Halloween Tradition

Aubrey's Boba Fett


Gary's Owl (in honor of the Greek goddess Athena)


Maren's awesome Giraffe


AnneMarie loves Sea Turtles

Carson's Ska Pumpkin (it's a style of music, jsyk)

The whole gang

Thankful Thursday 8

(Due to computer problems this is actually posting on Friday. I don't think it's fair to have computer problems AND car problems at the same time!! But this isn't a whining post, so I'll save that story for another day.)



Wow! Yesterday was such a big day at our house. It's a good thing for Aubrey to have a missionary call, so that's my Number 1 on today's thankful list. Number 2 is technology. That gave us the ability to let a bunch of people know about #1 within minutes. Number 3 is my camera. That gives us the ability to relive the memory through pictures for years and years to come. Number 4 is Carson who has been so good at doing what I ask him to--even if the attention isn't really on him right now. Number 5 is Gary who is a great dad to his kids. Number 6 is Maren who so sweetly cares for each of us in our family. And Number 7 is for two kids who did such an awesome job on their grades for term 1--they both got straight A's. Awesome!!

Drumroll Please...

Aubrey has been called to serve in the Germany Berlin Mission!!

I'm so happy for so many reasons--the main one being that he has a desire and is worthy to serve the Lord by doing missionary service for 2 years. I'm also happy because I know that he really, really wanted to go to Germany--and now he will. I am glad that he goes to the MTC on January 6, 2010--because he won't have any time to waste between the end of the semester and leaving 3 weeks later! OK, that's a real Mom reason to be happy, but I still am. He put his availability date as January 1, but was thinking he wouldn't actually leave until February or March, but I guess the Lord has other plans for him!

It's been pretty exciting to see his reaction and to hear him on the phone with relatives and friends sharing his news.

I'm a proud mom today.

It's In the Mail

What is in the mail you ask? Why, it's Aubrey's mission call. Thanks to our good (and patient) bishop who checked Saturday afternoon, we know that the call letter has been sent.

Gary and I were at the BYU-TCU football game standing in line at the Cougar Grill waiting for our cheeseburgers to come up. Gary realized he had a new message--"call letter has been sent." I was super excited and started yelling "woo-hoo" and other similar kinds of things. A few minutes went by and as we were sitting on a bench eating those cheeseburgers, I started to get teary-eyed. I was crying at the football game! (not because of the outcome--that was still to-be-determined) Gary said, "well, that's one thing for your Thankful Thursday list this week!"

I imagine the next several months to be more of the emotional pendulum as I see him open his call, go to the temple for the first time, leave for the MTC, and all the things that will happen after that.

Life is good this week.

Thankful Thursday 7

I only have time for a quick list of 5, but I am determined to not miss a Thursday, so here they are:

• Beautiful mountains, canyons, and surrounding areas
• Beautiful weather to enjoy those beauties of nature
• Tender mercies in the midst of trial
• My daughter
• Humor

Happy Birthday Maren!

(OK, this time I'm only about 24 hours late)

You are now "officially" a teenager--WOW! I hope all your dreams and wishes can come true.

I'm so happy to have you in our family--you bring music and sunshine and happiness and songs and hugs (and so much more) to our home. I remember how happy I was when the doctor told us you were a girl. It's been fun to have someone to do girl things with--let's keep doing them! Be patient with me as I learn how to parent a teenage girl--I've never done this one before. My only experience is being a teenage girl. Hopefully we'll both learn and grow (and stay friends!) through these next several years.

I love you my sweet girl!

Halloween Silliness

Silly video to help you get the in Halloween mood...
(Thanks to Laura R. for the great idea and link)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Thankful Thursday 6

It's been another intense week--hard to believe so much can change in the blink of an eye. Today I have many things I am thankful for, here are 5 of them:

• God's Plan of Happiness that allows us to be together again after this life with those we care about
• Living in a wonderfully caring and supportive city
• Only having to pay $300 to get my car fixed (again) instead of $2000 (but that is another story for another day)
• Missionaries
• My oldest son, who is about to embark on a life changing experience
  

John 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man [or a woman] lay down his life for his friends [or her students].

