so much to be thankful for

I am tHanKfuL for:

3 handsome men in my life

3 beautiful girls that are growing into

even more beautiful young women

kiddos who aren't afraid to be themselves

FAMILY

 a new baby in the family to snuggle with!

crayons and the simple joy of coloring a turkey

turkey day bingo games

with all the cousins

So lucky to have so much good in my life.

More than anything,

thankful for my Savior

and the knowledge that he guides us

and blesses our lives daily.

this n' that

Maddy was accepted in to the 

National Jr. Honor Society...

Yay for her!

I forgot the camera...

cell phones take awful pictures,

but you can see her sweetness 

even with all the glare :)

Popped into a little store in town

that I haven't been to in months.

They had a darling little fabric Christmas tree

framed up and on sale for $20.

My first thought:

SURELY I can do that cheaper!

so I found some fabric scraps,

dug through my old buttons,

and found an old frame under my bed.

I pulled out my handy, dandy glue gun

and got busy....

yep!  WAY cheaper!

and maybe even better than the original.

and then there were two....

two teenagers that is!

Maddy turned 13 yesterday...

although she's been a typical teen

for quite some time.

She has been serving in her

Beehive class presidency for

the last 8 months,

she pulled straight A's

her first term in Jr. High,

and just two weeks ago

she finished her personal progress

and received her Young Womanhood Award.

We are so proud of Maddy

and her hard work in things church

and in things school.

She also went to her first

Jr. High dance on Halloween

which was "way more fun"

than expected :)

Maddy is one of 13 Beehives

and 23 deacons in our ward

who ALL want to do

EVERYTHING

as a group.

Thank goodness they're good kids

who we don't mind having around!

Maddy is growing up in to a beautiful girl

and we couldn't be happier with

the choices she is making :)

what does a 13 year old girl want?

jewelry

gift cards and music

art supplies

notes from her little sis,

clothes,

and cash

Candles, cakes, treats, and family...

can't think of a better way to celebrate

the official start of teen life!

goo

gotta give some props to the person

in my parent's ward who went all out

for Halloween...

little plastic toilets filled with goo.

Betcha didn't know you could do this

with goo and a straw!

Seriously....hours of entertainment...

who knew?

halloween

Halloween was a whirlwind of a day...

costumes,

makeup,

props,

parades,

trick-or-treating,

sloppy joes at Grandma's,

more trick or treating,

candy trading,

showers,

bed,

goodnight!

Mr. Harry Potter

Jack Sparrow's daughter?

hippie girl

basketball boy

cowgirl

I can't remember the last time the weather

was so perfect for Halloween.

Of course, that meant longer door-to-door

candy acquisition

and the biggest pile of candy EVER!

jack o' lantern

The last Monday night before Halloween

is always spent carving pumpkins.

Everyone picked out huge old pumpkins this year.

It was a feat just to cut the tops off!

It was a sticky, gooey, slimy mess

and we enjoyed every minute of it!

seriously...could she look any more disgusted?

yep...Jace is totally sporting last year's

Christmas jammies...

proud carvers of jack o' lanterns

now it feels like Halloween...

just need to add some costumes and candy!

time off

Fall Break is just way too short...

really... two days?

We packed in as much as we could

in such a short time.

We went to Trafalga, out for dinner,

shopping, saw "the Smurfs"...

which is REALLY just for kids...

stayed up late every night,

winterized the yard, picked out pumpkins,

saw "the Watcher in the Woods"...

which didn't creep out Tim or Kenzie, just me...

and played with friends.

I told the kids they could sleep

ANYWHERE in the house

they crashed hard and fast...

Lady in my bed...

Carter on the couch upstairs...

Jace on the other couch...

and yes, he drooled everywhere sleeping like that...

nice.

It was a great couple of days

and now we're jumping into the final

Halloween preparations.

Can't believe we're already

nearing the end of October!