Sad

It makes me sad to think that Graham does not remember Grandpa. It makes me sad that Olivia never gets to spend time with him. It makes me sad that the only things that Nate remembers about Grandpa was that he was "really old" and that the last time that he saw him (the day that he passed away) he was coughing a lot because he was really sick. It makes me sad because my dad was a really neat person, who loved his grandchildren so much, and it's hard for them to understand that. It's moments like these that the knowledge of eternal families gives me hope. One day, we get to see him again, and they will finally understand all of the things that I want for them to know about this great man.

Unblogged

A few random photos from the past few weeks. The cats are so cute together. I'll be super sad if we have to get rid of Hurley because he won't stop peeing all over my house!

Nate put this together all by himself. It's the black angry bird as Thor.

There are no words.

Thanksgiving

This year we had Thanksgiving with my mother. Matt and Melissa went to Melissa's sister's house, so it was just the 6 of us. After we got there I was working on the rolls, and Jesse and the rest were working to take the leaves out to the garden.

The boys loved the chance to ride on the tractor.

The boys were ready to eat long before we were ready to start!

Olivia was given free reign. Kind of messy when mashed potatoes and jello are involved! (But it may be easier to just eat with her foot!)

It was a delicious dinner, and we enjoyed ourselves. After dinner we worked to set up mom's new previously loved Christmas tree. It's the first time she's ever not done a real one, but that was just getting difficult for her to do. Not that this is any easier, and we couldn't get it all the way lit up, so we'll see.

On Friday we spent the afternoon with the Markhams. It was a fun little afternoon. We waited to do our shopping until Saturday. Missed the crowds, but still got some good deals!

I'm so glad to have so many things to be thankful for in my life. From my family, to my friends, testimony, and all of the temporal things that we are blessed with. I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Scowls

This is a face that I get often from this little girl. She can scowl with the best of them! So I scowl right back at her and it is replaced with this face:

She sure is a cutie!

Life is turning around for us here. No more stomach bug. We had a great Thanksgiving, and we're moving into the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Big week ahead of us- Temple day, Christmas tree shopping, and Graham's birthday all sprinkled together!

One week

I won't go into details about the past week. You'll be thanking me. I also won't include any pictures. For that, you'll really thank me. Suffice it to say, we've been sick for the past week. Nate came home from school on Wednesday at lunch time. It was his third time in the past year and a half to throw up at school. None of those times was he at an appropriate place. It's a good thing we're moving schools. As it is, people will start to wonder in 4th or 5th grade what happened to that kid who used to puke all of the time in Kindergarten and first grade.
It has hit Nate, Graham and me. Olivia has mercifully missed this round so far. SO FAR.... it's not over yet.
On top of just being sick, we have had a leaking bathtub, and today the washer broke. Of all times for the washer to break- now is the worst! I'm thankful that I currently am borrowing my mom's carpet cleaner, and that it has not broken from over-use. I am so ready for this nightmare to be over!!!

Liv

Olivia is my late talker. She is 17 months now and it's only been within the past few weeks that she has started talking. And by started talking, I mean, she voluntarily names things. She has repeated sounds off and on for a while, but really not in a communicative way. But all of the sudden she comes up to me and says Ma ma. but the cutest thing that she says is uh oh. She says it all of the time, when something falls, or someone gets hurt, or anything like that. It's super cute, and it makes me excited for her to continue to learn new words.

October Snow

It's not often that we get snow in October here in Maryland, but this year we did! They were calling for 8-10 inches, although we hardly got more than a dusting. Olivia was very excited about the whole experience. I guess she doesn't really remember snow from last year. Not a sight you often see: green leaves on the trees and snow. Only part of the yard got snow because the other part was shaded by the tree!

Happy Halloween

The day of Halloween I was not feeling well at all. I started to get sick on Saturday night, and it has just been not fun since then! So Jesse took the boys trick or treating with their friend Kenny, his sister, and another friend from the ward. I guess Nate and Graham got tired of things long before the older kids got tired of it, but all in all they were troopers. Since I was not feeling well, I stayed home to hand out candy. We only had about 15 people come in total. Not a big trick or treating neighborhood. Olivia stayed home with me, and had fun watching from the door for the kids to come.