This one's for Jeff

I love Thanksgiving. My kids have a five day weekend and we get to be with family. We usually put up the Christmas tree sometime that weekend and eat leftover turkey and pie. Speaking of food...Jeff is more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Dessert for him would be another helping of turkey. He sent me this picture so now I know for sure what his thoughts are on pumpking pie!

Thanksgiving...

I love(d) to listen to President Hinckley. I found this video and thought it might be great to share with you for Thanksgiving. It's a beautiful story. Happy Grateful Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for. For starters:

1. my family and friends. I love you all so much.
2. my ward family and the blessings of being in Church.
3. my home and job. Jeff's job, too.
4. insurance. uh, yea, insurance. (ER visit last week was $5200!)
5. scholarship money...Meg can go to college on her scholarship and today Maddie just got a scholarship to Weber!
6. humor. Someone is always telling a joke or in some way making us laugh. Meg has even made us laugh out loud a time or two. Good job, Meg! Hunter keeps us smiling while he recites old Bill Cosby stuff. "Hey, hey, hey!"

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. It is here and I am so excited!

Tantrum, Anyone?

Maddie and I were at the Walmart. She said to me, "If I am a good girl, will you buy me something? If you don't then I will have a tanrtum. I learned about those in psycology today."

"That would be kinda fun to see," I said.

We walked on and I asked her, "Are you going to do it in the nylons aisle or the deodorant aisle? I just want to know so I can get my camera ready."

"It will be a spur-of-the-moment kinda thing," she said.

Well, I forgot and bought her a little pair of booties. DANG IT!

My camera will be ready the next time we go out, though, I promise. You-Tube, here we come!

Vote Today...

and don't forget to take your ID.

Sunday Sweet

Happy Halloween!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

My sister, Crystl

This is my sister Crystl (as Medusa last Halloween) and her son, William. She just turned --! (put the numbers in, if you want to, Crystl!) Happy Birthday!

I was almost twelve when she was born and I remember that day. I had to go to school but I wanted to go up to the hospital. Oh, well. I told everyone that my mom was having my baby sister that day. It was before the time we could find out what the baby would be so everyone thought I meant that mom had had my sister already. No, I said, she hasn't had her yet. Then how do you know it's a girl? they wanted to know.

I am the oldest of 7 kids. Then a brother, then a sister, then brother, then sister, then brother...so, of course, the next one HAD to be a girl! Or, HE would be in trouble when he got here!

I got home from school and Dad confirmed I had a new sister. She was so little and pretty. And HOLY COW! Hair as red and orange as the sunset! None of us had her hair color. It's beautiful!

Crystl was my little baby and I loved to share her with the Young Women in our ward. My little brother Alan was also a favorite playmate for my friends, too. I took my little friends all over the neighborhood and played house with Tami and Judy and Cindy.

When she was little, she loved to wear her cute little swim suit. She slept in them, played in them and went visiting in them. She also loved to wear dresses. Twirling her skirts was one of her favorite things to do!

One day she snuck away from me and tried to go see the kittens in the yard. I ran after her to catch her before she got to the electric fence. I got to her just as she grabbed the wire and started screaming. I grabbed her around the waist and couldn't let go. I must have pulled on her as I grabbed her because we flew back into the dirt and grass and lay there shaking and crying. Sheesh, girl!

We were swimming at the creek and she wanted to get to the other side to play with the other kids. I carried her on my back and fell into a hole. We both went under the water and Crystl panicked. She climbed to the top of my head and held on for dear life. I hit the bottom of the creek and pushed up, trying to pull her off of me so I could push her to the edge of the water. She was holding on so tight I couldn't move her. We went down again and I thought we were going to drown. I know someone was there to help me. I was able to yank her off me and push up to the surface at an angle. That push got us to the other side to play.

Crystl loved to do whatever everyone was doing. She was also very good at entertaining herself for hours. Mom would take her to college when she had no one to watch her. Crys was very quiet and would sit for the whole class without making a sound.

