Thankful

This year has been a big year for me in so many ways. Even though I know we should count our blessings continuously, I love how Thanksgiving provides us the opportunity to reflect upon all that we have been given.

I have been so greatly blessed this year and my heart is bursting with gratitude yet each time I attempt to detail all I am thankful for, it just sounds so trite. Besides, I always write too much and then what I am really trying to say gets lost in the middle of all of the words.

I digress already.....

What I am most grateful for, are the people in my life. My family. My wonderful family that I am blessed with. The family I gained this year. The family I lost this year. The friends I have. The new friends I have gained this year. The old friends who have always been there for me (you know who you are :).

I am grateful for the learning experiences I've had this year. I've learned to appreciate where I live, the home I have, and the employment we are able to find here.

I've learned to appreciate the special times with family: birthdays, baptisms, weddings....and how deeply blessed I was to be a part of those moments with those I love.

I also experienced the bittersweet moments of the passing on of a loved one....and learned so much about life, eternity, and family in the process.

I am grateful for my prayers that have been answered. And I have learned to be grateful for the prayers that were not answered in the way that I wanted, but that were answered in the way that the Lord knew was best.

I am thankful to live. I am thankful to be able to learn and to grow. I am thankful for shopping trips with a screaming two-year-old. I am even more thankful for shopping trips sans said screaming tw0-year-old. And I am thankful for the increase of patience he is teaching me!

Most of all, I am just thankful. So very blessed, and so very thankful.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving tommorrow! I will be watching the parade, setting up my tree, gorging myself on delicious food, enjoying the company of family, and marking up sale ads like all of the rest of the Black Friday crazies! Cheers!

The Bunny Killer

When I was a senior in high school, I left my house in the pitch black before 6 am every morning, and traveled to a town 20 miles away to attend Early Morning Seminary.

One fateful morning started out like any ordinary day. I pulled out of my driveway and onto the road that would eventually become the highway leading me out of town.

As I left the edge of town and accelerated to the highest speed I felt I could get away with, a slight movement off the road caught my eye. I let off the gas and peered into the dark to see a little bunny that ran into the road in front of me, got scared by my headlights, and started to dart back away from my oncoming car.

Though I had hit my brakes by this point, it was evident that the bunny was moving safely to the side of the road and would soon disapear into the woods where it came from.

I assumed wrong.

Just as it was running full speed to the side of the road, suddenly it caught the sight of headlights coming from the opposite direction, stopped in it's tracks, then almost instantly did an about face and ran with all of it's might......

right into the path of my front tire.

I screamed.

I shivered as I felt the bump of the front tire, followed by the bump of the second tire.

And in a split second, both of our lives where changed forever. (Well, technically mine was changed and it's was ended.)

Then I started to cry. As I drove, I cried and cried and cried. Then I bawled. Then after 15 minutes of crying, I realized I was nearly there and needed to pull myself together.

I pulled slowly into the parking lot at church. I put my car in park and sat there for a few more minutes trying to let my eyes and face have a chance to dry.

Finally I felt composed enough to walk into class which I was sure was already well in session.

I walked in as inconspicuously as I could, but apparently my face gave it all away.

My teacher looked at me and with a very worried and concerned tone asked, "What is wrong?"

The faucets turned on again.

"I HIT a BUNNY" I cried. And then I cried and cried and cried again.

At first it was quiet and then the snickers started and soon all out laughter. I wasn't offended because I new how ridiculous I looked and sounded.

I relived the story and afterwards I seemed to be the only one who did not find any humor in the situation.

And from then on, I was dubbed, "The Bunny Killer" and the name has stuck. To this day, when I visit my home ward, there is always that one person (or two or three) who has the audacity to say hello to me -not by name- but as, Bunny Killer.

What's really annoying is when the younger kids who weren't even youth at the time know the story and taunt me mercilessly about it.

