Thanksgiving weekend and 4 days of thanks

We had a busy, fun, family filled weekend and I never got around to being thankful. (on the blog anyway)
We had Thanksgiving dinner with Jared and Mandi's family at their house.  We had way way too much food.  We enjoyed good company and good food.  Then on Friday we lounged around in the morning and headed to St. George in the afternoon.  My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and etc. all did a temple session in celebration of my grandparents 70th wedding anniversary.  I am so thankful for the TEMPLE and what it means.  I love to go there and spend time doing the Lord's work.  On Saturday we had yummy homemade french fries and homemade corn dogs for lunch during the BYU vs. UTAH game.  GO UTES!  Then later that night we went to a celebration in honor of Gramps and Grams.  I'm also thankful for the GOSPEL.  Without the gospel the temple wouldn't mean anything.  I'm Thankful for Temples, the Gospel, and FAMILY!  This Thanksgiving was a great weekend.  This is the cute shirt Kelson wore on Saturday and Sunday to make our big announcement...

We are expecting baby #2 in June!

Thankful Day 24

Today I'm thankful that my rolls turned out good (at least I think they taste good).
I was assigned rolls, jello, and corn for the big Thanksgiving feast tomorrow, and everyone knows that homemade rolls are better than store bought.  So, I made rolls this week for the very first time.  I am quite proud of them.  To me, they taste as good as my mother-in-law can make... lets just hope everyone likes them tomorrow!

Thankful Day 23

Today I'm thankful for MY HOME and CAR.
Every winter I think about the pioneers and what they went through.  The thought of going to visit family in a wagon or walking across town in snow makes me so so grateful for my car.  Then I think about how horrible it would be if in this windy/snowy weather I didn't have a warm home.  It is so easy to take things for granted... I am grateful that I live on earth now with modern conveniences.  I don't know how the pioneers lasted in the cold snowy winters or walking so so far.  I'm grateful for my WARM home and car.

Thankful Days 21 & 22

Today I'm thankful for my TALENTS.
  Yesterday I taught the YW lesson on talents.  As I was preparing I was thinking over all of the talents that I DO have.  I don't want to brag, but I am grateful that I have the talent of sewing, of crafting, of teaching...  I was thinking back to High School, and realized I had many talents which I have lost from not doing them anymore, talents such as: dance, cheer, playing the flute, making friends easy.  But then I realized maybe those talents were more needed when I was younger, and maybe we all have some talents that come and then go.  Maybe not even for our benefit but for others benefit.  Regardless.... I am thankful for the talents that I have now, and I hope I can continue to improve each of these talents.  I am grateful that the Lord has blessed me with so many wonderful talents.  Even though I can't carry a tune, or cook real well, I do have talents and I am grateful for them!

Thankful Days 19 & 20

Today I'm Thankful for MY SENSES!
I'm so glad that I have the gift of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste!
Every morning I wake up first to Trevor's alarm (at this point I'm not so grateful for the gift of sound), but then I get to wake up to the beautiful sound of Kelson's voice!  I love hearing him in his crib "momma, momma?"  How can I start out my day bad when that is what I hear.  Next I get to see his cute chubby cheeks and bright smile.  Of course I'm not always grateful for the gift of smell first thing in the morning... a child can be pretty stinky, so can Trevor when he gets home from work!!  Although I do LOVE the smell of rain, dinner cooking, and a freshly bathed Kelson.  And who doesn't love food?!?!  But if you couldn't taste the food it wouldn't hardly be worth eating!
It's easy to wish you couldn't smell when it's diaper changing time, or that you can't taste when you put sushi in your mouth, but imagine if you couldn't experience the bad things.... how much would you really enjoy the wonderful senses.
Yes today I'm thankful for my senses the good ones and the bad ones!!

Thankful Days 14-18

I can't believe how I keep getting behind.... don't think it's because I'm not grateful, because I AM GRATEFUL!
I'm THANKFUL for my BROTHERS.
I am lucky to have the nicest, sweetest, honest, helpful, funny, friendly brothers EVER!  Infact, not that long ago I was talking with one of my sisters-in-law, Kayleen, about how sometimes we like it when Jordan makes mistakes because it helps us realize that he isn't perfect.  He is pretty close, as are all of my brothers.  I love my brothers for their examples of living a Christ centered life.  I love them for their examples of hard work.  I love my brothers and I don't tell them "Thank You" enough or that I love them enough, but I do.  Thank you Bradley, Brandon, and Jordan for all that you do for me!

