Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving 2007! Rich's favorite day of the year. What a great day we had here in Lexington. The weather had begun to cool down from the record high of 70 the day before, so it felt like it should be November 22.

Since we moved to Kentucky at the end of 2000, we have years of happy Thanksgivings all with friends. So many wonderful meals and memories with people we love. We have spent six years with the Hamiltons and Madsens. Fun times. We wish our schedule allowed us to travel to Louisville once again, but it couldn't be. Thanks for the invite Josh and Tiffany. We know it would have been perfect to share your last Kentucky Thanksgiving with you. Todd and Kristi- plan on us next year!

The girls were up VERY early at 6:15 AM and the boys soon followed. So much for sleeping in. We had lots of time to cook, get dressed and enjoy the day. I watched the entire Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as I cooked and loved seeing American Fork High School and Dunbar High School (Lexington) marching bands in the parade. Of course I love to see Santa, but the thing I like the most is watching Broadway songs performed. This is when I first was introduced to Wicked years ago.

We invited the Badger family (Eric, Jonni, Luke, Sadie and Cameron) over to celebrate the big day together. They will be moving back to Utah in June when Eric finished his periodontics residency, so we were very excited to spend this special day with them.

I cooked the turkey, stuffing, yams and potatoes, bought cranberry sauce and had a few crafts for the kids. Jonni brought a ham, fruit, rolls, green beans, vegetables, pies and ice cream. We had enough food to feed the masses and there were only 12 of us and only 4 who really ate a bit of everything! It was a great meal. My biggest helpers. I guess I should say, my much too helpful helpers! Brynn loved to eat the little piece of bread and Kaitlyn tried to stir up everything with her fork. I let them help me dump in the spices and they both had to put their hands on the spoon. They smiled and giggled through it all. Such fun to have two constant shadows.
What to do when your 20 pound turkey cooks in record time and you still have 2 1/2 hours til dinner? Do what my mom does and wrap the bird up with a million towels! It was still hot when it was served. I was impressed!Rich was impressed with the turkey's great knee cartilage (he would like his to look that healthy) and dissected the back so we could see the spinal cord. Still a doctor even while carving a turkey. (He did miss either the Hamilton's or Madsen's electric carving knife he's used in years past!)Eric and Jonni Badger.
Most of the kiddos. Gotta love the Little Tykes picnic table (it is used more often in the house than in the backyard) and the Neat Sheet keeping things clean underneath.Brynn is happy to be part of the big kid gang.Matt checked out all the choices and was really daring when he chose to have some turkey and a roll.Josh on the other hand tried the green beans and ham, but only had one bite of each. Kaitlyn enjoys a homemade roll and tries to destroy the butter on the table.Trey turned into my dad and insisted on devouring a turkey leg. He ate it all!Cameron was a fan of the ham.Luke wanted bones with his turkey and lots of chocolate milk.
Sadie wasn't feeling great in the morning, but was 100% for the party.
A perfect time to cuddle when our bellies were full!
The kids had Thanksgiving coloring pages to work on before dinner. Josh did a great job on his.
After the feast we had wooden Christmas ornaments to decorate,and made beaded necklaces. We didn't even get to the pom-pom penguins!
The kids said forget about the pies (pumpkin and cherry) and gobbled up almost an entire carton of vanilla ice cream. The girls were trying to get spoonfuls of cool whip or at least a few finger dips and licks!

Hope your day with filled with many happy memories!

A Time for Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving 2007!!

Tis the season for food, friends and fun. We wish you health, happiness and lots of love on this very special holiday!

Here is a sampling of what we have been doing this Thanksgiving season.

First off, I realized yesterday that this was the first year in ages (four actually) that none of the boys had a Thanksgiving feast celebration. I have always been able to go to the boys preschool to help with food and games. I loved how some were dressed up as pilgrims, others as indians. My boys were always indians. I loved the paper bag vests, the face paint, the beaded necklaces, and the crazy assortment of food. My boys rolled their eyes at eating most of it- such dreadful things like carrots and cheese! I loved taking pictures of them with their teacher and classmates. We did have a little Thanksgiving meal in the lunch room (check out the prior post), but sitting on the cafeteria floor, just didn't feel the same.

Even with out the big class party, the boys still got into the Turkey Spirit. They each brought home countless projects over the past few weeks. Trey's class made a How to Cook a Turkey Cookbook. Trey's recipe went like this (with the proper Trey spelling):

How to Cook a Turkey By: Trey

1. Rud it with butter.
2. Throw it in water.

3. Cook it.

4. Take it out.

5. Clean it.

6. Rud it agin with butter.

Yum! I'll have to try that this year!

