Thanksgiving

What is family? Is it people who are blood related? Do they share the same relatives? I ask these questions because I had a great Thanksgiving with my family. People who I haven't seen in years...5 or 6 and some people I was never acquainted with became family to me today. There were new spouses and boyfriends and neighbors that I had never met. We had a great meal at my Dad's and StepMom's house. We could have easily fed 50 more people and I am not exaggerating. Sitting around the table and chatting with my "elders" is always such an enlightening experience. Today I learned why my Grandmothers family moved from Kansas in the 40's. They originally resided in Dodge City and in order to give their children more opportunities, they moved to Canby Oregon. I learned about my Grandpa's surgery and commented on how much weight he had lost. He isn't looking great to say the least. My father's brother had five children. I haven't seen any of them for 5+ years. Some of them had been married and had children. It was great to see them. The most profound thing though was speaking to a cousin of my fathers and his family. They have a daughter that is looking into becoming a nun. Not only did we have a very deep and profound discussion on service and Charity, but ended up talking about Proposition 8 and the persecution of the Church. This led to a very wonderful discussion on faith and religion that was amazing. Sometimes I am just so glad that my Grandparents and my husband and I are the only active members in my family. We had such a great opportunity to share the gospel in a very loving and wonderful way. I love days like this! They make me want to give everyone a hug and sing "He's got the Whole World in His Hands!"

Sampson (Evan) loses his powers...

The deed has been done. The tears have been shed by little boy and mother alike. A pile of curly blond locks is in our garbage and a few choice curls have been tucked away for safe keeping. My baby looks like a huge boy now! Only after cutting away the mane did I realize the size of this kids noggin! He must have a ten pound head! Seriously, it hurts just looking at his cranium. It was the saddest sight to see him bawling his little eyes out as we chopped away at his "hairs". His strength waned with every cut. He cried every time we laid a new clump of hair on the table...sad tears not whiny tears. Curls still reside around the ears and front of his head, but the top is just plain wavy. Inevitably, we will be applying product to his hair everyday now...but he is still dang cute!

Why do we love Twilight?

After posing this question, why do so many grown women love this book, I wondered myself what was so attractive about it? I am not a follower of any romance writers, LDS or not. The genre doesn't thrill me. So why does a book about a 17 year old girl and her vampire boyfriend give me the chills? I am double this girls age! At 17, well if I could revisit that space in time, I would do so many things differently, but I remember being in love, having my heart broken, having a massive crush on a bad boy who still looks like a Greek God...sorry but he still does. (Now happily married with two kids by the way) Do we all want to revisit the past? Did we all see ourselves in Bella, a stranger in a new place that is too mature for her age? Are we longing for that intense emotional passion that couldn't be expressed? What is it about these books that causes grown women to swoon and discuss the correctness of the Actor that portrays Edward? Any ideas people?

Twilight!

I finally saw it! I loved it! It oozed the feeling of an independent film. The extras were all real NW people and the locations were amazing! How could you not love a film set in the NW about love that is forbidden? The sensual nature of Bella was well portrayed. Sure, I get that Robert Patterson was not as handsome as the the Edward that Stephanie wrote, but who would have been a better choice? Bella's Dad reminded me so much of my own father and the actors they chose to portray the parts were really well done! Alice was amazing and so was Bella's high school friends. Rosalie should have been prettier but I liked the fact that she had some curve to her. Yes, it's not as profound as the book but all in all, I'd see it again and look forward to the next chapter....Makes me want to go up to Crown Point right now and dance under the stars! I know, I'm a cheese ball...sucker for a romantic story where true love wins in the end! And so cool that Edward dismembers the bad guy for his Bella!...Ok. I'll stop now...

HomeTeachers are Coming!

Ah, another Sunday under my belt. Patrick got home very late last night,and I had been yelling at the kids all day to clean their rooms (a post coming with before and after pictures) so we didn't make it to the first hour of church because of shear exhaustion. We scuffled all the children to their respective classes and hurried to ours. I helped teach YW today about preparing for change...funny I know! I could write a book on the subject! When we got home, after devouring lunch (did anyone even eat breakfast?) the children went upstairs to play and finish their rooms and Patrick and I took a walk. We have discovered a new trick that might be helpful to you out there that have loud voices, go on a walk together when your angry....it's harder to yell when you are huffing it up a hill! Or if you are really pissed about something, try talking it out while you are jogging! It works! Not to mention, that endorphins are released and they help you feel better. Both of us were tuckered out by the end of our walk and took a nap (isn't that what Sunday is for?) while the kids were playing kickball in the house(literally! Anderson broke a wall sconce) and we slept right through it! And when we woke up, all of us were running around like chickens with our heads cut off ( and yes they actually can run without their heads!) trying to ready the house for the HomeTeachers. Now I mention this, because near the end of every month, the HomeTeachers call and you must drop everything, make your house presentable to virtual strangers, put on clothing...ultimately making the sabbath a day of work! Am I the only one out there that finds this phenomena just down right comical? So our Sunday is done, laundry mountain folded, dishes washed, Evan's hair got cut (another post too), and now at 11:00 I am going to go to sleep and begin the week from Living Hell people! It is going to be crazy this week! A wedding and a major holiday that involves me cooking and me decorating and me picking up flowers and arranging them, picking up a wedding cake and not destroying it in the process, and taking pictures of it all just so all my peeps can be happy. This week, I will be channeling every Martha Stewart cell in my body so don't be surprised if you can't get a hold of me. I'll be up to my elbows in branches and glitter with a little flour and blueberries and pumpkin thrown in for good measure! I am exhausted just thinking about it!

Retail Therapy and "Hoochy" boots

Ten things I am grateful for today: (Read like the Top Ten of David Letterman)

10. Going to Joann Fabrics and spending other peoples money.
9. Getting to design a Wedding Cake with no creative restrictions and its not even my wedding.
8. Spending Quality time with my StepMom.
7. Eating lunch at a restaurant that cannot be found in Utah and having a total Tongue-asm!!
6. Having to wear a belt because all my jeans are getting too big.
5. Rediscovering the Flat Iron and it made my hair look fabulous.
4. Waking up at 2:30am and then being able to go right back to sleep.
3. Finding something on Clearance at Target, that I have been trying to find for a year (2 4x6 rugs that will look perfect in my living room) and spending next to nothing for them.
2. Exercising my butt off (literally, my butt is looking fabulous!) this morning and not feeling winded, but energized!
1. I found a killer pair of boots that I have been searching high and low for. I always laughed at the women at church who wore knee high boots to church with a short skirt. I referred to the look as Hoochy Momma...well I found a great pair of dark brown Hoochy boots, I am not too proud to admit, that they look amazing on me!

Spirit Fingers

My two year old, who could pass for a mini version of Napoleon Dynamite, is obsessed with Spirit Fingers! It is the funniest thing to watch him jam out to Nasty by Janet Jackson while I am working out. His chunky legs are bouncing and his spirit fingers are flying! Anderson is busy break dancing although it resembles wrestling with an imaginary lion more...