Day 20

Today I am grateful for:
1. Microwaves. Leftovers for lunch are so fast and easy!
2. Kadri's words. She calls her brother Grantie, markers are markies, then there's blankies, doggies, you get the idea. And no one else outside our family would understand her word for popcorn, and I definitely can't spell it, but she uses the same funny word each time.
3. Spiritual thoughts, like this quote given by a speaker during our church meeting:

“Gratitude is deeper than thanks. Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”

—President David O. McKay

Day 19

I am grateful for:
1. Shopping, eating, and laughing with my sister
2. My husband who watched the kids so I could do the above.
3. Primary music. I have been lucky enough to be the song leader for the children in our church. (It's called Primary.) Music is powerful- it can teach truth, and children singing truth goes straight to your heart. Beautiful......And I am preparing the night before. Better than Sunday morning, right?

Day 18

I am grateful for:
1. My dad. It was his birthday today. He is a great example to me. I love him!!
2. Moments in parenting where I can laugh at myself. Grant was micromanaging Kadri- telling her to chew her food, do this, do that. I kept getting after him for being bossy. And I realized- I was micromanaging him. That's probably where he gets it from. Ha!
3. Tender mercies from the Lord that remind that He cares very much about me and my family.

Festival of the Trees

 Grant and I played a couple of Christmas duets at The Festival of the Trees, a local fundraiser. It was his first time playing somewhere besides a recital. We played:  "March" from the Nutcracker, and "Jolly Old St. Nicholas."

Day 12-17

Ha! I got a little behind. Here's some catch-up. I am grateful for:

1. Last weekend! Tyson and I went to Utah. It was our first overnight trip without kids, and it was so fun. The kids stayed at my in-laws house and loved it. I don't think they missed us at all. We visited the LDS temple in Salt Lake City. Even though all temples serve the same purpose, it was extra special to be in the one that was such a part of the early pioneers' lives. We met up with my sister, Lindsey, ate good food and laughed a lot. Then we went to the BYU game. It was a blow-out, so excitement ended with the first quarter.  But it was so fun to be there! Cold, but fun. We had great seats. Thanks Reeds!

2. Grant's prayers. He always thinks of the simplest and best things to express thanks about in his prayers. Playing hide-n-seek made the list earlier this week. I should be more willing to do simple things with him because they really mean a lot to him!
3. The couple who spoke in our church last week. They talked about gratitude, and how we tend to forget how blessed we are.  So true.
4. Music, again. I'll post a video of Grant and I playing some duets. I also played some with Tyson and my mother-in-law. We get to play again at the Museum of Idaho when their Christmas display is up.
5. Oreo truffles. I will have self-control. I will have self-control...
6. Family around the holidays. Well I'm always grateful for family, but even more so around the holidays.
7. Sisters who can cook and share their recipes with me. I'll let you know how the pork turns out, Brooke!
8. Is anyone still reading this? If you are, I am grateful for you.
9. Magic Eraser. That thing sure comes in handy around here!!
Have a great weekend! Maybe I will even remember to post.

Day 11

Today I am so grateful for:
1. All those who have served or are currently serving our country. Living in a free country is something I often take for granted. I truly am grateful for those who make this possible, and for the families who support those who serve.
2. I am grateful for the chance to reflect on the influence that veterans have had on my life. Many grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, and cousins have served. Thank you!!!
3. Today's date. 11/11/11. And it will be extra awesome this morning at 11:11.

Day 9-10

Today (and yesterday, oops) I am grateful for:
1. Play-dough. Lots of entertainment for both kids. And me too.
2. An awesome younger sister. She is my hero. And I can't wait to see her this weekend! And eat good food, too! "I'd rather have good food than bad food any old day of the week."
3. Speaking of that movie, I might as well mention it. I am grateful for the "Ghost and Mr. Chicken." It's classic. Don Knotts at his best. When Tyson and I found out on our first (blind) date that it was both of our family's favorite movie, we knew we were meant to be! :)

Day 8

Today I am grateful for:
1. The Nutcracker Suite. Not just because it's awesome music, but because it is motivating my son to spend lots of time at the piano!
2. The Dollar Store. Sometimes there's really good stuff there!!
3. My mom. She is just great!

