Out of the mouth of babes

On Thanksgiving Ethan woke up and said, "It's chicken day!"

On the way to school Ethan asked me how Heavenly Father created us. I said he is our Father in Heaven and can create anything. The conversation then went as follows:

Ethan: I know what happened. He created the earth and then everyone on the earth.

me: Yes, that is right.

Ethan: He thinks for a min and says: If we are going to live with Heavenly Father again that means we will not be living on earth. How does that happen?

Me: When we are down living on earth we go to heaven. People go to heaven when they get old and someday Jesus will come to the Earth again and we will all live together again. I reassured him we will always live together as a family.

Ethan: What about our house? Will someone else live in it?

Me: When we live in heaven our home will be in there and it will be very nice.

Ethan: Will there be toys?

Me: I think there will be toys. You will like it. 

I was surprised at all these insightful question and the connections Ethan was making. It was a very grown up conversation and he seemed to understand what I was saying. It was neat to have a conversation like that with him.

As we pulled up to the Goodman's home they had their Christmas nativity on the lawn with Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus. Tanner surprised us by saying, "Hi Jesus" while waving to him. We were pleasantly surprised to see that he knew that was baby Jesus without anyone saying so ahead of time, and it was the first nativity we had seen for the Christmas season. Kids are so smart!

Picture recap of Thanksgiving weekend

Happy Thanksgiving!

My last thankful post will be on one of the most important blessings and that is Jared. I am grateful to be his wife and for his love and support. He truly is my everything and I don't know what I would do without him. I am grateful for his testimony of Jesus Christ, and for the example he shows to me and the boys. I am grateful he honors his priesthood and we can call on him to bless our family at any time. I respect his work ethic and I'm so amazed how hard he works and never complains. Residency is not an easy thing but Jared makes it look easy. Even though he has put in a long and hard day Jared comes home and is so engaged with each of us. He is so humble and smart. Jared has a lot he could brag about but he never does. He gives all the praise to God and realizes everything we are or have comes from Him. I am grateful for our happy marriage and that we will be together forever. I am eternally grateful for him. I am one blessed and lucky girl.

I am also grateful I once again got to come down to Tustin today to spend the week with family. I am grateful Heather and Doug came down for Thanksgiving and we got to spend this evening playing games and visiting as a family. I am grateful that Keena is spending several days with us. I have many many blessings! I am excited for our big Thanksgiving feast tomorrow and am extremely grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a rich life. Happy Thanksgiving!

Technology

I am grateful for modern technology such as the internet, TV, radio, and cell phones to name just a few. The world is constantly changing and I don't know how we lived before we had some of these modern conveniences. If I have a question about anything I can go to the computer and with a click of a button have my answer. I am grateful I can keep a record of my family's daily activities here online. I am amazed and very grateful for the ever changing techology of today!

The sweetness of a child

As I was putting Tanner down for bed tonight while walking past a picture of Jesus Tanner says, "Night night Jesus" while waving. I love the pure love of a little child. As we drive in the car he can be found waving and blowing kisses to the stranger next to us. I love how Ethan gives all of us hugs throughout the day while telling us he loves us. I love the bond I have with my boys and it's something I'm grateful for every single day.

Health

I am grateful for my health. I have never had any major physical condition that has been a long-term problem for me. It is such a blessing and something that can easily be over-looked until we have a bad cut on our hand or have a knee problem and realize just how much we use each part of our body. I am also grateful for the health of the family members around me. What a blessing to be able to walk, see, smell, touch and taste.

Special outings

Today I am grateful I got to go to the California Utah Women's boutique and luncheon with Kay and Carly and got to meet up with Laurie. I enjoy this event every year and it was fun having Carly and Laurie join us for the first time. It's funny because of course Laurie and I show up wearing exactly the same pants, undershirt and sweater. Neither of us knew the other owned this sweater so it was quite unexpected but definitely not the first time something like this has happened. What can we say, we have great taste!

In the evening Jared and I went on a double date with Joel and Carly to the temple and then to see Breaking Dawn. It was such a fun day and I'm grateful for wonderful family members.

Performance, Disneyland, and lesson

Thanks to mom I got to go to Ethan's school performance today. I am so grateful she came up so I could be there for Ethan. It was the schools 60th anniversary and they had each grade sing and dance to the different era's throughout the decades since Nestle Elementary has been established. Ethan has been singing the songs his class preformed for weeks now and it was cute to see him dressed up singing with his class.

After preschool we headed down to Tustin to go to Disneyland to see Santa and his reindeer, see It's a small world for the holidays and watch the Christmas parade. Both boys sat on Santa's lap though Tanner was about to cry at any second. Ethan told Santa he wants MegaMan. We will have to see what Santa can do about that.

