The last month according to my camera

 Decorating pumpkins for Halloween

 Thanksgiving day preparations.  Kara was a big helper.  She helped make the green bean casserole and she made the sweet potato casserole and everyone helped prepare a lot of the food together. It certainly made it much more FUN!!!

 Colton made the mash potatoes.  We made them a little different today.  We prepared everything and then made them in the crock pot.  They were yummy.   Above Colton  having a little too much fun sweeping.  

 Sitting down to eat.

 It was a beautiful clear day on Thanksgiving. 

 Everyone helped clean up.  It makes it go by so fast.  Then we hung out and talked until we went and saw the movie, Lincoln. Spencer didn't join at the movie because he went to go and spend time with his girlfriend Ann.   After the movie we came home and had yummy pie.   Spencer had made his usual triple berry pie.  It is always one of  my favorites.  All in all a wonderful day!
                                                    

Happy Thanksgiving

The happiness of life is made up of little things––
A smile, a helping hand, a caring heart, a word of praise,
a moment of shared laughter.
We are most alive in those moments when our hearts
are conscious of our treasures.

Thornton Wilder

Each of us can look back upon someone who made a great different in our lives,
someone whose wisdom or simple acts of caring made an impression upon us.
In all likelihood, it was someone who sought no recognition for their deed,
other than the joy of knowing that, by their hand,
another’s life had been made better.

Stephen M. Wolf

 

I feel so grateful and thankful for.......

Every year for the month of November I try to make some kind of list or decoration where each family member will be able to write things they are thankful for.  It is a little sparse this year with only 4 members living at home.  It is really fun to look at the list on Thanksgiving day, to see all the vast things our family is grateful for!

 Here is a list of some of the things our family listed they were grateful for:

1. Christ.  He. made. it. possible. for. us. to. live. again.  We love our Savior, very much and we are grateful for His atoning  sacrifice for each of us.  We have been fortunate to feel his love for us and because of that we are able to love all of Heavenly Father's children because we know He loves each of His children.

2. My Husband.  I am grateful that I married such a good man, who treats me with kindness, love and respect.  We will be married for 25 years in a few months and I am grateful for my decision to marry him each and every day.
3.  My children.  They have given me a lot of joy and purpose for living.  I feel like my life is enriched because I have them.  I have learned to be better at being selfless from the experiences with them.
4. My parents, I am grateful for all they did for me now more than ever. I realize their sacrifices in my behalf and I feel a tremendous amount of love for them.
5. My sibling,  I have some of the best brothers a girl could ask for.  And then I was blessed with a sweet sister years later. 
6.  I am grateful for the gospel and how it has influenced my life for good.  It truly is "good news."
7.  My extended family-they make our lives complete. They have given us  support, a listening ear, and help in more ways than I can ever express.  
8.  My home! I am so grateful for a warm place to live!  We have all the comforts of life and have never wanted for anything.
9. My husband's job. We have had a couple experiences where we are unemployed and it is no fun.  I am grateful that my husband works hard for our family and never complains about having to do so.
10.  A car!!!  I am so glad that we don't have to walk everywhere.  Matt always keep my car maintained and very safe.  I am grateful he knows so much about cars.
11. Friends!!!!!!  Friends truly make life complete. I love my friends from high school, early married years, and friends in Sandy. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to move because I have met some amazing people that I love and adore!!!
12.  Lynn, my hairdresser!  I love Lynn and can talk to her about anything.  She is so good to me about my hair. She colors my hair ever few weeks at her home for a small amount and for that I am so grateful.  She can work magic when she does my hair.
13.  Food,  I love food!  I love how food can bring families together and help create better memories. I hope when I die that we will be able to still enjoy food!
13. Traveling!!!!  I love to explore new places and to see parts of the world that I haven't experienced before. I am blessed that my husband loves to travel too and because of that, we have went to some amazing places!
14.  My job!!!  I love where I work and I have the best boss anyone could ever ask for!  She is kind, caring and wants what is best for the students at our school.  I have become friends with some very incredible people that will be life  long friends. 
15. Books!!!!  I love to read. I have learned so much from my love of reading.   There is nothing better than having a good book to curl up with. 
16.  The YW's program!!!  I love how inspired it is and I love being able to work with the young woman.  It is my favorite place to work in, in the church. I am grateful I get to work there now while my daughter is in Young Women's.
17. Music!!!  Do I need to say more?
18. The telephone! I am grateful that I have ways to communicate with my son, Coby who lives far away from our family right now.  
19.  Cell phones, facebook, texting!!!!!  I  love being able to communicate with people that I haven't seen for a long time.  I love being able to get information very quickly! 
20.  Health.  I have had times where I had health problems and so I grateful that I am blessed with a healthy body and so are my children and husband.  I am grateful that I am able to keep up with the demands of life because of the body I have been given.
21.  Exercise!!!!  I have always loved to exercise. It make my body feel more energized so I can accomplish a lot in each day.
22.  Washing machine and dryer!!!!  Yay!!!!! So glad I don't have to wash my clothes the old fashion way, by hand.
23. Freedom,  I may not know what it's like to live without freedom, but I do know what it feels like to have choices taken away from you. I may not know what death during war looks like, but I do know what it's like to have someone you love taken without your permission. So, when I think of patriotic liberty within the frame of what I can relate to, freedom becomes more tangible. Easier to hold and appreciate.

