Thanksgiving and November poem of the month

I'm ending this week of Thanksgiving full--full of food, full of thanks. We kind of had a low-key Thanksgiving this year, which was relaxing and nice. Louie and Kathy came from California for the feast, the bulk of which was provided by Ron and Vickie and was delish.

We started Thanksgiving day off with the 10K Turkey Trot. It was such a beautiful morning--overcast and cool, perfect for running. I kept my eyes glued to the crazy lines and movements of the clouds over the desert butte in the distance and dreamed up a new painting, to be titled, "Anticipation." But back to the race. According to my watch, I ran it in 53 minutes, which beats my old time of 56 minutes, so I was excited about that. I wish it was an "official" time, though, but I was in line for the porta-a-potty (only THREE for a race of almost 3,000 people!!) and thought that since I had a timing chip, it wouldn't matter that I started late. Guess it did. My chip didn't register.

Then, we feasted. I made my usual: sweet potatoes, green slush, creamed corn, bacon-stuffed mushrooms.

Please feast your eyes on this beauty (the pies, not Ron, although is lookin' good with the whipped cream!). Ron made all 14 pies, as usual. He is the pie master. We had 6 adults and 6 children, so that's pretty good pie-to-person ratio--more than 1 pie per person, just like I like it. My fav was the strawberry rhubarb. Thanks, Ron!

After eating leftovers Friday and Sat night, we hung out in the backyard with the outdoor heater and talked and played with this big elastic piece of fabric that would slingshot people back and forth. The video is better, but I'm too lazy to upload it tonight:

So, I'll end with the poem of the month, called "Father, We Thank You," has been attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, even though The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society swears it's not by him. I found it in one of our picture books that I love to read during November. It's very simple and straightforward and doesn't need any explication, which is sometimes nice in poetry:

Father, We Thank You

For flowers that bloom about our feet,

Father, we thank You.

For tender grass so fresh and sweet,

Father, we thank You.

For song of bird and hum of bee,

For all things fair we hear or see,

Father in heaven, we thank You.

For blue of stream and blue of sky,

Father, we thank You.

For pleasant shade of branches high,

Father, we thank You.

For fragrant air and cooling breeze,

For beauty of the blooming trees,

Father in heaven, we thank You.

For rest and shelter of the night,

Father, we thank You.

For this new morning with its light,

Father, we thank You.

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Your goodness sends,

Father in heaven, we thank You.

Halloween

Don't believe what you hear: Halloween is not just one day. It's at least a week-long affair. Here are the pics to prove it.

Halloween Decor

No pics of ours, although we certainly have plenty. But H was obsessed with the house down the street and its vampire. Whenever I took my eyes off him for a second, he was down visiting the vampire. The vampire became especially alluring when its owners started giving him lollipops too.

Ward Trunk or Treat

Our ward trunk or treat was the Friday before Halloween. We brought white-chicken chili and lots and lots of candy to pass out. I didn't take many pics because it was extremely hard to keep track of H in a dark church parking lot. We also participated in the bishopric apple-pie-eating contest. Sweetie was determined to be Hermione this year. I found most of her costume at the Salvation Army in Massachusetts. I painted the stripes on her tie and made the wizard cloak. She got the wand from a friend's Harry Potter birthday party. Mister was a whoopie cushion, thanks to a costume borrowed from his cousin Rob, and H was Peter Pan (although he insisted for a while that he was Superman). Alas, the garden gnome costume did not pan out this year. I was going to be a glow-in-the-dark stick figure, but my costume fell apart just as we were getting into the van. Maybe next year.

Class Parties

The kids and I made cupcakes for Sweetie's class party. We decided to try scary faces. Then the kids decided to try to make those scary faces on their own faces.

I helped in Mister's class by bringing in 30 baggies of candy corns and manning the bingo-game station. The school also has a Halloween parade to the tune of "Monster Mash," which is really fun.

Pumpkin Carving. Mister and Sweetie drew their own designs. I did H's to be a Dr. Jekyll/Mister Hyde pumpkin, just like H is. One minute hugs and kisses, the next minute screaming and throwing-things fits.

Pumpkin Painting with the Neighbors

Halloween Night! Our neighbors all brought their dinners out, one lit a fire in their fire pit, and we canvased the neighborhood until H had enough.

4th of July Festivities

Despite my vows not to stay in the desert another year for the 4th, here we were. Luckily, fireworks were legal this year, so we had the "cul de sac of fire," thanks to J, aka Crazy Pyromaniac.

We also celebrated the 4th with a huge breakfast, followed by some patriotic youtube videos and a matinee showing of Cars. We then went swimming all afternoon and had a fabulous rib dinner, courtesy of family. Despite the heat, it was a very fun day, and I am grateful for the freedom I have to decide what I want to do with my life.

The diving board fun: Sweetie did cartwheels and a front flip, Mister a twisting front flip, and H had to get in on the action too. That kid is fearless.

Looking forward

Mister told me this morning that he is saving his green shirt to wear on "Green Bay Packer Day" in March. Maybe we watch a little too much football. (Can there be such a thing?!) Regardless, the kids are always looking forward to the next holiday!

And as a side note, we'll be seeing a lot more of J in his suit from now on, but we'll probably be seeing a lot less of him altogether as he was sustained as first counselor in the bishopric last Sunday.

When I told my dad about J's new calling, my dad asked me what I thought about it.

"I think it will be hard," I told him.

"That's okay," he said. "You've done hard things before and you can do hard things again. This is a great opportunity for service and sacrifice that will also bring great blessings to your family."

When he said that, I felt the truth of it--the truth of both the blessings and the difficulties to come, as well as the truth of my ability to meet those difficulties. I needed that and I thought I should write it down for future moments when I'll need to remind myself that I can indeed do hard things!

Easter

Better late than never, right?