School Performance

Today I am thankful for school performances. It is so cute to watch your kids and how they respond to your face in the crowd. We have very animated children, but if you put them in front of a bunch of people and give them a line, they actually sit still. Thank goodness for that. Joseph had his Thanksgiving performance last week and it was the first time he has been able to function in an environment like that at school. He is such a sweet and tender spirit. We love him so much. Joshua has his in a few minutes and I am sure it will be absolutely adorable. I wonder if he will sing his lines this time? I am also thankful for video cameras. Every Mom needs a good amount of blackmail video. It makes wedding receptions so much more fun! We really are lucky to live somewhere that prizes culture and the arts.

Cards for Heroes

My aunt sent me this and thought I would pass it on. My cousin was injured (not war related, but over there) and had to come home, so our family will all be together this year, but so many won't be able to be home, a few will never come home. For these men and women I am thankful. Their sacrifice and service and especially examples are so important to our family. Please consider sending a Christmas or Hanukkah card to one of our soldiers this year. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

A Great Idea!!!

When you are making out your Christmas (or other holiday) card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

It's still free

I am so thankful to live in a free country. It is such a blessing to be able to go to church, get an education and chose where you live. We have so many freedoms given to us. It is a little scary how many others want to take away in the name of civil liberty, but if we keep up the fight and keep praying, maybe in the process of civil liberty we will not lose all of our religious freedoms. I know it is the last days, but that does not seem to make it less frightening. So I am thankful that, for know, we are allowed to worship as we see fit, teach our children as our own conscience dictates, bare arms to protect our families from those who would do it with or without permission, and chose freedom and life over captivity and death. Please remember to pray that our freedoms will be protected.

Sweet Voices

The Ward primary program was this weekend and it was awesome. The boys all remembered their lines and delivered them clearly. Josh, our little soloist, even sang his. Just imagine his cute lisp sung perfectly on key: "I am a chiod of God and He has a pwan for me!" Tears. Then Joseph "If the Savior stood beside me, I would ask him to tell me how special I am." Any guesses on his love language since he got to fill in the blank? More tears. It really makes it easier to know what to say to him, I'll tell you that. Jonathan, who was assigned the line, but totally lives it: "I help to bless others when I share the gospel." So sincere. Tears. His good friend, who actually came Sunday again because of Jonathan's invites, showed up 10 minutes before church a month ago, all decked out, tie and all and says to me: "Jonathan said I could come to church with you today." YAH! Needless to say I have a little to learn. He has $27 saved for his mission. Stud. More tears. Totally stoked. Austin, not to be left out made up his own line he has been practicing with his brothers all week. He also sings his, then hides his face, embarrassed: "I love to see the Temple." More tears. I love these guys!

Locked and Loaded

This weekend was awesome! And may reveal just a little too much about my take on things, but that's ok. Friday we doubled to the shooting range. Poor "orange man" as Jess calls him. There were 2 for me, one took various wounds in many places, not all of them pleasant, but he will never taunt me again. #2 only took 20, ten to the head (ok, 9, I missed one) and 10 in the gut. Ok, only 9 there, too, but whose counting? I'd say he'll survive, but let's not kid ourselves. Bad guys beware, and forget the dog! It is amazing how little anger and frustration is left after 100 rounds. Who wants to go next month?

