my children for the turbulent times we may or ( may not ) face in the near future. There are so many opinions floating around and we could go in circles forever. I guess my greatest concern would be of the moral fortitude of the ( most likely ) president elect, specifically on the abortion issue. If a man has no mercy for the defenseless, no respect for the gift of life, what does he consider sacred? That is where my line was drawn long ago, and what a sad day it is in America when we elect a person who can turn a cold heart to the innocent and unborn. Where do the rest of us stand in his line of value?

God Bless America!!

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo You can come too, too, too

Here are some fun pictures from our day at the zoo. Brandon was so tired at the end, he was mumbling " I can't take another step... I can't take another step..." Then, he saw a bench and said " Oh good, a bench!!" And sprinted all the way up a hill to sit on the bench. Last burst of energy I guess.

We were able to watch the " Big Pumpkin Smash " as the zoo keepers fed the elephants pumpkins. Probably the highlight of the day for all of us. It was fun to see all of the elephants different personalities.