Thanksgiving 2013

Jonathan was on call this weekend, so we stayed here. A family in our ward invited us and two other families over for Thanksgiving dinner. All I had to make was cranberries and green bean casserole. It was so nice! My kids could care less whether they had quesadillas or a ten part Thanksgiving dinner, so it was nice to have a great meal with very little effort. And we got to get to know some families in our ward.

 

Then I hit Black Friday this morning. It was fun. No one was rude or impatient. It may have something to do with the fact that it was "late," meaning 6:15 am and it was just Kohls. But it was really fun.

 

The thing I am most grateful for this year is my family. And the many ways that Heavenly Father lets families come together. I never imagined our family would come together like it did, but I wouldn't change it for the world! I remember the stress and discouragement of wanting a family and not getting pregnant so clearly.

But every time Sami runs up and gives me a hug when I pick her up from school, or Janie gives me a hug and says she likes my shirt (she says that almost every day, no matter what I am wearing) or Lucy starts dancing to "What Does the Fox Say" (Jonathan's favorite song and it gets stuck in my head...grrr...), I just feel so, so blessed! It was worth the wait.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!



Leaves Are Falling All Around

Our house is 34 years old so the trees are old enough to make a lot of leaves. When I admired the beautiful trees this summer, I had no idea how much time and effort would go into raking all those leaves.

Thankfully Jonathan does most of it. :)

(Although I think he is super nice because when the leaves from our trees fall into our neighbors yards, he rakes their yards too. I say that is beyond nice, especially while they watch us raking while smoking out on their porch.)

 

I love this smile.

 

 Sami is a hard worker. She stayed out with Jonathan all day and only stopped helping to eat lunch. After lunch, I thought she would stay inside and watch a show, but she put her jacket right back on and said, "Dad needs me. I better get back outside." We were so impressed.  

 

 

Lucy cracked me up because she was so busy moving leaves from one side of the yard to the other, she didn't even have time to look at the camera and smile. That's the determined child, right there.

 I am so grateful for cameras. I love that we can stop time for a moment and then remember. I LOVE being these girls' mom! I often look at my life and how I got to be so blessed. I don't want it to change. But then I remember that not all change is bad. While I miss my girls being babies, I love seeing who they are becoming now. I love seeing their personalities and what good kids they are. It's a good life.