the one about Thanksgiving

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving! It was nothing like our usual Thanksgivings, but maybe that is what made it so nice. We have been able to spend Thanksgiving with both of our families almost every year since we have been married. My family usually eats around noon and the Lane family eats in the evening. This year, Grandma Lane changed her dinner to the night before. (It was GREAT, by the way! Hopefully a new tradition.) My family all had different plans this year and we ended up not having a dinner together. Excuse me while I sound very ungrateful for a minute... My family is small. 10 people when we are all together. We all live right here together and see each other nearly everyday. We get together for every Birthday, so really, it wasn't that big of a deal that we didn't eat together for one year. I actually saw every member of my family today and visited with all of them, except Brayden. And he is my buddy. Whats up with that??? Anyway, I realize how fortunate I am to have my family so close and I couldn't love them anymore, but it was kind of a refreshing change to do something different today. Since those two dinners were changed/cancelled, we had no plans for today. I was chatting with my good friend Lindsay the other day and they were going to be alone too, so we decided to have our Thanksgiving dinner together. It was so great! She cooked the turkey, gravy and stuffing. I did the mashed potatoes, pies and rolls. We met at their house at 2:00 and our meal was DEEEE-LISH! Lindsay's turkey was absolutely perfect and her stuffing was TO DIE FOR! I have to brag for a second and say that my rolls were perfect!! My pies turned out great too. And in my mind, no Thanksgiving is complete without my famous orange rolls! It was so much fun to make dinner for our families and we did a pretty dang good job if I do say so myself. It was so nice to visit with Brian, Lindsay and their beautiful kids today. I am so grateful for wonderful friends who wanted to join forces with us this year.

My roll dough turned out PERFECT today! It raised beautifully and it was so nice and fluffy. I made crescent rolls but forgot to take pix of them. Sad, because they were pretty. However, I did get some pictures of the orange rolls. The best part of Thanksgiving is, of course, LEFTOVERS! Lindsay was a sweetheart to share her beautiful turkey with us.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been writing things that I am thankful for on my FaceBook status. I tried to do it every day, but realistically...well... it just didn't happen. I did pretty good though. Of course I am thankful for millions of other things too, but here are just a few that I covered on FaceBook. I thought it was a perfect thing to add to my Thanksgiving blog post.

Monday, November 9
Today (and everyday) I am thankful for my beautiful little family. My amazing husband and my precious son make my life worth living! I love living with 2 "men" that love me, appreciate me, protect me, and respect me.

Tuesday, November 10
Today I am thankful for my big brother. I know, I know, CORNY! We have gotten so close over the last year and I am just so glad that we have a good relationship. Our families get together every weekend for games, our boys are best buddies and even our spouses are friends. I LOVE the relationship we have created. I love and adore my brother! He is such a good example to me!!!

Wednesday, November 11
Today, I am thankful for all of the brave men and women who have served or who are currently serving our country. I am also grateful for their families who live without them so I can be free. What a HUGE sacrifice! My Grandfather is a Korean war Veteran and I am so proud of him! Thank you soldiers, veterans, their families and even to our Government who all sacrifice and work so hard for our freedom. Happy Veterans Day!

Thursday, November 12
Today I am thankful for my 3 Sisters-in-law! Danette; SIL 17 years. We are SO close. She is strong, smart, determined and a good example to me. Talia; 11 years and she is the funniest, coolest sweetest girl on earth. She is very wise for her age and I admire her!!! Brynn; SIL for 9 years. We were meant to be sisters! We are GREAT FRIENDS and we are so much alike. She is always there when I need her and she is the BEST!

Friday, November 13
Today, I am grateful for my creativity. Is that weird? I hate to sound boastful or anything, but I love that I can think of something I want to make, visualize it, think about it for a few minutes and then create it. It comes very naturally to me. Everyone has their own special gifts and talents and I am so grateful I have found mine and I am able to use it every day.

Saturday, November 14
I am having a blast in Wendover with my hubby! Today, I am thankful for him and all the fun times we have together! He is the best guy EVER!

