Get Involved

I don't know about you, but I'm really thankful for the country that we live in. I feel so blessed. But, there are definitely things going on with our government that I really disagree with. I'm always wondering, "What can I do?" I try to write letters to my Congressman, but I never feel like I make much of a difference. I found this web-site today and I feel like there are some great ideas of ways to get involved. I like the "White House Wednesday" with legitimate issues and people to contact. This is a "mom" type blog, but I feel like this could be useful to anyone!

http://asamom.ning.com/

Halloween Carnival & Grandma's

Madilyn made a really cute pumpkin. All of my children have a slight addiction to candy. I blame it on my parents. Before we lived with them, I never bought candy. And then, my dad would come home every night with a treat for everyone. Bad, bad dad.



It's really hard to decide what David is. He says he's Batman? I'm just not seeing Batman. Maybe he's a new member of Kiss? He's always had a love for mullets. Maybe he's just a creepy mullet man? Or perhaps he's just from West Virginia?



I love this chicken costume. Too bad that little miss Madilyn hated it.




Here's the whole family. Hubby David will hate me for posting this picture. But, he'll forgive me because I love him so much.

The Pumpkin Patch

We had such a fun Halloween full of weeks of festivities. We went to the pumpkin patch, had a Halloween carnival, did a party at Grandma's, went on a late night Halloween cruise down the Provo river, carved pumpkins, and went trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Here are lots of pictures from all of the fun:

The two pregnant family members

All of the family at the Pumpkin Patch

Tyler picks his pumpkin

Once There was a Snowman. . .

We woke up this morning to a little snow in Utah. The boys were extremely excited and so they spent hours outside attempting to build a snowman. Here's what they came up with. Dad helped a little bit.
I think they managed to use every last morsel of snow on the ground to create this snowman. And then there was Mr. Calvin who stood staring out the window the whole time pointing and laughing at the "noman." I guess there are some good things about really cold weather.

Class Reunion

After Jake and Lindsay's wedding, I had my 10 year class reunion. David came along and he was a good sport. It was a lot of fun to see some of my friends from high school. The very best part was the reunion of the "FAB 5". These were the gals who I spent most of my high school days playing sports with--basketball, softball, volleyball, and track. We were pretty much together from our Freshman year all the way through our Senior year. Looking back, I sure did love high school. Although, I'm glad to be where I'm at, I've had a lot of fun along the way.

Jake's Wedding

This is a long overdue post. My brother Jake got married on September 12th on the family farm. All of my siblings and I were in the wedding and we had a lot of fun. Everything turned out beautiful. I also got to complete a goal I've always wanted to accomplish--make a wedding cake. I know that seems a little silly. It equated to an extremely crazy day before the wedding. There are things that I would change, but the cake tasted yummy. The whole entire wedding cake got eaten, so I guess that's what mattered most. We did two layers 0f pumpkin cake for the bottom, two layers of fresh apple for the middle, and a chocolate brownie cake for the top. It was all smothered with cream cheese frosting. I stacked the cake on an old antique oak window and then put red apples underneath. I stole the concept from a cousin who used green apples under her cake. I'm an idea thief.

It was a really fun day for everyone. We just enjoyed talking and we were quite a silly wedding party. Here are some more pictures if you're interested (first gallery at the top):

http://www.fhgphotography.com/miller/index.html

Lindsey is the perfect fit for Jake and they seem so happy together. I can't believe that we're all becoming big people with real responsibilities. Weclome to the family, Lindsey. We sure do love you!!

Grateful

I'm not a good blogger, but my life has been crazy with so many things. I've always loved writing in a journal and have done so on and off since I was 8 years old. Blogging is something that adds to my journaling, but I've never felt like sharing really personal things, so I write those in my journal and I'll occasionally post a blog.

I guess today I'm feeling like sharing some of me. I hope it won't be too much for you.....

Today, I've felt a little lugubrious (this is our latest Reader's Digest word--go look it up :) ). I'm kind of on bed rest for the next 6 weeks due to a basketball injury that was followed by surgery and it's made me a bit down-hearted. However, today, as I was bemoaning myself--the fact that I'm lying in bed, working my job, and I can hear my little children downstairs with their Grandma and I can't help--I realized how good my life is. It's really good. Great even. I have so many things to be grateful for. I can't even count them all. But mostly....

I have the best family in the whole wide world. I've got a husband who's a lot of fun and so helpful with everything. He has so many amazing talents. He single-handedly (well pretty much on his own) fixed our little farmhouse with his two big manly hands. I love his hands. And, I love his heart. We were really made for each other. We have three beautiful children with unique personalities. We have great parents who have helped us beyond words. We have fun siblings who we love to be around.

Gratitude = Family = Love

Truly what life is about. And I wrote this little poem that kind of sums up my feelings....

sunshine and rain,
trees and flowers,
summer and spring,
kids and popsicles.
or better yet,
my kids and ice cream,
my husband and sons,
sons and a daughter,
parents and grandparents,
laughter and dinner.
all mixed together
in a little place
with a big heart
and rolling hills,
with lots of green trees,
and friends who say what they mean,
and help each other.
perhaps a small paradise,
or really just a simple place,
bursting at the seams
with love--
a simple place called home.

And a side note, I'm sure grateful for fall. How I love the crisp air and the crunchy leaves!!