Happy Thanksgiving!

 We started out the week with the news of two baptisms, one in El Salvador and one in Colorado!  Our son Josh is in white on the left, and our nephew Derek is in white on the right.  What happy news!  I'm sure this makes Grandma and Grandp H just want to burst their buttons!

Josh also told us of a wonderful experience he had with a familia Reyes.  They were preparing for baptism, and it had to be delayed because of a small worthiness issue.  The husband really had a hard time with it, but it turns out that during the week, his son decided to get baptized with them, which might not have happened had it all gone through at the beginning.  Josh truly felt that this was a miracle!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, punctuated by having Joseph home with his friend Jacob from BYU-I, and special live ordinances at the Temple.

Jacob was in the Blue Cast in Nauvoo this summer, and Joseph was in Yellow Cast, so they didn't know each other really well, but at BYU-I, they are in the PMP (pre-missionary program) and have gotten to be fast friends.  They talk about Nauvoo all the time, and the great memories they have from there.

We picked them up Wednesday morning, and everyone was determined that Jacob was going to have an "Idaho Experience", and he was a willing participant!  The first thing they did was go horseback riding on Wednesday evening, and he also milked the cow that night with Joseph.  They played Telestrations that night, and Mary said it was one of the funniest times she's ever had playing it.

On Thanksgiving day, I began cooking early.  I was in charge of the mashed potatoes and gravy, fruit salad, relish trays, pumpkin pie and cheescake.  They all turned out really well!  We went over to our neighbors at around 2 pm.

Norm and Sharon had set a beautiful Thanksgiving table:

Mary, Jesse, Tori, Jacob

Joseph, Logan, Peter, Zoe

Bruce, Lorena, Ann, Shailor

Libby, Emilee, Sharon, Norm

Thanksgiving Table!

During the dinner, we went around the table and expressed something for which we were grateful.  Mine was that I was thankful that Joshua is serving a mission.

I just love this video!  It shows the happiness of the day!

The next day, Friday, Bruce & I went to the Temple for Joseph to complete one of the sacred ordinances that takes place there in preparation for his mission.  It was a wonderful experience to be there with him.  Norm & Sharon, Rachelle & Greg, and Elysia were there with us also.  We sat in the Celestial Room for a long time, and Joseph kept saying, "This is a lot to process.  I have a lot to think about."  And he was so happy and grinning from ear to ear.

After the session, Jesse and the other kids came with a picnic lunch that we ate on the lawn of the chapel next to the Temple.  We had a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers, so it was yummy.  Then we went over to Deseret Book for a couple of hours.  We spent a pretty dime on Christmas presents there!  After that, we went back to the Temple and attended the sealing of Tori to her parents, Norm and Sharon.  Emalie and Logan were able to be in the sealing room also, and it was a beautiful sealing!  And THEN, on top of that, I got to attend the sealing of Jason and His wife Anna.  Jason is the son of our friends Dan & Gale F.  That was also a very touching and wonderful sealing.  So in all, I got to attend THREE live ordinances in the Temple on Friday.  My thought as I walked out of the Temple was, "God is good."  After seeing the joy and the happiness that comes from these sacred ordinances, I felt of God's goodness and mercy.  Everything He does is directed toward blessing our lives.  He is good!

Saturday, I got the chance to give two Foot Zones to some friends from our town.  It was so fun to visit with them and work with this therapeutic modality.  In the afternoon, we put up the Christmas Tree!

We actually set the tree up, put on the lights and the beads all in one day.  The kids say it's never happened before.  Ha ha  Now we still have to get the ornaments up!

An afternoon horseback ride followed.

Joseph, Jesse, Jacob and Mary

We turned Jacob into a real cowboy - with chaps even!

That night, we went and saw "the lights".

Hanging out in the Igloo

On Sunday, right before Joseph left, we had the annual Measuring of the Heights!

Libby tries to sneak in with Jesse's high heels on!

Peter won the contest for growing the most - over 2".  Libby and Mary followed closely behind.

We even added Jacob to the board!

I have so much fun writing these blogs and recording the history of our family.  The Lord has blessed our family in so many ways.  I am so grateful for his tender mercies, not the least of which has been this wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.