Witches at Gardner Village

One other impromptu Halloween activity we participated in this year was going to see

The Witches at Gardner Village.

I had never been.

It is an outdoor shopping area, and witches were decorated throughout.

We had a paper with clues about each witch and we had to try to locate them.

The kids had a great time and it was fun to have all the Nunes cousins together.

Thanks for inviting us and taking the pictures, Krista!

Busy Boys

Pictures taken November 2, 2011

I didn't take many  pictures in October, so I just decided to get my camera out on a random Wednesday afternoon.  Ammon was doing homework and Peter was building things.  I'm so thankful to have these boys being part of my life!

Halloween Fun

Pictures taken October 29, 2011

Last year I felt like Halloween was a month long event.

It was fun, but I was relieved when it was over.

This year was just the opposite of that.

I never even really caught up to Halloween before it had come and gone.

Still, we did some fun things.

We had a Halloween party with friends I went to High School with.

We had a ward party/trunk or treat.

We went trick or treating at the district.

And finally, on Halloween,

Ammon marched in the school parade

(and even though I didn't have my camera, both Andrew and I were able to go see him)

we ate delicious red beans and rice for dinner,

trick or treated in South Jordan,

and visited grandparents on both sides.

We never did carve pumpkins this year.

Sad.

I guess we'll have to look forward to that one in 2012.

Fall Finale

Pictures taken October 8, 2011

Andrew enjoyed racing in the Fall Finale at the Kearns Olympic Oval.

His friend Spencer and his dad also participated in that race.

Andrew had registered to do a race at the beginning of tri season on the same course.

He was hoping to compare times and have a concrete identifier of how much he had improved.

Sadly, the Spring Sprint was snowed out and they didn't get to bike for that event.

We were worried that something similar would happen for the Fall Finale.

Fortunately, despite the cold, wet weather,

the race went on!

The boys were great and had a fun time cheering on the athletes.

It's a great tradition to support Dad in his races.

Go Andrew!

Giving Thanks - Day 4

Today I am grateful for seasons, icecream , good friends and dates with my husband.

I spent the afternoon outside LOVING the beautiful autumn atmosphere with golden leaves covering the ground.  The boys played and had a good night.  And yet this evening was spent driving through the first big snow storm of the season.  Thanks to some great friends/neighbors who kept an eye (or ear) on our boys, Andrew and I were able to get out and go to Leatherby's for some ice cream.  That's right - I drove through a snow storm to eat ice cream!  I LOVE ice cream!  It's been a good day.

Giving Thanks - Day 3

I'll admit it - today I'm a little stumped as to what to write about.  It isn't that I don't have a LOT to be grateful for, because I do.  It's just that I'm tired, and somehow that always makes it more challenging to recognize the blessings in our lives.  So instead of expounding on anything I will just share the list of things I could choose from today.

I am grateful for:

• my husband, who got the boys ready and off to school today
• visiting teachers past and present (one of my past visiting teachers called me today and I enjoyed talking with her)
• my friend Keri (she stopped by and spent some time with me today and also drove me to pick up Peter from school which took a 45-60 minute job and transferred it into a 10 minute job!  Thanks Keri!)
• nice weather that wasn't too cold  (Peter enjoyed some nice outdoor time today and even though it was a little chilly, when the sun wasn't blocked by clouds, it was pretty nice.)
• school (this semester has been so hard for me because it started off on the wrong foot, but I still enjoy my classes even though I am slightly burned out and my grades are about as bad as they've ever been.)
• my friend Shae who is also my 1st counselor and right hand man (today I am grateful to her because she babysat my boys while I went to class, but I have a long list of other reasons I am so grateful to her too.
• And finally, my husband again, who has been gone for about 12 hours now, but is still willing to stop at the store on his way home to pick us up a couple of things for our 10:00 PM dinner.

It's been a long day after a night of little sleep, but as you can see from this list, it's also been a good day.  And I'm grateful for that.

