A - Apples. I got lots of apples from my generous mother-in-law, so I made lots of apple stuff.
B - Birthdays - I got to celebrate and celebrate and celebrate my birthday. Cheyenne is sure I'm 25. If that's true, then I must be a trophy wife to Dale. Cool! Then we all got to celebrate Cheyenne's big ninth.
C - Cheyenne - Cheyenne just takes time: time for school, time for playing, time for helping her be Cheyenne.
D - Daniel - Daniel just takes time: time for school, time for playing, time for helping him be Daniel.
E - Eating - No matter how busy I become, there are some priorities that never fall off the chart.
F - Friends - Thanks to my birthday, especially, I got to spend lots of time with many of my dear friends. Thanks for everything, everybody!
G - Games - I wasn't playing many myself, but I did manage to squeeze in some listening to BYU football. It's been a shaky month, but they are back to winning games. Yea!!
H - Housework - Again, no matter how busy I get, some things don't go away. It's happened late at night, but the toilets have been scrubbed and the house is tolerable.
I - Infinite blessings. Fall is a great time to think of harvests and blessings. We've had a lot. Things have been crazy, but not a day goes by that I don't see the hand of God in my life. We have every need met, excessive joys and blessings on top of that, and opportunities galore. Each day I could make a list that would go on and on. Sadly, I often get too busy to do so. However, when I stop for a just a moment, I can visualize the list and that keeps me going.
J - Japanese student. We had the privilege of having a 14 year old Japanese student stay with us for a week. He was part of a larger program that visits Utah each year. I loved the experience of getting to know someone from a different culture and having my kids share that experience. Mid week, Daniel pointed out that he'd decided he and Kentaro had more in common than different. That comment alone made the week worth it!
K - Kids - Did I mention that I spend a lot of time doing things with my kids??
L - Laundry (see 'E' Eating and 'H' Housework)
M - Math. I spend a lot of time tutoring math. I mostly do Geometry these days with my cute teenage boys, but I probably spend even longer doing Cheyenne's third grade math with her!
N - NOAH'S, NOAH'S, NOAH'S - This has been a dominant force. Noah's has officially opened its second facility in South Jordan, UT. The opening, the stockholders' meeting, the new website, it's all been a time-consuming affair. For those of you who haven't also been living there lately, make a note to check out www.mynoahs.com
O - October. In some ways it felt like it came and went so fast that I have no record of it. In other ways, it feels like I lived a lifetime and experienced months of things in one short month.
P - Pies. Early on in the month, before things got out of control, we squeezed in a little pie baking to foward our quest to make all 300 pies in the pie book. The apple with just brown sugar and a touch of spices was really good. The peach with vanilla bean sugar was just okay. Oh, and 'P' is for pumpkin seeds. I love roasted pumpkin seeds. I ate a lot of them!!
Q - Queasy. That's how I've felt at different times this past month as I've watched the great economic crisis destroy my savings, as I've listened to campaigning for the upcoming election, and as I've seen tragedy unfold in the headlines. It's a good thing I have the letter 'I' and so many others to counteract 'Q.'
R - Reading. I'm still reading, if only in 2-minute increments. It enhances my life so much. I'm still helping Cheyenne read. I help at the school changing Take Home Reading books. And I encourage Daniel to read.
S -Single motherhood. Refer back to 'N' above to see that I spent a lot of time at Noah's this last month. My time has been only a fraction of that spent by Dale who has worked almost non-stop for a month now. I have determined that I would make a lousy single mom.
T - Trick or Treating - We had a very warm Halloween night which made the trick or treating pleasant even for me! Cheyenne was a giant spider and Daniel went to school as a couch potato. Pictures will be coming later, because words are simply inadequate at every level!
U - UEA - The kids were out of school for three days for their fall break, also known for the Utah Education Association meetings. As I was consumed with Noah's, they had a great time-- thanks to my mother-in-law and my sister. They had sleepovers in Kamas and at the cabin, and they were happy, happy kids. THANKS, family!!!
V - Very simple pleasures. When our Japanese student was here, we spent a day playing in spots on the Mirror Lake Highway. We hiked, we threw rocks in the lake, we climbed up Provo River Falls, and we roasted hot dogs. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed each moment of these simple things we often take for granted.
W - Wood, as in splitting it. When I went to retrieve my children from Colleen's cabin, they were splitting wood for the winter. It had been a long time since I'd split wood. The smell of the chainsaw brought back powerful teenage memories. I had to warm up, but I can still split wood. There is something very satisfying about a little knowledge like that.
X - Xtraordinary weather!!! Ok, I'm cheating a little on the spelling, but the sentiment is there. Mid-October brought our first big snowstorm, but it passed quickly and was followed by two weeks of gorgeous, warm, fall weather. With highs of 65-70, I enjoyed Fall like I've never enjoyed it.
Y - Yippee! My friend Evan had another MRI and his brain tumor shrunk again. Cheyenne faithfully prays for him multiple times a day, and we could not be happier to see positive gains for him. Chemo has been so difficult, and forward progress means everything. Yippee!!!
Z - Zoo! I got to go to the zoo with Cheyenne for her birthday. I took Cheyenne, her twin cousins, and a friend to the zoo. It was a gorgeous fall day, and who can't be happy at the zoo?
5 comments:
My, you have been busy! And I loved the post. It was so creative. Mine are always so simple...just words to describe pictures. I'll try to be more like you!
How on earth did you find the time to write such a long blog? (too bad you weren't writing about November's fun. There would be a great entry on XXX:-)
In response to Colleen's comment, I started writing it two weeks ago, but could never finish it. Finally, this morning (Sunday) I sat at my computer until I finished it up.
Wow Cheryl- Once again you make something that could and often is quite boring (at least on my blog) interesting a fun. It sounds like you put us all to shame in making each day count. Thanks for the good read-
While I am a little disappointed that "Wood" was a more interesting "W" than "Witches" Tea, I am amazed at all you have done in a month! Maybe you should take November and December off! (Let me know if that works!) And good luck at getting more time with your hubby!
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