Thanksgiving 2019

The smoked turkey turned out wonderful!

So fun to have Gene and Troy with us...

Familytime is wonderful!!

I am not sure why I didn't get a good picture of the food... 

a during photo of food is not very appealing.

But trust me it was all really yummy!

Troy always shares the cooking; he is a much better cook than me!

Of course a day off with my Strong Silent Mysterious Man is always the BEST!!!

And the kiddos love to color.

Beckett is so smart and such a sponge since he started pre-school this year.

He LOVES working on pre-school worksheets so we try to have a few seasonal ones for him to work on when they come visit.

Play til you drop is kind of the motto!

Papa is always a good soft place to fall ♥

I am so blessed and so grateful for my family near and far!

I am grateful for the times together to make memories.

I know Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us.

Sometimes the journey along that plan can be difficult to understand but if we stay close to Him, He teaches us and guides us every step of the way.

He brings joy, even through the trials.

He knows our trials and sent a Savior for each of us... 

through our Faith the Atoning Sacrifice of our Savior

can make us whole and I am so thankful for His Grace and Love in my life!

Grandkids were made for hugging...

Jacob has been staying with us since his divorce.

His children come stay with him every other weekend.

Some of the beautiful wonderful things about this hard time is that we get to be with them during their time with him right now.

And we love every minute we can get with them.

They LOVE Papa's rocks and arrowheads.

Beckett has been learning about the Pilgrams and the Native Indians at his pre-school this month.  And he was really excited to show Papa his vest and his bear teeth necklace he made.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE that they have an interest in rocks.

We have found rocks in their pockets on several visits.

I bet they collect them on their hikes with Mom around the canyon area where she lives in Jerome.  

(sorry Mom, I can relate to how hard those rocks are on the laundry machines)

Another fun thing about their visits is watching how much Beau is growing every time!  He's such a happy boy.

He LOVES to feed Taylor

He LOVES to pet and dote on Taylor and they hang out allot together...

There is really nothing more sweet than a boy and his dog...

Wrestling and playing is also pretty fun...

And did I mention doting on Taylor?

Oh and we found out how much they LOVE jello...

It's fun to slup.

And it wiggles in your mouth!!

These grandkids are just fun and made for hugging!!!

♥ ♥ ♥

Annual Winter Wonderland tradition...

Every year I get together with a few lady friends

for our annual Winter Wonderland party.

It started years ago and one very special lady Janice had lost her husband in Early November, and their anniversary was coming up Nov 30th I think....

And I took her our to see the Christmas Lights at the Botanical Gardens.

We had so much fun and it made her smile and we formed a connection that day.

Then the next year we gathered a few other ladies on the night our city lights up their Christmas tree and lights around downtown.  Most of them don't drive at night, so we chauffeur them around to see the lights.  It's always been a fun time.

Then the next year we added party and food.

And every year we take a group selfie!!

We laugh together and sing and share our woes of the year.

We add to the group each year a new friend.

We made a book of the photos last year to keep track of the years!

It's been a fun tradition!!

This year someone (not me) was so smart and decided to do it on a different night of the tree lighting to avoid the crowds since the downtown display has grown soooo much and it's so busy with people from all over that come to see the lights.  It was a brilliant idea, we enjoyed the lights so much more this year.

And the tradition continues on!!

A good time was had by all!!!

No shave November

Yes!  It’s a thing!!

Yes he did it!!!

No I don’t like it!!!

I’m not a beard girl. 

Sorry for the bathroom pics!

I hate bathroom pics!!!!

Kate’s Place

Another successful magical transformation

From Katie!!!

Thanks lady!!

Your the best!!

I tease her that she is my therapist, it’s really true though... I might have to increase her tip😘

Egg cleaner upper...

He loves his Papa!

I swear he ate an entire breakfast 

before helping Papa

Clean up!

But the good helper he is 

Didn’t want anything to go to waste. 

