Happy Turkey Day!

Thansgivings here in Ohio have been so fun for us. Since so many of our friends here are "transplants" far away from family, we have really enjoyed getting together and sharing Thanksgiving together. The Palfreymans, Collettes, Days, Shupes, Deb and Paiton Christensen, and Elders Fernandez and Johnson joined us at our house today. Everyone brought a few favorite dishes to share, so there was a TON of delicious food!

The Palfreymans

The Collettes

The Days

Look out, Gavin, Paiton's got her eye on you!

It wasn't super fancy - we ate on paper plates, we didn't have many decorations or personalized place cards, but we had plenty to be thankful for: good friends and lots of yummy food! Years from now, I think we will always look back fondly at our Thanksgivings in Ohio.

HaPpY ThAnKsGiVinG!

Pie Day!

Today was the day before Thanksgiving, AKA, Pie Day! This year I did two pumpkin pies (Bryan's very favorite) and one apple pie.


Earlier today, I made Turkey Cookies with the kids. I think they really got a kick out of them. I figured most of the kids would rather eat cookies than pie on Thanksgiving anyway, right?

Yes, the red things are supposed to be the "gobblers" (apparently they are really called SNOODS. I had to Google it), not gushing facial wounds.

This is my little baking buddy, Ruby.

Everyone should have a Ruby to bake with. It's like having my own personal cheerleader. I crack an egg, she shouts, "Wow, Summer!" I beat the egg, she cheers, "Whoa, you're doing great!" She's just so enthusiastic!

The best part of my day today was when she added the last cup of sugar. She turned to me with a huge grin on her face and said,

"Whoa! We're having so much fun today, Summer!"

Happy Blogiversary To Us!

...or is it Blogaversary?... or maybe it's Blogoversary...

Any way, Three Little Monkeys turned ONE today!

In honor of the big day, a few nights ago, while Bryan was on-call at the hospital and the kids were in bed, I decided to read through all 133 posts in our blog from the past year. Some made me laugh out loud (like when Logan thought I was "cooking bums"), some made me tear up a bit (like when Hannah was in the NICU), but mostly, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for all the blessings we have experienced in the last year. For me, that is one of the best reasons to keep a journal; I can look back and recognize all the blessings that I may have forgotten otherwise.

"Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. Journals are a way of counting our blessings and leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity. -Spencer W. Kimball

This is the first time I can say I have kept a journal regularly for a whole year. I don't know if it's the encouraging comments from my friends and family, or the egotistic satisfaction of seeing my words in print, but whatever it is, it keeps me coming back. I love blogging!

Here are a few of my other favorite posts from the last year:

Farewell President Hinckley

Logan's Kitties

Don't Put A Stick In It

100 Things I Love

Mommy's Little Helper

Hannah's Blessing Day

Happy Blogiversary to us!

Finding Joy In The Journey - NOW!

I know it's a little late for a Conference report, but I wanted to record an experience I had while watching the President Thomas S. Monson give his talk, Finding Joy in the Journey during the Sunday morning Session.

Bryan was working at the hospital, so I was watching General Conference on the computer with the kids. It was the end of the session, so the kids' attention spans were really wearing thin. Hannah was cranky and fussy, Logan was impatient and crying for me to help him build his Mr. Potato Head, and Andrew was laying upside-down, spinning in the computer chair and hitting Logan every time he came around. I was loosing my patience quickly and said angrily, "Man, it would be so nice to watch Conference alone! Then maybe I'd be able to get something out of it!" I could barely hear Pres. Monson's talk, but at that very moment, I clearly heard him say,

"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."

I immediately burst into tears, realizing that I wasn't appreciating this time in my life as much as I should. My kids are growing so fast, and I know I will miss them terribly when they are gone!

I was sure to read President Monson's talk again when it was published in the Ensign. Here are a few other quotes from the same talk that really touched me:

"Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."

And,

"I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."

I Love My Minivan!

