THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

This is a glimpse of our Thanksgiving weekend this year...Braden's super-league soccer team played in a tournament in sunny St. George. It is the same tournament they played in last year and the outcome was the same again this year...tournament champions. Here they are at the awards ceremony accepting their medals. Braden is on the top row, second from the left. Last year on Thanksgiving Day we headed down to St. George early and ate Thanksgiving dinner with the other soccer families at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. That was fun once, but we didn't want to repeat it this year. So instead we decided to make our own Thanksgiving dinner here at home and then leave for St. George immediately afterwards. It is the first time we have cooked and eaten Thanksgiving dinner at home on our own. Kent was in charge of the turkey, potatoes and gravy, and I did the stuffing, rolls, salad, veggies and pies--everything from scratch. We missed being with family, but overall the dinner was great!

We left for St. George as soon as the kitchen was cleaned up and the left-overs put away. We arrived that evening with enough time for the kids to throw on their swim suits and play in the pool and hot tub. All the soccer families from our team stayed in the same hotel, so the kids loved running around with their friends. Kent liked watching football on the big screen hotel T.V. But my favorite thing was shopping the next morning. At 3:30 a.m. (yes, that is A.M.!) Kent and I got up, left the kids sleeping in the hotel room and participated in the crazy phenomenon known as "Black Friday." It was nuts! I would never have believed the crowds at that hour, long lines and general madness! I loved every minute of it, snagged some great bargains, and got a huge chunk of my Christmas shopping done as well. We spent the rest of the weekend running back and forth from different soccer fields around St. George, cheering for the boys in yellow.

What a great weekend. Congratulations Arsenal Soccer Club! Next year they're talking about entering a Thanksgiving tournament in Las Vegas or San Diego. We'll see...

SWEET SIXTEEN

My baby Rachel is sixteen years old!
Today I've been reflecting on the day of her birth, sixteen years
ago. Kent was a BYU student, a couple of weeks away from finals.
I had graduated about six months before and was working part time at a nearby elementary school.

We'd been married for two years, we were living in a tiny
apartment in Provo, and we were so excited to become parents.
Our families were excited too, she was the first grandbaby on my
side. We had decided not to find out the gender of our baby, but it
was no secret that I dearly hoped for a baby girl.

Thanksgiving was two days away and we were planning to travel to
Preston for the weekend. The baby wasn't due for a couple of
weeks. I'd been to the doctor the day before, he told me that
nothing was happening, and not to expect a delivery for at least a
week to ten days.

But our baby had other ideas. After a long, painful night and
morning we headed to the hospital that afternoon. It was not a
smooth delivery, the baby was posterior, the cord was around her
neck, her heart rate dipped to dangerous levels. The room was
filled with doctors and nurses working fast and furious, and we
were minutes away from an emergency c-section. Kent and I
were terrified.

But somehow the doctor was able to turn her, get her heart rate stabilized and she made her entrance into the world at 8:31 p.m. We were filled with joy when the doctor announced that we had a healthy baby GIRL!! She has been a blessing in our lives ever since.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of her through the years...

Happy birthday Rachel! We love you so much!

ARTS CONFERENCE

A few weeks ago my principal told me about a local two-day seminar for elementary classroom teachers and specialty teachers of the arts. He offered to send me and three other teachers from my school, all expenses paid. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and have been excited about it ever since. It was held this past Thursday and Friday and it was outstanding! It was held at the Eccles Conference Center in Ogden, about an hour north of here. Over 300 teachers from all over the state attended. There were classes offered in music, drama, art and dance. I went with hopes that I'd come home with a head full of ideas I could use in my music classes and was not disappointed. Each session was excellent, the presenters well prepared, their presentations inspiring. I can hardly wait to start using all these new ideas.

As part of the seminar, we got to attend a couple of featured performances at the Egyptian Theater, located inside the Eccles Center. It is a stunning old performing arts theater, built in the early 1920s and renovated about 15 years ago. It is ornate and colorful and has such a regal feel to it. My favorite performance was by a modern dance company from UVU, their show took my breath away.

