Thanksgiving, Crazies, and Angels

Yesterday was great. The turkey was fabulous! I've never had such a moist turkey before. I'm telling you, brining is the way to go. You can brine and then cook your turkey however you normally do, but just add this step...you won't regret it. After an awesome dinner we all just played games. We had our Wii there too, so some of us played that too. Emma had a blast seeing everyone, helping with our games, and wathing movies. She also got to drink some rootbeer (normally she doesn't get soda), and snuck a few too many M&Ms. She wanted to stay overnight and cried a little when we told her we needed to go home. She just loves being around everyone so much.

I was wondering if any of you go out shopping on black friday? And I don't mean later in the day, I mean 4am or 5am. If you go, why? What is the pull? What is so great about getting no sleep, standing in long lines, dealing with huge angry crowds, and fighting for merchandise? I saw all the adds yesterday, and there wasn't anything that looked so fabulous that I had to go out and get it. I am highly in favor of not having these door buster sales at all. Of course that would never happen, but when you hear about people being trampled to death and women being trampled and then having a miscarriage, you gotta be wondering why anyone would want to encourage such behavior. And I know the stores don't want that happening, but since people are idiots and can't be stopped, the stores should stop offering what entices these people to crawl out of their holes. Dream on, I know.

On another note, have any of you seen the movie Errand of Angels? I have been told countless times that I should see it if for no other reason than it is about a red head who serves a mission in Austria (sound familiar?). Well, I don't generally like any of these churchy type movies (you know, Singles Ward, God's Army, etc.). I think they are stupid, and while sometimes slightly humorous, they are such a big waste of time. Errand of Angels came on TV yesterday, so I recorded it. That way I could watch it if I wanted and not have to waste any money doing it. I watched it tonight, and my ears are still hurting. I've never heard such bad German in my life!!! Even after her character was supposed to have better German I could hardly understand a word she said. Her accent was absolutely horrible, and her grammar wasn't much better. Some of the others had bad accents too. I won't say anything about my own German accent (you'll have to ask my companions, fellow missionaries, or husband for that report), but as for the sisters and elders I served with, their german was all much much better than represented in this movie. It was very cheesy like all movies of this type. The scenery was wonderful, and it was fun seeing many of the places I have been, but I should have watched it with the mute button on...I would have saved myself a huge headache. So if you speak German, this is my warning to you...beware the bad accents and grammar if you decide to watch this film. And for those of you who don't speak german, ignore the language, and relish in the beauty of the country. Austria is absolutely the most breathtaking place on earth.

More Gratitude Give Me

For as long as I can remember I have been asking Heavenly Father to help me see His blessings each day in my life. I think I do this because I tend to be more on the oblivious end of the spectrum. I don't mean to, but far too often, unless I really think about it, I just don't seem to recognize all that I am blessed with. And it is abolutely not because I am not blessed with much. Quite the contrary is true. I am so uber-blessed that I tend to take for granted all that I have and enjoy.

Each year at this time I really start to think about my blessings and what I am thankful for (don't we all?). This isn't the only time I do this, but it seems to be more focused. I think that the Lord has wanted me to sit up and notice my blessings a little more, and show more gratitude for them in a more obvious way. I'm under this impression because I was asked to teach Relief Society last Sunday and then also asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting. In RS the lesson was on President Monson's talk Finding Joy in the Journey from last Conference, a large portion of which is gratitude, and gratitude was also my assigned topic for my talk. So, this last week that's what I studied. And it was a wonderful reminder of how much the Savior has done for me, and indeed all of us. I came up with a little equation (that's not new information), but it's a good reminder of the process we each should always be working on.

Gratitude = Humility = Abitlity to see more blessings = Happiness

When you're grateful and give thanks for what you have and have been blessed with, you become more humble. When you're humble you acknowledge your need for a higher power and recognize His hand in all things, which enables you to more easily recognize your blessings. When you realize just how blessed you are, you can't help but be happy. This process draws you nearer to the Savior, and helps you to become a little more like Him. It's wonderful being so focused on the positive that you don't have the time to see the negative in anything. The negative just kind of goes away.


