That's Right . . . They're Up!

We have had a few dry days, so we decided it was a great time to get the lights up on the house. In Oregon, we have to take advantage of dry weather when it happens. We typically wait until after Thanksgiving to break out the Christmas decor, but like I said, we had to take advantage of the weather. We are even going to start decorating inside the house this weekend! Our rational for this is simply, "What the heck." :-) Ella has been watching Polar Express and getting ready for Santa since the first of October, and we are going to be busy/out of town the entire week of Thanksgiving. So, "what the heck," lets deck the halls now!

Having Faith

Last week was the primary program in our ward. I was called as the primary music leader this past May and have had a great time working with the children. It had been about 10 years since I had served in a primary, and that was back in the college days where we had 2-6 children! Before that was my own experience as a primary child. Needless to say, my experience was slim. But the children of our ward are wonderful; I especially love the sunbeams. They have eyes the size of silver dollars and are so enthusiastic about everything. But back to the primary program . . . it was a success. As leaders, we were very pleased and relieved when sacrament meeting was over (whew). Then . . . the bishop caught me before I was out of the chapel and asked if Landon and I could meet him in his office for just a few minutes. To cut to the chase, I am now the president of our primary. The former president had been saying that she was hoping the bishop would release her soon since she is expecting a baby - she's due 7-8 weeks after me. I guess having a baby doesn't exempt you from anything.
When the bishop extended the call to me, my first reaction (and it was just a reaction) was to start crying. I felt bad for my bishop to have to witness that, but I can now say that I am looking forward to this new calling. My counselors and I were sustained and set apart this past Sunday (choosing counselors is an amazing experience!), and with that blessing I feel strengthened. If the Lord can have faith in me, I can have faith in Him!

Fancy Nancy and Other Adventures

We spent a great day together as a family a few weeks ago. There are several "pumpkin patches" in our area and we decided to visit one. The one that we chose to visit had more activities for families to enjoy than just the pumpkin patch. Ella enjoyed racing through a hay maze, playing in the corn box (my Ella loves to dig), and pumping her rubber duck down a water slide.

The hay ride out to the pumpkin patch was enjoyable and Ella and her Daddy found the perfect pumpkin to bring home.

For Halloween, Ella was Fancy Nancy. For those of you that are not familiar with this character, she is a girl of approximately 3-5 that does everything fancy. Her room is gorgeous, her language is exquisite (she speaks in French a lot because it is the beautiful language), and she always is dressed up in the most luxurious ensembles. She is the epitome of a girly girl. You'll have to check out the books some time.

Here is Ella preparing to become Fancy Nancy.

The transformation is almost complete!

Now it's out to trick-or-treat. Ella had a blast! I was so impressed that she would walk right up to the door, knock or ring the door bell, hold out her little bag, and say "trick-or treat!" It was a magical night for her, and the best Halloween for us yet.

Election Day!

I was reading a book today and came across this quote, I found it appropriate to ponder today.

Your success as a family . . . our success as a nation . . .depends not on what happens inside the White House, but on what happens inside your house.

~ Barbara Bush, Barbara Bush: A Memoir, 570

I am grateful to have a living prophet that I can turn to and be confident that he talks with our Heavenly Father and thus will always lead us righteously with our best interest at heart.