Snow Day!!

Last Monday, we woke up to at least 4" of snow, and at least that much fell throughout the day. We got the driveway, sidewalks and porch cleared, and it looked great. The next day, we woke to find another foot or so had fallen overnight, and it was still snowing!! The power had gone out during the night, and so none of the alarms went off, and we all woke up late. I couldn't believe how much snow had fallen. We checked the news, and they were saying buses weren't running, but schools would still be open and to use our own judgement whether to send our kids or not. The next thing we knew they were announcing that all schools in our district were closed!! In all the time we have lived in Utah, we have never had a snow day. The older kids were pretty jealous that they never got one, and thought it was really unfair that they still had to go to work when the little ones didn't have school.

The snow was so heavy and wet, the snow blower kept getting jammed up, so Dennis pulled out the tractor to clear most of it away. The kids had a ball sledding, and making sugar cookies. Let the Christmas vacation begin!!

Stocking Completion!!

Several years ago, my mom began making Christmas stockings for all of the children and grandchildren. That's 20+ stockings if anyone is counting. Well, we have loved them, and the kids won't even consider any other stocking. When Jennifer got married, she told me that I would have to make a stocking for Adam. Haha, ok, no biggie. I looked a little to see if there were any clearance ones I could pick up, but never did get one. Then about October, she reminded me again that I needed to make Adam a stocking. Ok, ok. So I found one that would be great for him and ordered it. Finally the package comes and when I opened it, I wanted to cry! There were so many little pieces, sequins, beads, embroidery floss! I needed a magnifying glass to read the instructions. There were over 145 pieces to the stocking, all of which needed to be embroidered, beaded, sequined and/or stuffed. Where was my mom when I needed her??

The longer Mom has been gone, the more I realize I took for granted. First of all, I assumed she would always be here. Secondly, I assumed she would always do all of the things that she always did. If you didn't know my mom, she was wonder woman. Well, now I am trying to fill her shoes, and more and more things keep popping up that mom always did, and now it's my job to do them. I am so lucky to have had her teach me all of the things she did so that I can carry on some of these important traditions with my family.

I finished Adam's stocking today, I think Mom would be proud.

Thanksgiving Gratitude

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. It was a little quiet, but it was so nice to have our family with us. With Michael on his mission, and Scott's kids at their mother's, we were a little small this year. It was still nice though, and we have so much to be grateful for. We are so blessed, and sometimes the feelings are so overwhelming of how much my Heavenly Father loves me and blesses me.

I am so grateful for my family. I was raised by wonderful, loving parents who taught me the gospel, and taught me to love and serve others. My mom is gone, but I am still grateful for her influence in my life. I am thankful that my dad is still with us, and still able to do most of the things he wants to to. I am glad he lives close by so that we can spend time together. He's always been my favorite lunch buddy! I'm thankful for a wonderful husband, who loves me and our children. He is a great provider for our family, and takes good care of us. I am grateful he puts up with me and loves me just the same. I have been blessed with six (seven, eight?) terrific children, and I love all of them with all my heart. They are all different and they all bring a special blessing to my life. With their unique personalities and qualities, I am constantly amazed by the fact that Heavenly Father trusted me with them. I am thankful for my brother, Scott, and that we can be such good friends. We weren't particularly close as children, unless you count when I beat up the neighborhood bully for picking on my baby brother, but we have become close as adults, and he brings a special joy to my life to have him nearby. I am thankful for extended family. We are blessed to be able to re-connect and remain close because of the technology of the modern world. I have always loved spending time with Aunts, Uncles, cousins and nieces and nephews, and I am grateful that we still can and do. I am grateful that they care enough to stay in contact. They are a blessing to me.

I am grateful for the gospel, for my testimony of it, for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and for his redeeming love for me. I am thankful for the calm assurance I have that He lives, and that through Him, my family can be together forever. I am grateful for the peace of the gospel and the many blessings it brings into my life. I am grateful for my son Michael, who is serving a mission to the people in Ohio. I'm thankful for his strength and testimony and his willingness to bring others to a knowledge of our Savior and His gospel.

I am thankful for this free land we live in. I am thankful for the freedoms we have, and for those who fight and have fought to keep me free.

I am grateful for good friends. Friends who know me, and love me anyway. Friends who we consider family. Friends who will always be there for me, and friends who will let me be there for them. Friends who know what I need, even when I don't and friends who tell me the truth, even when I don't want to hear it.

It seems so inadequate to try to put these feelings into words, but I would feel even worse if I didn't try. I know that all good things come from the Lord, that He has given me all this and much, much more. Sometimes I can't comprehend all that I have, but I am grateful for it all.

Jordyn Plays Soccer, sort of....

Kindergarten soccer isn't really soccer, it's more like gather ball. We had 18 kindergarten teams. I think every single child in Mapleton played soccer this year. They play 3-on-3 with no goalie. It helps a little with the bunching, but not much. They actually conned me into coaching Jordyn's team. Hahaha. Yeah, I know, really? It was actually kind of fun, but I'm ready to be done. The kids are cute and fun, but spacey. I can't tell you how many times I had to pick a kid up from somersaulting on the grass. How many times I had to remind them that we were playing soccer. It was funny to watch them. The most important issues to them are, who brought treats and who gets to kick the ball at kick-offs or penalties. I finally had to make a rule that they weren't allowed to ask if they could kick. There were times they were all "too tired" and didn't want to play. Maybe the games are a little too long? Jordyn had fun though, and I guess that's the point, right?

Matthew Soccer

Matthew had a good, but tough fall soccer season. Mapleton played 6-man soccer for Matt's age with no offsides rule, so it was a totally different game. Matthew's coach was great, and taught him a ton. I've seen great growth in Matthew this year. The tough part came because the league is 6th-9th grade. Our team was all 6th graders, so it was pretty hard playing teams with older kids. They weren't able to win a game until the final two games of the season, but Matthew was able to score in two of the games. Go Matthew!!

Really?? Who does this??

We knew we got a bargain when we bought our new house, and we knew that there were a lot of things we needed to fix. One strange thing we noticed was the extreme temperature swings in our bedroom. (No wisecracks from the peanut gallery!!) It would be freezing in the morning, and really hot in the afternoon, while the rest of the house stays pretty constant. With fall mornings and waking up to seeing our breath in the air, Dennis cut an access panel (no, we didn't have one of those either) in our closet to see what was going on. Guess what? No insulation. None, nada, zip. Who does that? Who "forgets" to insulate one whole section of the house? Evidently our builder does. Since we bought the house "as is" we really have no recourse, good thing there is a great rebate program right now. Wonder what other surprises are in store?

Play Group and Play Doh

When school started, Jordyn was asked to be in a little play group with some other 5 year old girls in our ward. We were both thrilled!! Jordyn loves to play with her friends, and she goes crazy when she's here alone with me in the afternoons. In our old neighborhood she didn't really have any friends to play with, so this is great! It was our turn today, and the question was, what to do? We have very carefully avoided play doh in our house for the past 16 years or so. I'm not sure the boys have ever even played with it, ever. The main reason was that we had carpet under our dining table in our last house. Ever try to get playdoh out of carpet? Yeah, not so fun. Well, Jordyn pointed out to me that we have a wooden floor now, so we can have playdoh, right? Ok, I took a deep breath and took the plunge. Now I remember why I never buy playdoh. Actually it wasn't bad, despite what the pictures show. The girls had a ball. They played and giggled with playdoh for 2 whole hours!! We cleaned up what we could, then I swept the floor and table and ta-da! We were done! So, how do I top this for next month?