Primary Presidency, Joseph and Anna's Visit

We played DnD for the first time in a while on Friday night. Samantha gave us all shirts for Christmas, and they are so funny and cute. I especially love the one that says, "Couples who slay together stay together."

Sunday, I was called to be the Primary president of my ward. I've had a few weeks to get used to the idea, but I'm still pretty nervous about it all. My counselors are Barbara Hall and Taylor Murray, and my secretary is Mikaila Bankston. We sat in the back of Primary to observe and talked to the presidency afterward. We got set apart at 3. I have the keys, a general idea of what to do, and several checklists. We have a presidency meeting and a meeting with the stake primary presidency next week. Until then, I'm trying to breathe slowly and get some rest over Thanksgiving. Since we're doing it here, I'm hoping to have the kids and James help with the cooking. I'll consider it a success if I get to read every day and play Pandemic: Legacy with James a couple times. (It's my current favorite board game!)

Joseph and Anna arrived Saturday around 5:30 and left Wednesday morning. We had lots of fun making and eating goodies, watching movies, and playing board games. We also did a little shopping at Dollar Tree, Ross, TJ Maxx, D.I., and the other thrift store. I know I said I wouldn't shop yet, but I still haven't done very much. I'll wait till after Thanksgiving to order a bunch of stuff on Amazon (using credit card rewards!) and get the best deals possible.

Wednesday, I made pies in the morning. James and I went out for some lunch and then played our game. After dinner, we relaxed with the kids. Once they went to bed, we played our game again. It was a fun and relaxing day, but I had a hard time sleeping because I kept thinking about Primary stuff. Nothing is going to fall apart if I wait until next week, and all my questions and worries about what to do will be answered when I go to the training and meet with my presidency. No one's going to yell at me for not knowing what to do right now. I keep telling myself all these things, but I'm still pretty stressed out.

Today is Thanksgiving. I'm excited for our lineup of food.

turkey

mashed potatoes

gravy

stuffing (though actually dressing)

green beans (fancy like Rex's)

cranberry sauce

Snickers apple salad (if you can call it that)

rolls

cranberry-apple pie

pumpkin pie

I have an hour before I start cooking, so I'll try to relax and read. I'm on the 3rd part of LotR.

LotR, Loving Fall

Friday, I started my fall movie marathon with the boys. We watched the first half of The Fellowship of the Ring (extended version). I think they really like it so far. It will take us until mid-December to get through all the LotR movies. By then, I will definitely have finished the books. I'm currently working on The Two Towers while Joseph reads the The Fellowship of the Ring.

Saturday, James got down in the crawlspace and fixed the ductwork that cats ripped last winter. Crazy, but our heating works better now, especially in my room and bathroom.

The Primary program was on Sunday, and the kids did a great job. I also did my last Relief Society lesson since I get my new calling in a few days. I'm still pretty nervous but less shocked than I was originally.

It's been a good week. No one is sick anymore. I have almost all the ingredients I need for Thanksgiving, and I have a really yummy menu planned. What I'm most worried about right now is having enough fridge space. I guess we could always pull out the cooler if needed. It's too cold outside to be a fridge. We've got freezer weather right now.

I was dreading getting the winter tires put on the car, but it worked out really well. Samantha and Lewis were okay, and they only took 45 minutes to finish. During that time, I bought myself some thermal socks that I absolutely love.

Despite the illness, I've enjoyed November. I used to think that fall was just "pre-winter" and spent a lot of time hating it. In reality, September and October have beautiful weather. November is a bit cold, but the snow doesn't stick much yet. I've specifically avoided doing any Christmas shopping, decorating, or music because I don't feel like it's time yet. I want to wait till after Thanksgiving to start on that because it makes me feel rushed and stressed out. I feel like this fall has been a perfect mix of spooky celebrations and gratitude for the bountiful harvest my neighbors gave me. Canning and dehydrating were a lot of work, but they kept me busy for several weeks and got me more excited about doing my own Thanksgiving meal, which really is the culmination of all things fall.

The seasons really are beautiful. Maybe I'm weird for really wanting Thanksgiving and Christmas to be separate, but I like them both better that way.

Life is good. Bring on the feast.

The Cough, No More Canning, Clouds

The annoying cold isn't gone yet. My sleep has been very poor due to coughing. James and I took turns coughing and snoring last night, so we both woke up feeling not so refreshed. The kids are doing somewhat better and have been going to school. I HATE BEING SICK. I still have tons of things I have to do, and to distract myself, I usually do some kind of project so I can forget about life, but that doesn't always mean better sleep.

I'm done canning for the season! I ended up making a lot this year thanks to the Binghams, my in-laws, and Devin. I've only kept what I can use in a year and given away the rest.

12 qts. applesauce

17 pts. salsa

10 qts. spaghetti sauce

5 qts. spaghetti sauce with meat

3 qts. pickled jalapenos

70 trays dried apples

The time change and cough were enough to bring me down, but it's also been cloudy, snowy, and windy a couple of days this week. I'm struggling to keep a positive attitude about life right now. Someone please send me some good sleep and healing!

Halloween, The Cold

Last Thursday, Katie and I went to see Anastasia. Though the ending was a little underwhelming, I enjoyed the music and I think Katie did too.

We felt well enough last Saturday to go to the Jensen Pumpkin festival. By the next morning, different people were feeling sick, so we did church from home.

People were too sick on Halloween, so I bought a couple small bags of our favorites (Twix, Take 5, Snickers) and we watched Goosebumps. It was a bummer to miss the trunk or treat, but it ended up being okay. The candy is gone now, and I'm relieved. I also cooked the non-carved pumpkins (a pie pumpkin and the tiny ones) to make into muffins.

I found out on Tuesday that I'm getting a new calling. I'm really nervous about it. More details will come when it's official. Because I'll need time to adjust, we've decided to do Thanksgiving at our house instead of going to Rexburg. I'm really bummed because that means I do ALL of the cooking and we don't get to see family. :( It's nice that we got to go twice in October, though.

Joseph went back to school this week, but Katie missed 2 days, Lewis 3, and Kenny 4. I just want this stupid cold to be GONE. The cough lingers what feels like forever. James and I have both been tired and had scratchy throats, but that's about it.

The weather has been pretty crummy this week too. Currently, it's snowing, but it will probably melt by tomorrow. It's just been so cloudy and gloomy the past few days, and it doesn't look like we'll have a sunny day in the next week. Between the weather, the sickness, and the stress of my new calling, I feel pretty gloomy myself. It's going to be okay, though. I'm not one of those people who does Christmas things before Thanksgiving, but I know I need something to look forward to in Novembers (and Januarys.) The time change coming this week will also be a challenge, but I'm determined to make a fun tradition that will help me get through it.