We had our good friends over for Thanksgiving. We pretty much consider them our "cohort" during this pandemic; we're in this together. They're pretty much family, so a pandemic isn't going to keep us from sharing a meal. Also, I didn't have to do mashed potatoes or turkey - it's nice to share the cooking! The food was great, and we had fun. We even played hide and seek in the dark later. It's been a LONG time since I've played hide and seek.
I did have to make cherry pie a couple days later. I had ordered the cans of tart cherries and realized the night before Thanksgiving that they hadn't arrived yet. They were supposed to get here about a week prior to Thanksgiving, but for some reason hadn't shipped.
I did gratitude posts on FaceBook the whole month of November. It was interesting because just prior to Thanksgiving, President Nelson asked us to participate in 7 days of sharing thankful posts on social media. No problem; I wasn't already doing it. It was nice to have my FB feed filled with gratitude posts and pictures of family and pleasant things. It was a nice break from all the political posts. I think I'll copy mine here, so I can put them in our yearly book. It was good for me to think about the daily things I was thankful for. I tried to pick something actually from that day and not just a general gratitude post, so there are many things that I didn't express gratitude for (like my parents or temples).
November 1,
2020
It’s gratitude month, although we should be more mindful all
year about remembering our blessings and the source. This year in particular
has been challenging, but I have also noticed many blessings with our unique
circumstances. I think we often don’t recognize or see the hand of God in our
lives. Even during these times of trial, pain, sadness, and suffering, God is
aware of us and blessing us. We just need to turn to God, remember Him, and
acknowledge His hand as the source of all blessings. I came across a quote that
I shared in a post on November 1, 2009:
“We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in
peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and have vainly imagined
in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by
some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success,
we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and
preserving Grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”
- Abraham Lincoln
We need prayer more than ever, and we need to turn to God!
Today, I was grateful to be able to go to church, to take the
sacrament, and listen to testimonies of God’s love for us and all the blessings
He gives us (the blessings far outweighing the hard times). Others talked about
being able to do hard things, taking care of our mental and spiritual health,
and choosing to see the good during these times.
November 2,
2020
I’m grateful for the right to vote! I’m also grateful for those
who worked so long and hard for women’s right to vote. Today in homeschool, our
history lesson happened to be on women’s suffrage. The suffrage movement in the
US started in 1848, and it took about 70 years for women to gain the right to
vote! The 19th amendment to the Constitution was ratified 100 years ago, on
August 18, 1920. The process required 36 states to ratify, and Tennessee was
that state. It was narrowly approved with 50 of 99 members of the Tennessee
House of Representatives voting yes. One vote! (And that vote at the
encouragement of a mother.)
https://www.history.com/news/the-mother-who-saved-suffrage-passing-the-19th-amendment
November 3,
2020
I’m grateful for spiritual strength, to know
that no matter the results of the election, we’re doing our part to stay strong
mentally and spiritually. I snapped a photo of Savannah this morning as she was
doing her scripture study. That’s been a consistent thing we’ve been doing
before school every day. I love seeing my kids doing their gospel learning.
We’re going to be okay over here, no matter what happens with our country.
November 4,
2020
Today, I am grateful for bacon. 😞
November 5, 2020
I’m grateful that I can
still get out and go for a 4 mile run. Jogging is a good outlet for me.
November 6, 2020
I’m grateful to get out and enjoy some laughs
and inspiration from an event with surfer and writer Shaun Tomson. Weston and
several other boys shared one of their own “I Will” statements and their
decorated silhouettes. Their silhouettes had things they like and their “I
Will” statements. Weston put pictures of pigs on his, so that’s why he says his
was really cute! His “I Will” statement was “I will be nice to my siblings.”
They all shared some great commitments.
November 7, 2020
I’m grateful for college football!
Go Cowboys!!
