Halloween!!

Here is the crew on Halloween Night!!

Aren't they cute?!!

Lindsay was dressed as a Fairy (she found wings, skirt, wand, and flower in her favorite color, so it wasn't a difficult choice)!!

Emma was a Hawaiian Girl.

And, she actually won the church costume contest -- although, I think that might have had more to do with her hula than her costume! :-)

Nathan was SO excited to be a firefighter this year!

(way more excited that this picture makes him look :-)

Jeffrey was an Elephant, and he is the first of our kids that we have been able to get to wear the hat for any length of time. He actually loved his elephant trunk hat and wore it most of the night despite the fact that he probably couldn't see a thing all night!

And, Noah was an adorable Giraffe!!

Here they are ringing their first doorbell!

We had a very fun Halloween!! It is very cool that all the kids are old enough now to really have fun with it!! In fact, by the end of the evening, Jeffrey and Noah were both really good at saying something that sounded close to trick or treat and holding out their little buckets for candy! Can I just say . . . . . SO CUTE!!

30 years old

A couple of weeks ago, I turned 30 years old, but I honestly wasn't too bothered by that milestone; I'm guessing my age will hit me at 40 maybe?? But, even though I wasn't freaked out by the number, this big birthday did occasion a few days of introspection. And as I kept looking back at the last 30 years of my life, all I could think was how blessed I have been. Life is good . . . and here are just a few examples of why.

- I have never gone hungry a single day in my life (fasting excepted)

-I have also never had to watch my children go hungry and not have food to give them.

- I have never been alone: I have always been surrounded by friends, church members, and family. And even when I am by myself, I know my husband, friends, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and of course, mom and dad are no more than a phone call away.

- I have never had severe health problems of any kind (up until this year I had never even broken a bone)

- Unlike the majority of people my age, I have never been divorced, gone through bankruptcy, or lost a house to foreclosure.

- I have never spent even a single minute in jail. My worst-ever infraction of the law was a red light ticket I got last year.

- I have never lost a member of my immediate family to illness or accident.

- I have a beautiful, healthy family with kids who are still young enough and a husband who is still in love enough to think I am the best thing since sliced bread!

- I have always known who I am and where I came from and that I have a Heavenly Father who loves and cares for me.

My list could go on and on, but I'll stop for now. Let me just say, in a world filled with hunger, divorce, depression, disease and so much death. I am one of the lucky ones. I have been blessed my whole life with love and I have always had all of my needs met (and a good portion of my wants as well). So, this thanksgiving season, I know I am feeling very thankful for a good and happy life filled with love, good fortune, and family.