Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving Day with several families from our former ward, also their former ward since the Arlington ward's recent split.  We all {Menzies, Balmforths, Romanos, Sweeney's, Whites, & a few other friends of the LaP's new ward} converged on the LaPierre home for a late afternoon Thanksgiving feast.  I didn't take a head count, but it was a nice, large, fun crowd.  It was so nice to spend several hours together visiting, relaxing, dining, playing games, searching Black Friday ads, watching "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving," and enjoying our time together.  I forgot my camera, but snapped a few pics with Allison's camera.  Somehow Caroline evaded the camera, so she's quoted on our "Thanksgiving" page, along with a family favorite recipe that is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  I'm sure our version wouldn't qualify for the magazine...they skimped on the marshmallows!

A couple photos that didn't fit on the page....

Left to Right: Rebecca, Dottie LaPierre & Michelle Romano

{Allison Balmforth is behind the camera}

Wayne & Mike Balmforth

Thank you, LaPierres for hosting

our crew!  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Stitched with Love for our Wesonator

More powerful than anything sitting on a table, faster than a basset hound,

able to climb on furniture in a single bound,

able to melt his family into submission like a handful of Play-doh. He's a long napper (YEAH!). He's a heartthrob (just ask his mom)....

He's our Wesonator!

This little man with purpose will be outfitted with an appropriate cape for Christmas. If you can sew a straight line, then this child's cape tutorial is right for you. I made Wesonator's big so it can be loved for years.

One side has something similar to a Superman logo. (Thanks T for modeling)

On the other side there is an impressive W for The Wesonator.

We are ever thankful for our Wesonator, whose most impressive quality is the ease at which he makes our world go 'round. How's that for a superhero?

Christmas Paper Globes

My Thanksgiving report will come later.  I'm just waiting on photos from my friend {I forgot my camera}.  We had a really nice time with friends from our old stomping grounds. Our hosts, Dottie & Lee, have a phenomenal garden, and Wayne and I were crazy for the canned beets Dottie served.  I guess we made our opinions clear because Dottie sent us home with a jar of canned beets from their garden.  What a treat!!  I'll share more of our get together later...

Our ward is having our first wreath making party in less than a week.  I'm loaning these paper globes I made last week for the party decor and afterward they'll go somewhere in our house in an effort to fulfill Grace's wish that our home be thoroughly decorated.Where will they go?  Individually as ornaments on the tree?  Strung up like streamers in our family room window?  Not sure yet.  These paper globes came from a Martha Stewart kit at Michael's- everything was included.  There is a pattern HERE on Heather Bailey's blog if you want to use your own paper and supplies to make paper globes.  The actual pattern might be just on her sidebar, but this link goes to Heather's post introducing the globes and showing them as topiaries.  They are easy to make, but take a while, even with the Martha kit where everything was pre-cut and pre-scored.  I loved the way they turned out though. Have fun pulling out your Christmas decor and decking your abode with festive cheer. 'Tis the season!

Notes from mom

• After a workday Saturday, I heard Christina holler in her sleep, "Clean your room!" Great. I give my daughter nightmares:) She made me smile on Sunday when she walked in the door from the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and immediately showed me her renewed temple recommend. I love that she was so excited about that.

• Yesterday in Senior Primary sharing time, I went head to head with another teacher in a game of Name that Tune. I played for the boys' team and she played for the girls. One of the older girls, said (speaking about the other teacher who happens to teach the older kids in primary and is truly amazing!), "I like her better!" While we laughed, and I acted aghast, Thomas went up to the girl, stood in front of her and said, "I want you to know I take that very personally!" He had a big grin on his face, but I thought the show of loving defense for his mom was truly endearing. I love my Thomas.

• In sacrament meeting I showed Grace where to find the Christmas songs in the Hymn book. I asked her which was her favorite. Can you guess? Almost right away she pointed to "Joy to the World."  No surprise there!  Grace has become an author/illustrator.  Her works include, "When I Cleaned my Room," "The Growing Flower," "What we are Thankful For," and "What are Smiley Faces?"  Her teacher told Wayne and I that Grace has a natural talent for reading with expression.  No surprise there!

