Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my amazing little girls that are constantly reminding me of all the beauty in this world. I was very excited to sleep in this morning, but at 7:30, Rylee was dragging me out of bed to see the sunrise. It was snowing and the sky was glowing. Beautiful. She made me walk down to the end of the street so that we could get a picture without a house in it. At that point I was thankful form my warm coat, hat and gloves as the temp is only 11 degrees! Anyway, here is Rylee's Thanksgiving sun rise.

Today I Will Make A Difference

Below is a thought I have posted on my fridge, in my aerobics room, in my dance room. I make my kids read it once a week. I thought I'd share. I'm sure right now my kids think their mom is crazy and she makes them do freaky stuff like read this saying all the time, but my hope is that even though they don't really seem to get it right now, someday it will just be a part of them. If my children are one day able to say "I try my best to make a difference" then I will have succeeded as a mommy.

Today I Will Make a Difference
by Max Lucado

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble… . I will get up. It’s OK to fail… . I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

Another Deer

Thursday morning Ryan shot a deer with his rifle (the last was from the bo hunt). I'm so excited. Deer meat is my favorite thing in the whole world and we seem to have a never ending supply of it. (Please note the sarcastic tone of the previous comments.) Actually, it is a very nice buck. Ryan doesn't think it's as big as he wants it to be, but I think it's bigger than any other white tail he's ever shot. You are all invited to my house for Christmas dinner...deer stew.

Home

We are home now and things are settling back into a normal routine.

I just wanted to post a few more pictures from SLC in Novemeber.

We had a great time seeing everybody and we miss you all already!

Salt Lake - November 2007

How lucky are we that we get to visit our family so often. I'm so grateful for my moms job. Without it, we would not be able to afford so many visits each year. While it wasn't a happy reason for a visit, it is still always a happy occasion when we get to be with our families. Both Ryan and I are so lucky to have such close families. We arrived in SLC at 7:45 AM on Sat, Nov 3. Just in time for Isaiah's 6th birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise to him that we were here, but Andrew blew it. Oh well, the kids were all excited to see each other anyway. Alisha, Kaylee, Easton and Byron, (Alisha's boyfriend and son) Andrew, Debo, Izzy, Sky, and Steph all gathered at my moms house for breakfast and coffee cake to celebrate the occasion. The kids enjoyed tearing apart grandmas house and chasing Papa. Isaiah got a new bike for his birthday, so most of the morning was spent outside while we watched him try it out. The next couple of days were spent preparing for Grandma Melbs funeral, in both the literal sense, and the spiritual sense. This is the first person that Ryan has lost, and it really is a time of great reflection. We were able to spend some wonderful time with Jay and Debbie and all the family. Ryan and his siblings and cousins are so close and it's so fun to be a part of that. It's funny sometimes trying to describe how excited we are to see Ryan's cousins. Most people aren't very close to their cousins after they grow up, but the Muir's and Sollis's are like brothers and sisters. It wouldn't be a real visit to Utah without everyone having dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I am grateful that we were able to still have Sunday dinner this week. Rachel descrived the Sunday dinner so well in her tribute to Melba on her blog. It's really amazing that we can sit there for 3-4 hours and really enjoy each other. I also have to say a little something about my brothers-in-law. You guys sure know how to pick awesome wives. I truly love all three of them. They are each the perfect addition to an already near-perfect family. And Linds...Nate is awesome too. The only thing that will make this family better, is more little ones... so thanks Greg and Cheryl for getting started on that! Well, that's a start. I'll add more when I get home!

