Happy Thanksgiving

Well, I'm not sure how in the world it happened, but somehow, it is the end of November, which means that it is the holiday season! I love this time of year. I love the holidays. I love spending time with my family. It is so easy this time of year to get caught up in all the commercialism leading into Christmas. That is a big part of what I love about Thanksgiving. There is no commercialism. It is truly a holiday to enjoy and be with your family and enjoy the feast.

Most days, I find myself focusing far too much on what is difficult in my life and on how my life is hard and it's not fair that I have to work so hard to get by. I love that this one day makes me stop and truly be thankful for what I have.

I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for a beautiful, warm, comfortable home. I am thankful for a good job that offers security for my family. I am thankful for a dependable car that allows me to get to work each day. I am thankful for a second job that is allowing me the opportunity to try to get my family ahead and possibly turn into a full time job in the future. I am thankful for a mom who gives of her time to help me make that second job successful!

I am thankful to have been blessed enough to be born in our country and be an American with the freedoms and privileges and responsibilities that go along with that right. I am thankful to have been born into a family that taught me right from wrong since birth and that has taught me the gospel. I am thankful for my knowledge of eternal life and the fact that I will be able to be with my family again when our earthly lives are over. I am thankful for the beautiful area that we live in. I am thankful for my New England heritage. I am thankful that I was raised to believe in tradition.

I am sure that if I had more time, I could easily come up with 100's more things that I am thankful for. But for now, I have a bunch of apples that are calling my name--the apple pies didn't get made yesterday, so I have to get them done real quick, before the turkey goes in at 10 am!

So to everyone, I wish you

8 things

8 things....

I saw this on Jen's blog and thought I would join in on the fun! Hope you do too!!!

8 Favorite TV shows
1-Army Wives
2-Wheel of Fortune
3-How I Met Your Mother
4-Amazing Race
5-Law & Order
6-Without a Trace
7-?
8-?

8 Things I did yesterday
1-Work
2-Laundry
3-went grocery shopping
4-fixed dinner
5-did a bit of work from home
6-watched a bit of TV
7-FHE with my family
8-slept!!

8 THings I look forward to
1-Thanksgiving & some time off work!!!!
2-my weekly emails from James
3-Christmas shopping
4-getting my inspections job off the ground
5-regularly getting eggs from the chickens
6-finally finishing my kitchen by getting the tile countertops in
7-Josh's first season playing HS basketball(he made the team today!)
8-The Holidays

8 Favorite Restaurants
1-Olive Garden
2-Old Spaghetti Factory
3-The Melting Pot
4-Babe's Bakery
5-El Mirador
6-can't remember the name of it, but there is this TO DIE FOR seafood place in Hailey, ID that I love to go to whenever I'm there!
7-
8-

8 Things on my wishlist
1-A new car
2-A new digital camera--one that's more up to date & better suited for my insurance inspection job
3-A really terrific photo editing program
4-finally choosing a color to repaint my bedroom
5-more peace of mind
6-a week without Josh arguing
7-more time
8-enough money that I don't have to stress out every month

I have been so bad about posting lately! Life has been so crazy. I've had a change at work and am now working in a different department---actually the same department that I spent 4 years in before going to my last position. So it's a little bit like going home again, but with training on all the things that have changed in the last two years!

Between the new job and the insurance inspections, it seems like I'm running around like crazy all day long! But the inspections often take me to places that I really enjoy. On Saturday, we spent the day in Jackson Hole, Wy. For any of you who have not eve been there, it is just absolutely stunning. I love getting to go there. This weekend, for some reason, it looked like the Teton Mountains were so close!! I don't think I've ever seen that good of a view of the Grand Teton. The wildlife were out in abundance--we saw deer, elk, moose, and bison. It was a great day--I got to combine work with a terrific day with my family.

What color are you?

How fun! I saw this on Shamae's blog & had to try it!