I am grateful for everything I have been blessed with, especially wonderful friends and family like all of you. Thanks for putting up with all of my wierdness and forgiving me my many faults. This Thanksgiving I'm especially grateful for all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Pilgrim Hat Treats

I saw this idea online and had to make them. There were so cute and easy. I gave some to my nephew and niece since I won't see them on Thanksgiving this year, but I thought I would make some more for the rest of the family too.

Are you excited for tomorrow? I am. This year we're making the pies again (we usually do dessert, either pies, pumpkin cheesecake, or both) and are just keeping it simple and traditional with an apple crumb and a pumpkin pie. Yummy. But we are also in charge of the turkey this year. I am soooooo excited!! We are going to brine the turkey the night before. Yay!

I think Emma is excited too. Yesterday after dance class she asked if we could go eat Thanksgiving. I love that it is now not only a holiday, but something to eat.

Adventures in Dressing

For some reason a few nights ago Emma decided she needed more clothes on. She put her nightgown on and some other items too. Don't ask me where she got the idea to put her underwear on her head. She's just silly like that. She came out of her room and this was the result. I guess the wierd genes she got from me are starting to kick in. Look out!

Ohhh Baby!!

What a game!! That was awesome! The only way that game could have been better is if I'd been there in the stadium. Wooooh! That first drive by the Utes was like poetry on the field. Well done to the Utes. I must give a shout out to my main man Hall for all his help with those interception throws. There were 5 succesful interceptions, and like 5 should-have-been-interceptions that the Utes just couldn't keep their hands on. I guess it just wasn't his game. Go Utes! Undefeated baby! MWC Champions!!!!

We were all at my parents house having a game day party, which of course rocked, and followed it up by playing some of our own games. The kids had fun too! They were running around saying 'go utes' and also had their faces painted for the occasion. Here are a few highlights from the game.

The Poll Explanation

Okay, so it would appear that all my friends are smarty pants'. Almost everyone answered the poll correctly. The rope baricades are indeed called Stanchions. Why did everyone know that? Let me explain the conversation I had with Eric. I don't recall what we were talking about, but I said something about Stanchions (without using their real name), and here is roughly what ensued.

ERIC: You mean Stanchions?

ME: What?

ERIC: Stanchions. That's what those ropes are called.

ME: How do you know that?!

ERIC: How did you not know that?

ME: No one knows that! You're probably the only person who knows that.

So I did the only sensible thing - put a poll on my blog to test my theory. Only problem is that it backfired.

Did you hear that? That was me swallowing my pride. Yup, looks like I was wr..wr...wrong. Sigh. I always thought I had a fairly good vocabulary. At least as good as Eric's - not that he's dumb, far from it, but English is kind of my thing in our marriage. You know how if you think about what you'll each be better at helping you kids through school with? Well, English was one of mine.

I don't think I had ever heard that word before. I probably won't be forgetting it any time soon though. Congratulations on being so smart. I guess I should stick with my general excuse for anything in life that I adopted in high school. I'm illiterate. Yup, think about it. No matter what problem arises or what stupid thing you might have done, this excuse does just that...excuses you from blame or fault. So, I'm illiterate.

So, even though I lost (grumble grumble), and I assure you I'm not bitter (stupid poll), thank you all for participating! If you don't mind telling me, I would love to know just how you all became so smart to include such words like Stanchion in your vocabularies. How did you know that? Please share, so that if I ever decide to try to get smarter I will have a jumping off point.

Thanksgiving Trivia...gobble gobble

Just to help get you in the mood for the holiday, here's a fun activity for you. The answers are at the end, but no cheating!

