Dear Kelly

An email I sent to Kelly today. . .

Dear Kelly,

Can we get this instead of a refrigerator? I will never regret it.

Love,

Your Wife

Thankful for Christmas

I could call this a fifth day of Thanksgiving, because I have always been so very thankful for Christmas! I love Christmas and can't wait for the season to start each year. The music, the tree and the rest of the trimmings all contribute to the spirit of rejoicing in "the good news," reverence for our Savior and good will toward men.

Kelly surprised me by putting the Christmas tree up before I got home from work on the Monday after Thanksgiving. It took me 4 days to get it fluffed and decorated (even with the pre-strung lights) because the week was so busy with our house search and long work hours!

I LOVE my Christmas tree. It turned out gorgeous this year! The rest of our Christmas decor is somewhat lacking this time around, but the tree makes up for it all.

We inherited the tree from our friend Mary that Kelly does work for on the weekends. They had out grown it, but you can see that it hits our ceiling! We will enjoy this tree through many holidays to come.

Fourth Day of Thanksgiving

I'm sure you have noticed that I didn't finish the 'twelve days of thanksgiving' before Thanksgiving. That's okay--- because it doesn't really feel like Christmas here in our 60 degree weather-- so I'm going to go right on giving thanks. It's good for me!

1. Kelly

2. Family

3. POTENTIAL for motherhood (sorry for any confusion)

4. Knowledge

As I prepared for a recent Relief Society lesson, I gained a renewed and deepened appreciation for knowledge. I hung this picture in my stairway to remind me of what I learned and felt. It is a daily reminder that knowledge of the Lord and of our relationship to him brings joy to everything in life. And that consistent bits of time and effort are required to receive that knowledge. These three quotations summarize my thoughts:

"What is required to maintain a sufficient store of spiritual fuel? We must acquire knowledge of God’s eternal plan and our role in it, and then by living righteously, surrendering our will to the will of the Lord, we receive the promised blessings." ~Elder Perry, 'Let Him Do it with Simplicity'

That which is of God is light, and he that recieveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light ; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. ~D&C 50:24

And this in life eternal, that they might KNOW thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. ~John 17:3

I am so grateful for the knowledge I have, and for the opportunity to gain more knowledge and someday arrive at the perfect day.

Thanksgiving Report

Bad news: Kelly and I forgot to bring our camera on our Thanksgiving trip.

Reading without pictures is no fun, so here's the brief rundown:

Orem - Boise - Orem
* Thanksgiving in Boise with the best turkey ever!
* Making sour cream-lemon pie with April
* 25 lbs of potatos-- thank you Uncle Dennis!
* Great shopping with the girls (JoAnns and two thrift stores)

* Enzo and Axel (April's dog) looked like twins and got along famously

* Enzo and Marmalade and Fudge (my family's new kittens) did NOT

* Fantastic haircut from April

* 24 hours of driving split up into 4 days!

* Adventures in dog parenting-- Enzo ate 1/2 a pound of M&M's and didn't sleep all night

* Church in the home-ward with so many people I love

* Quick/nice visit with David, Leslie and kids

* Caleb LOVES our dog and kissed him on the mouth! ~Sorry Leslie!

* Happy Birthday Bryan! (Sorry we missed Bryan's Birthday Boggle Bash)

* Station wagon packed to the brim with food storage on the way home

* Getting home again