Little Cam!!

I know I don't take nearly enough pictures of little Cam and how he is changing every day. Here are a couple that shows how big and cute he is getting.

 

Gratitude Turkey

This is our Gratitude/Thankful Turkey. The boys had a lot of fun with this new tradition. We would think of something we are grateful for. I would write it on a "feather" and Kade would draw a picture. I figured next year we would write what we are grateful for on the back and try not to pick things we said this year. That will really make us think and be creative. Here is Kade with our finished turkey. He would only squint because I guess the flash was too bright.  

 

November is the month we really think of everything we are grateful for. This year I bought a big turkey and hung it on the wall. Each day before Thanksgiving we will all take turns thinking of something we are grateful for, writing it on a turkey feather and hang it on the turkey. By Thankgiving we will have a big "Gratitude Turkey".

Here is what we are grateful for....

Day 1: Kade decided we are grateful for family, not just parents and siblings, but everyone in our family.
 

Day 2: Kyle said he was grateful for Jesus. We all agree with Kyle. Where would we be in life if we did not have the influence and example of our Savior.

Day 3: Even though Eric is in Chicago and has to travel more, we are grateful for his job and him working so hard. If it wasn't for all of his hard work we wouldn't have everything we have and the boys would not be able to do everything they are involved in. Most importantly, I wouldn't be able to stay home with them. I am so lucky to have a husband that works so hard so that I/we can raise our boys instead of a daycare.

Day4: Our country, the U.S.A., and all of the freedoms we have with living here.

Day 5: Kade decided the Holy Ghost. He doesn't completely understand what the Holy Ghost does yet, but I am glad he knows that the influence of the Holy Ghost is something we should be grateful for.

Day 6: All of the boys decided they are really grateful for their toys. What would they possibly do if they did not have their toys. Kade asked me what he would do if he had only one toy. I explained to him that some little kids do only have one toy, so we should be grateful that he gets to have a lot of toys to play with.

Day 7: Giving service. This includes home/visiting teaching. The boys love to help take food into people's house when we take dinner over to them. This is something I hope to do more of next year and as the boys get older.

Day 8: I am extremely grateful for a clean house. A clean house is so much nicer to live in. The Spirit is stronger in a clean house. It smells better. I am more capable of thinking. I have more time to do fun things with the boys when I am not worried about cleaning the house. This is something that, unfortunately, does not happen very often. However, I am grateful for the time when the house is all clean. I look forward to the time when all the boys, not just Kade, can help me out with this.

Other things we are wrote that we are grateful for....
*Church and the temple
*Friends
*Nature
*Prayer
*a living prophet
*our clothes
*elelctricity
*pictures
*cars, trucks and motorcyles
*that we get to live each day
*food
*our home
*that we are all healthy
*knowledge we get from going to school and church, the
books we read and the activities we do together
*holidays, including birthdays

I look forward to what they say next year :)

Poor Puppy!

Kyle and Connor LOVE suckers!! Any kind of suckers. However, when they are "done" with them they just throw them on the floor. Right after Halloween, they, of course, had a lot of suckers. One of them did not make it to the trash. Instead, it found its way on to Chloe. Poor puppy dog!! I don't think she liked it very much. It looked like it was really hurting her skin. We were leaving in a couple of days to go to Boise for Thanksgiving and I didn't have time to take her to get groomed. We bathed her instead. The boys thought it was so fun. I don't think she did, but she did sit very still in the bathtub. The sucker came right off after it was wet enough. I am sure Chloe really appreciated the cusker coming off. Silly boys!! I told them to make sure their finished or unwanted suckers made it to the trash and not on poor Chloe!!

 

 

We are so grateful to have a dog like Chloe! She is so patient with the boys. She puts up with a lot from them and has never once bitten any of them. At times she acts like their protector, especially when they are little. Right now she will sit by Cam and make sure he is ok. When we first brought Cam home Chloe did not notice until he was in the pack-n-play. She heard him crying a little and jumped on the bed. She looked in and starting sniffing. I wonder if she was thinking "oh no, not another one" or "another baby that I get to love". From how she acts around him I think she is happy to have him :)  

End of Soccer Party

Kade has an amazing soccer coach. He really helps the kids to learn everything they can about the sport. After the last two seasons they have had an "end of season" get together. They give out trophies and, this season, each player received a certificate with one word that describes them. Kade's word that Coach Bernard gave him was 'dependable". He said that they can always count on Kade to be there for the players, whether it is in a game or at practice. I think Kade is also dependable in general. I know I can always count on him to help out or to do what is right.