1. A spooked turkey can run…

A. 50 miles an hour

B. 5 miles an hour

C. 20 miles an hour

D. 60 miles an hour

2. What utensils did the pilgrims eat with at the first thanksgiving?

A. They were proper Englishmen. They had all the basic utensils.

B. Their hands

C. A spoon and knife

D. A fork

E. B and C

F. C and D

3. According to popular legend, where did the male “tom” turkey get its name?

A. The popular Tom and Jerry Show.

B. Benjamin Franklin named it after Thomas Jefferson when he would not allow it to be the national bird.

C. A tom cat. Wild turkeys were just like wild cats back then. They would roam around and get into fights all the time.

4. What foods were served at the first thanksgiving?

A. Deer

B. Codfish

C. Bread

D. Milk

E. Boiled pumpkin

F. Pastries

G. A, B, and E

H. A, C, D, and F

5. What Indian tribe was invited to spend thanksgiving with the pilgrims?

A. Sioux

B. Wampanoag

C. Red Sox

D. Comanche

6. How many degrees can a turkey see with its eyes?

A. 360 degrees

B. 100 degrees

C. 270 degrees

D. 90 degrees

7. What is a baby turkey called?

A. A chick

B. A squab

C. A poult

D. A goblet

8. What was the name of the Indian chief that helped the pilgrims survive the winter?

A. Massasoit

B. Geronimo

C. Washaki

D. Sitting Bull

9. How can a turkey drown when it’s raining?

A. By looking up.

B. By getting its beak stuck in the mud.

C. By hiding it’s head between its legs.

10. What vegetable did the pilgrims have available for thanksgiving but did not use because they thought it was poisonous?

A. Beans

B. Pumpkin

C. Tomatoes

D. Potatoes

E. Cauliflower

11. Who was the first president to pardon a turkey from thanksgiving dinner?

A. Truman

B. Jefferson

C. Clinton

D. Lincoln

12. What percentage of pilgrims who sailed on the mayflower survived to celebrate thanksgiving?

A.50%

B. 100%

C. 20%

D. 75%

13. Do turkeys have heart attacks?

A. Yes

B. No

14. Which gender of turkey says “gobble, gobble”?

A. The female, when she is eating.

B. They both do!

C. The male, but only seasonally and when going to sleep.

15. What does cornucopia mean?

A. Horn of plenty.

B. The goddesses’ blessings.

C. May your table always be full and your friends many.

16. Who was the first astronaut to eat a turkey dinner on the moon?

A. Tom Hanks

B. Neil Armstrong

C. James Lovell, Jr.

17. Who was the first president to make thanksgiving a national holiday?

A. Truman

B. Lincoln

C. Jefferson

D. Roosevelt

18. How high must a cranberry bounce before it is harvested?

A. 12 inches

B. 8 inches

C. 36 inches

D. 4 inches

19. The original thanksgiving lasted how long?

A. 2 months

B. 14 days

C. 7 days

D. 3 days

20. Plymouth Rock is how big today?

A. The size of Manhattan

B. The size of a car engine.

C. The size of Carnegie Hall.

D. The size of a peanut.

E. The size of New York Block.

Thanksgiving Trivia Answers:
1. C, 20 miles an hour, 2. E, B and C- Their hands, a spoon and a knife. (They did not have forks available for the dinner.), 3. B, Benjamin Franklin named it after Thomas Jefferson when he would not allow it to be the national bird., 4. G, A. B. and E. - Deer, Codfish and boiled pumpkin. (The pilgrims had no ovens to bake bread and no sugar or milk when thanksgiving came around. Their food supply that they came with was very low.),5. B, Wampanoag,6. C, 270 degrees. (It gives a whole new meaning to having eyes behind the head. No wonder they are so hard to catch!),7. C, A poult.,8. A, Massasoit,9. A, By looking up.,10. D, Potatoes,11. A, Truman,12. A, 50%,13. A, Yes.(The US Air force found that out the hard way when they were trying to break the sound barrier. Whole fields of turkeys fell down dead from heart attacks.),14. C, The male, but only seasonally and when going to sleep.,15. A, Horn of plenty.,16. B, Neil Armstrong,17. B, Lincoln,18. D, 4 inches,19. D, 3 days, 20. B, The size of a car engine. (It has cracked 3 times over the years, each time getting smaller and smaller.)

