Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I love Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays, coming in second only to Christmas. We've spent the whole week at Gunlock with lots of Scott's mom's side of the family and friends. I am so grateful for my family, immediate and extended. I really scored big when I married Scott. He comes from a wonderful family, no wonder he turned out so solid. I am also so grateful for the gospel in our lives and for our Savior. I can't imagine what our life would be without our faith.

Here are a bunch of pictures from our Thanksgiving activities...

Our family picture

Some good old turkey football

Gunlock Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without dress-like-complete-fools-and-drive-down-the-street-honking-and-making-noise-like-there's-no-tomorrow Thanksgiving parade.

We had a Santa (way to go, Uncle Scott, for being such a sport every year) who was chucking candy at the poor bystanders

Kids had a blast getting eggs every morning from the chicken coop

And, of course, we ate LOTS of good food, played lots of games, and just had a blast all week long, as we do every year. All the kids had a great time playing together. We hardly even saw Ben, he was always somewhere playing with his cousins. Can't wait till next year.

Just how smart is my little boy?

Ben found some pecan nuts, uncracked in their shells that I have from Gunlock. He grabbed one and was asking me how to ‘open’ it. I had just finished cleaning the kitchen and mopping the floor and really didn’t want to make a mess cracking a nut. So I told him we don’t have a nutcracker (which we really don’t) and that he can’t open it… Did I just tell Benjamin that he CANNOT do something? I should have known better.


He then tells me “Oh, I can do it, don’t worry”. After which he starts stomping and jumping on the nut with his bare feet. Needless to say, that didn’t ‘open’ the nut. So he informs me that he has an idea and goes straight to my small gadget drawer in the kitchen. Pulls out a few of them until, apparently, he finds what he is looking for. He grabs a garlic press and says “This will work”, sticks the pecan in there and sure enough...who said a garlic press can't serve as a nutcracker as well.

He was pretty proud of himself. So was I, for that matter. And I thought I was going to need to buy a nutcracker. Not anymore. My little boy has got it all figured out for me. His Dad must be an engineer or something...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

We love Halloween! We had a great Halloween full of parties, costumes, friends, pumpkin carving, trick-o-treating, and lots and lots of candy.

Pumpkins we carved with our neighbor friends

My little spider Ben with his little friend Kenna. Look how cute, they're holding hands. They were walking around like this at Scott's work. My little bumble bee

Not sure what we're doing in this picture

This is what happens after all the candy is eaten

Six months

Our little Andrew turned six months last week and I'm a slacker, so I'm just barely blogging about it. Better late than never, right? Andrew has been such a blessing to our family. He is our happy baby. I always say that Ben was our calm baby, content with just about anything. Andrew, on the other hand, is a little more needy when it comes to attention, but is the happiest kid around. He's got a smile anytime for anyone. He smiles at you every time you look at him. He loves his big brother, and will just laugh his head off watching Ben play or just being plain silly. He loves looking at himself in the mirror. I don't know what he thinks he sees but it sure makes him laugh. As far as his little milestones and accomplishments, he can roll over and he is starting to sit unsupported for short periods of time. He grabs everything within his reach with his hands and sticks it all in his mouth. He talks all the time, nothing coherent, but it sure is cute.

So there you have it. As far as babies go, I've got the best. Happy 6-months birthday, my little love.

Random pics

No time to blog, but here are just a bunch of random pictures from my camera. I love my sweet boys.

I just noticed that all of my pictures of Andrew are from the same angle. Weird. I'll have to make sure I shoot from different angles next time.

Cousin Fun

We got to watch our little nephew Jaxon this last week while his mommy and daddy are off to a much deserved vacation. I had a house full of boys and we had a blast. Ben and Jaxon had such a good time together. Now that Jaxon is gone, Ben keeps walking around the house looking for Jaxon. We're sad to have him gone but we were glad to have had a chance to hang out and bond a little. Here are some pictures...

The boys helping me make dinner...
And then helping me clean up after
Little bike ride around the neighborhood

Don't you dare stop that bike, uncle Scott!!! Little buds
Playing doctor-patient

We love you, Action Jaxon

I am a nurse

So I was reminded today of the nursing board test that I took just a year ago. All I can say is I'm so glad I'm done with nursing school and all the tests. Those were some tough times. Well, the last couple weeks I had really rough days (or nights, in my case) at work. I started thinking that I really didn't like nursing and didn't want to do it anymore. But then, as usual, whenever I get discouraged about my profession, there is always something that happens that makes me make a 180 and start loving what I do again. Today I'm grateful for being a nurse. Really, when I think of it, it brings tears to my eyes. I've been wanting to be a nurse for so long. There is something gratifying in being able to sign RN after my name. There is something gratifying in being able to go home from work and know that you've taken good care of someone and that someone is better off because of you. Holy Cow, I am a licensed healthcare professional. I really don't think it hit me until today, until a year later. I've been trained to assess and to provide nursing as well as specialized care. I've been trained to make decisions according your care based on my assessment. I can insert a catheter in your bladder. I can start an IV and administer IV fluids and medications. I can insert a nasogastric tube for feeding, medication administration or gastric suction. I can give you a shot. I know the uses and side effects of all the medications that I'm giving you. I can talk to doctors about my concerns. Some even ask me about my opinion and what I would do (it may be because I call them in the middle of the night and they are half asleep). I hold your hand and listen to your concerns and fears and hopes. I hold your hair while you puke your guts out and then clean you up. I wipe your bottom when you are unable to do it yourself. I sneak a treat in for you when hospital jello just doesn't do it for you. I change your dressings and clean your wounds. I laugh with you. I cry with you. I do everything in my power to make you feel better. I am your nurse and I love it.

Like I said, some days are better than others. Today is a good day and I want to remember it. I'm only writing this so I have something to turn to on those bad days when I get discouraged and have something to remind me why I absolutely love being a nurse.