Happy Thanksgiving

We have so much to be grateful for!

More blessings than we could ever fit on our little turkey. :)

Life certainly has its bumps in the road, but, man, we've got it SO good and, especially during this holiday season, we feel so THANKFUL.

We hope you all have a wonderful day of fun and feasting.

We consider our friends and family some of our choicest blessings.

Thanks for all your love and support!

And happy Thanksgiving!

The Day After Elections

So, the voting is over-- it's all said and done. Obama is our new president. I guess we'll see what happens. It sure was one crazy election year.

I am deeply grateful the marriage protection ammendments passed in all states (especially ours) of which it was proposed. I am so sad that this issue is so controversial--- that some are so hurt by the passing of these propositions. Yet, with a personal testimony of the divinity of marriage and family, I feel it important to stand up for what I believe in. I wish we could all agree to disagree, as I also have a strong testimony of agency, and respect one another's beliefs-- that convictions wouldn't clash so harshly. Though I haven't personally been confronted about my personal stand on this issue, I know many have been challenged and aggressively opposed. I commend all, on both sides, for courage to stand up for what they truly believe to be right while at the same time remaining respectful and compassionate for those who believe differently. I received a well-said email from a Prop 102 supporter, who's sentiments I echo. After all this, I am all the more aware and grateful for the freedoms this country offers me and my family. God Bless America!

"Dear Marriage Supporter,

You made it happen! To see all the hard work, dedication, patience, persistence, and heart put into this campaign was inspiring and humbling. All Marriage Protection Ammendments throughout the country have passed!!! We were slandered, persecuted and maligned. Our signs were stolen, defaced and destroyed along with some of our houses of worship and even some treasured relationships. But we did not shrink from the duty we felt in our hearts to an institution that has served us and our nation for generations. In whatever capacity you contributed to this cause, you are to be congratulated in your victory.Now as you and I go our separate ways I hope you take with you a sense of humility in victory. I hope that you have come to know those who’s views you have disagreed with and opposed and can offer them the olive branch of love and compassion in their loss in a manner that will be meaningful to them. All men and women of every belief are my and your brothers and sisters and deserve the respect of human dignity for whatever beliefs they have espoused. We all walk the road of life together and can always make the journey easier for those we walk it with. Good luck to you on our journey."

Halloween Fun!

Kids make holidays so much more fun-- especially Halloween. We had a very busy month full of fun festive activities!

Halloween Decorations

We have a big box of Halloween decorations we've collected over the past few years (thanks, Mom!). We really enjoyed having a festive home with some pumpkins, cute witches, autumn leaves, and bats hanging from the ceiling. The boys especially enjoyed the new decor and Halloween toys and books that had been stored the past year.

Carving Pumpkins

What would Halloween be without the traditional Jack-o-Lanterns? Benjamin, with his blossoming artistic talent, drew three faces on his pumpkin, and Dustin carved all three. Pretty funky looking pumpkin, but cute nonetheless. Jonathan was more fascinated by the seeds and guts of his pumpkin. He really got a kick out of pulling out the guts and putting them back in. Eventually we finished our masterpieces and they lasted just long enough through trick-or-treating.

Baking Halloween Cookies

I grew up baking Halloween cookies with my mom and siblings. My mom gave me the cookie cutters we used as kids. I suppose they're not really superior quality cutters, but there is so much sentimentality attached to that screaming ghost, hissing kitty, spooky owl, jolly pumpkin, and broken bat. It was so fun to use them with my own child. We even frosted them the same that my mom used to. Seeing them all set out brought back a flood of sweet nostalgia. Benjamin was my little helper since the only time of day available to us for accomplishing our baking palooza was durning Jonathan's naptime (I'm sure next year he'll be a very eager participant). Benjamin loved being so involved in the process and did a great job mixing, cutting, and frosting. When all was baked, decorated, and cleaned up, we (including Jonathan ;) ) walked down the street deliving plates of treats to our neighbors.

