FHE Snowman

Today, even though it's not December yet, we had our first Family Home Evening Christmas activity. I debated doing it today since December doesn't officially start till tomorrow, but I have four activities and only three Monday's to do them in. So when Gabbi asked if she could put together a Family Home Evening lesson, it was decided that we would do the fun activity after the lesson.

Gabbi was ready to go at 6 o'clock. We all gathered in the front room and waited to see what she had in store for us. Gabbi then handed out a piece of paper to each of us with 5 different questions on it. She then asked us to pay attention to story she was about to read in order to answer some of those questions. She then proceeded to read The Christmas Train: A True Story by Thomas S. Monson. 

When she was done reading the story she then turned to the questions she wrote for us. She read them through one by one and we wrote down our responses. She even asked us to share some of our responses, which turned out better than she thought, at least that's what the look on her face was saying. When we were done with the story and questions, she then finished up with her testimony and ended her lesson. She did a great job for a lesson on the fly. I was surprised that she wanted to do one. 

When the lesson was done we all walked to the kitchen table and I explained to them what our activity was. We were making snowmen that represent us. Everyone was given two pom-poms, one large white and one small white, 5 little black pom-poms, a small orange wire cleaner for a nose, a brown wire cleaner for the arms, and a plethora of wire cleaners to choose from to make a scarf and hat. Once all the pieces were handed out, everyone got stared on their snowman.

After many different variations of scarfs, hats, etc. everyone had a completed and different snowman. Ben was leading the way on creativity. He even made a Snowman Santa with the extra pieces. It really got the kids revved up to try different things. I have to say I was surprised by some of the things he came up with and then what the kids came up with after seeing what he did. Everyone loved their finished snowman. When they were all done, we put them on the T.V. right out front so we could look at them all month long. It was a fun little activity, a great start to our Christmas.

Decorating

When I walked in the door yesterday the kids begged me to pull the Christmas decorations out so we could start decorating. Little did they know we weren't going to be home very long because we had plans to go to Beth and Parker's for Thanksgiving with Annie. When we got home from our Thanksgiving gathering the kids again asked if we could decorate. I again shattered their dreams and told them that they needed to shower and get ready for bed. 

This morning the kids again asked if we could decorate for Christmas. We had some virtual church meetings later, but promised them that once we were done for the day and the tree was ready to go, that we could decorate. They jumped up and down, so excited to be decorating. Even though we weren't ready yet, they went out and got the decoration boxes from the garage. That way things were ready when we were ready.

When it was finally time I started a Christmas movie, The Santa Clause, and I let the kids watch that as I assembled the tree and fluffed the branches. When the tree was ready to go, I then pulled out the kids' ornaments for them to put them on the tree. We haven't received the new ornaments from Nana and Papa yet, but they were still excited to be able to put their other ones on. Little by little and ornament by ornament, the tress was really coming together. I only had to direct a few times (because a few ornaments were to close together), but once their were done with their ornaments we stood back to see how it looked.

All of the kids said that they loved the tree. I added the star on top and the tree skirt on bottom and pushed it back towards the wall. Now that it was all done, I plugged it in and the kids smiled. They did a great job decorating their tree.

Now that they were done, it was my turn to hang up mine. I have a garland that I normally hang my ornaments on, but haven't hung it up for the last two years. I couldn't sleep last night trying to figure out where I could hang my garland and ornaments without having to put nails in a wall (I hate having to worry about that with an apartment). After all my debating, I decided to use command strips to hang up my garland above the large mirror in our dinning room.

It was a little difficult getting the garland to cooperate and twist the way I wanted it to in order to sit in those command strips. So much that a few of them popped off the wall in the process. After much frustration, it finally hung the way I wanted it too and looked like it would hold okay. Once it had reached that point, I fluffed the branches and then hung some of my ornaments. I didn't dare hang all of them for fear that it would be to heavy and pull the garland off the wall. So I choose the light weighted ones and hoped for the best.    

Once the garland was up and from the looks of it staying in place, it was time to finish what we started. We hung up the clings on the mirror and fridge, the Christmas wreath, the Christmas welcome sign, a few stuffed Christmas figures (gnome and TY beanie bear), our Christmas book basket, the Christmas countdown calendar, and last but not least the Nativities. The kids have the Fisher Price Little People Nativity and I have my Willow Tree. Once those were up and in place, we were done and able to sit back and enjoy the hard days work of decorating.

Thanksgiving with Annie

After getting home in the morning I was surprised to see the kids still asleep and Ben just barely getting out of bed. He had been awake, but he was just laying in bed. About a half hour of being home the kids finally woke up. We told them to have breakfast and get dressed. While they did that, Ben and I got ready too. 

