My Cup Runneth Over

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!

I can't believe that it's here, (I'm still wondering where the last three months went) but I LOVE this time of year!!

I need to still make three dozen rolls this morning, but I need to take a minute to express my gratitude for my blessings. I believe that my gratitude increases when I outwardly express it. Since starting this blog, I love updating my gratitude list each week because it helps me to really reflect on my life and all of the good in it.

So, on this Day of Thanks, here are some of the things I am thankful for:

• My wonderful family. What would I do without you? You are ALWAYS there for me and love me unconditionally. What a strength and support you are in my life!

• My Heavenly Father. He never gives up on me, just keeps helping me through life. He gave me wonderful parents and has guided me to where I am today.

• His son, Jesus Christ. He has given me SO much! Through Him, I am able to take my concerns, doubts, and fears to my Heavenly Father, and He then quiets those fears. He has literally healed my broken heart and broken body so many times. I am forever grateful...

• My freedom. I am so grateful for the privilege of living in this free land. To benefit from the loyalty, dedication, and sacrifice of countless heroes who have gone before to protect that freedom. It is humbling to think about them and how they have blessed the lives of me and so many others.

• My hubby. I included him in the first one, but he needs a separate shout-out. He is my best friend. I would not be the person I am today without him. Every day he makes me want to be a better person. He is such an example of unconditional love and he treats me like a queen. I can't express how much he means to me and I get tingles when I think about spending forever with him. He has taught me more about love than anyone else.

• My healthy body. Some would argue with me about that one, but I am so grateful for a working body. One that heals itself relatively easily and allows me to do the things that I need to do. I am also grateful for the times that my body has struggled to get better...it has taught me to rely on God and others more.

• Motherhood. I have three wonderful moms to look up to. They are wonderful people and have taught me more about my sacred calling to raise my beautiful children. Being a mother is the hardest and greatest thing I have ever, or will ever do and I can't express enough how grateful I am for the privilege.

• My desire to learn. I have always loved to learn, and am so grateful for the opportunity I have to finish my schooling. I'm grateful for a mind that can understand and gain knowledge.

• The comforts of home. How blessed I am to live in a nice house with warm rooms, warm water, working appliances, comfortable beds, food to eat, and even little things like toothbrushes and blow dryers.

• Good food. I have to put this one in here, because I love food so much! Life would definitely being far less wonderful without yummy stuff to stuff my face with.

• Friends. You are my lifeline! I have so many wonderful friends who love and support me through life. You call me out of the blue and cheer me up. You tell me that you pray for me when things are tough. We go to lunch and laugh our heads off. I know I can always count on you! Thank you for your friendship!

• Music. I love listening to music and singing it. I love how music makes me feel. What a blessing it is in my life.

These are just a few things on my gratitude list. A drop in the bucket, if you will. We all have so much to be thankful for!! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday! Now, let the feasting begin!!!

So...I Guess He's Not A Tree Hugger?

I gave Ethan a great big hug today and then...

Ethan--"I don't like hugs, they make me too hot!"

Mom--"I'm sad that you don't like hugs."

Ethan--"yeah, and I don't like trees either."

Make a Joyful Noise

My great friend Stephanie gave me a vinyl wall quote several years ago. It says “Make A Joyful Noise” and it is on my wall right above my piano. I have loved that quote ever since I can remember. To me, it means to fill your life with joyful music…all kinds of music, anything that brings joy. I have always LOVED to sing, in fact, I don’t remember I time when I didn’t sing. From love ballads to Christmas carols to rock songs to Broadway musicals, you name it, I sing it and love it.