Sunday, November 15
I am glad to be home from our mini-vaca to Wendover. That brings me to today’s thankful post. I am so thankful for my home. It is not perfect, by any means, but it is nice, clean, warm and there is so much love here, it literally overflows!

Wednesday, November 18
Today, I gotta say, I am thankful for my FRIENDS! I know some of the most AMAZNG WOMEN in the whole world and I am so glad to be able to call them my friends. I don't want to mention names, because I will forget someone, I am certain. So please, if you are my friend.... I'm talking about you!!!!!

Thursday, November 19
I rid of that horrid 24 hour flu thing. Ewwwww. That brings me to my thankful post of the day.... SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO thankful for healthy, solid, regular bowel movements.

Friday, November 20, 2009
Today, I am so thankful for my amazing job!!! It is so much fun! I love helping people, I love making cute things, putting together displays, coming up with ads..... I just love EVERYTHING about it. Its the best job EVER!

Sunday, November 22
Today I am SO thankful for my amazing friend Lindsay!!

Monday, November 23
Today I am TOTALLY thankful for Christmas music. I LOVE IT!!! I have not started playing it yet, however, I am working on my Christmas playlist for my iPod.

Tuesday, November 24
Today I am so thankful to be an Aunt to the best boys on the planet! Besides being a mom, it is the GREATEST job a woman can have!!!! Of course, it helps that I have the most awesome, smart, adorable and amazing nephews EVER!!!! 

Of course, I am so thankful for my family, my home, my friends, my pets, Brett's job, and many other things. This was such a great holiday and it couldn't have been more perfect. It was very laid back and casual, which is just what we like! I love Thanksgiving! I love the harvest, the comfort foods, the smells and most importanatly, the kick off to my FAVE time of year.... CHRISTMAS!!!! Yes, I already have my Christmas decor up! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Here is a little teaser for something you will be seeing on my blog in the next couple of days.

the one about... well... lots of stuff!

Why have I been such a slacker blogger lately? I feel like I just go and go and go and life is so busy and hectic, and sadly, some of the things I love the most get neglected. Blogging is one of the big ones. Also reading, scrapbooking and if you ask Brett, he thinks he is getting neglected lately. Sorry honey.

Anyway, I am pretty excited this evening because tomorrow I am going to SLC with Tara. We have to go to a training thing for work. It's pretty cool. We get paid to go, plus our room is paid for, food and mileage. Tara and I always have so much fun together, so I know the laughs will be abundant! When I was telling my mom about our big adventure, she said, "Oh no. That will be trouble." I was so confused. Trouble? Like did she think we were going to fight or something. I don't think Tara and I have ever had a fight of any kind. My mom was like, "Duh. Because you guys will have so much fun." Oh. I get it. I will give a full update when I get home. Anyway....

Our Thanksgiving was nice. My sweet little grandma was able to come home the day before so we were able to have dinner with her. She is still in pretty rough shape. She probably shouldn't have come home quite yet, but she was determined to be home for Thanksgiving. I had to work that evening so I missed dinner with Brett's family. Brett fixed me a plate and he and Quayd brought it to me at the hotel. Then we decided to spend the night there in a nice king suite. It was awesome. Quayd loved being right in between us in that huge bed. Brett and I always wish for a king sized bed but I know that Quayd would make himself right at home in the middle every night. And he is such a little snuggler it is hard to say no. Of course, I have many things to be thankful for. My husband, my beautiful son, my family, my home and great friends. Really though, this year, I was just thankful to have my grandma home.

In our town, the Friday after Thanksgiving is a huge celebration. It's called Holly Days. There are activities all day, a parade of lights in the evening, more activities and it all ends with a fireworks display. Every year, my brother makes a float for the parade. (Remember, my Grandma was supposed to be the Grand Marshal? She didn't get to do it, but they said they would ask her again.) Brandon turned his four-wheeler into Santa's sleigh. As he was constructing his float on Friday, Quayd decided that he wanted to be in the parade too. So he and Brett made a float for his four-wheeler. It was so cute. I was working so I didn't even really know what was going on with it, but when I got home I was so excited!! I wish Brett would have taken pictures of the construction, but we did get a few as we were getting it to main street. The floats were so big and awkward we couldn't load them in the truck, so they had to drive them. And of course, the other two wouldn't ride in the car with us, they had to go on the four-wheelers!