• The other day I decided to bake pumpkin pie for dinner.  The kids were elated!  Caroline looked on with admiration as I took the gorgeous pie out of the oven.  "Mom," she said as sweet as can be, "You're a good maker."  I count that as one of the more meaningful mommy moments of my life, and "good maker" is now one of my all-time favorite compliments.  Thank you, sweet Cutie.

• Tantrums for Wesley entail plopping on his belly on the floor and scooting backwards.  It's so hard to take these tantrums seriously when they not only look silly, but they are coming from an adorable chunk of love.  Wes rarely throws said tantrums, but today his world turned upside-down when he couldn't get Buzz Lightyear to make noise.  I changed the batteries, but to no avail.  Buzz has died.  Good thing I alone took the pledge to have a homemade Christmas.  The kids will get one thing not homemade from Jolly 'Ol Saint Nick, whom I happen to be very close with, and I'm begging Santa to bring Wes a new Buzz.  Until then, Wes will have to make do with miniature, noiseless Buzz.  It's a rough life {insert sarcasm}, but according to this mother, life doesn't get much better!

HuGs & KiSsEs,

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service- by Thomas

*After church today, Wayne took Christina and Thomas to a local "Interfaith Thanksgiving Service."  This is Thomas' report:

The Service was at The Church of the Nativity.  The elders were there and some other people from our ward and other churches.  A rabbi read from Psalms and a Reverend read from the Bible.  Even though we go to different churches, we agree on some things like being thankful.

We were invited to light a candle and share something we were thankful for.  At first I was a little nervous because I was one of the only kids there, but when I stood up and said that I am thankful for the gospel and for what I learned in church today I felt warm in my heart.  I took a candle and went to the back of the chapel while other people said what they were thankful for too.  I heard other people say they were thankful to live in a country where we are free to share our opinions, Sister Nixon said she was thankful for their community that was so helpful when her kids were in a serious car accident, and one of our missionaries said he was thankful for his family.

Some people brought food for the local food pantry.  They also collected money for the food pantry so people that didn't have food could have food.  Dad gave them some money.

At the end we had refreshments including cinnamon buns, M&M cookies, small donuts, sparkling apple cider, and normal apple cider.

I'm really glad I went!

-Thomas

Just before he headed to bed last night, I asked Thomas which part of his baptismal covenant he kept today.  He thought about it and took some guesses.  I asked him to find the story of Alma baptizing the people at the waters of Mormon, and Thomas found Mosiah 18:8-10.  After reading these verses, Thomas said, "I stood as a witness in all places!"  I agreed and added, "Heavenly Father kept his part of the covenant today too by filling your heart with the Holy Ghost."  Thomas was obviously happy with this realization.  I asked how it feels to keep a covenant and he said, "It feels really good."  He was still smiling as he hugged me good-night and went on his way.

I sat there overwhelmed with gratitude for...

Thomas

my role as a mother

covenants

life experiences such as this that build my testimony

life experiences that build my children's testimonies

Neal, who representing our faith, has built such a relationship with the Interfaith Council that they accommodated our congregation by holding this Thanksgiving service later than usual so it wouldn't interfere with our worship services, and more of our members would be able to attend

The Gift of Warmth

The Gift of Warmth.  It's basic.  It's a need, esp. here in the northeast!  When I think of "warmth" I find myself snuggling in a warm blanket sipping hot cocoa with marshmallows on top, surrounded by my family.  Warmth.

When I began my plot for a homemade Christmas, the first gift that came to my mind was the gift of warmth in the form of simple fleece blankets for each of our kids.  My sister, Sara has a fabric business focused on flannel and fleece.  I recently bought four pieces of fleece from her for my big kids who are in twin or full size beds (Wesley has more than enough blankets for now).  I was up late several nights this week blanket stitching the edges of each piece of fleece (thanks, Shay for introducing us to the Mentalist...DVR is a great thing for late night projects!), and now these four cozy layers of warmth are ready for wrapping paper and twine.  

One of my favorite Thomas stories:  A couple years ago I bought a piece of black and blue herringbone patterned fleece for a blanket for Thomas.  I planned on fringing the ends or doing something fun with it, however when I showed him the fabric he said, "Wow!  I love it!  Thanks, mom!"  That simple, no-nonsense version of a blanket was good enough for him.  I love that Thomas was truly grateful for that piece of fleece.  I never did anything to it as a reminder of that experience.  He'll be getting a "dressed up" piece of fleece for Christmas and I'll bet he's just as happy with it as he is with his black and blue blanket.

