So grateful....

....for a big brother who is willing and excited to host our crew, and several of my siblings and their families for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to a fun gathering. Uncle Jim said to wear orange because it's hunting season. Aunt Sherry is going to do a tutorial for making grandma's rolls. I'm excited to unload some fun gifts for my adorable pint-size nieces & nephews {my camera is MIA, so pictures will come later}.

I'm thankful to be a part of a large family; we are all quirky and LOVE each other deeply. I'm thankful for my mom and dad who were committed through thick and thin. I'm thankful that I got to see their love overcome and endure. I am thankful for a stepmom who has become a dear friend. When I came home from my mission and faced life at home without my mom, I found myself one Saturday morning holding back tears at the temple as I watched bride after bride with their mothers by their side. I asked my Heavenly Father right there in a temple hallway who would be there for me. Immediately my stepmom's name came to my mind. She was not dating my dad or in our family's life at all at that point and I really didn't want to think about that kind of change in my family, so I went on with my day and life. When my dad shared that he was falling in love with Ilene, I knew, and needed to know because it was so hard moving forward without my mom. That experience in the temple spared me from ill feelings; a truly tender mercy. After some bumps and challenges in the road, I am thankful for the friend I have in my stepmom. She has called me out of the blue at just the right moment. She has cheered me on. She has loved my dad and brought him happiness he didn't have after my mom's death. Ilene has given a lot of herself and I'm sure has sacrificed more for our family than I know. I'm thankful for her.

I'm thankful for Wayne and that we are no longer newlyweds! I love each passing year with Wayne. It just keeps getting better, and our marriage centered in our faith is everything to me. Each of our children are my crown jewels. When I reflect on my family I feel content and at peace, and excited for choices and experiences yet to come. I'm thankful for the family I inherited when I married Wayne. We have some wonderful memories together that I hold dear. Grace just brought home a paper about herself and she inserted her cousin, Mattie into her list of our immediate family....she "just felt like it."

This year has been rich in friendship for me. I am most thankful for friends who have helped me be a better person and supported me in my dreams and different roles I've chosen. I feel richly blessed with truly the best kind of friends, the edifying kind.

Reflecting on this year....I had friends pass over the fact that they couldn't see my dining room table because it was covered in mass projects, but rather commented on my "happy home", friends who dropped everything to help me in a bind, friends who were kind at a time when they didn't realize just how much I needed a simple act of kindness, friends who let me serve them & appreciated my humble offering, friends who love(d) my family & played vital roles in my children's lives, friends who have shared their talents and wisdom, friends who have been honestly encouraging as I try to progress in my own life, and the kind of friends who feel like family.

I have come to know this to be true...."Gratitude...turns what we have into enough and more." {-Melodie Beattie} I feel indebted to the Giver of all that is good in my life, my Savior. Thanksgiving really is a perfect preface to Christmas.

Best wishes for a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm off to wash more clothes, pack & clean....SO excited for the rest of the week.

With love,

Rebecca

Thankful for the blessings of Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." --Melody Beattie

Mr. Romance

Friday night my sweetheart and I were at Target on the ultimate romantic date. After wrapping a soft, pretty grey scarf around my neck, I turned to Wayne and asked, "What do you think? Is grey my color?" Without missing a beat {& with a smile because he KNEW he'd come up with something spectacular}, Wayne said, "Babe, every color is your color."

Objectivity can be overrated.

I'm thankful for my Mr. Romance.

Sisterhood

Last night we had a preparedness Relief Society meeting and assembled about 120 72 hour food kits in just over an hour. We took a moment to snap a group picture before our dear friend, Connie moves on to Michigan, and every time I look at this shot, I'll feel the sisterhood of Relief Society. What a wonderful group of women! I feel so blessed to know each of them, and those who couldn't be there as well. After serving and love, love, loving primary for 10+ years, I never thought I'd get so attached to Relief Society....it's all about sisterhood.

{Me and my RS sisters}

Another gem from my mom....

"No beautifully sewn dress or perfect loaf of homemade bread is worth a confrontation that robs us of our compassion and our sisterhood.

...there are many things over which we can be divided, but one thing is needful for our unity--the empathy and compassion of the living Son of God. Conversely, our unity brings us closer to truly following our Savior."

I {heart} Relief Society.

So thankful for a wise mother

My dad recently sent a few Relief Society lessons my mom taught back in the early 80's. Without disregarding big and important {to me} things on my plate, perspective is EVERYTHING. This message from my mom was just what I needed to hear this week.

"I believe we can find our steady footing and stilling of the soul by turning away from physical preoccupations, superwoman accomplishments, and endless popularity activities, and returning instead to the wholeness of our soul, that unity in our very being that balances the demanding and inevitable diversity of life."- mom (Chris Ellsworth)

Thanks, mom! I miss you.

Veteran's Day

Kids are home from school today & we've got lots of work to do, but through it all, we remember the reason we're home. We're thankful for our veterans, those in our family and those who are not, for the sacrifice they've made for freedom, and for the hope we all have for peace.

