Happy Thanksgiving!!

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I love this little pilgrim girl, my daughter April, drew when she was in the second grade!!   She came home from school one day and brought me the paper and said that was her picture on the front page.  At first I didn't believe it.   How could her picture be on the front page and I didn't know about it first??  Anyway, I read the caption and had to apologize.  Then I went to go admire the real thing on the window front.  After a few weeks April brought home the original. It is one of my treasured possessions!  

I am thankful for so many blessings.  I just finished reading a book about a slave called "Someone Knows My Name".  It has really made me think deeply about all the modern conveniences I take for granted.  For instance running water, and electricity.  

Wishing you all a most Blessed Thanksgiving. 

Kitchen Disasters

Well, well, we have had our share of kitchen disasters!  Some have been my fault, others not!  Alright, I'll be honest, most kitchen disasters are my fault. I'm really bad at turning fried eggs, and I have burned my share of food, and cooked bricks instead of bread and made scrambled pancakes!!  Oh, and I almost burned the kitchen floor!!  But, I'll save that story for another day.  Today, I want to share a kitchen disaster that wasn't my fault and it happened at Holiday time.

Isn't this a sweet doggy??  This is Lucky. Affectionately, known as Lucky Dog because we adopted her from the Humane Society! 

Lucky we miss you, may you rest in peace!

 This is our family gathered outside for a picture after a yummy Thanksgiving dinner. 

 Thanksgiving 2001 Back row:  Steve, Seth, Grandma and Grandpa, Bob, Ben, Lindsey, Liz, Laurel, Richard, Sarah, Ethan, Spencer, David, Sariah.  Front row: Nate, Merry, Evan, Caitlyn, Rachel, Katie, April, Cindy and Mike.

 

So, I bet you are wondering what this has to do with a kitchen disaster.  Well, what happened was after our yummy Thanksgiving dinner one year, and before kitchen clean up we decided to get a family photo before everyone went every which way!!   So, out to the front yard we went for the photo shoot.  When we came back into the house, we heard noises in the kitchen.  And what did we find, you may ask.  Well, Lo and Behold, Lucky Dog had gotten into the turkey carcass that was still sitting on the counter!!  What a feast she had!! And a disaster for us because we had no left over turkey for yummy sandwiches and turkey soup!!  

Moral of the story:  Always, always clean up first!! 

This was written or Slice of Life.  Please join us here.

Our Thanksgiving Trip

We drove down to San Diego to have Thanksgiving with John, Amy and little Aiden.  It was worth the drive!!  We had a great time!  We were surprised we didn't hit much traffic going down Wednesday morning. I think we made it in record time.  Which was great because we had more time to visit.  

Evan is a nephew magnet!  They are very attracted to him!!

Wednesday afternoon we visited the Mormon Battalion Memorial.  I had never been there before.  Actually I had never even been to Old Town San Diego before. 

RoseAnn (Amy's Sister), Amy, Aiden, John, Cindy, Mike and Evan at the Mormon Battalion

The memorial was awesome.  The display and video's were interesting to watch.  I liked how the portraits on the wall came to life.  You could really experience what it was like for these brave faithful men, women and little boy!

Evan at  Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Ready, Aim, Fire!!

Mike and Cindy...but where are the horses???

A different way to ride.

A beautiful star of David on the Jewish Temple at Old Town

Evan practicing make bricks at the Mormon Battalion

That evening we meet my niece Jessie and her fiance Chad for dinner.  It was great to see her again, it had been 10 years.  Way to long.  She has grown up to be one very amazing woman.  I really admire her a lot!!  I was surprised to learn the company she works for, is the same company that raised money so that Evan and kids like him can get hand cycles.  Cool!!

Jessie and Cindy.  Isn't Jessie beautiful.

Thanksgiving day, we just hung out, played games, went for a nice walk to the park and of course ate a yummy turkey dinner.  Thank you, Amy!!

Aiden had fun with Grandpa!!

