Thanksgiving Day Smiles

Our friendly old scarecrow got a couple of new friends this year to help him welcome our family to our home for Thanksgiving. (Actually, I just used my Romney/Ryan sign left over from the election…. I decided the sign wouldn’t be a total waste if I redid it to make a Welcome sign.) 

I think everyone did feel welcome and loved as we gathered together. This is the first time all 24 of us have been together for 2 years since Justin was serving on a mission in Guatemala…. and it will be the last time for 2 years because Jalen will leave on his mission before next Thanksgiving.  We were really thankful to be all together. Our hearts were full of smiles.

The first order of the day was Erin and me getting one bird in the oven and Mindy getting another into the smoker.

Ellie was a big helper with the rolls and Cal went up to Grampy’s orchard to pick me some apples that I needed in recipes.

Upps… I guess I couldn’t use those apples….. bring me some without bites taken out of them boys.

I gave all the girls personalized aprons with their names on them. What a cute bunch of helpers. In this case too many cooks did not spoil the broth….

The many helping hands just got all the work done faster.

After smelling both turkeys cooking all day, we worked up big appetites….Munching on Ernie’s shrimp and veggies helped to tided us over.

We were excited when both birds were done and Ernie and Grampy got busy carving them up for us.

After saying a prayer of Thanksgiving and asking a blessing on the food….

We hit the buffet line and filled our plates with lots of delicious food.

Then we sat down to eat at one of the three tables that were set up in festive style.

The weather was very nice so the boys decided they wanted to eat outside. I thought I’d set a place for everyone…. I counted 22… and set 22 places…. upps… I was wrong. I forgot to count a place for John and me… and I was 2 places short.  I felt badly about that and was going to move a couple of kids over to the bar….. but Patrick and Erin said they didn’t mind a bit not eating at the table.

In fact, they said having their little ones cared for by those at the kid’s table  gave them a little mini-vacation. However, next year I will be sure I set enough places for everyone.

After dinner we let the food settle a bit and then we hit the dessert buffet. I made traditional pumpkin and pecan pies (the pecans were from our orchard). Ernie made apple pies. Each was delicious.  Yum Yum

Everyone pitched in to help with cleanup. The kids cleared the tables…. the adults filled the dishwasher and washed and dried the serving dishes…. and I put away the left overs. I really appreciated all of the help.  Smile… smile

I feel so blessed and so thankful that I could share this wonderful Holiday with all my children and grandchildren. We all have our individual struggles but we also have a lot to be thankful for. God has blessed us abundantly and we are very grateful. 

How did you spend your Thanksgiving Holiday? I hope it was a lovely day for you too….. and I hope my blog friends in other countries also take time to think of all the things they are thankful for. God is good to all of us.

Have a great week.  Hugs, Lura

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that you all have had a wonderful day today. We all have so much to be thankful for..... even if is not a special holiday in your country I hope that you counted your blessings today.  We surely have. This is the first time all 24 of us have been together in 2 years since Justin has been  in Guatemala serving as a missionary.  What a special day it has been.  I can't wait to share our Thanksgiving Holiday with you.... but right now I have to get off this computer and visit with family. Justin is telling us stories from his mission.

Hugs, Lura

Happy Thanksgiving Week

I can hardly believe that it is Thanksgiving week already. Once Thanksgiving is over it seems like we hardly have time to turn around before it is Christmas and then New Year’s Eve.

Wow…. this year has flown by for me. Even though I’ve been really sad over the results of our election, I am glad that it is Thanksgiving. Goodness knows that we have a lot to be thankful for.

Some of my friends have been posting things that they are thankful for each day on Facebook.  I have not done that but I surely do have lots to be thankful for…. and…. their lists have made me think of even more.

I must run off to a church meeting in a few minutes and I don’t have time to make a long list for you…. but as I am sure you already know….

I’m very thankful to God for all He has given me.  I’m thankful for the sacrifice Jesus made for me.  I am thankful to have scriptures to read and comfort me. I’m thankful to be a Mormon and have the fullness of the gospel in my life

I feel very blessed to have such a loving family. I am thankful for each and every one of them. 

I am thankful for loving friends that bless my life in so many ways…. that includes you blog friends

I am thankful to have a comfortable home to live in.

I am thankful that John and I survived our car accident.

With all of these good things in my life I feel truly blessed and thankful.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful week.  I will have all 22 members of my family here this week.  I can’t wait.

Hugs, Lura

 

Happy Birthday Claire and Happy Halloween

To be honest with you I’ve had a hard time finding my smiles this past week. I have really been down and discouraged since the election.  I’ve never in my life been as disappointed and upset about an election as I am this one. Romney is such a good  man and he would have been the best president America has had in years….. I am absolutely dumbfounded that Americans could elect Obama over a good man like Romney.  I’ve cried all week…… in fact I feel so low  and so  worried about what will happen to American under 4 more years of Obama’s leadership, I probably wouldn’t even do a post today if I didn’t have Halloween smiles to share with you.

Halloween is a really fun and happy time for our family…. mainly because Halloween is our Claire Bear’s birthday.

