Thanksgiving

19 adults...34 children...lots of babies...all under one roof! It's a wild ride! There's definitely never a dull moment. The Babe and I loved on all the babies and then we passed them back to their mommies and were grateful we didn't have a baby. It's a weird experience. It took a lot of therapy for me to even be able to hold a baby, but it was worth every penny. I'm grateful every day, that I did that. My heart and soul has experienced a lot of healing. Our family is really getting too big to all stay at my Mom and Dad's house anymore. We really need to start having a one-day party at the church, but no one wants to admit it. The Babe and I stayed with Uncle Craig and Aunt Marylou. They are so kind to let us stay! It was nice to have a little space and some quiet, and the kids loved getting in a few rounds of pool. 

We had a pickleball tournament at the church. It was fun. I had to leave early to get lunch started so I don't know who one. Leighna and I were a team and we lost our game and ended up in the losers bracket. Sad. 

This Thanksgiving is the first time in a year and 9 months that my family has been all together. It's been a painful heart wrenching 21 months. I'm so incredibly grateful we were able to be together this year.

THANKFUL FOR JESUS

and FAMILY 

and so so much more!

BELIEVE

Coach Matua gave the boys a pep-talk about believing after their game on Thursday. He told them, you are good enough to beat these teams, but you have to BELIEVE it! I believe in you. Your other coaches believe in you. But no one can make you believe, you have to do that for yourself!! It was a really good pep-talk...even for me...and even in things not related to football. 

On the way home that night I told Porter he needed to visualize winning and to write it down where he could see it. He said he visualized it in his mind, and on Friday they played well and they won the game! 

Again we talked about visualizing the win and believing it could happen for the championship. That night after Port went to bed I made a bunch of signs and hung them up all over the house where he could see them often. I made his say it out loud, with enthusiasm every time he walked past one! On Saturday those boys played the best football game of the entire season! It was so fun to watch! They played hard, they played smart, they played like champions! It was so COOL! Believing really can make all the difference! 

It is pretty amazing to win a trophy that's taller than you are! Porter was so excited about that! That trophy is 6'2" and one massive trophy! 

It was a very fun moment to watch them all gather on the stage. They were all so ecstatic!! Hurricane is a 4A school, they played the B teams of 2 6A schools, Herriman and Bingham. 

I am grateful for Porter's coaches. They dedicate a lot of time and energy into these boys. This is the last year with these coaches. Coach Matua, Coach Allred, Coach Hurst, and I am so lame and can't remember the other Coach's name I will have to have Porter update me in the morning. Next year Porter will be a freshman and will be playing High School ball. I'm a little worried about that, but he is also, mostly special teams, so that lets me breathe a little easier. It's been a great season, but I can't say I'm not glad to be done for a little while. My house needs some serious Saturday attention! 

When we got home Saturday night, Porter went and found my signs, crossed off "going to win" and replaced it with WON! 

WE WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP!! 

So so proud of that young man!! 

(And I wouldn't be any less proud if he hadn't won...just for the record.)

Another Day

Way too many nights have looked like this for me lately. Sarah and I started potatoes at 9:20 this morning. The Babe wrapped up the last 12 minutes for me at 8:30 pm, because I had a stake meeting to get to. I have been blessed with an abundance of food this fall, and I'm really grateful, but I'm not sure how much more I can take. I still have about 75 lbs of potatoes to take care of before they go bad. It was a hard day to can because it was so windy and cold. I tried to do it on my back porch, like usual, but the wind kept blowing out my fire and it cooled the pots too fast for them to boil. I finally moved it to my front porch, which is so welcoming! You know nothing says welcome like, hey don't bump that or it might explode! This is one day that I really wish I had a gas stove, so I didn't have to worry about the weather. Needless to say, it made for a very long day, but hey, we got it done. 

The elementary kids get out of school all week at noon because of parent teacher conferences. Will's teacher said she asked him if he can sleep at night, or does he just do math problems all night in his head. He said he just thinks about math! He is doing really well in math and he's on grade level for reading! Hooray! He might be my only kid that has been on grade level in 1st grade. That's hopeful! 

Ty's teacher helped him set some reading goals. He's also doing well. Just about there with his reading. We didn't talk about math except that he's getting a 3 which is proficient. She said Ty is beloved by his classmates. Which I know is true because everywhere I go with Ty is like being with a superstar! 

Porter has his tournament coming up Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week, then this football season will be done. The boys have sure had a good time playing. I'm grateful for their coaches and for the time they have dedicated. 

