November

November was filled with birthdays, swimming, basketball, working, travelling to Utah and many things to be grateful for. 

Here's Kedzie swimming her fastest 

I turned 44 on the 9th! Officially in my mid-40's I think. I have the wrinkles to prove it and I got the greatest note from Alex. 

The boys were in a basketball tournament over my birthday weekend. It was fun to watch. They played a game Friday night and three on Saturday. They won them all and took the pre-season champion title. Perry is the coach and they play with Matthew, Colton, T&B, Josiah, Kaiden and Kam. They have a lot of fun and work harder than I ever would on the court!

Ironic!

Cheerleaders forever!

Alex and Triston (at soccer) both received their bear and get to move on together to webelos. Sure glad the scouting program is approaching an end!

My favorite non-profit is Food for Hope. We got the youth together to go and load Thanksgiving dinner again this year. We had 42 members from our ward go and serve. It was so awesome. So proud of the youth who love to serve and do so in such a fun way. 

Love my calling with these crazy people! 

My favorite child Alex (cough, cough) and I went to the CSU vs. USU football game just before we left for Utah. He was really the only one that wanted go and boy was it worth the cold. USU was 10-1 all season and CSU had won like 3 games. This was a really bad game for USU and the ball was wet and no one was performing well, except for CSU. They scored on a hail Mary at the last second and got a touch down, winning by 1 point. A few seconds later, the touchdown was called back because the receiver had stepped out of the lines and back in before catching the ball. Hence, Utah State won the ball game. My college friend Matt Wells, was still the coach and I still love my Aggies. Terrible game, fun memories.  We ended up sitting with Anne and Brennar and their family and had a great time. Since that game, Matt was hired by Texas Tech and Anderson is back at the helm of the Aggies. 

Go Aggies!

 Thanksgiving 2018 at Kathy and Reggie's.
It was calm, quick and delicious. It's great to spend time with Kathy. She made a great meal for us. We have so much to be thankful for. 

We helped her buy new couches this year. Making super fun sleeping and video game playing situations! 

We spent one afternoon with Diana and Gary. We always love seeing them and they seem to love us. It's my connection to my mom and extended family and it's a connection for Travis too.  The kids play the entire time outside or come in and chat. It's a bit of heaven on earth. 

We couldn't visit Utah without seeing the Kirk's. Kedzie and Cara together again! And the boys together with Andy. Happiness all around! Grateful for cousins that are more than just cousins. 

We struggled a little this year with our graditudings, but have so much to be grateful for. This blog is filled with things we are grateful for. Ethan has had some mental health challenges that we have been working through this fall and early winter. Things are going better now after medication, therapy and exercise. In addition, he'll be back to soccer in a few weeks. He's struggling with his religious beliefs, his friends, his school, his family. But, we are getting through it all...together. We will be better for these challenges, although we obviously wish we didn't have them. But, I'm grateful for modern medicine and teachers who understand the challenges of sixth graders. I'm grateful that Ethan trusts us and will let us help him along his path. 

Graditudings 2018

money, good days, experiences, money, life, mom, cereal, alex, hugs, ethan, people, parents, school, emily, birthdays, soccer, church friends, nuf said, adoption home, family, teachers, wiley, church, family, food, stuff, nothing, dad, friends: erin, betsy, jill, alex, rachel, Ipads, animals, 4 seasons, milk, water, dishwasher, potato, shirts, triston, 5 senses, shirts, underwear, hvac, siblings, clothes, friends, wiley, ms. harguth, food, gospel, school, water, poop, alex, a toilet, siblings.

Pretty great list.