Two Red Lines

In the last couple of posts I have mentioned naps and resting and being tired. It's true. I've been a total bum lately. I, the punctual one, actually find it hard to get Braden to school on time lately. And my house is disgusting. But I'm not stressing about it. There is a very very good reason I feel nauseated 90% of my waking moments. I'm pregnant! Yes, it's true. This has been a long time in coming. We didn't come to this decision easily, but now that we have, Spencer and I are both so excited. I haven't been to the doctor yet, but I think I'm somewhere around 6 or 8 weeks along. The estimated time of birth is sometime in July of 2011. For the record, my favorite foods are currently Malt-o-Meal, potato soup, mashed potatoes, and Taco Bell bean burritos minus the red sauce. Besides the exhaustion, craving Taco Bell was one of my first symptoms. I'm really grateful that we get to add to our family in this way. I'm looking forward to seeing Jade be a big sister. It will be a change that will possibly affect her the most of all of us. She is very excited about having a baby. She started talking to my stomach moments after we told her and Braden. Then she giggled and said, "It will probably be able to hear me later" after I told her it was the size of a pea right now. Braden is also so excited. I'm really glad with how they've responded and hope that they will still feel this way when the baby comes and my attention is stretched a little more. I'm sure this blog will take a turn toward all things baby in the coming months. It's still surreal to me that I'm going have a baby. It's amazing the future that suddenly comes to view just by seeing two red lines.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was wonderful. We started out the morning with the traditional football game at the Spencer's relatives land. The kids and I met up with Spencer after it had already started because I've been really tired lately and find it hard to get places by 7am.  I got to take pictures while the kids got to run around and gather gigantic fallen leaves from trees that must be at least 20 years old. I didn't really get any good pictures this year, but I did get some funny ones which I will share below.
After football we got to go home and relax. We watched Macy's Day Parade a little, made some jam, and just generally lounged around. It was nice to rest. Then we headed to my parents home to eat dinner. It was delicious! My dad read a really cool story about a Thanksgiving long ago in the life of a man named Gordon Green. It reminded me again of all that we have that we can choose to be grateful for even in times of hardship. We went to my folks property in South Gilbert to hit a couple baseballs with Braden and Jade after dinner. Then we headed to Spencer's aunt and uncles home to enjoy time with his family. There we had pie and played an awesome Jeopardy game which was put together by Brandon and Michael. This was the second time that they've done this and they always turn out so well! It was tons of fun to mingle with cousins. In all it was a great Thanksgiving.

Jacob plays football with crazy eyes.

Brian plays football with a joyful smile. "I love to tackle!"

Daniel fighting for one more yard

Michael went blind halfway through the game. Spencer started dancing.

Spencer's intense face. (Click to enlarge)

Michael later developed a cool force field that threw people out of the way.

Good

This week was my birthday! I'm now 28 :) My special day was really fun. I first enjoyed the company of my mom and sister who came over and hung out and had delicious food with me. Then Kara took me shopping and bought me a gift. The idea was that since I had picked it out, I wouldn't return it. Um, yeah, apparently I have an issue with that. After Spencer came home from work, we both took a short nap and then we and the kids met up with several friends and family members at Cafe Rio for dinner. Yum. Ever since Brooke introduced me to that place I have wanted to eat it.  It was really nice to see so many awesome people there. After that we came home and my older brother came by to wish me a happy birthday and deliver a gift. It was great to see him. The evening ended with Cameron and Kara coming over to hang out. We watched Planet Earth and had a good time chatting. I really enjoyed my birthday and thank everyone who made it so special. For the record, I have been feeling older lately. I basically want to sleep every day. And also for the record, I did well with not eating sweets on my birthday despite the obvious temptation to do so. But, alas, my visiting teacher brought over freshly baked cinnamon rolls today... sigh. They are so good.

Grateful For All That We Have

Why is November flying away so fast? It needs to sit and stay awhile. I changed my music on here and then never posted anything, but this really is my favorite time of year. I was thinking about poor poor Thanksgiving the other day. It is absolutely one of my very favorite holidays and yet it is often tossed aside because it is not commercial enough. I mean don't get me wrong, the grocery stores jump on it like a coyote on a turkey leg, but that also doesn't stop them from decking their halls with boughs of holly in the meantime. I recently had an "ah ha" moment about how important Thanksgiving is in relation to Christmas. What would happen if every family in America really celebrated Thanksgiving by giving thanks? Not just a short little glazed over ceremony of naming something obvious to be grateful for... like food whilst sitting in front of a gigantic feast, but parents and children really pondering the multitude of blessings in life. What if families had deep conversations of experiences that have made each person feel gratitude and then practiced acting on that gratitude? What if the marketing bombardment held off a little while on telling us what we want to give us the time to observe all that we have? Can you imagine how different Christmas would be if Thanksgiving was really central the month before? I can.  I can imagine how the attitude of "I want..." might change. I can imagine that the feelings of gratitude felt for the gift of our Saviour would multiply. We might not buy as many presents.  We may not get as many presents, but what we would gain would be of far greater value. As I have contemplated on this, I have felt the desire to make Thanksgiving an important time in my family. I found an old proverb that says, "The greater wealth is contentment with a little." I believe that is true. The pursuit of more with never satiate if we refuse to see and be grateful for all that we have.