HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today is the day we have been told we should be most Thankful, but I am hoping everyone finds time to have gratitude every day!

So, with that in mind, my Thankful Thursday begins like this....

I am thankful that I don't have to cook, that I married a man that does.

I am thankful that my kids are old enough now to sleep in on the holidays.

I am thankful that we can be together as a family and thank our Heavenly Father for all that we do have.

I am thankful that we have a roof over our head, food for our stomachs, and good friends around us that remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone, and be grateful you are not a turkey!

YOU HAVE GOT TO LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY

Quinn makes me smile. He is forever and a day coming up with plans on how to earn money. There is always the video game that he must buy, the itunes card that he must find a way to earn, just because there is one song, Mom!

He feels like he has gotten a rotten deal. As the only boy with 4 sisters, he is surrounded by women. He hears about makeup, clothes and puberty, and just wishes that there was just a little more testosterone in the house. He doesn't feel like he is going to make it until his sisters marry and he has brothers in law.

Quinn had to spend Thursday and Friday nights, and most of the day Saturday, at various stake centers watching his sisters play volleyball. It is very exciting, unless there are no boys around to play with while the games are going on, in this case, it is the STUPIDEST THING EVER!
During a break on Saturday, I took Quinn with me to go pick up another sister from a sleepover. I figured it was good bonding time, you know, Mother and son.
As I am driving down the road, Quinn very seriously looks over at me and says, "You know Mom, my 11th birthday is coming up".
"Yes, Son", I replied.
"Well, I don't want you to be surprised when there is a knock on the door, and my invitation comes to attend Hogwarts. Oh, and by the way, I am taking the cat as my pet, he and I have already discussed it."
"Really?", I say, "and how do you know you will get this invitation?"
"Well, it is in the cards, haven't you noticed the magical, unexplained things that have been happening?"
"Well, maybe it is your sisters that are causing this magic", I replied.
"No Mom, you are all muggles, and it is time for me to leave and fulfill my destiny!"
Now who said life was dull?
You gotta' love this boy!

I LOVE MY LIFE

Recently, I found a friend that I hadn't seen, written or heard from in over 20 years. I met this great woman, while I was living in England, and we had some great times together. We along with a group of other Aussies, Kiwis, a few Londoners and me, the lone American, were always going, doing or causing havoc. We didn't care about how much money one had or what your background was. If you were single, living in London and knew one or more of this group, you were invited to join. It was a great time in my life. I was carefree, living illegally, was without responsibilty and enjoying all that life had to offer.

We all know that you can't live that way forever, although it is not because I haven't tried. As my good friend Dee and I have been communicating, a thought has popped across both of our minds. How would my life have been different had I stayed in England, as was my plan, instead of coming back to the States, or in Dee's case, how different might her life have been had she come back to England, as was her plan, instead of staying in New Zealand. We both know that we wouldn't have met our husbands, had the children we have had, nor the experiences we have had, but it makes you wonder.

I love the fact that I reconnected with Dee. That she first thing, dug around in some of her old pictures and didn't hesitate to post these on the internet for all to see! I am thankful today for the friends that come into our lives to remind us of who we are, who we have been, and who we are becoming. I love my life! I love the experiences that I have had, the funny ones, and the sad ones.
Now, I don't want anyone to come to me, and say, is that REALLY you? I too am posting these pictures as living proof, that I was once fun and carefree!

Dee, Me and our good friend Caroline, that passed away about 2 years after this was taken.

On the streets of London

Trying to find a taxi late at night. I assumed a little leg would work!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am doing a two-fold post. First I want to share with you the story of Monisha. As many of you know, when we moved to this area, we were blessed to meet the Adam's family. They were in the middle of a struggle for the life of their sweet little girl Mara, who finally succumbed to a deadly brain tumor called DIPG in September. Though this family has had huge struggles, their spirit and testimony have been a tribute to who they are and what they stand for. I feel very blessed to have been able to meet them.

