Thankful a state of mind

So I have been so busy lately and I have too many worries and not enough time to work them all out. I haven't slept well in days cuz I wake up in the middle of the night and my brain just wants to hash everything out. Thanksgiving is next week and feel very unprepared. Probably because I'm not being grateful.....I concluded tonight. So I pulled out my thankful journal and dusted it off. It's been weeks since I have written in it. Here's what I wrote and It really did make me feel much better.

Today I'm Thankful for...
-good deals
-my brothers and sisters
-the holy ghost to keep me on track.
-cell phones
-laughter
-Rustin my good oldest son
-Montessori and positive methods that help me be successful
-the challenge of juggling it all and actually doing it!
-Chicken tacos and Mango salsa
-a clean car
-Troy -for being so good to me and everyone.
-the scriptures and the power they provide
-positive thinking
-little Canyon's first steps
-Chelsey's loving help and weird sense of humor
-A church calling that makes me study.
-new plans to do better(go the speed limit & balance account better...transaction overlooked...whoops.)
-a living prophet
-prayer
-paying off debt little by little
-righteous desires
-a creative energetic affectionate daughter.
-a temple close
-feeling needed
-visits from family
-2 cuddly boys(please don't grow up)
-sore muscles (which means progress)
-tender mercies gone unnoticed to often

JuST What WE NEeded.

We went camping this weekend down in southern Arizona. It was Troy's & Rustin's Deer hunt. It wasn't just us though. Hunting is a family affair and everyone who could, came.  The kids were thrilled to dress up in camouflage and shoot cap guns, BB guns, or real guns depending on the age. (And thanks to Aunt Lilo Water guns which saved us all on a hot day) There were so many people hunting they had to split up in 3 groups. Troy and Rustin got up about 5 am and headed to the top of the bald ridge before light.  They hiked all day with "Sister""Aunt" Lori.  One thing you have to understand about the Merrills is when they hunt ...."THEY HUNT!"...They don't sit in tree stands, they don't ride around on quads, they don't spend all day glassing(translation:looking through binoculars) and they don't come back to camp for lunch or a nap...THEY Hike! They Track, glass, and hunt the deer down. They blaze their own trails through thick brush, up hills, down canyons, and back up again until they find what they are looking for. I can speak from experience cause I did go on a deer hunt once.(That's all it took for me to realize I love being at camp) Anyway They surprised us all when they pulled up with Rustin's Deer!

 

 I really do love staying at camp and anticipating their arrival. I'm fully prepared to cheer for them or encourage them. Either way all of us women make sure the hunters stay well fed and love listening to their stories about the day. I was so proud of Rustin for gutting his own deer (mostly he says) and bringing it home on the first day. Brenna his cousin got the first deer of the day and they both came home very pleased with themselves. (Or at least glad they didn't have to wake up early again and hike their tales off.)  The boys were so excited and Jaxon climbed all over the deer treating it like a big Teddy bear rubbing its fur a lot.(Which really grossed me out!  I performed a thorough check for bugs or tics just in case)

 Troy and Rustin were "wooped"(translation: dead tired & sore) when they got back but managed to stay up and skin the deer. They really are "crazy about hunting". How else can you explain the torture they put themselves through. It is so fun to have all the family around for this yearly event. The kids play and play. Everyone seems to have a role to play in making it a good and successful time for everyone. The kids and I only stayed till Saturday afternoon. Troy stayed to hunt Mon.-Thurs or until they all fill their tags. (translation: shoot a deer) We don't get cell service there so we won't know his story till he gets home. He will be a welcome sight by the end of next week deer or not

Sunday the kids and I got to be a part of a special fast. We fasted with real purpose  (meaning with sincere prayer and specific things in mind.) It made all the difference on this fast Sunday. No one complained about being hungry, everyone 8 and older participated willingly and faith filled us. We enjoyed church and hearing the testimonies. The kids weren't necessarily more reverent we just got more out of it than usual. It was so nice. Then we came home and spent time together. It was hard for all of us to leave the camp so early. I kept second guessing whether I was doing the right thing. I didn't think my kids would forgive me for dragging them away from all the fun. On the way home we set off a little let down that the fun was over for us. Plus we wouldn't get to see or talk to Troy to find out ow things were going. During the trip home we remembered that the next day was fast Sunday and that we had been planning for it throughout the month. (we had totally forgot with all the business of other things) Normally we might have been filled with a little "uuuuuuugish" feeling and try to eat as much as possible to fill our bellies and make it last. But instead I was instantly filled with the peace and the knowledge that we were meant to be home for this purpose. I was immediately grateful that I had stuck to the original plan rather than stay longer.  I love my kids and I am amazed by them often. When I reminded them of our purpose for fasting they were so quick to have good attitudes and kept them all day. They were able to see that when you combine fasting and praying with real intent then the Lord fills you with his love and fasting is not hard. So all in all from Deer hunting to Fasting we had a fulfilling memorable weekend! I'm sure Troy will come home with a good story to tell. You know how he gets in to telling his stories. So watch for it! We'll post it!

When we drove into camp the first night we watched the sun set. It was so vibrant and beautiful.

Halloween-Lets Dress up!

