I am thankful for

I am thankful for everything I have experienced
In this life of mine
For in all I have found
That in His Word-the answers I find

I am thankful for all the tears I have cried
For they have taught me to appreciate laughter
They have given me the ability to see the
The joy that comes after

Through my tears I have come to know
His Holy Spirit in my life
How He is always there
And comforts through the strife

I am thankful for the storms I have encountered
Knowing that the rainbow is at the end
Realization that they are only temporal
That with time all will mend

I have learned that I don’t need to be strong
For Jesus supplies the strength for me
He shoulders my burdens
Regardless of what the circumstance may be

I am thankful for all the relationships
For the good and yes, for the bad
For they have given life to my emotions
An appreciation of what I have had

My most valuable relationship
Is that with Jesus, my Father
I know that I can trust Him
As I can trust no other

I am thankful for the pain I have known
It has given a compassion for the suffering
An ability to reach out to others
An appreciation of little things

I understand the greatness of Jesus's love
And the pain He has suffered for me
How He endured all things
So that I could be set free

I am thankful for the hunger and thirst
That I have had to go through
I appreciate having food before me
And sharing it with others too

He has given himself as my food and drink
To make sure that I was fed
His Blood shed for my drink
And His Body broken for my bread

Most of all, I am thankful for His Grace
For the provisions that it brings
How it has provided for
Me in all things

~Kathleen Shelton Poulson

New Moon

Last Friday I went with my sil's to see New Moon at midnight. We all wore our Team Edward tee-shirts but all had a little puppy love for Jacob after we saw the movie. We were in the "Fangs" theater and got a vampire themed goody bag....we has so much fun and the move was awesome!! I look forward to seeing Eclipse in June!!

ornaments for Christopher

With Christmas just around the corner, my cute sil Natalie and I got to work on hand painting family Christmas ornaments for our brother Christopher who is on his mission in Concepcion, Chile. We spent the week painting an ornamnet for each family member and they all turned out really cute!! The hard part was finding small pictures of everyone to put in them. I am sure he will love them and I look froward to the long wait of his package finally arriving in Chile in about 5 weeks! We all miss Christopher so much but are so thankful that he is serving a mission for the example he is to all of us!! We look forward to him returning home in 18 months!!

fall leaves

Last Saturday while everyone went fishing, Brenna and Landon had a fantastic fall day. They raked the leaves all day, making a huge pile, burying each other in them and jumping in over and over. It was so much fun to watch them play enjoying the last warm fall day :)

football 2009

Last night was the official end to Jackson's 2009 football season. His team was in a 3 way tie with Alta and Riverton and had to play a a tie breaker with both....to our disappointment we didn't advance to the playoffs :( Despite his knee injury, Jackson finished the season with 14 Touchdowns...AMAZING!! His team finished the season 6 - 3 and had a fantastic season. Ryan had a blast coaching, getting to spend time with Jackson and getting to know all the boys on the team. Jackson started the season at 61 pounds and finished weighing in last night at 58?? I guess his light weight makes him extra speedy!! He had a great time playing this year and we are hoping that he will play next year but he says that he wants to focus on Lacrosse so we will just have to wait and see. We want to thank everyone that came out to support Jackson this season, it was so fun to have extra cheerleaders on the sideline :) We are so very proud of Jackson for being so humble, being such a good example and playing through his knee pain not wanting to let his dad, coaches or team down. Jackson is so much fun to watch and we are so blessed that he is our son. Get ready because Jackson doesn't sit still for long...Jr. Jazz starts in 2 weeks so come and cheer him on with us!! We love you Jackson and way to go Bengals!!

letter from Elder Morgan

Dear Renee and family!

Thank you for the pictures! I heard that you had a lot of fun for halloween. I did too. I dressed up in my pj's that you sent me and the maskes and made the pumpkin. My companion is going to make pumpkin pie with it today.

How are you? I hope you are all good. I am loving it here except for this rash that I have that is not allowing me to sleep these days, but I'll be ok.

I love this mission. It is amazing. We are going to have 2 baptisms this week and 5 more this month. It is great here. I love being able to preach the gospel to those that need it.---Everyone needs it

Yesterday I talked to this homeless man about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His hopeless eyes filled with faith and a desire to change. I love helping people to come to Christ and be changed. I have kind of lost myself in it. The other day I realized how different I am compared to the old me. Don't worry, this me is better...I hope.

I love you all so much thanks for the letters and packages. Please pray for me to get better and keep sending me pictures and letters! Tell everyone to write me, I need it more than you know. Thank you for everything. I love you.