You Are a Yellow Crayon

Your world is colored with happy, warm, fun colors. You have a thoughtful and wise way about you. Some people might even consider you a genius. Charming and eloquent, you are able to get people to do things your way. While you seem spontaneous and free wheeling, you are calculating to the extreme. Your color wheel opposite is purple. You both are charismatic leaders, but purple people act like you have no depth.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Hey, you gotta try!

This website is offering a chance to win a free handbag. They are super cute. You don't have to put any information except your first name and email address. Give it a try! http://www.handbagplanet.com

Really, this speaks for itself...

Yes, it is early October.
Yes, Distric soccer tournaments started for Josh today.
Yes, that is snow.
Let me say it again, in case you don't believe me.
Yes, that is snow. In fact, during the game,

Another niece wedding

So I mentioned that one of my nieces got married in July & posted photos. Val & Kurt are doing super well & are expecting their first child! We are excited to return to Boise next summer to attend their sealing with them!

I had another niece get married in September in western Washington. Unfortunately, due to finances, we were not able to afford to be there with them. I was so sad that I couldn't attend the wedding, but hope that Elise knows that our hearts were there with her that day!



Also, I don't think I've ever mentioned it, but I have another niece who's been married for about a year. She is my oldest brother's daughter from his first marriage. After their divorce, her mother took her to live in Denmark, where she was from. Unfortunately, we have never had the opportunity to know Carrie very well, but we sure love her a ton. She is my oldest niece. She and Joseph got married in the Denmark temple. I told my mom that I think Carrie looks just like the photos I see of my mom when she was that age!

Breathtaking Beauty

So some of you may not know that I was born & raised until the age of 14 in Connecticut. My family has roots generations and generations deep in New England. I have lived in Idaho for going on 16 years now & while there is much about it I love, I miss New England & a large part of my heart is still there.

There are times that I think that I have seen all the beauty there is to see in this state. And every time I think that, I do something like I did last week. I had to go to Logan for more insurance inspections, so I took a day off work & talked my mom into coming with me. This is actually my tricky way of getting chauffered to my appointments! Anyway, somehow, in all the time that I have lived here, I have never been to Bear Lake. But I had to go to Soda Springs before going to Logan, so we decided to drive along the lake. The sheer beauty of the lake with the mountains behind it were breath-taking. We then turned & went through the Cache Valley National Forest(I think that was the name) and went through the Logan Canyon. It was the most gorgeous drive I have made in a really long time.




These photos are from the drive through Logan Canyon.





Of course, there's no way I could fail to mention that we got to see one of my very favorite temples. I just love the Logan temple. I think it is just gorgeous and I can never go to Logan without going to see the temple.

I know, I know, I've been severly lacking in my posting. I only wish I had a cool reason for it. But I don't. I've just been finding myself overwhelmed & feeling like I just can't keep up on everything. I've been letting things go & blogging is one of those things. The bad thing, and what I have to change is that I've been letting slide alot of the things that I really enjoy & that I think help to keep me (somewhat) sane. I've got alot of choices in front of me & a lot of things on my plate. But I promise I'll start blogging again!

But I'm going to start tomorrow. For tonight, I have a headache & I'm going to bed.

Chicken Palace Update

Have I ever mentioned that I hate chickens? If not, then here goes. I hate chickens. They are ugly little creatures. They are dirty. The only things they have going for them are that they lay eggs, which I like & they taste good. But, like it or not, we have these chickens that we are building a home for. And this little chicken house is another bone of contention. I call it the chicken palace because we're making it so dang fancy! But the important thing is that it's almost done & we should be ready to move the chickens in on Monday or Tuesday! Yay! Of course, they won't start laying for a couple more months, but that's OK.

The only thing left to do is a little bit of the roof, putting the siding on & fitting the doors in. I'm told that most of it should be done tomorrow. I love going off to work & coming home to see how much they've gotten done.

These photos were taken around Wednesday.

This is my mom admiring their hard work.


This is Josh working with our wonderful Bishop, who is a builder by profession. He's been awesome about working with Josh to help him build a terrific building.



The two photos above were taken yesterday morning. I thought I had pictures from yesterday afternoon showing the roof & the rest of the siding, but I guess not. I'll have to take photos tomorrow & add them!