Praise To the Man

Parker and Eliza at the Palmyra Temple. They did baptisms for the dead.

Parker celebrated his 12th birthday on November 27th. Here he is with his new warm coat in the Sacred Grove.
Thanksgiving Dinner in our cabin at Seneca Lake Camp.

We walked around the Sacred Grove for about an hour on Thanksgiving Day.

We had a great trip to New York over the Thanksgiving Holiday. Overall the kids were great (good thing I am writing this a month later to forget some of the "moments"). We had lots of time to just be together and relax. We stayed at the Church's Girls Camp in a 16-bunk cabin. Very nice facilities, but a little chilly. We brought a space heater that did not quite heat the space--we just stayed bundled up. We watched movies, hiked, played DS, and drove to all the church sites. The Finger-Lakes area is really beautiful. I thought about my brother Steve who served his mission in that area and also later lived there with Denise and the boys.

Some of the highlights:

Hill Cumorah, Scared Grove, Grandin Building, Smith Farm

Thanksgiving Dinner--Crock-Pot Turkey cooked overnight (very juicy), micro-waved "sides"

Parker got the priesthood and went to the temple. He was SO happy.

"Aliens in the Attic" Movie--downloaded on David's laptop.

Card Games, puzzles, ginger ale, egg nog, Tole House Cookie Pie

Eating at McDonalds (David told the kids "this is where Joseph and Emma ate after they got the gold plates"--some of the kids fell for it--we all had a good laugh.)

We made a stop at Niagara Falls on the way home--VERY COLD and WET! Then on to the Camille and Chads for some fun with the cousins in Ohio. We spent the night, went to church , talked, ate yummy chicken and rice dinner and several dozen pumpkin cookies--thanks Camille. They are great hosts--it is fun to live near them.

All in all, we drove 1800 miles, but it didn't seem that long.

Just a few other thoughts:

It was really sad for me to see Alvin's grave. It is alone on the top of a small hill in Palmyra. It didn't help that it was raining, cold and muddy. He was at the prime of his life and loved by his family. It was sobering.

Joseph Smith was young and strong. His family loved and supported him. He held up under tribulation (even when he was very young) and did what the Lord needed and wanted him to do. He was faithful and held true to his word and testimony. He was happy and people loved to be with him. He was a prophet who restored truths to the earth.

Happy Birthday. Thanks for your life and example.

SURVIVAL

Michael is warming himself by the fire (started without matches) after suffering from hypothermia.

The boys send air-to-ground-signals using pretzels.

They help stabilize a broken leg and take their man to shelter.

Parker ascends the tree in search of food.

Parker informed me the other day that I need to up-date the blog. He wanted me to give a report on his birthday party. He was born on Thanksgiving Day and has never really had a party where he invites his friends over--we are usually traveling or we invite some friends over and play games. I had him convinced for years that he had better parties than anyone else! Anyway, he talked me into doing a "real" party--I have to admit it was GREAT! Boys are SO easy to entertain. We did a "Wilderness Survival Party"--using the Boy Scout Merit Badge requirements as our activities. Super easy prep, high entertainment impact, and the cake that "flopped" just looked more realistic. The best part was when we were eating they asked if there were any plates--I said, "No, remember, we are in the wilderness--no plates, cups or silverware--just use your hands to eat and get a drink from the stream (hose). " They were absolutely THRILLED with this primitive way of eating. (And it saved me from going in the house to see if I had any paper products). We also had a tree that we wanted to cut down--to open up the front yard where we planted the fruit trees--we decided to do that before they came and the boys all hauled branches and cleaned up the tree remains to use in their shelter. (Nothing like throwing a party to have everyone do our yard work! They loved it and really got into it.) I'll have to see if Parker wants to write more later.

Falling Leaves

Fall in Tennessee is beautiful--the trees, colors, and weather are perfect. The kids have always loved playing in outside in a big pile of leaves. It is one of the few jobs that they all pitch in and help with very little resistance. I love the smell of leaves and usually jump in myself. Here are Parker and Eliza on a "sick day". We also "re-planted" our peach trees after reading that they need well-drained soil. We added some sand to break up the clay that they were in--hopefully that will help them flourish. The yard is full again with leaves from the late dropping trees--but the novelty of playing in them has worm off and it is getting colder. I guess I'd better get out there and get it done before too long. Although last year I didn't get it finished and the earth didn't spin off its axis. We'll see what happens.

Thanksgiving Eve

Right now we are sitting in a cabin in the "Finger Lakes" area of NY overlooking Seneca Lake. The kids are playing games, and we're listening to Christmas music and hoping for a big snow storm! It is almost as picturesque as it sounds, but there is no heat--it's not too bad. We've got a space heater going and warm clothes on. Tomorrow we are going to enjoy a crock pot turkey and various "micro-waved side dishes" as we sit bundled up and cuddled

Thankful

Bet you don't store your rice and beans this way!
I've got two great little helpers.

Made another run to the cannery a while back (actually a LONG time ago) and I am finally getting everything into some big buckets. It always feels good to spend money on food storage. It is very satisfying to have something set away for a rainy day.

From the church web-site:

"For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans."

"While there is a decline in nutritional quality and taste over time, depending on the original quality of food and how it was processed, packaged, and stored, the studies show that even after being stored long-term, the food will help sustain life in an emergency."

I have never liked the "stay alive" and "help sustain life in an emergency" part. I guess it if far better than the alternative though. I have been the ward food storage person for the past several years and have tried to help people get food in their homes. I was just released from this calling and do feel relieved in some ways, but am already making a list of things I need to stock up on again for our own family. What a wonderful thing to be able to feed my kids when they say they are hungry--even if it is cold cereal or "mac". I feel very blessed to have full cupboards, food under beds, in closets, and a full tummy everyday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Garden of Weedin'

I know it has been WAY too long since an update. This is for my faithful reader--my Mom--I'm sure that no one else checks EVERYDAY! When it's been so long, I feel like I've got to come up with something spectacular to write about--the last few months has just been life. We had a very swine-infested October--everyone was sick at least once--except Grace. The kids have enjoyed some days off school to recover. We've done some yard clean-up, had fun Halloween adventures, and just lived life. Here are pics from our garden clean-up. I really enjoy gardening, but when it gets above 80 degrees I slack off! We had some huge tomato plants this year and even bigger weeds. One evening for FHE we cleaned everything out. Now I am filling the boxes with leaves and grass clippings--just lazy mans composting! It is still fairly warm--we've had a few freezes, but it warms up during the day. I love this time of year--it is a full season here in TN!

KK 2!

Well, little Katherine turned 2 on September 10th. She is a great person. I got this darling picture of her right after she was making funny faces--the reason she has such a great smile is that she was really pleased with her faces, because we were all laughing. Some of her favorite things: soft blankets and robes--she is very particular--not necessarily about the item, rather its softness factor, bottle and pacifier (recently confiscated from William--oh well!), Desitin and toothpaste (really anything that comes from a tube and is fun to squeeze out, squish between fingers and smear on various objects, markers (preferably black Sharpies--yes, I put them up--she can move chairs, turn over buckets and climb to get whatever her little heart desires), big bins filled with flour and powdered milk (they have been moved various times--she still finds them), pens and pencils--she loves to write--and has very fine scribbles, shes loves it when the older kids get home from school--so do I, going to nursery, finally! She loves singing songs, snacks and bubbles.

She is fun to have in our family. We sure love her.

Eliza was making frosting for the cake and got her finger caught in the mixer. It was bad. Parker got attacked by killer bees and is icing his head with frozen pepperoni. He said hotdogs work better. As you can tell we had a very exciting birthday party with lots of trauma.