 24.  The scriptures!!!!  I love having easy access to what Ardith Kapp called, "letters from home."  I feel the spirit when I read from them.
25.  Prayer!!!!!  I love being able to talk to God like I would a real close friend.
26.  The spirit!  I am grateful to have this positive influence in my life that will never lead me astray. I have been richly blessed by the promptings I receive. 

27.  Nature!  I love the beautiful world that I have the privilege of living in!   There is so much beauty and goodness to enjoy.
28. I am grateful for the little things.  A smile from a stranger,   someone stopping to let me in the lane when traffic is heavy,  kind words,  a warm bowl of soap on a cold day.
29.  Smiles!!!!  I love to smile and I love to be around people who smile. I love to smile at the cute kids that I work with.  It is so cute to see them go from  despondent to all of the sudden happy.
30. Service!!!!  I am grateful to be able to serve others  because it blesses my life abundantly!!!  I am grateful for the small and big acts of service I have been blessed to be a part of!!! 

Thanksgiving 2010

We had Thanksgiving this year at our home.  Both my brothers and their families come.  It was a lot of fun.  After we had dinner and visited for a while we went and saw the movie, Tangled.  We loved it!

Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving; I didn't take many. We were at my brother Mark and Miriah's home. It was a wonderful meal and wonderful company.

It has been a very fun and busy week with lots of different things to do. It was nice to have Spencer home from SUU for over a week and great to see Lindsay too.

Happy Thanksgiving

We just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and let you all know how grateful we are for you, our friends and family, who impact our life so greatly. You are each a blessing in our life and we learn so much from each of you.

Happenings this week!

Colton gave a talk on prayer on Sunday and he did such a great job. It was the best talk he has ever gave and he got so many compliments and I did too for him! Matt was extra busy adding another High council meeting that day so we didn't see much of him. Luckily I didn't have to go and visit people in the ward this Sunday! But we were lucky enough to have our home teachers come over; they are awesome.

Yesterday we were able to have the missionaries over for dinner. Our missionaries cover 22 wards so it is hard to schedule a day with them.

Today, I went to bishop's storehouse to work to help fill Thanksgiving orders for our area. It is amazing to me how organized that place runs. The people that work there are so helpful and made it easy. It just amazes me how efficiently the LDS church runs all of their programs. Right now Matt is at the Jazz game with his friend Jamie sitting in their cozy suite with delicious food.

Tomorrow is our schools Thanksgiving dinner so I get the opportunity to go and help serve and then I also will have a minute to eat dinner/lunch with Kara. Tomorrow is also the Reflections award assemble and Kara got a letter that she is getting an award tomorrow. I was really proud of her because she wrote a song and worked hard.

Tomorrow night I am going with my girlfriends to my first midnight movie Twilight. It should be interesting because I am supposed to go and help Friday at Colton's school, so hopefully I won't be too tired. And Friday is also the day that Spencer comes home for Thanksgiving break. It will be so nice to have him home for over a week; I have missed him so much.

Saturday Kara and I start our 1st day of ski lessons together. It should be fun and she is especially excited.

This Sunday I have the opportunity to go to a missionary (non) homecoming talk. It is a friend of Coby's from high school, and he also happened to be on the same mission as Coby. So it will be so cool to hear about his experiences serving in the same mission. The following Sunday I am going to another non homecoming talk too. Coby's friend Jake is getting home from his mission. I sure have missed Jake and it will be so great to see him.