In the Blink of an Eye

What can I even say? My heart is hurting tonight for the tragedy that happened to the American Fork Marching Band on their way home from a competition in Pocatello, Idaho. One of the buses rolled over and a teacher died. The students appear to all be ok, physically. Although I don't have a child in the band anymore, we have lots of friends and neighbors who have kids in the band and I still feel like it's a part of my life.

Such mixed emotion--sadness at the loss, grateful it wasn't worse, concern for the kids' emotional well-being, heartache for the teacher's family, amazement at her attempt to save the students--all rolled up together in my head and heart.

One of my son's friends who was in band with him said on his Facebook site that lots of people will be singing The Friends Song tonight (the band's unofficial song "A Friend's a Friend Forever", by Michael W. Smith). Some of the lyrics:

But we'll keep you close as always

It won't even seem you've gone

'Cause our hearts in big and small ways

Will keep the love that keeps us strong.

And friends are friends forever

If the Lord's the Lord of them

And a friend will not say never

'Cause the welcome will not end

Though it's hard to let you go

In the Father's hands we know

That a lifetime's not too long

To live as friends

Miracles Still Happen

Our extended family has truly experienced a miracle recently.

Several weeks ago we found out that our 16-year-old nephew was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He'd started having vision problems while on a trip to the Grand Canyon with his family (thank goodness he didn't fall anywhere), but then he was also SUPER tired or when awake, hyperactive. He went to the doctor who ran several tests, but didn't find anything. While waiting for the results of the blood tests (over a holiday weekend, of course), his vision got worse, he began to have problems walking, and his speech was slurred. A neighbor who is a medical professional suggested to his parents that he get an MRI. When the doctor heard of the new symptoms, he scheduled one for the very next morning. The results showed a brain tumor 2 cm x 12 cm near his brain stem. The doctors placed a shunt in his brain to drain the excess fluid that was causing so much pressure. Over the next few days, our nephew was in the neuro ICU with lots of tubes, tests, and medicine. He improved quite a bit just from the fluid being drained and was able to go home after a permanent shunt was put in. The doctors were 80% sure that he has germinoma, a fast growing cancer that responds well to treatment. They were hoping to get some DNA from the fluid to avoid a biopsy surgery and make a sure diagnosis, but that didn't happen. So a week ago he went back into the hospital for a biopsy. The night before he went into the hospital I was priviledged to be in their home for some priesthood blessings. My sister-in-law had her brother give her a blessing and Gary gave his brother a blessing. Then my brother-in-law gave my nephew a wonderful blessing--it gave me goosebumps and made me cry.

What happened next is the miracle. When the surgeon went in he found that there was hardly enough tumor tissue left to biopsy. He called it a miraculous response to the steroid treatment.

But we know that it was a miraculous response to the faith, prayers, temple rolls, and fasting of hundreds of people on behalf of this 16-year-old boy--some of whom have never even met him.

Our nephew will still have to have radiation and has to recover from all that has happened to his body, but because of the tender mercies of our Lord and a wonderful miracle we know that he will be able to do all the things that have been promised to him.

Thankful Thursday 5

5 of the things I am thankful for on this Thankful Thursday:

• Fall colors
• Friends (I know this one has been on nearly every list, but they keep giving me reasons to be thankful for them!)
• Job security
• Missionaries
• New clothes (and the means to buy them)
  

Thankful Thursday 4

It's been a week of ups and downs on a lot of fronts--some major, some minor. But in the midst of it all, there's still a lot to be thankful for--and that's why I am writing these lists each week. Just a little reminder to myself.

This week on Thankful Thursday a few things I am thankful for:

• scholarships
• facebook
• choir concerts
• naps
• miracles