A Rest

We've had this chair for a very long time.  Derek got it for me when the girls were little.  Back then it didn't have a snake puppet along the back, or an electric blanket on it, but it was still a good chair!

Today I had a headache - again.  I'm rather tired of having headaches.  I haven't been as bothered by them lately, but the last week seems to be the exception.  Ugh.  I got up anyway and tried to make it go away.  I didn't notice that it worked much, but it's not like you can skip to the end of the day!  

I helped Derek put a shelf in the laundry room with a bar to hang clothes, and I went to my first gender reveal ever.  It was for Trevor and Mac (Amanda's brother and sister-in-law).  It's a boy!  Then I came home.  I had been kind of cold all day and so I left on my winter coat and hat and sat in my chair with the electric blanket on high and dozed off and on.  I was, and am, thankful that I finally did get warm, and I feel a bit better for having taken a rest.  Sometimes there just is no substitute for a good rest!

This really doesn't have much to do with my day.  This is what I am looking at as I get ready to turn out the light.  We had dinner and a movie at Connor and Amanda's tonight.  Their apartment is clean and festive and they are very welcoming.  It was a fun evening thanks, at least in part, to the fact that I got to fit a rest in!

A Day I'm Grateful For Included:

Christmas Decorations

Mike, Tia, and Brigham sending pictures and coming home

and

My Sister Tina's Birthday!

A picture in the dark -- but you can still see the ladder we haven't quite finished with!

The fireplace with all of the stockings except Brighams.  We put my nephew Bryce' stocking in his spot for now.

Another angle of the fireplace plus the entertainment center.

A gift from last year.  It's easier to see the picture in person I think.
I love it!

The entryway is ready to receive you if you come visit.
You can sign the guest book!

One of the piano room cabinets.

Don't look too closely at this one.  The tree is barely holding together
and I didn't work very hard at fixing the decorations that were still on from last year!

You can't have too many nativity scenes around the house!

Naturally I love this one.  This is Mike with Brigham.  They were getting ready to go out to find and cut down a Christmas tree.  They were in Michigan this morning.

This is Brigham at his Nana's house in Michigan.
He is feeding the dogs instead of himself in this picture.
I'm sure he's a favorite!

And last but not least my sister Tina!
Today is her birthday.
I stole this picture from Facebook because I don't take enough.
Tina is the best older sister ever.  I really enjoy spending time with her.
Lately when we are together people keep asking her if I'm her Mom!
That's what happens when you have short white hair and your sister has long not white hair.
Ha ha ha!  We just laugh and she calls me Mom occasionally just for fun.
I think Tina is pretty much good at everything and I love her.

People and Pie

I tried key lime pie for the first time today.  I believe that Leon made it.
This picture isn't the same pie, but the pie he made looked equally good!
Photo by Takuya Nagaoka on Unsplash

 Happy Thanksgiving!  This has been a most unusual Thanksgiving.  Tia, Mike and Brigham are in Michigan, Connor and Amanda were with some of her family, and Derek, Trisa, Kayli, Jake, Dan and I were here.  We didn't even have turkey!  We had roast beef instead.  Derek came up with a good thankful activity that I enjoyed and he helped a lot in the kitchen where I feel like I spent most of my day.

My favorite part of the day was when Derek's parents and various brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews came for pie.  We had so MUCH pie!!  It was all very good, but visiting with everyone was the best!  We have such terrific family members on both sides of the family and are thankful when we get a chance to visit with them.

Pie is good, but I love the people the most!

Quiet Moments

 

I need to take more pictures!
This is Brigham playing the piano
at his house.

Trisa was here today and we got a few minutes where it was just us home.  And the dogs.  She is a good listener and I love talking to her and listening to her.  

Then a friend called and had good news that eased some of my worry for her.  I was glad that she took the time to tell me how things were going.

Later a quiet, "Thank you Mama.  Thanks for taking care of me.", was one of those moments that make us Mamas really glad to be Mamas of really good kids.

A quiet moment with Derek eating too much sugar (on the day before we eat too much in general) and talking about places we'd like to go on vacation was good too.

And finally, as I boiled sweet potatoes, I heard Tia and Brigham in the background.  They had called Aunt Kayli and so I got to run over and say hello.  Apparently Brigham stood by himself today (without holding on to something).  Yay for our cute grandbaby and his parents!

Now for a good night's sleep and a day of giving thanks!

Something To Be Grateful For

Teddy on a snowier morning walk.

 This morning after going on a cold walk with Teddy I walked him into the backyard and let him off of his leash so he could run around and then I sat at the edge of the hill.  I was wearing snow pants because they are warm.  I was tired and not feeling particularly cheerful and Teddy, who would usually enjoy a jaunt around the hillside, just sat by me.  So I sat overlooking the canyon with my arm around my dog buddy and felt thankful for a peaceful moment.

