Thankful

In the middle of birthday week, I found an empty roll (not tube) of wrapping paper in my bedroom. I decided to tape it to my pantry door and paint a leafless tree for us to fill full of gratitude leaves the rest of November. The big kids helped me cut out assorted leaves after the two little ones went to bed and that was harder than it seems. Getting the boys to follow a 'template' had Kathryn and I rolling our eyes and laughing. They much preferred to eyeball cutting out their leaves which lead to some pretty funky leaves. Boys.

 The next morning the kids woke up to the tree with 5 leaves on the branches baring each of their names. It took off from there and we have all loved filling our thankful tree and reading the new leaves when they are added. The leaf blessings started out fairly basic but in the end, they became more creative. A small sampling of what we are thankful for. Reed- healing, friends, mom, dad, energy, school, sunst (spelled himself) and that 'God sent us to earth' (sometimes he asked for a scribe). Kathryn- Jesus Christ, the Atonement, mutual, our religion, running water, her body, animals, books. Nathan- the priesthood in our home, friends, scouts, books. Dane (ever creative)- the atmosphere, Owen's cute face, his brothers, plants and trees, a bed and table, his life. After the kids I also added- Relief Society, working from home, my health, The Book of Mormon, kisses from Owen, friends, sunrises and forgiveness. Reed also added Elmo on a leaf for Owen. Isn't that cute? We still have quite a few leaves that aren't filled so our thankful tree isn't done yet. I don't think I'll ever want to take it down. It's been great to remember all of our blessings because we really do have more than we can count.

This thanksgiving has also been my first without the kids, it is their year with Milo. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to handle it or what I was going to do to keep from feeling sad. That is until my friend Lindsay came up with a fabulous plan. She is in the same boat as I am (ugh, divorce) and her kids were going to be with their dad too (I should post about our friendship going back almost 20 years). She thought we should go out of town, stay in a hotel with a spa and get massages on Thanksgiving day. What?! I'm never that wild. We live in different towns and don't see each other very often so I was leaning towards yes right when she asked but it's hard for me to push my 'practical self' to the side. After a week of hemming and hawing, I threw caution to the wind and committed to 'Thanksgiving Spa Day'.

Hand on my hip, really?

 I told Lindsay if my kids were with me I'd be taking pictures of them on the holiday so she better prepare for pictures with me instead. We asked people to take pictures of us and no kidding, all of them were terrible except ONE. We would smile, say thanks and walk away laughing our heads off. Even people with the same phone couldn't deliver a decent photo. Is it really that hard??! We ended up resorting to selfies and single pictures of each other so we could document the day. Picture taking kept us laughing for sure. The outtake reel is looooong.

 Once we were all checked in, we ate some dinner and went back to our room. We decided to see if there was a movie playing and score! There was a theater one mile away and a movie starting in 15 minutes. We rushed over there and watched Thor. How spontaneous, right? We both really liked it, much better than the first movie. I will say though, you can tell your emotions are close to the surface when you get teary eyed twice in a superhero movie! We stayed up late talking and then slept in until 9 am. Unheard of! Those black out curtains are really something to enjoy. We ate breakfast in our room, watched some of the Macy's parade and I colored Lindsay's hair (just a few packets of dark).

post pampering

 We went to the spa for our massages, spent some time chatting with a few other women relaxing in the lounge, enjoyed the sauna and then finished getting ready to head home. I had a grand time. I love that Lindsay suggested getting away, It was worth every cent I saved to feel uplifted and recharged. I'm so grateful for a friend that knows what it's like to walk in my shoes and understands how I feel (she's a couple years ahead of me on this 'single' road). I love to spend time with her, she has been a strong buoy to me the past 18 months. I count her as one of my blessings too.

I am grateful these kids are with me for eternity.

 I count them as five of my biggest blessings.

I love them and I love being their mom.
Together, we make a great family.
Counting down until they're home.