family

I've missed a few days because we've been busy spending time with family. No time for much blogging or sleeping - just a full few days with family. It's been wonderful. I'm so thankful for my family. On Thanksgiving, as part of our meal, we shared things that we were thankful for. It was hard to stop the "happy tears," realizing all of the many blessings we have been given. And I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than with family. I'll post some pictures later...

Cheeto

Gary & Quin gave Owen a new nickname - Cheeto! He loves cheese puffs...

snow!

Just a few pictures from playing in the snow. The boys had a great time throwing snowballs - I tried to stay out of it... This was also Big O's first time to see snow. I don't think he liked it much, but enjoyed spectating.

temples

I'm thankful for temples - Alex & I had the opportunity to go to the Denver Temple this morning. It's a special place - we got married here just over 9 years ago. I'm grateful for the significance of our temple marriage, for all that means. Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints stand as a testimony of the immortality of the soul. I love this quote by President Hinckley:

“Every temple that this Church has built has in effect stood as a monument to our belief in the immortality of the human soul, that this phase of mortal life through which we pass is part of a continuous upward climb, so to speak, and that as certain as there is life here, there will be life there. That is our firm belief. It comes about through the Atonement of the Savior, and the temple becomes, as I have indicated, the bridge from this life to the next. The temple is concerned with things of immortality. We wouldn’t have to build a temple for marriages if we didn’t believe in the eternity of the family. We build it so the family may be eternal. All of the ordinances which take place in the house of the Lord become expressions of our belief in that fundamental and basic doctrine. The temple therefore becomes the ultimate in our system of worship and therefore is of great and significant importance to us” (interview with Vern Anderson of the Associated Press, 20 Apr. 1999). There's also a good talk here.

For Alex and me, this is where it all started.

Safe travel

I'm thankful to have traveled safely today and to be here at my aunt and uncle's house. It was a long day, but the boys did well and we made it. My vacation begins when I'm there, not when I get in the car, so now my vacation can begin!

medicine

I'm thankful that we were able to take Owen to the doctor today, especially before our trip, because he has a double ear infection. I'm thankful for medicine to clear those up, and hopefully he will be back to his happy self before long. He really has been quite the trooper considering he probably feels awful.

Restful Sunday

Today I stayed home from church with Owen and Nathan. Nathan slept in until 9:00am - he's usually up at 7:15am. He was coughing quite a bit last night, although he seemed okay after he woke up. Owen was the one who threw up yesterday, and I'm grateful that he didn't today. He still has something wrong with him - he was crying whether I held him or not this morning. Alex gave him a priesthood blessing of comfort (maybe more for my peace of mind) and Owen took a good morning nap after that. The rest of the day he wasn't too bad. I'm thinking it could be his ears? Anyway, I actually did get quite a bit of rest today, and I'm thankful for that, because tomorrow we'll be busy trying to get everything ready for our trip.

On a side note, Jared went to church with Alex and sat up on the stand with him. Apparently he was the model child up there - I'm thankful that he was a good boy, and I'm also thankful that he's healthy.