There were four of us from my school who attended together, two ladies in their sixties, one in her twenties, and me.

Kent dropped me off at my school early Thursday morning, the four of us met there and drove up together. After registration and an opening session in the theater, we all separated for our various classes, but we met back together in a big fancy banquet hall for all our meals.

Thursday night our classes were finished by about 5:30 so we had the evening open to us. We went out to dinner and just talked for hours, then we stayed that night at the Marriott Hotel. I loved getting to know my collegues better.

It was a great experience for me, something I've never done before, but hope to have many more opportunities like this in the future.

UP ON THE HOUSETOP

This weekend has been beautiful! Sunny, blue skies, nearly perfect for mid-November. So Kent decided to take advantage of the nice weather by going "up on the housetop" and hanging Christmas lights.Our house is very tall. This day always makes me so nervous. Every year I read news stories about people who fall to their deaths while putting up Christmas lights.

Thank goodness Kent stayed out of the news for one more year.

SCHOOL PICS

Here are the kids' school pictures for the 2008-2009 school year.
Rachel--10th Grade
Braden: 8th Grade

Stefanie: 4th Grade

GIFTS

It's amazing to me how each individual is blessed with certain talents and gifts. For some it is the talent of being a great cook, for another it may be the gift of compassion. My sister Margaret is the most organized woman on the planet. My mom makes gorgeous quilts, as well as knitted and crocheted afghans. My friend Sonya can sit down at the piano and play almost anything as though she's practiced it for weeks. My next door neighbor Lynette has a pantry overflowing with her bottled fruits and veggies. What wonderful gifts!

Here are some gifts I admire in others, and am trying to develop for myself:

*the gift of generosity

*the ability to drive anywhere with confidence, and never get lost

*the ability to be positive in all situations

*the gift of spiritual sensitivity

*the gift of service--clearly seeing and acting on others' true needs

*the skill of understanding computers and technology

*the ability to remain calm under stress

Here are specific gifts I appreciate in my sweet family:

Kent: The ability to accept and love people just as they are. He is completely nonjudgemental.

Rachel: The gift of courage. She is--and always has been--able to step confidently into new experiences and situations.

Braden: The ability to be a friend. People of all personality types are drawn to him.

Stefanie: The gift of being sweet and loveable --I hope this will never change!

It's so easy to see other's talents and gifts, and so hard to recognize, appreciate or talk about our own. So tonight I will humbly--and timidly--list ten of my own gifts.

Ten things that I consider talents or gifts of my own:

1) The gift of dependability
2) The gift of sensitivity to the feelings of others
3) The ability to enjoy reading and appreciate good books
4) The ability to love and easily communicate with children
5) The ability to decorate my home
6) The ability to manage money
7) The gift of common sense
8) The ability to plan ahead and be prepared
9) The ability to create and appreciate music
10) The gift of a "green thumb"

What are some of your talents and gifts? I challenge you to be bold and tell the world. In this season of thanksgiving, I believe it is a way of expressing gratitude for them.

JAZZ GAME

Last night we went to the Jazz vs. Clippers basketball game. Kent snagged some great tickets, we were on the 9th row. We were right behind the basket, it was great! We were able to hear the players talking to each other and to the referees.

Everyone in the seats behind the baskets were given noisemakers to shake when someone from the opposing team shot a free throw. Rachel & Braden loved them and banged them together nonstop through the entire game. It was LOUD!!

It was nice to look UP at the jumbo tron this time. Most the time when we go to Jazz games we're way up in the nosebleed section looking down on it.

Yay, we won! Final score...Jazz 101--Clippers 79. Fun night!

HALLOWEEN

We had a great Halloween at our house this year. Stefanie got tired of explaining what her costume was...nobody seemed to be able to guess. She is a pirate bride. (What a poser!)

At the ward Halloween party Kent won an award for the "funniest costume". I think it should have been "scariest costume", that mullet is truly frightening!

Even Braden went trick-or-treating with his friends this year...that's him in the "scream" mask.We love Halloween!