Giving Thanks - Day 2

Today I am grateful for little hands.  I was walking, hand in hand, with Peter this morning as we went to drop him off at preschool.  The feeling of his cold little hand in mine was so perfect!  I realized that his hands won't always be that small.  In fact, there will come a day when his hands will be larger than mine.  And I will be grateful for those hands too.  

My children are growing much faster than I sometimes want them to.  And there are fewer of them than I ever would have dreamed.  My mom had twelve years from her oldest to youngest child - she was mothering children in ALL phases of childhood for a LONG time.  I never would have thought that I would have such a tiny 3 1/2 year window from start to finish with each and every childhood phase.  I was so disappointed when my kids were spread so "far apart" from each other, but now I am just so glad that it isn't going even more quickly!  I'm so grateful for that gap that once seemed so huge, and now seems so small.  This morning, I kissed Ammon at the bus stop to wish him a happy day.  A part of me wondered if he was getting too old for that.  Imagine my delight when he hugged me back.  I guess he's not too old for that yet!  

My boys are so very precious to me.  I love them because they are them, and I love them because they are mine.  It is such a joy to see how they grow and develop.  I'm proud of who they are becoming.  But for today, I'm grateful that they are small.

Giving Thanks - Day 1

The month of Thanksgiving is here, so I am going to *attempt* writing about things I am grateful for throughout the month.  

The first thing that came to mind today is that I am grateful for revelation.  Knowing that God can and does speak directly to me brings a great amount of peace and joy to my life.  It is among my most treasured blessings in life to have His guidance through this world.  In addition to personal revelation, I am so grateful for the revelation given to those who lead.  From parents who lead their families, bishops who lead their wards, and most blessedly to the prophets and apostles who stand as a guiding light to the world.

Here are some of my favorite talks on the topic of revelation.

First, we have Elder Oaks in October of last year expounding on the Two Lines of Communication.  He breaks down and helps clearly understand the methods and roles of individual revelation and revelation that comes through the priesthood authority.  It is a beautiful discourse.

Next, there is Elder Bednar, who gave a great description of how one might expect to receive personal revelation.  My husband likes to listen to books on tape, and one afternoon, while borrowing his car, I sat in a parking lot unwilling to turn the key and go into shop.  One of his CD's was playing and Sheri Dew was teaching about personal revelation.  She spoke of the concept that learning how to receive revelation from the Holy Ghost is like learning another language.  (Duh!  Of course it is - it is the language Heavenly Father uses to speak to us!)  She gave the example of the years it takes in coming to master a language and then, even once that language is mastered that we still need to use it to retain that knowledge.  I think Elder Bednar's talk from last April really helps teach some of the basics of the "language" as he gives a great message on The Spirit of Revelation.

Another of my absolute favorite talks is from Elder Scott in October of 2009.  The first thing I did when I received my calling as Relief Society President, was reference back to this talk.  He poses these questions: "What can you do to enhance your capacity to be led to correct decisions in your life?  What are the principles upon which spiritual communication depends?  What are the potential barriers to such communication that you need to avoid?"  and then answers them by teaching each of us how  To Acquire Spiritual Guidance.  I love the personal experiences he shares in his own quest to receive revelation and then the analogy of the grape in which he explains, "The inspiring influence of the Holy Spirit can be overcome or masked by strong emotions, such as anger, hate, passion, fear, or pride.  When such influences are present, it is like trying to savor the delicate flavor of a grape while eating a jalapeno pepper.  Both flavors are present, but one completely overpowers the other.  In like manner, strong emotions overcome the delicate promptings of the Holy Spirit." 

Finally, I think back to a talk by Elder Anderson where he teaches a beautiful message about our prophets and apostles.  He helps us understand that they really are our watchmen on the tower in his wonderful talk Prophets and Spiritual Mole Crickets.

I feel extremely blessed to have been so well instructed on revelation over the years, and in having felt the love of my Heavenly Father as I have worked to try to understand His communication with me through the Holy Ghost and through His prophets.  I am so thankful for revelation in my life!