I had strawberries, raspberries, syrup and whipped cream.  Yum!
Photo by Sheelah Brennan on Unsplash

Later, after a rough late morning, early afternoon (I was tired and therefore sad) I went to the temple to work in the office.  I was greeted with smiles and people who were happy to see me.  We were really busy and time went by quickly.  Afterwards I drove home and was met with a prepared dinner of bacon, eggs, and waffles with fruit.  It was really great and I was thankful for that too.

Always there is something to be grateful for!

Magical Monday Morning Mom

Me earlier this year.

Today was one of those Mondays where I got up early (for me) and quickly got dressed, made the bed, ate breakfast, made a grocery list, started the laundry, took Dan to seminary, went shopping, returned something at the UPS store, picked Dan up, and then had him drive me home.  After that I put away groceries, walked the dog, reviewed some notes, and contemplated my last three weeks while waiting for my counselor, and then had a chat with her.  By then I was hungry again and had lunch.  It felt like a really productive morning and I was able to pull out surprising amounts of energy.  It is nice to have a day now and then where I can feel like a super hero.  You know -- Magical Monday Morning Mom!

The afternoon was pretty good as I was with a friend and her children who love me.  That's good too.  Tonight I'm feeling a lot less magical and so I'd better get to bed to see if I can restore some of that energy.  I hope your Monday was Magical and you felt a bit like a super hero too!

Sunday. A Good Day

These pictures are probably more than a month old, but I don't have new ones and he's just so cute!

Our church starts at 8:30 a.m. and I am finding it really hard to stay awake for the whole first hour.  Even when the talks are interesting I struggle!  Thankfully it was Sunday School next and Derek and I teach a youth class that we really enjoy.  It's a LOT easier to stay awake when you are teaching!

At home I was working on a gift for a friend that is a creative project.  I really enjoyed doing that and as I was finishing Tia and Brigham came!  I was so  glad to see them.  I have wanted to see them all week.  I like to watch Aunt Kayli and Brigham.  He giggles a lot for her.  He also likes Grandpa who is always good with little people.  Teddy is a big favorite too.  Teddy doesn't quite know what to think of Brigham and usually ends up in his kennel, but then Brigham will go over and squeal with delight and reach in to beep Teddy's nose.  Teddy doesn't like it when Brigham crawls, or walks, or is flown around like an airplane, but somehow doesn't seem to be bothered by having his nose beeped!

There were other happy things in my day but I don't think you would enjoy reading about every little thing!  It is Thanksgiving week and I am feeling thankful for that.  A holiday that reminds us to notice how blessed we are and to be grateful is something to be thankful for! :-)

The Chosen

 

Picture from The Chosen Facebook page.
Those are the backs of the person who plays Matthew on the left,
and the one who plays Jesus on the right.

Last night before I wrote on my blog, I took a trip down a rabbit hole. A pretty deep one. By that I mean I lost myself for a bit in spiraling downward thoughts. I realized sometime today that I had forgotten to keep my focus on God, and had gotten stuck in my usual trap of focusing in the wrong direction - on me and what I could NOT do by myself, instead of what God can do with me and with all of those who love Him.

Not long after that Kayli texted to ask if I wanted to go to the theater and see the first couple of episodes of The Chosen Season 3 with her. YES! I really love The Chosen. We sometimes, at our house, refer to watching The Chosen as spending time with Jesus.  It is historical fiction that, in my opinion, shows very well the fact that Elder Holland mentioned in his talk "Lord, I Believe".  Elder Holland said,

Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with.

The Chosen portrays people who are real.  They have real problems, and real feelings, and are working very hard to have real faith in Jesus.  That describes me, and a lot of other people, really well.  We have real problems, and real feelings, and are working hard to believe Christ, and to have faith in Him.  Not just what He can do, but who He can help us to become.

Derek's patience and calm helped me out last night.  Watching The Chosen was good for my soul today.  I am thankful for the reminder to focus on Jesus, who saves.

A Moment By The Fire

You can kind of see Jake here with his sister's dog Chewy.
Jake is a dog whisperer according to his sisters.
They do love him.  He loves them back.

 I was sitting by the fire this evening and Jake came to sit by me.  He told me how he was driving home in the truck, checked his mirror, and then did a double take.  He then quickly opened the window and retrieved the note and money that his boss had left for him.  The note said, "Thanks for always being on time." It was a good amount of money and Jake said, "Maybe it's worth being on time after all even though I'm sometimes the only one there."

Jake works early in the morning and he works long hours.  He is thankful for his job and might enjoy some of it, but it isn't easy for him.  I like the moments like this when he sees that he is appreciated.  It is good to feel valued for the good things we do!

We are both thankful that the money didn't blow away before he noticed it too!

Staying Home

Teddy loves Jake, but Jake works all day and he spends a lot of time with me.
He loves me too.  Really he just loves the whole family:-)

Today was the last day of this section of driver's ed.  Hooray!! It was also seminary and so I only had to go back to bed once to get enough sleep.  Sort of.  I still was pretty sleepy.  I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to go anywhere else today.  I stayed home all day long.  

