Gratitude

 Have you ever thought about the timing of Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Thanksgiving is often the forgotten holiday between the gleeful cheers of children trick-or-treating at Halloween and their exuberant excitement for Santa to come.

I love that the discussion of Halloween costumes begins in August and the excitement leading up to trick-or-treating.  There is something so special about visiting your neighbors and getting candy that lasts for months. I still look forward to Halloween with childlike excitement.

As an adult I still count down till Christmas.  Much like planning for Halloween begins in August I begin discussing Christmas in September.  Baking, shopping, decorating and wrapping aren't things I get bogged down in, rather I love it all (maybe not wrapping as much).  

I can't wait to set out cookies for Santa, see the tree filled with presents and open them Christmas morning.  The joy on loved ones faces says it all.

I love these two holidays, but there is an important holiday in between, Thanksgiving.   The focus of this holiday is gratitude.

Years ago I sat in a Relief Society lesson about gratitude.  The teacher shared that on Thanksgiving she handed each of her family members a construction paper cut out of a pumpkin.  Like many families in the US she invited them to write down something they are grateful for.  I loved the idea of writing down what we are grateful for instead of just discussing it at dinner on Thanksgiving.  So, I decided to expand this idea a bit.  

I begin planning for Thanksgiving in October.  I collect orange construction paper and spend a bit of time at the die cut machine cutting out paper pumpkins.  By the time I am done cutting there is at least one pumpkin per person for each night beginning November 1 until Thanksgiving night.  I place them in a fall basket with pens and tape.

Each night after dinner we take a few minutes to write down something we are grateful for.  Before taping it to our closet door we share what we wrote down.   

Watching the door get covered with orange pumpkins and seeing what each of us was grateful for throughout the month brought a spirit of gratitude into our home.

I will never forget the kids being grateful for chairs, because they had to sit on the floor during circle time or for umbrellas when it was raining.  Throughout the month our focus shifted to gratitude.  

Our first year, I love Marissa scribbles

Our family has grown and changed a lot over the last 27 years, but we still write out our Thankful Pumpkins after dinner.  

I've save a few

It is a blessing to move into the Christmas season with a heart full of gratitude, especially for the blessing we receive from Heavenly Father.

As we prepare for Christmas we do many of the same things other families do.  We decorate the house, put up lights, add a tree or two, bake yummy treats, watch holiday movies, sing Christmas carols over and over, shop and wrap those special gifts.  It is wonderful.  I love the twinkle of the lights and the peace that seems to accompany this season.

                                               

Often times the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in all that we do to prepare for this glorious day. Our focus becomes Santa Clause, being good for one month and doing it all perfectly.  One Christmas our Relief Society planned an evening to allow the sisters in our ward take a break from all the hustle of Christmas to spend a couple of hours focused on Christ.

That evening they introduced me to a wonderful book, "Mary's Treasure Box" by Carolyn Walz Kramlich.  This is a sweet story of Mary, Jesus's mother, sharing what were the treasures of her heart from the night Jesus was born.  Her granddaughter Sarah loved hearing the story of those treasures that she tucked safely into a special box.

Reading this story has become a favorite tradition of ours.  After reading the story we all spend a few minutes writing down the things we treasured from the past year.  We decorate our card and hang it on the tree.  I have kept these treasures safely in a book.

These traditions are living on in our next generation.  Cutie E and Cutie O have put their mark on both of these traditions.  I loved the scribbles on pumpkin shaped post its, seeing their additions to our gratitude door.

As they listened to Dreyton read "Mary's Treasure Box", they wanted to be right next to him looking at the pictures and hearing the story.

It isn't by chance that we focus on gratitude for the blessings we have received before the birth of the Son of God.  Gratitude softens our heart allowing us to strengthen relationships, connect more deeply with others, forgive others and love with our whole heart.  We become more humble which allows us to serve others.  We are happier, more joyful, more willing to hear the voice of the Lord.

I hope that the cuties will HEAR His voice clearly as they grow and will be willing to show their gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father.

It isn't by chance that we focus on gratitude for the blessings we have received before the birth of the Son of God.  Gratitude softens our heart allowing us to strengthen relationships, connect more deeply with others, forgive others and love with our whole heart.  We become more humble which allows us to serve others.  We are happier, more joyful, more willing to hear the voice of the Lord.

Creativity

 Much like the summer, but for different reasons we spend quite a bit of time indoors.  This week we were able to get out side and enjoy unseasonably warm sunny days, but today we are back inside.

