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Why "I am NOT a VOLCANO!"

Why "I am NOT a VOLCANO!"
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"In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." — Gordon B. Hinckley
Exaggeration is the spice of life

Book I am Currently Reading: Peter and The Shadow Thief

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thankfulness Project, Day 24, Writer's Prompt







(Brandon after Boot Camp Graduation- Texas, January 2005)


Thankfulness Project, Day 24

November 24, 2011, Thursday: Thanksgiving Day

(These are terribly out of order...well...mostly they're backwards. Sorry.)


(Karaoke with all the mcnuggets- October this year.)

I am thankful that today, my husband has work off and gets to spend the holiday with us.


(Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House, July 3, 2009- Mahone's 3rd birthday)

I am thankful that, after 8 years of marriage, my husband still calls me on every single one of his breaks, and misses me when he's at work.

(Family pictures, spring 2009. i love this one, because it's NOT picture perfect. Life is crazy- and so is this photo.)

(Our wedding day- November 21, 2003)

I'm thankful that he is completely oblivious to other women- even though he's very handsome and girls flirt with him in FRONT of me. If I mention it, he just looks confused.

(Brandon and my oldest son, Mahone- age 2- at my brother's wedding, December 2008.)


(Early February, 2008 when we blessed Scarlet. Lilly-almost 3, Mahone 19 months, Scarlet- 3 weeks)


I'm so thankful that he adores our kids and is such a great father.


(Disneyworld, December 2007)



(At a lighthouse on some beach in New Jersey....or New York. I don't remember. LOL. Mahone-10 months, March 2007.)

He puts up with a LOT of crap from me, and I don't really deserve his patience. But I'm thankful for it.

(Brandon and Lilly-11 months- on the pedestal of the Statue Of Liberty, New York, March 2006.)


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Mama Kat's Writer's Prompt.

In honor of Thanksgiving Day, the prompt I chose is:

"A Favorite Thanksgiving Memory"

____________________________________________

The truth of the matter is, I am not the biggest fan of Thanksgiving. That's not to sayIi don't appreciate the sentiment. Still, the holiday doesn't hold much weight for me, as far as tradition goes.

I suppose I have to mention the jigsaw puzzles though.

My family is a big GAME family- as in card, board and so on. We love games. And we love puzzles only slightly less. With all my babies running a mok everywhere, we don't break out the puzzles (500-5000 pieces) all that often anymore. But they still come out every Thanksgiving day and stay out until after Christmas.

Folding table

Chairs

Several puzzles.

We all join in, get addicted, get frustrated, leave, meander back eventually. And when one is finished, it is put away and replaced within minutes by another one- often autumn or Christmas themed.

Often, my husband and I take our children to a new holiday movie after the meal. We started that tradition when we lived in New Jersey for the military, spent the day with friends who also had no family (they were military too) and after dinner decided to go see something. The day feels kind of anti-climactic to me once we eat and clean up. The movie helps bring it to a smooth end.

Still, all traditions aside, I have two favorite Thanksgiving MEMORIES- the first was the birth of my youngest brother, Bozton.

What I remember is that my mom had been in active labor with him for days, but was not progressing. My dad took her to the hospital Thanksgiving morning 18 years ago, and they sent her home because , long story short, they didn't want to do anything on the holiday. Unfortunately for them, babies don't care if it's a holiday or not.

My mom had opted to stay home from Thanksgiving, since she was literally having a baby, and my dad took my brother and sister and me to my grandparent's house for the family party. We walked in the door just as my mom paged (yeah- pager. Crazy how times change, huh?) my dad that her water had broken and the baby was crowning. So he left. We had Thanksgiving while my mom was at the hospital. She very nearly gave birth in the car but missed it by minutes.

Of course, sibling anticipation is always fun when you're a kid, waiting for a cute new baby. So, that's a fun memory. My brother will celebrate his 18th birthday this Friday, after thanksgiving.


My other favorite memory is of the Thanksgiving I spent in Jamaica. Brandon and I were married on November 21st in 2003, after which, we honeymooned in Jamaica- the place my husband had served his 2 year LDS mission. The hotel we stayed in was owned by an American and his Jamaican wife.

In Jamaica, they have this wonderfully delicious thing called "jerk"- Jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk....you guessed it, TURKEY.

Well, Jerk chicken and pork are sold on the road side all over Jamaica and it's fabulous, but turkey is not normally something they just do there. Still, having an American hotel owner, he threw a great Thanksgiving party for all the guests, and we ate from a buffet of a "jerked" turkey, lobster, fish, shrimp, oysters, and all manner of fruits. The hotel was right on the beach and our table overlooked the ocean and the sunset while we enjoyed a light cool breeze and Bob Marley playing on vinyl in the background. Hibiscus flowers the size of my head adorned our table. It was amazing.

Our lovely hotel. We're standing on the beach taking this picture.

Just ONE of the gorgeous Jamaican sunsets!


Yeah...that's me on the beach.

This little place was about a half mile down the beach from our hotel. It doesn't look like it, but I was actually really close to this bird, and I was trying hard to sneak up on him. LOL.



Gorgeous waterfalls- K&M or something like that. We got to swim there too. Such a gorgeous color to the water, and it was warm, and just so beautiful!


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4 comments:

Karen, author of "My Funny Dad, Harry" said...

You are very fortunate to have such a loving husband! I loved that you honored him with this post on Thanksgiving! I also liked that crazy family photo--so funny! Enjoyed seeing the pictures of Jamaica too--it's beautiful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stopping by from Writer's workshop: http://karenzemek.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-favorite-thanksgiving-writers.html

Morgan said...

We almost have the same anniversary! My husband and I were married on Thanksgiving in Cute blog! www.momma-licious.blogspot.com

Elizabeth said...

Happy Thanksgiving!! :) That is so special that your husby still calls you on his break and that you appreciate that. Very cute. Glad I found you in a hop. Would love it if you could follow me back. Have a great day and eats lots of food!
http://theladiesloungeguide.blogspot.com

Michael Ann said...

Really nice post, Brae. I agree, it sounds like you have a loving and strong marriage. So nice to hear about. My family is the same with games and puzzles. I am visiting family in Oregon right now, and we've been playing lots of Mexican Train, Yahtzee and Tripoli! Just finished a giant puzzle. Loved your photos. Happy Thanksgiving!

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