Thanksgiving

 Michelle and Brian and family came over the river and through the woods to be with us for Thanksgiving.  We had such a marvelous time.  We made a delicious, traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Gabbi

Michelle made the rolls.  They were delicious and everyone's favorite part.

Stuffing

Yams

Turkey, of course

Potatoes and Gravy

Rot Kohl

Kenny

Jaron (he is starving!)

Grammy

William

Brian

William was so careful with Grandma's china and crystal

Later, we had pie

Over the weekend, Kenny tried every kind of pie.  He didn't like any of them.  He especially disliked the Key Lime pie.  He was so determined to find a kind he liked.

We had fun playing outside and at the park.

Our basketball wouldn't pump up.  So, we got a new one and the kids broke it in.

I love the method Gabbi resorted to to guard her dad.

We have a lot of toys downstairs and the kids had a lot of fun with them, especially Marbleworks.

The Princes brought their bikes and went on several bike rides.

Jaron's tire kept going flat and wouldn't hold air.  Finally, Ken told him to ride home as fast as he could.  I guess he flew like the wind.

We played lots of games.  This was Kenny's favorite.  I can't remember the name of it, but he got a near-perfect 0 score, so we had to take a picture.

My favorite was Ticket to Ride.  I think I won every time.  Pure luck!

The kids had so much fun raiding the costume box and putting on little plays for us.  It reminded me so much of what our kids would do with their cousins at my mom's house.

We read lots of books.

William is learning to read.  He LOVES his daily reading lesson. He loves to sound out the words and his comprehension is amazingly high.  He asks for his lesson every day.

On Friday morning, we visited both of our temples.  First, the Red Cliffs temple under construction.

Then we went downtown to the St. George temple which is being renovated and walked around it.

William learned to skip as we walked.  It was so cute.

The Princes even did some Black Friday shopping.

And finally, finally, after trying every other kind (pecan, blueberry, apple, and key lime,) Kenny found a pie he liked!!  Pumpkin is the winner!

 

It was such a fun weekend!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Edge of Lost

 

The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The theme of this book is, I think, loyalty and integrity. The main protagonist has both, despite what it costs him. He is not perfect, but he is a good person. Because it made me want to be a better person, I give this the highest rating. This author has a gift for an imaginative plot and for characterization. I feel like I know well each of the characters. I will seek out other books by this author.

View all my reviews

Outside Beauty

 

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great book by this amazing author. This one, from the point of view of Shelby, one of four daughters (all by different fathers) of a mother that believes all that is important is outside beauty that attracts men. Despite her upbringing, Shelby learns that inside beauty and commitment to family are of far greater importance.

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Two Lives

 This was a powerful and sobering story. It is kind of a dark tale, but it really makes you think.  It is mostly in subtitles.

Backfire!

 The other day, I was finishing preparing my lunch and Ken was finishing up his exercises, preparing to take a nap.  The doorbell rang.  It was our five-year-old neighbor boy with a bouquet of flowers- flowers he had picked from our yard.  Ken thanked him.  A minute later, the bell rang again.  More flowers.  A minute later, the bell rang again.  This time I answered.  Yep, more flowers.  I thanked him and told him that that is all we needed- that we had a lovely bouquet and didn't need any more.  He said, "No, I am bringing more."  Sure enough, a minute later, the doorbell rang again.  Ken answered.  But this time, there were no flowers.

Just a cute, homemade turkey.

Ken thanked him.  Then Ken told him that he was going to take a nap now.  So the next one that rang our doorbell would have to take a nap with him.   This always works with our grandkids. Unexpectedly, the little guy leaped for joy with his hands up.  "YEA!"  That caught Ken off guard.  "You want to take a nap with me?"  "Yes!!"  What a surprise!

The next day, Ken went outside and the little guy asked him if he could take a nap with him.  Ken quizzed him and he reaffirmed that he loves taking naps.  He has asked when he can take a nap with Ken many times since!  I guess you would call that a backfire!

A Pool in the Neighborhood

 Our neighbors across the street are putting in a pool.  It has been quite the process.  The day the huge truck pulled into our circle with the huge pool on the flatbed was exciting.  They unloaded the pool onto their next door neighbor's front yard.  It sat there for a day.  The next day the huge crane showed up with lots of workers.  

Many neighbors gathered on our front yard to watch the show.  Actually, several more came after we took this picture.

The crane lifted the pool up and over the houses and placed it in the prepared hole in the Adam's backyard.

We then went out onto their deck and watched them place it in the hole.

What a fun afternoon of entertainment for our neighborhood!

Increase Your Capacity to Receive Revelation

 I have been asked by our Relief Society presidency to prepare an article for each month's Relief Society newsletter on spiritual preparedness.   I thought I might just as well publish those articles here as well. They publish on the first day of the month.  This is December's article.

 Because of the words of our prophet, I have been looking for everything I can find on how to better receive personal revelation.  President Nelson said: "In the coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost."

President Nelson gave us the step-by-step formula for receiving personal revelation:  

1. Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph:  Find a quiet place where you can regularly go.  

2. Humble yourself before God. 

3. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. 

4. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

5. Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses- yes, the very longings of your heart. 

6. And then listen! 

7. Write the thoughts that come to your mind. 

8. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take.