A week or two after that fateful incident, I walked out of Seminary to find a stuffed Easter rabbit tied to my bumper with a sign that said "Bunny Killer". Because I couldn't get the ropes loose, I had to drive to school with it stuck to my car and endure the interrogating questions that incurred there.

(I got back at the culprit of that cruel prank by inviting him to prom that year even though he was on crutches from having just had surgery on his leg. It gave me some feeling of restitution every time I insisted we dance!)

So, even years later I am still haunted by that incident.

I bring all of this up, because for the last two weeks, I had a sixteen year old girl from church staying with me while her parents were out of town. Before the sun came up each morning, I drove her the short distance across town so that she too could attend early morning seminary.

In the last few days that I drove her to seminary, I was rudely reminded of that painful part of my past by a bunny with a death wish. Not once, but twice the little devil darted out of a set of bushes and headed straight for my moving tires.

The first time, I slammed on my brakes until I came to a complete stop. "You might be late to seminary, because I'm not moving until this bunny runs back where it came from."

We sat for several minutes until it aimlessly hopped down the street.

Two mornings later, it darted for my car again. Suicidal obviously. I hit my brakes again and just sat there again.

I think it was mocking me. Maybe it was playing chicken. But, it finally gave up and moved on it's way, and I went on mine.

I think it got the last laugh though because I've had several nightmares about bunnies in the last few days......maybe it's the ghost of bunnies past................

It's Been One of "Those" Days...

And it's not over yet... *Sigh*

Now and Then

Kayla, Jackson, and Skyler 2009

2009

Skyler 2006 age 4

Skyler 2009 age 7

2006

Kayla 2006 age 2 1/2

2006

Kayla 2009 age 5 1/2

Jackson 2009 age 2 1/2

He wasn't the most cooperative while having his picture taken, but he was still very cute...

Does the shirt look familiar?

Jackson 2009 trying to be the cameraman

Pure delight!

The Fall

When I've walked out of my front door the last few days, I've been greeted by this glorious pecan tree behind our house. Yesterday it was absolutely brilliant in the sunlight and the leaves were beginning to drop gently to the ground. I kept thinking about this post on NieNie's blog.


So yesterday as Jackson was quietly napping in his room, I decided to take a break from all that I "NEEDED" to do (you know, the never ending list), and actually live in the moment. I don't do this enough and I feel like I let too much of life pass me by.

It was magical! I sat there on my little bench, surrounded by my delightful little pumpkins and listened to the rustle of the wind in the tree. Then I watched as the leaves escaped their perches on the limbs and swirl around every which way until they softly swept to the ground.

I felt a little rediculous taking self portraits, but I wanted to get the leaves in the background just to remind myself that fall really does come here, you just have to wait for it. And you have to learn to appreciate the 80 degree weather that coincides with it. I have learned to appreciate it.

I think of Martina McBride's song "Blessed"....and how grateful I am for a few quiet moments out of the day to remember what wonderful things surround me.

Then I went back in and cleaned my house, took care of my children, fixed my family supper, and did not have another moment's peace to myself for the rest of the day.

And that's exactly how it should be.

Halloween (In a Nutty Shell)

Halloween came quickly this year! At least that's how it felt. But, we did manage to cover all of the basics:

Carving pumpkins grown in our very own pumpkin patch...

According to a seven-year-old boy, the best way to carve a pumpkin is with a belt and sword.


And who really likes the sticky slimy pumpkin innerds? Not these guys!

The carved and finished product. Mom's pumpkin is the one eyed creature. Call it laziness or the fact that I had to carve the other three also. You pick...

And no Halloween is complete without the annual Trunk-or-Treat.

This year we had a "Thomas"...

...and also a Hannah Montana and a "I Have No Idea".

Honestly, Skyler never came up with a name for his costume so this was the answer he gave everyone who inquired about what he was.

He was very proud of it though, and I was proud of him for using his creativity on it without having to conform to a costume with a name.

A fairly convincing Hannah...




And Mr. "I Have No Idea!"

And the SCARIEST THING OF ALL.....

Happy Halloween!