I can usually keep the Cuties entertained, especially after Christmas, but you can always tell when they get restless and need to be outside.

Cutie O said, "I'm hiding", but his hair gave him away.

The basement is a bit of a mess with Christmas tubs lined up in the hallway, suitcases stacked in the office and other miscellaneous items scattered around getting ready to be put away for the year.  This is usually a great place to kick the ball, play chase or hide and seek, but not today.  

While cleaning up a few things around the organized mess of the basement I heard giggles from the Cuties.  I was amazed by their creativity to entertain themselves and have loads of fun.

Suitcases.

Where are you?

There you are

Who knew that empty suitcases could be so much fun.  Cutie E and Cutie O unzipped the suitcase, climbed inside and were playing with the top flap and all the zipper pouches on the inside.  At one point they toppled it over and laughed big belly laughs.  It was adorable to watch them play.

BIG belly laughs

This morning was also filled with Lego towers and castles.  Cutie E built an amazing castle that he has set aside to show mommy, daddy and auntie.

The master working on his castle

I love our mornings together, especially the unplanned, creative, imaginative play time.

He was allowed to touch pieces but not moves them

Little Drivers

 Do you remember wanting to drive so bad you could feel it?  Or dreaming of that day your first drove the car with the wind blowing in your hair?

I remember the feeling of freedom that I had never felt before.  I pulled out of the driveway and I was all alone in the car, the windows down and I was driving.  It was exhilarating.

Never mind that I was 19, the feeling was still there.

I'm not sure if most people begin dreaming of that day at the age of 2 and 20 months, but our Cuties sure do.

One afternoon I got in the car and the Expedition was in 4-Wheel drive.  How did that happen?

Another time my hazards were flashing, the wipers going, and it was in 4-Wheel drive.

Hmmm.  What is going on?

Wait a minute.  My little Cutie O, loves to escape from getting in his carseat and head straight to the drivers seat.  That little Dude loves to pretend he is driving my car.

He is all smiles.  Loves to push the buttons, flip the dials and run his hands along the steering wheel.

Cutie E is no different.  He loves to "drive".  When you ask him what he is doing, he will tell you, "I'm Driving!"  with giggles and smiles.

I have a feeling it is going to be tough to keep these two out of the drivers seat when it is there turn to drive.  I'm so glad I don't have to teach kiddo's to drive.  I wasn't that good at it the first time.

Its Here!

 I can't believe it!

My dream of writing a children's book has finally come true.

Writing a book has been a long time dream of mine.  Between raising kiddos, teaching, church callings, family, friends and life I just never had time, or took the time.

Two years ago while I was rocking Cutie E I realized that we had a lot of great books filled with first words.  I liked many of them, but I wanted a book that had church or gospel words in it.  I began my search.

I came up with nothing.  Nothing that is that fit what I was looking for.  I came across a lot of good books, they just weren't what I was searching for.

Sitting in Sunday School at the start of 2024 I was skimming through our new curriculum and noticed there were a lot more resources available.  I began checking them out and printing them for the boys.  I made a sort of quiet book for them with church words.

It wasn't until Sean reminded me that I had always wanted to write a children's book that I started creating a list of words I'd love to see in a book.  This lead me to starting "Growing in Faith, My First Words".  

Hardcover book

I spent a year pouring over every word.  Praying too.  I knew what I wanted.  I wanted my grandbabies to be exposed to gospel centered vocabulary with clear, simple, easy to understand descriptions, beautiful illustrations where ALL children could see themselves with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I wanted to provide a resource for families that helped them invite the spirit to be part of their family culture.

I knew what I wanted, but I needed to know what Heavenly Father wanted for families.  I prayed a lot.  I felt him guiding my research, the words I chose for this first book and the words of each description.  He even gave family members an opportunity to help me turn this book into what He knew families needed.

In the spring of 2020 I was serving as the Relief Society president for our ward.  Covid was a crazy time, but to be the president of our women's organization and to reach each sister was nothing short of a miracle.  Well, a little miracle named Sister Sydney Cannon was just what we needed.  We had 2 sister missionaries at the time and I asked them to send letters out to sisters.  Sister Cannon even sent one to me with a beautiful illustration on the front.  The sisters decorated each card for the women of our ward.

She and I had many conversations about her art work and my desire to write a children's book.