I believe that music is a big part of who we are, whether you are “musical” or not. Certain songs bring out distinct memories and fill you with emotions. I love how a song can take you right back a moment, flooding you with memories…

My friend, Nan recently posted on her blog all of the songs that have had a big impact on her life. I loved reading it and wanted try the experiment myself. It was so fun thinking about all of the music that I’ve enjoyed throughout my life and that has perhaps even influenced me in some way. The list I have compiled is diverse, unique, and all mine. This is the “playlist” of my memories:

TRACK 1 – Elvira by The Oakridge Boys

OK, you are probably thinking to yourself, “what is up with THAT song as her first pick?!!?!” Well, this song is my first musical memory. My mom, Nancy was big into country music when I was little. Alabama, Dolly Parton, and Willie Nelson were always playing in her car. Our favorite was Elvira and the three of us would sing it at the top of our lungs. My favorite part was the “Giddy Up Oom Poppa Omm Poppa Mow Mow” part (I mean, who DOESN’T have that as their favorite part?). When Denise and I would go over to our friend Shannon’s house, we would put that tape on and blare it loudly in her basement….good times.

TRACK 2 – I’ve Been Working On the Railroad by Unknown

Wow, you are probably thinking so far this playlist is a dud, right? Well, work with me and hear me out. This is a song that I used to sing with Denise CONSTANTLY. I think it was this song where we first learned to harmonize. I had figured out at this point that I absolutely loved singing any time, any where, and any song. Denise and I haven’t stopped singing together since.

TRACK 3 – The Christmas Waltz by The Carpenters

Now, the memories start flooding back. Growing up, I loved Christmas time at my house. My mom always made everything look so beautiful, especially the living room where the Christmas tree was set up. Normally, we weren’t allowed to play in the living room. In fact, unless we had a good reason, we weren’t even supposed to be in the living room at all. But during the month of December, things changed a little bit. I remember sometimes after dinner, when all was quiet, I would turn out all of the lights except the tree lights, and put on the Carpenter’s Christmas record in the record player. Each song is a wonderful memory, but my favorite was “The Christmas Waltz”. I would sing and dance around the living room for what seemed like hours. How I love that memory of Christmas and music.

TRACK 4 – America by Neil Diamond

I could have picked dozen of songs by Neil…I love them all. But I chose this one because it brings back so many memories of my Dad. He is a huge Neil fan and that definitely rubbed off on me. When I was little, I would go into his workroom downstairs and watch him work on various projects. He had hundreds and hundreds of records, and he always had one playing. We would listen to Neil Diamond and talk about what he was doing or what was going on in my life. He never seemed preoccupied with what he was doing or got impatient with me. This is when I learned that he would always be there for me…I have never forgotten that. I love you so much, Dad!

TRACK 5 – Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton

Another weird song, I know, but my memory is so funny about this one. While growing up, my grandpa lived in Manilla, just south of Flaming Gorge. On the weekends I spent with my mom, we would often drive up there and visit him. It was a three hour drive from where we lived. That’s a long drive when you are little. We would pass the time by eating Chocolate Licorice (YUM!) and singing. I loved this song back then and sang it very loudly. My mom suddenly started CRACKING UP at my singing! How rude! It turns out that I may have been a little mixed up on the lyrics. The line that goes “Just call me angel of the morning ANGEL/just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby” I kinda sorta thought it said “Just BRUSH MY TEETH before you leave me, baby”. I was little, OK? Give a little girl a break! We had a great laugh about it, and still giggle when it is brought up to this day…great memory!

TRACK 6 – Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

Well, I started to grow up at this point, and in high school, I discovered Journey. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love them, so this wasn’t a hard choice. I remember a trip up to Bear Lake for Spring Break one year, listening to Journey in my friend Mike’s car the entire way. This song still ties me to that trip and those wonderful high school friends.

TRACK 7 – Fields Of Gold by Sting

I will always tie this song to my first love. It was the summer of ’93 (summer loves are so great, aren’t they?) and he was leaving for a mission in September, so we spent every spare moment we had together. This song had just been released and it was on the radio a lot. I loved the part where he kisses her and I would always think of him during the song. After the summer was over, we parted ways, but this song will always make me think of that fun summer with him.

