Giving Thanks

I believe it's by no accident that Thanksgiving precedes Christmas. As if it were a preperatory holiday, filling my heart with gratitude for the many blessings that I have been given as we roll into the holidays.

I admit that Thanksgiving does bring some anxiety. Maybe it's just the fact that a good portion of  my Thanksgiving dinners were spent away from home at soccer tournaments in Las Vegas. Many a turkey dinner came from the buffet table at Excalibur where I was aptly entertained by the sound of slot machines the smell of cigarettes and waiters calling me honey.  Even though I was with some good friends, it made me realize how much I valued this holiday with my family.  Even more so, it made me realize that Thanksgiving more or less became a feeling in my heart, regardless of where I was or who I celebrated with.  

And I am thankful for that.

Around this time there also seems to come a better appreciation for religion in my life.  Of all things, this is one thing I am very grateful to have a knowledge of.  Without it, I would feel that accomplishment would have little value, morals would be a waste of time and hope would not exist.  I can't imagine a life in which the love and care of God was unknown to me, or had no real direction in which to steer my children and no incentive to progress spiritually.  It is the source of all my peace, love and confidence that there is great order and direction beyond this seemingly chaotic world.  Knowing this, and that all will be well in the end brings happiness to my soul. 

And I am most thankful for that.

 

(PICTURES: Thanksgiving Day and the annual family bare butsman 5k race.  Morgan was sooo excited for his first bike race and did the whole race on his bike.  Wes pushed carson and Malia in the stroller and I just tried to keep up. It was a very nice day.)

blahg

So is it better to have a private blog or a public one? 

just another fine day at the spa.

Today went something like this. First, a new hair-do.I awoke to my fantastic three year old twisting my hair in knots, it is a habit and he does it while he's half awake, sneaking in my bed as not to wake me...needless to say I had 3 good knots to untangle. Next, the milk bath.  I was holding Malia above my head. need I say more.Following that, Morgan and Carson proceeded to play doctor, I, the patient. "At least I can lay down for a few minutes," I thought.  Morgan took the blood pressure toy and said he needed to do CTR on me.  So he took out his toy chainsaw and proceeded to cut my leg off.  Luckily he had to rush to the potty and left Carson in charge.  He yelled from the potty, "Carson!  I need you to giver her the electric shock while I'm gone!" So Carson did, and I pretended to cry out in pain.  Morgan came back and said, "did you give her the shock?"  Carson said,  "yes but it hurt."  Morgan said, "well you forgot to put it on the no pain level!" Then they were nice enough to give me a back massage.  This is where they walk up and down on my back (which actually feels pretty good). Then Morgan made lunch while I was nursing and was so proud of his PB and honey sandwich.  (Which also showed up on 18 different spots on the kitchen floor.) He had also managed to make chocolate milk using chocolate syrup and pouring it into the gallon of milk. Also, being the kind brother he is, poured a whole bowl of the syrup for Carson who, of course, had it all over his face.  How else do you eat chocolate syrup from a bowl? I even got to stay in my jammies the whole day. We are all getting over sickness. again. It is so physically draining esp. when I am lucky enough to get whatever bug they caught at school last week- which I did-But more so it is emotional draining- wondering if they are ok, and how I am going to get three kids to the doctor this week, and realizing getting myself to the doc isn't happening in the near future.  I am just glad the worst I felt was on Sunday, when Wes was home to help.  Otherwise it's enough just trying to keep my head out of the water for another day, (and I'm hoping that day brings us all feeling better.)

Here came Halloween

Morgan has wanted to be Jack Skellington all year, ever since he saw Nightmare before Christmas at Abbie's house.  Carson was set on being a bat, not batman, a bat.  Grandma Julie made his costume and he wore it almost every day.  Morgan insisted I be Sally and so I was.  Malia was a strawberry and Daddy was the farmer who picked her.   Here is Halloween.

family pictures

I think the only thing harder than family home evening is family pictures.  Trying to get everyone dressed and maintaining some sort of composer for a decent picture is near impossible.  Then the pictures come out with our family looking calm and collected as if to say this is how we are all the time, happy and well groomed!   Yes that is the irony of it all.   It is nonetheless, still a treasure to me, a captured moment of family togetherness.

This picture was actually not part of the 'shoot.'  Our photographer led us to a friends backyard to do all the picture taking.  When we got there I realized it was Leconte Stewart's old home!  This is the entrance to his studio, he was a famous kaysville artist whom I admire and I thought it was pretty neat and wanted our picture in front of it (even though "the lighting wasn't good").  She took the picture anyway and it turned out to be one I liked. (She called it the tourist shot). The 'real' pictures will come later.

Carson and his broccoli

Carson loves broccoli, he planted it in the spring and when it was ready to pick in the fall he ate it like an ice cream cone.

so sick

Little Carson came down with such a sickness.  His fever ran up to just under 104 Friday night when Wes was gone hiking the narrows.  It was 1:00 am when I wished I had the calm collective reassurance that Wes and the optional blessing can bring. Thankfully, Carson was able to sleep and his fever didn't get any higher.  Unless the fever gets to 104 and keeps them awake i don't like to use fever reducers and mess with the bodies natural defense against infection.  So it was a relief to see it falling on it's own.  Anyway, I decided to take him into the doctor the next day but there were a lot of people there with masks on getting flu shots and what not, and I just decided to turn around and go back home. There seems to be such an overload of hype on the H1N1 flu and the vaccine.  Is it really necessary for healthier individuals? Yeah, I can see the point for people with compromised immune systems like diabetics, obese persons, some babies etc, and they Should get it! ).  But how is the body supposed to create antibodies and immunities if we constantly bombard it with temporary vaccinations?  There are some people who are actually immune to this influenza because they have had it before, and gotten through it just fine.  The vaccines should be saved for those who really need it and can get it when they need it.

Is this one of those things that is okay to do because everyone else is doing it? That doctors and chemists are pushing because of the money they make from it?

 To me it seems like society has embraced the path of least resistance and instant gratification to a such point that when we begin to experience any pain we must have instant relief.  Don't we gain strength (in more ways than one), by going through some pain?  Have we lost trust in our bodies and spirits ability to heal without being completely reliant on western medicine?(Keeping in mind there are exceptions of course, and I mean more severe situations where death is a very probable outcome)

I'm not saying I think all vaccinations are bad--some are given for good reasons.  I just don't like the pressure of conforming to the status quo when I feel it really isn't necessary (or right).

So who knows, my kids may already be sick with the swine virus, and I pray daily for insight as to how to best deal with what illness may come our way.  If the sickness get worse, I plan on calling the doc and getting some antibiotics.  I hope anyone who gets this illness gets through it without alot of complications.