A wonderful thanksgiving poem

Jeff is at the hospital for 26 hours so the kids and I had to find something to do. We made a "Thankful Door" It's always amazing at how profound their simple words are. We wrote as many things as we could that we were thankful for. And yes, I am thankful for Sam, our strong willed little boy, who refused to make a hand print. Guess you know which ones are his:)

I heard this poem many years ago and have always found it so true.

I Am So Thankful
For the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching TV,Because that means he is at home and not on the streets.For the taxes that I pay,Because it means that I am employed.For the mess to clean after a party,Because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.For the clothes that fit a little too snug,Because it means I have enough to eat.For my shadow that watches me work,Because it means I am out in the sunshine.For a lawn that needs mowing, windows thatneed cleaning, and gutters that need fixing,
Because it means I have a home.For all the complaining I hear about the government,Because it means that we have freedom of speech.For the parking spot I find at the far endof the parking lot,Because it means I am capable of walkingand that I have been blessed with transportation.For my huge heating bill,Because it means I am warm.For the lady behind me in church that sings off key,Because it means that I can hear.For the pile of laundry and ironing,Because it means I have clothes to wear.For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,Because it means I have been capable of working hard.For the alarm that goes of in the early morning hours,Because it means that I am alive and have a reason to get up.And finally...For too much e-mail,Because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

Ali's First Grade Program

Tonight was Alison's first grade program. It was on all kinds of weather and they sang songs, danced, and played some musical instuments. She did a great job and was fun to watch. I thought I would grab a picture of us before we went, but trying to take a picture with our little clown proved harder than I thought.....(I wonder where she gets that from?)

Hey how come this one turned out so cute...I guess you know who wears the pants in this family:)

Ali playing the bells

Picture Tag

I thought this was fun. You are suppose to share the fourth picture of your fourth file. Heres mine. And I tag Rachel, Tara, Camie, Shan, Betsy, Stacy, Britney, Brandy

This is Jeff as a new medical student 4 years ago!

Star Valley

Last week the kids and I took a trip to Star Valley. Of course Jeff couldn't come and he was on call at the hospital all weekend, so I thought I would leave.

While we were in Star Valley I promised to take Sam fishing. Thanks to Korry(Jeff's brother) and Tara who watched Ali and Andy. We went on the Snake River and it was freezing!!!! It was snowing off and on and the trail down to the river was snowy. I kept asking him if he really wanted to go and being the die-hard fisherman that he is he said yes. He caught a real nice fish about the second cast. It was enough to make his day! We stayed about 10 more minutes and were freezing! So we went back to grandmas house.

I love the excitement on his face every time he catches his own fish


Our Proud fisherman Sam



Its kind of strange going to Star Valley and not having grandma and grandpa Wheeler there.( They are on a mission in Mississippi and really enjoying it.) Any way we let the kids play with all their cousins and we spent a lot of time at grandma and grandpa Wolfley's cabin.

Usually every Thanksgiving when we are at the cabin we let the kids all do some sort of humanitarian project. One year we did hygeine kits and another time we did baby kits and stuff like that. It's fun because we get to spend the whole year getting ready making diapers and night gowns and stuff. Anyway this since we are not going to Star Valley for Thanksgiving we did it this weekend.

Ali sucking the air out of one of her bags.(makes it more compact)

Andy is very proud of his bag, he did it all by himself
He couldn't quite get the sucking the air out thing, he kept blowing up his bag.

Grandma decided we needed to do 72 hour kits for the kids. It was so much fun. I think they liked the whistle the best. Nanny brought them all outside and they all got to blow to their hearts content. Then at the end Nanny let them all pick a little stuffed animal that she has always had at the cabin for the kids to play with so they would have a comfort object with a good memory. They kids had so much fun

Grandkids blowing their whistles



Sam and the cabin animal he picked for his 72 hour kit

We spent one day with Angie and her kids (Jeff's sister). We went to Jackson and went to eat at Bubba's and went to the movie theatre. We spent one day with Korry and Tara and Becky and her kids. The kids love their cousins so much and have so much fun with them. Korry even cooked a nice Sunday Dinner for everyone!

The kids were very sad when we had to come back home. They had way too much fun.