Here are a few more ideas of gifts of warmth using fleece:

Hat, Scarf (2 styles), Beret, and No-Sew blanket at MormonChic

Hats (5 styles)- Martha Stewart

Mittens (for kids)- Martha Stewart

No-Sew Poncho at Make & Takes

Handmade fleece poncho from Coochooloo.

Hooded poncho for sale at Carriage Town Kids

Neck Gaiter tutorial- super easy!

Warmest Wishes,

Scripture Markers

We're keeping things super simple this Christmas.  {HOME}made is a running theme around here.  I've found some simple, inexpensive ideas that I'll be sharing on our blog.  I hope that even if your penny pinching, you'll find some worthwhile projects here that are budget friendly.  I'd love to hear about what you have in the works too!

Christina's awesome Beehive advisor gave these scripture markers out to the girls one Sunday...probably with a lesson on scriptures.  I traced the inner part of the marker and came up with my version of a pattern to share.  After picking Christina's teacher's brain, these are the directions I came up with....

1.  Use patterned paper for the inner portion of the marker

2. Do a test run of the pattern at the bottom of the post.  If it doesn't print out just right, following the dimensions below, map out the inner part of the markers on your pattern paper.  If your test run works out then print the pattern directly onto your paper. (Christina's teacher printed a scripture reference directly onto the patterned paper, but this can be an added embellishment)

3. Cut out each rectangle marker.  Leave the rectangles and circles inside each marker in tact.

4.  Glue each marker onto card stock & embellish if desired.

5. Cut out each marker again.  Christina's card stock goes about 1/2" beyond the patterned paper all the way around the marker.

6. Laminate each marker.

7. Cut each scripture marker out.

8. Using an X-Acto knive, carefully cut out the 2 black rectangular shapes.  The large one is for marking large verses of scripture, and the smaller one is obviously for marking a single line of scripture.  Use a hole punch to punch out the circles.  These are for marking the scripture reference/verse #.

9. After cards are all cut, if there is any separation in the laminating, run the card(s) through the laminator one more time to seal them nicely.

I love these homemade scripture markers.  I thought they'd make great stocking stuffers, gifts for primary teachers or students, or as with Christina's class...lesson handouts, for Relief Society too!

 In case the pattern doesn't download correctly (I'm working on it),

the inner scripture marker dimensions are:

Inner marker (to be glued to card stock): width: 2 1/2", length: 5 3/16"

large rectangle: width 2", height: 1 1/8"

small rectangle: width: 2", height: 1/4"

FINISHED MARKER: width: 3", height: 5 9/16"

Gifts for Primary Families

It's that time of year in primary...BUSY!  I recently met with our presidency one morning at our ward building to clean out our primary closet.  This is the second primary presidency (2 different wards) I've served in where when it's come time to clean out the closets we've found an excess of GAK pictures from old primary manuals (these are the flimsy 2-sided pictures used in lessons, not the nice GAK pictures with the descriptions on the back).  

These aren't complete packets, so you can't put them with manuals to give to teachers.  They just sit there collecting dust.  I've used them in visual aids for teaching primary songs, and for sharing time lessons.

With our current excess of GAK pictures, we decided to compile "Reverence Books" for our primary families.  We simply put the GAK pictures in sheet protectors purchased from Costco, and put about 20 or so in each 1/2" binder (also from Costco).  There will be a cover page encouraging the family to add to their binder with more pictures, copies of reverent primary songs, appropriate poems, stories from The Friend, etc.  and wishing them a Merry Christmas!

 

3Here's an example of a cover insert.  Super simple...I just used paper (already has the butterflies, etc. on it) from the Nie digikit, added the text, and called it GOOD!

So, there you have it....a budget friendly, useful gift for primary families from the primary presidency.  Hopefully these books will encourage reverence in our sacrament meetings, even if for just a few minutes:)

We'll also be giving each family a CD of the primary program music for 2009. HERE is the list of songs & directions for downloading.