TRACK 8 – Rodeo by Garth Brooks

Speaking of that fun summer, my boyfriend was a huge Garth Brooks fan. We ALWAYS listened to country music when we were together. I was never really into country (growing up with Elvira doesn’t count!) so his excitement was hard to get used to. But, after listening to it all summer, I learned to love Garth, Reba, and others. This is not my favorite Garth song, but I chose it because it totally reminds me of him. It’s so twangy and upbeat. He would sing this song while we were driving SO loud. It was so fun to watch him and join it. Fun memory!

TRACK 9 – Oh l’Amore --by Erasure

I moved away to college in Logan and lived in the “Morm Dorms”. Great experience!!! I loved being on my own and made so many great friends. Our building had four apartments on each level—two guy apartments and two girl apartments. Our doors all connected to a common area which we would hang out in and we always left our doors open during the day, so everyone visited everyone else. It was like I had 23 other roomies!! My mom gave a hammock for Christmas that year and I hung it in the open area to an exposed pipe in the ceiling. We had a great time just chillin’ in that hammock (until I was asked to take it down). I grew especially close to one of my roommates. She was a kindred spirit, and I learned a lot from her. She loved Erasure and would play their music a lot. I had heard their stuff, but not enough to love it. We changed the words of this song to fit a girl’s perspective, memorized the words, and sang it together a lot. Whenever we were having “boy trouble” we would sing this song. My freshmen year was definitely better because I knew her.

TRACK 10 – Somebody by Depeche Mode

Well, now Ryan steps into the picture. We listened to and sang this song on our date to Homecoming at USU. It was one of those things that I will never forget. I had never really paid much attention to this song before then, but I knew it well enough to hum along to on the radio. Ryan taught me the words to the song and it was stuck in my head the rest of the night. I don’t know if the song had anything to do with it, or not, but my feelings started to change for him from that date on. My favorite part? “But when I’m asleep, I want somebody who will put their arms around and kiss me tenderly" (sigh)

TRACK 11 – California Dreamin’ by The Mamas & The Papas

Ryan and I then began wedded bliss. We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon, but decided to fly out of LA. So we leisurely drove down to California, stopped for a day in Vegas, and had a great time. I think it was on this very first road trip where we sang this song together. We have been singing it on every road trip since. We each take a part, Ryan is first and I’m the echo. I love the way this song makes me reminds me of the great times we have together. It sounds so cheesy, but it’s true. I will always cherish this song and can’t wait for the next road trip when we sing it again.

TRACK 12 – Bushel and a Peck by Frank Loesser

Then came the baby in the baby carriage. I have always loved musicals, and Guys and Dolls is one of my favorites. I sang this song to my kids when they were little. They would all laugh at the “oodle” part. The best part is when Ryan sings the “oodle” echo part really high. It is the cutest thing. This songs brings back so many memories of my babies. Such wonderful times! I don’t sing this to them much anymore…I don’t really know why. I should start up again, especially when they are frustrating me…maybe that would lighten things back up again!

TRACK 13 – More Holiness Give Me performed by Kenneth Cope

I have to put a church song in because I have always loved the hymns. Last year, the Bishop asked me to pick my favorite hymn and talk about it in church. Pick a favorite hymn? How do you do that? It's like picking a favorite kid---it can't be done. But I had to choose and so I picked "More Holiness Give Me" and Kenneth Cope's version is by far my favorite. I love it because it gives me the hope that if I try a little every day, I will someday become more like my Savior. I'm so glad that He never gives up on me!

Track 14 -- Little Wonders by Rob Thomas

I don't have any particular reason to include this song other than the fact that I love it. It's message is wonderful. I think it's about when it's all said and done, it's the little things that matter, the little moments in time that mean so much. And when we think things aren't going our way, we need to look at things with a different perspective. "Our lives are made in these small hours/These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate/Time falls away but these small hours still remain"

So, there's my playlist. Interesting compilation, but each has so much meaning for me. Music is such a big part of life. I would love to know what songs have made an impression on you and what memories they invoke. And while you're at it, don't forget to make a joyful noise today!

It's "PUNKIN" Time!!

