I am THanKfUl foR My GrAnDmA!

A while back I gave a short talk on service and the importance our hands are as we use them in service. I reflected on my hands and as I looked at them, they immediately reminded me of my Grandma. So the beginning of my talk started like this......

Our hands….. Another gift from our Heavenly Father that through creation’s process did not get overlooked, for the importance of these wonderful tools are immeasurable. When I look at my hands, I have to say, I do not see femininity. I see scars and roughness from years of outdoor physical labor. I don’t see well manicured nails or graceful fingers. But what I do see, and have grown to treasure, is my grandmother.

I inherited my grandmother’s hands, and that I love. She is a woman who has used her hands for taking care of her children, and even her younger sister, when their mother passed on at a young age . She has used her hands to sew wonderful things for her grandchildren, including amazing Barbie doll clothes for me when I was a young girl living in her home, and I did not appreciate them nearly enough. Her hands cared for a wonderful man in whom she was married to for 60 years, and then I watched as her loving hands stroked him tenderly as she bid him on to our Heavenly Father. So you see, when I see my hands, I see a gift from her, that I hope to live up to. .........

I love my Grandma dearly. She is an important part of my life. I lived with her and my grandpa for a short while when I was young, and during that time, I realized how much they loved and cared for me. Grandma has raised 4 girls and been a part of their children's lives as well. She is witty and smart, and she is a Fry... (those of you who know Fry's know what this means!!!)

I hope she knows how much I love her, and I am grateful for her influence in my life!

This is one of the many things I am Thankful For, So... What are you Thankful For?

SiCk is IcK

Well, the season has started! The flu season in the Briggs house, that is. We have been battling colds and stomach flu for the last little while. And let me tell ya, it has not been fun. Reed sits now on my lap with a fever he has been running for the last 24 hours, and I love to snuggle him...but! Last night he and his very sick dad did not let me get very much sleep.

Today I covered for Mike at work, which meant giving full grown pregnant cows 2 shots in the neck while they were flailing around in the squeeze chute... One cow ripped the gun for shots right out of my hand and another jammed it back at me making me stab myself in the finger. But oh, ranch life is good...

Hyrum and KwinLee seemed to have taken their turns with the flu bug, as well as me.. But I haven't officially taken a sick day! Spencer seems to be keeping it at bay, hopefully for his sake he will continue to! I dislike this part of life, especially when my kids and husband are sick... I feel so bad for them, and it wears on me! But Life is still good..........

LiFe Is GOod!

Here is the wonderful man I married... Since he has been home more, he has been kind of spoiling me...

We have been able to work with him around the ranch more lately. He comes home earlier at night now that it is getting dark sooner, he has been great at taking time with the kids and giving me breaks, and has been dating me!!!

This last weekend, as a surprise to me, he and some of our friends, had a wonderful night planned for us.... They had candle light, our song playing, and food that was out of this world that they cooked and served us! It was awesome! I am amazed at how good people can be, and to do this all for us, just touched my heart so much... We had a great night!

This weekend we host a dance for adults and I hope that all goes well. I am getting excited, because I love to dance with Mike. We have so much fun, and we don't really care what we look like, well maybe a little. But we just love to dance!

Oh yeah, did I mention that I got my hair cut... It is an A line with stacked layers in the back, medium tones with blond and bronze highlights.... I wish it could have been Jo doing it for me, but Jo I think it turned out almost as good as when you do it! I like it a lot, and Mike loves it... so, I guess it will do!!!

All in all, I am doing great. I am excited for all the family coming to be with us for Thanksgiving. I am starting to slowly plan for Christmas and I am constantly reminded of all the great people I have in my life... Speaking of which, I am stoked to be going to the Twilight showing with some amazing friends this Friday! I can't wait...

An EeRie DaY!

Today we have had a fog set in, and it has given such an eerie effect. I couldn't help but go and take pictures just for fun. Not to mention we were ready for church early and I was bored!

This is one of my faves... Believe it or not their is a house not far beihind the trees in the back ground, you just can't see it. We already live out a little, but today it felt like we were in our own world...

Today we watched the 3 state broadcast of Stake conference or Stale conference as it was referenced in our Ward Newsletter. It was good, but I would like to know why they wait to have the highest ranking General Authority speak last. By the time they start, our kids have already sat still for an hour and a half and they are done. And I am sure what is being said is very important, but it is hard to get when you are sitting with 4 restless kids! But all in all they tried their best and conference was good....

HaLlOwEEn! (take 27)

Well it took me forever and a lot of tries to get my pics to come up, but here they are. Halloween was a great experience for the kids and we had fun watching them get a thrill out of it.....

Reed was a Cowboy riding a horse. We started with two other costumes and he wanted nothing to do with them. He had seen this one in the store and his heart was set on it.... Of course I modified it with the pants and boots! I don't know how many people told me that it fit him! We went to a costume dance and watching him dance with the horses head flopping around was quite a riot. But what really got us laughing was when he would fain dead in front of the cute little girls and they would come and do chest compressions to revive him. I laughed so hard I could barely get a picture taken!

The last time we were in Utah, Aunt Tracy took the kids to the place in the Layton mall to build stuffed animals. Hyrum picked a dog and then dressed him up as a fireman and named him Hydrant. So we found a costume that matched and they were the fire fighting duo. This fire truck was outside on display of the main street!

Spencer was a blood hungry vampire.... He wanted to be a vampire so bad. It was hard for me to give him fangs and the Dracula look after reading the Twilight series. He just doesn't fit the bill... But he was a great vampire!

Then their was our Hannah Montana. KwinLee hated the wig because it was giving her headaches and it itched, but she was a trooper! The best thing was she just didn't go as Hannah, but as Miley too. Several people commented on the fact that she looked like me as a blond.

We had a great night and it was fun because we were also celebrating a week of having Mike home..... I have been pulling extra shifts at work the last two weeks for a girl who got to go to Australia with her husband..... How lucky is she! So I have been getting behind again, but hope that a quiet weekend will help change that. Mike is gone again this weekend moving cows, but it is good because we have been able to have him home earlier at nights since the time change and we get to spend time with him then..

Parent teacher conferences were last night and of course they had to tell me how unruly my children are. KwinLee's teacher said she should have made up stories about her so that we didn't hear the same old, same old. But hey, who tires of getting told how brilliant and well behaved your child is. I mean she is my kid!!!! (ha, ha) And Spencer's teacher was very happy with him as well. He is reading so well this year, above his expected level. He does very neat work and is a polite young man, the teacher said. Now if we could get a little speed into him we would be set! But his report card was awesome, and I can tell he really likes this teacher by how he performs for her. I will have to keep this in mind when he is 30 and looking for a prospective wife. Maybe one a little less intense then his mom!!!