If you've served in a primary presidency or are a parent of primary children, I'd love to know what you've given/received from the primary presidency for Christmas. I've got a couple more fun primary gift ideas to share, so come visit again soon.

Scrapbook for Sammy

My niece is turning 12! I put together the basics of a scrapbook of sorts for my niece, Samantha, to add her photographs, goals, thoughts, opinions, scriptures, doodles...whatever she wants! There are some "fill-in-the-blank" pages, but others are left for her imagination. I hope she likes it! The binder is an Amy Butler 8 1/2" sq. binder from Michael's Craft Store. FYI~ The photo on the album cover is Amy Butler, NOT my niece:)
HERE IS A LINK (I hope it works!) to the pages of this album over at Two Peas in a Bucket.  I found most, if not all of the digital supplies from their shop.  More than anything I used the Silhouettes for Nie digikit (same thing I used to design our blog). Have I mentioned how much I love this digikit? It's loaded with beautiful paper and elements. I hardly had to do anything to some of the pages in this album.
A fun thing to do when you're done is to add embellishments like stickers, flowers, buttons, etc. to give the pages a 3-D look. If this was a gift it would be fun to put those trinkets in a bag for your gal to add to the album herself.  Happy Scrapping!

Feelin' the Love

This morning (Thurs.) the kids were up and asking to start our M&M kindness game. M&M's first thing in the morning....what a cool mom! I gave each child a small Zip-loc bag filled with 3 handfuls of M&Ms....and the kindness began.  It was interesting to see that the first effect of our kindness game was that immediately the kids thought more before they spoke.
KINDNESS: We are not all going to agree on everything, and we can get on each other's nerves, but when we think of how to communicate in a kind way, and THEN speak with KIND intent, the underlying love we have for one another shines through.
When I dropped Grace and Thomas off at school, rather than their usual scuffle out of the car, Thomas cheered on Grace, "Come on, Grace, let's do this thing!"  And off they ran to meet up with their classmates.

After school conversations were a continuation of thoughtfulness I overheard this morning.  There were a couple Grace/Caroline tiffs over a sticker book, but next thing I knew they were complimenting each other on their artwork and expressing gratitude that they were sisters.

Christina radiated happiness.  She came home from school excited to show me the DNA she discovered from an onion on her field trip to a local lab today.  How cool is that?!  Beyond her good day at school, Christina was simply happy.  She helped the kids play the M&M game.  She started making plans for a gift basket for a friend at church.

I made tortellini chicken soup for dinner with melted Parmesan wafers on top....perfect for the rainy day we had today.  I caught up with an old mission friend on the phone....made my day!

A funny thing happened just before dinner....

I overheard Thomas complimenting Grace and consequently give her an M&M.  "Have another!" he said, followed by, "You know what, you can have all of my M&M's if you want!"  He dumped his M&M's into Grace's bag.  Grace was all smiles.  A few minutes later she brought the refill bag over to Thomas and gave him the rest of the bag of M&M's.

I could tell Thomas really caught on, so I asked him to offer the blessing on our dinner.  He was full of gratitude, "...We're thankful for the joy and happiness we feel."

Our discussion over dinner centered on our KINDNESS GAME....

• No one could remember the specific things they did for others, they just knew they tried to be nice.
• Our home felt peaceful.
• When I asked Thomas how he felt when he gave away all of his M&M's he said, "I felt happy!!"  I asked him if he missed his M&M's and he said, "Not at all!  But then Grace came up to me and gave me lots more!"  Which led to our next observation...
• When someone is kind to us, it makes us want to be a kinder person.
• Being kind is FUN!
• We should be kind everyday.
• When we are kind we are being true to who we really are...a Child of God.

For scripture reading, I read, 4 Nephi 1:15...

"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."

Happy World Kindness Day!

Free Photo Book!

Just in time for the holidays.....

My MIL clued me in on a free photo book offer from Snapfish.  Click HERE to go to Oprah's website where you can get the link to the Snapfish freebie....an 8x11 20 pg. book starring your very own photos or scanned artwork.

I'm putting together a Safari book for our kids for Christmas using Wayne's photos from our Feb. '08 trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, FL.  When I uploaded my photos today I got credit for 20 free 4x6 prints:)

Offer ends this Friday and your project needs to be submitted by Sunday, 11/16.  All of the fine print is found on the Oprah link found above.

