November

November 4 - Election Day

I am proud to say I vote!

Today I sent out a thank you card to Elder L. Tom Perry, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was from Kelsey, Audrey and I. A thank-you felt so inadequate in comparison to the day he had given us.

I will never forget that day. I will treasure it as one of the most enlightening and spiritual days of my entire life. I was taught eternal principles by the Holy Ghost from morning 'til evening and days after as I pondered on the things I heard and saw. It was a pearl of price experience filled with truth, visions, and testimony that filled my entire being.

November 6 - Talents

I went to Audrey's today and Ben showed me a talent he had. He can climb the walls in the hallway up very, very high. He did not waste anytime scaling the walls. Spider Man... watch out! 

Emmy had to show me her talent, too. She modeled her diapers for me. She was so proud to show me her favorite styles and colors. She's a mini Audrey! I can see a budding talent in this little one. She'll be sewing cloth diapers just like mommy someday.

November 13 - First snow

I always love the first snow of the year. So pretty!

November 17 - Wood pecker

I've been hearing a wood pecker outside my bedroom window for quite some time now. And every time I try to see exactly where he is at, he flies away. Today when I heard him, I opened up the door to the balcony as quiet as I could possibly be. I finally caught him in the act! But he's a fast one. I was lucky to get this picture.

November 19 - Outdoor play

It didn't take long for the snow to melt. When the kids came up today they took advantage of it. Even though it was quite chilly they went outside and ran down the hill and climbed up the rocks... over and over again. I love watching these energetic munchkins run and play. They have an abundance of energy and happiness. And that makes me happy!

November 20 - Brayden's Chior Concert

Dave got home from Germany on November 11, and today was his first event out. Boy, was Brayden ever happy to see him! He had missed him so very much. They are like two peas in a pod, those two. I couldn't resist editing this picture to reflect just how it is. They both can bounce off the walls like no other! Brayden just had to have us go out to dinner with him afterwards. He chose Chinese. It was a fun evening.

November 22 - Cultivating the orchard

I am so happy to have Dave home. It was nice to see him back out in the orchard on the tractor cultivating and shaping it up. The place is always beautiful with him home. 

Welcome Home Dave!

November 23 - Chicken Cordon Bleu

I'm so out of sync when it comes to fixing meals. Dave has been gone for so long and I got lazy in fixing meals for myself. I have been going to Panda Express, Maddox, Costa Vida, and other good eateries and stretching my meals out for a couple of days. Breakfast is no problem, but dinner... that's a different story. But I'm happy to report that since Dave got home, I've made a conscious effort to cook! Some meals are good, others not so good. Today was good! Chicken Cordon Bleu and Broccoli Cheddar soup. Delicious! 

November 24 - Work

Surprise, surprise! The Department of Agriculture actually put Dave back in Brigham City at the Courthouse in his old office. We're more than happy with that. 

November 25 - Thanksgiving Indians

In between Audrey's doctor appointment and my visiting teaching, we managed to do some fun Thanksgiving activities with the Ben and Emilee. We made turkeys from hand prints and Indian vests and headdresses out of paper sacks and feathers. They had a ball running around the house doing their Indian calls.

Thanksgiving Weekend - with Amie, Riley, Nicole, Morgann, Carson, Tianna, and Tera

November 26 - A treasure hunt

As soon as the kids got here and they brought their bags in, I had them go on a treasure hunt. That has always been one of their favorite things to do. Each clue led them to a place where they found a treat or treasure to put in their paper bags. One treasure was found in the library. A box disguised as book. Inside were bundles of angels for each member of the family. Good deed Angels! Each person was to do a good deed, write a nice note, etc. for each member of the family this weekend and leave an angel. The younger kids were very excited and their Angels could be found in places all over the house.

November 27 - Thanksgiving Day

No pictures today. The day took it's toll on me. By the time I finished preparing and cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I was done! I was in terrible pain everywhere and went to bed at 5 p.m. Pie was out of the question. But dinner was good. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, apples and yams, cooked carrots, cheese stuffed celery, green salad, olives, cranberry sauce and sweet pickles... yummm!

November 28 - Angel hearts

Nicole made these little heart pancakes and left me a note of thanks for making breakfast. So, so sweet!