November 8, 2020
I'm grateful to go to church today, to enjoy the peace and
spirit there, away from the cares of the world. I love watching my boys
participate in the sacrament - Nathan blessed it and Owen passed the sacrament
today. One of the talks was about having to do hard things while growing up on
a farm. He talked about hauling boiling water out to the frozen troughs early
in the morning and spending hours working in the garden. When he questioned the
point of harvesting the vegetables and if it was worth it, his dad told him he
wasn't just growing vegetables, but growing boys. He learned a lot about
working hard and doing hard things. His stories made me think about one of my
experiences growing up. One hard thing for me, which is very minor compared to
the experiences that the speaker shared, was having to feed a ram that I was
scared of. My brother and I were in charge of feeding the animals. If we were
holding a bucket of food, the ram (who we named "Big Fat") would
knock us over (is that why they call them rams?) We did adapt and learn how to
handle feeding time. Usually the animals were out in the pasture, so we had a
short time to get the feed in the trough before the ram and all the sheep got
there. Sometimes we climbed over the fence (that separated our yard and the
animals) to try to be sneaky about it. The gate scraped against a rock when
opening it, so the animals would come running when they heard that sound. We
could usually get out of there in time, but I remember a few times when I just
threw the bucket of food and ran to avoid getting hit. Anyway, looking back,
that wasn't a very hard thing, but at the time, feeding a big ram charging at
me was not a chore that I looked forward to. But I adapted and did things that
scared me or were hard. That's what life is about; we can't avoid the hard
things, but we adapt and work through it and build character in the process.
I made this collage a while back of our animals. If you look
closely, you can spot "Big Fat".
November 9, 2020
I’m grateful for family night lessons. Tonight we talked about
one of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon: the Jaredites and the brother
of Jared faithfully praying for a miracle. (It’s fun that we have 3 brothers of
Jared in our home too!
). Anyway, the Jaredites needed light for their barges as they
prepared to cross the ocean. They couldn’t have candles or windows in their
air-tight barges, that would be tossed about the sea. The brother of Jared
first prayed to the Lord, asking what he should do. The answer was in the form
of a question from the Lord, “What would you have me do?” The Lord didn’t
immediately solve the problem. The brother of Jared had to come up with a
solution and then present it to the Lord. He found clear stones, and then with
such great faith, he prayed that the Lord would touch the stones with His
finger and light them. He prayed for a miracle, and the Lord answered according
to His will - God wanted them to have light for their journey.
I thought about how we pray for miracles sometimes, whether it
be for a sick child, for a job, for an end to a pandemic, for the sale of our
home, for a rebellious loved one, to get married, to have a baby, to remove a
disability, or numerous other things that might be miracles in our lives.
Sometimes we get immediate assistance, sometimes the Lord wants us to wait or
come up with a solution (if there is one), and sometimes we don’t get the
miracle. We may think we simply didn’t have enough faith or pray hard enough,
when in reality, it’s not God’s will. I feel like I’ve talked a lot about
prayer recently, maybe because a lot of people are praying right now. Your
prayers will be answered, but it has to be the Lord’s will and in His time, and
it might not be answered the way you want. I think in times that we’re not
getting the answer we want and having a hard time, we have to rely on the
Lord’s light inside our own “vessels” to move us forward in our journey. You’re
going to be tossed to and fro along the way, but not without the light of
Christ within you, if you accept it. Keep praying for the miracles, but also
pray to have that light of God always with you. I feel like the world is
getting increasingly darker, so you’re going to need that light, not only for
you, but to shine for others around you too.
November 10, 2020
I’m grateful for a zoom meeting with ladies
from church, followed by my favorite TV shows, The Voice and This is Us. Plus,
Owen made brownies.
Pretty good night.
November 11, 2020
I’m grateful for all those who have served our country and
fought for our freedoms. Happy Veteran’s Day!
“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human
nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.”
– Alexander Hamilton
“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears
his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in
the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”
– Abraham Lincoln
“The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom,
courage.”
– Thucydides
November 12, 2020
I’m grateful for a long conversation with my sister. My family
doesn’t do phone calls very often, so it’s pretty meaningful when it does
happen.
I’m also grateful for beautiful weather. I took my phone with me
this morning on my run so I could capture the beauty of the scenery. It was 52
out this morning; great running weather. It’s just starting to get cooler, and
we haven’t turned our heater on yet (despite it being 61 in our house this
morning).
Pretty good for November.
We often see these beautiful herons while running. We saw one
catch a gopher the other day - that was fascinating. We need to get one to take
care of the gophers in our yard. The dog tries, and she is successful
sometimes, but she makes massive holes in the yard to get them.
November 13, 2020
I'm grateful for a washer and dryer. I can get many loads of
laundry done. When we lived in Australia for a little while (and part of the
time in England as well), we had to hang our clothes out to dry. It took quite
a bit of time, and since then, I've appreciated much more having a dryer.