As promised in 2020, I reached out to Sydney last year and asked her to be my illustrator.  I am so grateful she said yes.  Each of the illustrations are beautiful pieces of artwork.  You can feel the emotional connection to each of the children and the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ & Child

Heavenly Father & Child

Our hope is that children and families will see themselves in each of these illustrations and that they will feel the love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for them.  

I am so excited to share this beautiful sweet book with you.

It will be available on Amazon soon  once it is I’ll share a link.

Going to Work

I don't get out and about much. I soak up as much time with the Cuties as possible.  They grow and change so quickly, I don't want to miss anything, BUT for one week in September I went to work with Sean.

I love watching him work.  He pays close attention to details that will set each of the properties apart, chats with residents that just have to share with him that they take pictures, is patient as residents complain about their routine being adjusted because he's on property and always hustling.  

When I get to work with him I lighten his work load, which means we get to do a little sight seeing.

On this trip we headed back to my childhood stomping grounds, the San Francisco Bay Area.

We landed in San Jose, which isn't far from the 49ers stadium.  I grew up a 9er fan (thanks to my uncle and aunt), attended a game at Candlestick Park and feel successful that our entire family are fans.  Of course we made a quick stop at Levi Stadium.

Both of us are missing the Pacific Ocean.  The smell.  The breeze.  The sunsets.  We miss it all.  On our first night we watched the sun set over Santa Cruz.  

Sean had photo shoots scheduled for each day.  Depending on the size of the property it can take him anywhere 5-7 hours to capture all the pictures.  With me along we finished early which meant we got to have dinner with my Dad and Paulette.

Paulette was about to fly to Nashville to spend a few days with my sister, so this eveing was special.  We got to catch up in person.  I love hugs.

One afternoon after a photo shoot Sean needed to do some editing and office work.  I got to enjoy a nap, cross stitching and worked on updating my photos on Snapfish. I am super behind of my scrapbooks.

Thursday of our trip was the best.

Sean dropped me off early at my Dad's then he drove back into the city to complete a photo shoot.

Dad and I had the best day.

Microwave scrambled eggs, toast, golf, I shot PAR on hole 17, Caspers hot dogs, Sausalito, shopping, Fisherman's Wharf, clam chowder, sour dough bread, ISHOWSPEED, Ghirardelli ice cream.  Most importantly we had a fabulous day together.  It was wonderful father daughter time together.

I believe that the Lord knows what we need.  He gave me an extra special day just weeks before he would pass away.  We laughed.  We talked.  We shared tight hugs.  We took some great pictures.  These pictures and day together will be one I will cherish forever.

On our last day we finished a photo shoot very quickly.  Sean surprised me by driving back into the city to stop at The Palace of Fine Arts.  Each time we traveled to SFO we had planned to stop there and we always ran out of time.  

We took our time and enjoyed everything about this park.  It amazes me that a structure and park that we built to only last a year became so cherished that it has gone through two  reconstruction projects so it can last the test of time.

Traveling to SFO means I get to see extended family.  Unfortunately there just wasn't enough time.  Our next trip needs to be just for fun.  I want to visit my family and get Sean to Half Moon Bay and back to Monterey.

I'll be dreaming of our next California trip.

I Have Been Given Much

My dad's favorite hymn was, "Because I Have Been Given Much" by Grace Noll Crowell.  The words in this song touched his heart deeply.  

None of us are perfect, boy did my dad try hard to be.  He was the perfect dad for me.

He was the one that let me push my popcorn popper along side him while he mowed the lawn.

One spring day he helped me fly my kite so high that the kite became a dark dot agains the blue sky.  After holding tightly onto my string for most of the afternoon he brought me a folding chair so I could sit in the middle of the street.  I wasn't ready to roll in my kite.  I loved staring at it so far up.

In the middle of the night he was the guy that would wake you up to jump in the pool because it was still 90º outside.

When a nasty storm blew through town he grabbed his oldest kid (me), hung her from the edge of the garage door so he could pull on her legs to help him bring the door down in hurricane force winds.

Our first summer in Oregon was miserable.  We didn't have a pool, friends to play with and it rained ALL summer.  I'm not sure who was more miserable us or my mom.  Dad was the one to encourage us to play in the mud.  We built hydro-slides for our little people to enjoy.  