Once Ben and Gabbi was ready, they went into the kitchen to get the potatoes going. Our assignment today was mashed potatoes. Ben took this as an opportunity to teach Gabbi how to peel, cut, cook, and mash the potatoes. She was on cloud 9. When the potatoes were done, we put them in the crock pot to stay warm and we were ready.

We still had some time to kill, so we sat down and watched an episode of Survivor. We recently found it on Netflix and have surprisingly come to enjoy it. We've never seen one episode until now. The kids have enjoyed watching some episodes too, so much that they have tried to reenact some of the game they play on the show. When the episode was done, we grabbed all that we needed and loaded into the truck. 

When we got there Annie and Megan were the only ones there, well beside Beth's family of course. Parker was outside tending to the turkey and both Beth and Annie were making finishing touches on their sides. While they were doing that we just talked while the kids played games whether at the table or on the Nintendo. It had been a long time since we saw Megan last, it was really nice to see what she was up to.

Regina, Casey, and Greg joined us around 4. Not long after that everything was ready and we all gathered for a prayer. The kids then were the first to fill their plates with all the yummy food. They had a lot to choose from too; turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, three different kinds of stuffing, deviled eggs, rolls, and last but not least gravy. Once their plates were full, they went and sat down and began eating. Now that they were done, it was time for the adults to dish up.

When we were done eating we were all too full to eat pie. We had to wait a while before stuffing our bellies even more. The girls went into McKell's room to play Barbie's, the boys played Nintendo Switch, and the adults bounced around visiting with each other. Some of the adults even played a few rounds on the Nintendo Switch. 

As time passed it was time for pie. All the leftovers were divided up and handed out to everyone who wanted leftovers. Once the counter was cleaned off the pies were pulled out and everyone came up for a piece of yummy pie. We were able to choose form pumpkin or caramel apple. Megan was in charge of the pies and I was surprised that she didn't make them herself. She said she's been so busy with work, that she wasn't able to this year. The pies she picking our were still good despite not being homemade.

When we were all done, we all pitched in to help clean up. When we were done, we all parted ways until next time.

Thanksgiving craft

Thanksgiving break was almost over (2 days left) and we finally got to emptying out William's backpack. Inside his backpack we pulled out some crafts that he had done in school to prepare for Thanksgiving. One of which was a hat. He had completely forgotten that it was in there and was bummed because he wanted to wear it to Thanksgiving. 

Since he wasn't able to wear it for our Thanksgiving, he decided to wear it around the house instead. He was proud of his hat and was even more excited about it when he was able to tell us about it and the pilgrims it represented. He was so cute talking about the pilgrims, and said that one day he wanted to be one. We smiled and he went and displayed his pilgrims hat on his dresser for the rest of the Thanksgiving break.

New tree

In the morning I woke before needing to go upstairs. I went ahead and got dressed, then decided to turn on the T.V. to bide the time. I watched an episode of Sugar Rush and once it was over, I went upstairs. I went into the front room and found both Mom and Dad getting things ready to go. 

The first task of the morning was to take all the decorations off the old trees. Mom had zip tied the ornaments to her previous tress and they had to be taken off in order to put them on her new tree. We attached the this first step with wire cutters. It took forever and when we were finally done, I had a blister on my finger. It was easier said than done for sure.

Now that we had the old trees cleared off, we separated all the decorations into piles. We then pulled out all the ribbons that Mom had bought along with the deco mesh. The next step was to get the deco mesh and ribbons wrapped around the tree. This step was all Mom. I was there to zip tie the ribbon at the top and then waited to be told where to put the next zip tie. The ribbon process took the longest. We'd get one section of the tree done and then Mom would take a big step back to see and wanted to change it. We redid a few of the stretches of ribbon, but finally after a few hours we were ready to start putting on ornaments and embellishments. 

Before starting on the ornaments and embellishments, we took a break for a late lunch. Dad went and pulled out all the Thanksgiving dinner leftovers and I was told to help myself. I made the best day after turkey sandwich with the sides on the side. Mom and Dad always have the best Thanksgiving food and I couldn't wait to make my plate. 

After lunch we got back to the tree. We started with the big things first. Mom had twig garlands that also had rustic flowers on it. We draped them around the tree similar to the ribbons and mesh. Once those were on we stepped back to see what was next. I then noticed that some of the lights were out. That of course caused a problem especially considering this was a brand new tree. I went out to my shed and found our lightkeeper (a device to help find and charge dead Christmas lights) in hopes that that would help me find what bulb needed to be changed.

