Thankful For

This is a great time of year, an extra special chance to be thankful, and a holiday that is not near as commercialized as the others close to it. I am looking forward to a wonderful day cooking with my mom and being with my family, my mom, dad and sister. It will be great! I just wanted to share a few things that I am thankful for. The list is endless, so I just picked a few things that might stand out o me a bit more this year.

! - Brian - of course I am thankful for him, but this year I am particularly grateful for his willingness to follow through on things even when they are hard. A few examples, redoing our bathroom, helping me with lots of projects, and oh yeah, finishing his Master's project.

2 - My kids - yes they top the list too, but this year I am particularly thankful for the ways they are growing up. It is so different being a mom of school aged children (without little tiny ones at home). Between homework, piano, friends, activity days (and in not too long, Cub Scouts) we are so busy and things get a little nuts, but it is so fun! They are also so good at helping each other out. What a blessing!

3 - Primary - I love serving with the children at church. I love seeing my kids as they learn and soon Megan will be there too. I love hearing the Primary music each and every week. I love the sweet spirit the children bring with them!

4 - Friends - I am grateful for my many friends who will take time out of their busy days to help me by giving me a ride. Whether it is a necessity like a doctor appointment, or just a fun errand I want to run, so many say, "call me if you need anything" and mean it. They all say it isn't a big deal, but it is a HUGE thing for me, and blesses Brian too.

5 - My Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made it possible for me to succeed in returning to my Heavenly Father.

6 - My Heavenly Father who has provided these blessings for me now, and who has provided me with countless blessings throughout my life. He has always given me just what I needed, though I may not have understood it all at the time. He is mindful of me and my family and for that I am grateful.

Hogwarts Halloween and Fall Fun

Anyone who knows me knows that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I don't mind the dressing up (in fact it is so fun to see the kids enjoying it so much!) and parties are fun, but I really dislike Trick-or-Treating. So we minimized that part of the holiday and enjoyed the other festivities, especially Uncle Jason's party. The kids loved our Harry Potter theme and looked great!

Mike as Ron Weasely

Liz as Hermione Granger

Nathan as The Boy Who lived

and cute little Megan as Ginny Weasely

I was Professor McGonagell (or Gonagell as Megan would say) and Brian was Dumbledore. The kids were thrilled!

The four or five days before Halloween were quite wintery, but the day of Halloween was beautiful out. We were able to clean up leaves in the yard. The kids enjoyed making a large pile and jumping. So much fun!