The Feast

Morgan and Brandon wanted to take the pictures this year, but I forgot to have them do so until after we ate. So there's what's left of the feast. We really weren't fancy this year since it was just us. Brandon had the table set before I remembered we needed a table cloth, but I don't actually have one big enough for the table when the leaf is in it anyway.

Clearly, pictures of a baby eating a roll are the cutest thing we have going around here.

Goofballs!

Morgan and Brandon were always behind the camera, and Kellen finished early and left to play. That's why there are no pics of those three. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mousewatch

WARNING: This post is not for the squeamish.

No, this post has nothing to do with Disney or Mickey or anything. Ever since we moved into this house 3 1/2 years ago, we have been battling the dirty, little rodents. It's a new subdivision, and we were one of the first homes built, so when they dug up the field first on one side of us and then on the other, all the mice, crickets, and spiders came into our home. Lovely. Seriously. So we thought we had gotten rid of them, and then they started building a HUGE apartment complex in the field behind us. New rodent problem. Well, the apartments are nearly if not totally completed now. They aren't digging anymore, so why, I ask you, do I have mice again?

You know, if they're just going to be under the fridge, I'll throw a block of poison under there, and it usually takes care of the problem within a couple of days. I don't have to see them, and they don't have to see me. Inhumane? Perhaps, but there's really no "humane" way to kill an animal, thank you. Well, this time we somehow got one upstairs. First Morgan and then Brandon saw it in the girls' bathroom running across the floor. How it got up there, I don't know. I can't find any holes in the wall, but there is a tiny -- TINY -- gap, slit next to the sink cabinet that needs a little caulk. That may be how he got in. I didn't want to caulk it if he was in there, though, because then he'd just find a way to chew through my wall somewhere. Morgan saw him two days in a row in her bathroom, but we couldn't get him somehow. I don't know where he went, but we never could catch him. Tuesday night Michael went to get the above mousetraps, we baited them, and set them in the girls' bathroom. Nothing. Wednesday morning was the second morning Morgan saw him. He had no interest in the traps. We closed the bathroom door and avoided it for the rest of the day hoping to lure him out in the dark and seek refuge or food in the traps. I don't know what he was surviving on, because there is absolutely no food upstairs (house rule). On Thanksgiving morning while the turkey was cooking, Morgan and I were in my sewing room, and she saw a pile of my fabric scraps moving and then saw his tail. Didn't find him. That night Makenzie saw him in her room. Michael flushed him out, but then couldn't catch him. Back into the sewing room he went. This morning then, Morgan thought she saw him run out of her room, and then I heard Finn yelling that the mouse had just run into his room. Michael and I moved a few things, the mouse ran, and I got him with the swiffer -- stunned him and then trapped him.

Morgan took the picture. All this fuss over one little mouse, but I tell you, we all wore shoes upstairs all week in case of a chance encounter. I'm leaving the traps out in case there are more. It's too much to hope that there's just one, but it seems like it was -- he just could never find a home because there are 7 kids in and out of all those rooms all the time. So I'm thankful that's over with. See? Always something to be thankful for. I'll try to post some Thanksgiving pictures next.

Thankful

For those of you who don't know it, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It always has been, even when I was a child. We would go to my grandma's house about an hour away. There would be tons of aunts, uncles, and cousins there, and of course, Grandma. It was warm, and it smelled good. All the women would be crowded into Grandma's tiny hallway of a kitchen for last-minute preparations. We kids would go play outside in the snow-covered yard, adventuring, until it was time to eat. Then I would stuff myself on rolls and mashed potatoes -- a little turkey too. My aunt Nancy, years later after I had become an adult, told me how she remembered that I loved mashed potatoes, because she would see me eat so many of them on Thanksgiving. Some people think of Thanksgiving as a day of gluttony -- which it certainly can be. However, the way I think of it is as a day of being with family, feasting, and offering thanks to our God for the many blessings he has given us.

