Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is the most wonderful time of the year. It's the one day I love to cook as much as I love to eat. And it's the one day I get to sleep in until 7am. So much to be thankful for! Right now, we're all laying around watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and it's Thursday so The Office will be on too. And Garrett is sick, so he is sitting still long enough for me to snuggle him. 

This morning Alan and Zach went off to play in the ward Turkey Bowl and I stayed home and scrubbed the kitchen floor. (Turkey tastes better when the kitchen floor is clean.)  I was going to scrub the floor yesterday, but I got busy grading research papers and watching Wyatt and Garrett win 2nd and 3rd place in the Turkey Trot and cheering at Tatum's soccer games. 

When Alan and Zach returned from the Turkey Bowl, Zach did the touchdown dance because the Young Men beat the Elders, and I did the touchdown dance because Alan didn't throw his back out during the game, (so we can still get up for Black Friday shopping at 3 a.m.)

Today I am giving thanks that my kids are healthy and happy, and young enough that I can still control them. But mostly I'm giving thanks for Alan because he is such a great dad, but also a great mom. He has saved the day many, many times this past month. He is consistent and persistent and resistant. I hope and pray I never have to go through a single Thanksgiving without him. If so, there will be puddles of tears in the gravy.

Alan and I worked away in the kitchen, side by side, for the better part of the morning and then we all sat down and worked away at our turkey for the better part of 15 minutes. We strategized this year and went to the beach before dinner rather than after. The plan was to release some serotonin before we consumed some tryptophan. We thought it might prevent the after-dinner crash. But it didn't. I actually nodded off twice during dinner, and I slept all the way through the clean-up and the pumpkin pie. (Next time I take a red-eye flight I'm going to hide a turkey in my carry on so I can sleep on the plane.)

During dinner we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Garrett said he was thankful for Thanksgiving and Wyatt said he was thankful for the food. When it came to me, I said I was thankful for Tatum's soccer coach because she is really showing Tatum what she's made of. (She had to run and do drills on the beach for an hour today.) Tatum and Zach put the rest of us to shame when they said they were thankful for the gospel and for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost and the Prophet and the temple.

"Oh right, that too . . . " I added. 

Then Alan got all mushy and about being thankful for his beautiful wife. Then he said, "Just kidding." (just kidding. He didn't say just kidding.)

Overall is was a pretty boring day, but I love boring! Give me boring or give me death! We missed our families though, and I got happy/sad/envious watching the slideshow Eric put together of my family eating my piece of the pumpkin pie.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

What a difference a coach makes!

Tonight Tatum came bounding up the stairs after her soccer game with a big gigantic smile on her face.   She had a black card in her hand with her name written across the front in gold glitter.  It was from her high school soccer coach.  She wrote a personal letter to each girl on her team. 

How nice is that?

The letter was direct and pointed and encouraging.  My jaw hit the floor when I read it because this insightful, supportive coach already recognizes Tatum's strengths, weaknesses and fears perfectly.   SHE is INSTILLING CONFIDENCE in my DAUGHTER.  That's my second dream come true tonight (second to having a musician in the house during the Christmas spirit.)    

Actually that's the best dream come, even better than having a muscian in the house at Christmas.  Nothing better than having someone help your child see how awesome they are.   Cause they don't believe US!

And Tatum is responding.  She's playing up!  

It's amazing what can happen when someone believes in you. 

Here Come the Holidays!

It's Friday night and Zach is practicing Christmas songs on his trombone. Right in my ear.

I love it! It's the first year we've had a musician in the house for the holidays. My dream come true. In my next life I will not be a writer, or a domestic goddess, or a teacher, or a Relief Society President. I will be a HARD CORE ROCK STAR! With a shaka tattoo!

For now I will live vicariously through my kids.

The twins are watching Holes and drinking hot chocolate because it's pouring rain. I almost turned on the oven today to warm up, but our utilities bill gave me a heart attack this month so I refrained.

Tatum and Alan are on their way home from town. She had a soccer game. Or did I tell you the big news? Tatum made the varsity soccer team. As a freshman. She was so worried she wouldn't make the J.V. team that she never had time to worry that she wouldn't make the varsity team.

She played the whole entire game tonight and Alan had a smile in his voice when he said "She played great!" so I think she played great.

Tomorrow all the kids have their final tennis match of the season. It looks like both teams will go the the sectionals because we're in 1st and 2nd place. I will upload photos of the season this weekend. I'm determined to catch up before Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the Turkey and the pies without any lingering guilt (or belated guilt).

Alan has been asked to coach Kahuku Intermediate basketball team, which works out peachy for Zach since this is his first year to shine on the court. It's a whole new ball game now that our world revolves around high school sports.

I guess I can always blog my brains out.

I'm nearly finished teaching my classes for the semester. Only 50 pages of literature, 35 essays, 80 research papers and 40 finals left to go. Plus a bunch of miscelleny.

And I'm ducking becomes . . . look out!

HERE COME THE HOLIDAYS!

(And BLACK FRIDAY!) (YaY!)

Belated Guilt

This morning Wyatt and Garrett were acting strange. Strange in a conspiratory way. At 7:39 they approached me, arm in arm, twin to twin and said, "Mom, we've decided we're not going to school today."

Which is strange considering they rarely have to go to school anyway. In Hawaii they have 1-2 days off a week and if they don't have a day off, they get out early. But the DOE has added an extra 5 minutes to every school day so it evens out.

In fact they are out of school tomorrow. Don't ask me why. I just do what the state tells me to do. Luckily tonight we are FINALLY having their birthday sleepover so I replied:

"Okay, I'd love to have you stay home. I need help scrubbing the bathrooms anyway, so it couldn't be a more perfect day for you to stay home. But, shucks, we'll have to cancel your birthday sleepover."

They were out the door by 7:41 a.m.

So today will be spent preparing, out of love and guilt, for their shamefully belated birthday party. They want to watch Get Smart the movie, plus Get Smart season one (Sooo funny, that Maxwell Smart) and Kung Fu Panda. They want rootbeer floats and Doritos and Cheetos. Sounds managable. If I didn't have so much guilt I would have just taken them to Ice Palace and had the whole thing over within 3 hours, but no use crying over spilt milk.

Alan has no guilt whatsoever. He'll be spending the evening locked in the bedroom watching Dancing with the Stars.