Feeling Thanky

Preslie is in 7th grade and all 7th graders take a class that gives them exposure to different skills. Each quarter they try a different class: sewing/FACS, wood shop, computer technology, and cooking. Preslie is in wood shop now and brought home a darling deer she made for us for Christmas. I was telling her that when I was in 7th grade, I had a similar class that rotated subjects each quarter. I told her I liked the wood shop part so much that I took a full semester of it the next year (and I was the only girl in the class). Dax told us that he loved the cooking part so much he took Foods for 2 more years as a result (and he was the only guy in the class). Ironically, I spent today putting up Christmas lights and building a plant shelf for my bathroom while Dax was in the kitchen making chile verde pork. I am grateful for the talents that people have; interesting to know that Dax and I have had some of the same interests since we were adolescents.

My first evening Relief Society meeting as the coordinator was on Thursday and it was a success.

My neighbor did a pie crust demonstration and I learned a lot! It was super entertaining to watch her do something she was so good at and see her reaction when people asked her questions that to her were no-brainers. Also at our meeting we talked about a few Thanksgiving and Christmas ideas. We challenged the sisters to do 24 Days of Giving during December and gave them little cards to put into their advent calendars so that each day before Christmas, they could do a service with their families. My kids will love this and it will give more meaning to this season that we celebrate Christ's birth. I have been given so much by Him and our Father in Heaven; this is a small way I can give something to show my gratitude. Should be the best Christmas yet!

gratitude tree: as the sisters came in, they wrote their thankfuls on a leaf and hung it.

Christmas advent display

service tree: 24 days of service cards are clothespinned on the branches

mitten advent frame: service card is in each glove

mini muffin tin advent. (borrowed from a friend)

dessert table: pie! (of course)

Dax and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! That seems like a lot of years. Having my anniversary in November is perfect because as I think of what I'm grateful for, this guy tops the list every time.

 We ate at Mi Casa and saw the high school play Shrek: The Musical. I love having a daughter old enough to babysit! Add that to my list of thankfuls.

 Last night Dax came home from a business trip and surprised me with a sheet of plywood, a tube of liquid nails, and a bottle of wood glue. I was so excited; he knows the way to my heart! So much better than roses and candy.

headboard waiting to be born!

 Christmas came way early at our house when my father-in-law found a sweet deal on a fridge and helped us get it! I've wanted a big stainless fridge with freezer on bottom for years! My life is pretty much perfect now.

This calls for a crazy, colorful rug.

 By the way: Dax's chile verde pork was SUPERB. The Christmas lights look beautious. The plant shelf in my bathroom is drying and will be photographed soon! Grateful for Saturdays at home! Grateful to get the lights up and the tramp down before it rained/snowed this afternoon.

I am thankful for the life and talents I have. I love being a wife and mother. I'm thankful for my beautiful home. I love my husband, his cooking, his caring and hard work. I love my good kids- who they are and the potential they have. I love my friends who are like family. And my family who are my best friends.
God has blessed me incomprehensibly.

Thanksgiving

(click image to view larger)

Tons of family, tons of fun, and tons of driving. The actual Thanksgiving meal was delicious! We spent most the time in St. George with Dax's parents. The weather was gorgeous, great for a carousel ride, fun friday shopping with Preslie, and a walk in beautiful Snow Canyon. We saw parents, sisters, brothers, new baby, aunt and cousins!

Christmas in July

I have had so many great blessings in my life this past month, it truly is Christmas for me.

First off, my awesome parents bought my family and me an early (and way too extravagant) Christmas gift: a beautiful piano! This is a gift that keeps on giving. Playing the piano used to be such a big part of my life but after I moved away to college, got married, and had kids, it has really fallen by the wayside and my talent has suffered. I have had a keyboard to practice on which has been nice, especially because it was more apartment-friendly and way easier to move. But when I sat down at my new, real piano there in the store and started playing songs for my Mom, it felt like a spark ignited inside me. I bought some books so I can teach my kids lessons; I hope they love the piano as much as me! So far we've had a blast..



