Days of Thanksgiving 13

1. I am thankful for Google Reader. I spend less time visiting blogs to check if something new has been posted. The only downside: I am less inclined to leave comments because it is not an option from reader, I still have to go to the blog.

2. I am thankful for the Interstate Highway system. We get to clip along at a fast speed to drive to visit family.

3. I am thankful for the family we got to spend time with over the weekend. I missed the ones we didn't get to see.

4. I am thankful that my talk on Service is in the past. It was great to share, however, I prefer to hear others speak.

5. I am thankful for Concrete. The kind you buy at Nielsen's Frozen Custard. I'm thankful that my Brother-in-law Glen treated us to one after attending the Bountiful Temple.

6. I am thankful for temples. Thank you Heather for inviting us to go with you on Saturday!

Days of Thanksgiving 12

1. I am thankful for adventurous children when it comes to trying new foods (occasionally, at least). Tonight they all tried Pumpkin soup and were pleased that it tasted good!

Soup is cooked and served in the pumpkin.

2. I am thankful for naps. I wish I had them more often.

3. I am thankful that Ryan found the lost camera tonight. It feels good to be able to take pictures again.

Days of Thanksgiving 11

1. I am thankful that my daughter said when she arrived home today, seconds after walking in the door, taking off her jacket and backpack, "I'm going to go outside and rake leaves."

2. I'm thankful that after she had created a large pile of leaves and jumped in them a couple of times that she raked them again and then invited her brothers and neighbors to join her in jumping in the pile of leaves. Then they started burying eachother in the leaves and then they cleaned them all up.

3. I am thankful that this flower is still hanging on to remind me of warmer days...

I hope this clemantis sticks around until Christmas.

Days of Thanksgiving 10

Day 9 will be posted when I find the pictures needed...

1. I am thankful for generous music arrangers who post their choir music on the web for free download. I found this one last week when I was searching for an arrangement of Far, Far Away on Judea's Plain for my ward choir to sing. It is awesome.

2. I am thankful for my local church leaders. Stake Conference was this weekend and Every. Single. Talk. in both the Adult and General sessions were on how the Scriptures have changed the speaker's life. Just what I needed to hear this weekend. The challenge given by the Stake President on reading in advance all the lesson materials for Sunday School and Relief Society was timely as well.

3. I am thankful for pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup and a myriad of other recipes to use up the pumpkins that Ryan harvested from our garden. YUM!

Days of Thanksgiving 9

Happy Veteran's Day!

1. I am so very thankful for the men and women who serve our country daily in the armed forces!

2. I am thankful for these 3 veterans in particular:

My grandpa, Glen H Christensen
he served in the army in Italy during WWII, leaving his wife and baby girl at home

My grandpa, Theodore W C Bateman
he served in the army during WWII and was on a boat on his way to Japan when the Japanese surrendered

My dad, Glen Earl Christensen
he served in the army in Vietnam leaving my mom and 2 children at home

3. Most of all, I am thankful that these 3 veterans came back home. That is why I'm alive today; because they came home.

Days of Thanksgiving 8

1. I am thankful for visiting teachers who bring me cookie-in-a-jar mix. I can't wait to bake them!

2. I am thankful that I had an opportunity to help my awesome neighbor tonight. She has been helping me a lot lately and it felt good to return the favor.

3. I am thankful that my (older) kids will wake up and get their own breakfasts made. Here is a favorite of Roderic's: toast with nutella. Doesn't he just look pleased that he made it all by himself? And the kitchen was not a big mess - just his face.

Days of Thanksgiving 7

1. I am thankful that my awesome neighbor drives my kids to school each morning.

2. I am thankful for a freezer full of whole-wheat homemade waffles. They are so good for breakfast on mornings when I am not in the mood for cold cereal or oatmeal. Ryan had such a good idea months ago to make a huge batch - he likes to 8x the recipe, but I prefer 4x - cook them all up and freeze them. Yum!

3. I'm glad that I get to play with Hyrum while the others are at school. This morning we worked on letter names and sounds with a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle.

Days of Thanksgiving 6

1. I am thankful to the faithful few choir members who show up each week for choir practice without weekly reminders. I'm going to remember to email the rest of them, so we have a bigger choir for the Christmas program.

2. I am thankful for Christmas music! I love that I start the choir singing Christmas music in September. Today I was joking that perhaps next year we'll sing Christmas music all year long -- all the music speaks of the Savior, so it would fit well with any High Council speaker's topic, right?

