My Mom made me one of these a couple of years back and while opening my boxes the other night.. I noticed it was a little warped from being in my garage… so I decided to make a new one today… It’s really huge.. but once I started I couldn’t stop… maybe next year we will make a couple of small ones and give them away as gifts….
Chloe was a little camera shy.. she wouldn’t give daddy kisses.. but she gives the best kind:)
This year it all started with some cute little goodies… I think my eyes are bigger than actual talent… but they turned out ok…
These are my little Turkey’s that gave me a lot of grief. It took me much effort to find the silly candy corn and then I gave up half way through. They are supposed to have heads and arms and eyes… whatever. They were cute enough…
Next… these are sugar cookies in the shape of corn with Reeses’ pieces and then fruit by the foot as the husks. I think these are what I am going to make again for my young women on Sunday’s lesson.
And Last these are my pilgrim hats with chocolate covered mint cookies and Reese's peanut butter cups and a skittle. We took some of these goodies to Sean and Michelle and their family.
Thanksgiving “To Go”
About 30minutes before dinner was ready, Kiel turned and said to me, “What about bringing dinner to someone?” I didn’t know what he was talking about… He told me that one of the managers at one of his stores was going through a rough time… A recent divorce.. his little girl was spending Thanksgiving with her mom so he signed up to work all day. Kiel asked if we could bring him some food. So quickly we packed up his own Thanksgiving dinner and took it up to him. He was so surprised and appreciative. Another reason why I love Kiel. He is very thoughtful and always looks for ways to serve others. Thank you Kiel for the opportunity to serve.
Our dinner this year.. Instead of a huge Turkey we did little Cornish Game Hens. They turned out really great. The kids gobbled them up like candy. We had a great dinner, Homemade rolls.. that turned out…. uhh…. ok.. but everything else was delicious! Plus Connor and I shared a small glass of eggnog. He called it his “special Milk” It has been a great day. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ladies in my ward have started this tradition of getting together and having a “craft day”. The Amazing Jen Wilson gathers different craft ideas.. gives us all options and prices and we choose what we want to do or just come with crafts they need to finish and we just socialize. Love the ladies in our ward!! So.. with the theme of Thanksgiving I came home with 3 projects..This Thanks Board… I helped everyone who made one cut their letters out with my cricut… (came in handy for these projects..) and I helped cut the vinyl for the Thanks Jars… they turned out really cute..
That day I came home and while Chloe was down for a nap Kiel and I sat on the floor and colored pictures with Connor of things we are thankful for. Silly things like our house, our country, our family, of course Buzz lightyear and McQueen, Phineas and Ferb, and Dinosaurs…etc. etc. etc … It was fun.
This last project is a wreath made with Corn Husks. I went to Michaels and spiced it up with the orange flower. It turned out Pretty cute.
On Wednesday night at Mutual we had a simple dinner for the Young Women and Young Men but as they came down the line to get their food they had to stop at each person and say one thing they were thankful for. So through the line each youth had to say at least 6 things they were thankful for .. then some came back for 2nds, 3rds and even 4ths…. so.. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is my turn to recognize the things that I am most thankful for. Just a couple of things.. I feel so blest that my list could go on and on… but here are a couple…
1. I am so grateful for my little family. I have an amazingly hard working husband, who is my best friend and the most amazing partner I could ask for in this life. He has blessed me with 2 of the most beautiful children. They have enriched my life so much already.
2. Not that I don’t love Connor… he is my best friend but I Love having a little girl. My Chloe is so sassy at times and she has such a little attitude but every morning when I go get her from her crib she just nestles me for a minute. I love the time I have with my little girl.
3. I am so grateful for my ward family. The women in my ward are so amazing and loving. Whenever I feel like Utah, Las Vegas, or Boston are so far away (where my family is) it seems like my ward family hugs me even tighter. The ladies live such faithful and uplifting lives that it has blest mine. I truly feel at home with these loving women.
4. I am grateful to live in Arizona. Even though the summers are a little rough and I do complain about them, I am grateful to assess to anything and everything I need. 2 Christmas’s ago when Connor was having seizures Kiel and I rushed to get into the car and Kiel took off I told him to go to the hospital… Well a mile down the road I frantically said “why are you in the right lane? we are going to Banner Dessert!” He wasn’t sure which hospital we needed to go to… Where we live we have 3 hospitals within a 15 mile radius. It’s nice having everything just a hop, skip and jump away.