Adelah and Leighna have been working on essays for school most of the day. They had a Thanksgiving dinner for young women's tonight. They were supposed to take their favorite Thanksgiving food, they chose ham rolls. So, lucky for me, we had ham rolls! And I didn't even have to wait for the big day! It was a nice appetizer! 

My friend found out I had been canning all day, so she made us dinner. Homemade chicken noodle soup. It was delicious, and so kind of her to do that for me. I am blessed!!

Weekend Highlights

Will decided that he's too cool for his fireman jacket anymore. I can never get him to wear it anymore, which makes me sad, because it is so stinking cute! I asked him the other day, why he wouldn't wear it anymore. He responded, "Mooom, I have to get the chicks!" I told him he was too young for chicks, he said, "well, I already got one!" I talked him into taking it up north to give it to his cousin, Colton. He said that was fine, but when he got there, he decided he wanted to keep it "for the memories" (his words). I told him if he just wanted it for memories, we could take a picture for him to remember. So, this is it...his memory picture. Colton was really excited to have a new fireman jacket. A little part of me wanted to keep it for the memories too. It was harder than I want to admit, because it means my baby is growing up. He's not so little anymore.

We rode Mae this weekend at Grandpa and Grandma Baker's. It's been a hot minute since we have been riding. Grandpa gave all of his mules away when he was getting ready to go on his mission with Grandma. That didn't work out, so they are serving their mission at the Bishop's storehouse in Nephi. Anyway, they have Mae back and we enjoyed riding her for a while this weekend. 

We went up north this weekend because Braiden, Jon and Ruth's oldest son, is getting ready to go on his mission. He went through the Provo Town Center Temple on Friday. It is a really neat temple. This was my first time going to that temple. I'm so excited for Braiden. He has been struggling with the idea of going, I have been fasting and praying and putting his name in the temple. He starts the home MTC on December 5th and then flies to the Mexico MTC on the 22nd. He is serving in Dallas Texas, Spanish speaking. His sister Taya has 5 1/2 months left in Africa. I'm next to have my kids start leaving home on both sides of our family. I'm not looking forward to it. I don't know how to let them go, but I want them to grow and progress and spread their wings. I never dreamed it would be this hard. 

Today was the primary program in our ward. Ty and Will are my only two left in primary. They both did really well. Ty had a big, long part, and at the end of his, I had tears. Will did good too. He was cute when they sang their songs, the little kids in front of him were moving around quite a bit, so every time they would move in front of him, he would move too, so he could see me the whole time. He just kept moving back and forth and didn't take his eyes off of me! It was really cute! I had to teach RS today. You know that's not my favorite. I fret about it so much. I drive The Babe crazy when I have to teach. It went well, I think and I'm really super glad it's done. I teach in again in February, it just comes around so stinkin' fast! 

We had our new friends, Vienna and Brad over for dinner after church. We had a good visit and they got to meet The Babe for the first time. We just clicked so well with these two, it's fun to get to know them. I'm glad they came to dinner, sometimes it makes me nervous to invite new people to my home. I'm not the cleanest person ever. Actually, my children aren't the cleanest people ever! And I just can't keep up with them all the time. I finished the Thanksgiving dinner orders for RS also, which is a huge relief. Today was the last day to get those turned in. Nothing like procrastinating. I wish I wasn't so bad at that; it would be a lot less stressful if I didn't wait for the last minute. In my defense, I've been working on it all week, it just takes a lot of time, and it's really hard to ask people. It's done now and so is my lesson, so I plan on sleeping like a baby tonight! Can't wait to crawl into my bed and throw on my weighted blanket! Love you lots! Good night!

 

Our Secret Project

 

Mom and Dad took a trip to Georgia the past 2 weeks to visit Nick and Silvia and their girls. I've been planning for weeks to finally paint their house while they were gone. Every time we have been over there, I was analyzing whether or not I could pull it off. The Babe called in reinforcements but it looked like we were just going to have to wait because things weren't lining up schedule wise. A couple days later, adjustments were made, and we decided we were going to go for it. Ben and Marie and their kiddos all made arrangements to be there, and we busted a move and painted the house in 2 days!! It was amazing how much we got done in such a short time. 

The kids helped us out so much! It's nice to have older kids that can be helpful.

They worked hard...and did their fair share of messing around. But I'm proud of how much they helped us! 

I feel bad that I didn't take any picture with the Burdette's, we just got too busy, and I forgot to document the progress! We appreciate all of their help!

Once we got it all done, it was hard to wait for Mom and Dad to get home. We were so excited for them to see it. The Babe and Addie and I hid in their house before they got there so we could record their reaction. It was really too cute to hear their surprise! I'm glad they had a great time in Georgia! It's nice to have them home!