Here are a few pictures from the parade. Not very good pictures, but pictures, nonetheless.
Here are the boys riding the Christmas train thing after the parade. This is from the fireworks show. View from the car, of course. Burrrrr...
Ok, enough of that.

Saturday morning/afternoon, I got to hang with my old buddies Janice and Kandice. Janice was in town for the holiday and I was so excited to see her and hang with her. I have missed her a lot since she ran away to Kentucky. I have missed her beautiful little girls too and I was so excited to get to see them. And Morgan remembered me!!! The three of us went to the local craft fair, lunch at Don Pedros, shopping and to Lee nails for pedicures.
It was great fun. We also went to Arby's and had one of their new shakes. YUM-O!!! You oughta try one.

So....... if you know me at all, you know what a freak I am about Christmas decorating. I really like to have my tree up by Thanksgiving and I don't like anyone to help me. I really freak out about it, so I stayed up until 3:00 am the night before Thanksgiving so I could get it perfect. Speaking of my weird tree obsession, this is a funny story about me, but I don't want to type it... so if you are interested, go to Tara's blog to read all about it. Anyway, I love my tree. It is just how I wanted it and I am glad I was freaky and got it all done. Everyone knows not to touch it or try to move anything around. Just look, and enjoy. Itty Bitty is still learning this, so she has really been working me the last few days as she climbs up the middle and pulls out my sparkly red sticks!!! Errrrrrr...... Maybe the pound isn't sounding so bad after all.....I know I sound like a big ogre for not letting my family help, but seriously... Brett wouldn't help if I begged him too, and Quayd has his own tree in his room that he gets to do all by himself. So there. Here are a few pictures of my home decor. These are the baskets on either side of my "Proclamation to the World/Picture of Christ/The Living Christ" picture in my living room. I change them with every season.
Here is my favorite decoration in the world, my nativity set. I got it last year, and I was so excited to get it out again this year. It's hard to see in the picture, but I have lights behind it so it really makes it glow. It looks so awesome. This is another one of my favorite things. Jamie gave it to me a couple of years ago for Christmas and I just love it. It lights up. It is so cute. And of course.... my beautiful tree. Drumroll please............................ The picture doesn't do it much justice. Oh! And this is Quayd's calendar that he gets each year. (I still have a couple gifts to put on it.) Starting December 1st he gets a small gift a day. Usually school supplies, and dollar items. He loves it and I love doing it for him. I start buying stuff way early, looking for cheap, small items that will fit. I love it. He is always so grateful and looks forward to it all year. I am glad we are able to do that for him. See... having one child isn't all bad.

Well, I think that is all for this blog entry. Thanks for sticking it out. I know it was a long one. :)

the one about updates

I am so bugged. I didn't get to see Twilight. :( I got super sick on Wednesday night. I ended up going to the Doctor Thursday morning and I had a sinus infection and bronchitis. I got an antibiotic and finally last night (Friday) I started feeling a little better. Today, I am still dragging a little bit, but I can tell I am on the mend. I hate to use my "heart stuff" as an excuse and I am not at all seeking pitty... but ever since that all happened to me, when I get sick, I REALLY GET SICK! My body and immune system aren't as strong to fight off infection, and I go down... hard and fast. Then it screws up all of my other medicines and I seriously feel like I have been hit by a train. Thank goodness though, I think I have seen the worst of it.

My poor grandma is still in the hospital, but she too is on the mend. She will probably be there for another week or so. I feel so bad for her because she was chosen to be the Grand Marshal of the Christmas Parade here in town. It takes place the day after Thanksgiving. She was supposed to ride in a horse drawn carriage and now she is not going to be able to do it. She is pretty bummed about it. I haven't seen her since Sunday because I have been so sick and haven't been able to get out of bed, plus I have hated to risk her catching something. I have talked to her on the phone about everyday though and I am planning on going over this afternoon.