I will say Taylor has mixed feelings

about our egg cleaner upper. 

He leaves lots of crumbs under the table

But he eats all the extra eggs... hmmm. 

They were going on a hike with dad 

so we looked for hats to cover all those little ears!

They are the cutest little ears ever!!!!

And they are off!!!!

Happy Birthday to me...

What a great birthday... I kind of just focus my special day on how special and loved I feel and that doesn't just happen on my birthday; it's really an accumulation of the entire year!!

And it's just sweet; God is so good to help me realize these feelings and boost me right up!

I had a work conference to put on and honestly I was bummed it was scheduled on my birthday.  I had to get up super early and buy the breakfast food to take and set up.

But they celebrated with a big cake and singing happy birthday... it was a super awesome way to start my day.

My mother in law always does something festive since my birthday comes when all the Christmas things are ramping up.  I LOVE Christmas decorations, but she knew my Strong Silent Mysterious Man was putting a limit on how many I was allowed to accumulate... so she sent me this dress!

So festive, so pretty, super soft and fit perfect!

Which was just what I needed in my struggle with my weight right now to fit into clothing Ugggg!!!

My next surprise was flowers delivered to my work!

They were so beautiful, in a really special vase.

FROM MY SON!!!  

So sweet, with a really special sentiment on the card.

It really melted my heart, I love him so much!!!

The day just kept getting better when I was able to get off work at 2pm and Jim joined me for an afternoon on the town!

Since we didn't have anything planned, as we were leaving I saw the title for the Mercedes on the table and I hadn't been able to get off work early enough to make it to the DMV to get it transferred... so I asked him if we could get that off my list.  It wasn't a very traditional birthday gift to be at the DMV on your birthday, but it was a gift to me to get this done and to know we can take care of this gem of a car for my Mom and Sister officially.

We had to drive the car to the DMV so that was even more special to take her for a ride, AND it was the most beautiful sunny cool day ever!  We loved every minute of it!!

Afterwards we went to a nice steak dinner and then he took me shopping!

What??

I know, right, he's just mysterious that way ♥

Again, not very traditional shopping, but I had a gift card from Costco... so we went to see if I could find something I wanted there.

I ran across some under counter LED lights and if you know me at all you know I am obsessed with lights.  I think the right lighting is life altering and can set just the right mood for any occasion.  

So under counter lights and a pair of sweat pants... perfect gifts for me!

Oh hold on, it's not over and just gets even better!!!

When I got home there was a package from my Mom and Sister!!!

A beautiful outfit, black pants a purple plaid shirt and a black vest... it fit perfectly and I love it so much!!!

That evening I got a video chat from my grand babies!!!!!!!!

The best heart filling call of the day ♥♥♥

it was among many great phone calls and cards!!!

The next night it was dessert with my BFF!

(we laughed at how you can't tell where her hair starts and mine ends.. even though our highlight colors are totally different, they look exactly the same in this picture)

Nachos with that yummy white queso dip and Fried Ice Cream!!

I know, we were only going for dessert, but neither of us had eaten dinner yet, so we had to take care of business first.  Isn't that what you do with your bff?

She also had a couple of great pictures framed of me and her and another great one with me and mom!! I just love her to pieces ♥

She texts me birthday pictures ALL DAY and always sends me uplifting positive notes to show me how much she cares.

I told my SIL something I have learned in my 54 years is I no longer wake up wanting my loved ones to remember my birthday and being all pissy and bummed out when they forget.  

Now I wake up telling them IT'S MY BIRTHDAY giving them every opportunity to shower me with their love and we celebrate together!!!

It makes all the difference in the world in my attitude and perception of the day and who I am. 

It was just a wonderful day full of LOVE and I felt so special!

I am grateful for another year filled with blessings.

Knowing how much God loves me to put such amazing examples in my life to life and inspire me to be better and do better makes me want to do just that!

I am so thankful and blessed!!!

Happy Birthday to me... here is to another great year ahead!!