I know my list could go on and on but I am grateful for so many things especially now more than ever. My testimony of where our blessings come from has grown increasingly over the past several months. I am grateful for my testimony. The people who help me and have helped me strengthen it will always have a sacred place in my heart.
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Holiday!
Being in the Young Women’s program has already been such a blessing in my life in so many ways…There has been so many opportunities for growth not only from the young women but from the other leaders. One in particular has strengthened my testimony in such a profound way that I will never be the same. One of the leaders has had this amazing struggle and test of faith, but through her trial she has come out so strong and shown such faith and courage. She has blogged about her entire story and the struggle she had faced with her little baby Lilly. From early on in her pregnancy they knew they were facing a baby with very special needs and knew that there wasn’t a very high chance of this baby making it through the pregnancy alive. This is little girl.. not only survived the 9 months of pregnancy but came out prepared to fight for her life. Long story, short she had Turner’s syndrome and had a cyst on her brain. With many ups and downs..she fought for her life for 12 weeks but, then Lilly Grace passed away on Monday night peacefully with her family.
Today Kiel and I attended the funeral for this beautiful little girl. Even though there was so much grief and heartache for this faithful family there was also this overwhelming feeling of peace. As Kim says in her blog… Lilly peacefully returned to Heavenly Father because her mission on this earth was completed.
Over the past month as I’ve gotten to know Kim and her family.. from day one I have been amazed at her strength and hope for her angel baby. She always spoke of her with such love and grace. Watching her look at her Lilly in the casket today I could only think of her strength and how much she was hurting inside. I thought to myself, how would I handle a situation like this? Could I be as faithful and have such courage? I don’t know.
Last Sunday, Kim (the mother) spoke to the young women on gratitude. This women stood in front of us all and spoke of her gratitude for her Lilly. I have learned so much from this woman and her attitude. She is my hero, my beacon of strength right now. It truly is a blessing knowing as members of the church that we can be sealed together as a family and be reunited once again. I can only imagine the joy that Kim will feel when she is able to wrap her loving arms around her Lilly once again.
I am thankful for those people I am surrounded by that are examples to me of true faith and strength. There is so much hardship out there but it’s our attitude that makes all the difference. I really can’t handle people complaining about things that are so insignificant anymore. Their jobs, Their pay, Where They Live, Whatever it may be. We need to show more gratitude for the blessings we’ve received and move forward. We need to lift each other up.
Kim’s Blog and her story are at…. http://lillygracejones.blogspot.com/
Last night was the Young Women in Excellence evening.. It was a beautiful night.. not only because the kids weren’t with me:) but because the young women are so amazing in our ward. Their theme this past year has been Hero’s. They have found hero’s in themselves, others and of course the Savior. Each of them displayed a project that they have been working on for their personal progress. I have to admit that the personal program is way more intense compared to when I was a teenager. One of the girls in our ward with her dad rebuilt an entire engine in a jeep and now it’s her vehicle. Amazing! I don’t even know how to change my oil. Anyways. It was a wonderful night.
With 2 other leaders we all created this board… It is surrounded with things the girls have noticed in each other… There are 7 categories and within those categories the girls have watched each other and recorded whenever someone would display one of those characteristics. It was all anonymous, the girls and their parents surrounded the board all night looking for their name.. It was really sweet to watch each young woman go up and see their name. They couldn’t help but smile. Really cute.
There were 5 long tables full to the brim with each of the girls projects and poster boards. It was beautiful. It was a fantastic night. With only being in the YW’s for only a couple of weeks I can’t take any credit for anything that night… I mean honestly.. I am still trying to remember all their names but I am very grateful and honored to be apart of the program. It has been a blessing in my life already.
On Wednesday afternoon we came home to a yard full of feathers. Not knowing what happened… Petey was our first suspect, but he had been inside all day while we were out. So he’s safe. I guess this poor little pigeon must of ran into our house or got into a brawl with another bird or something? But ever since then we’ve noticed that the pigeon has stuck around. He can’t fly anymore so he’s been laying low in our backyard. Whenever we are outside or Petey is out back the pigeon hurries under our deck. Connor named him Thomas. Thomas the pigeon. We go out and give him bits of bread every day. Hopefully he’ll be able to fly again soon. But until then we’ve enjoyed seeing Thomas out back!
In other news. The other night Kiel ran out to get me some things from Fresh and Easy and he brings back a 4pack of these Root Beers… For some reason though Chloe is obsessed with holding the bottle. She took one swig of one and instantly hated it but she still loves holding the bottle… Weird little girl. But I am glad she’s not a “drinker”.
