Grateful to my mother-in-law for agreeing to do her famous Butter turkey. It is the best of the best and this year was the best of all years. If you are ever in need of a great roasted turkey recipe, I now possess the greatest of all. I will be attempting it by myself Thanksgiving 2010. So incredible simply--6 ingredients.. turkey, white pepper, salt, lemon juice, butter and a paper bag (Not kidding!).
Grateful for old and new friends. Went to New Moon with some of my dear Herriman girlfriends and enjoyed seeing them again. There are just some people you connect with and will always love.. you know who you are. Todd and I enjoyed the Jazz game tonight with some new South Jordan friends who were kind enough to invite us to go with them to a luxury suite.. Never been in a luxury suite... but, I could definitely get used to it.
But my most cherished blessings...
Grateful for my children.. Maddie is my life saver. I truly do not know how people exist without a Maddie in their life. She has delivered me on many occasions-she doesn't need to be asked, she just swoops in and saves me. I love her and recognize that she is already a more self-less human being than I am. She talked me in to going shopping on Black Friday and with her encouragement (and a large diet coke) I was able to get 80% of my Christmas shopping done. I love that she loves the giving part of Christmas and she can't wait to pick out her gifts, wrap them and put them under the tree. FYI- she wrapped all of the gifts I bought, just because she wanted to. I now have most of my Christmas purchased and wrapped thanks to Ms Maggoo. I woke up this morning at 8:30 a.m. with Maddie in the kitchen making my kids favorite cold morning breakfast, biscuits and hot cocoa (homemade! no powdered hot chocolate here!). Luke was very upset with me because I was out of bed.. he wanted me to go lay down so they could bring me my breakfast in bed. So cute, so typical of my Maddie girl.
My Tan Man is my sensitive man-child. He fills my LOVE tank everyday. He hugged me tonight and sometimes his hugs are so "intense" that they are painful, but as he came towards me with his arms outstretched he said, "don't worry mom, I am going to hug you like the flower that you are." And he did. And it just filled my emotional tank. He has a beautiful soul that wants to do what is right.. even though sometimes his pre-teen brain isn't firing on all cylinders. He makes efforts everyday to make my life easier. He is a blessing in my life. The sad event referenced above- after a family council about some issues we were having with Masher, we decided to find him a new home. Which we did, and it has been very hard for Tan. HOWEVER, he has chosen to be understanding and mature and supportive to his parents. He said to me a couple of days ago that he hopes he gets to see Masher in Heaven and that they can play together.."Do you think we will be able to do that?" I replied that I am sure Heavenly Father could arrange it.. He makes me chuckle each day as he keeps me informed on the new underarm hair that he is getting or the new cute girl who talked to him at school. I hope we can always be good friends because I really like him as a person, not just love him as my son.
Luke. What a bundle of energy, trouble, curiosity, love, naughtiness, etc. He also fills each of my days with joy. On Thanksgiving Day, he and his cousin Zania were exercising and Zania accidently dropped a weight on his little toe. It turned an awful shade of purplish-red and looked a bit misshapen. Todd earned his keep by proclaiming "it's broken" and taped it up. Sweet Luke was heartbroken about his little broken toe. I think his toe really hurt, but his feeling were more hurt (don't ask me why). He wouldn't walk on it for about a half a day and then, a miracle-- he exclaimed, "My toe isn't bwoken anymore! It doesn't hurt even a wittle bit!" and he proceeded to limp around the house. "I don't have to walk on one yeg anymore!" What a little gem he is. Is there anything better than a kiss and an "I yove you so much, Mom" from a snotty nose little toddler? I don't think so.
My little 2 (going-on-16) year old Sadie Grace. And she truly needs both names. She is as cute and smart as they come and can be as stubborn and naughty as they come. Every morning I wake up to her cute little face in front of mine.."I sink so it's moning time" (I think so it's morning time). The next sentence is either, "I need to go potty. You hewp me on the big potty?" or "I so hungy!" She refuses to sleep with pajamas most nights because "I so hot mom". Everywhere she goes in the house, she runs. Or jumps. I can't help but smile when I hear her coming or going. Now there is a child going somewhere. She is fiercely independant with most everything. She insists on saying most family prayers and really does a great job in talking to her Heavenly Father. She loves her siblings and is still trying to convince Luke that they are "best fwends". She is amazing in so many ways and I am so glad to be her mom and watch her live her life and grow and learn.
My dearest husband. Still trying desperately to figure me out, even after 17 years. He is a trooper who really tries hard to make me happy and to be a good dad for the kids. He is a great friend to them and I am so happy that my kids have a strong, close bond with their dad. Marriage is not easy and he puts in the effort--he has forgiven and/or ignored alot of bad behavior on my part. He is so compassionate when I am not feeling well, so patient and caring. It makes me wish sometimes that I got sick more often because he really is so good at being understanding. He brightened my mood considerable this week when he washed my windows for me. Clean windows will lift your soul, I swear. I will never be the same and I made sure he understood how truly appreciative I was. (so inappropriate.. oh well, my blog)