Sweetheart Tag

*What is your husband's name? ERIC THE BOLD AND STUDLY (HE ONLY USES THIS NAME ON OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS THOUGH)

*How long have you guys been married? ALMOST 6 YEARS

*How long did you date? THIS ONE'S A TRICKY ONE FOR US...EITHER 2 YEARS OR ONE MONTH (UNTIL THE ENGAGEMENT ANYWAYS). IT DEPENDS ON WHEN YOU START THE CALENDAR.

*How old is he? 28

*Who is taller? HE IS

*Who can sing the best? ME (BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M GOOD, NOT THAT I'M SAYING HE'S NOT GOOD, BUT YA KNOW)

*Who is smarter? SINCE I'M THE ONE ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS...ME

*Who pays the bills? HE EARNS IT, I SPEND IT =)

*Who does the laundry? ME

*Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? AS YOU'RE IN IT, HIM. AS YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT, ME.

*Who mows the lawn? HE DOES WHEN THERE IS A LAWN TO SPEAK OF.

*Who cooks dinner? MOSTLY ME, BUT HE'S SERIOUSLY AWESOME IN THE KITCHEN.

*Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? WELL, SINCE I'M NEVER WRONG...

*Who kissed who first? HE INITIATED IT, BUT WE BOTH PARTICIPATED EQUALLY.

*Who wears the pants? WE BOTH DO, AND MAN IT'S A TIGHT FIT!


I've seen this tag around (or at least ones like it), so I don't know who hasn't answered these questions yet. So I tag anyone who reads this and has not done it yet. You know who you are!

Ahhh, Sunday!

Around my house we take Sunday being the day of rest pretty seriously...

A Good Day

This morning I went to the Salt Lake Temple with a close friend of mine. It was a lot of fun going with her. I saw several people there that I know, from former ward members to friends from childhood. I even saw an Elder from my mission. When I go to the temple I always feel like I'm coming home, but when you also see lots of people you know, it just intensifies that feeling. Thanks again Sarah!

While I was gone Eric took Emma to the zoo. She wanted them to wear their matching Indy Jones hats, and they looked so cute. She was also really excited to wear her gloves. She didn't want to take them off when they got home. Eric took a fun video of Emma while she looked at a small cat. The cat was pacing in front of the glass and Emma decided to tag along.

Poll

Please participate in the poll at the right. I'll explain more about it after it's closed. It will help me with a discussion I had with Eric. And please, be honest. Ladies, this could help prove me right or wrong, so any friends you want to send my way to participate would also be appreciated.

Tagged

I was tagged by Wendy and can only use one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? PURSE
2. Where is your significant other? WORK
3. Your hair color? RED
4. Your mother? HARDWORKING
5. Your father? GENEROUS
6. Your favorite thing? FAMILY
7. Your dream last night? AUSTRIA
8. Your dream/goal? SUCCESS
9. The room you're in? LIVINGROOM
10. Your hobby? CARDS
11. Your fear? DISCONTENTMENT
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? OBAMA-LESS
13. Where were you last night? HOME
14. What you're not? SHY
15. Something on your wish list? VACATION
16. Where you grew up? UTAH
17. The last thing you did? BREAKFAST
18. What are you wearing? PAJAMAS
19. Your TV? OFF
20. Your pet? NONE
21. Your computer? LAPTOP
22. Your mood? HAPPY
23. Missing someone? ERIC
24. Your car? BLUE
25. Something you're not wearing? SOCKS
26. Favorite store? REI
27. Your summer? BUSY
28. Love someone? ERIC
29. Your favorite color? BLUE
30. When is the last time you laughed? TODAY
31. Last time you cried? WEEKS

I tag Janna, Stephanie, Christy & Angela

It's either true or it isn't...it CAN'T be both!