Hanging clothes (and stuffed animals) out to dry in Australia
November 14, 2020
I'm grateful that my nephew chose to be baptized,
and I got to watch it today via FaceBook!
November 15, 2020
Today my heart was filled with peace and gratitude. I was
touched by the talks shared at church, particularly about the goodness of God
and His tender mercies. One of the speakers shared a story about a man who
needed a heart transplant. A match came forward, which of course was at the
loss of another life. It turns out that life happened to be his grandson, who
had been hit by a train. It was hard for him to accept the heart transplant,
but it appeared to be God’s will. Sometimes we don’t understand God’s purposes,
but His love is always there and without end. We are His children, and He knows
us and blesses us in so many ways.
The music at church also hit the spot. We couldn’t sing; we
listened to the piano, but I knew the words to the song, and it turns out you
can’t keep your soul from singing. I couldn’t even make it through the closing
prayer without crying, and unfortunately it was ME saying the prayer. My
gratitude literally spilled out of my eyes.
After church, I helped Weston and Savannah put together their
speaking and singing parts for the virtual primary program. I loved singing
with Savannah and listening to her angelic voice singing about walking with
Jesus. She also had her baptism interview today, and she’s ready to be baptized
soon.
In the afternoon, I spent some time working on some memories I
could share (for a memory book) about a friend who passed away a while ago. It
was fun to think about her and the influence she had on my life back in high
school. She was a great example, and shared her testimony of the gospel often,
through her words and her beautiful singing voice.
In the evening, we had some good friends stop by - we always
have a good time hanging out with them. They’re such a great family and a
blessing in my life.
November 16, 2020
I’m grateful for the little moments when I see the kids doing
something nice for each other. Weston gave his hat to Savannah this morning
when she was complaining about the sun being in her eyes (while we were
running). It was cute to see Savannah is his hat and his shaggy mop hair
shining in the sun. Weston and Owen also chatted the whole time about Legos. I
don’t think they even realized they were running.
The rest of the day was pretty crazy... they had a lot of
energy, but at least it was happy energy. Our family night lesson was wild too,
but it actually created probably a very realistic feeling. Owen taught the
lesson on the 2nd part of the Jaredites’ story, traveling across the sea. They
sailed in their barges for a long time, and the first thing they did when they
arrived on shore was offer up a prayer of thanks. I can understand why now,
because after all of us standing in Nathan and Jared’s smelly room for 10
minutes, I was ready to get out of there!
I can’t imagine being in an airtight barge for 300+ days! They
must have been SO relieved to get out of those boats.
November 17, 2020
I’m grateful to see the pure joy on the faces
of Weston and Savannah when their new Lego sets showed up in the mail. They
heard the dog barking and ran to the window, looking to see if it was the
mailman. Their excitement built as he put something in the mail box... only junk
mail. But about 10 minutes later, he returned with their packages!
November 18, 2020
I’m
grateful for Alex, quietly working behind the scenes... working from our noisy
home or getting up really early on his teaching days to go to work, fixing
dinner, cleaning up the kitchen, straightening up the garage, taking the boys
to buy new shoes, taking them to Wednesday night activities, shoveling up my
rock pile into the trash bins, picking up groceries at the store, and taking
care of his church assignments or getting the boys to church early to fulfill
their assignments. He also is the fun parent, playing games and Legos with the
kids. I’ll never be as cool as him, especially in showing an interest in the
Lego building!
November 19, 2020
I’m grateful that God has a sense of humor. Or at least He must
laugh with us when we laugh, especially when addressing Him in prayer. We often
end up laughing in the middle of our family prayers. Tonight I couldn’t help
but pray that the bears won’t eat the boys Cheezits tomorrow when they’re
backpacking. And then I prayed that Savannah and I would enjoy our movie and
popcorn night (rubbing in the fact they’ll be out in the cold eating Ramen and
Cheezits while Savannah and I will be nice and cozy)! Backpacking is
over-rated, but I guess it’s good bonding time for the guys, out wandering
around in the cold, pumping water out of the creek, eating nasty food, cramming
in a tent with the dog...
I’m also grateful for Savannah’s church leaders who dropped off
a Secret Spy/Service Mission for her. She has been enjoying it. Today, she
loved making red kool-aid to use as a message decoder. And she was in her PJ’s
all day. Gotta love it.