Dressing up started early in October for us. Rustin had Spirit week at school. The Neighborhood kids planned a Halloween party for themselves and The boys also had a party in Montessori.

By the time Halloween night arrived the kids had their best costume ideas all ready.

Rustin on Extreme Blue and White Day.

Lacey as Pinkalicous!

Jason as a

"Super scary Fire breathing Dragon"

Jaxon as a "Nice Green Dinosaur"

Kasen as a "VAMPIRE"

Lacey as a Halloween Witch

Lacey as a "Vampire Witch"

Rustin as an "ARMY Guy"

"Tiger Mom"

Canyon as "FROSTY"

This year I refused to spend any money on Halloween Costumes. Every time we would go to walmart the kids would ooh and aaah over the costumes. I told them we were going to try something new and create our own from whatever we had at home. The kids took on the challenge and came up with great ideas!  They named them selves and I provided the face painting. It was more Fun than ever before!

The night we went tricker treating Jaxon discovered he had wings. Mom he said...."I am a dragon and I can fly.....I'm a "Dragon Fly!"

For the rest of the night he greeted every house with.....

"TRICK OR TREEEEEATING! Hi I'm a Dragon Fly"

It was the best!

On Halloween....Sunday Dinner...I made a special Halloween Meal.

Dinner in a pumpkin

Freckle Bread

Batwing salad

Pumpkin Juice (Secret recipe from Hogsmead)

And Fried Apples

Lacey provided us with place cards &

we lit candles. The kids felt very special. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEN!

Universal Studios- for a day

A day at Universal Studios was fun and a new experience for the both for the both of us.

It was so fun to be together. Canyon was a trooper and stayed happy the whole time.

We visited Barneyland for Jaxon and Chelsey.

We said hi to Kasen's hero's for him.

We visited the magical candy shop for Lacey.

& even came home with secret recipes.

We toured Hogwarts-school of Wizardry for Rustin.

Hogwarts...Hogsmead....Punmpkin juice....magic wands....butter beer...The Harry Potter ride was by far my favorite!

Our Getaway to FlORIDA DESERET RANCH

Troy & I got to take a 5 day trip to Florida to visit my parents who are serving a mission on the Deseret Citrus and Cattle Ranch. The Ranch is 500 square miles. We didn't get to see it all but what we did see was wonderful. It was so beautiful and full of new and interesting things. We arrived on Monday evening and hopped in the car to go exploring. 

It was like a jungle. The pastures were cleared of all trees(it has taken them 50 years to create them). Everywhere else was lush with all kinds of vegetation. So different from Arizona.

They don't have rocks on the ranch just sand and shells. The ground is all fossilized shells and they actually dig them up and use the shell for all kinds of things.(Like making roads) We went to the dig spot and found really cool huge shells.

We were there at sunset and it was amazing.

Troy searched til he found the biggest shell.

The trees are covered with Spanish moss. Kinda creepy kinda pretty.

We drove many roads and found gator tracks all over. It was so late but we were able to spot our first gator!

This owl sat on the same fence every night. We got so close to him it was cool.

These huge cranes were so funny to watch. We woke up to people talking outside our window then went out to see it was  this family of birds.

These hoppers were everywhere and were at least 4 inches long. I took this picture for Rustin who loves bugs.

The second day we got up and took a walk around the work yard near by. We got to meet a lot of people and we got to see the tractors. Nana drove this one and pushed over a tree. She said it was so easy with this big rig. I was impressed. (So was Jaxon when I showed him the picture.)

My mom standing in front of her own personal jurassic park. It looks beautiful but I was not about to go in it. Way too many poiseness snakes for me.  

Later that day we went to the beach. It was overcast but still nice.  Plants and flowers grow everywhere.

The beach was just tons of tiny shells. We collected a bunch and brought them home to Lacey. She has them all sorted out and has already created necklaces out of the ones with holes.

Canyon loved the sand. He had a great sensorial experience just diggin in.

I love this picture Troy took of Canyon.

I was a little hesitant to get in thinking it would be cold and no sun either. But to my surprise the water was perfect. It was so fun to ride the waves. I have always loved the beach. I could have stayed there all week.

After the beach we got to go on a 2 hour air boat ride. This was by far the best part of the trip. We rode over land and water and it felt like we were gliding no flying. 

We saw so many amazing things and so close.

These canals go all over the ranch and some lead to larger lakes.

Cyprus knees

My husband looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

Large GATOR up close and personal...we practically ran him over. Troy counted and we saw at least 30 alligators on this ride.

We were going so fast all kinds of bugs and creatures landed on us this little guy was hanging on for dear life.

After riding around for a while and doing a 360 on the lake....so fun....our guide DALE spotted a small gator and to our suprise jumped out and chased him down. He was wet to his waste when he came back on and the first thing he did was hand the gator to my mom. It was hilarious. Troy couldn't wait to get his hands on it and I was completly forced. It felt dry and not slimy like I expected but I was sure it was going to snap its head around and take a bite of me. Afterward I felt quite brave.

Dale showed us how to put him to sleep by rubbing his belly.

Dale 

The Lake

Troy wanted to catch a GATOR himself so bad. He chased this guy around for a while but he got away in the end.

That was the ride of a lifetime.