Thanksgiving 2010

 My favorite part of Thanksgiving this year was our impromptu football game. We played boys against girls and had a blast. This picture of Luke makes me laugh! He has watched a total of one football game on TV and never played before. He carried the ball like a pro and seemed to know just what to do.

 I was actually happy that on Thanksgiving it was cold and overcast. It just seems weird to be warm and sunny during the winter holidays. I am hoping that we can make a tradition of playing football together. It is hard to capture the magic again though, and it may not work out to be as fun as this was. We laughed and ran around and had a great time.

Thanksgiving morning I got out some Legos that were Jason's as a boy. His mom has kept them all these years. My kids loved building with them. Yes, I know...my kids are a little late to Legos. There is only so much in life I can keep track of. The things lurking in the backs of my closets are not high on the priority list.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from North Carolina!

Sunlight

Afternoon sunlight in the fall...bare feet in November... my kids laughing together...makes me happy.

 "May the sunlight of faith enter into your hearts." 

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

Sophie REALLY wants me to share her song with all of you. It is a snappy little tune that goes like this:

Get me chocolate now! All your candy too! Get me chocolate now, or I will kick you!

Fabulous right?

Ramblings

I needed some soul comfort this week (no big reason, just needed it) and revisited a beloved book. I picked up The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley and was in bliss. McKinley's early writing is wonderful.  I felt like I had visited an old friend for some needed fun and relaxation. When I was done reading I jumped online to McKinley's website and was excited to see that she has a blog. I promptly added her to my blog list and felt like I had made a connection to a valued friend. Then I started to read the blog. I hated it! Her blog voice is not at all my idea of who my beloved author should be. Unfair of me, and a little naive, yes. Robin McKinley can be, and write, whatever she chooses. I am disappointed though.

Also this week I also happened to listen to part of radio interview with Salman Rushdie. I have never been remotely interested in his writing. He was being interviewed about new young adult book he had written. Rushdie was full of humor, down to earth, a little self deprecating and just interesting in a very appealing way. I am going to read his book. I hope I like it. The joy of reading an excellent, new book is one of the great pleasures of life. Regardless, I was reminded once again to be open to new ideas and possibilities. You just never know what you will find...

Gratitude

I love Thanksgiving. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. I am trying the whole month of November this year to focus on gratitude. I have been gathering quotes on gratitude for another project and just had to share my favorites. 


“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present --love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure -- the wasteland of illusion fallsaway and we experience Heaven on earth."
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach—Author of ”Simple Abundance"

"Mercies and blessings come in different forms--sometimes as hard things. Yet the Lord said, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy. This is another evidence of His love...
 Gratitude is a Spirit filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God's love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence."
Bonnie D. Parkin, "Gratitude: A Path to Happiness," Ensign, May 2007

I am determined to cultivate my garden of gratitude, to see more of the abundance in my life. Today I am especially grateful to all who have served, and are serving, in our armed forces. How grateful I am for their sacrifices and those of their family. To my family members who are serving now - Thank you. I love you!

Da DA dadada da DA!

We watched Star Wars and the Return of the Jedi together this weekend as a family. It was a blast. We had tried before but the boys were too young to be interested and the girls were just scared. Of course Noah and Luke played "Star Burst" all day with their "Lifesavers" trying to get away from "Dark Mader". By bedtime we had finally convinced them that it was Dark Vader...progress?

I have to admit I was sad we hadn't watched the movies a month ago. I may have convinced my sweet kids to let me dress them all for Halloween as Star Wars characters. I have this fantasy of theme dressing our family for Halloween. Crazy I know, but wouldn't to be so fun? So far I can't get my 4 children to agree on anything as simple as a tv show, let alone a costume. I guess my answer is to just get 3 little dogs who can walk on their hind legs.

May the force be with you!