Josh's class made a wide variety of turkeys. I loved the wind sock turkey complete with rainbow streamers and his thankful turkey. He wrote:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for helping me with my home wrk.

Luv, Josh

Matt also made a beautiful windsock, a book about what the turkey saw (hutr= hunter!) and a thankful turkey. He wrote: Thank you for being kind. And the girls took a liking to our pumpkin turkey. Thankfully his place is located safely on the porch.

Have a wonderful holiday!

Love, The Jacksons

Thanksgiving Favorites

While I love a big plateful of white turkey, I say forget about the rolls, green beans and potatoes. To me Thanksgiving must include these two recipes.





Crowd Size Stuffing

2 packages bulk sausage
1 whole stalk celery
1 large onion

Brown and add:

1 cup margarine
2 cups water
4 chicken bouillon cubes

Simmer for 30 minutes. Cut 4 loaves of white break (it's easy to slice when slightly frozen) into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add to the bread:

3 tsp. ground sage
2 tsp. ground thyme
2 tsp. pepper

Mix well and then pour sausage/vegetable mixture to bread and stir. Put in a large Baking dish and bake at 325 until hot.

Sweet Potato Souffle

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes drained
3/4 stick margarine, melted
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup canned milk

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup margarine melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer and pour into a sprayed 9X13 inch glass baking dish. Combine all the topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture. Bake for 30 minutes (or until bubbling).

Enjoy!

Who knew?

While we were outside today with the cul-de-sac bunch running around, Josh told me to tell our neighbor Luke (he's six) that I don't consider ain't a word. I told Luke that and he responded by telling me, "Well, it is in our family. Ain't is a Texas word. It means no in Texas." Thanks Luke for clearing that one up, especially since we live in Kentucky!

While taking pictures of the boys with their turkeys tonight, Matt was not pleased Josh had more items to hold up than him (I couldn't find one of his) and fiercely exclaimed, "I hate that Josh is getting all the Glamera!" As we held off smiles, Rich asked Matt what he meant. Matt said, "He's getting all the fame!" Add that new word to the list!

Turkey Bowl

How do you properly kick off your Thanksgiving break? By playing football of course! The boys spent hours outside today in our 70 degree weather (it's crazy hot!) and played some fierce football with the cul-de-sac gang on the grass out front.

Front row: Matt, Sam, Alec and Luke.
Back row: Trey, Chris, Josh and Ethan. 15, 78, Hail Mary, Hut, Hut!QB Josh. What an arm! The gang in action.They prepare the offensive "wall."Trey hikes it to Ethan.Trey goes for it....and gets past his brothers for a near TD.After Trey's team scored, Sam is ready to play some tough D!

Enjoy the food, family and football tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Feast

Veterans Park opted to not have Thanksgiving class parties, but they did have the meal last Thursday in the cafeteria. There were no pilgrims or indians, but there were lit Christmas trees by the door (huh?). We found all the fixings: turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans, pumpkin pie, rolls, family, friends and fun.

They sent an email welcoming parents, grandparents and siblings, and we were excited to join in. When we got there (11:10 AM) Josh and Matt's classes were entering the lunch room. I found them in some very long lines, but we got to visit while we waited. The girls were free from their stroller and they loved being involved. While the food looked good, there was just not enough seating so we happily found and place on the floor up on the stage.The boys with their friends Sam W. and Ty. Turkey, roll, chocolate milk, perfect!Matt is all smiles with his gravy free meal. I had to buy my own plate after the lunch lady dumped gravy on the first try. The girls were happy for their own tray and milk.Brynn's a big fan of the little carton and straw.Trey and Sammy. Kaitlyn just couldn't sit still. My only worry she was going to step in someone's mashed potatoes! The Badgers were there as well.
Clean up time. What a fun, fast and furious 35 minutes together!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Tuesday Tell All - An Attitude of Gratitude‏

This is the season to stop and reflect on all that we have been given each day and give thanks for all of our blessings. I have so much that I thank my Heavenly Father for every day. What blessed lives we have and how much goodness can be found, in happy times and even in the mist of trials. We know that the Lord has his hand in everything and is watchful in all we do. How lucky we are to have this knowledge and understanding of the purpose and plan of life.

This weeks Tuesday Tell All is to write about what we are especially grateful for this year . It is easy to make a quick list about what makes our life pleasant and enjoyable, but it took a bit more time to think what is particularly important in my life right now.