Thankful Post

My friend Marlies has a month long gratitude post on her site, and I like the idea so much we are going to have one. Tell us what you are thankful for by clicking on "comments" and leaving your feedback.
Monday Nov, 17 I am nowhere near as good at this as Marlies, and I am thankful no one has mentioned it. I am also thankful my Grandpa is ok. He is the last one I have left and has been sick, but he is doing ok now and we hope he will continue to get better and be with us for a long time. Medical advances are so amazing and we are so blessed to live in this country where we have access to them. Because of modern medicine my brother has 20+ years on him instead of "a few." I am so grateful for the man whose death brought my brother and a 9 year old girl kidneys, a 68 year old grandpa of 22 a heart, and someone else new eyes. A family mourned greatly that day, but at 2:00 am, 4 more cried together for what we had received. You can never be thankful enough for another day to live and love. I thank God every morning for another day to love and hear the voices of my boys and sweet husband. I thank him every night we had family prayer together again and I was able to kiss them all goodnight with the hope of tomorrow. I know too many who have lost a child's laughter and life way too soon. Please kiss your babies every day and love the tough ones, no matter how hard it may be in that moment. It could be your last. Someone once told me that the harder they are to love, the more they need it. And for those I love who have lost or been lost, I am thankful that families are forever and the moments when the veil parts just enough that we get a glimpse of what we need most in the painful hours. I love you guys.
Wednesday Nov, 12 I am thankful for friends who give me produce from their own yards to turn into food storage. Yesterday I learned to make apple sauce. Yum! The boys were very impressed and Jonathan is thankful I did not make him drink apple juice. (He'd eat 5 apples a day, but won't touch apple juice that is not from the store) I am also thankful for the Stake classes that I have learned so much from. Most of all, today I am thankful that someone challenged me yesterday to quit projecting hard stuff from the past into the future, and then getting stressed out about it. We will see how it goes, but if I can be better about not letting the past freak me out about the future, Today will be so much easier to deal with. He also said we all need to develop a passion for being wrong as most of us are wrong about what others think, their intentions, and what is going to happen almost 100% of the time, so getting used to it will really help. Because of this I am so thankful for repentance and forgiveness and hope to become better at both. Thank you for being my friend.
Monday, Nov 10 Today I am thankful for the Atonement and what it means for my family. I am thankful for some really difficult life experiences that have made me who I am, and help me understand circumstances alot of people only read about. Some of them were painful, some are more painful now, looking back, than they were at the time, and I am thankful I understand why. I am thankful our boys do not know what it is to go hungry or wonder if you will have someplace to come home to after school. I am thankful for a 4 person camping trailer and horse field that kept us off the streets, and that my mom did her best to make sure we always had something to eat. And for music. Sometimes it is the only thing that makes any sense.
Friday, Nov 7 Today I am thankful for sleep. I wish I could get more, but am so thankful for what I do get. I am also thankful for Eleventh Hour, which probably has something to do with needing more sleep...:) I am also thankful for adoption because hopefully someday I can have a little girl. Jonathan is thankful his brothers play with him, Joseph is thankful for our pets Maggie (cat) and Buddy (gecko), Joshua is thankful for his stuffed animals to cuddle, and Austin is thankful for "Aubwee and Sam and Aawon" (Aubrey, Sam and Aaron. Jon is thankful for (and I quote) "My beautiful wife and my awesome kids."
Thurs, Nov 6 Today I went on a field trip with Jonathan's class to the State Capital. It was really neat. If you have not been, I totally recommend it. There is so much marble there that at one point we wondered if there was anything else involved in construction. Today I am thankful for a Democratic Government (especially the Republican part of it). I am a little nervous about a few things, but thankful, nonetheless. I am also thankful that I know God will protect my family and prepare us for what lies ahead if we are willing to listen to the council of his Prophets and our local leaders. If things get really scary, we will still be together forever because of the priesthood power found in His Temples. If you have not yet received these blessings yourself, I encourage you to look into it. There is such peace in knowing whatever man throws at us, God has it covered. May we all be strong in the face of what lies ahead and never faulter in our faith, but instead be as Job, never forgetting "God giveth and God taketh away" and still love Him.
Wednesday November 5:I am thankful for a free country where we are allowed to voice our opinions and fight to protect our rights and freedoms. I am also thankful for the men and women who serve us and this country. Joseph is thankful for his Mom and Dad and little brothers. (guess after a fist fight big brothers don't make the cut :) Jonathan is thankful for the family, even Joseph. Joshua is thankful for Thomas and Sam. Austin is thankful for Aubrey. I am also thankful that all of my children listed people as what they are thankful for without even having to think about it. It just proves how little "stuff" really matters, even to kids.

Congratulations Senator Obama

Congratulations to our newest President-elect, Barak Obama. We did not vote for him, but plan to support him. Long before last night we believed God's will would be done. It is a wonderful day for those who truly feel all men are created equal, and I bet MLK Jr. was dancing in the clouds last night with Rosa Parks. Even though there are many things he wants to do we do not agree with, he is now our President-elect, and as citizens of the United States of America, we will pray for him, as we did for President Bush. Aren't those girls cute? God Bless the U.S.A.

Happy Halloween!!

Here are our little goblins. Jonathan was Captain Rex, the main Storm Trooper Captain in the Clone Wars, Josh was Batman and now things he is Bruce Wayne. Austin wanted to be "a widdow pink piggy" and it was so cute to hear him say it, I gave in and made him a costume. Joseph is Charizard, a fire Pokemon. We had tons of fun trick or treating and TOTALLY made out in the sugar arena! The weather was awesome, no jackets required. We hope your Halloween was just as fun!