I'd like to start off this post by saying I am far from perfect, and do not want to judge anyone for where they are with their own faith. This is just a pet peeve of mine that has been bugging me more than usual lately. I am a person of very little patience. It seems like I am always working on it. That said though, I am still very impatient. I am also a person of strong opinions. If I find I am wrong I will change my mind, but unless that happens I hold pretty firmly to my opinions about things.

The title of this post is refering to my church. I am really tired of people who claim to believe this church is true and claim to follow the prophets, who then don't agree with the teachings of the church. There are a lot of controversial issues out there, but the one thing that is constant is that Jesus Christ leads this church. There is a reason we have prophets. The council they give us isn't just a wim of theirs or their own opinions. It's straight from God. At least that's what members of this church believe. I can tell you right now, that if I stopped believing this, I wouldn't still go every Sunday. I wouldn't still pay tithing, or take time out of my schedule to go to the temple or read in the scriptures. A lot of times it seems like life would be easier if I didn't believe. But, I do. So I will try to act accordingly. And "accordingly" means following the teachings of the leaders of the church and agreeing with them. If I don't, then I need to sincerely pray about it, because on major issues (like some of the ones in the recent election) there is no middle ground. The church is either right, or they're not. And I'm not saying that you should feel bad if you've ever had issues or doubts about something. There are a lot of things that people I know have had issues with, anything from women and the Priesthood to gay marriage. I'm just saying that if you find you do have issues or doubts about something, and maybe disagree with the Church's teachings, then please try to resolve those issues. One of two things will happen: either you will realize that you are wrong or misguided and that the Church is right, or you will decide that you are still correct and more firmly believe the Church is wrong. If the latter happens, then how can you still believe ANY of it is true? The way this Church is organized and runs makes it impossible for it to be mostly right. It's either all right or all wrong. If you want to remain true and faithful, then you have to find a way to agree with and follow the Prophets. This might mean exercising faith and just admitting you don't understand something, but it's a decision to follow the Prophet. And it's one that you should do all the time. Again, if you have trouble with this, then you should pray about it, and if that doesn't resolve things then you should talk to your Bishop about is. That's why he's there - to help you with things like this. And if you still can't resolve your issues, then (and pardon my frankness and lack of missionary spirit here) why are you still coming?!! Are you hoping to eventually be able to resolve whatever, or are you just planning on mostly believing the rest of your life? Because I can tell you right now that the Church will never change it's doctrine based on popular belief. The gospel of Jesus Christ is constant.

Part of the reason that it is so important to resolve these doubts and issues is because we will never truly be satisfied if we don't. I don't think there is anyone who ever lived on earth (except the Savior) who never doubted something at least a little. It is only human to do so. But this is why we've been told so many times to do something about it. It's our responsibility not only to ourselves, but to the Lord and His church. President Joseph F. Smith once said,

"… when our leaders speak it is for us to obey; when they direct we should go; when they call we should follow. Not as beings who are enslaved or in thralldom; we should not obey blindly, as instruments or tools. No Latter-day Saint acts in this manner; no man or woman who has embraced the Gospel has ever acted in this way; but on the contrary they have felt to listen cheerfully to the counsels of the servants of God as far as they were able to comprehend them. The difficulty is not in getting the Latter-day Saints to do right, but in getting them to comprehend what is right.”

In an Ensign article Elder Alma Burton stated,

"A member of the Church, through faith and prayer, can learn for himself that the business being transacted or the principle being taught or the person being presented by the Church leaders to be sustained is correct. Elder Erastus Snow claimed that it is our responsibility to know for ourselves. He declared that the leaders present the will of God to the people and the people have the responsibility to have this onfirmed by the spirit of the Lord to them as well."

