November

YW IN EXCELLENCE
The first Tuesday in November was Young Women’s in excellence. It turned out wonderfully, Cherise Alva did a great job of pulling it together! I sang a trio and played piano for the song the Young Women sang. I am so grateful that I know enough about music to be able to participate in those ways! I’m so grateful for my Mom introducing me to music.

PRESCHOOL KROGER TOUR
Friday we went to a tour of Kroger’s, the kids loved it! They showed us the bakery in the back, we went into their giant fridge and freezer, and they pulled a live lobster out of its tank! The kids thought it looked like a sea monster, I guess it is! Very cool!





THE FIRST WEEKEND
A date! We went to dinner and then to a movie. The movie was funny, it felt good to laugh.

Saturday Freeman helped nephew Austin Stolle with his eagle project, building a playground and zen garden at a local elementary school. In the evening we all got together at Elise’s house for a farewell party for Hans and Kristi, it was fun to be together, we hadn’t been for a few weeks!

PRESCHOOL THANKSGIVING
We had preschool at our place this week. I had tons of fun preparing for it, and threw out all the provided materials in favor of other things I wanted to do with the kids. I researched the story of the Pilgrims (and learned a lot! I’m embarrassed to admit that all I knew before was that they came on the Mayflower!) I told the kids the story, then they all took on a real character with real names and we reenacted the Pilgrims leaving Europe, traveling across the ocean (including true facts like a man falling overboard, a baby being born, and their favorite detail, using a jar for a toilet--we did not reenact that!) We made Thanksgiving bracelets with colored beads, each color represented a detail of the Thanksgiving story so they could take them home and use them to help them tell the story to their families. We had a mini thanksgiving feast, and made turkey apples. Oh children make holidays so much fun!




THANKSGIVING
Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for. Why do we obsess over the things we don’t have and forget the many blessings we enjoy? This Thanksgiving I am especially grateful for my precious, celestial children who I couldn’t ask to be any better than they are, a baby who delights all of us, a husband who is a doting father and serving husband, health, many kind and good friends, and much immediate comfort. I am blessed.

Our family got sick on Tuesday, and well….we’re not well yet! We were hoping to recover for Thanksgiving, but it just didn’t happen. Mom Linton was sweet to send over a platter of food and so we feasted together, our little family, at our dining room table. Though I wouldn’t choose Thanksgiving this way every year, it was a fun, private, low-key day. Lots of wiping noses, napping on the couch, and calming feverish children. Hopefully we can kick this bug soon!

The day after Thanksgiving we did head to Mom and Dad’s for dinner. We loved seeing Joseph and Sara Fluckiger and catching up with them, as well as seeing the rest of the family and getting in on some of the Thanksgiving party.




Friday we got the house ready for Christmas, including decorating a tree, making gingerbread men and making snowflakes! Love this time of year!