We are thankful for....

November 12

Education is essential for life. It doesn't just mean going to school and doing worksheets and stuff. It's learning anything. Obtaining knowledge from the world. Without it,, we cannot function through life and we wouldn't know how to do anything. We are thankful for this ability to learn and add knowledge to our brains' huge library of information.

Just to add some knowledge to your brain this evening, I will list some interesting facts from my brain that I have acquired over the years:

1. The tallest man ever was 8 ft. 11 inches. That's almost double my height.
2. Tootsie Rolls were first manufactured in 1896.
3.Your foot and ankle together have 26 bones.
4. Mistletoe and poinsettia plants are both poisonous to the mouth.
5. In Tennessee, it's illegal to play pinball under the age of 18.

We are thankful for....

November 11

This is a big one and nobody wanted to post it so I have to. We are thankful for the gospel. Of course that's a big one. It is our life. It is our foundation for living. It encompasses every aspect of our home. It is who we are. Landon and I discussed this morning how our lives would be different without the gospel. He said our family wouldn't be the same. We wondered if we would let the missionaries into our home now if we didn't have a knowledge of the gospel. I don't know. I said I am probably too safety conscious to let them in. Landon said I wouldn't be as concerned about safety if I didn't have the gospel. All thought provoking ideas. Anyway, we love the gospel and the good news that it gives us. Thank you, thank you, thank you for that blessing in our lives.

Moment

It was a good morning. As I unwrapped Easton from the tangle of sheets and blankets to wake him my thoughts turned to my brother, Brad, the ultimate sleeper as a child. Come to think of it, he still is. His head wrapped turban-like with his yellow quilt that was stitched with love by Grandma James. Buried under blankets--no head showing at all. I wondered how he could breathe and be alive under all the layers. Nice little memory.

Happiness was on display for me all morning....Easton actually got out of bed with a smile and energy. Not sure why, but I liked it. He got dressed quickly, wore an old favorite shirt of Landon's that he finally fits into. He thought it was too big, I convinced him that he had grown and my how he's grown! The chilly air encouraged a warm breakfast, scrambled eggs, and butter toast from last nights' leftover french bread. Juice. Looking out the window Easton was in awe of the beautiful sunrise that could be seen over the horizon. Impressed with the purple, blue and yellow stripes the rising sun created, Easton demanded pictures. Hurry! Take pictures. There were descriptions of eye-catching colors and discussion of being up early and being able to appreciate a beautiful moment while others are just looking at the insides of their eyelids. The clock stood still. Teeth were brushed with care and rooster tails strategically smoothed. Shoes on and we were waiting for the bus. Why do we have extra time today? Well, let's read a library book while we use up the last five minutes. A walk down to the end of the driveway, crunching leaves and noticing the missing impatiens in the garden that were pulled out. Easton will miss popping the seed pods and watching the seeds shoot out. There's always next year. The bus comes. A look out the bus window, a wave, a smile, AND I get a kiss blown to me! A good morning, indeed.

We are thankful for....

November 10

Webcams, emails, blogs.....we are thankful for the internet. Such a fabulous invention has really changed our lives. It connects us with family all over the nation. We love reading everybody's blogs and getting emails from family. We love our new webcam where we can talk to Ashton and see her on the computer at the same time. If you get a webcam we can do that with you too! It's just cool. The internet is a great learning tool in our home. We are always checking the internet to find out something. It's great for Christmas shopping too. We are updated on news events. Dallin just got some names ready for doing baptisms at the temple on the new church website. I'm shopping for houses in Birmingham on the internet. The use of the internet is almost endless and we appreciate how it has changed our lives.

We are thankful for....

November 9

We are thankful for running. I am thankful for running because it gives me something to do after school in stead of getting out of school at 2:30 and having nothing to do. I have also made a lot of new friends that I have had a ton of good times with! Cross country is just a bunch of stupid guys cracking jokes while they are running. It's that simple and fun. My team qualified for the state meet recently and they ran in the state meet yesturday. It was pretty exciting and nerve-racking to see seven of my friends compete against 25 other teams from around the state. I just kind of wished I could have raced but I'm #8 on the team and only the top 7 get to run in the state meet. We ended up getting 13th over all so I guess we didn't do too bad. I am thankful for running because it is fun and it relieves stress!

