Thankful...

Today I am thankful for many things...

but especially that Gavin said "ma-ma" for the first time today! It was well worth the wait and the best birthday present ever!

I am grateful for a loving husband who inspires me to be better every day.

Grateful for four healthy kids who fill my life with love and laughter.

Thankful for parents who continue to love, uplift and inspire.

Grateful for the abundance of the Lord's sweet tender mercy's.

Thankful for sisters....to be one and to have so many.

Grateful for life and the beauty of it.

Thankful for a day to celebrate gratitude.

Lovin' me...

my new kitchen aid food processor! This baby can handle it all!

When you're told in the morning...don't look at something if it comes in the mail today. And then it shows up on your front door with huge lettering telling you exactly what it is, well it's just hard to miss that.

So babe, thanks for the birthday present! And let me tell you, I am processing food galore! Today I made a yummy pumpkin pecan cheesecake and this little cutie made it so easy! Bret says he is happy to encourage my cooking behavior....now where do I put it?

Primary Talk

11:59 p.m. Saturday night....it dawned on me that Abby was supposed to be giving a talk in Primary this morning at church. Nice. As I set my alarm clock a little earlier then I had planned I prayed she wouldn't freak out and be too mad at me.

Man I was proud of her today. In spite of my forgetfulness she did amazing! She woke up early with a great positive attitude and sat down and wrote a wonderful talk on service. And to top it off she even memorized it! Go girl! It was so touching I wanted to have a record of it in her own words.

Introduction

King Bengimen gatherd his people to tell them inportet (important) things befor he died. This is one of the things he told them: And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

What this scripcher means to me is: It is Hevenly Fathers work to bring us back to Heven. When we serve other people we can help in Hevenly Fathers work. We can help others to fell Hevenly Fathres love, and we can help answer peoples prarys.

For Presedet Monsesn Birthday somone askt him what he wanted for his birthday. He said: I want people to give an act of sevic to some one. A primary did what Presedint Monsen askt. Evry time they did a akt of seveis they put a worm fuzzy in the gar. and they did that entil the gar was full. They sent it to Presidend Monson. In my family we are making it a tredishon befor thanksgiving. We try and fill a gar of worm fuzzies befor Thanksgiving--at dinner each night we share an akt of service that we did that day and we put a worm fuzzie in the gar.

I have lernd that it is inportant to look for opertonadys (opportunities) to help other people. One day I was at a tabel foll of girls at lunch but then I nodest (noticed) that one of my friends had to sit at a different tabel. And so I went over to that tabel during lunch so she would not be alon.

Share Testomony


Love the scripture

Love the use of modern day prophets

Love the Testimony

Love the personal examples

Really love the misspelled words

Love you Abs!

Reading

I LOVE this picture.

I love the tenderness.

I love the relationship

I love the reading.

I love the unique and special bond.

I love the kids.

Missing Parts

You'd never be able to experience the beauty of a Monet if crucial colors were missing.

Never complete a puzzle with even one little piece misplaced.

Never see a full moon without every little tiny sliver visible.

This is how I feel our family has been these last several weeks. Not complete, not whole, not ourselves. And I miss us.

It's easy to say, "I can't imagine what our family would be like without all of us, it just wouldn't be the same." But it's another to experience it in a very, VERY small way.

With the swine flu invading our family at least one person has been absentee for the past two weeks. There is nothing like that empty chair at the dinner table, the missing personality (even if they are just upstairs in bed) to help you see and appreciate how each individual completes the whole.

First it was Bret: The Lord designed families with 2 parents for a reason! We missed our fun, playful dad. I missed the extra help and added support. Family dinners weren't as good without that extra motivation to make a nice meal. We just honestly didn't have as much fun without him around. I'm so grateful for all he adds to our family and oh man...how we all adore him.

Then it was Abby: Two of the days she was sick happened to be a long weekend and no school. And it hit me in a big way what a blessing she is in this family, but especially in the relationships with her siblings. It was hard without her. She has a way of bringing peace, love and compromise between the three oldest. McKenna and Zachary were just at each other's throats with her not around. Simply put, there was a different spirit in our home with her not around.

Zachary: My little talkative buddy. It was really quite with him being so sick. I really missed him! He's always there, right by my side, talking his little heart out literally all day. I missed his commentary, his quirky little thoughts and funny antics. I missed him playing with Gavin and helping to keep him out of everything.

Gavin: Oh buddy...still into everything, still causing a few problems, just with more of an attitude rather then his quiet, serious little self.

Me: Thanks to a wonderful husband who has stepped in and taken over. And in spite of all that, a home just isn't the same without the mother.

I'm ready for our family to be whole again. Ready to have all the pieces back together. Ready for no empty chairs at dinner. I'm ready to be "us" again. I'm ready to be more aware and more grateful for the colors each one brings to the picture, and to praise them for it. I've taken the long way to say this, but my goodness, I love my family. They complete me.

***McKenna is still holding strong...the lone survivor! And it goes without saying that there would be a list of things missing without her as well!***

Swine Flu, Swine Flu Go Away...

Here is the bad thing about the swine flu, at least in our house...it goes on and on and on and on.

And just as one person is getting better and we think we're in the clear...another one wakes up with a fever.

First it was Bret, a week later it was Abby. Now that she is finally starting to feel better Zachary woke up with a fever. At this point I'm considering passing around a cup so that those of us that are left will just get it over with and life can go on.


And one more thing...they got the immunization!!! But apparently it takes two weeks for that to be in full effect and we haven't hit that mark yet.


Three down, three to go...will we make it?

Caveman Gavin

Our little caveman loves to grunt and growl....and he has a funny way of saying "maama"!!!

Halloween Weekend

Halloween typically seems to be crazy going from one thing to the next, but always so much fun. Class parties were a big hit this year, First Grade carved pumpkins and Third Grade did the craft stations, games, and yummy food.

McKenna and her best friend Emilie

From class parties to the Ward trunk-or-treat...this year we stepped it up a little and actually decorated our car as a giant mouth. The ward did a parade before trunk-or-treat and the kids ate it up...unfortunately no pics.

Saturday morning we carved our pumpkins...Gavin loved watching everyone, but would not for the life of him touch the pumpkin guts.

Abby...every so meticulous

The finished products...minus Abby who ran inside upset about something.

From pumpkins to a fun family party. Eyeball bulls eye, whoopee cousin musical chairs, family character skits, witches brew, monster ball, and donuts on a string...so much fun. I have to just insert here that the Crane family dominated the donut on a string game. We ate our donuts, no hands, in 11 seconds! As soon as they fell off the string we all hit our bellies fast.

And of course, trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with friends.

I have to add that our kids choose to re-use old costumes in order to save money for the dog fund! Abby was a 50's girl, McKenna a witch, Zachary was Batman, and Gavin was Robin.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Races with G & G Crane

Figuring out how to upload videos from the flip...it is so fun and is taking my blog to a whole new level!