Random Thoughts

My Brother Matt will be heading to Iraq on December 14th. At least a year away from his wife and his kids. What a sacrifice. The fact that it is 11 days before Christmas only makes it a little more poignant. If you find it appropriate, I hope you will join us in taking a minute this coming Christmas morning to pause and thank God for the men and women (and their families at home supporting them) that are serving each of us as members of the United States Military. Matt and Carla, you are in our thoughts and prayers! We love you. Thank you!


Parker is now a Cub Scout! They don't make 'em much cuter than that, do they:) Taylor has loved scouts so much that Parker has just been dying to be part of the program. They both have great leaders, which really makes a huge difference. By the way, thanks to Grandma Rose for taking time during her recent visit to help Parker earn his Bobcat award.

Grandma Rose and Grandpa Green were here for about 10 days. They came the Friday before Thanksgiving and were here for Parker's baptism, which was a very special day. We're so proud of him and his commitment to make right choices. After Parker was baptized, Grandma and Grandpa took him out to get a CTR ring. For those not familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, CTR stands for "Choose the Right." When children are 5 or 6 years old, they get an inexpensive ring that says CTR on it. When they wear this ring, it helps them remember to make right choices. If you want to, you can also purchase a higher quality version, which is what Grandma Rose and Grandpa Green bought for Parker. I hope he will always remain as determined as he is right now to "Choose the Right!" Grandma and Grandpa Nelson bought him a beautiful set of leather-bound scriptures as a baptism gift. He loves both of them very much.

I love having my parents here. They're both tremendously helpful with the housework, laundry, etc. My dad looks all around for odd jobs that need to be done. He fixed a couple of holes in the drywall, glued together a broken drawer from the boys' dresser and loaded and unloaded the dishwasher at least twice a day. My mom did tons of laundry while she was here. They even let Christi and me go out overnight. What a treat! Needless to say, they're welcome to stay as long as they want! :)

A couple of weeks ago, Jesi had to go to the doctor to get some shots. She hid in a small cubby in her closet and basically said, "Talk to the hand..." Poor kid:( A least she was prepared for what was to come. Poor Elli had no idea what hit her!

Yesterday, Graci decided to clean behind our downstairs TV. This TV sits on a small, old entertainment center that is positioned kitty corner. There is a fairly large space that tends to collect stuff that falls down behind the TV. So Graci had me pull out the TV, and she and Jesi climbed through and cleaned up the junk that had collected down there over the past year. What a great kid!

Jeremy