I {heart} a good book

Grace didn't even bother to take off her backpack before laying down in the leaf pile and finishing her latest book, Karen's New Teacher. Grace liked how the substitute went from not-so-nice to friendly...all because of Backwards Day.

I just started reading Beauty, by Robin Mckinley. I'm enjoying it so far. Also on my nightstand...

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson

Home, by Marilynne Robinson

Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick

The Annotated Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen

Until We Reach Home, by Lynn Austin

Readings for Meditation and Reflection, by C.S. Lewis....a few Karen Hesse books & a couple Richard Peck books

It's definitely harder to find time to read these days, but I do love a good book!

Happy reading,

Spontaneous Delight

You can't pause life...

...but you can climb a tree to take a little time to let your mind wander and wonder about things like

• how cool it is to be high up in a tree
• stick fighting
• the huge sky that goes on and on
• how life really is good

I love my tree climbing childhood memories & am so glad my kids will have their very own!

Speech Delay

Sometimes I feel like I live in a bird sanctuary with all of the chatter that goes on in our house. With so many voices constantly "sharing", using multiple pitches, and often bursting into song, it's hard to believe that one of us isn't talking quite up to speed. Wesley about 6 months or so behind in speech development. Not a huge concern, but we're thankful for Early Intervention....for Jeanine, Ruth, and Sheila who so kindly and skillfully played with and assessed Wesley. Ruth was so much fun. She was supposed to give Wesley a new, unique command, so she told him to "put the cup on the cow" (they were using small toys). Wesley looked at her like "You're nuts, why would I want to do that?" and matter of factly said, "No." After she was done, Ruth came over to talk with us about her observations. A few minutes later, Wesley came up to her and said, "Hey, c'mon!" and he led her off to explore and play. She did a great job. They all got a kick out of Wesley's facial expressions; one of his endearing qualities. You can tell that he's processing feelings and thoughts in that sweet head of his, but forming sentences to tell us all about them is another story. We'll get there. Bring on the chatter!

Just for me

I'm not a seamstress, but I can sew a straight line....lots of them when needed. After eyeing Amy Butler's Mid Mod quilt for quite some time (the pattern is on her website under "free pattern downloads."), I purchased the fabric and started sewing....lots of straight lines. When I got my quilt back from the long arm quilter, Christina admired it and asked, "Who's this for?" "Me!" I answered, anxious to bind it and put it to use. Christina's reply was a very sincere, "That's awesome."

I've made lots of quilts, mostly crib size, but it's nice to have one of my quilts to snuggle up in while I get lost in my current read, or in the quaint town of Cranford. Of coarse I'm happy to share my quilt for bird watching & swordfights in the front yard.

I'm thankful for my very own quilt. I'm thankful to pass on to Christina something that is easy to lose sight of once you take on the role of "mother"--- nurture yourself regularly. Trust me, it's good medicine for mundane housekeeping, whining, & potty training.

Blessed

So, we're kneeling down for prayers this morning and Wesley looks at me and says, "Mom." I reply, "What, Wesley?" He sat there for a moment, clearly without a planned follow-up to calling my name. Then he looks at me and blows me a kiss. Melt my heart! I'm pretty sure that's the first time Wesley blew me a kiss first. Blessed is how I'm feeling right now & I honestly think that kiss will keep my heart happy and content for a very long time....even through a full day of housework & laundry.

Do you feel blessed today? Go to the very talented, Angela Henrie's blog...she's got another giveaway going on.... a "blessed" charm on a very pretty necklace!

PS. Laura, I'm counting this for my thankful post! I'm sooooo thankful for a sweet kiss from Wesley to get me through a day. :)

Simply Halloween

Friday night we had our ward Trunk or Treat....delicious hot cider & yummy donuts, and round and round trunk or treating.

We reused costumes from last year and the dress-up basket....Thomas was Anikan Skywalker again, Grace was a witch (the stick broom was Wayne's handiwork), Caroline was Cinderella, and Wesley was himself....Wesonator. He really doesn't like wearing his cape (thus the capeless photo below taken at the last stop of the night, our house). This little guy came to us with a "no fuss" attitude. This is usually great, unless I want him to sport the cape I made for him, or get a haircut....both situations seem to annoy Little Handsome. Christina didn't dress up this year, but was happy to help Wesley collect and eat Halloween candy.

We dumped the kids' candy from Trunk or Treating into a bowl and that's what we offered Trick or Treaters on Halloween night. 4 bags worth of candy in the house is beyond PLENTY!

Before the kids headed out, we had a simply spooky Halloween dinner with the missionaries:

Witches' Brew {a triple batch}

Graveyard Salad {garlic bread tombstones on leafy cemetery grounds}

Candy Corn Dessert {layered lemon and orange jello with whipped cream on top}

Wesley offered a "Dank you" after each trick or treating stop, and the kids all agreed that the best stop was Garrett's house where they got HUGE candy bars!

We hope you had a Happy Halloween!