I think this is true for any person who seeks knowledge from God. It's simple in theory: you desire to know the truth about something, you sincerely pray, you wait and listen for an answer, and if you're TRULY willing to act according to that answer, you will receive it and recognize it. You HAVE to be honest about whether you are willing to change your mind or actions if what you thought was true turns out to be wrong. That's part of learning what we need to learn here on earth. And none of us are right about everything, so we all have something to learn. Change can be hard, and admitting we were wrong can be difficult, but it's not impossible. It's all part of being humble and acknowledging that we don't know everything. There are so many teachings about this to help us. In an excellent talk Elder Hales counceled us to

"Live our testimony. We must obediently follow the Savior's teachings and the prophets' examples. Doubts about matters of religion that arise from a lack of knowledge can be constructively resolved. The solutions are instruction, study, and prayer, which result in increased testimony which drives out further doubts."

He goes on to say that

"Each of us will be tested, tempted, and tried for our testimonies and to find out if we will remain true and faithful through these trials of our faith. We also know, beloved brothers and sisters, that if we do not continue faithful in the testimony that is imparted to us by the Spirit, then the light dwindles until it is extinguished. A testimony must be constantly nourished and defended, or it will waste away."

I think that when you have doubts about something that you will either "waste away" like he said or become much stronger and firmer. President Hunter, in an adress to the youth (although I feel it applies to all of us), said,

"I have sympathy for young men and young women when honest doubts enter their minds and they engage in the great conflict of resolving doubts. These doubts can be resolved, if they have an honest desire to know the truth, by exercising moral, spiritual, and mental effort. They will emerge from the conflict into a firmer, stronger, larger faith because of the struggle. They have gone from a simple, trusting faith, through doubt and conflict, into a solid substantial faith which ripens into testimony."

I want to end by again saying that I do not think it is at all wierd or unusual to have an occasional (or more frequent) doubt or concern about something. Quite the contrary, I think every one of us has experienced this at one time or another regarding something, whether big or little. But I have zero tolerance for people who have doubts and then don't do something about it. Like the title of this post says, it's either true or it isn't. It really can't be both. If you have a doubt or issue with some doctrine of the church I urge you to do everything you can to resolve it. This is no time to be a fence sitter. Now is not the time to be chicken or reserved about discovering the truth. There is no middle ground on too many issues. We all need to figure out what we believe and what we need to do. Sometimes it just takes faith to know that something is right, especially when we don't understand it. If there is something you need to resolve please take care of it now. You won't be satisfied until you do. Don't be a fence sitter member of the church. Do everything you need to in order to decide what you believe. It's either true or it isn't. If you decide it's true, then please act accordingly and follow the teaching of the Prophets, even if you don't understand and even if it's not popular. Following the council of the church does not mean that you should be rude or disrespectful of others around you who believe otherwise. Everyone has a right to their own opinions. But you don't need to compromise what you believe to accomodate others. Just remember that this gospel is constant. There are some issues which are in direct conflict with the teachings of God. Please consider carefully where you choose to place your allegience and support. And don't be a fair weather member. You can't pick and choose which doctrines you want to believe based on convenience. I'm calling for an end to blogging and commenting on facebook and myspace and anywhere else that you're a member of this church but you don't believe or agree with certain doctrines or aspects of it. Make a choice one way or the other. People around you might not always love your viewpoint, but at least you'd be doing something worthy of respect, both from them and from God.

An in depth record of events

Nineteen years ago today the East German government announced that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. This announcement came after several weeks of civil unrest, and eventually paved the way for German reunification which was finalized the following October. On this day the long time symbol of the Iron Curtain (the Berlin Wall) was symbolically torn down and done away with (and technically small bits of it were physically torn down as well). In the weeks to follow bits were slowly chipped away by souvenir hunters among others, while later industrial equipment was used to remove the rest. This was a huge day in the history of Germany, Europe, and the world.