Adios,

Elder Morgan

A Frightfully Fun Halloween!!

pumpkins

Cundick's TOY STORY

snow day

The boys were so excited get their snow clothes on and play in the snow this afternoon. They quickly rolled balls to make a snowman but they got so big they couldn't lift them onto each other so they just took turns smashing them, boys will be boys. We love the snow but don't look forward to trick-or-treating on a freezing Halloween night :(

5 days until.....

jackson's knee

It's semi good news.....no cast is needed!! But Jackson has posttraumatic injuries in his knee. These include moderate bone bruising in the patella (knee cap) and the medial femoral condyle, moderate anterior cruciate ligament sprain, he has fluid between the fibers of his knee and severe bruising and edema in his Hoffa's pad (the fat pad below your knee cap) He will wear his brace for another 2 weeks, ice it twice a day and can start mild activity after that. The Orthopedist will reevaluate him in 4 weeks. We are thankful that he doesn't need surgery or that his injuries with heal on their own with rest *fingers crossed*. We look forward to Jackson getting back to his speedy active self very soon!!

raking leaves

Today I couldn't find Ayden and Landon. I quickly discovered them outside in the backyard raking leaves. When Ayden saw me he quickly said with a huge smile "We are raking the leaves to surprise you because you don't feel good, now you don't have to do it!" I couldn't ask for a better surprise!!

all heart...

Saturday was Grandparents/Family Day at Jackson's football game. As many of you know, Jackson was injured 3 weeks ago during a game and has been suffering terrible knee pain and swelling since. We thought it would pass but it didn't so we took him to the doctor. After 2 visits to the doctor and Orthopedist, an x ray and MRI Jackson has been put on limited activity and has a brace on his leg supporting his knee. The doctor made the diagnosis of Osteochondritis Dissecans OCD but after the results come back from his MRI and we meet with his Orthopedist on Tuesday will know for sure. Jackson was crushed when the doctor told him that he couldn't play football any more. The course of action to help his knee heal if in fact the doctor's pre MRI diagnosis is correct, worst case will be up to eight weeks in a hip to ankle cast. In talking to Jackson we made the decision to let him play in his game on Saturday as it maybe his last for the season. We are looking on the bright side and hope that the MRI shows something less serious but Jackson wanted to play and has more heart than any other boy I know. He was so excited that it was family day but he was still a little apprehensive about playing with his knee but he didn't let that stop him. He made 2 touchdowns and helped his team to V I C T O R Y with a 27 - 19 win over Woodscross! We are so very proud of him. Ayden and Landon showed their support by coloring their hair Bengal orange and blue...they looked so cute!! We are optimistic and will keep you posted about what the Orthopedist says on Tuesday...keep him in your prayers :)

crazy hair

Pumpkin Seed Necklace

Pumpkin seeds (roasted)
Paint (orange, black, white and green)
Needle and thread
(Kitchen foil to put seeds on while you paint them)

Paint your pumpkin seeds in orange, green, white and black. The easiest way to do this is to put them on kitchen foil so that they will not stick to anything while they dry. But it is a very messy job!

When your seeds are dry, thread your needle with a length of thread long enough to go over your head with 3 or 4 inches to spare. Put your seeds a few at a time on a pile on newspaper or a thin sponge. One by one push the needle down through the seed - when you have pierced the seed safely, pick it up and pull it through the thread. When your thread is about two thirds filled, knot the ends together tightly.

Note: you need a sharp needle for this so make sure children are well supervised or that an adult does the threading.

Grandparents/Family Day

click on photo to enlarge!!

whisk us away...

Halloween is my FAVORITE time of year. I love making spooky and fun meals for my family and friends that bring the Halloween theme to the dinner table. Normally I would share my ideas on this blog but now that I have a recipe blog I will be posting them there so make sure to check out Whisk US Away for yummy and fun holiday recipes!!

46

Jackson "golfing" in Hawaii June 2001

Jackson has always loved golf. When he was 2 he would tee up golf balls on our sprinkler heads...it was so cute. Last Thursday he went golfing with Ryan, grandma, grandpa and Ayden to Old Mill golf course. It was a cold windy afternoon but Jackson's golfing was HOT, he beat everyone golfing a 46, that's only 11 over par...AMAZING, he is only 10!! Jackson walked in the door with a huge grin his face and held the golf card up to me. It took me a minute to figure it out and then I saw it...he shoot a 46! I was so happy for him :) Ryan came in the door and said "wow, I am already getting beat by my 10 year old" he was so proud of Jackson. Jackson is looking forward to the spring so he can join the Utah Junior Golf Association and compete in Junior tournaments. We are so very proud of him and look forward watching him tee up next spring and summer! Way to go JAX!!

fall colors