Thanksgiving.

As I reflect on the past year, I am filled with lots of memories. November is a hard month for me. I lost my mother, grandmother, and third baby all in the month of November. It is a time of year that we should feel grateful and happy... but sometimes I feel biter, angry and hurt. When these powerful feelings enter into my mind, I can't help but be reminded of my Savior and His sacrafices for me. I miss my mom and grandma, and I think about Chelsea everyday. I feel like something is missing...like there is a void in my life. But after the turkey is eaten and the day is coming to a close, I find myself pondering the upcoming holiday. The birth of our Savior. I am reminded of a book that my dear friend sent me after Chelsea passed away. It's message is simple and yet very powerful to me. It is that He lives. Jesus Christ died so that we might live again!!!!!!!! When I read those beautiful words, (which is a tradition in our family now)I can't help but feel an overwhelming warmth in my heart and mind. I KNOW that I will see my mother and daughter again. I know that there is more to this life than what our mortal eyes can see. And I am grateful. I am thankful.

Carving the Pumpkin

Here we are digging out the seeds of the pumpkin. I always hate this part.


This is so gross!!!



Caitlynn had fallen asleep before we started carving the pumpkin. When JR got home, she woke up and wanted to see what we were doing. Here she is checking it out...


You can see what a tight grip she has on JR. She was very nervous.


And she hated it. It was so funny to see how scared she was of it. JR kept trying to get her to touch it and she was freaking out!


We couldn't decided if we wanted a happy face....


Or a scary face!!!


In the end, we decided that we would wait until tomorrow to carve the face. We were too tired to finish it.

And guess what??? The pumpkin never got a face. He was so gross and moldy that we just had to throw him away. I guess that is the lesson I get from not buying my pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

It's Autumn Time!!!

I LOVE this time of year!!!! Watching the trees change color, pulling out those warm sweaters, the excitement and anticipation for the upcoming holidays, and lets not forget the trips to the pumkin patch. While the fall in California is not comparable to Michigan's, they still make it a pretty good time for the kids at the local pumpkin patch. We had fun and got to take some cute pictures, and really that is all that matters. In the end, we still went to Safeway to purchase our pumpkins.

Carmel Apples

For FHE one night in October, the kids and I made Carmel Apples. They didn't look very pretty but they sure tasted pretty yummy! The hard part was getting all those wrappers off of the carmel without Caitlynn trying to eat them. I felt like for every one wrapper I would get off, the kids would have already eaten two. (Note for next year-take the wrappers off the caramels beforehand.

Here is the final product. We added too much milk so that is why the caramel melted off the apples. Brooke and Luke wanted to dip their's in chocolate chips. Notice how they all dripped to the bottom??? I definately get docked for presentation.




I love how Luke lookes like he is going to pounce on the caramel apples in this picture.

I guess he did. It reminds me of the show coming out in a few weeks from the Twilight series-"New Moon". Can't wait to see it with my girlfriends. Looks like Luke found himself something to sink his mouth into. And guess what he is going to be for Halloween???? Yep, a Vampire.


At least one of my kids has some manners!