Thankful for Fall!

Today I'm simply thankful to be having so much fun with my little family. Here are some of our fall happenings!

Ellie and I love cooking together. She generally makes the kitchen into a disaster but it is a fun disaster! What a great helper!

 We had season passes to Lagoon this year. It was so much fun. El, Max and I would go there for a few hours a week and come home whenever we wanted, it was perfect. They have a lot of fall decorations that were really fun and we took advantage of them!

 Ellie with her cousin Elise. They have a lot of fun together. Ellie's favorite ride is the Tidal wave. She is such a riot!

 Ellie hanging out with that "Spooooky Switch!" She would say with her hands next to her face to emphasize the spookyness of it all, "Mom! let's go get some candy from that Spooooky Switch!"

 The kids love riding the train, no really she does. She just decided to be a little turkey for the picture.

 THE TANGLED CAST! Such great costumes right! Ellie loves Repunzel and Max is up for anything so he was the lizard. We had so much fun trick or treating at Daddy's work. Dad's work major spoils the little kids as they hand out full size candy bars and create fun spook alleys. We Love Fusion IO!

 Dad had Veterans day off so we made a giant snowman. We had to use 2 x 4's to roll the 2nd ball up and we snapped them in half with the weight! What a project! I came home from doing some prn work and found Ellie out playing in the snow with Dad like this. Such a funny duck. Um Ellie where are your boots!?

 What would fall be without a Utah State football game! How fun is it to have the AGGIES winning?! The weather was  70 degrees. It was absolutely perfect! Notice Ellie's socks and shoes are off again. We may need to start duct taping those suckers on. Notice Max is pant less. We had him in a snow suit in anticipation for the Logan chill. But we were bamboozeled by the crazy weather and ended up taking it off so he did not sweat to death.

 It's hard to say what came first the leaves or the snow. I'm not sure if the order of these pictures is right because Utah weather can be so crazy. None the less the kids love it. Max had to be quarantined from the leaf pile because he tries to eat them. Silly boy. Is there nothing he won't eat?  :)

                                                            Happy Fall Everyone!

When it RAINS it POURS

Sometimes when it rains it pours and all you can do is sit there while the rain pelts you in the face. That is how I have felt this month with our life. Our life is so incredibly great that when true heart breaking trials come upon us we sometimes just sit there and think 'is this really all happening to us!' We often forget the real reason that we are here on this earth and that is to enjoy pain, sorrow, happiness, and trials. Fortunately for us we have experienced all of the above in the last month and have been blessed by our Father in Heaven in more ways then we will ever know.
      Mitch's dad is 74 and quite a goer. Last month he was up roofing a house when he tripped, slid off the roof on his belly and landed on his face on the cement. He fractured his skull, broke his zygomatic bone in 3 places, shattered his knee cap into 30 pieces and had internal bleeding in his brain and on his kidneys. The man looked like he'd been through a war. Upon getting to the hospital they took him in for knee surgery, and put several staples in his head to help hold it all together. They kept him up at Mckay Dee hospital for a week until his vitals were stable then they sent him home until his swelling went down. A week later he was re-admitted to the hospital for re-constuctive face surgery and they put 4 metal plates in his face and head. We are really fortunate that we have him with us today. Cognitively he is 100% however he has a lot of physical therapy ahead.

                          Ellie with Grandpa a few days before the accident.

Mitch and His brothers prior to the accident. These moments are supposedly bonding moments. I think for now on they should stick to shopping or something a little less dangerous.

Poor Larry. His eyes were swollen shut and he was in a lot of pain. He is lucky to have Grandma Sherrill to take good care of him.

        A week after Larry's accident My dad sat all of my siblings and our spouses down and told us he had colon cancer. He also proceeded to tell us that there was a potential that he had liver cancer and if that was the case he had a year to live. It was honestly like taking a punch to the gut. It was HARD,very HARD. We would not get any official results for another 3 days. As a family we spent the next two days fasting, praying pleading and worrying. It was all consuming to all of us. We continually had a prayer in our hearts that the liver would be negative for cancer and that he would JUST have colon cancer. Our Heavenly Father poured out his blessing upon us as we found out that the liver was negative and that Dad was no longer on a time line for life.
       The following week dad was admitted to the hospital and had surgery to remove part of his colon. Dad checked in the day that Larry checked out.  The funny thing is that they would have been 3 doors down from each other. Dad is now recovering from his surgery at his home while Larry does the same. Dad will have Chemo therapy starting next month to get rid of some more cancer cells that spread from his colon. We have very high hopes that his treatment will be successful.
       With all this happening Mitch's parents received their Mission call to the California, Los Angelos mission. They are supposed to leave Dec. 31st. However it will likely be delayed until he can recover.
     So as it is Thanksgiving this week let me take a moment to say what I am grateful for. I am grateful for life. I am grateful for priesthood blessings, I am grateful for family relationships and the plan of salvation. I am grateful for the opportunity to view life with new eyes. This month has helped me to see more good in people, to cherish every relationship I have. I have learned how quickly things can change and how precious this gift of life is. I've truely learned about the comforting spirit of the Holy Ghost and how quickly it can encompasses and comfort us when we ask. I'm grateful for family and how they help each other get through things. Life is tender and precious and I hope that this month we can all take a step back and evaluate what is most important to us. Happy Thanksgiving!