This evening we had Molly's first missionary discussion at the Brooks' house and it went well. It was a neat experience since I have never been a part of one before. We talked about many things but most importantly about the restoration of the church. The spirit was there and we had a good discussion. I am grateful for that. Today was a good day!

Christmas music

'Tis the season for Christmas music and I love it! I wait every year for KOST 103.5 to play Christmas music and listen to it from now until Christmas as I drive around town. It really gets me into the holiday spirit. I am grateful for uplifting music in my life. I love to sing and always have music on while driving in the car and there is always a song to be sung in my house. I've always loved music and the positive influence it has in my life.

Missionary opportunites

Well the blessings keep coming! Today Diana said she would go to church with us and take the missionary lessons as well. I am so grateful for the missionary experiences I am having with my friends and grateful I can play a small part in hopefully bringing them into the church. I am grateful for my membership in the church and know it to be the true church.

Taking it to the next level

I am grateful Molly is ready for the missionary lessons. We have had so many great conversations about the church and the time is finally right to take it to the next level. This Friday will be our first missionary discussion at Laurie's house. It's very exciting!

I am grateful my cousin Christina (aka "Keena") is going to have Thanksgiving with our family and spend the weekend with us. It's great to get the cousins back together again and build strong friendships with everyone.

Trader Joe's & Skype

I love all the fun treats the stores have at this time of year. Today I took the boys to Trader Joe's to pick up a few essentials. I always like to try something new and today it was their mini peppermint waffle cookies. They are bite size and so mmm-mmm good. Ethan and I ate at least half a pack and now I have a headache - but it was worth it. We also got a candy advent calendar for each boy to count down Christmas starting next month. The candy inside is not very good but I remember loving it as a kid.

I am grateful for Skype. It's so fun for the boys to skype our family members and see what everyone is doing. Today we got to skype Joel and Carly. They are down in Tustin for two weeks and we are excited to see them this weekend. Technology is amazing!

A beautiful life

I am grateful for the rain we have been having. I love the cool crisp air in the morning! Sweater weather is my favorite though I can almost always be found in a sweater and sandals. I love California winters for that reason! I love going on Sunday walks as a family. We often stop several times to say hi to neighbors, and usually pick up rocks, leaves and sticks along the way. Life is good.

Parents' love

I am grateful for our parents who are so good to us. We have been staying with the Goodmans and it's been fun going to Costco, Sugar Plum, playing Polyanna and watching a movie with them. The boys love playing with Grammy and Grandpa. They got to go in the bounce house, build a new lego trash truck with Grandpa, and make cookies with Grammy today. What a treat! They always have endless fun at their house.

I am grateful for my parents who watched the boys so Jared and I could go to Sugar Plum. I'm also grateful for Danny who is so good to Ethan. Their new thing they do together is watch the old Batman shows we used to watch as kids and play Mega Man. My mom was so nice to make Tanner a new puppy dog blanket with little tags on it for him to suck on. And Dad is always so good to let Tanner be his little shadow when we are at their house. I am grateful for the special family ties we have with each member of our family.

The little things

I love how Tanner walks around the house with different people's shoes on throughout the day. He loves shoes, necklaces and his blanket. Ethan's shoes have become a favorite as of late since he can easily put them on and still walk pretty normally.

I am grateful Jared got to meet us in Orange County today after work. It's not too often that Jared gets to come down with us so it's a special treat. Everything is always better when Daddy is with us!

The Heavens Parted

I mention this every time I enter Orange County: once again, as we transitioned onto the 22 freeway, the heavens parted for us as we drove into Tustin today. The freeway is so much cleaner and well kept compared to the 405 (or any LA freeway). I love being home in Orange County to be with family and I'm grateful we live in the beautiful state of California - particularly southern California. It truly is a blessing to have perfect weather year around. I will always love Orange County!

I'm grateful we got to go to Disneyland this evening. I love going for a few hours whether we watch the parade or go on rides. It's always a blast. Today Ethan got to start his Disneyland adventure with Grammy; later on, Nana, Tanner and I met them to finish the night off with a few rides. Molly, Dad, Laurie and the boys also went and we met up with them for our last few rides. Disneyland is magical this time of year. In the next few days they will be starting the Christmas parade with snow down main street, which means next weekend we will have to return to check it out.

Brotherly Love

I am grateful for several moments throughout the day when the boys play happily together. This morning Ethan was so loving and cute to Tanner and me. As I sat watching the boys play, Ethan came up and sat next to me. I told him I loved him and he said the same, followed by a nice conversation. These moments are so special and I am grateful for them because they are rare and usually brief, but are definitely the most rewarding moments of the day. After we talked for a minute Ethan got up and started playing with Tanner, telling him about the train he was making for Tanner to play with. I love hearing Ethan talk to Tanner as his little buddy, again because it is not an everyday thing, and that's why these moments are so special. I know the boys both have a love for each other and I love seeing it surface every once in a while. I'm grateful to be the mother of my cute little boys!