Aiden is an extremely happy baby!!

Friday we had a great visit with my brother Doug and his family.  I could kick myself I didn't get out my camera and take pictures.  Especially, since Doug was sporting a new beard.  We had fun catching up on all the exciting news about finding long lost family.

After our visit with Doug we headed to Katie, Brad and Kyle's house.  Saturday was Katie's birthday so we celebrated with her at Grandma and Grandpa Price's house.   Last few times we have visited Grandpa has surprised us, and stayed out and visited with us the whole time.  He used to get tired and go to the back bedroom to watch TV and nap. We always enjoy our visits with them. Our niece Tiffany came over too!!  I admire her a lot too.  She is busy working on a master degree, and needed a relaxing day!

Kyle and Grandma!!  He doesn't cuddle very long any more, too much to explore!!

See what I mean about a nephew magnet!!  It's the wheels!!

Grandma Price eating out of the ice cream carton.

Then sharing with Evan.  He didn't really want to be spoon fed, but how can one resist ice cream, especially if you are a Price??

The beautiful face of Tiffany!! 

Brad getting in a much deserved nap.  (p.s. Brad, Katie took the picture and Evan gave me permission to post this, I'm innocent!!!)

Katie Rose, 29 forever!!

Kyle found a cool little cubby!!  He even bypassed the cat food to get there!!

This is why little boys pants don't last long!! 

We headed home Saturday.  As fun as it is to see family, there is no place like home.  Now we are getting ready for a wonderful Christmas with all of our children home!!

Thanksgiving 2010

This Thanksgiving as in the past, my cup runneth over with blessings.  They are just too numerous to list.  So, I will share what I believe are my top two blessings this year.  

Number one, The Spirit of Elijah. 

In the Old Testament we read the following:

 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."  Malachi 4:5-6.

This Spirit of Elijah causes people to learn about those who came before and preserve their memories. Sometimes the Spirit of Elijah can help us get closer to those who are living.  I'm grateful for the opportunities I have had to search my family history and also to help others.  I'm especially grateful the Spirit of Elijah touched my brother Ron to search for information about his father.  That searching allowed me to be able to find family that was lost.  That is a priceless blessing.  

The second blessing is the The Holy Ghost.
  

This year as I needed comfort, guidance and direction, I felt the tender touch of the Holy Ghost in my life.  The Spirit helped me to know when to visit my mom , before her passing.  I was also given guidance with I was released from my Church service mission.  I just seem to feel closer to the Spirit this year, and it has been a wonderful blessing in my life.  I can feel the love of my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ all around me. 

Even though Thanksgiving is over, I am going to strive to have a attitude of gratitude for my blessings through out the whole year. I hope you do too!!

Giving Thanks

This week Slice of Life is all about expressing gratitude for someone who has done something for us.  Wow, that is hard one.  How to choose??  I have been the recipient of  many acts of kindness.  Picking just one is hard. Well here goes...

Thirty three years ago this Christmas Day an event happened that changed my life forever.  My husband's brother's family came to visit us for Christmas. We decided to attend church with them.  (we weren't members of any church, or even attended church, but I was interested)  Laurel, my sister-in-law asked me if I would mind having the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints come to my home and share the Gospel with me. I readily accepted, and have never regretted the decision.  The Spirit was so strong in our home as those two young missionaries shared the gospel.  I often wonder what my life would be like if I had not joined the Church.  Would my marriage have survived?   I know that I wouldn't have four of my children.  I can't imagine life without them.  I'm so grateful that Laurel gave me that invitation on that Christmas Day and for her example of living the Gospel.  How does one say thank you??  While I don't consider my self a poet, I wrote a little heart felt poem.  Hopefully, that will convey my gratitude.

sisters,

not by blood,

but by spirit.

gospel shared,

truth accept.

new life begun.

my escort when,

forever family was created.

eternal thanks.

Thank you, Laurel, I love you!!