After going around the strand over and over and changing out random replacements bulbs, nothing happened. Mom then sent Dad to the store to buy a new strand of lights to replace the ones that were out. When he got back, he had actually purchased a lightkeeper because sometimes mine worked and sometimes it didn't. After helping Dad mess around with fuses, lights, and the lightkeeper we couldn't figure out what was wrong with the strand. At that point I started using the strand that Dad bought and strung it as close to the original stand as I could. 

That took a ton of time, more than either of us could have anticipated. I just couldn't believe how long that took and now that it was finally done, we could get back to the decorating. Mom then starting bundling the ornaments and I zip tied them to the tree. After getting through almost all of the ornaments, I had Mom take a look to tell me where I needed to put them. She then directed me to spots that could use an ornament of two. 

After our project turned into an all day thing, we were finally done. We both took a big step back to see how it looked and we both agreed that it looked great and that it was officially done. Now it was time to clean up the mess. It didn't take nearly as long as it did to decorate, but with it cleaned up and now we could sit back, relax, and enjoy our labors for the day.

To relax I sat down with a soda, some snacks, and watched another Hallmark movie until I was tired enough to go to bed.

Thanksgiving with Nelson and Deann

Once we were loaded up and ready to go, we headed towards the freeway. Ben had the kids in his truck and I was driving in the van. We drove separately because I would be staying at Mom and Dad's so I could help Mom with her new Christmas tree. 

They went on ahead of me and went straight to Mom and Dad's while I made a pit stop at Jeff and Tiffany's. I was finally getting to deliver Tiffany's wreath. When I got there and handed her the wreath she was so excited. It made my day to see how happy she was with it. 

After dropping off the wreath I met up with Ben and the kids at Mom and Dad's. By the time I got there, they had already grabbed all the Christmas decoration boxes and had them loaded and packed up in the back of the truck. When I pulled up, Ben hopped out to help me unload and put away the Halloween and Thanksgiving decoration boxes in the shed. Once that quick chore was done, we all got in the truck and headed to Garland.

The ride there was nice. We didn't run into any type of traffic. I was surprised how open the freeways were considering it was a Holiday. When we got there, Nelson and Deann were watching some T.V. in their front room. It was some sort of a dog competition. Once inside, I went ahead and put our dessert on the counter where Deann had already placed some goodies. She had a bag of homemade rolls, a veggie tray, and a marshmallow jello salad. It was a come and eat as you wanted, nothing big or special. 

In between munching on all the goodies, we had a chance to catch up from the last time we were there. Deann told us all about their newest little grandbaby. The boys didn't pay much attention to our visiting, they were drawn into the dog competition on the T.V. The kids were in their own little world playing with the toys, looking at the Christmas decorations, and trying to get the cats to play with them. At one point we were all trying to play with the cats, which just made it confusing for the cats.

After two or so hours had passed, it was time to go. We still had quite the drive ahead of us, well Ben and the kids did. We had the kids clean up, we said our goodbyes, and headed out. Ben drove to Mom and Dad's where they dropped me off. Ben helped me carry my things inside, kissed me goodbye, and then got back in the truck to head home.

I asked Ben to text me when he got home, so I couldn't go to bed just yet. I went upstairs to say hi to Mom and Dad. Dad was watching some Christmas movies on Hallmark, so I sat down to join him. After an hour and a half, I finally texted Ben to see where he was at. He finally responded saying he had just walked in the door. Knowing that they were home now meant I could go to bed. I didn't though, Dad and I finished our current movie. We didn't end up calling it a night until midnight.

Thanksgiving

With all that was going on with our niece and nephews, each of us did our own Thanksgiving despite it being Mom and Dad's year. Ben and I weren't exactly sure what we wanted to do, but knew that we wanted to do something.

While shopping for our Anniversary dinner we went ahead and got items to make a simple Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. We got instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy packets, instant stove top stuffing, French style canned green beans, Pillsbury crescent rolls, and the main item turkey stakes. Neither of us have ever cooked a turkey before and we didn't really think that this was the time to start something new. It didn't sound or look like much, but at least it was something.

Thanksgiving morning was a slow and relaxed one. When we woke the kids had a late breakfast before getting ready for the day. Once everyone was ready, all we had to do was wait. The boys played some games in their room while Gabbi worked on her Diamond art. After a while I got a text from Jeff asking what everyone's plans were and if we wanted to do a game afternoon over zoom. We had nothing to do until our lunch/dinner, so we told him we were game. 

When it was time, he sent out a picture of his zoom meeting room and we hopped in. When we did, he had things set up for Jackbox TV games. For our first game, Fibbage, it was just Jeff's family and our family. I was funny watching Gabbi try to figure out how to play. It's the first time she was allowed to. Owen and William joined in at audience members who got to vote on the best responses and that was much easier for them.