Itty Bitty is doing so much better on her potty-training!!! I tried new cat litter, more boxes and I have been better about scooping them every day. No accidents for awhile and I see LOTS of pee in the box. Phewwww..... She figured it out at the perfect time. Well, perfect for her. Perfect for me would have been a little earlier! ;)

So one of my most favorite things in the world is Bingo!
I really love it. The Catholic church puts on a HUGE Bingo event every fall. You pay admission and buy as many extra cards as you wish. They serve food and drinks. All of the money goes to local families for Christmas. They have awesome prizes. We never win a thing. EVER! But we still go every year. Brett, Gleneita and I have gone together forever. This year, Gary and Tara invited us to go as couples with another couple, Jeff and Sherry.
Of course, Gleneita wanted to come, so she brought a date!!! She is pretty cute, huh! ;)

Oh! So this is exciting.... I won a turkey from the local radio station the other day. That was pretty cool. They give a clue about a local business and the first person to enter that business wins! Yah, it was me. I was so excited. I actually got a gift certificate to buy one, but that is good enough for me!!!

I am super excited that Thanksgiving is less than a week away. I love Thanksgiving. I love being with our families and pigging out on awesome food. My mom makes the BEST stuffing EVER!!!!! And I can't wait to sink my teeth into it. I always make her cook a HUGE batch so I can have it for leftovers for awhile. Yummmm-O. We are pretty sure Ga will be home by then, so my mom and I are planning on fixing dinner at our houses and taking it to her house. I think it will just be Ga, Pop, my mom, Brett Quayd and I. Then later, we will go to Aunt Debbie's with the Lane's. She makes a great dinner too. I love it. And I love that it kicks of my FAVORITE time of year!!!!! I am planning on putting up my Christmas tree this week. I like to have it up before Thanksgiving. We will see if I can keep feeling good so I can get it done.

In case I don't blog before then, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I love you all. I am thankful for you. My blog stalkers! :) Hugs and Kisses!!!

the one about missing Papa

Again, I found these pictures while going through some old ones a while back. They are from Thanksgiving (2003, I guess) and Mike was in the VA hospital in Grand Junction, Co. We had dinner with my family around noon, then packed up a big thermos bag thing and took dinner to Mike. I had totally forgotten about these pictures. They were filed away in "Thanksgiving Pictures," and there were only a few in there (I mean who REALLY takes pictures at Thankgiving? Although, it is a perfect time to do so). Needless to say, they have been overlooked since, well, 2003. Mike was so excited to see Quayd that day. It was just Brett, Quayd, Talia and I that went to be with him, and it was sort of a surprise. Mike's reaction was priceless! Ohhhhhh, I really miss him.

the one about my Thanksgiving weekend

We had such a great weekend. Quayd was off of school starting Wednesday, and Brett was off work since Thursday. We just had a nice, lazy weekend. Of course, we ate ourselves silly on Thanksgiving. It was wonderful, as always. We did something a little different this year. We usually go to my mom's for lunch and Aunt Debbies for dinner. But this year, Gleneita wanted to cook at her house, so we had to skip out on my mom's this year. We went to Gleneita's around 12:30 and ate around 1:30ish. I was in charge of rolls and orange rolls. I love making rolls! Really I do, and I am pretty good at it! My Grandparents came with us to Gleneita's, which was a wonderful treat. Also there, were Grandma and Grandpa Galley, Deanna, Alan, Bridgette, Cory, Emilee and boys, Talia, Michele and her kids, Randy, Marcie and kids and us. It was perfect. We stayed at Gleneita's playing games until it was time to go to Debbie's. I was in charge of rolls for that meal too. It was fun too. Lots of people, family, food and great fun!

Friday morning, I slept in until about 9:30. No early shopping for me this year! I did end up going to Wal-Mart around 10:30 am to see of the couple of things I wanted were still there, and they were. They were items that I wanted, but that weren't important enough to get up and go at 5:00 am. Just small, cheap items. Downtown, our city had "Holly Days." It was just fun activities going on around town to promote the small businesses. There was a parade of lights at dusk. We watched it, then went and had some dinner. Quayd wanted to ride the train at "Holly Days," then we went and watched the fireworks. It was so much fun. I just love doing stuff like that with my family. Brett and Quayd are my best friends and I love hanging with them.

