We had a great time this Thanksgiving with Dan's family this year. We almost had everyone with us, Ginny and Billy and kids couldn't make the trek this year from Oregon. But we had 20 people to spend the day with and a bountiful feast was enjoyed by all. Everything was soooo delicious! Here are some pictures to remember the day.
Our cute nieces
Dan and I have been discussing taking a trip before the baby arrives and were hoping for another Hawaii trip, however flying on reward miles is easier said than done. So it has now come to Cancun! We have things planned for a week in December to relax in the sunshine and see some Mayan ruins. Yes I bought a BIG bathing suit and while we won't be doing any strenuous activities, we are really excited to take a trip! It feels like it's been a while, even though it was just September when we were both on trips, though not together. Last trip together was July. It feels weird to have not been in the airport for this long since it used to be a twice weekly event! This is where we will be staying - hotel And stay tuned for pictures of the trip!
We also plan to take a trip in January, just a brief one, to somewhere in the states. We were considering New Orleans or possibly a mountain type resort? No skiing though...not with a baby on board. We have some flight vouchers to use before they expire, hence the frequent traveling before baby comes! So if anyone has any suggestions, please comment!
The signs are here... We've had two days just in this past week of overcast skies, today it even rained, well sprinkled and the highs are still in the 80's... And everywhere I turn (or everywhere I have to slow down to go 25mph in a 45mph zone because I'm trapped behind someone) I see the unfamiliar license plates from Minnesota, New York, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, etc, etc, etc... The snowbird invasion is upon us.
And then of course, the stores are all dressed up for Christmas, Walmart has rows upon rows of Christmas decorations, I even heard Christmas music playing in the grocery store. I do enjoy the holiday season (as mentioned in a previous post), however I do NOT enjoy the commercialization of it all. With every store getting too early of a jump on things to take the most advantage of the shopping season. I enjoy looking at those things, but it's unfortunate that "the thankful season" is brushed by the wayside. I don't think that Thanksgiving can be overlooked simply because it is more about being grateful for what you already have and sharing that with others. It's not about wish lists and what Santa will bring. A thankful giving heart is a more important focus, but since costumes and candy aren't purchased and gifts aren't given during 'that November holiday,' I guess it's more easily overlooked, by retail society anyway. And unfortunately they are in full and accessible and enticeable view of all.
I'm not really ranting...just reflecting... Feel free to post a comment and share your thoughts. :o) (and yes, I do already have 3 gifts purchased and wrapped...if you can't beat 'em...)
Last Wednesday was the annual Young Women in Excellence night for our ward. For those of you who don't know what that is all about, I'll try to tell you because I'm not 100% sure myself. It's focused mostly on Personal Progress (the equivalent of the Boy Scout eagle) where you do various projects and reach goals for each of the YW values. This night is for girls to select one of the projects they completed and create a display to tell about it. The events of our YWIE night focused on the theme "Daughters of a King." So the girls had to dress up like princesses (in prom type dressed they had or could borrow) and their parents were invited to come. I won't go through all the events of the evening, but it was pretty spectacular.
Behind the scenes about 12 of us leaders were working day and night to pull this event off. I didn't even do the worst of the labor and my role started at 8:30am on Wednesday, at the church to set up and decorate, I didn't leave the church until 4:00pm in order to pick up the final 3 dresses I had to select from to see what fit me, stop by the grocery store for drink supplies, and get home to shower and eat and be back to the church by 5:00pm. The final touches were still taking place and many of the girls came early to get help with hair and makeup and to get dressed. Everyone was in a scurry, but the night was successful and hopefully very memorable for the girls and their parents who got to see some of their daughters all gussied up for the first time!
Here are some pictures from the event. I spent most of my decorating time inside the canopy that stood over the tables, but silly me, I never got a picture...grrrr... but believe me, it was SPECTACULAR! :o)
These are the leaders that worked to pull off this event and who I am lucky to be able to work with in Young Womens! (I'm pretty snuggly squeezed into that dress, it was basically the only one that worked and I tried on MANY...it was strapless too, and we all know the only way I could have kept that puppy up was if I was pregnant!)
My friend sent me this article saying, "Politics aside, (seriously!) one of the best articles I have read on Mormonism by a non-Mormon. This should set a standard on how to address a different religious tradition other than one's own."
So I read it, every word. It was interesting and I thought worth sharing. I'm definitely not promoting anything political and strongly feel that one should not oppose or support Mitt Romney simply because he's "a Mormon." This just sheds a bit of a different light on this "newfangled" idea of a Mormon president and why it shouldn't be viewed as such a threat to the general population. Like my friend said, it's simply a good standard on how to address any religious background. What do you think?
Click here for the article.