Our second game we got more takers. Jenny and her family had joined, but only their kids were playing. Since it was just the kids, they played TeeKO. It's a shirt designing game and the finished products were voted on until it was down to the best shirts. Gabbi did really good at this one. The shirt that she lined up went to the very last round and actually won. It wasn't much, but it was voted the best.

When their game was over, Dad joined our zoom game afternoon and the adults all got on to play Murder Mystery. Since not all of the adults were playing, some of the kids got to join and not just in the audience. Ben and I played, sort of. It was getting closer to the time that we wanted to eat, so we were bouncing in and out of preparing our Thanksgiving meal and playing the game.

After the Murder Mystery game was over, we handed over our phones to let the kids play the next one. They all joined in on the game of Guesspionage. While they were playing Ben and I finished putting together our Thanksgiving. When it was ready, we brought everything over to the table and by the time were were ready and set up, their game had just ended. I then went on to let them know that we would be signing off. They told us that they would be playing off and on all day and were welcome to come back at any time. We wished them a Happy Thanksgiving and went and sat down at the table.

The kids were surprised at what was on the table. It definitely wasn't what they were used to, but they all looked excited to dig in. Ben shared a message on Thanksgiving, we said a prayer over our meal, and then began to dish up. Once everyone had a little bit of everything, we all started eating. Despite it being very simple and nothing like a normal Thanksgiving dinner, it was really good. When we were done eating our Thanksgiving lunch/dinner we even dished up a slice of pumpkin pie.

When we were all done, I cleared the table and cleaned up the dishes while Ben and the kids sat down to play some games. After I was done mopping the floor, it was time to get our shoes on and head out. It was a nice afternoon despite not being with our whole family. 

As the afternoon went on, everyone started sharing their photos of their families with their Thanksgiving dinner's. Even thought we couldn't be all together, it made it feel a little bit like we were still together. 

Changed plans

Every year we enjoy getting together with Family for the Holidays. At the Hall Halloween dinner (which was postponed because of Kayla needing to be quarantined) it was decided that we would stop having family dinners in hopes that we would all be well and able to get together for Thanksgiving. With that and since it was Mom's year for Thanksgiving, she then handed out our food assignments. As time got closer we would finalize those plans.

With COVID numbers surging and sky rocketing in the last few day, weeks, and now months, it was only a matter of time before it hit close to home. Last month Christy and all of her kids had it, but have recovered and are back to normal. Sadly a friend of ours from when I was a kid in Farr West, died from COVID complications, and now we got a message from Dad, say that Uncle Dave was just admitted to the hospital with COVID complications.

On Nov. 13th Dad sent us this message on GroupMe: I just talked to Suzanne. Her, Dave, Colby and Courtney have all tested positive with COVID. Jacob had also tested positive, but has already recovered. Everyone mostly had mild symptoms except for Dave. He's in the ICU at McKay Dee Hospital. He was put on a ventilator this morning. She said they project that he will be on the ventilator for a couple weeks, along with whatever therapies they have him do. She couldn't remember all that they had said. She did say that they told her that he's doing ok. 

After hearing that we informed the kids and we planned to put them in our prayers. Gabbi was really sad when she heard that he was sick. They have a special Bond. She went in her room and drew him a Get Well card. We of course weren't able to get it to him, so we took a picture of it and texted it to Suzanne. 

Getting even closer to home, COVID hit at Jenny's house. We've been worried about Kayden (and Miranda of course) with all the college students testing positive and two of Kayden's roommates actually getting it. It's been great that he hasn't, but it others were not as lucky. Jenny sent us a message on GroupMe on Nov. 17th. She said; Soooo....Cameron has COVID. He was tested last Wednesday, but the lab lost his test and we finally got his results back today. He definitely has been sick, but has finally started feeling better yesterday. The Dr. (our neighbor) said that the rest of us have to quarantine for 14 days after Cameron has been 10 days from his first days of symptoms....unless the rest of us get symptoms first then we start sooner....Miranda is also home on quarantine as well because a few girls from her softball team test positive for COVID too. So far, she is good. Happy thanksgiving!

Jenny further explained that Cameron had gotten it from someone he went to school with. Jenny also said that one of Miranda's teammates that tested positive was actually her roommate, but that they were doing okay. They were sick, but they were okay. 

A few days later, Nov 19th, I asked how they were all doing and Jenny responded....Cameron is starting to feel better. The first 5 days were rough, but he is getting better every day. So far Brian and I are good. Miranda thinks she had it last week as well, but didn't dare say anything because she was in denial and didn't want to get tested. Kayden's girlfriend tested positive two days ago and Kayden got tested yesterday. We're just waiting for results. The plague is here people!