1. My sweet husband. The Lord was watching over me the day I met Rich. I couldn't have found a better fit if I searched the world over. He truly gets me. He understands the things I obsess over and worry about. He listens, he loves and he helps. He is my best friend and the most wonderful father to our children. He doesn't get any down time, days off or lazy days, but he never complains. He makes my life so happy and I will love him forever!

2. My children. They are my pride and joy. My greatest gifts. My purpose in life. My little angels. I am so lucky to share my time on earth with them.

Trey: Kind soul, tender heart, scriptorian, chocoholic, lover of books. I see so much of myself in him. He fixates on things, he has natural abilities but doesn't want to spend the time practicing. Enjoys the fun things in life.

Josh: Helper, more serious, but loves to try to tease and no one ever believes because he can not tell a lie. He is disciplined, he loves to practice sports, he is the first one to finish homework and climb in bed. Needs more sleep than the rest of the bunch. He is wise for his age.

Matt: Midnight Matt as we call him. Loves to stay up late visiting. Hates to eat (the kid's a skeleton!) but will always gobble up chicken and french fries. Loves sugar. Is the worlds biggest pack rat, but unfortunately for him he has a mother that tosses 99% of his treasures within the first 24 hours. He loves to build and have collections. He loves treasure chests, shiny things and action figures. He makes me laugh every day.

Brynn: Smiles, giggles, exploring, running, jumping, climbing. Lots of clothes and shoes, but no hair bows. Afraid of animals, but not heights. Loves to be rocked before bed and cuddle on my shoulder. Hyper cutie.

Kaitlyn: Hugs, kisses, playful shy smiles, tub time, play cooking, piggie back rides, loves dogs and animals. Loves french fries, her bottle and blanket. She has a very sharp teeth, but will always go out of her way to give things to others. Sweetie.

3. Loving parents and in-laws. Where to start. How can you thank the people who gave you and your husband life? Who take such good care of you and your children. Who send packages full of love and brighten our days with phone calls. Who would fly across the country at a moments notice and dive in when help is needed. They are wise, kind and our best friends. We benefit from their love daily and look forward when we can be closer.

4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the scriptures and having a living Prophet. Last month I missed a few weeks of church with sickness and I was so anxious to get back. Yes, I have been wandering the halls with the girls for months and haven't heard a real lesson in ages, but when I missed it all together, my life didn't seem to flow as smoothly and I was eager to return. Since I have been back, I still spend two hours with Brynn and Kaitlyn in the nursery (Brynn lost it when I left last week and started hurling toys!) but being there, feeling the spirit, and connecting with other members, it brings a peace to my soul that I can get no other way.

I love reading the Book of Mormon reader with the boys. It brings a spirit of love and joy when we read. It teaches them such important principles that will help them throughout their lives. They can recite the stories like I can recite fairy tales. This make me feel like Rich and I are doing something right as parents. I know they love Heavenly Father and their testimonies are growing stronger even at their young age.

Listening to conference last month once again reaffirmed my testimony that we have such wise and righteous men leading and guiding us to the things that bring us joy. I love how the Lords plan is referred to as the Plan of Happiness because if we follow his teachings, we will have days full of peace and contentment. I love the pictures of President Hinckley taken at last conference that have been circulating through the Internet. It shows his gentle nature, the light in his eyes and the goodness in his heart. He is a true prophet and we are blessed to have him.

5. Great friends. Not many people get blessed with incredible friends in their lives. I won the lottery when it came to friends. Women that have gotten up in the middle of the night to take my kids when I went to the hospital, women who would take my kids for days and not ever expect anything in return. Who buy your kids toys and clothes at yard sales because they knew they would love them. Who call and text just to say they were thinking of me. Who love my children as their own, who love me just the way I am. Women that I can call to tell them about a great deal I got at Wal-mart and they actually care because it made me happy. That tell me the truth and give me honest advice. I could not have lived away from our families for seven years and know I have many years still to go without your love and support. I am forever in your debt!

6. Lexington. What opportunities this place has given my children. We moved into the perfect "KidZone". There are nine other little boys in our cul-de-sac. The minute we get home from school, we have at least four little boys sitting waiting on the porch (Matt tends to be the slowest walker at VPE!) and dying to play with Trey, Josh and Matt. They spend hours playing army, 4 square and chasing each other around. Who knew places like this still existed. I love the boys school and their teachers. Our neighborhood pool and baseball facilities and huge park are within walking distance. I love the swim team, soccer team, baseball buddies, the Explorium, Keenland, the lush green rolling hills, the black wood fences, the gorgeous horse farms and so many other things about Lexington. It has been the perfect fit for us right now.