Happy Publishing!

Thank you, Vets

This photograph was taken at the National WWII Memorial, Washington, DC

World Kindness Day

Did you know that November 13, 2008 is World Kindness Day? Among all of the depressing news, the reminder of this "holiday" stood out to me as a timely ray of sunshine.  As I thought of what to do, I naturally thought of how I could teach our children an aspect of kindness that they could internalize and take with them into the world to share.

Here's my plan: Each child will start the day with "x" amount of M&M's.  When they say a kind word or do an act of kindness to a member of our family, they give an M&M to that person.  What do you think will happen?  Anything goes, but I'm hoping that when we come together Thursday night to discuss how things went (& top off sundaes with our M&M's), our kids will have learned a good lesson or two about the miracles wrought by KINDNESS.  

How will you celebrate?  Spread the word!

"There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.

In the words of the Lord to Joshua...“be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God [will be] with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Josh. 1:9)." 

- Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

Pres. Hinckley's entire talk, "The Need for Greater Kindness," is found HERE.

Life is Made up of a Number of Meaningful Everydays

I recently read through my first issue of the new magazine, Seeing the Everyday, and I'm loving it! The philosophy is right in line with my perspective as a parent. I love finding joy and worth in everyday life with my family. This magazine does just that. There are NO advertisements, just inspiring experiences, quotes, and literature that reinforce the value of everyday home life. Readers offer submissions.
Two things I especially loved in my issue of Seeing the Everyday:
The Secret Pal tradition. This was actually submitted by a friend of mine who I deeply admire. On Thanksgiving evening they put each family member's name on a piece of paper and draw names of who they will give a gift to for Christmas. The gift must be homemade. My friend told how this simple tradition has come to be a wonderful bonding experience for their family. Now that our kids are old enough to make this really work, we'll do Secret Pals for Christmas too. I've forwarned our kids and they are so excited! Thanks Janalee!
The other thing I loved was a photo essay of one family's Thanksgiving dinner. They were working in the kitchen together, playing together, eating together, and it was beautifully captured in photographs. I felt inspired and a little more excited for Thanksgiving with my family. As simple as it is, Thanksgiving is seriously one of my favorite holidays.
If you're looking for an inspiring magazine written by folks just like you and me who are trying to make life meaningful and rich through everyday family-related experiences, I hope you click HERE and visit Seeing the Everyday. I think you'll enjoy it.

*I am thankful for a 4 yr. old photographer who magically made all of my wrinkles disappear!

*I am thankful that I was able to be there for Grace today while she had cavities filled at the dentist. She was so brave. When I took her to school afterward and walked her down the hall to her classroom she asked, "Does my cheek look funny?" "No. It just feels funny, sweetheart," I truthfully replied. She turned and confidently chatted away with her classmates who were just coming back from recess. Grace is another child of ours who has tardy anxiety issues. I was happy to see her hold her head high today.

Today I am thankful for...

.....the miracle that my friend recently had TRIPLETS... 3 beautiful, healthy baby girls born to an amazing family of 6, so babies make 9! I'm so happy for Julie and family!

.....hearing Caroline pray for her primary teacher's husband who was home from church sick today.  He came first in her prayer at the dinner table.  Well wishes to Br. B!

.....respect within my extended family regarding politics. Although we do not agree on all of the issues, I appreciate our respectful debates. There are 21 of us (on my side, in-laws included) who are scattered across the US, and most of us have participated to a certain extent in debating election issues (our largest email threads topped 60).  I love our mix! We've "shared" more during this election than any other, and it was helpful for me since I wasn't thrilled about either McCain or Obama.  I expect things will be difficult for quite a while (regardless of Obama's win), and I expect to disagree with some Obama policies, but that said, I do feel HOPE, and feel like I owe some of my HOPE to my family...Thank you. 

.....the election is finally OVER, Hurray!

.....wearing flip flops in November (yesterday).  We're getting chilly again.

.....Dallin H. Oaks' talk, "MIRACLES."  I loved the whole talk, but the story of the Manila temple was just what I needed to lift my spirits a few days ago.