Again Jenny was asked how everyone was doing. As of Nov. 25th, Jenny said that the kids are much better and that Kayden's test came back negative. She said that she thinks that is came back negative because on his test in July that came back was negative, but was really positive. So he already had it which is why he didn't get it from his girlfriend. She ended her message with a "3 for 5 at our house." At least she can laugh about it.

To add more wood to the fire, we found out this morning the J.D. has also been sick. Tiffany said that he had a fever, really bad headaches, slept forever (although he's a very active kids and is a hates to sleep kind of person) and all over body aches. They had him tested yesterday, but are still waiting for the results.

COVID is crazy and it has really upended a lot of lives. I dream for the day when things have gone back to normal and everyone doesn't have to walk around afraid of being near anyone else for fear that they would get them sick. 

Give Thanks

We have been admonished by our Prophet to share on social media a note, an inspiration, or thoughts of gratitude. As I have looked at Facebook, I have noticed and read many things that other's our grateful for. I realize I am behind the curve on this effort to follow this request, so better late than never. Very fitting for Thanksgiving. 

As I have sat and pondered on the things that I am grateful, many things come to mind. So many that I wouldn't be able to fully express my gratitude. We were asked to share these thoughts the 7 days leading up to Thanksgiving, so I will list 7 things that I am grateful for.

1. I am grateful for my Family; the ones I was born into (immediate and extended), the ones I married into, the ones that have called me their own although we both knew I wasn't, and the ward Families that we have come to know and love. I would not be who I am today with their guiding influences in my life.

2. I am grateful for my Friends; the ones that are always there for me when I need them, the ones I vent to and never judge me, the ones who I can go a year not seeing and pick up like no time had passed. They all hold a special place in my heart and will always look at them as if they were family.

3. I am grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and all that that entails. The Prophet and Apostles that lead and direct us, the scriptures that guide us one our paths through this life, the Temples that tie our Families together for Eternity, the Covenants that I have made with my Heavenly Father, and the Testimony I cling to when things are hard that keep me moving forward.

4. I am grateful for the Comforts of Life; the home/apartment in which we live to keep us warm when it's cold outside or cool when it is hot, food to fill our bellies, water to quench our thirst, sweet things to make life easier to take and that I obviously eat too much of, vehicles to get us around, books to read, movies to watch, and computers to stay connected.

5. I am grateful for Employment; it hasn't always been a smooth experience in life, but it has always been there. Now it (Army) is taking us to adventures I can't even begin fathom. I'm not always happy with it, but its been a constant in our married life. 

6. I am grateful for my Trials; as hard as that is to understand they are what I have learned from and have continued to grow from. I know I have not faced many hard or difficult things, as I know many others have, but even the little things have been there to help learn and grow and become a better person, the one my Heavenly Father wants me to be. 

7. Overall I guess you could say that I am grateful for my Life; the life I have been given from my Heavenly Father to experience and enjoy despite anything that may be thrown at me, all those things means that I am alive. 

I hope everyone will have a safe and fun Thanksgiving Holiday. 

Gratitude notes

As I was looking through Facebook, I came across a post from the school. This week they are focusing on gratitude. In order to do that the Librarian put together a fun little activity for all of the kids. She said "As we gear up for Thanksgiving, the students will be spending time focusing on what they are grateful for. Having gratitude create happiness as well as emotional, mental, and physical health." In conjunction of this, as the kids come to the library for their time, they take the first few minutes to write down what they are thankful for. She said that she gave them 60 seconds to think about it and then they had to write it down.

I was able to save Owen's class picture, but for some reason William wasn't in his class picture. I have no idea where he was and neither does he.

The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see - Mary Davis

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision of tomorrow - Melody Beattie

Anniversary

Ben and I celebrated our 14th wedding Anniversary today. Looking back we have had our ups and downs and like any couple will continue to do so. We have also been very blessed and I wouldn't have asked for a better eternal companion to experience this life with. 

In the last year we have been focusing on the next chapter that awaits us. Ben has been working really hard in his program at BYU to ensure that we get to that next chapter. That has been an adjustment and continues to be an adjustment for all of us especially with all the craziness of COVID. He has had to do most of his program at home and so have the kids. Having everyone under the same roof practically 24/7, you're bound to step on some toes and nerves. Even with all that, we have done our best to enjoy this time in our lives.

Normally we would go out and have fun in order to celebrate. With COVID, that wasn't the case. The numbers for COVID have skyrocketed and has made it hard to feel safe going out. We did want to be able to celebrate though. We decided to make our own nice dinner that we could have from home.