Great News: Our beloved van is back from the shop and back in commission! Now ($1000 later -ugh!), everyone can ride in their own seat, not touching another person. So for the time being, we have two cars!!!

When we were driving to church on Sunday (in blissful minivan comfort rather than cramped in a two-door sardine can), Andrew said, "It's kinda good our van broke. If it didn't, we wouldn't know how good it is."

Too true! It's sad that sometimes we have to have things taken away from us in order to really appreciate them! We've had a pretty rough car year, starting with Bryan's car accident, then the incident with the Buick on the way home from Cedar Point, and the most recent leaks in the van gaskets. I guess we needed an extra strong kick in the pants to be truly grateful for our cars!

You know what else I am grateful for right now?

We can fill our van with gasoline at $1.85 per gallon!!!

During the summer, when gas was over $4.00, I thought we'd never see it under $3.00 again, much less under $2.00! I don't really even mind filling it up when it's this cheap.


*LATER NOTE*
Gas has dropped to $1.79 now, AND I had .40 off per gallon from my Giant Eagle Fuel Perks, SO I filled our van at $1.39 per gallon! Only $23.00 to fill our entire van!!!

You Can Call Me Handsome

Logan has always been very particular about his name. He likes to be called LOGAN. No nicknames. No Honey, Sweetie, Buddy, NOTHING! That's why I was so surprised to hear this:

Logan: "Handsome is my other name."
Summer: "Oh yeah?"
Logan: "Yeah, you can call me Handsome."

Boys Will Be Boys

This year, a few friends and I organized a co-op preschool for our energetic three-year-old boys. It's nothing fancy; just once a week for two hours, to give our little men some social interaction and an intro to a preschool setting. We usually do some circle time (letter, color, shape of the day, weather, and show-and-tell), story time, snack, a short lesson, and an even shorter craft (the boys aren't into crafty details, I've learned). The rest of the time free play time. The boys really seem to get a kick out of it. Logan feels so big bringing his backpack to school just like Andrew.

This week was my turn to teach preschool at our house. We learned about camping. The boys especially loved their mini flashlights and playing in the "tent."

Wesley, Gavin, Logan, and Brigham

The camping fun didn't last too long though. Soon the flashlights became...you guessed it...LIGHTSABERS, and the tent became the Rebel base! BOYS!!!

A few weeks ago, during our apple unit, we took a preschool field trip to Eddy's Fruit Farm to pick apples.

Logan had a great time picking his own apples and filling his bag with many different varieties. We went home with plenty to make yummy Crockpot Applesauce and a few batches of Apple Pumpkin Muffins!

VOWT OBOMA

Andrew pretty much knew all along who his presidential candidate was. He drew this picture at school last week.

When I asked Andrew why he chose Obama, he answered quite simply, "The things he says are just more reasonable." It's so amazing (and sometimes frightening) to me how much of the "adult world" children soak up!

I wanted to take the time to record my feelings about this historic event. I really struggled with this election because I didn't really agree with either candidate on all issues. In the end, after praying and studying the issues, I chose Obama (I know, I'm a minority in my circle - please don't disown me, family and friends). But even if I had voted McCain, I think I still would have been impressed at the outcome, to see our country's first African-American President elected. It made me happy and proud to see how far our country has come. I was very touched by Obama's acceptance speech and even teared up a little when he said,

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

Family Home Evening

Tonight, we had a family home evening about Thanksgiving. We talked about being grateful for the things we have, and shared the story about the first Thanksgiving. We then gave the parable of the Ten Lepers from Luke 17 and talked about how only the Samaritan fell down and gave thanks. After a short activity and game, the following conversation occurred:

Andrew: This was a really good family night guys.

Me: Yeah? Do you remember what it was about?

Andrew: Ummm... a story..., people..., LEPROSY!

Hey, at least we tried!

Also of note, Logan's prayer at the beginning of family home evening:

Logan: Thank you for our blessings you gave to us, and thank you for www-dot-com.....

A Historic Day

Today was the day that Hannah finally had enough hair to wear a real bow!

Yay, Hannah!