Day 7

For our family night activity (FHE), we wrote what we were thankful for on the feathers of Tom the Turkey. Tyson drew Tom a few years ago, and we keep up the tradition each year. I've written down what we wrote in past years. Last year, we wrote "white snow" on one of the feathers. Are you kidding me? This year, I am thankful that there is NO white snow yet!! But anyway. This was the first year that Grant could write on them himself. He even illustrated them. He's pretty funny. I'm counting this as my gratitude list! I am pretty thankful for these kiddos!

Day 6

Today I'm grateful for:

1. The time change. I love feeling like I've got an extra hour of sleep!
2. A husband who will laugh with the kids. It always makes me laugh, too.

3. Sunday dinners after a day of fasting. So good.

Day 5

Today I am grateful for:

1. The book Daughters in My Kingdom.  One of the first lines in the book is, "The world's greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ." (Elder James E. Talmage). It is an inspiring book that helps me feel proud to be a woman.
2. Christmas music. Yes, we started that here!
3. Awesome sisters and sister-in-laws.

Day 4

Today I'm grateful for:
1. Children. They forgive so quickly, despite my nearly constant mistakes. I want to be like them.
2. Scentsy candles. Today my house smells like pumpkin marshmallow. Sounds interesting, but I promise it smells gooooooood.
3. A giant bag of dice. Who knew it could be so entertaining for a 4-year-old?

Day 3

Today I am grateful for:
1. Kid's crafts. Takes me back to my early years! I love coloring with crayons and getting messy with paint.
2. Long-overdue phone calls with awesome friends
3. A new niece!!!

Day 2

Gratitude today:
1. A warm house on a cold day
2. A new laptop. It's so much faster than the old one!!!
3. Good friends who I can confide in

Catch up?

So I haven't posted for a long time. But I think I'd like to start up again. Pictures to come. But I am going to start back in to blogging by doing something my SIL does: listing a few things I'm grateful for each day of November. So expect to hear a lot more soon. :)

Halloween 2011

I'm grateful for:
1. Grant helping Kadri take her last bites of lunch so she can have a treat with us.
2. Music- piano, violin, singing, any!

Grant after his piano recital. He played "The Dinosaur Song" and a duet with me-- "Hobbyhorse."  He did great!


3. Good health. We sure miss it when we're sick. I forget how grateful I am for it!

October

I did a lot of canning this month. I was so sick of canning by the time I was done! But the shelves are filled up now with applesauce, apple pie filling, peaches, pears, salsa, and green beans. No pictures though. One week during canning, Grant asked me to make cinnamon rolls. Since the kids had been neglected a bit amidst the peeling, filling, and boiling, I agreed. He has made them with my mom before, and when I first started, he said I was doing even better than Grandma. But by the time I was done, he told me he changed his mind, I wasn't as good as Grandma. Although misshapen, they were delicious.  Cinnamon rolls while canning made for a really crazy morning. Here they are, ready to help me make cinnamon rolls. These two crack me up.

 The House that Grant Built.

Grant intently carving his pumpkin during Family Home Evening, the Monday before Halloween. The kid has a lot of patience.... For some things.

Kadri watching while Grant carves her pumpkin for her.

Parker Pumpkins: Kadri, Grant, Mom and Dad.  I usually have no creativity for carving. I tried a little harder this year.

Face painting from playgroup. My friend Amber does an awesome job of organizing playgroup. We had a little Halloween carnival- she is seriously creative!

Tyson and I dressed up for Halloween this year, and it was fun! We usually wait til the last minute or do nothing at all, but this year we planned ahead and decided to dress like a 1940s couple. He is wearing his Grandpa's WWII uniform, and I am wearing a dress that my Grandma had kept.

The whole family

Grant has been really into drawing lately. I really hope he's inherited his dad's artistic talent, not mine! This is a picture of a dolphin. I bought that white board last week- totally worth the money!

Cousins. So cute!!!

Grant, Dallin and Parker

SLedding

I just found this post, unpublished. This was in February. Kaitlyn came with us sledding. It was fun! We went to Chilis afterwards. Delicious. We love Aunt Kaitlyn!