Gobble Gobble!!!!!!!!

Well thanksgiving is still a week away but we will be in Idaho with out a computer, much less the Internet so Happy Thanksgiving to Y'ALL!

May you and yours be able to enjoy this wonderful season of gratitude for all that we have, the good and the bad. As we were reading the scriptures to the children the other night we were talking about how we have to be grateful for all that we have and that without the bad things in our life we would never be able to recognize the good things, we would take everything for granted. Funny that even so we still take so much for granted. I am so grateful for so much. My family for starters... how wonderful a family is. At all stages in our life, the family we grew up in, our time with only our spouse, then with each addition as our family grew. Each phase has brought so much joy and so much happiness. If we could all just choose to only remember the good, sometimes I feel like Winnie the Pooh who forgets to remember. I forget to remember that I love doing the dishes. My mom had a poem in our house and I memorized while doing dishes :

Thank God for dirty dishes
They have a lot to tell
While other folks go hungry
We are so very well
With home and health and happiness
We shouldn't want to fuss
For by this stack of evidence
God is very good to us.



Isn't it wonderful all that God blesses us with?
I'm grateful for so much - you.
The teachings of Christ and his example.
Living prophets who guide and counsel us in these troubled times.
The knowledge that families can be forever.
The blessing of knowing that life doesn't end here.
The peace that only God can offer.
Angels among us disguised as common people who step into our lives and bless us richly.
The many freedoms given to us through the sacrifice and heart of many noble soldiers.


The list can go on all night. Happy Thanksgiving!

November Camping

Well this past weekend we went camping again. We are blessed to enjoy nature so much. We took a girl named China with us, it was her first time camping and her first time to see cows and open country, first time fishing, and she saw her first deer too. It felt so great to be able to help her see and experience these things. Also it allowed us to see just how blessed we are as a family to have sooo many of these experiences under our belt and to be able to continue to share the beauty that God has created with our children.
We met up at the campsite with some friends from church the Morin's. It was such a great little spot. Our camp area was really unique. We were right next to an outlet of water and even though this weekend was "cold" the kids still were dying to get in...and some did!!! The weather was so perfect when we got there, the moon rose and looked as big as the sun, the stars were brighter than I've seen them in a long time. The girls shared their own tent and had a blast giggling and screaming when the wind tried blowing their tent away with them in it!!! I wish we had taken the video camera. We were without a campfire because of a fire ban and that was so weird for me - I think that is one of my favorite things about camping, putting the kids in their tent, hearing them giggle and sitting near the fire till it dies out.
Well blessings are everywhere, sometimes we just need to open our eyes and look for them.

so I learned to make a scrapbook and then when I have made enough pages I can print the scrapbook - now I really like that idea and it was so fun choosing backgrounds and easy to crop and place pictures. I love having such a fun family!!!!! That includes all of you guys spread all over the world TOO!!!

Willamsburg

November is a time for gratitude, so with that in mind...
this blog goes to my husband who is out of town this week and who keeps reminding me how lucky I am that it is only a week and not longer. You know how things kind of get taken for granted when you have them near? Yeah well I guess I'm guilty of that on an unfortunately regular basis. So you know how life seems easy when he's around but you don't notice how easy until he's not there to do the little things that actually make your life easier but that you took fo granted before, yeah guilty again. You know that you would actually feel safer knowing that when the bump in the middle of the night is really loud, he's the one who gets out of bed to check it out. Or when one of the kids wakes in cold sweat with a super high fever and he is there ready to bless this child that you both love so dearly. Oh yeah, like when you are throwing a pamperd chef party and he cleans the carpets for you at night before the party...did I take that for granted? Sorry if I did, I AM greatful. Or when you are getting five kids dressed and combed for church and he quietly slips into the kitchen and gets something ready for lunch so that when church is over we are not waiting two hours to eat. Yeah I guess there are so many things in life I take for granted...like it's only a week. I love you.
For all those who share their spouce to defend our freedoms and to keep the dream of America alive...thank you from the bottom of my heart.

halloween week

Okay so Halloween was a couple of days ago. We are late, but we were still partying last night at our ward party so this is as early as it gets. The kids had a blast this year. With two church parties, a school which knows how to celebrate Texas style and lots of trick or treating...we have enough candy and hyperactivity to last us through next year!!!!! Wow! I'm still wondering why as a parent I let them have so much fun!?@ But I love seeing them smile from ear to ear and I love how much fun life is through their eyes.

fun fall