She was due in November…. but 11 years ago just as Mindy was about to take 2 year old E.J. out trick or treating, Claire decided she wanted to get in on the fun too. Mindy and Ernie had to abruptly leave our church party and make a dash to the hospital.  John and I took little E.J. to get his candy…. and Ernie took Mindy to have her baby girl.  Claire surely played a trick on all of us.

I think that she is a darling little witch….. don’t you? What  joy this dear girl brings to our family.  It is appropriate that she was born during Trick or Treating because she is sweeter than any candy!

I miss seeing all my Utah grandkids on Halloween but we surely have fun with these three.  This year we had Thor, a zombie and a candy witch.

 

Austin had a hard time decided on which super hero he would be this year but Thor finally won out.  Our family can rest easy knowing that we have this brave, strong guy in our midst.

However, his big brother is another story.

What happened to our handsome E.J.???? How did this awful looking zombie take over our cute kid?  I guess it has something to do with him being 13 now and in Middle school…. I suppose scary is cooler than cute.  I’m glad it was for just one night.

After taking our pictures we all went down to the neighbor’s for dinner.

The neighbors always have a Halloween potluck dinner. We are  made to feel welcome. That makes us smile.

What fun we have with our little spooks.

After dinner there are presents to open and trick or treating to do. I think it was very thoughtful of Claire to surprise us all and make her entrance into this world on Halloween.  It surely makes  a fun birthday celebration.

Claire, you fill our hearts with lots and lots of smiles. We are so thankful to have you in our family.

That is the story of our Happy Halloween Birthday.  It makes me happy to think of it.

I hope that you all are doing well. Pray for our country.  Pray for our President. We need it more than ever.  Have a good week.   Hugs, Lura

My dear mom must be turning in her grave… where has America’s work ethic gone?

Pray for America…. Heaven knows we need it now more than ever.

I can not begin to express my profound disappointment in the turn out of this election. I can not come to terms with the fact that more people would rather have a hand out for welfare than a hand up with work. I feel like my country has turned upside down. We have turned into a welfare state. What has happened to the “work hard and achieve” ethic I learned from my mom? 

After my dad left us in the 50’s, my mom did not ask for help from the government. She went out and got a job… she worked  for a $1.00 an hour. In fact she had 2 jobs. After her long hard day working in a garment factory she cleaned houses for people just so we could get by. I was just a little girl but I stayed home without a babysitter and did much of the cooking and housework because my mom worked such long hours. She did not complain and neither did I.  We were poor but happy. We did not receive or expect welfare.

My mom taught me that if I wanted a better life, I had to earn it. She never said “if you get a college degree”…. she always said “when you get a college degree”.  I worked hard to get grades high enough to earn a college scholarship. I worked part time, lived at home and attended a Jr. college my first 2 years so I could save money to go to BYU. I did not expect help from the government. John and I got by on a shoe string but we both graduated and went on to become teachers.

I did not have sex before I was married so I had no need of free birth control…. but even after I was married it never occurred to me that the government should pay for my birth control or anything else.

What is wrong with the idea of working hard for what you earn and feeling the joy of accomplishment? My mom did it.  John and I have done it.  We have a nice home. Our kids are all well educated and doing well. We have a good life. We are happy.

Hard work has great rewards. My heart aches today that so many Americans do not know this. This election proves that the words of Pres. Kennedy …. “Think not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” have fallen on deaf ears.  Governor Romney is a good, righteous man who could have lead us out of the mess we are in, but the majority of Americans rejected him and his values.

American made a bad choice yesterday…. 

I am sad that Obama is my president…. but God is still my king.

I will trust in God and pray for America.

 

I am praying for America and voting for Romney

Some of my blog friends have done nice posts supporting Governor Romney.  I want to do the same.

I am praying that Americans will open their hearts and get to know the real Gov. Romney on this last day before the election…. and not be swayed by all of the negative lies being said in political ads against him.

Romney is the only hope for America to get out of the terrible economical mess and debt that Obama is sinking us deeper and deeper into.

Romney has the knowhow and can help us.

Romney loves America instead of apologizing for us.

Romney is religious and lives by Christian values and standards. He has served the Lord and his fellowman all of his life. He has been a minister and cared for those around him in need.

 

He has a good heart and uses much of his wealth in helping others….. And, even though he is a Christian, he supports Isreal and our Jewish friends, unlike Obama.

He is prayerful.  He reads the scriptures and tries to follow the word of God in all his actions. 

I ^{hope  that you will be prayerful too about your decision of who to vote for. I hope that you will asked God which candidate will lead our great country in the right direction. I believe if you do that you will be guided to vote for Gov. Romney like I have been. We can’t have another 4 years like the last 4 years. America needs Romney’s economic expertise and help.}

^{My friend LeAnn has published a good post about Romney. I hope that you will go to her blog and read what she has written. I got most of these pictures from her blog.}

^{I am both excited and nervous about this election. How will I ever get through the next 48 hours?????}

^{Please vote for this good man.  Thanks for listening to my plea.  Hugs, Lura}