November 20, 2020
I’m grateful for a prophet of God, who shared a message of hope
and gratitude today. He challenged us to share our gratitude on social media
for 7 days and to say prayers of gratitude. I’m grateful that I have already
been sharing my gratitude on social media since the first day of November, and
it HAS made a difference in my day. I noticed that I started to anticipate what
I might be thankful for (since I was committed to sharing daily), and I have
been more aware during the day of ways the Lord has blessed me.
I was touched by President Nelson’s experiences in his life, of
losing his wife and 2 of his daughters, but being able to find peace and
gratitude even in life’s trials.
Alex: November 21, 2020
I’m grateful for my kids! They humored me and went backpacking again this weekend.
November 21, 2020
I’m grateful for turkey crafts and especially
my turkey craft helper! She also helped with the shopping and cleaning this
weekend.
Alex - November 22, 2020
I am
grateful for my eternal companion, Annie.
She is a generous, gifted, compassionate, creative, and loving woman.
She is an amazing mother to our 5 wonderful children, which are a credit to her
love and sacrifice on their behalf. I have been blessed to spend 20 years with
her and look forward to many, many more.
November 22, 2020
I'm grateful for hugs, especially from my kids. This guy never fails to give hugs and kisses at night and tells me I'm the best Mom ever (every single day). He gives/gets double hugs when Alex is not here. He rarely lets me pass by without getting a hug. When we learning about direct objects in Language Arts, he asked if I would be a direct object and gave me a big hug!
Alex: November 23, 2020
I am so grateful for this beautiful planet we live on.
November
23, 2020
Tonight, Jared gave our family night lesson.
I’m grateful for his thoughtfulness and challenges that he shared. We talked
about what some of our weaknesses are and how they can become strengths.
Sometimes we haven’t overcome the weaknesses, but the Lord has made up for them
in other ways. As I thought about one of my weaknesses - being a good friend
and being social, I had that thought of not being able to get much better at
that. I have really struggled to be social. But where I am lacking, others have
been there for me. It seems like I’ve always had at least one friend who either
took me under their wing or pulled me out of my shell with their outgoing
personality. I wouldn’t ever have friends if others didn’t reach out to me!
Shout out to some of those: Kelley H, Jenny P, Krista B,
Michelle P, Cindy P, Jerushia D, Beth C, Jill P,
Jessica M, Channing D, Amanda F, Julie L, Vivianne S,
Carrie J, Julie H. A lot of
these friends introduced me to others who became my friend. So many of you have
been an influence in my life at some time. Thank you! I am grateful for every
one of my friends. I also thought about how I married my best friend, Alex, and
I’ve learned a lot from him about how to listen and talk to others. It was his
ability to see and hear me that made me love him. He is a great strength to me
and helping me to turn some of my weaknesses into strengths.
Alex: November 24, 2020
I am grateful for Legos! They have allowed me to connect with all 5 of my children and, as Travis B pointed out, they are a wonderful retirement plan having increased in value more this year than any of the stocks I have bought. I am also grateful for my Aunt Jane who introducing my children and I to Legos 30 years apart. She has always been more than an aunt, more like a young bonus grandma. She has always kept us up to speed on what’s cool.
November 24, 2020
I’m grateful for a new niece! I don’t even know her name yet,
but I love her already. Grateful my sister Alison is doing great as well - she
gave birth at home today! (She’s brave!)
November 24, 2020
I’m grateful to see my kids helping and teaching each other. Jared spent quite a bit of time helping Weston with his math today. Owen went above and beyond with his bug presentation - he made a little presentation board, and then went through each of the facts with Weston and Savannah. Homeschool win!
Alex: November 25, 2020
Today I am grateful for the education in which I received (and continue to receive). It ultimately stems from the example of my parents, but more on them later. I’ve been helped along my way by many people starting with my primary and secondary school teachers (too many to name) through Profs. B and R who ran a high school summer nerd camp at... that introduced me to geology. Once at... I benefited from the wonderful research mentorship of Todd H and Dick M and of course I wouldn’t have chosen sedimentology without the excellent teaching and mentorship of Stan P. My career would never have been what it is today (including all my cool trips (pun intended) to Antarctica) without the best PhD advisor, John A at... Thank you to all!
November 25, 2020
I’m
grateful to have another driver in the house! (Well, not driving IN the house
hopefully...