We sat in the mud for days.  The mud covered our hands, caked our hair, splattered our faces and soaked into our clothes.  We only came in once our teeth began to chatter, yes it was summer.  Mom wouldn't let us in the house and dad barely let us in his clean garage.    Standing on a beach towel in the middle of the garage we pealed off those muddy clothes to discover even our undies were stained muddy brown.

When the popular kids picked on me in 8th grade Dad stood in the kitchen in his white shirt and tie and held me as I cried.  He didn't care that my mascara was all over his shirt.

His OCD got the best of him many times.  No problem.  Leslie and I took care of that.  We wrote our names in his "no lines in the carpet" living room, drew pictures on his windshield, rearranged  the color order of his shirts and smashed shirts together that were one finger width apart.

On cold Oregon nights we all looked forward to a hot shower.  Many times dad would get a cold water or ice bucket dump on the head.  I can still hear him shouting, "Shannon, Leslie!"

While traveling he would often flush the toilet in our.  To show he was thinking of us he'd send a post card or bring a new stuffy friend home from his far away trips.

He gave tear filled blessings. Encouraged us to attend the temple.  Volunteered to be the DAD at girls camp. He always supported our spiritual progression.

Among some of dads best talents were giant spider killer, iron extraordinaire (pleats and creases could be found in plants, socks and pillow cases). He could give each character a different voice in a story.  His best voice was that of Cruella de Vil.  We learned how to color, shade and add definition to ordinary color books, camping, s'more builder, lawn groomer, shopper and snazzy dresser.

At the age of 50 he became a grandpa.  He wasn't sure about his new role, but as each of the 5 grands were born we watched his heart grow.  The love he had for them was evident.

Dad taught each of the grandkiddo's to swim, dive and trust that he would catch them when they jumped in.  He played MARCO POLO more times than we could count.  The hot tub had a special name, "Spa Pooool". Every day things were given his special spin.

Everyone knew when Dad was at one of the kids games.  He cheered louder than any group of parents.  His voice was recognizable, but his cheer of "That's my GRANDDAUGHTER", or "That's my GRANDSON" became his signature.  Oh how the kids loved hearing it, even when it was embarrassing.

He hated when my sister and her family moved to Tennessee and hated it even more when I moved to DC.  Dad didn't like having miles between us.  In our second year married he told me that living 2.2 miles away from him was too far.  

It was too far, but last November we spent the month touring Washington DC.  Our time together was hard for many reasons.  I think because of this Heavenly Father gave us a day, September 25 to do some of our favorite father daughter things.

My Dad wasn't perfect.  He tried to show perfect love for his family and friends.  I was blessed to be his daughter.  He gave and taught me much.  

Love you whole bunches Dweeb (Dad).

Halloween CARS Style

 Our little Cuties love, love, love the movie "CARS".

Every car, truck or bus in this house is accompanied by a pretty accurate car sound.  Cutie O is quite the expert.  He practices his sounds as he drives his food or spoon at the table.

Holly knew that they needed to  dress up as Lightening and Mater for Halloween.  Luckily she purchased their outfits in August.  This gave the family time to jump on board.

As proud grandparents, uncles and aunties we all followed the parents and bought t-shirts for each of the different characters in the movie.  It was so fun to do this together.

Carving pumpkins was a lot more fun this year.  Even though it wasn't Cutie E's first experience you would have thought we were introducing him to it for the very fist time.  He did no like the feel of the slimy guts or the smell.  He actually gaged.  

Cutie O was a bit more adventurous. No gaging, he touched the slime and even put his hand inside auntie Riss's pumpkin.  He giggled.

The boys were so proud of the their pumpkins.  They picked them out at the pumpkin patch and sat with mommy as she carved them.  Halloween night these cuties had their pumpkins front and center.

We live in a neighborhood that still has original owners after 28 yers.  Our two Cuties are just a few of the  kiddo's that live here.  After a disappointing Halloween our first year we started a little neighborhood party on Halloween night.  This was our second year hosting and it was a success.

The boys holiday greeting grew to include "Trick or Treat" and "Happy Halloween".  They got to put them to use at a few neighbors who welcomed Mater & McQueen.  So darn cute to hear them say Trick-or-Treat and Happy Halloween.  

We had a great time with neighbors, sweet treats and a bonfire.  The boys loved playing in the leaves, chasing after friends, waving glow sticks, carrying their pumpkins around and dancing to K Pop music with all the other kids.

I missed my dad today.  This was his favorite holiday and he made it so much fun.  He would have loved that we have kept some family traditions and all dressed up together.