Full of Thanks.....

 Yes, i did make enough for 15 people, even though this year there was just the seven of us, lol.

I had the pleasure yesterday of giving a talk in church and was asked to speak about being thankful, so writing this blog is much easier than it would normally be as i have been consumed with thankfulness these past few days.

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on all the Lord has given us and continues to give us.  It's a shame we are not all programmed to reflect on these things on a more regular basis.  I noticed this year that on Facebook several of my friends posted something they were thankful for each day of this month of November.  What a great idea, only let it not stop there.  This summer there was an article in the Friend magazine, which is put out by the church, in which Elder Henry B. Eyring wrote about this very thing.  He said that from the time he was a small boy he decided to keep a journal at night and write two or three things each night before he went to bed that he was thankful for that happened that day.  After he did this he then wrote why these were blessings form Heavenly Father.  We thought it was such a fantastic idea that we did it as a family home evening lesson and Sarah has still kept up the practice, although i do the writing.  I am amazed at how often one of the first things Sarah says to me to have me write in her journal each night is that she is thankful for John and I.  I am thankful that i am doing a good enough job that my daughter is grateful for me.  :-)

I will first begin with a relatively short list of things that i am thankful for that came to my mind this year.  They are in no particular order, but are all special none-the-less.

1. Priesthood blessings that give hope for the future that are finally coming to pass.
2. Good music
3. The Schutzes, The Claytons, and The Wrights.
4. That my mother lives with us and the kids love being with her.
5. My sons and daughters.
6. My husband, who is ever serving and giving and is righteous.
7. John's new job
8. Our fabulous Springfield home.
9. Nature and all its beauty and splendor.
10. The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
11. That i can read and love books.
12.  That i have a college education
13. The Lord's Tender Mercies
14. Prophets and Apostles
15. Relief Society.
16. The Temple.
17. Phones and computers.
18. Self-sufficiency.
19. My cats.
20. My sisters and brothers.
21. Good food and the means to have it.
22. My scriptures.
23. A working reliable car.
24. That my kids love being with me and spending time with me.
25. That i have freedoms and this includes freedom to educate my own children at home.
26. Christmas movies and music.
27. Cameras to capture the memories.

Something that i have learnt over the last 3 years in particular is that in being thankful for our blessings we need to include our trials as they are really our greatest blessings in disguise.  If we are faithful to the end and we are doing all we can then our trials are nothing more than just what the Lord knows we need to grow in the right direction which will then allow us to come to know our true identity and know what our mission is here upon the earth.  I can say with a firm and strong testimony that the trials i have had in my life have been my greatest asset.  If i had not experienced the things that i have in life good and bad then i would not be who i am today, which is a strong woman, determined to do the Lord's will at any cost.  I am able to see things in a much different light than i did three years ago and life is much simpler and easier because of the perspective i now have, not because life necessarily got easier or simpler.  If we humble ourselves and have faith, then weak things (which the Lord gives us) will be made strong. (see Ether 12:27)

As we sat around the dinner table and began our Thanksgiving feast we all took turns saying two things we were thankful for for this year.  Here's what everyone else said:

Immanuel - thankful for being in this family and for his brother and sisters
Eden - thankful for this house we "accidentally" found and for all her animals
Jack - thankful for the food and for this house (also as a side note we had sparkling apple cider to toast with    and we referred to it as the bubbly which Jack called the "bumbly."  :-)
Sarah - thankful for her parents and thankful that we found this house to live in.
Mum - for her children and special friends
John - for the Priesthood and his testimony

President Thomas S. Monson said that being grateful opens the gates of heaven and brings miracles to pass.  I hope that we are all able to open the gates of heaven and have real miracles happen in our lives as we remember to be thankful daily for anything and everything.

The next few are some pre and post Thanksgiving dinner activities.  :-)

Moving Up....