3. I am thankful for the Primary. I really enjoyed the primary program today on Eternal Families. It was neat to see Roderic sing most of the words to most of the songs. Sabrina played a violin solo that was beautiful (even with all the mistakes her accompanist - me - made). This was my favorite song that they sang: The Family is of God.

Days of Thanksgiving 5

1. I am thankful for a cleaner bedroom. It is amazing how much stuff I can accumulate in piles in a few short months. Here's to hoping our new, cleaner room can stay that way.

2. I am thankful that Ryan worked so hard at cleaning our room, going grocery shopping with me, getting the kids to bed, etc. It is good to work at home on Saturdays. (Instead of being out of town, at soccer games, at parties, etc.)

3. I am thankful that my kids don't complain too much to do their "Saturday Jobs." Hyrum got distracted by my taking his picture while vacuuming. All he wanted to do was pose and then look to see what the picture looks like.

Days of Thanksgiving 4

1. I am thankful that Ryan brought a "stadium seat" into our marriage. I took it with me to the BSU vs. USU Women's Soccer game this afternoon. It helped me stay warm, by not having to sit on the cold metal bleacher. And it has a padded seat and a back rest. Sabrina got to be a ball girl at the game with 5 other members of her soccer team. She was kept really busy during the first half -- lots of out of bounds right next to her. BSU won 1-0. Next up is Nevada in the WAC championship game.

2. I am thankful for my 10 year old! She babysat the boys this morning while I did some Christmas shopping alone. I'd share the deals I scored, but my kids read this too.

3. I am thankful for the rain. It makes me want to read good books, drink hot chocolate and make soup. I do prefer the rain to not linger around for more than 24 hours at a time, though.

Days of Thanksgiving 3

1. I am thankful that my DisneyWorld Photo Pass cd came in the mail! Now I can finish my DisneyWorld blog posts, order prints of the cutest pictures you ever saw (to put in Roderic's birthday book for Kindergarten), AND share a few like this:




2. I am thankful for the teachers that teach my children - at school, at church and violin. They show how much they care for my children.

3. I am thankful that my kids play well together. Have I already mentioned this? Today they are home from school (Parent-Teacher Conferences) and they are having fun building forts, playing legos, on the computer, etc. Hooray! (This means I can spend time on the computer doing my blog!)

Days of Thanksgiving 2

1. I am thankful that my kids wear the stuff I sew for them. This year, I made Sabrina a Minnie Mouse dress and Roderic & Hyrum Jedi robes.

2. I am thankful that my neighbor cuts my hair. I needed a lift, and last night she provided by cutting off about 2 inches. So much nicer to do this morning!

3. I am thankful for the mild weather we're enjoying. The kids have played outside after school for an hour every day so far this week. It is good to have them burn off energy out. of. doors.

4. I am thankful to my Father-in-law for providing us with delicious pears. Ryan picked the trees bare during General Conference, bringing home 5 boxes and we recently spent two days preserving them. Now I have 40 quarts of pear slices to enjoy throughout the year!

Days of Thanksgiving

1. I am thankful that my kids enjoy FHE. Last night for my activity, we played "Follow the Leader" and Hyrum asked, "Like follow the prophet?" It was a laugh house to watch everyone have their chance to be the leader. Hyrum would hi-5 the person behind him and say "good job!" when the leader's turn ended.

2. I am thankful that Ryan and the kids survived while I was in Nashville. I enjoyed listening to Roderic's phone messages - telling me about school, if he could play at Mark's house, I just want to talk to you, are you having a good time.

3. I am thankful that my kids enjoy music. Sabrina is playing a violin solo in the Primary program on Sunday, "Beautiful Saviour." She is learning to play the cello in the 5th grade orchestra at school. Roderic wanted a musical lesson for FHE last night. At first, he was going to have us sing while he "played" the piano, but then he decided he wanted to get out his violin (that he hasn't touched or asked to touch in months) and play it. After 15 minutes of practice, he asked Sabrina to play with him on her violin. They played Engelskan from Smaland, a Scandinavian fiddle tune. During Sacrament meeting this past Sunday, Hyrum started singing the theme song to "Indiana Jones" (which he learned from Clara's Indiana Jones xBox game. He sings it all the time.

Thanks to Lindsay for the great idea!