After dropping off the kids at school, we went to Walmart to get that special dinner. We decided to have a steak dinner. We decided to try a New York Strip. They looked delicious in their packaging, I couldn't wait to eat them tonight. To go with the steaks, we got roasted garlic mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and crescent rolls to finish it off. It all sounded so yummy, I could taste it all ready. Then we talked about a dessert. You can't celebrate without dessert. After walking through the bakery and not having anything jump at us we decided to pick it up elsewhere. As soon as we had all we needed we went to the front to pay and head out to the truck.

After loading our bags in the truck, we went to Kneaders. We had planned to have breakfast. We weren't sure if we'd get it to go or stay there. It all depended on whether or not they had a lot of people there. Luckily for us, they didn't have a lot, so we decided to eat it there. We also decided to get our dessert from there. We placed our order for two of their chunky french toast breakfasts and they Raspberry Crème pie. When she asked if we just wanted a slice, I laughed and told her that we wanted the whole pie. After placing our order we went and sat down.

We were able to find a table in the corner near no one. It was perfect. We sat down and waited for them to call our name. We didn't have to wait long and they actually brought it to us. It looked and smelled so yummy that we both dug in. It was just as good as I remember. While eating we talked about some big assignments that Ben has to work on and other things with school. We also talked about the kids and what was ahead of us when we move back to Ogden, come the end of the school year. 

When we were done, we picked up our pie and headed out. We needed to get milk from Costco, but the one we were next to (Spanish Fork) wasn't open yet. They didn't open to the general public until 10. We still had 40 minutes to wait. We decided to go to the Orem Costco instead, and headed to the freeway. Once we got off at our exit, we still had time to wait, so we stopped at Hobby Lobby. I'm having Taycina make me some shirts and I still needed to pick up the shirts. 

Once in the store we quickly made our way to the shirts trying to avoid the other shoppers. Once back at the shirts, Ben picked out a Baseball Tee. I liked the thought of that and we decided to do Baseball Tees for all of us. The boys would have black ones and the girls would have red. Once we grabbed those we headed to the front to pay. This took longer than I wanted, but as soon as we were done, we headed back out to the truck and on to Costco. 

Once at Costco we were in and out. We didn't need anything but milk. We did grab some of the bins that we used when we moved to add to our supply as well as some wipes, since they had some. Once we had those, we made our way to the front, paid, and back to the truck. When we were done loading up, we headed home.

At home we went our separate ways. Ben had some homework to do and I didn't want to get in the way since he couldn't do any homework once his class was over. While he did that, I did some blogging. When it was time for lunch, I asked him what he wanted. I did promise him a hamburger, but I wasn't hungry, so I turned to him. He wasn't that hungry either, so we decided to have a snack, but that was it. 

When it was time, I went and picked up the kids. I reminded the kids that Dad would be starting his class soon and that they'd need to be quiet. I don't know why I bothered because they were loud anyways. I tried to keep them quiet and allowed them to have their electronic time. They each spent their 20 minutes playing Disney Infinity. After they all had had their time, I sent them to their rooms to play hoping with the doors closed wouldn't be too loud. 

At 4 I got dinner going for the kids and when it was ready I called them in and they ate at the counter. When they were done, I got them going on their night time chores in hopes that they would cooperate so Ben and I could have a quiet evening. They didn't do too bad, but needed a few reminders of what they were supposed to be doing. Then Ben came out. 

He actually finished with his class faster than I thought he would. We worked together to get things pulled out and ready for our dinner. We pulled the steaks out and got them seasoned and in a marinade bag. That had to sit for at least 30 minutes. So while we waited for that I started on the other items while Ben went back in our room to get a little more done on an assignment that is due tomorrow.  

When he got to a place where he could stop, he came out and started to cook our steaks. While they were cooking my mouth was watering. It smelled so good and I couldn't wait until it was done. When they were done cooking, we placed them on the cutting board so they could rest. The timing was perfect because it was time for our Zoom appointment to get our Temple recommended renewed. When that call was over, it was finally time to eat. Yum.

We dished up and sat down at the table. It all looked so yummy and smelt amazing. I took my first bite of steak and couldn't believe it. It was amazing and I dare say the best that I have ever had. Ben did a great job on those steaks and I intended to eat every bite. When we were done, we cleaned up our plates and the cooking mess in the kitchen. It didn't take long and then we went to the front room to watch a movie.

We always watch a movie at the theater and if we could watch one at the theater we would watch one at home. We weren't sure what we wanted to watch, I just knew I wanted to watch one that we hadn't seen before. After some searching we ended up watching MUD with Matt McConaughey. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it wasn't bad either. While we watched our movie we also ate our dessert. It was just as delicious as our dinner. 

When the movie was over, we went and got ready for bed. I started another movie, 27 dresses, which seemed very fitting. We laid down and it was despite the circumstances a very nice day and a great Anniversary date. 