7. Nature. This entire fall season as just moved me. Everywhere I look there are beautiful mums, bright red Fire Bushes, colorful leaves on every tree, green grass and sunshine. It makes me grateful that Heavenly Father gave us such a lovely Earth to live in.

8. Gaining Perspective. This is a tough one. It seems that to really gain perspective on life, it often comes through persevering through trials. I am grateful that after the storm, I can better appreciate the sunshine. I realize that life is so short and that I need to focus on the now, being happy and loving my family. I am grateful for the gospel and for family for helping me to see through the clouds and know there is always sunlight coming our way.

9. Telephones. What a remarkable invention. The whole phone concept fascinates me, but have no idea how the things really works. I am just so grateful that it does. To think that I can just pick up a phone, call my mom, brothers, dad, grandparents, Rich, friends, and neighbors is incredible. What a wonderful tool. My Grandma Larsen had her rotator cuff repaired on Tuesday and to be able to call her early Wednesday morning and hear her bright cheerful voice was a really blessing. It makes living away much more bearable.

10. My washing machine. I can't count the number of socks, shirts and pants I wash, fold and put away in one day. What I do know is if I don't keep up, I'll have a mountain of clean clothes on my floor and another mound of dirty in the laundry room after just one day of letting it go. My kids seem to spill everything, from the water in the shower, to chocolate milk, mustard to toothpaste. Everything is dirty after just one wear. Thank heavens for my trusty and handy washing machine. My life would be taken over by cleaning clothes, bedding, towels and rugs without it. It is a life saver! Now if I could some how cut down my $56.00 dollar a month water bill (and no, we don't have a sprinkler system)!

11. My blog. When I started this thing I had no idea how wonderful it would be. Sure I knew it would be an easy it is to share pictures and stories with friends and family and keep a family history, but I didn't realize how I could find people I love and had lost contact with and meet new amazing women that I can now call friends. Nor did I realize how much I would enjoy writing, but even more surprising was how much I enjoy reading other peoples stories. We share in their joys and pains. It shows me that I am not alone in all my struggles with kids and life. It really has been a very therapeutic and enjoyable part of my life. And I love my "fellow bloggers" dearly!


With Thanksgiving just two days away, I thought it would appropriate to ask my family members what they are grateful for.


Rich: Me (what a nice thing to type!), the kids, parents/family and hope for a better call schedule in 2008!

Trey: His parents, grandparents, his Playstation 2 and games and books (esp. Garfield, Bones and Calvin and Hobbs).

Josh: His Mom and Dad, playing outside with friends, all sports and his teachers.

Matt: The world, all of his toys (esp. his Star Wars Action figures) and his parents.

Brynn: Her thumb, soft blankets, her stroller, accessories (bracelets, necklaces, bags), shoes, running outside, crayons and paper.

Kaitlyn: Her thumb, bottles, dogs, books, hot dogs, babies, getting to play in the back of the van and kitchen items (spoons, bowls, cups) to pretend cook with.


May we all take a moment to reflect on all we have. Have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

Life at a glance....

Just a few things we have been up to. Fall is still in full force here in Lexington. Everywhere I turn I see brilliant orange, red, green and yellow.
I find myself pulling out my camera even while I am driving. It's that pretty.
"Hey Mom, looks what's in my pocket!" Sometimes I do not want to know what Matt has collected. This week he pulled out "bird wings", an old cigarette holder, a chewed up eraser/scissor cap, a small flower, a paper ruler and a pencil. About what I should have expected. The day before he brought home a huge wad of dog hair. I told him I thought that was disgusting. He told me that it was very soft. Yuck!

Trey the mad scientist. He had to complete his science experiment last Friday and present it to the class this week. He tested to see which brand of carpet cleaner worked the best? We put 1/4 tsp. of mustard, waited 1 hour and then let Trey spray and rub. It was no surprise that Spot Shot Cleaner was the best by far!
GOOD MAIL! Thank you to a wonderful mother-in-law that sent such a fun package. Who knew you could get delicious treats and a new book for just letting her borrow one for the plane ride back to Utah. You made our day! And Kaitlyn's. I was so happy she was a huge fan of the smooth and melty mints. I need someone else to help me eat the four bags you sent!
We had the gang over to play last Friday. We had 3 Josh's in the bunch of 9. My Josh started calling everyone by their initials. I noticed he wrote J.J. on his homework paper this week.Brynn is still loving the layer look and her stripe shirt. She has worn it three days this week and even to bed. But she has found a new love. These wonderful red glitter shoes Kristi gave to us. She puts them on when she wakes up, gets out of the tub and even wore them to bed tonight with her footed PJ's. She loves how sparkly they are and that they make little clicking noises when she walks. She takes little steps on the wood floor to hear the click, click, click they make. On Saturday we all went to the KidZone for a birthday party. Trey ran around with his friends while the rest of us climbed up three story high rope ladders and went down various slides. So wish I had my camera up top to get Rich in the middle of a spider web pushing Brynn along.
I just need to start doing what the girl already know. Just sit back, relax and take it all in!