Photo Shoot

Morgann loves to do hair and photo shoots. So the girls, who wanted to, spent the morning getting ready for a photo shoot. Makaela and Alia came up to spend the day, as well. Morgann has become very creative in her settings and poses. The girls could be seen in the Library, in my sunroom, on the balcony, on the back deck, in front of the photo wall, and by the waterfall. Smiles and serious expressions. Smiles are my favorite! Such cute girls!

Perry Heritage Theater - It's a Wonderful Life!

I took the family to the play, It's a Wonderful Life. There's nothing more entertaining than a live performance. Everyone enjoyed it. Ben got a little sleeping and ended up sitting on my lap most of the night.

November 29 - Christmas balls

The kids put always put their own Christmas balls on the 12' tree in the front entrance. We made the balls the first year we moved into the house. 2010.

Talent Show

After dinner the kids put on a talent show in the theater room. Signs were made for the judges (adults). The kids love showing off their skills, and it is so much fun to watch them. Makeala played the piano and violin. Morgann and Tianna sang. Nicole, Ben, Alia, Emille, Tera, and Tianna danced to music. We were surprised at the enthusiam Emmy put into her performance. After the number, she took a bow. It was the cutest dang thing ever! 

All the kids entertained us with their skits. And Brayden hammed it up with Bat Man quotes. He is so funny! The judges were unanimous their decision. Every one wins!

Sardines

You can't come to grandma's and not play Sardines! This was Shaniel's favorite game to play at our house. There are so many places to hide. Sometimes it can take a very long time to find people. Morgann hid in the least likely place to be discovered... under the kitchen cupboard where I normally keep the trash cans. By the time she was found everyone had all but given up.

November 30 - Basketball

Dave bought a basketball hoop while the kids were up here. Before they left Sunday morning, they had a friendly game of basketball. The kids are growing up. Can't believe it! 

My beautiful Amie. She loves to look pretty and she loves to have pretty things around her. She decorated my 12' tree and house. A lot of work! And, she did a beautiful job of it. I sure was grateful for her this weekend.

Riley will probably not like this if he sees this picture... but I couldn't resist. He and Carson had the chore of cleaning up and vacuuming the theater room. They were doing more than cleaning! I could hear them laughing and having a good time. Riley had a battle with the vacuum! Was he ever surprised at the bruises that surfaced after sucking himself up with the hose.

Tera and oranges... they just go together. She is pretty picky when it comes to eating, but one thing is for certain, she loves oranges! I have a picture of her peeling and eating her own oranges when she was only 18 months old. We were at the Homestead in Midway for Christmas. 

Fresh fruit was always available throughout the weekend. I wanted something healthy for the kids to snack on.

The sign at the Heritage Theater sums up how I feel about my life... It is wonderful! 

Month in Review

Happy Birthday Mother!

Mother would have been 82 this year on November 16th. This is one of the last pictures I took of her, and it is one of my favorite's. Mom was so beautiful. Right up until she passed away. Her mind was as quick as a whip. Her sense of humor was as good as ever. And, she never left her home without her "face" on. Look at her beautiful eyebrows!  

Unknown to us, Kelley and I celebrated our birthdays with mom one last time. We took her out of the Care Center and went for a stroll. We didn't go far... just down the street a half a block, across the road, and to a courtyard on the College campus. 

Kelley was pushing mom in the wheelchair, and as she started to cross the road the wheelchair hit a dip or rock or something that just about sent mom sprawling to the pavement. In spite of the near accident, when we safely arrived at our place of visit, we all had a good laugh! 

We ate Wendy's for lunch. Mom loved those frosties!

I miss my mother. I love her so much. Sometimes I get so caught up in the sorrow of losing Shaniel, that I don't think of mom like I should. But... I can tell you, that I love her with all my heart. She was bigger than life to me. She showed me the way to live and  she showed me the way to die...  with grace and dignity. She was such an example of faith and courage. She endured valiantly to the very end. I can't wait to feel her comforting arms around me once again. I look so forward to seeing her, hugging her, and doing all those mother and daughter things once again. 

Sending birthday wishes to heaven. Happy Birthday Mother dear!