We didn't do gifts this year because of some recent purchases. We have spoiled ourselves the last few months, so much that we have considered that our Anniversary and Christmas gifts. We bought an adjustable bed frame (when we replaced our warranty broken mattress), a little bit bigger T.V. for our bedroom, and a surround sound speaker set for our T.V. in the front room. Needless to say, we didn't need to spend anything else on gifts for the next little bit. 

Happy 14th Anniversary!!!!

Wrist Continued

 After 6 weeks of a sling and a cast, it finally came off. 

After school William and I went to the Doctor's officer. When we got there William was in very high spirits talking to everyone we passed. When we got to the check-in desk, while I was checking him in, he was talking to one of the receptionists. He looked like he was having a blast talking to her. They were talking about the Zen garden that was on the desk. 

Once he was checked-in we sat down and I finished filling out his paperwork. It was a simple form, just asking about his treatment and pain levels. Then we waited until they called his name. He was getting impatient and I don't blame him. We got there before 3 other individuals and they all went back before we did. I guess that one was my fault for being early.

Once they did finally call him back William again was talking to the nurse with such excitement. He was the same nurse/assistant that has helped us this entire time. He's very nice to William and has really made this traumatic experience a little bit easier.

Once we were back in the room, he asked William how he was doing and how his wrist was treating him. William gave him a thumbs up, which we both took as a good thing. He then took asked him to sit in the big chair and took his vitals. Once that was done William started freaking out. He was scared about what was going to happen next. When the nurse/assistant came over to him, William got up off the chair and came and hid in my lap.

Seeing how William was acting, the nurse/assistant tried to make this as easy as he could. He asked William to come and sit down and he sat next to him. He asked him if he was excited about getting his cast off and William timidly said yes. He then asked him why we was scared. William told him that he was afraid that he was going to cut his arm. I could tell at that point that the nurse/assistant wanted to laugh, but I'm sure he's heard that answer before. 

After listening to William and why he was scared, he then grabbed the saw mechanism to William could see it up close. He explained how it was going to work and warned him that it was loud. He then turned it on and showed William how it wasn't going to cut him. He showed him by putting it on his own hand. It didn't do anything and William looked at it in disbelief. William still wasn't convinced because he did it on his glove and not his skin. So again the nurse/assistant turned it back on and did the same thing to his arm. It didn't cut him, but William pointed out that it did in fact leave a mark. It was nothing, it was as if he was itching his arm, hardly anything at all, but William was still hesitant. 

I moved over and knelt next to William and held his other hand. The nurse/assistant then asked him where he wanted the cut to be and which one should be first. He had to do two cuts in order to take it off. William was shaking and very hesitantly told him that he wanted the cuts to be on top and bottom and that the top was to be cut first. Once the nurse/assistant heard that, he turned on the saw mechanism and got started. 

William instantly started to cry. I tried to console him, but no matter what I did and said, William wouldn't stop crying. The nurse/assistant knew that his feelings wouldn't change, so at that point, he just tried to get the hard part done and over with as quickly as possible. With the snap of his fingers, he was done. The saw mechanism was on less than 30 seconds. The instant that it turned off William stopped crying and he was fine.

When the cutting part was over, he grabbed a special tool to open up the cuts he just made. Now that the lining was exposed, he then used a pair of scissors to cut the lining. Once those two steps were done, he then took the cast off. It was crazy to see his wrist, it looked scrawny and longer than his other wrist. The nurse/assistant could tell by the look on my face that I thought something didn't look right. He assured me that that was normal and as time went on, it would slowly come back to normal as if this never happened.

Now that the cast was off, he had to get another set of x-rays. The nurse/assistant told us that the x-ray technician would come back and get us when she was ready. We didn't have to wait long before she was knocking on the door. She then lead us back to the x-ray room. Halfway there, William got ahead of us and again said that he would lead us to where we needed to go. We both laughed and happily followed William. 

Once back in the x-ray room, William instantly walked over to the table and stood in the same position that she has had him stand in last time. She was thrown back by this and said "Wow, you are a pro." He had a big smile on his face with her comment. I then left the room and she proceeded to take a few different x-rays from different positions. When they were done, she gave him a sucker, and walked us back to the room.

Once we were in the room, the Doctor came in and pulled up the x-rays. He said everything looked great and that he could see a lot of new bone growth. I was surprised to hear that, but happy as well. He said that as the days and weeks went by, it would continue to heal and be back to his normal 100%. He then came closer to William and asked him it was feeling. William didn't say anything, so the Doctor went to touch different parts of his arm. William flinched and didn't want him to touch it. He asked him if it hurt and William said it didn't, but that he still didn't want him to touch his arm. The Doctor looked at me and told me that that was a normal response.

