November 2013

NOVEMBER 2013

November comes in at #10 in my review of favorite to least favorite.  I like November because it's the month that we celebrate everything we are thankful for.  It's a time to be with family and reflect on the many blessings that our Heavenly Father has given us.  It's a time to enjoy feasts and the bounty of the harvest.  It's a time to remember those early pilgrims who celebrated that first Thanksgiving.   What I don't like about November should not come as a surprise to anyone, I dislike the cold.  I'm not the biggest fan of the fall colors, they are too dark.  During October you can find so many different Halloween decorations, and December there is tons of choices for Christmas decorations but there just isn't much in the way of Thanksgiving decorations.  More and more the world seems to gloss over Thanksgiving and want to just jump into Christmas.  Radio stations play Christmas music starting in early November, there are Christmas countdown memes everywhere, they put out the Christmas decorations in the stores before Thanksgiving, and people decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving.  I just want to celebrate Thanksgiving without having Christmas shoved down my throat.  I would love to have more variety of Thanksgiving decorations to choose from.  But enough of my soap box, I'll get off of it now.

There are two holidays in November, Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving.

Veterans Day ranks in at #14.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a very patriotic person and am so very very thankful for all of the brave men and women who serve in our armed forces.  I just prefer to honor them on Memorial Day when the weather is a tad warmer.  The kids generally don't get this day off of school, so no sleeping in. My family has a long and proud history of service in the armed forces.  

My grandpa Weidenheimer was a Colonel in the Air Force.

My dad served on the nuclear submarines.

My little brother, Aaron served in the Army Reserves and did a tour in Iraq.

My Uncle Donald also served on the nuclear submarines.  He and my dad did brother duty.  And the stories my dad tells about the things they got up to are hilarious.

My Uncle Lew was in the Merchant Marines in WWII

My Great Uncle Kenneth was in the Bataan death march and survived it but later died in a Japanese POW camp.

My Great Uncles, Grant, Lynn, Woody, and Jim all served in the military.  Grant and Lynn served in the Coast Guard, Woody was in the Army, and Jim in the Navy.

Thanksgiving ranks in at #10.  

For the past three years I have joined in the thankful challenge on Facebook.  The challenge is to post one thankful post each day.  You start on November 1st and go to Thanksgiving Day.  Thanksgiving landed on November 28th this year, which meant 28 days of thankful posts for me.   I have found it fun and enjoyable.  I love to think of all the things I am thankful for and share it with my friends.  And I love reading about what everyone else is thankful for.  It really gets me in the thanksgiving spirit.   Well then, what was I thankful for in the year 2013?

1.  I cannot believe it is November 1st already. This year has gone by so fast. The weather is turning cold, leaves are dropping from the trees, I wake up every morning wondering if the ground will be white, and I'm desperately missing summer. The kids had an excellent Halloween and came home with loads of candy that they will spend the next couple of weeks devouring. I'm slowly starting to get into the "holiday spirit", however I refuse to play any kind of Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. I like to take my holidays one at a time. Sometime today I am sure I will take down Halloween decorations and put up the Thanksgiving ones. Since it's now November 1st I am going to make my first thankful post. I am thankful for the miracle of life. I'm holding my sweet little baby right now. He's all snuggled up and sleeping, making it hard for me to put him down and get things done. He smiles all the time and laughs. To me, there is no greater sound in the world than the laughter of a baby. And even though we are heading into the dead of winter, I also know that the miracle of all life continues; spring and summer will come again when the world will be alive with the buzzing bees, singing birds, green trees, and wonderful flowers.

2. Today I am thankful for warm blankets. There is nothing like snuggling under a warm blanket when it's cold out. The problem is then that I don't want to ever get out from under the warm blanket.

3. Today I am thankful for dreams. I had quite the adventure in my dream last night. I don't remember all of the details but it involved Halloween, trick-or-treating, glow in the dark paint for costumes and a lot of fun.

4. Today I am thankful for all things warm. A snuggly warm baby to cuddle, a big warm coat, soft fluffy slippers, hot soup, hot chocolate, a fire in the fireplace, the heater in my car, and SUMMER!!!

5. I had a dream last night that it was a bright, hot, summer day and I was at Lagoon. Most excellent dream.......until I woke up to the horror of snow. Anyway...... today I am thankful for places like Lagoon. I love love LOVE roller coasters. I love everything about a theme park or amusement park....... the crowds of people, the smell of the rides and food, the terrified screams of enjoyment, the bright sunshine, the heat, getting drenched on the water rides to help keep you cool, the excitement of adrenaline on the rides, the laughter, the anticipation waiting in line, the loud noises, and the chaos of it all. I love arriving at the gates right as Lagoon opens and staying until it closes and they make you leave. It makes for a long but fun filled day.

6. Today I am thankful for flowers. Yet another reason I love spring and summer, all of the beautiful flowers that make the world that much brighter and happier. I love to see all of the colors set against the green grass. I love how happy and cheerful each flower looks, as if they are saying, “I am happy to be making you happy.” I love the smell of flowers. Some flowers have a sweet smell and some have a spicy smell and I love it all. I love how flowers just seem to make the sunshine even more bright, warm, and inviting. I love the beauty they bring to the world. I especially love it in the spring when the flowers begin to poke their heads out of the ground bringing the world out of the dead of winter into the bright happiness of life. I love to go on long summer drives just to look at how people decorate their yards in the summer with flowers. Now that we own our house, I have grand plans for many many beautiful flowers come spring. My favorite flower is the Carnation, I love their frilly look and their spicy smell. My other favorite flowers are Petunias, Moss Rose, Columbine, Snap Dragons, and Sweet Peas.

