Much to be thankful for!

For those of you who read Facebook regularly, probably saw a lot of postings of people listing things they were thankful for over the month of November. I was not one of them, but I am thankful for my MANY blessings. It is the time of year to reflect on those thoughts.

Our Thanksgiving was fairly quiet, as family gatherings go. All of our children and grandchildren, except for Vonda & family met at Dora's, where we had a wonderful dinner. Everyone chipped in, so it was not a lot of work for any one person. The meal was probably the noisiest part of the day. We ate early, so the guys could watch the Cowboys lose the football game (the reason it was not so noisy). Dora's girls went upstairs and played video games and the little boys destroyed Maclay's room. Not literally, but all the toys were out and scattered. The women cleaned up the dishes and divided up the leftovers. Below is a look down at the dining area during the pie eating. There is a perfect landing above the stairs for taking this type of picture.

Then we tried to get the 4 little boys to sit still for a picture with their bug jar quilts. Too close to nap time for much cooperation. It is like herding cats to get them to sit still for even a minute.

But they are all pretty cute. These are the 2 best of about 10 shots.

And for those who are not on facebook, Jennie had her ultrasound yesterday and this time the baby cooperated with the doctor. It is definitely A GIRL!!! Hayden has been saying "sister" ever since. So cute!

Vonda had a really crazy last week. On Monday they had a huge snowstorm. It was heavy and wet, and a lot of it. Austin was at Erinn's and got snowed in. Vonda was at work and could not get home, so she stayed at the hotel next to her work. The kids were let out of school early, and Robert barely made it home. Vonda let her boss know that she was close-by in case others could not get to work. Her boss told her to come back over and get something to eat, and as she was getting her coat on, the power went out. She walked over anyway, and helped them put things away and had some hot soup. She went back and had a bath by candlelight and went to bed in her clothes, as it was so cold. The next morning she went over to help unload the Thanksgiving shipment at the restaurant and still the power was out. They have an enclosed receiving area that is secure, so much if the stuff was left there. It was colder than inside. Later that day they got a refrigerated truck to keep the food in until the power came back on. She and Austin both made it home that afternoon, but said there were broken tree branches all along the way, and the power company was trying to restore the power lines that had been broken by the storm and the trees.

The kids did not go back to school on Tues or Wed, but they never lost power. They were thankful for that, but the water pump froze up and Robert had to put a heater next to it to thaw it out and keep it working. Fortunately it happened while they were using the water and could immediately get it taken care of. Robert did not go to work on Tues, but did on Wed.

It was 36 hours for some and 72 for others without power. The restaurant was about 36 hours, so lots of folks ate there. The power crews came in shifts to eat, and by 4 pm on Thursday, they were out of turkey and lots of other things, but people were good and just thankful they could have a hot meal someplace.

So, I am thankful that they are all safe and sound. I am thankful for a nice warm house, food to eat, and that our storms have been minimal and our power has not even flickered.

Hope this posting finds you all well and safe too.

Quest For Christ

On Saturday our ward had an activity entitled "The Quest For Christ"

Over the past 2 1/2 months, in preparation for this day, those joining the activity have been memorizing "The Living Christ" document, which is the testimony sent out to the membership of the Church in January 2000. It is signed by the First Presidency and the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Of course, over the past nearly eleven years, the names have changed. With the passing of several General Authorities and members of the First Presidency, new people fill those positions. The second part of the preparation was to study the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and the third was to write down your testimony.

The call came at 6:30 am, with the words, "The bridegroom cometh." We had fifteen minutes to be at the church.

The first thing that happened was a "judgement" table where we were asked 3 questions. 1. Have you memorized "The Living Christ?" 2. Have you been studying the life and teachings of Jesus Christ? 3. Have you written down your testimony? Those who could answer "yes" to all three questions went into the Primary room. Those who answered "No" went into the Scout room. After everyone had been "judged", we were asked what parable came to mind with the activities. The answer was clear, The Parable of the Ten Virgins. Next we went into the cultural hall for a light breakfast. We were given instructions for our day, and then an Angel appeared and told us that the Christ Child had been born and that we were to go to the Inn to find him. All of the classrooms were Inns, and we had to seek out the correct one. Once we found the correct Inn, we were told that they had been there, but there was no room for them, and they were in a stable. Directions were given to find the stable.

When we arrived the stable was empty. A Roman soldier came by and told us that Herod had decreed that all children under the age of 2 were to be killed, and did we know where the family was who apparently had been in this stable? He gave us a copy of the decree, with a clue as to where our next destination was to be. The clue led us to the Temple, where a young boy told us that Jesus had been there, but was now gone. The Scribes were certain that this could not be the Messiah, as the scriptures said Elias would come first. We were told that Elias had already come and we should go to the River Jordan to find Him.

At the River Jordan, we encountered John the Baptist, who also reported that Jesus had come this way, but we must repent and be baptized in order to follow Him. He led us up the path, where we met Simon Peter, who had left the sea and was a Fisher of Men. Here we were given the opportunity to cast a sin into the net of the fisherman and let it depart from our presence.