He then asked William to do some simple movements with his wrist. He asked him to move it up, down, left, right, and in a circle. He didn't move it much at all. He then told William that through the next few days and weeks, he needed to try those movements multiple times in a day. William shook his head and tried again to move his wrist. He moved it more this time than the last time, but still didn't have much movement. 

With that the Doctor told us how we needed to care for it and told William that he still needed to be careful. He told him that he couldn't play on the playground, couldn't run in the house, couldn't play sports, and had to be careful while at school all for the next two weeks. He then started talking about a brace. He said that most kids do much better with a brace easing their way back to some normalcy. I asked him where I could go and get one, and he said that we would be leaving with one. He also said that while at home he shouldn't have to wear it, but anytime he wasn't at home, it should be on.

So for the next two weeks were going to do the best we came to make sure he's being careful; at least at home and make sure he has his brace before he leaves the house. With a now 7 year old, I hope that wont be difficult.

He then said that we were good to go once William got his brace. Before leaving the room he did add that if he didn't regain full movement or had consistent pain by the end of the two weeks, that we should come back in. As I heard that I pictured the worse in my head. I hope that doesn't happen. This has been hard enough.

He then left and the nurse/assistant came in and fitted William with a brace. He even showed William how to put it on and take it off. William gave him a thumbs up with his braced hand and a smile on his face. We were then free to go. 

On the way home, for being such a brave kid, we stopped at Walmart for him to pick out a prize. He ended up choosing a Monster truck. The boys don't have Mohawk yet and that's the truck he picked.

When we got home, Owen and Gabbi were instantly drawn to him. They wanted to see his arm and to see how he was doing. William happily showed off his arm in its brace. The kids were confused, they thought he had another cast on it, but William corrected them and told then that he could take it off. William then looked at me and said that we were home now and started to take the brace off. Gabbi and Owen then scooted in to get a closer look at his arm. The had funny looks on their faces, but William was all smiles and said that it would be back to normal in no time.

Student of the Month

Gabbi came home from school today extremely excited. After taking her things to her room, she came out and told me that she had been chosen as Student of the Month for the month of October. With that she also got to choose a prize. I wasn't at all surprised when she pulled out a HydroFlask. She said she picked it out because she wanted to cover it in stickers. That made me laugh, but she earned it and she can do whatever she wants with it, it's hers.

Early Anniversary Surprise

The kids spent the day in and out of their rooms doing something that we weren't allowed to see. I tried a few times to see what they were up to, but they pushed me out of the room. So I went to my chores around the house and let them be. A little while later, Gabbi then handed me a piece of paper. It was an invitation to attend an Anniversary event. I wasn't sure what it meant, our Anniversary wasn't for another two weeks, but she told me that we had to attend. I smiled and told her that I looked forward to it. She then moved on to give Ben an invitation as well.

After dinner we were told to go in our bedroom until they were ready, so we followed their request and went in our room until they were ready. When they were, William came and told us they were ready. We slowly walked into the front room and found it decorated and ready for a party. They had paper balloons and streamers tapped all over the walls and even the fan blades. I wasn't a huge fan of them being tapped to the walls, but for what they were doing I let it go.

Once in the room she told us to sit on the couch. They then handed us a gift bag. I had no idea what was inside, but was surprised that they went to so much trouble. Ben and I opened the gift together and inside the bag we found pictures that they all had drawn and colored along with rings for us to wear. They were Gabbi's bendable CTR rings and were told to wear them for the rest of the evening, but could give them back when we were done. We obliged them and placed them on our fingers and moved on to the next thing. 

Our first activity was a scavenger hunt. They had set up clues around the house with different place of us to stop. It took us to their rooms, the bathroom, and even the garage. The last clue led us to game pieces for our next activity, which was a homemade trivia game. 

The trivia game was cute. They came up with their own questions, some of which were actually about us. I asked where they got the information from and Gabbi smiled and said the blog books. They really went to a lot of work to put this game together. Along with the questions, they had the gameboard, spinner, paper money, and question cards. 

When we were done with the game, they quickly cleaned it up, moved the table, and told us that it was time to dance. I laughed and told them I was okay and they all said that they would dance if we would. So we had them dance first and then we joined in. They turned the radio on and the dancing began. All of the kids took turns dancing with each other and once they were done, it was our turn.

Once we were done dancing, they all yelled "Happy Anniversary" and then told us that the party was over and could leave whenever we were ready to. We then told them how sweet they were to put this together and gave each of them a hug. They can be really sweet when they want to be. Now if they can be this sweet to each other all the time, we'd definitely have it all.