Friendly neighbors

Today I am grateful for our neighbors. We have a quiet street with very few kids but with very nice retired or elderly couples. We have become good friends with several of them, and everyday Tanner listens for the barks of their dogs and runs to the window to say hello. After taking Ethan to school, it's our routine to see if the dogs across the street are outside. They are almost never out but Tanner always says "doggie" so we look anyways. We also feed the fish of another elderly couple down the street, usually several times a week and they give us oranges from their tree. They love the boys and watch for them each day. It's nice to know if I needed something during the day I have a few people on the street that are usually home and would happily help.

Surprise

I am grateful Jared surprised me with the day off! This week he has another resident working on day float with him so they each got to take two days off and today and tomorrow are his days off. Jared has some presentations he has to work on so he went to the library for a bit but we met up for lunch and play time at the park. We ended the night with popcorn, hot chocolate (with whip cream of course) and the movie Thor. It's been a good day!

Time change and reverence

I am so grateful both boys slept in today. I have been worried what the time change would do to the boys' waking schedule with us falling back an hour. Tanner has been sleeping in until 7:30am the last month which is huge and Ethan has been more like 6:15am. I knew the time change would wreck a good thing we had going. Well, to our surprise both boys slept until 6:15am (which meant it would have been 7:15am before the time change). I will take it!
Today I leaned over to Jared during church as both boys sat to the sides of us reverently and commented that our boys are at a pretty good stage for sacrament. The last several weeks the boys have been really good in sacrament with little effort on our part. Tanner is at the hard church age though he has been doing well. That truly is a blessing!!

Reuniting with cousins

I am grateful I got to see my cousin Keena tonight. We had her over to our house for dinner and we talked the night away. It's been a year since we saw her last so it was nice getting together again. Keena moved to LA the same time we did and this was our first time getting together. It's sad to say it's taken this long but I have been reaching out to my cousins lately and trying to reconnect with them. I'm going to make the effort to see her more often. I keep thinking Grandma Jack would be proud we are building family ties.

The Truth

I am grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation, to know where we came from and how we can return to our Heavenly Father again. This is something that so many people do not understand and I'm grateful for this knowledge. I am grateful for the Atonement, the sacrifice Jesus made so I can repent of my sins. I am grateful for a Prophet, President Monson, who leads our church today. I am grateful for his words and also those of the Apostles that help guide me and keep me on the right path. I am grateful for the temple, that we can perform ordinances for those of have passed before us, that we can be sealed to our family. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, for Joseph Smith and the restored gospel. The church means everything to me and I'm grateful for the happiness it brings to my life.

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to share the gospel with a few friends in the last few months. About two months ago Molly Marquis asked our family for another Book of Mormon and since then Molly and I have had many conversations about the church. She has come to church several times and seems to be interested. She is searching for more in her life and I think in time she will be baptized. If nothing else we are planting seeds and the knowledge she needs.

The other day religion came up with Diana (Ethan's friend's mom) because they weren't celebrating Halloween. I asked her if she would be celebrating Christmas and she told me she didn't know. She said she was just starting to look into religion and she was going to a Jehovah's Witness bible study. I told her I was religious and from there I told her a few main beliefs of our religion. Unfortunately, we had been at the park and this conversation happened as we were getting into our cars. I didn't get to say much but I knew I had to give her a Book of Mormon. Today was that day and she received it very well. She was grateful and I hope this will be the start of many religious conversations for us. She doesn't know much about religion since she did not grow up going to church, but she is seeking the true church and I'm excited to share the gospel with her and her family. We will see what happens!

Friends

Today Ethan had his first playdate at our house with his new friend from school. Alesandro, his mom Diana, and his sister came over and ended up staying for three hours because the kids were playing so well. I am grateful Ethan has found a really nice friend to play with. I see many future playdates in our future with Alesandro and his family.

School

I'm grateful for Ethan's preschool teacher. She's so good with the children and Ethan loves going each morning. I have never had an issue with him not wanting to go to school and that is a blessing. I also love the three hours Tanner and I get to spend together.

Thankful

This month I'm going to post a blessing in my life everyday leading up to Thanksgiving, no matter how big or small it may be. I have so many blessings in my life and want to express my gratitude. One of the most important blessings I have is my family. I am so grateful for a wonderful husband. I am grateful for his love and support everyday. He works SO hard for our family and I'm forever grateful. I am grateful for two healthy and happy boys. I love that we live close to both sets of our parents and that we have a great relationship with them. Most of all I'm grateful to be with my family forever.