Christmas Tales

I do realize that the date is November 14, but I have Christmas on the brain. I hit the mall today for a bit of Christmas window shopping and I have already begun to discuss present ideas with Rich. I go into far too much detail about all the things I have decided to make or purchase for our various family members. Rich listens politely as I go down the list. Last night after I went through the family once again, I exclaimed that I hadn't even bought him one thing yet! I hate feeling unprepared. He sweetly told me, "Cheryl, it is November!" True, but one can't start too early.

Anyway, I haven't put up the tree, haven't listened to Christmas music (unless you can count the numerous ones I have heard playing over the Wal-mart sound system since Nov. 1) and it certainly doesn't look like Christmas outside (high temp. today was 70!), but I still am eager to get into the Christmas spirit. Two of my favorite ways to do this are to make Christmas gifts and to read Christmas stories.

The Christmas crafts have begun (and I am totally excited to make them and SO happy I have over a month to finish- no pressure!) and the boys' book order came home yesterday. I was delighted to see that I had ordered not one, but two Christmas books that I can read aloud to the boys. I checked on Amazon.com before I bought them to make sure they got good reviews. The first book had 5 stars and the second had 4 1/2 stars so they should be fun!

We started the first book last night. It's amazing how motivated the kids were to get ready for bed early when they knew a story would be their reward. The book is called When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke. I had no idea what this book was about, other than it was a story about Christmas. I'll tell you, once the elves started spouting elf cuss words such as "stinky goblin farts" and "steaming reindeer poop" I knew this book would be requested to read for years to come. Oh the joy these silly phrases bring to the boys.

The second book is On Christmas Eve by Ann M. Martin. Once again I do not know what this book is about, but I'm excited to read it after we wrap up the Santa one.

I know I have other books downstairs that I'll have to search out, but I love trying to bring the Christmas spirit into my kids hearts in ways other than writing out their Christmas lists for the umpteenth time. I really hope they can see beyond the commercialization and feel the sweet spirit this holiday can bring!

Merry Christmas, and well, Happy Thanksgiving too!

More tiny treasures

As I looked for various pieces of jewelry for the TTA post, I came upon many other things I consider tiny treasures. Little trinkets and papers that show how I have grown and changed throughout the years.

I dug through my cedar chest in the basement and found so many little pieces and bits of me. Things I have clung to for years; my old flower tin containing my sticker collection, a box of random toys, a cross stitch bag I made with the help of my grandma, an old wallet that still holds an old plastic key, fake money I drew, credit cards I cut out of ads, a drivers licence with a sketch of my face and a passport that stated it expired in far off 1999.

I also found Rich's basketball cards, my first temple recommend that had my dad's signature on the back on the bishop line, the little flower card I found on my porch the night Rich asked me to marry him and the sticker I got when I first voted when I was 18.

As I pulled the items out and reminisced I surprised at how emotional I felt. It was like I had been in a little time machine and suddenly realized I was 30 years old with children of my own. How did the years go by so quickly? When did I out grown my toys and turn into a mother? Am I the person I hoped I would become?

Then I I found my chest containing my high school graduation tassel and cords and discovered I had stashed away all my babies hospital wrist bands in the box. On the floor was Trey's little passport from a primary activity, pictures they have drawn and lists for Santa.

I found myself sitting in the middle of a pile of memories that were not just my own and soon my cheeks were damp from tears. I could see myself as a child and now see what my own children have started to become. There are bits of myself in them.

It is the circle of life and it was hard to see it so clearly. Sure there are times I wish I could fast forward through my kids tough stages or days I want to just run away, but to see it all laid out, my own childhood from long ago to the new beginnings of my own little ones, I suddenly wished time could stop, just for a moment, so I can give my children the love and help they need. So I can sit and play Star Wars action heroes for hours, watch their favorite shows with them cuddled in my lap and read their favorite books to them over and over again. I just want to be the mom they deserve. Hopefully time will be my friend and slow down enough for me to keep up.