Bottled Chicken

The Babe miraculously found two boxes of chicken on sale for $1.99/lb. Last time I bought chicken at the grocery store, it was $5.29/lb, which is atrocious. We are in a huge inflation bubble, right now. Everything is super super expensive. We bought the chicken and spent the day bottling together. It was so nice of him to help me. He did all the gross nasty part of touching the raw chicken and cutting off all the fat. He's so nice to me! We bottle 68 bottles of chicken! I have never done that many in one day before! 

 

AHHHH LEGUMES!

 The conversation at dinner tonight...

Porter: Dad, I think this calls for some backstrap!

Dad: Backstrap does sound good. 

Adelah: What is backstrap?

Mom: They're talking about deer meat.

Adelah: AHHHH, LEGUMES! (said with a dramatic flourish)

Leighna: Legumes? Those are beans!

Mom: Do you mean venison?

Adelah: Oh ya! VENISON!

Today was a tough Relief Society day. It made me question all of the Lord's choices. Why would He choose me for this position?? I don't know what I'm doing. Honestly, I don't. I turned to the handbook for some advice, and it just made me realize all of the things I'm not doing. I feel like a big fat failure. I've cried about it a lot. I just hope and pray that my efforts will help one person come closer to the Savior in some way.  

I worked on a project for about an hour but didn't get very far. I tried to clean my house a little bit but gave up and climbed in my bed to take a nap. I didn't really fall asleep before I had to get up and take care of the kiddos. It's been a bit of a rough day all around. The Babe came home from work and made dinner for us, and I'm extremely grateful. I just didn't have it in me today. 

The Pot Shop

 What a beautiful Sabbath! The weather was beautiful today. It was a much-needed day of rest for me. I slept well and I even took a nap this afternoon, so I feel very well rested! It feels so good. Today in Sunday School one of the sisters told me she saw my pressure cooker outside in my back yard, so she asked what I had been canning. I told her I had been doing apples all week, she was surprised that I pressure cook those. I told her that I don't, but my water bath canner has a hole in it, so I was just using my pressure cooker like a water bather. The sister that I minister too, overheard our conversation, so we had a little chat about food storage and how important it is after Sunday School. 

Sister Bonniksen (sister I minister too) and I had had a conversation a while ago about how her hubby can save any burned pot! He's so good at it, she told me. About a month ago I burned some rice in one of my favorite pots. It was really bad. I haven't burned anything that bad for quite some time, but I left it on and forgot to turn it to low, so you can imagine. I was a little afraid to ask but called them up anyway and asked if they could save my pot. They gladly came and got it, and he scrubbed it out for me. Honestly, I don't know what he did, but it looks better than it did before I burned anything. He brought it back and, I kid you not, 2 days later, I was making the apple butter and I burned it to the bottom of my pan!! Twice in less than a month. Again, I was hesitant to ask, especially since I just got my other one back, but I called up the Bonniksen's and they came to my rescue! Different pot...same magic!!! 

Tonight, I made some scones to try that blissful apple butter on and I decided to take some over to thank them for saving my pots. We were laughing about my bad cooking, as of late, and saving my pots. Sister Bonniksen said to me, who was I talking to today that said they have a hole in their pot? I laughed and said, it was me! Brother Bonniksen told me he can't fix holes, only burns. Sister Bonniksen grabbed me by the hand and took me to her garage, where she pulled a water bath canner off her shelf and told me to take it and use it. She hasn't canned anything for over 5 years, and it might as well get used! I assured her it would get used at my house!!! I have gone through 3 that have sprung leaks and are no longer usable. Brother Bonniksen was joking about putting a sign on his front lawn that says The Pot Shop, but he figured he would get the wrong kind of customers! I laughed and told them they could be my pot masters! Leighna told me I should stop saying that so loud as I walked out their front door and yelled back at them, Thank you, pot masters!! People are going to get the wrong idea! It was very, very kind of them to save my pots and give me a new one! I'm very blessed and I'm very grateful!

Football Blues

 

{I tried to get a picture of their huddle, but I was too late}

Today Porter's team played in the semi-finals. They played hard, but they lost. They really stepped up the second half, but they just couldn't pull ahead. It was heartbreaking for these boys. Many tears were shed. It's hard to lose, but it is especially hard to lose when the Refs don't call the game fair. This was their last game of the season. However, they get to play in a 3-day tournament in Mesquite. We're not sure if they play only one game a day or it there are more, but they get at least 3 more games. These boys have been playing for Coach Matua for the past 3 years. Some of them 4 years. This is their last season with him because he is the high school's athletic director, so he's not allowed to coach the high school teams. He's been a great coach and Porter has learned a lot from him, on and off the field. I'm very grateful for all of his coaches. They sacrifice a lot of time away from their families and they have become great mentors to my boy. 