Oh, speaking of friends, my long weekend started with a late craft night with Kandice on Wednesday. We were making some fun Christmas gifts! Can't tell you what, though! She came over around 7:00 pm and left around 3:00 am!!! Somewhere in the middle, we went to Wal-Mart and 7-11 for treats. We had a blast. She is so much fun!

Anyway, back on track here... Saturday was pretty uneventful. I ran a few errands but that was really it. I worked on my Christmas decorations. Oh, Quayd was invited to a Birthday party at the movie theater and it was at 10:00 am. He was able to bring his family, so Brett and I went. It was Bee Movie and it was cute. Quayd and I had already seen it and we still enjoyed it! Gibler was there with her girls and we sat by them. Quayd actually wanted to sit with the kids up front. So we didn't hear from him the entire time. We could see him, and he was so cute. He looked so big. Santa Clause was at a local bookstore from 11-1 and Quayd knew about it, so he insisted we go. As soon as we walked in, he was on the hunt for Santa. He found him and ran up and gave him a HUGE hug. He told him a few of the things he wanted and thanked him for the things he got last year. He is such a good boy. He also wanted to buy this "magic" key to hang outside on Christmas Eve so Santa can use the door instead of the chimney if he wants.

Today, Sunday, we went to Church and during sacrament meeting, Brett and I had a little "nose flicking" war and it ended in me having a runny nose and leaving sacrament early. I walked out in the hall and giggled as my nose stung, ran and twitched!! This continued all afternoon. I finished up my decorations in the afternoon and then Ga and I went to the Trees for Charity display. They auction will be tomorrow, but they have a viewing open to the public all weekend. There were some beautiful trees. It was so awesome. My sweet Grandma teared up reading the descriptions of about half of the trees. Some of the stories and causes are just amazing. There are so many generous people in our community and I hope those charities get all of the money they need! There is a family in our town who recently lost their dad to cancer. He left a wife and two small children. A few of the trees were going to support his family and they deserve it so much. I don't really know this family personally, but they have been in my thoughts and prayers so much lately.

We had a talk with Quayd tonight to remind him how important it is to do our chores and homework everynight because Santa is watching so close! We also asked him what he wanted for Christmas. He told us several things. He is insisting on a toy rabbit, some airplanes and pirate ships. He has also mentioned a dirt bike and a new X-Box. We need to keep weeding out the list because some of the other things are pretty random and we aren't sure if they even exist, like "a boy play house with real live people inside," and "a boat that is made out of wood that has paddles and you can sit in it and pretend you are on the lake." He also mentioned a HUGE box. Just a box. But we told him it might be difficult for Santa to fit that in his bag. Mom and Dad might have to do some research. (Anyone getting a new fridge anytime soon? CALL ME!) He is such an easy kid though, anything will make him happy. And we know Santa will be able to use some of his magic and find all of the PERFECT things!!

the one about being thankful

Can I just say......? I love Thanksgiving. I really do. I love the feeling of it all. The family, the love, the food (of course), the cooking, the smells, and I even kinda like the football. Don't tell Brett though. He gets too excited when I say positive things about football. I don't want to give him any ideas. Anyway, fall is my favorite season too. I just really love this time of year. Even though we are entering the ugly part of fall, I still love it.

I have so much to be thankful for, too. I am really extra blessed and I am sorry for all of you because I know I have it better than all of you. Sorry. It's true. I have the very best child in the entire world. It doesn't get any better than him. I have the best husband. I have the best friends. I have the best grandparents ever. My mom is the best. My mother-in-law and the rest of my in-laws are the VERY best! I love my big brother and all of my brother and sister in-laws and my sweet nephews. I have the cutest car. I have the greatest cat. And even though it is still new and not really super permanant, I love my new job as a substitute teacher. I subbed again today, first graders. LOVE IT! They were super great. I also feel like I have the best calling in the whole world. Some my disagree, but I am the Sunbeams teacher (3-4 year olds) and I just love it. I am also the enrichment leader, and I am starting to love that. Sorta.

