Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving group felt small this year. With Dean/Candice's family having just moved, Lexie in Arizona and Grandma celebrating in heaven, we had 18 people...extra room at the table.

Even so, we were grateful to be with family.

Jason and Abree were my potato helpers.

Even after following directions from the internet and packaging, the turkey was done WAY ahead of schedule. This seems to be a trend for me, over the last few years. What am I missing? --I guess to have it done ahead of schedule, is better than behind. Over-cooked turkey, is better than raw turkey, any day. :)

Ten pounds of potatoes...never looks like enough at this point. :)

We enjoyed our time together and ate a delicious meal that everyone contributed to.

Happy Thanksgiving!

PS- That night Tim and Karen announced that they are pregnant with #4.  Wahoo! :)

Gift Making

I participated in the "Homemade Gift Exchange" through Craftaholics Anonymous again.

My exchange partner said she decorated with red in her kitchen and wanted to add some teal/turquoise too. I thought this would be the perfect thing for her kitchen wall. I was inspired by this project. It's a little different than the inspiration (mine was made with scrapbook paper and hers was made with batting and fabric), but I liked the result.

My partner also mentioned that she LOVED elephants.

Saw this hippo photo holder and knew I would make her teal elephant "recipe holder" for her kitchen.

I also added one of our recent favorite recipes, "Crockpot Potato Soup" and sent it in the mail.

Hope she likes it.

On the Smullin side of the family, we have created a new annual event...the "Smullin Traditions Weekend". It takes place the first weekend of December (between Thanksgiving and Christmas). We eat like it's Thanksgiving and party like it's Christmas.

The cousin/grand kids exchange homemade gifts, while the adults find something from the Dollar Store or around the house, that reminds them of their exchange partner, to give. Treyson's cousin gift was for Jeremiah... a scientific, brainy kind of guy.

Treyson and I measured, bagged and labeled different ingredients to create a "science kit".

We included gloves, safety goggles and a "science notes" book. It had instructions for the experiments, as well as space for Jeremiah to write his own observations and notes.

Abree had her cousin Adam. Adam comes from a family of 5 boys (and 1 baby girl). They like all things boys, but especially super heroes! Abree decided to paint a canvas of super hero logos (with a little help from me).

We traced the logos onto contact paper and then taped off 4 sections. Abree painted the background colors, then dotted/spotted them.

Next, we cut apart different sections of the logos and painted.

There were several steps to this process and it was quite time-consuming, but the result was great.

The perfect wall hanging for that super hero lover in your life.

Taylee was giving me a hard time saying, "Mom, no kid wants a wall hanging for a gift. They want a toy. You guys should have made him something he could play with. She had a point... maybe she was right, but the ball was already in motion when she pointed this out. Hopefully he's ok with a non-playable gift.

Taylee made a fashion notebook for her cousin Jordyn. It was cute and SUPER detailed.

Rylee made an iron-on t-shirt for her cousin David. It said, "I (picture of moustache) you a question" and then on the back it said, "but I'll shave it for later". Ha, funny, eh?!

Homemade gifts feel like a lot of work in the process, but are TOTALLY worth it in the end!

Visiting Grandma Ison

Saturday, November 17th, Grandma Ison had a stroke. The doctors told us that this was something she would not recover from.

On Sunday evening, after the Boise Temple re-dedication, the kids and I decided to go visit her. We left Jason home to keep our dinner appointment, to feed the missionaries, as we trekked to Caldwell.

I left the decision up to each of the kids if they wanted to go. I explained, to the best of my ability, about what they might see or what it might be like. I said I thought this would be the last time we would see her before she went to heaven. Each of them agreed to go. --Treyson took the longest to make the decision. He was worried about Jason being lonely at home and having to feed the missionaries on his own. He may have been a little worried about Grandma too.

It was a peaceful, happy time, mixed with a few tears. I held Grandma's hand as she breathed heavily...tapering off to shallow..then back to heavy. She was fevered and quite warm. She didn't look like her normal self.

Jana, Kevin, Arielle and Mom were there (and had been there since the day before)..and Tim/Karen and family came later. (Others had visited the day/night before.) We talked about the Youth Cultural Celebration from Saturday night (Rylee and Taylee got to be a part of) and shared our thoughts/feelings about the temple re-dedication from that day.

