Thanksgiving round 2 and 3.

Friday we again worked our kids like crazy in the house and then early in the afternoon headed up to my parents for our second Thanksgiving dinner.  It was delicious.  Then we stayed and talked too long.  Julia and Tina and I were the only ones there this year.  The kids all wanted to sleep over at each others houses so we swapped kids.  I got Nathan, Aiden and Ryan.  Adaline went to Stephanie's and Bridie stayed at Grandma's with Elle.  Then this morning we were up early again for Monica's baptism at 9.  It was beautiful.  Anthony baptized Monica.  He did a great job.  I was asked to say the closing prayer.  Then we went to Christina's for a brunch.  Now all my kids know that Christina is the best cook they know.  So they love to eat over at Heimdals.  Then Gordon took some kids home.  I went shopping and then watched The Help with my mom, Julia and Christina.  It has been a crazy and exhausting weekend.  I am teaching the Sunbeams tomorrow.  Church 9-12, Gordon's sister is blessing her baby 12:30- 2, We are training our last primary presidency from 2-3, and then training a new bishopric from 4-5.  It is going to be another crazy day.  I love the work I do on Sunday though.  It is one of my favorite things is to talk about the primary organization.

Thanksgiving round 1

Today was a very atypical Thanksgiving in some ways.  It began at midnight with fireworks going off in our neighborhood.  They sounded like gunshots.  It was very disturbing.  Than at 6:45 am Gordon and I woke up to the sound of Corby drinking out of our toilet bowl (and all I will say is that water was not the only thing in the bowl.)  I had mentioned to Julia that the gym that I work out in has a hour and half work out from 7-8:30 am Thanksgiving morning.  I texted her that I wouldn't be going unless I was already up. I was.  She met me there and we had a great workout.  I love my sisters.  They rock!  But that just wasn't enough heavy exercise for me.  We decided to switch around storage rooms.  4,500 pounds of wheat later....  my hands are so sore, my basement is torn apart, and I have to clean up at least a little of the mess, get out Christmas decorations tomorrow morning.   And I can't wait to see what hurts tomorrow.  We went to Harkness' at 3 and dinner was delicious as usual.  Bridget had an unusually busy week and apologized for the paper plates but it didn't deter from the feast at all.  Matthew, Bridget and I played Luck of the Dice  and then watched North by Northwest.  I love Alfred Hitchcock.  Now I'm gearing up for tomorrow including the feast at my mom's tomorrow.  It's going to be a great Thanksgiving break!

Uncle Bob's Funeral

Yesterday my Mom, Dad, and Christina went up to Salt Lake for my Uncle Bob's funeral.  Bob was married to my dad's sister, Pat.  She died of breast cancer about 18 years ago.  Bob remarried a woman named Dot.  She has been a wonderful companion to him these past 16 years.  Funerals are interesting in Mormon culture.  There is so much joy for the person that passes because of our strong belief in a beautiful afterlife and so much sadness for those left behind because of our close family relations.  I mourned for his children that are now parentless.  How hard to loose the glue of a family- the parents.  It was wonderful to see all my cousins that came.  During the funeral I sat next to my 97 year old grandmother.  She is beautiful.  At one point I held her hand.  I looked down at our hands intertwined.  Hers, the hands that have nearly100 years of life carved into them.  I wish I could have taken a picture of that.  After the funeral we went to the cemetery where my Aunt Pat and my Opa are buried.  Bob will be buried right next to his wife Pat.  After the graveside service Christina and I wanted to find Opa's grave.  I do not remember going back since his death nearly 30 years ago.  We found it and gazed down at the tombstone.  His death so long ago and my Nana's name and birth and no death date. It is so strange looking at that thinking that someday there will be a date there.  An event that will happen sometime.  Then Christina and I noticed that the grass is growing over the tombstone.  She and I carved away at that grass in our church clothes with our bare hands in defiance that Opa not be forgotten.  We tore away inches of grass that had taken years to grow over that tombstone.  It was as if I was saying to Mother Nature "You will not erase our Opa as long as I'm alive." I hope that I will pass on memories to my children of the people that I love.  I am the link for my children.

On a lighter note, Julia's husband had dropped her off so all 5 of us rode home together.  Christina and I had made arrangements to be gone as long as we wanted.  So I had brought a return I have had for ages to Homegoods.  My poor dad was our chauffeur.  He got dragged to Homegoods with us.  We also harassed  him about his driving.  He was a good sport to be the butt of our jokes.  I love my family and cherish every moment I get with them because you never know when it will be your last.

Good things come to an end too soon sometimes.