For some reason I was reading through an old journal of mine the other day. I had stumble across it as I was emptying some boxes (yes, we're still not entirely settled here), and started flipping through it. I had several journals when I was younger, none of them were kept as well as mine is now, but they would last for several months at a time. I was impressed with this one because I wrote almost every day for a little more than a year. Of course, most of it was utter nonsense, and not even stuff about all the boys I liked or anything. It just has a record of what I did each day, which was pretty boring. It was written in 1989 and 1990 while I was in 5th grade, and for some reason I ended all my entries by signing off with "goodbye dear diary" as if my diary's name was actually "dear diary". I noticed that I recorded the events of this historical day in all my 5th grade glory and detail. Here is my word for word entry for that day.

Dear Diary,
Today Mrs. Dreier is back. We had a book review this morning.
In science we played a fun game. In math I have no homework tonight. Tonight I'm going on a date with my mom. After school I played with Elizabeth. Today the walls of East Germany were opened. It's the first time since world war two. Well good bye dear diary.

I just found that highly entertaining the way my mind worked (and I'm sure some of you may still find it hightly entertaining the way my mind works now). This major piece of news was just thrown in the mix with my other very important activities, and mentioned in a rather nonchalant sort of way. It's interesting to see how much we change as we get older, as life gets more and more complicated and as the joys of having relatively no responsibilities disappear. Those things which at the time were all encompassing and all consuming and which were of course THE most important things in the world now just seem like insignificant drivel. Oh what I wouldn't give to somehow recapture that innocense and be able to hold onto it.

First Roll in the Snow

I like snow. I really do. I just don't always like having to wade through it to get to my car while dragging Emma around and then carrying loads of groceries back through while bringing the clingy slush right into my house. Puddles aren't my friend when they're inside. I do love looking at it (snow that is, not puddles in my house). I love the way it blankets the imperfections on the ground and makes everything look perfectly at peace. In my perfect world the snow would magically melt or just move out of my way when I needed to walk somewhere or drive. I like snow at the sides of the road. If I want to walk in it then I can choose to, I just don't like being forced to. Maybe that is really wierd, but na ja (sorry, german expression meaning oh well). At least it waited to really snow until after Halloween, but I was right about how short our Fall weather would last.

So with the adundance of snow we received yesterday I decided to be happy about it. Emma was excited all day long and couldn't wait until Eric got home so she could play outside. We bundled her up and took her out. She remembered very quickly how much fun she has throwing snow at Eric. And I remembered how much fun I have watching her do it.

Reverently? Quietly?

Okay, so I'm curious about something. Why won't some people take their kids out of church meetings?!! I am dumbfounded sometimes at how long people take to respond to their crying screaming children. What happened to being responsible and considerate to those around you? Now I know that anyone can have a reallly bad day, and sometimes you just can't win a battle against your kids no matter how hard you try, but I'm talking about serial offenders. You know, those people who NEVER take their child out, even if the kid continues screaming? It's one thing to quickly try to resolve the problem, and maybe with a tiny baby that might take a moment if you're trying to prepare a bottle or something, but if that doesn't work?

Maybe it's my upbringing that makes me think this way. My parents never let any of us misbehave at church, and if we did have a bad Sunday they would immediately take us out of the meeting and force us to remain sitting on their lap until we were ready to go back in. We never got to play and socialize with other kids while we were out there - that would have been rewarding us for misbehaving and would have taught us that if we are bad during the meeting we would get to go outside and play. Instead, we learned really early that it was much better to behave. This is how Eric and I have always been with Emma. We wouldn't hesitate to take her out, and then she had to stay on our lap. It was really hard when so many other parents just let their kids wander around, but Emma has learned that she needs to be quiet and reverent at church. We will have an occasional bad Sunday with her, but it is very very infrequent.