Halloween Parties
We had several Halloween parties, including the ward Trunk-or-Treat and Benjamin's pre-school party. Our whole family dressed up for the Trunk-or-Treat. I was having a hard time deciding what to dress us all up as, so I finally just asked Benjamin, who as-a-matter-of-factly told me, "Daddy will be a ghost, Mommy with be a princess, Benjamin will be Superman, and Jonathan will be a Jack-o-Lantern". So that's what we did. :) We had fun chatting, eating chile, and, of course, the kids enjoyed gathering more candy than they should ever eat.
One of the gals in our pre-school group hosted a Halloween party for our kids. It was so fun, with festive games, a craft, and snacks. Since I remembered my camera (amazingly enough), I was the photographer, so, Pre-school Moms-- the rest of the pics are linked "here" if you'd like to download them. Thanks for the Halloween fun! :)

Halloween Dinner

My mom made Dead Man's Meatloaf for Halloween dinner, which I always liked, but with Benjamin in the middle of his superhero phase and trying to wean him from the word "kill" (which I'm still not sure where he picked up... what can ya do?), I decided to stick to the cutesy side of Halloween and made "pumpkin pizzas". They're a work in progress... a nice attempt to establish a holiday tradition. ;)

Trick-or-Treating

We did double trick-or-treating with one go around Halloween afternoon at the offices at Dustin's school. They host an annual Halloween carnival with bouncers, games (like a cake walk, fishing, etc.), crafts, and, of course, trick-or-treating when the faculty decorate and hand out candy. It's fun to see a ususally so intense atmosphere transformed into a casual, fun-filled ambience. We love that the school goes all out each year and have enjoyed going these past few Halloweens.We also trick-or-treated up and down our neighborhood street--- not because we needed more candy, to be sure, but rather because we were curious who our neighbors were that seem to only come out during this time of year. We actually ended up chatting quite awhile with a couple neighbors we had only met a couple times. They are awesome people and we're glad to have gotten to know them better. I wish we would've had more trick-or-treaters come by our house though. Anyone want some extra candy? Lots of it? ;)

So that's our Halloween fun for the year! We've packed our Halloween-y decor, bought a little bit more 70% off, and look forward to another bundle of sugary, spooky fun next year. Now, I think we'll pig out on our loot. Mmmmm... which chocolate to choose???

The Joy of Motherhood

Over the past couple months, Benjamin has become obsessed with superheroes. It all started with Spiderman and gradually escalated from there. He hasn't seen any of the movies or books or had any other significant exposure to superheroes, but just seems to naturally know that they are super cool and loves to have his superheroes "save" people and "stop" the bad guys. His collection has grown from just Spiderman to Batman and Superman joining the gang. Benjamin is eagerly awaiting Ironman for Christmas. Superman is currently his top pick, which explains his determined desire to be Superman for Halloween. Since the costumes at the store were made for winter trick-or-treating, I knew I needed to make (or assemble) his Superman garb (it stayed in the 90s most of October). We got a t-shirt (a little big, but works) and Dustin found his Superman cape his older sister made him when he was a kid. Perfect! Knowing Benjamin would be estactic, I gave him his shirt and cape about 2 1/2 weeks before Halloween. He's worn them every day since. He's only takes off his cape for potty, bed, and church. Since Halloween night, he's insistent he must wear the pants we got, too. I actually love this. He feels so special, so confident, so superhero-ish with his Superman stuff. As long as I can wash the outfit occasionally, I don't mind that it's his preference of daily attire. I love that he loves to be a superhero.

The best part of all of this ,though, is one morning he smiled at me, hugged my leg and said,

"Mommy is my favorite superhero."

How I love my little son! The pure joy of that moment, his adoring eyes full of love confirming his declaration with all the conviction of his little heart, is one I will cherish forever. If I am a superhero in the eyes of my child, I feel I can do anything.