The Babe got home from the Bison Roundup late Thursday night, so yesterday we went on a date to the Rooster Run. We have tried it before, but didn't love it, but yesterday it was pretty dang good! The waitress was really busy, and she forgot to bring us our drinks, so she gave us each a free slice of pie! It was nice of her. And it was really good pie! It's been a busy week. I'm worn out, so I'm hitting the sack early tonight! It's daylight savings time tomorrow, so I even get an extra hour of sleep! Super excited about that. 

A is for Apples...D is for DONE

On Friday I received 5 large boxes of apples sent to me by my mom and dad. They bought a large bin of apples and told us we could have as much as we wanted. I stupidly said I wanted 5 boxes if that wasn't more than my share. Keep in mind, most of the fruit I have bought this year has been in a pretty small box. I was expecting smaller boxes of apples. Nope. I think these were full bushel boxes of apples!! Needless to say, I bit off way more than I could chew. Sarah has been helping me all week, and tonight we finally finished! We made apple sauce, apple butter, dried apples (I filled my dryer 4 times, maybe 5 I can't remember), and apple juice. I was going to do apple pie filling, but I burned my best pan and at that point, applesauce was just easier, so we finished them off in applesauce. After dinner tonight, I said I have to finish these apples, and I burst into tears. It has just been too much this time. It's basically all I've done for 4 days. 

I had to pick everything left in my garden today because it's supposed to freeze tomorrow. I picked a box full of tomatoes and peppers. I called my mom to ask her what to do about the pear tomatoes. I don't know if they will ripen off the vine like tomatoes will, so I wasn't sure if I should pick the green ones. I literally have hundreds of pear tomatoes. My mom, bless her heart, told me to just let them go. She could tell I had had it. I was so grateful for the permission to just let them go. I feel ungrateful for not using all the produce I was blessed with, but I just can't. I just can't. I'm not sure what my problem is this year, I can't seem to pull myself together. I love bottling and filling my jars, but this year has been hard. So, I'm letting the tomatoes go to waste, and it makes me sad. But it's okay. For my sanity, I have to. 

But look! I grew two tiny potatoes! My first potatoes! I hope we don't have to ever live off of our garden because we will starve...or only eat pear tomatoes, which get old after a while! Kind of sad that the one thing I'm good at growing, I'm letting go to waste. I have used and eaten a lot of them this summer though, so not a total waste! 

Adelah got accepted into Snow College today!!! She is SO excited! I am SO excited for her!!! I've realized this week how much I really haven't taught her, so we have been working on some things like how to cook for one person. Some cheap and easy things to cook for lunch and dinner. Better money management, those kinds of things. She has been coming home for her free hour, and I have really enjoyed her company. This year is going by way too fast! 

Last Day with Puppy

Our last day with Chewy

We have all become too attached!

We're going to miss him.

It was harder than I expected.

Leighna didn't want to be here. She said it would be so much harder if she was home. 

I'm not going to lie. It was rough. I cried a little as they walked away. But I know his new family is SO happy to have him!! He is going to a good home! 

James Hansgen left for the MTC today. He is going to Mesa, Arizona. He came down to tell me goodbye. I'm feel bad The Babe didn't get to say goodbye. James has been working for him out at Gunlock and they've become pretty close.

I worked on apples almost all day long! I got a couple batches of apple butter done and some applesauce, and another load in the fruit dryer. I still have 2 boxes to go. Sarah helped me all day. That was so nice of her. I couldn't have done it without her. Still, we have a lot to do. She had to leave for a while and give Hartley a nap, so I finished up what we had going, but that was all the apples I could handle for one day. Earlier in the afternoon, I had Porter clean out the rabbit pen. He got all the gunky mess out. Then Sarah, Ty, and I put down some wood shavings and got them all set up for winter. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, and the temperatures are dropping. It will be cold for the rest of the week. It's supposed to freeze Thursday night, so I hope I get a chance to go pick whatever is left in my garden. I have a billion pear tomatoes still out there. I can also pick all my green tomatoes and they will ripen on the counter. 

Two more boxes of apples, all of my tomatoes that are in the freezer, and a 50 lb bag of potatoes. Hopefully I can get this canning done before it all spoils. 

Oh, and don't forget the pumpkins! I haven't even let my kids carve them yet because I want to season and dry the seeds, but I haven't had a single second to do that yet. Maybe we will end up with carved pumpkins for Thanksgiving!