My darling baby Quinn turned 1! She has been a gift since the day she was born. Her first year has gone so fast but I've enjoyed it so much. I love her smile, her beautiful blue eyes, her mouth-open/tongue-out kisses, and her little hands that reach out to me and pull my hair. She immediately starts dancing to any tune or beat that she hears, even the sound of a motor, the washing machine, etc. She is a sweetheart and we all adore her.



Preslie, Hunter and Mack went to St. George for a week! They partied their guts out with Dax's Mom and Dad. It was so wonderful to have such a flexible schedule for just Dax, Quinn and me. Dax and I ate yummy grown up meals whenever we wanted, watched a few movies of our own choosing (not kid movies), went to lunch a couple times, listened to an entire sacrament meeting, played with Quinn a bunch, and did not discipline or nag anyone for an entire week! It was so relaxing! Of course the 3 kids had SO much fun with Grandma and Grandpa- it was unreal all the fun stuff they did. How neat to be able to spend so much quality time together. I love my in-laws.

Quinn and I enjoyed going out to work with Dax overnight while the kids were gone. Can you tell why he likes his job so much?



I got shelves in my garage! Everytime I think about my awesome shelves, my heart goes pitter-patter. It just makes me so happy to have a place to organize things. Dax and I went and bought all the lumber for them and then he and his Dad built them. I can't believe how much stuff they hold. And to think that all that crap was all over the floor in my garage. I love how organized things are now and how much more space I have to actually park my cars and walk around in there! But really, how many gas cans and coolers does one family need???


Happy days.

disasters and blessings

Long story, short: Preslie was hospitalized today.

NO SHE DOES NOT HAVE S.F. (I can't even bring myself to say the words, or type them. I am pretty sick of hearing about that illness.)


How about pneumonia? There's an illness for ya. That is what Preslie has and she is very sick. I have a million "I should haves" in my head, but none of them will make her better now so I will just be grateful.

I am grateful for Doctors that know what they are doing and diagnose correctly.
I am grateful for hospitals with machines and technology that can give me answers. I love hospitals.
I am grateful for neighbors who drop everything to come get your baby and pick up your kindergartener from school.
I am grateful for Grandmas who drive out to save the day when your husband is out of state so you can go get your kids from your neighbors' house.
I am grateful for a husband who works hard so our family can have good health insurance and who comes home from a trip he has had planned for a year and paid lots of money for so he can be with his family.
I am grateful for loving family who lend support and prayers when they can't be there to help.
I am grateful my boys and I are over the 'flu (or whatever we had). I hope to never take my health for granted again. To be able to stand up and walk and get my own drinks and chase my toddler and shower and have energy to move and work is SO AWESOME!

And I am going to need a lot of energy for what is waiting for me once I publish this post...



Also Mack was a big help while I was talking on the phone to many family members tonight, he got all the boxes of cereal we own and opened them and took them in various rooms in the house to snack on them. Plus he dumped one completely out onto the floor. He also emptied a box of kleenexes and my bathroom cabinets. I guess I'd rather have him healthy and full of energy than lying down in a hospital bed, barely able to move.

little blessings, big messes

There are so many things to do when you move.

I didn't think cleaning a can of Comet off my new floors would be one of them. The soda spill, Comet, and sewing pins all happened before 9am.

The previous day, Mack got a hold of a bag of Cheerios (thanks Preslie) and he was not content just to dump them all on the floor; he had to stomp on them, too.

Oh, and there's more destruction... The phone company's hired idiot beat the crap out of the side of our house with his track hoe.

LIFE! I am so happy to be apart of it and I am serious about that. After thinking last week that I would lose my sister in a few short years, things just don't seem that bad. I am not saying life isn't stressful and sometimes more than I think I can take, but there are people out there with far worse problems. Dax and I go nearly insane keeping our baby from destroying everything around him, including himself. Mack's ability to cause destruction grows exponentially every day. Yet I know there are couples out there that would do anything to have a child. And I would desperately love for them to come babysit mine. It seems like there are a million little projects and jobs to do on our house still and we just can't keep up! But I am GRATEFUL for a comfortable home. There are families out there who wonder where they are going to sleep tonight and people who have lost their jobs and are stressing to make their house or rent payment. So really life isn't all too bad.

It's wonderful.