7. Today I am thankful for Energy Profiling and Dressing Your Truth. It has helped me so much in my life. I love knowing who I am and why I am the way I am. I love knowing that I am a bright, animated, happy Type 1. If you ever just feel down and frustrated with yourself go read "It's Just My Nature" by Carol Tuttle. I recommend this book for anyone. Then go read "Child Whisperer" by Carol Tuttle for good insights into your children.

8. Today I am thankful for modern conveniences. I would never have made it as a pilgrim or a pioneer.

9. Today I am thankful for music. One of my favorite sayings is, "Music of the heart tames all creatures." I'm not musically inclined, the only musical instrument I play is the radio. As far as my singing goes this is what I have to day about that: When someone asks me to sing at church I tell them that I only sing at funerals. That way people realize there is something worse than death. But I love to listen to music. If I had a theme song it would be "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today" but it would be sung in a southern drawl.

10. Today I am thankful for sleeping in.

11. Today I am thankful for all the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives to protect mine. Happy Veterans Day.

12. Happy 11/12/13!! Today I am thankful for all of my awesome friends.

13. Today I am thankful for animals. They make great companions as pets and some animals just taste soooo good.

14. Today I am thankful for the mild temperatures we have been having.

15. Today I am thankful for optimism. I love looking for the "bright shiny gold lining" in every situation. I love all things bright and happy. You can never look at a rainbow and be in a bad mood. My glass is always half full....unless you are my husband and joke that it's all full. One half is full of air and the other half is full of water... bah!! Engineers!! LOL!!!

16. Today I am thankful for food. My favorite saying is, "the kitchen is my favorite place because that is where I stuff my face."

17. Today I am thankful for my children that provide me with hours of entertainment.

18. Today I am thankful for the love, support, and prayers of family and friends.  You guys are all awesome!!

19. Today I am thankful for health. I'm coming down with a cold and there is a storm moving in so I'm hurting a tad today. Once Jacen asked me if I had three wishes what would they be? Most people when asked that question would answer with money, fame, love, world peace, happiness, etc. All of those are great wishes however, if I want money I can work hard, get a good education, learn how to save and use my money wisely. By wishing for money it takes away my God given gifts to work and learn. I could wish for fame, but then I see what fame does to people and I don't want that. Besides I have other talents to share with the world. I could wish for love but that takes away all of the fun of seeking it and when found, cultivating it and making it grow. And as we all know from Aladdin, a Genie can't make anyone fall in love with anyone else. World Peace, that's a grand notion and thought. However I firmly believe in our Free Agency. To wish for World Peace would be to take away our Free Agency to choose, face the consequence, and grow. It also takes away our right to serve our fellow man and learn compassion. I wouldn't wish for happiness because I can find happiness on my own. And if I never knew sorrow, I would miss out on the sweetness of happiness. When it comes to health, the same could be said that to wish for good health would take away opportunities to grow and learn. But if I had one wish, I would wish to have the ability to endure my health and to be able to be thankful for the health I do have. I remember a time where I could barely walk and was hunched over so much that I could not stand up straight. I remember a time when I couldn't use my left hand for anything. So, yes, I am in quite a bit of pain today but I am so very thankful that I have been blessed with the ability to put a smile on my face, and endure it to the best of my ability. I guess in that regard, my wish has already been granted 

20. Today I am thankful for sleep. It's always so nice when the baby sleeps through the night 

21. I am thankful for sunshine. To be more specific; hot, broiling sunshine.

22. Today I am thankful for smell. The smell of fresh laundry coming out of the dryer, the smell of a baby, the smell of cookies baking, the smell of baking bread, just the smell of good food in general, the smell of flowers, the smell of pine trees, fresh mountain air, popcorn in a movie theater, and the smell of summer. The list could go on. What are some of your favorite smells?

23. Today I am thankful for lazy Saturday mornings.

24. Today I am thankful for humor. Life would be so dull if we could not laugh.

25. Today I am thankful for the prayers of family and friends 

26. Today I am thankful for my nieces. I don't have many of them, but the ones I have are the best in the world. I love them all very much!! 

27. Today I am thankful for the excitement that comes the day before a holiday. I've got four pies to make today. Looking forward for the yumminess of tomorrow. The kids are all home and excited. There's a feeling in the air.

28. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am so very thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful for all of the blessings that my Heavenly Father has given me. I am thankful for this wonderful day to celebrate all that we have to give thanks for. May peace and happiness be with you all today.

So, what happened for our family in November 2013?

Little Red June Bug turned five months old.

We decorated Grandma and Grandpa Deem's house for Christmas.  (The day AFTER Thanksgiving).

This is Bammer's tree that we helped decorate as well.  Apparently this year I didn't take any pictures of decorating the big twelve foot tree.  I'll do a better job next year :P

Firecracker had her birthday and turned eight.

She also was able to get baptized on her birthday.

And Spider Monkey got baptized too.  

 Spider Monkey and Firecracker are only three months apart in age.  We joke that they are our twins born three months apart.  It was a double special day for us to have them both get baptized on the same day.