I am not super thankful for this though.... one cute little girl in my class totally puked all over the playground. Raunchy. I ate school lunch with my class today and I saw everything I ate on the black asphault. I nearly lost my own. But I had to be super tough and tone down the gag reflexes. I got her to the bathroom, cleaned up a little bit and another teacher came to my rescue to take her to the office. I had to get back to the playground because I was on recess duty. Then I had to sit there and look t it because the custodian was busy. Ohhh, it gets worse... there was this other super cute girl in my class who was jumprope-ing right in the middle of the puke. the jump rope was spreading it all over. All of the kids were crazy facinated with the vomit. I have never seen anything like it. Seriously, it took all I had not to lose my own lunch. Just thinking about it is getting me a little sick.

So, my mother-in-law called last night to see if we would all like to go to dinner and a movie. Of course I jumped on the opportunity! We went to wingers and I had a burger. It was so good. then we went to Fred Clause. It was sorta corny, but cute. I really quite like "corny." Gleneita does too, so we often like to hit the retarded movies. It takes every ounce of begging I have to get Brett to a movie, so I thought that if I threw in the "your mom is loanly" card, he might budge. He did. And he was a good sport. I think he hated it actually, but he didn't complain. Quayd LOVED it and Gleneita and I thought it was good. we went to BEE Movie a few weeks ago, and Quayd got invited to a Birthday party this weekend where we will watch it again. Sounds good to me! He is my movie buddy. Well, no, Janice and Kandice are my REAL movie buddies. We go see all of the chick flicks. But Quayd is pretty good company too and he likes it when we can say we are going on a "date."

I am just feeling really grateful today. My heart is super full and I just really love my life. I wish I could tell everyone on a personal level just how I feel about them and how much they have enriched my life, but I am not that good with words. I feel like I add too many "likes," "maybe this sounds dumb's" and "I'm sorry's" in my conversations. Anyway, to all of my friends, family and readers, I love you! Thank you for making my life so easy and special. I am the luck, luckiest girl.... in the world!!!!

the one about enrichment

There is this cute thing going around my neighborhood. It's the fun knock and run thing that you do at Halloween, but it is actually a Thanksgiving theme. There is a nice letter about how we serve one another and how we are thankful for friends and family. Then you hang a sign on your door that says, "Someone is thankful for me." After you have been hit, you have to hit 5 more families. Who ever came up with this idea (wink wink, Tari) is pure genious. We all love to get a special treat at the holidays, but this one is the best yet. Not only do you get a treat, you actually know that someone thought of you and is thankful for you.

Let me tell you how we got hit. We were watching T.V. in the living room Tuesday evening and get a knock knock at the door. Brett answered it and it was a cute little boy from Quayd's primary class. He gave Brett the papers and a tin of cookies. We were so excited! Now you are supposed to make copies of the letter and sign, then hang the sign on your door. Well I didn't hang it right away because I knew I would go make copies first thing in the morning. Well it was not 10 minutes later and "Knock Knock Knock!" We got hit again!! So we got double the treats and we were super excited and felt super loved. Last night I had enrichment meeting, so we didn't deliver our treats, but we will tonight. So, thank you to those people who stopped by with a treat. We are thankful for you too!!!

Let me just tell you about enrichment. I am the enrichment leader in my ward and I am always looking for something new and interesting to try. My dear, sweet, beautiful, talented friend Kandice came to my ward to do a presentation on organizing your life. It was WONDERFUL!!! She did this presentation for her ward and got a great response, so I made her come and do it for mine. She did an amazing job. I was so proud of her. I actually learned a few things about her that I didn't know and I definately learned some things I can do to better organize myself. I know I said it last night, but Thank you Kandice. It really meant a lot to me that you would step out of your comfort zone and do that for me. You are a great friend! You are so knowledgeable and everybody was talking last night after you left about how wonderful it was. For a refreshment, I made this YUMMY pumpkin cake that had a layer of cream cheese in the middle and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. We also served hot apple cider. It was heavenly. Kandice provided me with the recipe, and I am so grateful! It was a hit. I had some left over and took a piece to my grandparents last night, and they gobbled it right up.

I am thankful for Kandice, and enrichment, and my family, and my friends, and my callings, and the treats that came to my door!!!