Thankful Days 10, 11, 12, &13

Wow!  I got really behind on my thankful posts... so, today I'm going to be thankful for a couple of things. 
First I'm thankful for Kelson.
I love Kelson with my entire heart!  He is such a fun, naughty, spoiled little boy.  He is getting more personality everyday.  He is learning so much so fast... it is amazing.  I'm reminded everyday that he is my sole responsibility, and it is through me and Trevor what he will learn and also believe.  It is a scary thought, but he is worth every second of every day!  And since I haven't posted stats for a while, here is just a little bit about him:
 He is about 22.5 pounds. 
 Loves snacks but hates to sit still long enough for meal time.
 Loves to go outside.
 Loves to play chase.
 Both a mommas boy and a daddy's boy.
 Hates to be held for more than about 5 minutes at a time.
 Loves dogs and horses.
 He has about 15-20 words in his vocabulary (including names).
   Just a few: dog, horse, baby, Jamie (mayme), grandpa (bampba), Hi, hello, night night (nigh nigh)

I'm also thankful for Trevor.
He is such a hard working, loving, happy, NO complaining, sarcastic, handsome, father and husband.  He does so much for me and our family.  He works hard so that I don't have to work too often and can stay home with Kelson.  He loves spending time with Kelson and I know that Kelson loves it.  He RARELY complains about anything.  He is such a great guy and I love him so so much.  He is my very best friend and I'm so grateful that he is a part of my life.

Halloween

I'm kinda late posting this, but I still wanted to cause Kelson looked so cute!

This year we took Kelson to the Beryl carnival and to the Enterprise Carnival.  He is still pretty young, so all we did besides eat and visit with family and friends is the "fish-pond" and "cake walk."  He was the cutest little "dragonasorous" sort of a dragon sort of a dino. 

 On Saturdat night I took him to Andrea's to go trick or treating.  Once he realized we were putting candy in his orange bucket, he just wanted to eat it.  We next went to Dave and VaNae's house where he pretty much finished his 4 peices of candy!  After that we decided to go to New Castle, we ate dinnner and lots of candy.  It was a pretty fun week.

MY RECENT ADDICTIONS

Ever since I bought a sewing machine back in February I have become quite the sewer...  I have made around 8 or 9 rag quilts, 1 tie quilt, around 80-90 burp rags, 14 aprons, and patched some pants.  I am currently working on 1 apron, 1 experimental quilt, 1 hand bag, and have fabric to make 2 or 3 more rag quilts. I want to buy fabric ALL the time.  In fact, Trevor told me that I would get "in trouble" if I buy more material before I finish the projects that I already have.  So, instead of buying fabric... I have been buying wood, paper, and mod-podge. I am really getting into wood crafts and decorations for the house... I made 2 fall wood decorations in September and 1 wreath, and am excited to make more wood craft decorations.  So, when my house is a mess, and you stop by, just know that I'm addicted to CRAFTING!!!

Thankful- Day 9

Today I'm Thankful for SISTERS-IN-LAW.
I have 5 AMAZING sisters-in-law.  I feel like if I needed a friend to talk to I could talk to any one of them and they would lift my spirits.  I wish I lived close to all of them!  The 2 I live close to help me out with Kelson, cooking, cleaning, and so many other things. I'm so so grateful for them and all that they do for me.  I love my sisters-in-law just like my own sisters!  Thank you for being AMAZING, TALENTED, FRIENDLY, WOMEN!

Thankful Days 7 & 8

Today I'm THANKFUL for MUSIC.
Yesterday, while I was sitting in sacrament meeting trying to keep Kelson entertained, contained, and quiet, we sang the song "How Great Thou Art."  And even though I was half focused on my child I could still feel the spirit through the song.  Church would be hard to sit through if there was no music.
I'm grateful for the spirit the music can bring, I'm grateful for the way that music can magically make me feel better, and sometimes I'm just thankful it's not quiet.  I love the church hymns and any other music that can really bring the spirit. 
I love that when Kelson cries I can sing and he'll stop crying.  I love that Kelson will relax in my arms before bed when we rock and sing.  (I don't have a good voice, but he seems to like it!)