Simon Peter told us that Jesus had gone to the Pool of Bethesda to heal the sick. Over the past year everyone has been putting spare change in a "Jingle Jar" to help someone less fortunate than we. At the Pool of Bethesda (Primary Children's Hospital) we learned of the needs of the children afflicted with diseases and the research that gets much of it's funding from donations such as Pennies By The Inch. The 1st counselor in the bishopric has a 3-year old with leukemia, and he related a little about what had happened here. We were given the opportunity to donate the money in our jars to the hospital. This is one jar of two that we filled.

Next we went on to the Upper Room for the Feast of the Passover. One of the families in our ward are of Jewish descent, and this good brother explained about the feast and the tradition behind each food that was served. He talked about Christ introducing the Sacrament at the Last Supper. Then we ate the Feast.

After our meal, we went to the "Garden" at the base of the Mount of Olives and learned about Gethsemane, the olive presses, and the pressure of the sins upon Jesus, as he atoned for our sins. The pressure was compared to that of extracting oil from the olives.

Then we walked the road of Golgotha to Temple Square and into the Visitor's Center. At the Cristus Rotunda we learned of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. We held a testimony meeting and all recited The Living Christ. When we finished our quest, after we finally found Jesus Christ, it was raining. The weather had cooperated while we held the outdoor activities. We awakened Sunday morning with snow on the ground. The timing and the weather were perfect for our quest. It was a life-changing experience that is difficult to put into words. It was a very spiritual experience.

Better week!

A much better week at our house. No floods, toys picked up, kids not sick.

Hayden was here Wed & Thurs. He is growing up so fast. He says everything, and very plain. He enunciates better than Ryan for most words. Marian is taking Ryan for a speech evaluation at the school district. Her pediatrician told her to wait until he was 4.

Here are the pictures for their birthdays. My new computer does such a good job.

Ryan- age 4

Jackson - age 3

Hayden - age 18 months

Partners in Crime!

And in Halloween attire. Hayden just borrowed this one for the pictures, as they did not have his Kermit costume yet. They went shopping after the picture session.

And Erinn posted this one yesterday. The cowboys call it "powering-up", but they always have individual time before the rodeos, to ask for protection. Love the picture, though.

It is cold and overcast today. Glad I am not sitting at a football game somewhere.

Life is not dull at the Topham house

Never a dull moment around here.

I have been having problems with my laptop. It started out being really slow to boot up, then the CD/DVD player quit working. I took it in and they tried to find a new or used player, but I got it in 1994, and no luck either way. And the problem was a virus in the Windows XP that they needed to fix with a disc, so no dice there either. So, I just bought my own birthday and Christmas present, a new laptop. It is really nice and fast! Now I can catch up on my blog.

Here are the Muppets aka Coxs. Hayden made a very cute Kermit, and Jennie looks like Vonda with blonde "Miss Piggy" hair. Jeff made his own "Animal" costume. I think his Mom helped him a bit.

Just before Halloween, Jackson woke up from his nap with a fever and complaint of an earache. His right ear was really red, so I took him to the Dr and they got him on antibiotics. Ryan had a week if asthma flare-up, so they neither one felt up to much Trick or Treat. Marian took them to the city park for a trunk or treat in the rain. Ryan came home and went to sleep. He would not wake up for the ward Trunk or Treat, which was held in the Primary room because of the rain.
Jackson went, but did not last long before he was ready to come home and go to bed.
Ryan was a dragon and Jackson was a bee.

They neither one went to Primary on Sunday, but are feeling better now.
On Monday afternon, Jackson was running from one mess to another. Paul had brought home a cake and Jackson proceeded to take it off the counter and help himself to it. It was a carrot cake with the cream cheese frosting, so my kitchen was coated. I had been cutting out quilt block pieces while they slept. I put down my cutting wheel, making sure I had closed the blade, and set to work cleaning up the mess. Ryan woke up and he and Jackson had the TV on. I heard Jackson whimpering, and went to check on him. He was holding his right thumb tightly in his left hand and blood was dripping around his fingers. My cutting wheel was disassembled on the floor. The thumb was cut right over the knuckle, where the tendons go. I cleaned him up, bandaged the thumb and called Marian to meet us at the ER when she got off work. Then I left Ryan with Paul and off we went to the ER.
Here is the Dr, suturing the thumb. He knicked the tendon sheath, but the tendon seems to be okay. 7 stitches in the thumb, and the only times he cried were when they numbed up the thumb and when his mommy got there. What a tough little kid.

Bandaged and splinted.

And this is what it looked like on Wednesday, when I changed the dressings.
The boys got their flu shots on Friday, and Jackson has complained about that MUCH more than his thumb.

And if that is not enough for 1 week, Thursday night I left the boys with Paul while I went to a meeting and Marian went to another meeting. I got home to an inch of water covering the kitchen floor, the cupboards were soaked, and water was running through the ceiling downstairs. So we cleaned up water from the floors, the counter tops, inside the cupboards for about 4 hours. My baking pans were full of water, too. We are still trying to get the rugs downstairs dry. What a mess!! Paint is peeling from the plaster, but it is real plaster and lathe, so it won't fall apart lke sheetrock. But it sure stinks!!! Be glad when it gets dried out.

Paul had sat down with them to watch a movie and he went to sleep. They took advantage of the freedom and had a free-for-all. At least my counters and floor are all clean, and my lower cupboards have all been cleaned out and straightened up. Not what I was planning for this week, but at least it is now done. I am so stiff and sore, I feel about 90 years old. Used muscles I am not used to using.

What next???