) Nathan got his license today.
Alex: November 26, 2020
Today I’m grateful for my parents. They have always been great examples to me. They instilled in my brother and I the importance of working hard, being honest, being respectful, the value of education, and so much more. They even taught me a little geology despite my best attempts to ignore them as a kid. Growing up I hated our family vacations to places like Llano, Texas where we drove 12 hours to see the only example of blue quartz in North America, but all those summer vacations made geology tests in college a whole lot easier. They are also great at being “Papa John” and “Grandma” too. Thank you Mom and Dad!
November 26, 2020
I’m grateful for family, friends, food, traditions, laughter,
and a day to think about all our blessings and give thanks to God. Like many
holidays, I think Thanksgiving has probably changed a lot from its original
purpose or we don’t really understand the meaning behind it. I was reflecting
back on the history of Thanksgiving, and although the original harmony between
the pilgrims and the Native Americans didn’t last very long, their gathering in
peace and harmony is a symbol for what is possible among people of different
cultures, faiths, and backgrounds. After the first gatherings in our country,
there was war, disease, drought, and so many trials. Our nation has gone
through so much to get to where we are today. People lost their lives fighting
for freedom and equality and justice and all of our rights. People were treated
horribly in the process. We’re still fighting for some of those things today,
but we have come a long way, and we have so much to be thankful for. This year
has been particularly challenging, with a pandemic, lives lost, political
contention, disharmony, and a lot of trials. We have a lot of healing that
needs to take place, to come together as a united nation under God. Gratitude
is perfect for beginning to heal, as we turn back to the source of our
blessings and recognize all we have been given. If we look back on history, we
see that days of Thanksgiving were called for after times of great trial.
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln called for days of Thanksgiving to thank
God for deliverance from war, to pray for the widows and those that mourn, for
the hand of God in establishing the Constitution, and to implore God for
healing.
“Washington declared a thanksgiving for the last Thursday in
November. He urged the people to devote the day “to the service of that great
and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all that good that was, that
is, or that will be; that we may all unite in rendering Him our sincere and
humble thanks for his Kind care and protection ... for the signal and manifold
mercies and favorable interpositions of His providence” during the American
Revolution, establishing the federal Constitution, and protecting the “civil
and religious liberty with which we are blessed.”
“Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863. During the
Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving:
As a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who
dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the
ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings,
they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and
disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows,
orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are
unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty
Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent
with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility
and Union.”
I think this last part applies so well to what we need now:
fervently imploring God to heal the wounds of the nation and restore it to
peace and unity. Turn to the source of all blessings! This is what Thanksgiving
is all about: thanking and recognizing God as the source of all blessings.
Gatherings and food are wonderful, but we can’t forget the Hand that provides
all blessings.
Alex: November 27, 2020
Today I’m grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
November 27, 2020
I’m grateful for movie and popcorn night! We
have watched a variety of things today - football, Last Man Standing,
Mandalorian, and Black Beauty.
November 28, 2020
I’m grateful for football, the beach, Christmas
trees, tamales, and friends.
November 29, 2020
I’m grateful for Christmas ornaments (that
bring back memories), Christmas letters, cherry pie, and early Christmas
presents.
November 30, 2020
I’m grateful
for music, and especially being able to play the piano (although not as well as
I’d like to). I’ve been playing the piano a lot more this year, and it’s very
comforting. This past month, I’ve been playing nearly every night as the kids
are going to bed. They’ve starting requesting that I play for them. They might
be getting tired of Fields or Gold by Sting, Goodnight by John Lennon, and Over
the Rainbow by Harold Arlen - but they’re very peaceful, soothing songs that I
enjoy playing over and over. I’m also grateful for my piano teacher, Vicki M, who was my teacher
from about 3rd grade through high school. I wish I had practiced more; I got
too busy with sports. But I learned enough piano for it to be a blessing in my
life. I also wanted to give a shout out to Alan E, who was the reason I
decided to take piano lessons. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but then I
heard him play a song during church, and I decided to give it a try. So I’m
grateful for his talent and inspiration as well.
He got his main present back in December, a weight bench, because he wanted to start working out early for basketball season (if it ever happens)... he did get some snacks and the game “Cover your Assets”. We had fun playing that yesterday, and some of them watched “Jurassic World” (too gruesome for Savannah and me). Some friends brought over some cake for him too. 
