Gratitude

Lastnight Tyler had his first sleepover. It started out as a play day and then Jared's mom called asking if he could stay the night. So, with little time to prepare myself for this, I found it strange with him gone. I know that may sound wierd, but I'm one of those who needs to be mentally prepared for certain things, like; when my husband will be home from work-I need to know there's an end in sight, also when my children will be spending the night at someone's house. Don't get me wrong, I love when they do, but each child brings something different to our family. For instance, with Tyler gone lastnight, I realized what a sense of peace he brings to our family, even when he's not being the most peaceful little thing, there is still such a strong sense of goodness and he has such a special spirit about him. I love it. So, hopefully on this Thanksgiving day we can all take a minute what blessings are in our lives, because I promise you, at times when you feel all alone and like you have very few blessings, you will be amazed at the truly wonderful blessings you really do have!!!

Moving

For those of you who don't know yet, we are moving to Portland. We leave in 2 weeks. We are very excited for the move and look forward to being by Grandma and Grandpa. They are even more excited!! So, this blog might not be updated for a while.

Happy 9th Birthday Elena!!!

It's hard to believe that only 1 year ago, Elena was getting baptized.

Now, she's turning 9 years old. I don't feel old enough to have a daughter that is 9.

I guess I'm in denial.

For her birthday, Grandma Humphrey gave her an American Girl doll,

which she loves, and her Aunt Susan and Uncle Spencer gave her a

nightgown to match her doll. Thanks by the way, very thoughtful,

she keeps twirling around in it and saying how warm it is. Also,

thanks to the other aunts and uncles who gave her some clothes,

books and other accessories to go with her doll. She loves everything

about it and becomes more excited about her doll, the more she learns about her.

Elena has been such a wonderful daughter. She always loves to help with

the baby and she even loves to help clean. She gets in these cleaning moods,

where you'd better stay away or else!!! I have no idea where she got this from???

J/K!! If you know my mother....she's the same way, but even worse!

There are so many things I love about Elena....I love how sweet she is with

her little brother. She will make such a wonderful mother one day. She is always

planning such fun games and activities for us and somehow she's always got a

surprise up her sleeve, it's wonderful. I love watching her play soccer, she has

progressed so much over the years. I love how confident in herself she is. Just the

other day, she said she was looking at herself in the mirror for "like and hour"

because she is so pretty. I love it. Girls these days are way too hard on themselves,

so I hope she will always believe this because she truly is beautiful inside and out.

Elena has been blessed with such a special heart and has a great desire to always

do good and to please her Heavenly Father. She loves the gospel and reading her

scriptures, and as a parent, I couldn't ask for anything more!

I'm so proud of you Elena!!!