One thing I thought was funny was that I was pretty much asleep on the couch after doing some Tai Chi and Dan came down to empty the dishwasher.  He stopped to talk to me and told me I should go take a nap.  Since I was practically asleep, I didn't want to go anywhere.  He kept talking but eventually stopped and went to empty the dishwasher.  He was wearing his noise cancelling headphones.  This means that he really was not quiet.  At first I was annoyed, but after a while I decided it was kind of funny.  After one particularly loud bang he apologized and I just laughed and got up.  Nothing like some banging cabinets to get me moving for the day!

I really enjoyed playing with Teddy.  I hid treats and played hide and seek.  That's my favorite but he gets tired of it fast and either cheats by peaking or just goes to get a toy, which is what he did this time.

Another good thing is that Derek and I were able to work on a budget, which wasn't exactly fun, but is something we've wanted to have done for a while and so it was a great accomplishment!

An Epiphany

This has nothing to do with my post, but it is the lowest full rainbow I've ever seen!

I got out of bed three times today!  Once at 5:00 a.m. to take Dan down to driver's ed.  It was a tad chilly in the house and I was thinking about how cold my bed would be when I got back to it. And then?  AHA!  I happen to have an electric blanket on my chair nearby.  It is small and is meant to be a lap blanket, but it reaches my bed and so I pulled the covers down, turned the electric blanket on hi, carefully placed it on my bed and covered it, and then I went to deliver Dan to the school.

I got home around 5:45 and shuffled things back to their spots and then I climbed into a warm bed!  So awesome after being in the cold!  The alarm went off again at 6:45 a.m. and I went and picked Dan up and brought him home.  He went right to bed.  I ate breakfast, walked the dog, and decided I was not going to be a happy person if I didn't get more sleep and so I wisely went back to bed.   I don't know exactly when I went to bed again, or when I got up, but I felt SO much better and was able to handle the day.

I am thankful that today had enough time in it to make going back to bed twice possible!  That definitely made the rest of the day better!

Bright Spots In My Day

A beautiful flower seems a good symbol for a "bright spot"!
Photo by Maria on Unsplash

I've been trying to get in touch with one of my friends for a few days.  I know she has some energetic little kids and that sometimes it is hard for her to find time to communicate.  Still, I was starting to get worried.  Today one of the brightest parts of my day was her answering her phone when I called.  They have all been quite sick but they had good news too.  So good that she didn't feel like even the word miracle was good enough to describe it.  I was so happy to talk to her.  She has been so good at loving me, and appreciating every little thing I do.  Their family has given me get well notes when I was sick and came up on my birthday to bring cards and sing happy birthday.  She and her husband work hard to teach their kids good things, including being very thoughtful.  Her kids love me too which is a bonus!  I was very glad to talk to this friend.

The next bright spot was coming out of my oncology appointment.  I was starting to drive out of the parking lot when I saw a friend that lives down the street from me.  I love how much energy she has to share with other people.  I think even if she was really exhausted she would find energy to make someone feel important.  We compared all of the different ways we are broken and yet it was not a sad conversation.  I love her too.

I loved getting home and having Teddy be so excited to see me that he got what we call "the zoomies".  I also liked my time in the office at the temple.  We were a little short on help today, and the next shift was too and so I stayed until the phones were turned off.  There are such nice people there who are doing their best to help each other and those who come in.

Now I am home again with my good family.  The fire is on (it sounds weird but it's a gas fire) and it is warm in here even with the cold outside.  I do love being warm and NOT cold!  

I hope your day had many bright spots too!

Deer Paparazzi and Fix it Woman

I was taking SO many pictures this morning of the deer, mostly because the four point buck showed up with 5 or 6 lady deer.  The deer below is standing maybe 5 feet from the house eating Dan's pumpkin that he allowed Kayli to throw off of the deck yesterday.

This fellow had his picture taken the most.

I don't know that I ever saw him eat anything.  His job seemed to be keeping guard while looking
as regal as possible:-)

This evening when I was folding laundry there were 12 deer outside my bedroom window snacking on the dry weeds.  Eventually a few took a break to lie down by the fence or under the trampoline frame.  We also saw a lot of turkeys and some lovely blue birds today!  Seeing the wildlife is one of my favorite things about living here.

As for being the "Fix it Woman", we have a big garage door that, once it gets cold, starts bouncing back up when we try to close it.  Last year I called our building supervisor who sent someone over.  But the garage door guy charged $75 and, from their sign I happen to know that prices have gone up.  Therefore, I tried YouTube.  It turns out that if you know what you are doing it really takes less than 5 minutes to fix.  I didn't know what I was doing and followed the video's "check this first, second, and third" list.  Next time I'll just skip to the end!  Now we don't have to try to stop our garage door as close to the bottom as possible and it stops and locks all on its own!  I felt pretty smart as long as I didn't think about last year!!

I am also feeling smart for writing this earlier today.  Maybe I'll get to sleep earlier!!