Monday afternoon are my presidency meetings.  They are always at my house because I am the only one with kids still at home.  We sit around my kitchen table and study the handbook, share our concerns and hopes for each of the primaries we are over, share our individual trails and triumphs, and laugh and cry together.  Joining this presidency has been a great gift to me I have loved it.  I have loved serving in the stake and getting to know lots of people.  I have loved serving with the ward primary presidencies.  I have gained a strong testimony of the scouting program.  On Monday Brandi, the stake primary president, told us that her husband had just been made the bishop in their ward and we would be released the beginning of December.  It was devastating for all of us.  We had a really good cry.  I have learned that in a good presidency you become one and it is painful when you are split apart.  I have a special place in my heart for each of these women.  They will always be dear to me.  So now the question becomes "what's next?".

A mothers heart

I have started going to a yoga class once a week.  I have never done yoga before and am not flexible at all but I wanted to work on some of the skills that I knew I could get from yoga.  Last week (my second time) as I lay there at the end I had a realization about my life.  I have been trying to have another baby for about 3 years.  It hasn't happened.  I wondered why the Lord would not send us another baby.  It has been really hard at times and it makes me so grateful that I was able to have my other children.  Not having a baby has given me great opportunities.  I have loved serving in the stake primary, I help in the kids classrooms, I can run errands any time.  There has been a lot of freedom but I still would have loved to have had another baby.  So last week as I was laying there the thought came to me that I would never not want another baby.  I had developed a mothers heart.  And that in certain aspects of my life I have become who I need to be.  It was a beautiful moment in my life and I am so grateful for that tiny bit of inspiration that has changed how I look at this journey.

We're all red over here.

You know the color personality test?  Red, blue, yellow and white.  Well over here we all have a little red in us (actually a lot of red).  Some more than others.  Gordon used to be a blue red when we got married.  Now he's a red blue.  That's only a problem because I'm also a red blue.  Now we both think we're the boss.  I tell him that I was the boss first:).  Almost all of our children are also red.  Today when I went to help at Jacob's class I thought I would take the little girls along.  I brought Gordon's ipad and had my phone so that they would have something to do because we were going to be there an hour and it was bound to be boring.  What a treat to get to play electronics, right?  Well instead as we collated papers I was bossed around by a 3 and 5 year old.  They kept putting me in line should I take a misstep.  My goodness they are bossy.  We did get the job done in record time though.  Red.  Then we came home and made cookies.  Again I was getting bossed around by these girls.  They say the red blue combination will run you over and then feel sorry they did.  We have a lot of red blue personalities over here.  Bridie is really strongly yellow too.  I think Adaline is the only person who's not red in our family.  She's more blue white but hanging out with all these reds she might have to become a red to survive.  I am raising kids who could rule the world but first we have to survive each other.

Lunch with friends

Today I went to lunch with my old primary presidency.  It is a group where we never would have chosen to be friends if we had not been put together but we became very dear to each other.  I loved our weekly presidency meeting at Samantha's in her gorgeous kitchen with her crystal chandelier hanging above us with prisms bouncing off the walls.  We had some really good laughs and some very tender moments around that table.  I was so glad to get the text when it was being arranged.  One of these woman got divided out in the last boundary change, one moved to Orem and I am now serving in the stake and the last one became the new primary president.  These are women I will love forever.

Jacob's baptism

Saturday was the big day for Jacob.  I kept putting off planning for this day but it all came together.  The night before at 9:50pm, as I was Clorox clean wiping down the bathrooms, I realized I had forgotten to invite Gordon's Grandpa and his wife.  Gordon called and they were there.  All 4 grandparents were able to be there.  Julia's family was in town and came and Gordon's sister Katie and her family came.  James baptized Jacob.  That was incredible!  Gordon gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost, Matthew and Adaline bore testimonies, and the musical number was I am A Child of God.  Matthew played the piano, James played the violin, Adaline played her ukulele and the kids and cousins sang.  We had some extra time while James and Jacob were getting dressed and someone heard Gordon's dad sing and asked him to sing a solo.  So Katie got on the piano and Gordon's dad sang 'How Great Thou Art'.  It was beautiful.  After the baptism we had brunch over at our house.  It was a greta day.

-Funny story.  After the baptism was over Jacob came up to me and said 'When do I get the gift of the Holy Ghost?'  I told him he already got it when all the men were in a circle around him.  He looked a little disappointed.  I don't know what he expected the gift of the Holy Ghost to be, but that was not it.

Jacob turned 8

Jacob turned 8.  What a special age.  He is really looking forward to his baptism!  In the morning he woke up especially grouchy.  I finally asked him "Do you know what today is?'.  Then he remembered it was his birthday.  He was much happier the rest of the morning.  We dropped a treat off at his class and got to hear him give his "quiz".  The kids guess his favorite color, thing to do, number of members in his family.  He came home and we got ready for his party.  He invited his neighborhood friends over and they played and had cake and ice cream.  That night we went to dinner at Brick oven.  Brick Oven is a special place for our family.  Gordon proposed and gave me my wedding ring in the parking lot of Brick Oven.  We both went there as kids.  I love being there with my family!