Thankful Papers

Our traditional November-hang-on-the-pantry-doors-and-be-thankful papers for 2010:

Rope Art

Recently during Sacrament Meeting, Joshua asked for some paper.  I handed a small hotel chain pad for him to draw on.  Before I knew it, he had used up the whole pad.  Each picture looked like lots of repeated scribbled circles, but they were 'cowboy wopes.'
Cute.

Just the other day I found some 'cowboy wopes' and I'm not talking about the ones that I trip over on my family room floor all day every day.
I found them on my bedside table.
Hmmmmm
Not so cute.

Then Saturday morning, while sitting in the chair next to the bed talking with Mike, I found some more 'wopes.'  This time, they had additional artwork included.

(excuse the flash)

Joshua was summoned into the room and Mike questioned, "Who drew on the dresser?"  Joshua stayed quiet, yet silently shook his head no, as Mike questioned him, "Was it Ellie?"  "Was it Megan?" and so on.  Not wanting Joshua tempted to lie, Mike carefully avoided asking Joshua directly if it was him.
To no avail would Joshua admit he was the artist.

And then in came Luke.
Smart Luke.

"What is this a picture of?" Luke slyly questioned as he pointed to the non-rope design.
To which Joshua remained silent.

Luke started making guesses.

And then presumably, after what Joshua must have considered insulting suggestions,
He snapped, "It's a SPIDER."

Caught.
 There was no denying it then.

The side of my dresser is now adorned with a large selection of pen-induced engravings of 'cowboy wopes' and one SPIDER.

And such is the life of a parent.

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho-It's Off To Work...

I love that when Luke wants something, he usually asks what he can do to try to get it.  This time around, his list of possible chores were given at bedtime and plans were made to work on them the next day after school.

The next morning he woke up slightly earlier than usual and went straight to the piano.
Followed by going upstairs to the loft/toyroom to clean up all the toys.
Next he came back downstairs retrieved the window cleaner and paper towels and proceeded to clean the inside of the sliding glass door.
His mind was so focused on how he could earn his $5.00 (back) that he didn't seem to be bothered about going outside to clean the other side of the door.

Even though it was 30 degrees outside and he was wearing only his underwear.

Upon finishing the door, Luke started to clean the bathroom, but getting dressed and ready for school was highly recommended (by me).

I love that about Luke.  He knows how and when to work.
Well, sort of...
Just not how and what to wear!

A Memory For Monday (With 'That' Thursday)

While at the local grocery store recently, the girl checking me out and the girl bagging my groceries were discussing the upcoming holiday; Thanksgiving Day. The bagger mentioned that at her college, there are lots of students from another country and how strange that they have no plans, traditions or understanding of the upcoming day.

It took me back to a Thursday afternoon when I was about 12 years old. I was anticipating my dad coming home from work to take my brother and me to mutual that evening. My mom was fixing dinner and was teary eyed (and a little cranky). She mentioned through her tears something about her family 'back home being all together today.'

I remember distinctly standing in our back garden that 'Indian Summer' type afternoon playing with my brothers.   Looking towards the house, feeling glad I was outside and my mother was inside fixing dinner, I suddenly remembered, Oh, it is that Thursday that makes my mom cry. That's why she's fixing a 'Sunday dinner' on a Thursday!!!

I can remember that like it was yesterday.
I had absolutely no reference point for what my mother was missing.
Now I do.
I love Thanksgiving.
Though I didn't 'celebrate' or 'participate' in my first Thanksgiving until I was fourteen years old, I love, appreciate and treasure the holiday.
I now have an understanding as to why my mother used to cry on 'that Thursday.'

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Half

(Loving the half-wrapped make-up kit from Justice! Which was 40% off of 99 cents!!! Told you we don't do fancy gifts on half birthdays...)

Today Ellie is six and a half.

Instead of just reveling in the moment, she seemed perplexed as she asked,

"Why do we have to have a half birthday?"

I told her we didn't, we just thought it was fun to celebrate.  

To which she followed up with, 

"Well why did Jesus make half birthdays?"

Well Jesus didn't really.  It's just a passage of time. But how do you try to explain the existence of a date versus celebrating a date to a six and A HALF year old?

Happy Half Birthday Ellie.
Now just enjoy the rest of the day...

Around Here

It's been a good week or so around here.  Nothing too memorable or special, just the regular routines our days are made of.  But for some reason this week it's hitting me even more, that this is the real stuff life is made of, and I'm loving it....

• While attending YW In Excellence the other night with Megan, I realized I've come full circle.  I've participated in the YW program as a youth, as a leader, and now as a parent.  My testimony of the inspired program has only strengthened through the years.
• Megan recently read a book at school she thought Luke would love.  Each night she reads some of it to him while he draws pictures of what is happening in the story in the home-made book she made for  him.  She reviews what they have read and has him write highlights after the reading session, to make sure he is comprehending the above-his-grade-level-book. For some reason, the book makes me teary eyed to look at.  (They don't always get along quite so well....)