Eventually, we had a family prayer. Tim gave a very sweet prayer, leaving most of us in tears. Then Tim and Kevin gave Grandma a blessing. Kevin told Grandma that we loved her, thanked her for her wonderful example to us and told her that she could leave mortality whenever she was ready.

Before we left we took turns saying good-bye. By then, the kids had warmed up to the idea of touching her hand. We told her we loved her and then headed back home.

The next morning, Grandma was transferred to Jana/Kevin's home. They were given instructions through Hospice care, about how to make Grandma comfortable. Mom, Jana and Kevin cared for her that day. Early, early Tuesday morning, November 20th, Grandma Ison went back to heaven to be with Grandpa, Aunt Hertha, and many other loved ones.

I feel blessed that I was able to visit Grandma, before she passed away. It has touched me in a way, I won't forget. Being around her, strengthened my testimony of death being just the next step... not nearly as scary or terrible as my fears want it to be. I feel like I was taught by Grandma, even when she wasn't responsive. What a great example she is to me about enduring to the end.

We love you Grandma Ison!

Crafting with Lexie

Lexie and I were wanting to make a craft. We thought about something Christmasy, but I wasn't ready to go into that mode quite yet...it wasn't even Thanksgiving. I scoured Pinterest and my boards and found this burlap wreath. We purchased our materials and met on a Saturday morning to craft.

It's really a re-make of an old 1990's classic... the bubble wreath.

I think Lexie's turned out better than mine. I must have cut my burlap squares too small or pinned them tighter, because mine was smaller than hers, even though we had the same size styrofoam wreath.

I'm thinking if my wreath was at least 2"inches bigger, it might be better proportioned on my window.

I like it...just want it a little bigger..or maybe just need to put it in a different place.

Lexie, what's our next project???

Sterling Turns 2!

At Family FHE (Tim and Karen's house), we celebrated Sterling's 2nd birthday.

The kids wore dinosaur masks, as we sang Happy Birthday to Sterling.

He seemed quite pleased with his dinosaur cake.

Isn't it cute? Nice job Amber.

Cake and cupcakes were enjoyed by all.

Happy Birthday Big Boy Sterling!

Moving Day

You know the old saying, "When it rains it pours".

Well it started raining, then pouring on Dean and Candice's family in the month of October. We had been waiting and waiting for Jonathan to make his arrival in September, but he had his own plans. When he arrived on October 3rd, he came in a rush.

Dean had been waiting to hear on a job for weeks. Days after Jonathan was born, he got an email asking him to report to Vernal, Utah early Monday morning. (I think he received the email on a Friday!)

Candice and kids tried to go about their normal routine, but with new baby, their daddy being gone and a potential quick move, it was quite an undertaking. Talking to Candice on the Tuesday, after Dean had been at work for a day, she said it felt like he had been gone a week.  

Candice and kids packed and wrapped things up in Boise, while Dean searched for a home in Vernal. It came down to two; the one "in town" and the one "out of town". Finally, the one "out of town" became their new rental home.

When Dean could get time off, they made plans for a quick weekend move. Original plan was to pick Dean up at the airport Friday afternoon, pack the truck and head out Saturday morning. Dean surprised his family and came home a day early. We helped them pack up all day Friday, so they could leave that evening.

Uncle Grant-Brinton-Ed

Micaela-Levi-Lizzy-Jackson

Lunch break!

This is what Jonathan did most of moving day, with an occasional break to eat. Such a good baby!

This is what Levi like doing. He wanted to help and had BIG ideas and STRONG opinions on how to accomplish the task.

Lizzy flitted about in a fairy-like way, saying things like, "Can you believe this is our house? It doesn't look like our house (empty). Did you know that we are actually moving today?"

This is what Jackson liked doing. He read his book, that I found out later, was supposed to be his entertainment for the long drive to Utah.

Micaela liked helping. With the assistance of Uncle Brinton, she learned how to use a hand truck to move boxes and how to move a mattress with straps. She also liked helping with Jonathan whenever possible.

Grandma McKinley's assignment was to cuddle Jonathan. She did an excellent job of it. :)

All packed up and ready to go...WAY a head of schedule. Time to hit the road.

But first, just a little more play time with friends and cousins.

We know this is a good thing for your family, but you will be missed around here!

Good luck in your new adventure Waite Family!!!