Little things from the week:

Well, nobody got sunburned at the beach, because I was manic about sunscreen :). Jared has an incredibly unfair advantage because he tans easily and well. Thank goodness our kids have all [even Myles] inherited that from him. I burn, then freckle. So the sunscreen was mostly for me LOL. Ironically, Jared was born in Utah, while I was born in California. If anybody should be able to tan, I think it should be me. :P Oh, and we went to a tiny, but cool, surfing museum when we were in Huntington Beach.

I posted about the Tuesday night stop in St. George. The kids and I drove home Wednesday, and that was, well, it wasn't pretty. But I'm thinking if I bring duct tape next time, I can solve that little problem...

I was supposed to go to a meeting that Wednesday night [some of the Utah moms from the Angels blog], and up until the time of the meeting, I was still unsure whether or not I'd be going. I am so glad I did! I met some wonderful women, and we all shared our stories about the children we lost, and showed pictures, and cried and laughed with each other. It was such a relief to meet other women who experience the anger and grief and guilt and incredible emptiness that comes with losing your child. But I felt so much hope and love and gratitude that night, and I am looking forward to the next time we meet together.

Thursday and Friday were pretty normal days. I was catching up on laundry, and schooling the kids, and also trying to work out what I'm making for Christmas, and when I can get it done LOL. Friday after lunch, I settled the kids in front of a movie [**side note: I have figured out how to avoid fights about this! One child picks 3 movies he/she wants to watch. Next child discards one movie. Last child discards one movie, leaving one movie, which is what gets watched. I have never had anybody argue about what movie to watch since I started this, and I hope that continues**] Okay, so the kids were settled in front of the TV, and I snuck into the bathroom for a nice, long, relaxing bath. I finished looking through one of my magazines, then got dressed and left the bathroom to find my husband sitting on the couch! I knew he'd be home Friday, but I had expected it to be much later in the evening. So that was pretty cool :).

Saturday the kids and I drove up to Red Butte Gardens for a worm class. Once or twice a month the Garden offers children an opportunity to learn something about gardening in general, or about a specific thing/event in the gardens there. This time, as I said, was about worms. At first, Morgen was the only one excited about this [she loves worms, snails, slugs, and most creepy insect things]. After we made it to the class, and discovered we were going to be making a worm farm, there was much enthusiasm from all children! We came home with this for each child: a plant [pineapple sage], 5 or so red wrigglers, some food for the worms, and a worm farm made from 2-liter plastic soda bottles. Oh, and a greater appreciation for worms in general :).

Gratitude List:
* Walker is reading one of my favorite authors: Mercedes Lackey. This means we get to talk about books together :)
* Morgen loves to draw fantastical creatures [mostly unicorns- what is it with girls and unicorns?], and her animals are becoming more recognizable.
* Hyrum writes his name everywhere now, in capital letters. Oh, and he still clears his throat before he prays, and it still makes me giggle.
* Gas was $1.75 at the pump yesterday. Why isn't anybody reporting that?!?
* God
* my family, even when they're crazy.
* Jared
* good friends
* Coldstone has [at least the one in Huntington Beach has this] my favorite flavor of ice cream EVER: Dark Chocolate Peppermint. Mmmmmmm!
* meeting some of the ladies who post on the Angels Blog
* Getting ready for Thanksgiving this week by making pies. Another Mmmmmmm!