Crystl loves, among many other things, to sing, knit (did you see the witch socks she made me?), have kids, make really amazing scrapbooks (she even made some for her cats!), go camping and spend time with her family.

She is crazy about musicals and will come see all the nieces and nephews perform even if they only have a tiny part! What a nice Aunt.

I love Crystl and am so glad she was not a boy! Happy Birthday! Love you.

This one is for Ky...

If the Shoes Fit...

My sister Crystl made these awesome witch socks. I LOVE THEM! Thank you, Crys.

Our city is haunted!

Look who I saw on the street! Happy Halloween!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Today I was released from my Young Women's calling as the 1st Counselor and I am now the Primary President.

I had been in Primary for about 8 years. Mostly as a teacher for our new and old ward but was the 1st Counselor for almost 2 years. Our President's husband was put into the Bishopric a year ago and I thought they might change the Primary around. The Bishop asked to see me and Jeff so I just knew I was going to be in the new Presidency. Ok, I said to myself. I can handle that. When I was asked to go to YW as their 1st Counselor, I thought it was a mistake. I think you mean Primary, I said. No, he said. You are needed in YW. Ok, I said. I can handle that.

It took me a month or so to get into the swing of YW. I hadn't been in there for almost 10 years. I loved it. I really enjoyed getting to know the other leaders. All of them are so different but they all love the girls, love life and love the gospel. I learned so much from all of them and had a wonderful experience with them. Especially girls camp and the slumber party with the leaders.

The YW were great, too. We have an awesome bunch of YW. They are all very nice girls. They have strong testimonies, they love to do service projects and we all liked to sit around and just visit.

I am especially thankful that I got to be with Maddie at her last girl's camp and see her on Trek. I am so proud of my kids and to see one of them in action as a leader makes me appreciate them even more. Maddie takes charge when she is supposed to and lets others be the leader when they are needed. I am thankful that I was able to share some special experiences with my girl.

So now I am back in Primary and there are 80+ kids in there. I think it will take me a few days to get back into Primary mode. I have some great women to work with who have a love for Primary and the children. I hope I learn LOTS from them!

Autumn is a time to change and it has always been my favorite season. I guess it is well that my big changes have happened in the fall.

22 years ago today...

Jeff and I were married! We are still sane, still love each other, haven't killed our children, still have no money, and still have a sense of humour! Here's to eternity! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!

Funny Video

My Buddy is 12!

I started calling my son "Buddy" just after he was born. He has lived up to that nickname and has been a great friend to kids of all ages. He loves his cousins and has many close friends. He plays fair and includes the tiniest cousins in activities. (most of the time!)

When I found out I was going to have a boy, I cried. I was really scared because I had two girls and didn't know anything about boys. Heavenly Father knew I needed a good boy to take care of so I got Hunter! My "scaredy-catness" was for nothing! Hunter has been a wonderful boy. He helps when I ask (with hardly any fuss) and is thankful for what he gets in return.

He has a wonderful sense of humor and loves to tell jokes, do standup comedy, and play tricks on any unsuspecting sister who happens to come by!

He just finished his 11-year old scouting with a great leader; our neighbor across the street. Kim is a good neighbor and friend. He loves scouts and loves the boys. He is also a Democrat. We are Conservatives as are most of our other neighbors. I told Hunter he needed to think of a nice gift to give Kim to thank him for all his time and hard work in scouts. Hunter said that was a good idea. A few minutes later he said, "I know what I can give Brother Wixon. A mug that says Proud Republican!"
I told Kim and he laughed. He said he would love to get that from Hunter!

Hunter is also an entrepreneur. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, Hunter made a "Job Break Co." to have the sisters hire him to do their chores. (He made a few bucks from that.)

Next was the exterminator company. Meg hates spiders and will squeal like a girl when she sees one. Depending on the pitch of the scream he will say "That is worth $1." "I'll get that one for you for $5.00!" or "Good grief, that's only worth 50 cents. Get it yourself"! (I think he is opening his own bank with that money!)

