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| Papa and Mama on Thanksgiving Day 2013 Photo taken by Rachel Montgomery |
Fri 11/1/13: Today I am grateful for the brief, sweet moments I get to spend alone with my husband. It was nice sneaking off to our room tonight while the kids were occupied with their own entertainment. My husband makes me very happy.
Sat 11/2/13: Today I am grateful for unplanned visits with family and friends. Brad and I went on a date to Carl's Jr. for lunch and ended up visiting with Brad's dad and the Polaks, who just happened to arrive there about two minutes after we ordered our food. It was fun eating lunch with them and talking to them. We also bumped into the Brusiks while we were shopping at Sam's Club.
Sun 11/3/13: Today I am grateful for nice friends on Facebook that let me borrow DVDs so I can share some of my favorite '80s movies to the kids. It was fun introducing the movie The Labyrinth to Scott, Emma, and Lizzy this afternoon. Now I have all of David Bowie's songs in my head. "You remind me of the babe..."
Mon 11/4/13: Today I am grateful for snow. It was nice watching Lizzy and David play in the snow in their new coats. It kept them busy out of the house for at least half an hour, which was I was very grateful for. David loves eating the snow, and Lizzy loves making footprints in the snow. She calls them "foot-trams."
Tue 11/5/13: Today I am grateful for our routine of going to the library every week. I like that we are consistent about going, and that we get to check-out some amazing movies and books in the process. Brad and I are on the fourth season of Alias, now. We started watching it tonight.
Wed 11/6/13: Today I am grateful for the little extra money I earn every week, babysitting Valeen. In addition to the extra cash, Lizzy loves having a playmate every week. It was fun watching them run around the house with David today.
Thu 11/7/13: Today I am grateful for my developing cooking skills, and that my husband and kids love the food I make. I made Parmesan chicken tonight-- a spur-of-the-moment decision, which turned out lovely, considering it was last minute. I love cooking for my family!
Fri 11/8/13: Today I am grateful for my older children, Scott and Emma, who helped me babysit David this afternoon when I went to Walmart and Sam's Club with Lizzy. It's nice having them around every other Friday. I love them.
Sat 11/9/13: Today I am grateful for grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque. It's everybody's favorite in our family. It's nice having Scott and Emma two Saturdays in a row, too, and having lunch with them.
Sun 11/10/13: Today I am grateful for Emma-hugs. I was feeling pretty low tonight, with a lot of stress on my mind, then I noticed that Emma was struggling with her homework for the Health Fair. I forgot about my sorrows for a moment and began focusing on her. She and I tackled her homework head-on, and ended up making a fantastic-looking brochure for the fair. She was so grateful for my help that she gave me a big, long hug and kiss, and expressed how thankful she was for me helping her. That hug meant so much to me. It made all my problems (and hormonal emotions) go away, and in return made me feel loved, useful, and appreciated. I love my Emma-girl so much. I am immensely grateful to have her in my life.
Mon 11/11/13: Today I am grateful for Monday night Family Home Evenings with Scott and Emma. We have only been able to have two so far this school year, and they have been a special treat both times. Tonight we did our annual "I Am Thankful" artwork and watched Studio C together as a family. It was so much fun!
Tue 11/12/13: Today I am grateful for all the little joys and blessing that come from being a mother. I love watching my children grow and learn new skills. Today David said, "I love you," for the first time to me. It was so precious!
Wed 11/13/13: Today I am grateful for a kind and loving husband, who is willing to sacrifice for me, even when I ask him to do things he does not want to do. My parents told me about a week ago that they were planning on selling their house in California and moving to Utah. I, of course, want to go to California to say goodbye to the house and help my parents sort through things and get rid of things. Brad has been very supportive, even though I know he does not want us to go to California again this year, due to finances and the time he would spend away from work. I am grateful that he has agreed for us to go. Today, I was excited to talk to my mom more about her moving up here to Utah. I found an apartment building not to far from here that has an indoor pool. She liked hearing that.
Thu 11/14/13: Today I am grateful for all the people who have been purchasing and enjoying my minion hats. I mailed off 5 to a friend in California today. Fun!
Fri 11/15/13: Today I am grateful for Jane Austen. I loved watching "Pride and Prejudice" with Brad tonight. I'm glad he's a Jane Austen fan, too.
Sat 11/16/13: Today I am grateful for our home teacher, Brother Hyde. He suggested we watch a movie together with our families at the dollar theater in Sugarhouse. Lizzy loved seeing Valeen and watching "Despicable Me 2" sitting next to her. We wore our hats to the theater, which a lot of people liked. I had two people ask me where I got the hats from. I told them I made them and they wanted my contact information. So fun!