I am thinking about this because since moving into our new ward I have of course noticed some of these serial offenders. This isn't a new thing either, there have been people like this in every ward I have ever been in, and they probably exist in yours too. Last Sunday I seriously couldn't pay attention because of one child in particular. He was either too loud (laughing, crying, screeching, whatever) or was galavanting around playing with things, almost knocking things over, playing the piano (yes playing - his parents let him get all the way over there and start pounding keys before they finally got up and retrieved him), grabbing people's belongings, etc. What the?! And the thing that always baffles me is that these people are really nice and seem to responsible parents in every other way. Why doesn't this fall into the category of responsibility? Am I totally overreacting? I mean, I'm not sitting here fuming or anything, it's just kind of annoying. Especially when I'm having a Sunday when I'm really trying to pay attention and feel the Spirit.

I don't want to be staring, turning around to look, clearing my throat, etc. either. I have to believe that these people know their child is possibly disrupting the service for someone. And you can't always help either. If you're not sitting close enough, know them well enough, or just don't feel like it's your position to take their child out, there isn't much you can do. I feel sorry for people who have children who are always acting out, but it isn't entirely the child's fault. It always has something to do with the parenting. Now I'm definately not saying that I'm a perfect parent. HA! I'm the first one to point out my many flaws (which I don't usually have to do because it is so obvious how pathetic I am at this parenting thing). But I can say that Emma's behavior is not entirely because she is just an angel. She is a very good child most of the time, but she behaves the way she does because Eric and I have NEVER let her get away with anything, especially at the cost of someone else. Emma has never been the child wandering around the room with me chasing her down because I have never let her get away from me. And it's not that hard. And if she had been regularly bad or if she does have a bad Sunday (which again is almost never - I can't remember the last time we had to take her out), one of us would have sat out with her as many times as it took. Part of the sacrifice of being a parent while taking your children to church is that you might miss out on some of the meetings. It won't last forever, but at least you'll know other people aren't missing out because of you and yours.

And why, if your child is behaving just fine, is it okay to use them as an excuse to go out and sit and socialize? Why do people do this? And it's not that I haven't been tempted or don't love socializing, but that's not why we go to church. I wish I could say to people to please not talk (especially so loudly) right outside of a room where people are already straining to hear a lesson or talk due to some really loud kid whose parents won't take him out. Not that we'll always succeed, but some of us sometimes try to be spiritually edified instead of socially justified. Oh well, the church is still true whether or not I can hear it.

Now What?

We had fun trick or treating with Emma last night. She did such a good job yelling "trick or treat" and then holding up her pumpkin for the candy to be put in. Almost every house we went to we were told that she was the prettiest trick or treater yet. One house was so enamored with her that they gave her 3 large size candy bars! Yeah, that's what she needs. Her pumpkin was so full (and we didn't go to that many houses - maybe 20) with candy and other goodies that she was having a hard time carrying it. We had to help her out in between houses. We went over to my Grandma's house for her to visit, and went by my parents house. We also caught up with her cousins for a couple of houses. They were all so cute! (Please note that by this point in the evening most of Timothy's costume wasn't with him anymore - he did dress up more than that!)

But now that Halloween in over, what now? There aren't a lot of places that have Thanksgiving activities or decorations. I don't know of too many people who take their kids to Turkey patches to pick out a turkey. Plus, turkeys are really ugly. So, I'm trying to come up with some things to do with Emma that pertain to Autumn and/or Thanksgiving. I only have a few ideas, so if you have a fun idea or tradition or activity that you do or are planning on doing or have heard of, please let me know about it. I'm always looking for new ideas. It seems like Novemeber is such an empty month compared to October. I told Eric the other day a non-historical explanation for Thanksgiving. After October with all its fun, November comes and you don't do that much. So by the end of the month you are so depressed that you binge on yummy foods. So, to avoid that I'm looking forward to your ideas! Let's hope the nice weather keeps up too!