I love my son. He is excited to be a Deacon and pass the sacrament. He is a great little leader and has many good qualities to share with us. I am glad he is in our family and I am glad I had a boy!

Hunter and his cousin/friend, Tyler

Hunter and his cousins/friends, Anna and William

Hunter and his cousin/friends, Koby and Krystal

OH, THE DRAMA!

Meg opens "Beauty and the Beast" at the Terrace Playhouse this Friday. I hope you can all come see it.

Maddie starts rehearsal this week for "The Wedding Singer". Performances are in March.

Hunter turns 12 on Saturday. HOLY COW! A new post just for him is coming up. (He's not so much a part of the DRAMA at our house but he does add lots of humor to our lives!)

Noodles, anyone?

Today I found a recipe that was good and quick to make. (my kind of recipe) I have never been fond of ramen noodles but this I liked!

Ham and Noodle Toss

2 c broccoli florets
2 c water
1 c cubed ham (I used lunch meat)
1 T soy sauce
2 pkg ramen noodles-any flavor
2 packets seasoning from the noodle packages

Put the ingredients in a large saucepan, breaking the noodles into little pieces. Simmer for about 7 minutes or until the noodles are soft. Stir frequently.

(Green onion might be yummy on top but I didn't have any)

Do you have a family favorite recipe that is quick and easy to prepare? Post it here and a picture, if you can.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

Ok, so on my last post I mentioned that I don't like school to start, which is mostly true. (I really like buying new school supplies and right now I have enough pencils to last through the next century...too bad no one writes letters anymore...) This commercial made me chuckle:

School has started and summer is over!

I love and hate this time of year. I love fall and it is just around the corner. I hate that we don't have more days to play. I love that the house is quiet when I come in. I hate that we have to get up so early. I love that we have a daily schedule. I hate that we have to go to bed so early!

Jeff started his job at the Jr High. I miss him terribly! I know. Wierd, huh? But we have been on our own schedule now for almost 8 years. We worked together as much as we could. We didn't get as much done sometimes because I was driving and he was giving me bad directions! (just kidding, Jeff!)

We talked about everything: church, politics, our neighborhood, our church callings, our kids, our extended families, our job, friends, money, the future, the past, our kids, our house, friends, money...

Last week I was by myself and actually was looking forward to that. But I was so blurry brained that I couldn't keep anything straight. (I even forgot TWICE to give papers to the secretary when I met her. Duh.)

I even went to the Jr High on Wednesday and ate SCHOOL LUNCH so I could visit with Jeff for an hour! Good grief.

This week will be better, right? Right.

I was reminded of the first day of my sophomore year when I asked Lori how Taiters was doing without Linx to play with. She said Tait was having a ball and kind of liked having the house to herself! She and Lincoln are only a year apart and have been the best of friends. I remembered when Alan started kindergarten way back when...

Alan and Crystl are only a year apart, too. They were also best friends. The bus pulled up and we all got on except Crystl and Alan. Mom was trying to get Alan off the porch to the bus but he wasn't budging. He had his arms wrapped around the porch poles and was hanging on for dear life. Crystl was wrapped around him and Mom was crying. (She always hated us to go off to school and even tried to home school us once so she could be with us all day.)

Anyway, I got back off the bus to help Mom. Alan started crying and then Crystl started. Then I started. I finally pulled Alan off and Mom took Crystl. Alan and I went to the bus and he got to sit in the back with me and all the big kids.

Poor babies. Poor Mom and poor me. We (Mom and I) still get teary-eyed when we talk about that day.

Anyway, a new season has started and it will be memorable. Meg is in her second year of college, Maddie is a Sr and in her last year of High School, and Hunter is in his last year at Elementary School!

Looking forward to fall weather...

Yup!

"Hillary Clinton says it takes a village to raise a child. I've seen the village and I don't want it raising my child." - unknown