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!

Happy Halloween

 What's Halloween without a few tears?

Luke was determined to be a green snake. This was my best attempt at a snake costume.

I love Halloween! I also love trick or treating. I am rethinking this though. Last night we went to 2 trunk or treats and in just about an hour had plenty o' candy and loads of fun. No one was tired, cold or grouchy. Besides Luke falling twice (he wore one of his shoes and one of Noah's which are a size larger) there were no tears. That is a great time in my book!

Earlier in the day I ran a 5K with wonderful friends. It was to raise money and awareness for gynecological cancers and especially to celebrate the recovery of a good friend. It was cold and the course was really hilly, but beautiful, and all in all a great time.

Am I the only one?

Am I the only one watches Masterpiece Theater on Sunday nights? Masterpiece mystery introduced an new  series last night. It was by far the best thing I have seen on TV in years. Some amazing writer has recreated Sherlock Holmes in modern London. Fabulous actors, witty, funny dialogue, new ideas about such an iconic literary figure =fun, fun, fun!  I am such a devoted fan of PBS shows. I just had to give a heads up to the 3 people who read my blog.

PS - If you have a DVR MT is usually replayed the same week really late at night or in the early morning. You can probably record it.

I forgot to share an amazing development in our family camping adventures. Jason discovered he is super interested in dutch oven cooking. I discovered I am super interested in eating food camping that doesn't involve hot dogs or spaghettios. I am a bare bones minimalist when it comes to camp food. Quick and as easy as possible is how I feed my family in the great outdoors. I don't even worry about nutrition (too much.) Jason made an super yummy chicken and potato dish and this....

 Chocolate fudge cake!!!!! It was so DELICIOUS. Plus the kids had a ball with whipped cream out of a can. Like I said, nutrition takes a back burner while camping. We had so much left over we shared with 2 other couples. I was hoping it helped with the noise and delight of being around my children for a few days.

I could not be more thrilled with Jason's latest hobby. He has even cooked in the Dutch oven twice since we've been home in the oven. Husbands that cook...bliss.

Virginia is for Lovers?

 We went camping this weekend in Virginia at Fairy Stone State Park. It is up in the Blue Ridge Hills. It was colder then we expected but still fun. Every time we go I am amazed at how much work it is to take our family camping. But it is a lot of fun for the kids and nice to be outside for Mom and Dad, even if it is in a crowed campground.

Most of these pictures are from geocaching. Everyone had a blast except Noah. He got an enormous sliver  and literally cried for an hour. Poor kid. The leaves were not as pretty as they have been other years, there was a lot of brown. But who can complain about being in beautiful woods in the fall?

 These next pictures are from hunting fairy stones. The park is full of all kinds of minerals. Grace found many interesting things including a piece of mica. That girl loves to dig in the dirt!  Fairy stones are a kind of crystal that forms in the shape of a cross. We found a few misshapen ones. Luke decided any stone he found that had sparkles in it was a fairy stone.

Sophie was a ham all weekend. She kept us entertained and exasperated.

All in all it was a success. I do feel a little bad for our camping neighbors. I think they had envisioned a weekend of enjoying Virgina with the state motto in mind. Instead they got to camp next to wild, crazy, loud,delightful children loving the outdoors.

Boys vs. Girls

I don't know if I should laugh or cry at this. I have these dreams of my children loving each other, sharing and being best friends all the time. I know that is unrealistic. At least Noah and Luke are smiling in their sister's rendering, even if they are banned. Sophie's phonetic spelling is great too.