A Journey of Thanksgiving

I love this time of year! I love the smell of Fall in the air - even though it didn't last too long around here and winter is already upon us - I love the colors, the chill, and most importantly the feel of the Holiday Season! I love that we start off the Holidays with a gathering of family and friends to remind us of all that we have and are grateful for! This hasn't been an easy year for many, and although it's been quite a crazy one for us as well, we can't doubt that even with the many challenges we've had to bear, we have also been truly blessed and really do have an abundance to be thankful for! This year has taught me many things, but one theme that seems to have appeared quite often is the lesson that many of the blessings we receive come through sacrifice. I've thought a lot about this in my moments of "why me" weakness when all I wanted was for things to go exactly according to my plans, and for the most part, they never did. But, then, in my stronger moments, I realize that it is the struggle and bitterness of those sacrifices that make the blessings truly sweet. Yes, how fabulous would it be if we got all we wanted and life always went according to plan, but, honestly, what kind of people would we be? Thanksgiving would have no meaning, and because we knew no struggle, the blessing would be meaningless. So, yes, I am thankful for my struggles, I am thankful for my moments of doubt, weakness, and sadness. Those many moments have molded my life and have provided the way to so many amazing gifts and cherished memories that are precious to me.
This year we were able to have all of Mike's family over for Thanksgiving. It was a true blessing to have us all together since the opportunity doesn't come very often. My sweet friend Shannon came over and took pictures of the family, which I know will be a treasure for all of us, as health issues could possibly prevent many more family gatherings in the future. As I sat around our Thanksgiving table looking at our family, and listening to all the cousins laughing and enjoying spending time together, I was so overcome with gratitude for these wonderful people in my life, who have always been there to guide, comfort, and support us. Having the love of a family is another of life's greatest blessings. I am so lucky, and truly blessed to have a life full of love. No matter the pain that comes, and it always does, knowing you are loved brings great strength and comfort during those times of weakness.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and had the chance to reflect on the amazing blessings this life has brought you. I hope that attitude of gratitude carries you through this wonderful season and brings you peace and comfort through your times of doubt. There is so much to be grateful for, the pain, the joy, the bitter and the sweet.
Enjoy the journey!

Free at last!

Well, today was the day... after 5 weeks Gavin finally got his cast off! I'm not sure who was more excited, me, Gavin, or Kaden. They couldn't wait to see the "chainsaw" (as they kept telling everyone) that was going to cut the cast off. They both thought it was pretty cool, and it even tickled, but they were a little disappointed when the cast came off and they couldn't see Gavin's bone underneath. (I'm not sure they quite understood the whole process.) Gav is still babying his arm a little, and I think he is still a bit nervous about using his arm again, but I'm sure the novelty of the freedom will wear off soon and he will be back to his crazy tricks before too long. As for me, I'm completely content to be rid of his stinky cast, and will gladly trade it for a couple more weeks with a little brace. He was a super sport, and I guess having a broken limb is all part of the deal and a right of passage of sorts, but I am definitely in no hurry for the next one. Yes, I did say next one, with 4 boys unfortunately it's inevitable!

Free at last!

A Gift of Hope

I was looking at my sister's blog the other day and felt that I needed to echo her sentiments. She posted about a family in her area who had lost a daughter in an accident and had decided to donate her organs. (www.texaspetersons.blogspot.com) This family's story reminded me so much of what our family went through over 10 years ago when my own sister passed away. As a family, we made the decision to donate my sister's organs. In so doing, we have personally seen the life-saving effects of that decision, and have since become strong advocates of organ donation. That one decision we made so many years ago, has had many far reaching affects, not only for those who received my sister's organs, but also for my little family as well. Through Mike's job he has had the opportunity to become very involved in the process of, and education for, organ donation to both hospital staff and patients. He is the co-chair of a committee which involves establishing the process of organ donation within the Centura Health System of Colorado hospitals. Yesterday, he had the opportunity to be one of the presenters at a state-wide medical conference for hospital professionals where he discussed a standardized method to identify and treat a patient with brain injuries, in order to maximize the opportunity of organ or tissue donation after brain death. He has a deep passion for organ donation and is using his influence and personal experience to touch so many and ignite that same passion within them as well. I am so proud of the work he is doing, and know that it is truly important. He saves lives every day at the hospital, but through his work with organ donation he continues to affect individuals and families who are beyond his reach.
I am a true believer in organ donation. It is the gift of life and a gift of hope for so many who's lives literally depend on this one simple choice. How often do we say "life is precious"? Until you have lost someone you deeply love, you don't realize just how precious this life can be. The gift of life is not something to be taken for granted, and is definitely something we can all share. You never know, someday, someone just might have to share this incredible gift with you, or someone you love.

Kate Merlene Bills 1979-1999
Her death gave hope and life to 4 others:

A kidney and her liver to a young girl about her same age
Her pancreas to a male farmer
A kidney to a 30 year old woman
And a heart valve to a young child

You know things aren't going well when...