Whew! That was a long introduction. Yes, people, that was only the introduction. I wanted to list a few things that I am thankful for -- this being my favorite holiday and all -- before I go stuff that turkey and get it in the oven. This list isn't necessarily in order, but just in the order that they pop into my head. I feel like some of this may end up sounding cheesy and sappy, but I feel so strongly about gratitude and its importance. It can be easy sometimes to focus on what we don't have -- especially with Christmas looming just around the corner -- but Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on what we truly do have.

• I am thankful for my family. I have been blessed with a kind husband who treats me with respect and dignity. My children are a blessing to me. They are helpful and loving, and they have strong testimonies. I have siblings and parents who love me. I have family by marriage who are good, kind people who seem to love me too. I have so many people in my life who uplift and support me. In a world where so many people are alone and bereft of any support, I am so grateful to be surrounded by those who love me, even if most of them are far from me.

• I am thankful for temporal blessings that make my life comfortable -- enough food to prepare a feast; nice clothing in good condition for me and my children and warm coats for when they have to go outside; a home that is a good shelter from the weather; two vehicles that are still running after all these years and now have no payments on them (woo-hoo!).

• I am grateful to have the restored Gospel. I know lots of people say that, but it has truly helped me avoid great unhappiness in my life. I am grateful to my parents for raising me in the Gospel so I could have a fighting chance. So many of my friends without the Gospel are not tethered to anything in this life, and they don't understand their purpose beyond the rat race, the tasks of this world. This world has some wonderful things to offer, but they pale in comparison to the things of the eternities.

• I am grateful for my ratty old piano. It was given to me for free. It needs to be refinished. It needs a new damper pedal (old one was broken off when I got it). It needs some of the wood replaced (the top piece is all buckled and cracking). It needs to be tuned. Yet, none of that seems all that important when I sit and play Christmas songs so Makenzie can sing along, or when I play "I Am a Child of God" and I hear Kellen singing from the other room. I have just enough minute skill to teach my children the basics, and I love to hear them playing ahead in their books, because they love music so much.

• I'm grateful for my ratty old sewing machine. (I'm sensing a theme here.) Even though it is older than Morgan (think dog years, people), it still runs without complaining, even though I have only had it tuned up one time in 15 years. I use it every day, and I get great joy from creating. Plus, it helps me give away some nice gifts.

I was thinking I would go on and on, but you get the gist. I am not a wealthy woman. In fact, right now I am a very non-wealthy woman as my husband is starting a company. Things are tight. We go without a lot of things, and yet, I don't feel the lack. We have a warm home and lots of people to snuggle with and laugh with. We are blessed with joy in this home. I defy any of you to listen to Liam singing "Bob the Builder" and not feel a little bit of joy. I hope you'll take time to count your own blessings, because even in the difficult times, there are so many blessings to count.

They call him the wanderer . . .

So this morning I got up early to work. My alarm goes off at 4:00 a.m., but I always manage to hit snooze a couple of times, so it was closer to 4:30 when I got up and wandered into the kitchen for a drink of water before I got started. I turned on a small light, walked around the island, and what did I find on the floor? No, not a mouse (thank goodness for that!). No, it was a little Kellen. He was cheek down on the tile, bum in the air, fast asleep with a cup on the floor behind him. Apparently he had wandered down for a drink himself, and just couldn't make it any further. I scooped the poor kid up and put him back in his bed. He was glad for that. You may ask why I am not posting a picture with this. It's because my motherly instincts automatically put the child back to bed. I thought on the way down the stairs that I probably should have photographed it, but come on, people! How many of you are quick-witted at 4:30 in the morning?

Let sleeping boys lie . . .

Do you see how tired my Finn is? Taking a nap on the couch in the middle of the day is unprecedented for him. He looks so comfy.

Wait, does he really look all that comfy to you?

So this was in July, the same day as the Finn pictures. I was looking for Cade and found his coloring book on the table. So I went to find him to get him to either color or clean it up. When I came around the corner into the living room, I found . . .