• Joshua keeps randomly pleading "I want to go to the beach."  When I tell him it is too far to drive today, he responds, "We can just fr-ry in a plane".
• Mike's car got sprayed by a skunk.  We all favored the suburban for this week's errands/trips.
• Mike and I did a 48 hour experiment Sunday-Monday.  We didn't ask/remind our children to do a thing (Besides practice and brush their teeth).  Mike and I did very little but the necessities too.  By Monday night, there were things strewn EVERYWHERE.  A very interesting and TO THE POINT Family Home Evening followed...
• The other day, I needed my potato masher.  I found it in the mudroom.  Go figure?
• My PTA board is fabulous and truly makes my job seem easy.  Emails, kind words and a quick visit from them make the hard stuff easier.
• I'm loving the random "I'm grateful fors" that are being written on our traditional November "I'm Grateful For..." papers on the pantry doors. Ellie writing she is thankful for the "pinerses" (pioneers) made me smile.
• I am honestly trying to enjoy Drew as a toddler, but shelves and cupboards being emptied  everyday is not always conducive to 'savoring the moment.'

• I HEART, HEART, HEART my husband.   He makes me laugh, he makes me happy, he makes me smile, he makes me want to be better. 
• Joshua has returned to full-time Cowboy attire.  He's making sure to get to the bathroom in plenty of time to undo the chaps, belt buckle and Wranglers so as not to loose the privilege of wearing them...
• We took a family vote on Sunday and have opted to stay home as a family for Thanksgiving day.  The children can't stop planning our festivities.  We've had suggestions and enthusiasm for ideas such as tacos for dinner, a family 'carnefel', games all day, and the newest favorite--eating out at an all you can eat buffet!  Who knows?
• Last night I decided to 'test' Drew's abilities.  I asked him to go upstairs and get his jammies.  He returned wearing one of Ellie's sandals from her bedroom. Such is life!
• While reading my current read, President Monson's biography the other night, a particular scripture jumped out to me, "Be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.  And out of small things proceedeth that which is great."  It's changed my attitude in the days since...

Life is by no means perfect around here, but this week I'm consciously recalling one of my personal mottos: 'Enjoy the little things in life for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things.'  It is making all the difference.

A Memory For Monday (With A House)

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that the days/dates in 2010 are the same as in 2004?
Now duh, I know that happens every few years (my dad and brother are probably screaming the answer at the computer screen as they read), but I've noticed it several times throughout this year.

None more poignantly though than Saturday, November 13th.
Saturday became six years since we moved from our beloved home.

(The front view of our house that carefully disguises the garage part in back...)  

To give a brief overview, I'm talking about our garage turned house that has it's own scrapbook dedicated to it's four year building plan.  It was Mike's dream garage.  Mike had the plans drawn up and started before we were even dating.  Mike will always say that my comment upon first hearing about his 'dream garage' was 'That's really cool."  But in MY DEFENSE, we were just friends and I had no idea we'd ever even date let alone get married....

The whole garage part is too long for this memory and like I said, the building of the garage/house has it's own book of pictures and commentary.  (Please note when you look at the book, Mike is always quick to tell you to only look at the pictures, I'm quick to tell you to be sure to read what I wrote about it.)

Anyway, we built the house portion of our house as though we would stay there forever.  It had a lot of bells and whistles.  We planned to stay there forever.  We loved our ward, we loved our neighborhood, we loved the city, we loved it all.  And then one day, when Ellie was just a couple of months old, I felt like we needed to move.  Mike laughed at first, and then dismissed the conversation anytime it arose.  Within a couple of months, he too knew it was what we were meant to do.  I'll never forget the first time I heard him ask in his prayers that our home would quickly sell, I knew then that this step in our lives was being guided by a higher power.

We knew where we were supposed to move.  We knew it as soon as we saw the location, lot and house plan.  It was a backwards step in many ways.  It didn't make sense to many people, most of all to us.  The only way to get the location we knew we needed to be at was to go through a builder that did nothing custom.  Mike was losing his six car garage, I was losing my custom kitchen.  Yet we couldn't deny the guidance of the spirit in our lives.

I'll never forget that November Saturday afternoon when Mike and I stood alone in the empty, cleared out house Mike built with his own two hands.  As we stood in the barren family room, before walking out the door for the last time, I held Mike while he cried and cried and cried.

Later that night as we laid in bed at my parents house (that became our home for the next five months), it was my turn to cry and cry.  I apologized over and over to Mike that I had ever received the initial prompting.  I kept apologizing for what I was sure was the beginning of the biggest mistake of our lives.

That day was six years ago.
And though Mike still talks about his old garage space, and Megan still talks about the yellow tube slide out back and I frequently lament the loss of my custom kitchen cabinets, for some reason we are where we are meant to be.
We now know it without a doubt.

And we wouldn't trade it for the world.