'Tis The Season....

The kids and I headed up to the mall this morning to see this.....Santa arrive on the chopper 5 helicopter. We didn't get to see him this year.

This is what we saw instead....very unhappy children!

It was only about 15 degrees this morning and I was doing my best to keep the kids warm. Santa was about 45 minutes late, and after waiting for about 20 minutes, poor Adam couldn't take any more cold. His toes were frozen and he was miserable. So we left. Adam kept asking if we could try again next year.

They were happy for about 10 minutes and I got some cute pictures before the ice started forming on their poor noses.

Thankful....

I have been thinking a lot this week about how blessed I am and all the things I am thankful for. I could spend all day doing this...so I will narrow it down to a few things.

I am thankful for this wonderful man! Thankful that he took a chance on me and that we have a wonderful marriage! I can't imagine life without him!

I am thankful for these monkeys! They keep me on my toes and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so thankful to be a mother.

I am thankful for wonderful families. I am SO grateful to have awesome in-laws!

I am thankful for my family...as strange as we may be:) I am thankful for my wonderful parents who taught me to value the things that bring me true happiness.

I am thankful for food:) It makes me happy!

I am thankful for talents and hobbies...and thankful that I am actually good at a few of them.

I am thankful for music. I am thankful that I can play it, sing it, and listen to it. It calms me down and picks me up. I love my music!

I am thankful for the gospel! I am thankful for the knowledge that families are forever and that we have a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers! I am thankful for living prophets and scriptures to guide me. I am thankful for the temple and the truths that are taught there. I am so thankful that our family has been sealed for eternity!

I am thankful for my phone and computer. I'm thankful that I can communicate and keep in touch with people so easily. I am thankful for texting...it allows me to talk to Jodi like 100 times a day:) I'm thankful for you Jodi.....don't know what I would do without you!

So thankful for our home! It is such a blessing to be in a house! We love living here!!!

I am thankful for books and that I am able to read to my kids. There is nothing quite like those quiet moments when we read together.

My list could go on and on. I am thankful that we are so blessed and that we have learned to look for the blessings in our trials. The Lord has been so mindful of us and while not everything is perfect all of the time, we know that He is aware of us and wants us to be happy. I am thankful for this time of year and the opportunity it give me to reflect on all of my blessings.

Little Indians

I had such good intentions for some fun Thanksgiving activities this week. Needless to say, most of them have not happened. This afternoon we had some free time to have some fun. We made some Indian vests and headbands with some thankful feathers. Adam said he was thankful for dinosaurs, big books, animals, and things that fly. Tessa said she was thankful for Cinderella, nursery, fruit snacks, big brother, and her "night night" (her blanket). It was so nice to spend some quality time together since Mommy School has been way off track since our move.

Random

Just a couple of random pictures to share....we moved and survived! A big thank you to all those who helped us! The kids came down with the stomach flu during the move and Eric and I got it the day after. Not the best move we have had, but we are loving our new house! Adam has already started asking for a pet and when I tell them to quiet down, Adam's response has been, "But Mom, we live in our new house. We don't have to be quiet anymore."

our little princess

adam got creative with his pretzels

watching curious george together

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween! Adam was a BYU football player and Tessa was his cheerleader. Trick or Treating was exhausting, but the kids loved it! We were grateful the rain stopped for us.

Tessa was NOT in the mood for pictures

Off they go!

They had lots of compliments on their costumes....some people even gave them more candy because of their costumes! GO COUGARS!!!

Examining their loot

Happy Halloween!

Week In Review

It's been a busy week...here is what we have been up to.

I catered a wedding. I cooked for 3 days and made tons of food. I think it turned out pretty well. I might have another wedding in a couple of months. I am excited to do it again!

We have been packing. Yuck! Adam decided he really wanted to help pack things, so I let him start packing his room. He did a pretty good job.

The Toys R Us Christmas catalog came in the mail this week. I told Adam to look through it and see if there was anything in it that he might like for Christmas. I found him with a marker circling literally every single thing in the book! I am afraid we are going to have one very disappointed boy Christmas morning. He went back and put an X on about 5 things he decided he could live without. Pretty cute if you ask me!

Pumpkins!

I desperately wanted to take the kids to a pumpkin patch this year, but I didn't want Eric to miss it. Between our work schedules, the wedding, young women's and moving, it never happened. So, this Monday for FHE we visit Macey's Pumpkin patch. (Macey's is our local grocery store.) The kids had fun climbing over all the pumpkins and picking out their very own.

(it was freezing, but Adam insisted his sandals would keep his toes warm. go figure)

The kids were so anxious to see what was inside the pumpkin.

The final product....our jack-o-lantern (Adam named him Adam), our Micky Mouse jack-o-lantern and BYU jack-o-lantern!!