We Gather Together to Ask the Lord's Blessing....

For the first time EVER we celebrated

Thanksgiving with ONLY our immediate

family. Turns out our own group is getting

so big that we really fill up our house, our tables,

our ovens, cooktops and countertops

all by ourselves. CRAZY...I know. And in

some ways it was weird to not have extended family,

but we were 25 on our own without Bryce, Lisa,

Miranda and Asher and they were sorely missed!

God willing we will be adding

2 more next year! I think we are to the point that we are

going to have to find a place to hold the celebration

if we are to gather with our extended families.

Regardless, it was a fantastic day shared with those

who are nearest and dearest to our hearts.

My sweet sister flew in from Oregon to be with my Mom

so I could concentrate on the preparations and have the

day with my clan. And here they all are....

We had a Kid's Turkey Table complete with lots

of crafting supplies and projects.

They even had their own special centerpiece!

Here's is Dustin's famous deep fried turkey....not

much to look at but delicious to the taste!

And here is my traditional golden brown bird....

These are the girls that helped make this possible....plus

Ezzie. I couldn't have done it without their help!!

(And look at those two adorable baby bumps with

the April babies in the ovens)

The food was delicious, the company perfect, and

the blessings innumerable. I have a very charmed life

indeed. Regardless of the challenges we all face,

our cups runneth over with blessings and love.

What more could I ask in life????

It was a perfect day!

November Birthday Highlights

November is a BIG month for Birthdays

in these parts and we celebrated

some of the BEST of the BEST.

November 9th is Miss Poppy Louise Jackson's

special day...she turned a big 3 years old.

We enjoyed dinner with Grandma Alice and

Grandpa Steve at Benihana's that night.

The next day, Minie was kind enough to give

her little sister a haircut....free of charge.

Brooke may have cried a little but the Hello

Kitty Party she threw went forward as if nothing

had ever happened. (Way to roll with the punches!!)

The face painter was outstanding and

all the kids enjoyed their design of choice.

Of course, the birthday girl was "Hello Kitty".

Brookie-D always does it up right!!

Such a cute, cute party....

Gretsie showing us her design choice...

November 6th was my amazing Mom's special day.

She's 85 years young and her day wasn't all that

grand. She had a fall that required the EMT's

to come and help her up and she really wasn't feeling

well. But she was a good sport and

put up with our celebrating her.

Here's the party throwers minus Kennan who came

as soon as she got off work.

And here's the staff that celebrated with her too.

It was a nice little gathering, but sadly she had ANOTHER

fall the next day and it took several days for her to recover.

November 5th was Tucker's big day as he turned 12

and received the Aaronic Priesthood. This is one

wonderful boy and we were lucky enough to make

a VERY quick trip to St. George to see him play

football where he caught a touchdown pass and

then be present for his ordination on Sunday.

Great boy....always makes us proud!!

And November 4th was Jude's 6th birthday....

and as you can see, the Pirate theme carried right on

from Halloween into his birthday party!

The party goers decorated "booty bags" to hold

all their pirate prizes and walked the plank several times.

Ya-ya provided lots of pirate decorations from

school and even dressed up to read the group

a pirate story. (She's the best!)

Kennan did an outstanding job of

putting on this bash for a very large

group of pirates!!

Pretty amazing month to have brought forth ALL these

very special people. How very blessed I was to be

able to celebrate with them all!!

XO

October Sewing Projects=Halloween Adorables

I was recruited to assist with costume making for

the Jackson/Gregory group this year and

pirates were the chosen theme for the season.

It's obvious that this pirate crew

was the cutest group around!!

This miniature matey got to "ride"

the high seas while the crew

went door to door gathering treasure.

Kennan has been kind enough to invite us up

for dinner and then see the little's trick or treat in

her neighborhood. Great times!!

Halloween at Nannie's 2011

In the middle of all the craziness, we still were able to

have a little Halloween Party at Nannie's house.

We had a kid friendly dinner of spaghetti and meatballs,

a little bit of a frightening "spook alley" complete with

peeled grape eyeballs, carrot fingers, cold spaghetti

brains, Grandpa's hair and a guest appearance

by the ghost of Grandpa Mike.

We finished the night off with a pumpkin carving

contest complete with awards for every

child. All in all, a GREAT little party....

if I do say so myself!

Halloween is just plain fun!

My Sisters Came to Town!!!

My two sisters made a quick trip to SLC to see

Mom this week. It was a much needed and much

appreciated visit.

While they were here, Sunrise hosted a trick or treat night

for family of residents. Gabi and Bella were excited

to be able to participate.

(They were Draculara and Frankie Stein from

"Monster High".... Vanessa fashioned their costumes.)

Love these ladies more than words can say.

Thanks for coming, Sisters.

I really needed to see you and you

made Mom's month!!

XO

Celebrating Kennan

For Kennan's Birthday celebration, she chose

NOT to include the children (Ezzie gets to come

every where, however) and to go out to dinner

at Texas Roadhouse with family

(Yummy!!)

Here's the Birthday girl and her honey!

The attendees.....

Cute little exception to the rule!

This is what he looks like when he realizes his

Mommy isn't holding him.

Great little celebration for a really GREAT lady.

Happy 29th, K-Diggity.

XOXO