Happy Halloween

A little late I know, but it's been a busy week. The kids had a good time, but really, that is to be expected. Parties at school, dressing up, eating candy, staying up late, it's like kid paradise. Ryan was out of town for work, so I picked the girls up from school and we went home and carved pumpkins. Then we put on costumes (Rylee was a pirate and Brooklyn was Hermoine Granger) and went to our friends house for dinner. We love being friends with the Hardy girls. Carla is my age and she is so much fun, Islin is Brooklyns age and they are best friends and Aishlee is Rylees age and they have a great time together as well. Islin and Aishlee have a little sister (Jaydee 4) so Brooklyn and Rylee get to enjoy a little big sisterness when we are with them. So anyway, Carla cooked Mac and Cheese and Pigs-in-a-blanket (see I told you, kid paradise) and then we took off. We did a few houses in the car as we both had a couple of obligatory trick-or-treats to do, and then we headed to the nursing home! Golder Acres puts on a great Halloween thing. All the residents have candy that the give to the kids and there is a haunted house. The haunted house didn't scare the kids at all, but it did get a good scream out of Carla and I. After the nursing home we headed down our street. Our street is Trick-or-Treat central. My neighbor keeps track of how many kids come each year and it was over 400 this year! Yikes! Maybe it's good Ryan wasn't home to pass out candy, we would have run out. Anyway, the kids ended up with 2 grocery sacks each of candy. Then we went home, had a hot bath and the girls went to bed. I stayed up, as I was still getting trick-or-treaters until 10:15. All in all it was a pretty great night. No snow, and that is something to be thankful for!

In Loving Memory

Melba Jones Wright Cherished Wife, Mother and Grandmother

Melba Jones Wright, our beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend, passed away peacefully on November 1st, 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah with her loving family by her side. She had fought a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Melba was born June 7th, 1926 to John Henry Jones and Clementine Cuvier Coe in Duchesne, Utah. She was the youngest of their 11 children. She grew up on the family farm in Tabiona, Utah. She married her husband, J W Wright, on August 30th, 1946. They enjoyed 61 happy years together. She worked at Blue Cross for nearly 20 years and retired in 1989. Melba was the mother of two daughters, Marlene and Debra. Family was always first and foremost in her life and she especially enjoyed a tender and special relationship with each of her 10 grandchildren and six great-grand-children. Her home was always full of her family who loved and adored her. She was a lifelong member of the LDS Church and she served in Primary, Sunday School and Mutual. She had many talents and enjoyed sewing and handwork. She enjoyed traveling and long drives with her loving husband. She was a dear and devoted friend to many and will be greatly missed.

Melba is survived by her husband, J W Wright; her daughters, Marlene Sollis (Larry), and Debra Muir (Randy); 10 grandchildren, Cynthia Hepworth (Brian), Brandon Muir (Jenn), Jenny Lundeberg (Karl), Ryan Muir (Nicole), Jeffrey Sollis (Rachel), Brett Muir (Becca), Christian Sollis (Susie), Greg Muir (Cheryl), Matthew Sollis (Clancey), Lindsey Mackay (Nate); and six great-grandchildren, Brooklyn and Rylee Muir, Ethan and Tanner Hepworth, Anna Sollis and Riser Lundeberg. She is also survived by Bertha Jones (Idaho); Donna Scott (California); Raymond and Janie Wright (Kentucky). She is preceded in death by her parents, her six brothers and four sisters: Sylvia, Margaret, LeRoy, Earl, Edna, Nathan, Don, Wayne, Leo and Doris. We are certain there was a joyful Jones Family Reunion at her passing. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 6th 2007 at 11 a.m. at the Murray 28th Ward, 932 W. Greenoaks Drive (5900 So.). The viewing will be from 6-8 p.m. on Monday at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary, 4760 So. State St., and one hour prior to services on Tuesday at the church. Interment: Mountain View Memorial Cemetery. Condolences may be shared with the family at http://www.jenkins-soffe.com/

Published in the Salt Lake Tribune from 11/3/2007 - 11/4/2007.

We are all truly blessed to have had Grandma Melb in our lives. I feel extra lucky that my children were able to have such a close relationship with her. Her constant presence and love in our lives has added so much value and such a keen sense of family into my girls lives. I hope that someday I can be half the grandmother that Grandma Melb is. If I am, my grandchildren will be pretty lucky.