Written by Dallin

Shoes?

We had the privelage of attending Landon's honor chorus performance last Saturday in Athens, Georgia. It was a fabulous event that Landon participated in--he missed school Friday and headed up to Athens with other middle school children in the state to work on songs with an awesome choir director. They spent the night and then practiced some more on Saturday. We enjoyed hearing the beautiful sounds the choir made. These young kids do such a good job and I'm proud to see so many young people participating in the arts. Oh and who forgot their black shoes for the performance? mmmmmm......

We are thankful for....

November 8

We are thankful for Friends. Friends are people you can trust and tell things to that you wouldn't tell other poeple. We have many friends and are very greatful to them. We enjoy spending time with them and can talk to them about almost anything! Our next door neighbors are some of our best friends. They moved here about a year after we did. One day, Landon was getting off the bus and their mom introduced herself and told us about their family. She seemed very nice so he became friends with them. Now, the boys play with them almost every day on the swings, football, soccer, wars, and much, much more! Tell us about some of your friends and at this time, remember what it was like when you didn't know them.

written by Landon

We are thankful for....

November 7

We are thankful for two things today--my Mom and Dad and my children's Grandma and Grandpa. What a blessing these two wonderful people are in our lives. Of course, without my parents I would not be here. I am grateful that I had two incredible parents who taught me right from wrong and raised me to be the wonderful lady that I am now! They were loving parents who provided for my needs. They taught me the gospel and shared with me the importance of living it. They have always set an amazing example of dedication and committment to the Lord. I admire their testimonies and faith. They make quite the team--I'm not even sure how they ended up together. A crazy Californian and an ultra-conservative girl from landlocked Wyoming found each other. Thanks for falling in love and creating such a beautiful family.

My children are grateful for their Grandparents who love them. Each of my children think they are the favorite grandchild. I appreciate my parents for making each one of my children feel loved, important, and special. It's such a treat to spend time with them and my kids value that time together. We are truly blessed to have my parents in our lives.

We are thankful for....

November 6

Well, I know we've posted about the rats several times, but now is the time to truly be thankful for them. We've had them for almost a year and we just love them to death! I mean, what's not to like about them? They're just cute little furry animals that interact with you and are smart enough to follow you when you snap. Landon taught Spunky how to follow him. He snaps and she goes where he goes. It's quite amazing. Recently, we have had a new addition to the rat family. After we had to take Easton's rat to "the vet" we got a "replacement" rat. She is just the cutest little thing. She really does look like an oreo. She's only a baby, but she is growing up fast. We love her. Well, at this thanksgiving time, think about your pets and how you would be if you didn't have them. What kind of pets do you have?This is Easton's old rat, Rascal who had to go to the vet. She is still living with the vet.

Easton is holding Landon's rat, Spunky.This is baby Oreo, Easton's new rat. She is very cautious, but cute. She likes to hang on the roof of her cage like a monkey.

Written by Landon

We are thankful for....

November 5 Dallin picked music as something that we are thankful for. I couldn't agree more. It seems to me that as my children get older their appreciation for music continues to grow. Music has always been an important part of our home. My children's love of music stems from Stephen's and my love of music. The children have been raised listening to all types of music--pop, classical, and MoTab are just some of the musical sounds that enrich our listening. I believe that exposing our children to all forms of music has helped them appreciate it. My kids are content listening to the Tabernacle Choir or the "cool" sounds of modern rock. When they hear the choir on the tv it seems to draw them into our room to watch. They have an appreciation of good choirs. Because all of the children have participated in choral groups in school they have an understanding of what it takes to create beautiful music. They enjoy being able to use their voices to create beautiful sounds.

I'm grateful that my parents provided me with the opportunity to take piano lessons. This has touched my life in so many ways. All of my children are currently taking lessons or have had them. I hope they will appreciate the musical talents they have developed and will continue to use them.