.....A while ago I told Wayne that I love the fact that he's an awesome chef, but I don't like the messy aftermath I face in the kitchen. Yesterday he made his amazing chocolate chip cookies (he could sell them) and afterward there wasn't a dirty dish in site. That's progress & it made my day. 

.....an evening at home with my family.  Seriously.  I don't take them for granted anymore.

.....90% off Grace's Halloween costume for next year.  Yesterday I spent $1.50 for a witch dress and hat from Target & Grace loves it:D

.....hitting the bottom as far as time Wesley can stay in Sacrament Mtg. at church.  We truly hit rock BOTTOM today.  I walked in with the kids, and as I sat down Wesley started hollering.  I could tell he wasn't going to let anyone hear the bishop speak, so I stood back up and took him out.  I was grinning from ear to ear thinking, "There's nowhere to go but UP from here!"  For the record, I don't mind taking Wes out at all.  I know this is a stage that won't last much longer, so I'm secretly fine with it.

Gorgeous Giveaway

Although I don't own much jewelry at all, I'm a fan of Angela Henrie's handmade jewelry. She has a "mini" line too for little gals. I know I'm weakening my winning chances here, but Angela has a gorgeous GIVEAWAY going on that is a must see if you've got a little gal you want to spoil. Angela's sister, Amy was in our ward before moving west. She's a scream and I can say from the Angela-made jewelry that Amy and her daughter wore, this jewelry is the best quality I have ever seen. I'm leaving Angela's link on my blogroll in case Wayne or my kids want to pitch in for a Christmas/Mother's Day/Birthday/Valentine's Day gift....and for your future shopping eyes as well.

Wesley gets a taste of leaves

Kids can be challenging to photograph, esp. when they are jumping around in leaves.  It's hard to get focused on the chubby cheeks and the smile capturing the joy of carefree childhood days. So, as I uploaded my photos, I was happy to find this one....Our Mr. Nicely.  I love that he has no interest in the camera; it's play time.  Mr. Nicely- This was Caroline's way of saying "Wesley" when Wesley was first born. It fits, unless of course you've got food that he wants or you're not feeding him fast enough. We must be pretty good at meeting his needs because he's far from starving.

Oh, Mr. Nicely, we love you so!

XO, mom

Halloween Report

If you were at our house for Halloween this year you would have seen this when you walked in the door...

How to make a Halloween Banner: The letters, tutorial, and inspiration came from Cottage Magpie, the black and white paper behind the letters came from Target in the scrapbook isle, and the ribbons either I already had or came from JoAnn's.

~~~~~~~

You would have seen the following invitation to our Halloween Dinner posted on each child's door...

Dinner featured Yellow-eyed Mummies (Ketchup didn't show up on the turkey dogs)

Witches' Fingers (green beans)  "Please pass the witches' fingers." was heard at the dinner table.

 and Last Years' Pumpkins (Pumpernickel bread cut with a pumpkin cookie cutter).

We ate by candlelight.  Our centerpiece was a vanilla candle sitting in black beans in a glass votive. "Nice touch with the black beans, mom!" -Thomas

Wayne joined in the fun and set speakers on our porch playing Halloween music.  He did the trick or treating trek with the kids while I held the fort and Wesley slept.  I'll catch him in his costume today and post a pic.

COSTUMES:  I was THRILLED to have 2 little girls who wanted to be GHOSTS this year!  We had 2 white sheets ready to be ripped at the hem and that was that!  

For Aniken I bought a l/s brown shirt from Old Navy that Thomas could wear to school, black sweats, and spent maybe $3 at JoAnn's for the vest material.  A black belt from my old jacket finished that costume off. 

For Christina's M&M costume I just bought some pink fleece, sewed up the sides, cut holes for the head and arms, and added elastic at the bottom.  I ironed on an M using fusible web and part of the white sheet I had cut up from the 2 ghost costumes.  The Result:  4 decked out Trick or Treaters...

Warning: Too much Halloween trick or treating fun can result in a "Post Halloween Meltdown."  The cure is a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows on top, and snuggling time.

We hope your Halloween was lots of fun too!

As fun as ours was, I have to admit I'm so excited for November to be here.

I've already got the first Thanksgiving decoration I acquired (made in Boston Ward RS in '97) sitting in my kitchen window....