It's that time of year when all things are spooky, orange, and full of sugar. We enjoy this time of year and have a lot of traditions, but this time, it was a little crazier. Our kids are getting bigger and that makes some things a lot harder. I hope we can hold onto these traditions as long as possible. What a fun time of year!!

First tradition is the "PUNKINS"! We have been growing our own pumpkins for four or five years now. Usually, we get quite a few and they are HUGE. It is so fun to watch them get bigger and bigger over the summer. Unfortunately, this year the earwigs got to them, and only two little pumpkins made it...TWO! How disappointing! Oh well, change of plans....we took a trip to the pumpkin patch and let the kids pick out their own pumpkin. (sorry for the low picture quality, my camera is being weird and I still can't find my computer cord for it, so most of these pix are from my phone.)

We had a lot of fun picking out our pumpkins, although they were pretty heavy. I think we purchased over 200 pounds of pumpkins that night!

Second tradition is Frightmares! at Lagoon. We love going to Lagoon this time of year...less crowds and nice weather. We didn't take full advantage of our season passes this year because of my surgery, so we were glad for a chance to go. We went with our friends, the Andreasons. We love them a ton and we all had a great time (we even watched a hypnotist show!)

We also have fun playing with the kids and their friends. This includes class Halloween parties at school. I dropped the ball this year for the first time and didn't go into help, but they had fun with their classes. I did, however, have a playgroup Halloween party for Ethan and his friends. I took all of them to the pumpkin patch and let them pick out their own (little) pumpkin, and then we brought them home to paint...yep, paint. We don't carve pumpkins at our house, it's too messy and the pumpkins don't last very long, so we paint them instead. The boys had a ball.

And here they are in their costumes before their preschool Halloween party. Aren't they cute (especially the cowboy on the end)?

Next tradition was to paint our family pumpkins. We always do this for Family Home Evening the first part of October. Again, this year was crazier than usual due to the fact that Lauren has two ballet practices on Monday night. So she and Dad didn't get to paint theirs and Braiden just ran out of time to finish his. But for those of us who did paint, we had a great time! Ethan was so funny, he painted himself as a skeleton on his pumpkin. Katie painted "Trick or Treat! But I prefer the treats!" on her pumpkin!

Now it's onto the Halloween party. Our ward puts on a HUGE Halloween Bash every year, complete with food, face painting, game booths, homemade Rootbeer, and lots of candy. It is so fun and our neighbors really go all out on their costumes. Ryan and I are not big into dressing up for the holiday, but this year we decided to go for it. Ryan was Napoleon Dynamite and I was Deb. We both looked pretty funny, but I didn't get any pictures!! Again, not to sound like a broken record, but this year was crazy...I had to be somewhere else the night of the party, so I was only there for a few minutes and Ryan was running the Rootbeer station all night, so I didn't get to document the event. But believe me when I say, we looked great. I managed to get my hair in a side ponytail and wore ridiculous white pants, a horrible pink shirt, and a fanny pack. Ryan was "incredible" in his hair, glasses, T-shirt, and boots! Maybe I will make him put the hair and glasses on and snap a quick picture here soon so you can get a taste for it...it was hilarious! Lauren and her friends did get their pictures taken at the party...so cute!

Now it's time for the main event. The big night of begging for free food door to door. Good times! I cooked a bunch of soups and had Denise, the Groves, and the Mays over for dinner. The girls left early to go Trick or Treating with their friends, so we didn't get a group Halloween picture, but here are all the kids in their costumes.

Ethan

The Cowboy

Katie

The Cute Witch

Braiden

BumbleBee from Transformers

Lauren

Hermione from Harry Potter

All in all, we had a great Halloween, just busier and crazier than usual. Everyone seems to be going a hundred different directions and it takes a lot more effort to keep up with traditions. I guess that's just happens when we get older. But it's well worth the effort to keep trying.

One last note, I couldn't leave this one out. After Halloween, Ryan left his Napoleon wig in the car and Ethan snatched it up and started singing a funny song. I guess we all know what he will be next year.

Happy Halloween!