Music is powerful. It can inspire us and bring about emotions. I have many memories attached to different songs. I loved singing Grandpa James' camp songs when we were traveling as a family in the car. I sing them with my children now. Remember...."When Sammy put the Paper on the wall...he spilled a pot of paste upon us all. (what's a sawl? is what Craig said as a little boy when we sang that song.) My kids remember the feelings they had when listening and dancing to Grandma's CD, Cuban Fire. We love jamming out to the Motab's song, Elijah Rock! The kids have all sang various versions of that in their choirs. Dallin and Landon have a cleaning song that is played on Landon's keyboard when they are cleaning their room. They heard that song on a commercial the other day and I head them say, "It's the cleaning song!" I remember listening to Dad sing in his quartet when we lived in Washington. I thought he was so cool. He Ain't Heavy and The Candy Man were my favorite songs. Stephen's Mother and Aunts have beautiful voices and have been singing and performing since they were young. My children have a wonderful legacy of music that has come from both sides of our families.

As we head into the holiday season and start listening to the sounds of Christmas we are grateful for all types of music that enriches our lives and causes us to feel. Music touches our emotions in ways that words cannot. We look forward to feeling the spirit of Christmas through our music.

We are thankful for....

November 4

Legos are the greatest toy ever! They make having fun easier and always give you something to do. After years of playing with them, we have discoverd that they are very simple. Anyone could have made them with a little time and money. Well, we are very thankful for them beacause they always give us something to do. If you're bored, pull out the giant lego bucket. It's simple. How many of you are thankful for legos? I bet everyone is like "Heck yeah!" Well, thank you to the creators of legos. We love them!

Written by Easton and Landon

We are thankful for....

We've decided to do a gratitude countdown until Thanksgiving. We are going to post one thing we are grateful for each day on our blog until we are eating our Thanksgiving turkey. We are getting started a little late so you get to read about three things that we are grateful for during this post.

November 1--We are thankful for our family. We love each member in our family and are grateful that we can be a forever family. Each child has their own personality that they bring to the dynamic of our family unit. We feel a loss when one of our family members is not with us. We don't like empty chairs at our dinner table. November 2- We are grateful for a job. With the tough economy and financial problems in the world, we are especially thankful that Stephen has a job that provides us with our physical needs. We have been blessed.

November 3- We show gratitude for food. We really are thankful that we have food to eat. We have sufficient for our needs and never struggle with knowing where our next meal will come from. Our hearts go out to the hungry people in the world who suffer. As a mother I cannot even imagine not being able to feed my children.

Carved Creations

Three pumpkins were purchased this year for carving. I always have good intentions, but in the end can never seem to find the time to get them carved. Easton bugged me until we finally got it done Halloween night before heading out for trick-or-treating. With no older kids to help me I was the designated "carver". Easton designed his face on paper and was really good about cleaning out the guts in his pumpkin. His pumpkin is shown on the left. He helped for awhile getting Landon's pumpkin done, but in the end it was me left in the kitchen doing the deed. mmmm......Well, here is the end result of my hours of carving by myself. The third pumpkin is now an official Thanksgiving table decoration as it will go uncarved.

Trick or Treat

It was a a pretty nice evening for our Trick or Treating in Georgia. We wore our coats, but it really wasn't cold. Easton had a blast dressed as Ironman. He was our only trick-or-treater this year in the family. Talk about weird. Stephen and I walked around with one little boy. We're either getting old or our kids are. Landon had an overnight honor chorus thing in Athens, GA and Dallin is just too old, of course. Dallin was the official candy person of the evening. We always park our car at the end of the driveway so the little kiddies don't have to hike up our long driveway. We usually decorate the back of the car with pumpkin lights and stuff, but I just wasn't in the mood this year. You can see Dallin icing his foot to get ready for his cross country race the following morning. Look at all the candy one little boy brought home. Ugh! He ate it for breakfast the next morning. I finally had to gather and put it away Sunday night so he will have some teeth left in his mouth.

Bad Luck

Is it bad luck for a black cat to cross your path on Halloween night? We thought it was great luck when a stray black cat paid us a visit on the spooky night. A black cat had been hanging out in the yard all day--a scruffy looking thing. As we were getting ready to head out for the evening it was just sitting on our back porch. It looked hungry and gobbled up the scraps of ham we gave it and lapped up a bowl of milk. Dallin and Easton loved petting it and wanted it to be our cat. I've seen it a few times in the backyard over the weekend. Maybe we have a new outside pet.