Sun 11/17/13: Today I am grateful for music. Scott and Emma sang with the YM and YW in Sacrament meeting, and they did such an amazing job. They sang the Janice Kapp melody of "As Sisters in Zion/To Bring the World His Truth," which is one of my favorite musical arrangements. The spirit was so strong that it made all the people around me cry, including myself. By coincidence, my lesson in my Sunbeam class was all about music today. I loved talking about the power of music with my Sunbeams and why we sing in church.
Mon 11/18/13: Today I am grateful for DVD sales at Target. We found the perfect birthday present for Emma (Young Justice League DVD, Seasons 1-3), as well as a fun movie for Lizzy and David to watch on our road trip coming up (Megamind). We got them both for excellent prices.
Tue 11/19/13: Today I am grateful for our cute pets, Sushi (cat) and Haru (rat). They make my kids so happy, which makes me happy.
Wed 11/20/13: Today I am grateful for my beautiful stepdaughter, Emma. She turned 13 years old today. I am grateful for her sweetness and her humor; her honesty and her love. We celebrated her birthday today with a big dinner of some of her favorite things: loaded mashed potatoes with bacon, sauteed mushrooms, corn, and pumpkin pie for dessert. I love you, Emma! You're wonderful!
Thu 11/21/13: Today I am grateful for Lizzy's preschool. She has been having so much fun going to school twice a week every week. This morning we stopped at the store to grab some goldfish crackers for Lizzy's Thanksgiving "feast" at her preschool. She had so much fun!
Fri 11/22/13: Today I am grateful for the lasting friendships my children have with their cousins and friends from their old ward. Tonight was Emma's birthday party. We invited Emma's friend, Makenna, and Emma's cousins, Kaylie, Rachel, and Jessica to spend the night. We had homemade chili and salsa for dinner (one of Emma's favorite). I decorated her cake to look like the Nightwing symbol, which she loved. I could tell all of the girls had a great time together, giggling, singing, and talking late at night.
Sat 11/23/13: Today I am grateful for little blessings and big blessings that occur in my life, sometimes without me knowing it. I know my Heavenly Father blesses and watches over my family. Tonight David had an accident at church that could have been a lot worse than it was. I am grateful for the network of family and friends that Brad and I have, and the love they share for us. It was nice seeing the Hill family at their annual pie night tonight.
Sun 11/24/13: Today I am grateful for my Sunbeam class. I love the fun moments I get to share with them every Sunday, and for their sweet spirits and enthusiasms for life. They are such a cute and entertaining bunch of kids. Today I made them Sacrament paper wheels, to help them remember about Jesus Christ during the Sacrament. They loved that.
Mon 11/25/13: Today I am grateful for easy-going kids. We spent all day in the van driving to California, and Lizzy and David did so well! They were happy and content watching their movies on the portable DVD players, and eating snacks and looking out the window. It turned out to be a very good trip.
Tue 11/26/13: Today I am grateful for spending time with my family in California. Rachel, Brad, and I watched "Catching Fire" at the theater late in the morning, and Rachel and her family came over for dinner in the evening. Baby Claire is such a doll, and Lizzy and David loved playing with Eric. Mom fried up some pupusas for dinner. It was so yummy! It's a Spanish dish from El Salvador, consisting of soft corn tortillas, beans, cheese, and meat.
Wed 11/27/13: Today I am grateful for spending the morning at Cherry Park with my kids. It was sweet seeing them play in the same park I spent so much of childhood playing at. Full of memories. It made my heart happy.
Thu 11/28/13: Today I am grateful for the rare opportunity I had of spending Thanksgiving with all of my Southern California family. We haven't done that in 8 years. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Heather Montgomery's house, outside on the backyard patio (love the California weather!). I made Loralee's made-from-scratch Green Bean Casserole, and Mom made the turkey and candied yams. Lizzy and David loved playing with their cousin, Eric, on the swing set. I enjoyed pushing Eric on the swing and bonding with him. He's such a cutie! I also loved holding Baby Claire and spending time with her. I love how pretty and chubby she is. Such a darling!
Fri 11/29/13: Today I am grateful for silly moments I get to spend with my sisters. Rachel and I had a few hysterical laughing moments when we were cleaning up my parents garage. I haven't laughed that hard in such a long time! Both of us had tears in our eyes. When Susie heard what was making us laugh so hard, she started laughing, too, which of course made Rachel and I laugh even more. All of our husbands didn't quite get what was so funny. Maybe it was just a Whitcomb-sister thing. The subject of the humor: family heirlooms and teeth.
Sat 11/30/13: Today I am grateful for my childhood home, and all of the wonderful memories I have gathered throughout the years living there. I'm still in denial about it being sold. A part of me hasn't accepted the fact that it was my last visit, and that my parents will no longer be living there. Seems very strange to me. I hated leaving it behind today, but I was also looking forward to returning to my home in Utah, too. I love owning my home.
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