To just put it out there, Saturday was definitely not one of my better parenting days! Mike was working an extra shift and I was home with the kids, all of them, all day, by myself. Things seemed to be going well when I let them play in their new sandbox all morning. Yes, I had to break up the occasional fight, someone got put in time out for throwing sand, and of course there was some tattling involved, but we got through it. I was even trying to be nice and told them that instead of naps after lunch they could have quiet time while the babies napped - read a book, play quietly, color - whatever, just do it quietly. Well, the babies were having a hard time going down, so they were crying on and off. The kids were playing well with the Lincoln Logs until someone bugged someone else, or took someones block, or something else drastic occurred that required the all dreaded, "I'm telling!" By this point I was pretty tired of it all, tired of the fighting, the tattling, the whining, you name it, and once I heard Kaden come to me and say "Mom..." that was just about it. I told him to stop right there. If he was going to tattle that would be it and everyone would be in their rooms. Well, he decided to tattle anyway, so he and Sam, the two major culprits, got sent to their rooms. (Gav was being pretty good and keeping to himself so I let him keep playing.) Of course this was followed by the stomping, the huge stink eye looks, the hunched shoulders, and the infamous "You're mean!" For some reason, I've been hearing that a lot lately. Well, I went up to talk to them for a bit, and after I finished with Kaden, I walked over to Sam's room, and found this on the floor in front of her closed door:In case you can't decrypt her writing, it says:

Do Not Enter
even parents, including Mom and Dad.
For Real.
Because if you do you will be sent out.
Enter if you dare, because I won't come out for the rest of my life!

Just in case you were wondering, no the babies never did end up taking a nap, the kids never did play quietly, and Sam did eventually come out of her room. I guess the rest of her life was a bit too long to be cooped up in her room. Sad thing is, I'm pretty sure I was this dramatic when I was little.
Later, while I was talking to the kids about why they were in trouble and how they needed to help mommy out by listening and doing what they are asked to do, Sam of course pipes in and says, "Well, you are too hard on us!" Which the boys both chime in and immediately nod in agreement. Then later she tells me, "I wish I was Jordan." (her cousin) I asked her, "Why?" and jokingly said, "So Kari (my sister) could be your mom? To which she replied, "Yes." Well, thanks, thanks a lot kid! Of course she said that wasn't really the reason, and she was just kidding, but she never could give me another reason, so I'm just going to have to go with that one.

So, in short, you know things aren't going too well when your kids think you are mean, think you are too hard on them, and they want their aunt to be their mom instead of you! Like I said, not one of my best days.

Halloween Happenings

Its seems like the older the kids get, the longer Halloween seems to last! It lasted about 3 days around here - about a month if you include every day the kids ran around the house in a different costume! With how much the kids love dressing up, it's pretty much Halloween every day at our house, all we really need Halloween for is to get all the extra candy!
On Friday the kids had their school parties. It was pretty crazy running between 2 different schools trying to catch all the action, and of course, by the end of Sami's party my camera battery died, so I ran home to grab the other camera for the boys party, and when I got there, that battery was dead too. So, unfortunately I don't have footage of the boys party, but the boys had a good time playing games, eating tons of treats, and their cute teachers were all dressed up as crayons. Kaden even almost won musical chairs - Gav chose to be the gentleman and let the other kids have the seats - really I think he just wanted the play dough they were handing out when you got out. Sami's party was really cute with fun crafts and healthy treats, and Sam was super excited to see that her teacher was a witch - that way she could be here black cat!
That night our ward had the trunk-or-treat and chili cook off. The kids always love this activity! There is always so many fun games for the kids to play, prizes for them to win, and of course, lots of candy! After we ate dinner Sam was off with her friend and I didn't see her again until it was time to trick-or-treat, but the boys hung out with me while we hit all the games!
Saturday we finally had some time to start carving our pumpkins!
It's so funny to watch the kids get grossed out by cleaning out their "pumpkin brains". That night we had our annual Halloween party and buffet! The kids look forward to this every year and it's so fun to see a tradition that I grew
up with, be so fun and important to my kids. We like to have Mike's family over and since they like to trick-or-treat in their own neighborhood, we always do it before Halloween so we still get to see them. Then on Halloween we have the leftovers to enjoy before trick-or-treating!
Since our neighborhood isn't finished and there aren't too many houses around, we decided to take the kids to our old neighborhood to trick-or-treat so they could say hello to all their friends and our old neighbors. We didn't stay out too long, but they each still made quite a haul! A few years ago, we started having the kids separate part of their candy for the soldiers serving over in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since then, it has become a habit for them to come home and divide out their candy for the soldiers. It was so great to see them walk in the door, and sit down and on their own make two piles, one for them, and one for the soldiers. All on their own, Sami and the boys gave up half of their candy. I was so proud of them! They did it without complaining, and I was so happy to see how unselfish they were being with their candy. I'm so glad we started that tradition, and it's one I think I will keep around for a long while. Who we give it to might change, but I love the principle it's teaching them. Now I just need to get this big bag of "soldier candy" off before I eat it all! :)

Happy Halloween my little Monsters!
Stylish Black Cat

2 Little Ninjas!

Tiger Carts

Dragon Tay