I feel like I am falling behind!

I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks. I even missed a Wordless Wednesday, which is almost unheard of for me!

So, I am posting a short one today, to let anyone who might be wondering, that I am still alive! D and the boys all had vacation time ALL week last week! When we found out the boys would all be out of school, I asked D to take the first three days of the week off (he already gets Thursday and Friday). We didn't do anything fancy. In fact, we got a dumpster delivered to our yard, and we filled it with junk from our garage (TWICE!). We rented a couple of movies, did some Christmas shopping, and just hung out together.

Thursday we went up to Vancouver and had a lovely Thanksgiving with D's Dad, one of his sisters and her family. The kids loved spending time with their cousins.

Friday D and I went to the Portland Temple (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) while my Mom watched the boys and Baby B hung out with my sister Pink Avenger. Then that afternoon my Mom, sisters and I got together for our annual Christmas Card making party. It was a lovely day! Friday night it was out to dinner with D's Dad and Sister and fam, and then we headed home!

I'm sad that today meant back to work for D and back to school for the boys. If I had my way, we would be together all the time!

This week is a busy one with meetings, scouts, and me being in charge of the food for our Church Christmas Dinner (planning for 200 people) so I am feeling a bit stressed out! Hopefully I will survive and live to be stressed out about the rest of the Holiday season!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

Making Apple Turkeys is a tradition from when D was a kid. We do it every November.

The kids love using various candy, marshmallows and cereal to decorate their turkeys.

D and I enjoy decorating our turkeys too! (and I got to decorate Baby B's...Bonus!)

One of our boys has an aversion to apples, and so he does a potato turkey every year. It's all good!
If you haven't tried making apple turkeys before, you should. It's a great way to keep kids occupied on Thanksgiving day while they wait for the real turkey to cook.

Wordless Wednesday: Veteran's Day Edition

My Grandfather keeps this picture on the wall in his living room as a reminder of his time in the War. He served in WWII and in Korea.

My Grandpa.

This is a picture of D's Grandfather's unit drilling during WWII.

A Soldier from D's Grandpa's unit poses with a captured German flag.

Manning the gun.

D's Grandpa (on the left) and his close friend Vic pose with a little girl.

D's Grandpa and Vic. Vic did not survive the war. D's Grandpa would never talk about the war. It scarred him for life. I managed to get ahold of some of his pictures and scanned them a few years before he passed away.
War is a terrible thing. I am so grateful for those who are willing to defend our country and who have shouldered the burden of war in their life.

Christmas Photo Cards for a great deal!

I was told about a great deal on Christmas photo cards by a friend. I checked it out, and sure enough, when I put in my order, the coupon worked and I was able to order 50 5x7 photo Christmas cards, and it was FREE! Including shipping!
If you want to check it out, you can find the coupon code here. I don't want to put the coupon code on my blog, because it is something that is a special deal through the Freebies 4 Mom blog, so I am directing you over there instead! According to her, the freebie code on her blog ends on November 30th. She said the site can be a bit slow sometimes. I personally didn't have much trouble getting my stuff figured out. There are many great backgrounds and layouts to choose from, and you can even add more than one picture to your card if you want. You can choose between 4x6 and 5x7 cards, and they include the envelopes. My order would have been $39.50 without the coupon code, so it is quite a savings, and the site is run by Fuji, so it isn't some unknown company.
I just thought I would pass this along! With the economy the way it is, it can't hurt to save some money, so check it out!

Honest Scrap Award

Connie over at I Started Out as a Child was kind enough to give me a blog award. The Honest Scrap Award is "gifted to blogs that are encouraging, inspiring or brilliant." I haven't felt I was any of those things for a long time, but I am happy that Connie felt that I fit at least one of those qualities. Thanks Connie!

In accepting the award, the rule is that I have to share ten honest things about myself. So here you go!
1. I usually cut my own hair and I cut all of my sons' hair and my husband's.
2. I have a weakness for Tillamook Ice Cream. I can turn down ANY other brand of icecream pretty easily, but not Tillamook. It's like my Kryptonite.
3. I get almost as restless as my kids do when I have to sit still for long periods of time. (Think, at church). It is sometimes a relief when my daughter fusses during church and I have an excuse to take her out of the room. Not to say I don't like going to church, I just get restless.
4. I had a horrible swearing habit during High School. It took me a LONG time and a lot of work to break that habit. I HATE hearing people swear now, whether it is in movies or just at the grocery store. It drives me crazy.
5. I don't watch The Office. I tried watching an episode once and found it offensive. Yes, parts of it were funny, but the funny wasn't worth the offensiveness to me. I have a lot of friends that LOVE that show, and that is fine, just don't try to get me to watch it.
6. I am not a morning person. If I could sleep late every day, I would.
7. I think milk tastes gross. I use it on cereal and in cooking, but don't drink it plain. However, I loved milk until sometime after high school. One day I just didn't like it anymore.
8. I like to sing and dance my way around the house. Especially if no one else is home.
9. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Most of my readers probably know that, but probably not all of them.
10. I have always wanted to have a set of twins, and have been a little bit bummed every time I had just one baby instead of two. I know it's crazy to want twins, I just do. I think it's because my Mom had twins when I was 11. Ever since then I always hoped to have some too.

Now I am supposed to pass this award on to seven worthy bloggers. This is where I will depart from the rules a little bit. If I read your blog, then you know you fit into at least one of those categories of encouraging, inspiring or brilliant. Feel free to take an award for yourself! If I have ever commented on your blog, it means I am a reader of it. I just don't always comment on every post.

Illness and gratitude...

I am generally a healthy person. Sure, I get the usual cold and the occasional flu each winter. A little over a week ago, I came down with a whopper of a flu bug. I'm still not quite over it. I did what might be more than my share of feeling sorry for myself and some complaining too.

However...it has gotten me thinking. Thinking about gratitude. And since it November, what better thing for me to be thinking about right?

I may still have gross stuff in my lungs, and I may still be coughing and hacking and only have 50% of my voice, but I am thankful. Thankful to be home and not in a hospital. Thankful for a husband that has picked the kids up from school every day for the last week, made us dinner every night AND done the dishes (and we don't have a dishwasher either), on top of working a full day. Thankful for being able to breathe without the aid of machines, and thankful that I am able to breathe a little more clearly each day as I get better. Thankful for modern medicine and a good health care provider. Thankful to be able to afford the medications I needed to help me on the road to recovery. Thankful to be listening to Christmas music even though I can't sing along. Thankful for my home, my family, and so many blessings in my life.

What are you Thankful for right now?