Thankful

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. We went out to Duchesne and spent it with my family this year. My family is so wild and crazy, it's always a good time. I made such beautiful looking treats that I almost didn't want to eat them. This year I made a pecan pie (which is basically just for Ben because no one in my family really likes it), pumpkin pies, and a pumpkin roll. YUMMY! There are so many things I am thankful for, but this year I am most thankful for my family. I have the best family in the world. Ben is such a great husband. He is truly my best friend. He is always inspiring me to do better and keeping me happy and optimistic about life.

Andrew is such a fun kid. Today we played hide and seek from "rawrs" (monsters) that were apparently in the ceiling fan because that's where he was shooting his gun. Olivia is such a good baby. She almost sleeps through the night now and is always smiling and laughing at me. I love being around the rest of my family too. They are always so supportive. They show up for everything... baby blessings, baptisms, football games, drill team competitions, etc. etc. etc.

I feel SO SO thankful to have such great relationships in my family. I have a million different people I can call if I am ever in an emergency. They are always so willing to help me out in any way possible. I don't know why I am so blessed, I certainly don't deserve it, but I thank God everyday for the wonderful people I get to share my life with!

"Just sit still and SMILE!"

I don't usually get my Christmas tree out until after Thanksgiving... however, snapfish was having a sale and I really needed to get Christmas pictures for my cards this year. Haha. I didn't have anyone to take the pics, Andrew was being a stinker, and Ben had just barely walked in the door and was about to leave again. So... I got out my lovely little tripod and this is what happened next...
Hmm... I think we are missing someone...

Trying to get Andrew's toy out of the picture...

Ben kept yelling "cheese!" Thus the cheeeeesy smile. :) I grabbed Andrew at the last second for this one...

This is by far my favorite... Hahaha. Ben is always trying to lighten the mood for us. Well we finally did get one picture that I think is going to work out but you will just have to wait to see that in December! If I don't have your address, send it to me. Merry Early Christmas!

New ward

We finally got to go to our new ward today. It was quite the experience. It's so hard for me to start over and get used to new places and new people. I remember our first week in 23rd ward. I was about 8 months pregnant with Andrew and feeling huge and miserable. I didn't even want to go to church... ever, hahaha. That was the day I met one of my best friends Keri, who was also 8 months pregnant and feeling huge and miserable! I remember meeting our bishop and telling him that I was freaked out to start over in a new ward. He essentially told me that if I would come every week, get out of my little comfort box, and try to meet people, that I would make friends that I would have for a lifetime. I didn't really believe him (I was pretty bitter and ornery) but I went ahead and tried it anyway. To make a long story short, I met some really really awesome people in 23rd ward who I still love and plan to stay close to for years to come. As I was listening to the teacher in Relief Society, (It's a miracle, I got to go to an adult class! Hahaha.) she mentioned that she went to the temple. I started thinking about that and realized that she probably was in the Logan temple, the same temple I go to, she probably did all the same things I did there at the temple. She probably even sat in the same chairs I sit in. Even though I didn't know her, or anyone else for that matter, it made me realize that we all had at least one thing in common. It was fun to look at everyone and make my first little impressions of them and it will be even more fun to see in a few years what I think of them then. I am so grateful for the gospel. I am so grateful that I can go to any LDS church building and hear basically the same things. I am so grateful for all the friends I have, LDS and non-LDS, old and new, that have helped me along and made me want to be a better person, and I am hopeful for the future in this new ward.

PS- these pictures have nothing to do with my post, but my kids are so cute I have to show them off! :)

Oma

Well my grandma starts her chemotherapy treatment tomorrow to fight her breast cancer. I am so grateful that they are already starting to work on it, especially since she just found out two or three weeks ago that she had it. Watching her go through this and thinking about all the things she will be facing in the next year has made me think about what a wonderful person she is. So I have been pondering and decided to jot down some of my favorite things about her.

1- She has the patience of a saint. So many things just drive me crazy and she doesn’t bat any eye. She is always telling me to, “take a chill pill”. Haha. The whole house could be burning down and she would probably just be standing there thinking, “well, now what?” I will never forget when I got black permanent marker on her brand new CREAM colored couch (mind you I was 20, not 2) I was so afraid to tell her! She is so good at thinking before acting. I need to work on that!

2- She is giving. She puts everyone before herself. She donates so much time and effort every year for her family, friends, and complete strangers. She will always sit back while everyone else dishes up their plates or while everyone else opens their gifts. I am amazed at how she treats my grandpa. She dishes his food, draws his bath, and helps him with his garage. My grandpa teases Ben that I need to be trained because I don't do all that for him. Haha. She likes to see everyone happy around her.

3- She is so much fun to be around. She keeps me laughing and I mean hysterically. Hahaha, I am laughing just thinking about her. Only she would understand this but I crack up every time someone says, “I need a nap.” I will never forget watching her knock Jennifer off the corner of the couch, hahaha, or wrestling at the girl’s night. I am always teasing her about “embracing her age”, letting her hair go grey, etc. etc. She thinks I am nuts. We have the same eye color, but she calls it hazel and I call it grey. Hmm… still don’t know who is right on that one. Watching her laugh just makes me laugh. She is so funny.

4- She gives great advice. I have to go to her for everything. It’s a little pathetic on my part but I don’t know what I would do without her. Honestly I think I would jump off a cliff if she really thought I should. Haha. I always call her whining or crying about something and she is one person that just gets to me. She doesn’t always tell me what I want to hear and I love that. She can make me feel so much better. It’s that special grandma magic I guess.

5- She is a peacemaker. My family gets so uptight sometimes. Haha. That Park temper is a real thing! We all love each other but someone always has to be offended or frustrated or griping about something. Drama, drama. I guess that’s what you get when 50 people get together. Anyway- my grandma has this way of cooling everyone's nerves. She can fix almost any fight, even if it comes to sitting on the porch and holding hands. :) She teases my grandpa as he goes to city council, "play nice with the kids, Clint."

There are several other memories and traits I could talk about, but I would rather not share those with the world. Suffice it to say that my grandma is the greatest woman I know and if anyone deserves a break, it is certainly she. Please pray for her to have the strength to carry this burden. I love you grandma!

I'm back!

I'm back and happy as ever to have internet again! I was feeling so detached from life that I ordered the newspaper just so I could see who won the election, no just kidding. I am not that lost. But I did order the newspaper for the coupons. :) Anyway- we are now completely moved and out of our old place, I have never cleaned so much in my life, I better get that whole deposit! We love the new place. I am finally posting a pic. I am sure I will post more later, for now this will have to do.

We had an awesome Halloween. Andrew was an elephant and Livy was a ladybug. They both looked so adorable in their costumes. Andrew loved getting candy but was pretty freaked out by all the people in scary masks. He held onto the back of my leg for a good part of the trunk or treat, it was amazing. Sometimes I wish more people would wear masks so he would run away from them instead of me. Haha. After the trunk or treat, we went out to dinner at Cafe Sabor. Yum!

The same weekend as Halloween, Ben got to bless Olivia. It was really exciting and a little nerve-racking for him, but he did a great job and gave her a wonderful blessing. Olivia wore the dress I was blessed in and she looked like a little angel. She is such a beautiful baby.

Well that is a little bit of our life in a nutshell. Hopefully my next few posts won’t be so crazy. See ya later!