Now they are sharing the story of Monisha, a girl that lives not far from us in Renton, who is suffering from this same type of brain tumor. Please read her and her families struggles, they are fighting the same fight. Also, in memory of Mara, the teacher that designed the Mara's Team shirts has designed a new shirt, In memory of Mara, to try and raise money for Monisha's family. Please if you can, do what you can.

I don't know why this means so much to me, other than my own brother died of a brain tumor. I don't know what type it was, and even though I was not born when he died, my Mother has often talked of the pain that she was feeling, watching Ricky pass away. I would like to hope that we can give as much as we can so that this family can know that they have done all that they could do to save their little girl.

Now to the Thankful Thursday part, I am thankful that we can blog and get the word out about struggles that people are going through, so that we can unite and help where we can. I am thankful for friends that support my random posts, and I am thankful that my children are healthy and well at this moment. What do you have to be thankful for?

I'M JOINING IN

I have decided to join Jen and Harlene, and start celebrating Thankful Thursdays.
As the rain has started to fall, the leaves have changed colors and then the calender decided it needed to move into November, I start thinking about Thanksgiving. First thoughts, who should we invite, how chaotic do we want this day to be, or who do we know that has nowhere to go. Then come the thoughts, why do we even celebrate this holiday where the TV is blaring with football, we eat too much and the kids are stir crazy because they can't call their friends to play.
The thought process goes even further, we have so many things to be grateful for.
So today, I am going to list a few things that I am supremely grateful for...
I am grateful I live in a country that despite our differences in religions, political parties and genders, we have the ability to let our voices be heard. That we are able to hold elections without fear of death. I am thankful that we have free agency. I am thankful for the differences of opinions and debates, so that we can hear all sides of an argument, and then make choices that feel right to us. I am thankful for prayer, that we have a Loving Heavenly Father that knows us and listens to us, even when nobody else seems to. I am thankful to wake up every morning and know that there is food in my home to eat, and that I have a roof over my head. And the thing I am most thankful for today, are no more political ads, at least for a few months!
Let's all try to have Thankful Thursdays, to think about what we have, and not what we don't have. To realize how blessed we all are.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Today marks our 18th anniversary. 18 years of struggles, laughter, tears and joy. When Handsome and I got married oh so many years ago, we had no idea of the path that we would lead. We didn't think that we would have moved to 14 different homes, 4 different states, have 5 beautiful children, nor 2 fabulous grandsons! Would we have done things differently? There are some things I think we wished we could change, but the struggles we have had, have made us stronger.

So this is to you Handsome! Happy Anniversary!

Crossroads

I have been thinking quite a bit lately, about crossroads. Every day when I go to town, I have 2 possible ways to go. Both ways are about the same distance, both juncture at the same place, but it is still a choice I have to make at least once, if not several times a day. There once was a time when we first moved here, that I didn't realize I had options, so I was quite content to just continue going straight before I made my turn. Now I can make that turn about 1/2 mile earlier. The road is a little bit more winding, with beautiful scenery all the way down. The problem really comes when I make the decision to take the earlier turn, and then I run into road construction or school zones. If I chose to go straight, I might run into a couple of lights that would slow me down.

Why am I rambling about crossroads? Because our lives are a continual coming to a crossroads. Had I not decided to skip out on my company party to go dancing instead, I wouldn't have met Handsome. Had we not moved to Las Vegas when we did, I probably wouldn't have had Quinn. Had Handsome not decided to quit his job when he did, we probably wouldn't have found our way out of Utah. Sometimes, the decisions are small little things, should I stop and get that Jamba Juice that I am craving, or should I save my money and go back home and eat something a little bit healthier?

I guess the best part is we are all on a journey, it is how we handle those crossroads, the attitudes we have when we are travelling on the 1st road or the 2nd road that determines who we will become. We have to learn to accept the consequences of our actions, with humor and thankfulness for the lessons we have learned.