Quotes of the Week

"We don't forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive them because they need it... because we need it. We all need it." 

 -- Janis Joplin 

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back." 

 -- Maya Angelou 

"I'm taking all the negatives in my life, and turning them into a positive." 

 -- Pitbull 

"The thing that I think is the most important is taking moments to express your appreciation to your partner. A thank you or a quick kiss can go a long way toward affirming your relationship and commitment to each other. That's not hard to do even when you're juggling insane careers and three kids." 

 -- Michael Ian Black 

Thanksgiving Day

Turkey Day was delightful. My brother Mike had just finished putting on a huge addition to their house and he and Lorene were anxious to show it off. What better way to admire the beautiful new kitchen than to show it off with some delicious food accentuating the place?

Eli arrived looking very pleased with himself all dressed up in his Indian headband and necklace.

There's that cute little ambidextrous thumb-sucker.

Double turkey carving going on. It looked and smelled yummy.

Kathy and Wes were enjoying the big new family room while waiting for everyone to arrive.

The big sectional couch was impressive as it could hold a lot of people.

The huge couch looked exceptionally cute with two little boys perched on the edge watching something on the television.

Amanda was looking very festive wearing her turkey earrings.

Here's the food spread looking very delicious.

Even better than the food picture is this picture of the pre-dinner table.

Our after-dinner entertainment was a card game that involved this action during the last hand of the game.

It was a lovely day and we have many things to be thankful for at this time of the year.

Quotes of the Week

"Everything that happens to you is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose." 

 -- Wayne Dyer 

"A person may break your heart and damage your pride, but never ever give them the power to break your spirit." 

 -- Susan Gale 

 

"I like people with depth, I like people with emotion, I like people with a strong mind, an interesting mind, a twisted mind, and also someone who can make me smile." 

-- Abbey Lee Kershaw 

"Never be afraid to act. You never know how far away you are from your goal -- sometimes just reaching out and putting in a little bit of effort can be enough. And, even if it's not -- you tried, and that's far better than just sitting and waiting for a chance to present itself. If you want to achieve something you have to act, you have to take risks and you have to believe in yourself." 

 -- Author Unknown 

 

Luke's Baptism Weekend in Houston, Texas

Luke Thomas turned 8-years-old and he was getting baptized. Off we went to Houston to be there for the event. He just recently lost his two front teeth.

Natalie showed us her skills when we watched her cheer leading the night before during two basketball games. Now that's a lot of cheering!!

Natalie is the one on the far left.

Emma obediently posed for me as she was on her way out the door for school.

Sister pose is adorable!

Logan is now old enough to go to school...if he can be talked into leaving the television show that was holding him captive.

Claire typically likes Glen a lot more than me, but I won her over as we put together puzzle after puzzle after puzzle all morning after her siblings had gone to school.

Glen treated the day just like any other work day...by working all day.

He was perfectly happy being left to himself while Laurie, Claire and I went to lunch with Rebecca Billat. I still think it is so funny their family and Jacob's family ended up in the same area in Texas.

That wasn't all the fun we had that day. Laurie, Natalie, Emma and I had a girls' night out that evening.

The girls chose Olive Garden for us to have our dinner. We were seated way in the back of the restaurant. As we ate, we wondered where the boys would choose to go for their dinner. We couldn't all eat together because Jacob wasn't home by the time we needed to leave.

We sat there and ate and talked and laughed about how funny we thought it would be if the boys chose Olive Garden, too. Little did we know at the time...but the wall by our table (on Natalie's left side)...

...just so happened to be the only thing separating us and the boys. We discovered the boys and Claire sitting on the other side of the same wall (behind Jacob) as we were leaving the restaurant. It was HILARIOUS!!!!! 

Good thing we hadn't waited for the boys because they hadn't gotten their food yet. We had other things to do. We went to see a play. A pretty good-sized group of women from the ward had organized this play date with their daughters.

After the play, all the girls who were there from the ward got the chance to meet Cinderella in person and get their picture taken with her.

Despite being out late, Natalie was a super good sport and got up early the next morning to go with us to the temple. We have had a pile of family names that needed baptisms performed for them and Natalie said she would be willing to help us out with them.

Of course Natalie's favorite thing to do after going to the temple is getting a treat at Sonic. We couldn't disappoint her!

 I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she and Glen would order something as yucky looking as a blue slush with nerds in it.

Natalie was one happy girl!!

 Our next activity of the day was Luke's baptism.

 

The Rice Krispie treats were a big hit with everyone following the baptismal service.

These children left room in their tummies for dinner at Culver's as per Luke's choice.

Does this make it obvious why they love going to Culver's?

We were glad we got to go to church with Jacob's family on Sunday because Luke had the cutest grin on his face when he got called up to the front of the chapel as he got recognized for being baptized the day before. Here is the mad dash trying to get everyone out the door with the church bag packed and the shoes put on the children.

After church, the children had a great time entertaining themselves playing with kinetic sand while the food was being prepared.

Claire got so tuckered out she fell asleep on the couch.

Luke shared with us his homework assignment--to dress the turkey any way he wanted.

Emma and Luke showed us the posters they had prepared for school honoring a veteran. Natalie also completed the same assignment. They chose my dad--their great-grandfather--as their veteran to highlight and to give thanks.

Such cute kids! We enjoyed our time spent with them. We were very happy we got to spend Luke's baptism weekend in Houston, Texas with him and his family.