Another Thanksgiving Come and Gone

I can't believe how the holidays are here and I am just now realizing it. I really have been "in another world", a world of survival...and just as I had a night of 5 hours of sleep in a row, we rushed off to church and sang Christmas hymns- I looked at Eric and said, "I can't believe it's Christmas time!" The other morning I looked over and saw Landon with his new baby sister. We had Christmas music playing and he was watching the little flutters of snow falling out the window. Luckily I had my camera right by me and captured a treasured moment. I love that big brother- this will be our easiest baby yet, I think!


We had a really nice Thanksgiving at Eric's parents house. We got up and left just after 9am, arriving just after 11am. The boys played from the moment we got there until we left. All the cousins were there and we didn't really see the kids all day. Of course we HEARD them, but not a glimpse. The cousins from TX were even there- we had lots of laughs and lots of food. We ate lots of fruit and veggies, crackers and cheese until about 5:00 when the real food was eaten. Analise was passed around from one person to the other and got lots of attention. At about 8:00 after pie and plenty of Redi Whip, we were ready to head on home. We had a big day the next day- the first time we were going to cut down our own Christmas tree! It was nice to get the boys back home in their own beds, feed the baby and put her down before we fell down in our own beds exhausted from all the festivities.

Our new tradition: Friday morning we woke up and hurried to get ready to go cut down our Christmas tree. We went with our neighbors who pulled their trailer so we could get our trees home. We brought hot chocolate, snacks, snow gear and sleds. We drove for about an hour...once there it turned out that Eric and our neighbors had to hike up the mountain to find our tree while all the boys stayed down and sledded on smaller slopes. I stayed in the car with the baby and Landon brought a complaining Bronson back to the car, too. We sat in the warm car and watched "Frosty the Snowman" together while we waited for the crew to come back with our tree. After trees were found, we all ate donuts and drank hot chocolate. Good times with our little family and friends.

Well, so here is the situation. In Utah, a family really needs a family car with 4 wheel drive. You just do, because of things like this. We have snowy mountains here that you can slide down and snow that you can get stuck in. Yes, Eric has a really nice truck- But,... we NO LONGER FIT IN IT as a family! Leaving the area where we cut our tree, we got stuck in the snow and our nice friend had to push our van out of the snow as Eric carefully maneuvered the car from the inside. Eric has been wanting me to get a bigger car for a while for many reasons, this being one. He also would feel better about me being in a bigger car while hauling all our our "precious cargo" around. And...to put it mildly, Eric hates being in situations where he is stuck and feels ill prepared. Thus, I have a feeling that we may soon be getting rid of the good ol' Honda minivan. I think I might cry. I will for sure. Sad.


I am thankful for my life. I am thankful for everything: my health (eyesight, hearing, ability to run/walk, the fact that I am not in pain), my family, including good parents and siblings, my faith, my chance to be a better person everyday and to always have that as a goal, I am so thankful for the guy I married and his ability to be such a good caretaker and great father, my children (can't say, "my boys" anymore!...small price to pay for such a sweet little girl!), ...and I could go on and on. Life is good and I hope I will always be able to look around me and see all the things I have to be grateful for. It makes a better person out of me.

Speaking of being thankful, there was an article in the Opinion section of the local newspaper yesterday. The title was: "Thankful for Local Doctors", ...To the editor: This Thanksgiving I am grateful for Dr. Eric Hooley, who operated on my husband for 8 hours to repair his back. He was in so much pain and suffering on a daily basis in his legs and hips and lower back, no amount of pain medication or physical therapy could help him. He rarely slept a good night. He would lie on the floor to try and relieve his discomfort. He was headed for a life in a wheelchair. Nothing helped until we went to see Dr. Hooley and the surgery was scheduled. My husband is a different man today because of Dr. Hooley. Our kids have their dad back, free (for the first time in nearly 18 years of marriage) of disabling back pain in his lower back. I am so grateful to Dr. Eric Hooley for choosing the profession he did. He is a "miracle worker". If anyone out there needs an excellent doctor, Dr. Hooley is "the Man". I'll be thanking him for the rest of my life!

Wow, I mean, WOW, ...what a great thing to read, especially when he can get down now and then about the challenges he faces everyday at work. He has a file for letters like these. He likes to keep them to remind him of the people he has really helped. Eric and I both agree the that the true "miracle worker" is our Heavenly Father and Eric is prayerful about all he does at work. I pray a lot for his patients too. But, I am glad that we were provided all the opportunities for Eric to be accepted into the schooling that has allowed him to study and learn what he knows. It's a challenging job, but I am thankful that he can do it well. Now let's move on to a wonderful Christmas season!