Mother's Day is a bit painful. I do have to admit that. Trent and I have been trying to adopt for over 3 years now. There have been a lot of ups and downs. We have come close a few times but it just has not worked out so far. I still believe it will happen. I still believe there is a wonderful, giving, young woman out there who will chose us to entrust with her baby. We pray for her and hope that the Lord will lead her.
I have so many wonderful mothers around me. I watch them and learn from them. I am amazed at how great they are. My sisters and sisters-in-law are raising hilarious, intelligent, caring children. They make it look easy even though I know it is not. They let me be involved in these amazing children's lives. I'm so thankful I get to be their aunt. I love to have them around and enjoy the craziness!
I owe everything to my own mom. I have so many great memories of her reading The Boxcar Children and Charlotte's Web. I gained my love of reading and teaching from her. I also remember having long conversations with her when we were waiting for Dad out on the ranch. She could answer all my questions about life and taught me to believe in and trust in the Lord by her example. She still does.
I'm thankful for my husband's mom. She is so loving and makes me feel appreciated. She is so sincere and thoughtful. She is a fun grandmother and talented, too. I'm thankful she taught her son to be patient, loving, forgiving and kind.
So this day I am thankful. Thankful for all the mothers in my life now and in the future. Happy Mother's Day.
Thanksgiving Adventures
So this is the story of the adventures and misadventures that happened this Thanksgiving...
Trent and I planned to spend Thanksgiving down in with my brother's family. Mom had decided to go to Disneyland with sisters' families for Thanksgiving (They all left on Monday complete with a turkey in a crock pot, but that is their adventure story).
Wednesday evening Joe and his family came down to play games and we had a lovely, quiet evening. Thanksgiving Day was wonderful, too. We had turkey with all the trimmings, played a little football, ate some pie... Then as we were getting ready to go ride horses, Trent's brother calls to tell him their sister, Shelly is stranded in Cedar City. Within 5 minutes Trent and Joe had unloaded the jeep off the trailer and he was on the road to pick up Shelly, her family and their van. I was worried the turkey tryptophan would kick in and he would fall asleep on the road down but he made it to Cedar City safely. He got their van loaded on the trailer then they pulled it back up to Orem with no more incidents.
I was supposed to drive the jeep back up that night after riding horses but first Joe took us down to the farm on Orange Hill. He had fun and a little bit of exercise trying to trim our horses' hooves. Once Pepper and Oreo were ready we went for a ride but it was a short ride because it was getting dark.
I hate driving in the dark. Hence, Joe easily persuaded me to stay one more night, play games with the kids and head up early the next morning. Done. Joe and LaNae decided to hit the Thanksgiving sales in Price so I had their wonderful kids all to myself to play all kinds of games. I taught them to play the flour and penny game and it was hilarious.
The next morning I throw my suitcase in the jeep and take off. Trent had told me the jeep was going to be a bear to steer so I wasn't worried when I pulled the jeep out of the driveway. It was awful to steer and started making a terrible noise. I pulled over in front of Stewart's to call Trent but he didn't answer. I kept going hoping that once it warmed up it would be better. Nope. As I turned out of town the jeep started trying to throw me off the road. Hmmm. By the time I was to the junction it had tried to jump off the road a couple more times. The front tire seemed like it was sliding not rolling down the road. I was convinced this was not just a little steering problem so I pulled off the road. Trent would not have me drive something so dangerous. I called Joe to rescue me when I still couldn't get Trent on the phone. We piled everything, even Trent's tools in his truck then went back to borrow Mom's car.
Finally, I headed up through the canyon calling my sister-in-law, Shelly to see if she could find Trent and get the turkey in for his family's Day-After-Thanksgiving celebration at our house. I got there just a few minutes before the rest of the family arrived. I caught my breathe and dived in. We had a wonderful time. I love the football games, the basketball games, talking with nieces and nephews and my sisters-in-laws. I love playing games until after midnight and hearing the teenagers hit the fridge again at 2AM. I don't care for the silverware that ends up in the garbage and the pencil line on the wall but it can't dampen my love and gratitude for my wonderful family.
Cue the Pirates and Ghouls
My students decide months in advance what they are going to be for Halloween. I, however, decide in the morning as I'm rushing out the door to go to school. This year I pulled a few different pieces out of my Shakespeare costume box and put them together to make a pirate costume. To complete the look I added some fish net stockings that I forgot I even owned and my trustworthy old boots. Wala- pirate.
Trent was in charge of the Trunk or Treat party in the church parking lot. Trent's sister wanted to come trick or treating with her kids early so we told her to meet us there. It's fun to borrow a few kids for a while and I don't think they minded loading up on a few extra treats before heading back to their neighborhood. Trent filled my witch's cauldron to the brim with 10 jumbo bags of candy. By the time we were finished cleaning up the parking lot, it was late and we ended up with only a few trick or treaters at our house. We had tons of leftover candy to help us survive the entire Fall.
We Had a Blast This Summer
Our summer began with a blast. June was full of digging but July was full of family visits. We went to Palisade with my family and had a day in the water. Of course I forgot my camera. Then we had a lot of the Huntsmans for the 4th of July.
We played tons of volleyball in our back yard.
Look whoo we found in our backyard. Have I said lately how much we love our backyard?
Diggin' It
The neighbors have dubbed Trent -Trench because we have been digging and digging in our yard. One of our main goals was to make the windows easier to get out of in case of an emergency. Grandma and Grandpa had beautiful decorative iron work on the windows in the basement when they lived here. We replaced them with window wells that have a ladder built in and then built up flower beds around them. A great safety feature and a fresher look.
Thanks Again!
We had "The Day After Thanksgiving" for Trent's family at our house this year. Trent's mom came up and helped get everything set up early. I cooked the turkey. Then everyone came on Friday with mashed potatoes, stuffing, ham, vegetables, rolls, casseroles, cranberries, and 12 amazing pies with fresh whipped cream. Yum!
Then the games began. We had a short cold game of football. We played a ton of other games for two days with the nieces and nephews. It was hard to stop and go to bed even after midnight. Just so thankful for times like these.
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