Only 4 1/2 years after John graduated, but finally we are at a job that is.....um...good, yeh, that's the word.  :-)


Lots of exciting things about moving (yes i am also amazed that i can say that after knowing that this move is #12 in almost 11 years of marriage).  However i do think that this will be a place we can actually call home for a decent amount of time.  We like the new town we are moving to.  It's got class and character and many things are within walking distance to our new home.  Springfield is a smaller town about 40 mins directly north of Nashville, (click on Springfield to see the town's website).  It has parks that connect together, along with other sections of the town, with a walking trail, called, The Greenway, that at it's longest stretch i think is 2.1 miles (if i remember right) that will be perfect for Mum and Mollie, and let's face it myself and the kids too.  The Library is about 2 blocks from our home and so is an old timey cinema that shows current shows for a cheap rate.  


Then there's our new home......John and i are still in disbelief that this home fell into our price range, not to mention the way we found it......it's just gorgeous.  I love that it's old (but new because it's been completely gutted and redone on the inside) and has character.  Even our landlord seems like a great guy.  I know the pictures aren't fantastic, but it was with my phone and i figured if i waited to take pics once we moved in it would be a while as then i'd have to unpack, lol.  We are also very grateful that my mother has decided to stay with us and move to Springfield too.  :-)


I will do my best to explain the pics below.  But we would love to have visitors and so please feel free to stop by or call us if you need a place to stay while in the Nashville area, and if you do then you can see it for yourself.  Just an FYI, the Nashville Tennessee Temple is about one hour directly south of us for those of you that go, heck if you give us enough notice we can even watch children while you go.  :-D


Okay, so the house was built in the late 1800's and as i explained before has been completely redone on the inside.  It is beautiful and has REAL hardwood floors throughout and even though they are no longer in use, it has six coal fireplaces that add a lot of character to each room.  It has a back yard that's .27 acres with a huge tree that the kids have plans for and the landlord is working on finishing the fencing on the sides of the house, so it's completely enclosed so i don't have to worry about the kids or Mollie.  The kitchen and dinning room are quite large and even the cabinets he had custom made for the house.  Like i said, John and i are amazed.  We feel very blessed and know it has come though many of your prayers.  Thanks to all.  I hope to update the blog more often once we have moved as now with John's new job with LDS Family Services i can stay at home full time with the kids again.  :-)

 Entryway....

 A view of Mum's room (the only bedroom downstairs so she can have more privacy if she desires).  It's one of two master bedroom/bathroom suits in the house....

 Another view of Mum's room.  

The open door is her bathroom, which even has a double sink vanity....

 First house i actually have a pantry in, nice!

 Balcony that has a small area, perhaps for a reading nook?  This over looks the kitchen area.

 Dining Room....

Living Room.... 

 Another view of the stairs.  The door under the stairs is where my mother's room will be.  Going straight back will take you to the kitchen after passing the laundry on the left as you can see in the pics, and the half bath on the right opposite the washer/dryer.  Right where you can see a small part of Sarah's head is where the entrance to the living room (the picture above this one).  

 This is the "t.v" room/den, whatever you wanna call is.  This room is in front of the living room.  Actually where Sarah is in front of that blocked off doorway connects to the living room that has that built in bookshelf.  

 Standing in the area where the balcony is that over looks the kitchen (behind me).  You can see here the front door of the house down the stairs and then the door that leads out to the outside balcony upstairs.  My bedroom is the first door on the left in the picture.  The boys are the room after that one and then the girls room, which has a bathroom connected to it and the hallway where i am standing, is opposite where the boys room is on the other side of the stairs.

 This picture is exactly opposite where i was standing in the last picture.  The blur is Immanuel.  ;-)

 The door upstairs going out to the balcony.

 The girls room.  The door next to the closet in the corner there is the bathroom door.

 Boys room...

 My bedroom, going into the master bath....

 Master bath.....

 and more....

 more....

 more....yes i know, i am definitely excited about my new bathroom.  :-)  

The garden tub is actually a Jacuzzi.

 a small view of the backyard though my bathroom window....

 Both this pic and the next one are views of the kitchen from that balcony area......

 Kitchen, obviously

In the kitchen. The door that leads to the backyard.

What i am leaving behind......Luckily Springfield is also in a more "country" type area, although those mountains are not there.  I will miss the Knoxville/Cumberland Gap area, very much indeed.  The Lord knows what he is doing though and we are excited for the adventures ahead.  :-) 

(FYI my mother took this one, i love it.)