Thanksgiving 2010

This year we spent Thanksgiving in a time share condo in Branson. We had an absolute wonderful time. Shawn's parents took Ashlin a couple of days early and spent some one on one time with them. They took her to several different shows. One of them "Cassandra, A voice of an angel" she absolutely loved. She was able to get her autograph on the CD afterwards. Cassandra asked if she sang and Ashlin said, No but she played the piano. So Cassandra said keep playing the piano. Ashlin thought that was the neatest thing ever!
Shawn, the boys, and I stayed back and enjoyed their Thanksgiving celebrations. Each of them had a nice Thanksgiving dinner at their preschool. We enjoyed the time with them and meeting all of their friends.
We drove down Tuesday night and was ready for some much needed rest and relaxation. Wednesday, we went to Lamberts in Springfield for my birthday. Their food is amazing and they throw rolls at you...what more can you want? That afternoon we went to see Tangled a must see for all interested. We absolutely loved best Disney movie in awhile. We came and enjoyed some Cold Stone Ice Cream Cake. I finally got a new camera which I was very excited about mine was literally falling part which is part of the reason why posts have been sparse. I also got a fossil watch. My broke a year ago. So these birthday presents were real treasures! Thanks family for making my birthday just perfect.
Thanksgiving day, Shawn's mom made the traditional Thanksgiving dinner in the condo. We enjoyed another yummy thanksgiving dinner and each of us talked about things we were thankful for. The kids were very cute and loved that they could continually think of things they were thankful for. I think I learn more from them than they learn from me. That night we went to see another movie. At 10 that evening, Shawn and I were ready for Black Friday. The Branson outlet stores opened at 10 pm. We went shopping and were able to find some amazing things for the kids. It was very nice both the people working and the shoppers were very pleasant. I think it's because it's much easier to stay up all night versus getting a little sleep and then waking up. We spent most of the night at the outlets had a soda and Chili cheese fries from A&W around 2. We made it to Target at 4is and got a dual screen portable DVD player for a steal and a few more Christmas gifts. We went to Kohls saw a few things we liked but decided we were tired of standing in line. We picked up Krispy Kreme for breakfast and surprised the family. We took a little nap went to Branson Landing for awhile. We had dinner and then went to the Andy Williams Christmas show. Loved it! 2 years ago we went and it was just as good. Although, Shawn did doze off a bit at first. Can't imagine why! Saturday, we returned home.

We have many things to be thankful for this year! There would never be enough words or elegance in which to express our gratitude sufficiently to our Father in Heaven. I will mention a few.
We are especially grateful for the Gospel in our lives. It brings a knowledge of peace and hope into our lives.
We are grateful that we have a relationship with our Father in Heaven to provide a place to turn to for comfort when we have those moments in lives that we feel down and out.
We are grateful for the missionaries opportunities that we have had this year. The spirit we have felt in our home from listening to the lessons and the new friends we have met along the way!
We are grateful for our friends. They are a much needed source of comfort being so far from family.
We are grateful for our family for their continual love and support. For the prayers they say on our behalf that we feel each and everyday!
We are grateful for our Sweet children! They add joy and laughter each and everyday. I can't imagine my life without the trio & Shawn. They make life complete and whole!
We are grateful that life is eternal and that our earthly life is not the end! That the relationships we build here are eternal!
We are grateful for our education and our jobs! We are grateful the trio has wonderful educational and leisure activities to be involved in!
There are 2 things I especially feel grateful this year for. I am grateful I listened to the missionaries and accepted the Gospel when I was 16. I am grateful that I was brave enough to move to Utah after I graduated high school. It was very hard to move so far from home, but I needed to place myself in an environment that would help me to make better choices. I don't know if I could have done that in Texas there was a history in Texas of making bad choices and I don't know if I could have broken away from that.
I am so grateful that my children have a safe an loving home. They have the opportunity to go to church every Sunday. I am so grateful for their growing testimonies. Ashlin gave her first testimony in October. She practiced and she went up their all on her own and she gave it. It was one of the most precious testimonies I have ever heard.

Thank you Heavenly Father for all of this and so much more!
Our family has been blessed continually blessed by Thy Love!