Another sleeping boy!

The only time he's not going a million miles an hour!

Now, this next one was just a couple of days ago, and it was because I had to run so many errands that I cut into his naptime. He fell asleep in front of the movie, poor thing. It was his turn to pick the movie, and he didn't even get to see it.

Now, doesn't this take the cake? This is Brandon in his bed at night. It looks so light, because of the flash on my camera. It was really dark. He sleeps like this all the time. I go to cover him up, and I have to unfold him. It's like prying open the jaws of life to get him to lay flat. It looks so uncomfortable to me, but how great for him to still be so flexible, right?

What a bunch of crazy sleepers I have. Did you notice it's just the boys. Is it just in the DNA?

My Baby

Do you see this face? What a sweet little boy he is. He is so good-natured (except, of course, when he's hungry or someone takes his toy).

He loves to play the piano. What a cutie-boy! We sure do love him!

Tagged

So it is really sad that Jill has had three posts since I last read her blog. I'm usually much more on top of things than this. It has been an insane week. So, she pretty much tagged everyone on her blog and Alice tagged me in my comments (which I also haven't read in a long time), so I'll see if I can find seven interesting things about me.

Okay. So I have done stuff for an hour waiting to think of anything interesting about me, and I am hard-pressed to come up with anything. I supposed because I know everything about myself, it all seems rather mundane. Plus, I figure you all already know everything about me.

1. I have seven children -- can I just list their names for the whole list? I had them in 12 years, with the last five of them coming in just seven years -- five boys, two girls. I am an aberration in this time. Is it interesting that the last two were born at home, delivered by my husband?

2. I love to sing. My girls have a karaoke machine in their room, and sometimes if I can get away with it, I go up there when they're at school and rock out.

3. I am a do-it-yourself-er. If I can do it myself, that's my preference. I cook from scratch. I like to sew, quilt, et cetera. It grates on me that we have been in this house three years, and I still don't have a vegetable garden in, and I am reduced to buying my produce from someone else. I don't want to hire a painter, because I want to do it myself. I wish I knew how to fix my own automobile. For that matter, I'd like to build my own classic car. It's not just because I'm cheap (which is also true about me), but I just like the way I feel when I do something myself. Sometimes I look at something I've made and am just surprised that I could actually do it.

4. Okay. That was a long one. I like to read -- and re-read. I am not opposed to reading the same book over and over (although I do like to have a little space in between reads). I collect books for that reason. Libraries are insufficient, because I want to be able to read it whenever I want. I chain-read.

5. I am a pack-rat. This is a painful admission but nonetheless a true one. I am trying to improve, and I have gotten better over the years. I had an epiphany one time that I would rather have a clean house than a whole bunch of stuff. However, the sheer number of children that I have keeps me from getting rid of everything -- partly because more kids equals more stuff, and partly because I don't always have time to go through and purge.

6. I am a closet romantic. On the surface I am very level-headed, practical. I am a realist. I don't need a huge show to feel that I am loved. I am a worker, and I just do what needs to be done. However, I love Jane Austen novels. I have read the Twilight series more times than I can count. There is a part of me that would love to be swept off my feet by my husband, but of course, life can't always be a romance novel -- especially with seven kids . . . and now we're back to practical again.

7. I am also a closet athlete. Growing up I never did a whole lot of physical activities. I was too much in my head. I never thought I could be good at that sort of thing. Since I became an adult, however, I have changed my perspective. I danced in college (ballroom). I love to rock climb. I love to lift weights. I love to be strong. I like to play tennis and volleyball. I want to be able to arm wrestle my husband and win! Of course, that's never going to happen, because he likes to lift weights too, but a girl can dream.

So I don't know if I know seven other people with a blog, because two people tagged me. Jill and Alice, you're off the hook since you already did this list. The rest of you who are reading this who have a blog -- consider yourself tagged. I'm sure that won't equal seven, but you do what you can.