Today I'm thankful for Music!

Thankful Day 6

Today I'm thankful for FRIENDS.
Today I get to go to a baby shower for a friend that I have known for around 5 years!  Friends are great...  I spend so much time with family and doing crafts, I don't spend a lot of time with friends.  Even though I don't spend time with friends I do have a few friends who are there for me know matter what... the friends you can count on for your entire life time.  It seems like the older you get, the more your family grows, the harder it is to spend time with friends, but true friends don't stop being there for you.  I love and am so thankful for my friends that I can see or talk to every few months, but it is as if we never spent much time apart.  I'm thankful for my friends influences in my life.  THANK YOU FRIEND!

"There are friends who pass like ships in the night, who meet for a moment then sail out of sight.  With never a backward glance of regret- Friends we know brieflly, then quickly forget.  There are other friends who sail together through quiet waters and stormy weather.  Helping each other through joy and strife- and they are the kind that give meaning to life."

Thankful- Days 4 & 5

Today I'm thankful for MY MOTHER-IN-LAW.
I had to work yesterday and didn't get around to blogging.  My mother-in-law is amazing!!! She is: crafty, an amazing baker, nice, fun, willing, friendly, honest, smart, coolest mother-in-law EVER!!! She is talented in so many ways, and she is such a great mother!  On Wednesday night I was in charge of the crafts at YW, and since Trevor wasn't home from work I dropped Kelson off at his grandma's.  Then, I had to work early yesterday morning so he just stayed the night.  Christy is SO SO willing to babysit (Kelson is the only grandchild, so he is pretty spoiled).  She not only babysits for us almost every time I work and other random occations, but she also cooks us dinner every Sunday, and multiple days during the week.  She is GREAT!  I'm so grateful that I get to be a part of her life.

Thankful- Day 3

Today I'm THANKFUL for MY HANDS
When I started this post I was going to be grateful for dishwashers...  I haven't had one for the last 3 years or so.  I have to wash all the dishes I dirty by hand.  Then as I'm thinking about it more I realized there is more to it... I am grateful that I have capable hands to wash the dishes everyday.  It's not necessarily a chore I enjoy, but I am truly grateful it is a chore I can accomplish.  I'm grateful for my hands for many more reasons than washing the dishes.  Reasons such as: typing/writing in a journal, cleaning, cooking, driving, sewing, making wood crafts, holding Trevor's hand, holding Kelson's hand, brushing my teeth, setting the alarm, and the list could go on and on.  All of these things would not be so easy if I didn't have capable hands and the wonderful sense of touch. 
So today as I do the dishes, instead of thinking what a horrible chore, I'm going to think about how grateful I am for MY HANDS.

"I complained because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet." -Sign in shoe repair shop (How to be totally miserable by John Bytheway)

Thankful- Day 2

Today I'm thankful for "PERFECT MOMENTS"!
The moments in life that make life worth living.  Moments like: holding Trevor's hand and knowing that we WILL make it forever, eating a big bowl of ice cream, seeing your grandparents kiss, spending time with family, the feeling the Church of Jesus Christ is true, AND holding a cuddly Kelson while he sleeps and not wanting to move until he wakes up.  These are just some of the perfect moments I'm thankful for.

an attitude of gratitude

Knowing that I will be teaching the combined YW lesson this next Sunday... I've already been thinking about it.  The lesson is on being grateful.  I have been watching some of the cute little Mormon messages online (I like all the help I can get for my lessons).  After watching a few of these messages, I decided that I should be more grateful.  So, for every day of November (beings it's the month of Thanksgiving) I will try to post one thing that I am grateful for.

To start, today I'm thankful for MY SISTERS.
I'm the luckiest girl in the world... I have the 2 most amazing sisters ever!!  They are nice, sensitive, genuine, happy, smart, spiritual, loving, friendly, talented people.  I love them so much and I'm so so thankful I have them in my life!