3rd Year's the Charm

I can't believe Scott and I got married three years ago today! The weather was so different, temperatures in the mid 40's and 50's, no snow, beautiful sunset. All I can say is being married to Scott is a constant adventure. I love him very much. He is strong, and funny, and loving, and passionate about so many things. Sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with his dreams and let go of the seriousness of life. I'm so grateful he is my husband. Heavenly Father really knew what I needed to have greater balance for my life! I look forward to the endless years ahead of laughing and working together to make life better for one another.

Christmas Traditions

Some of my favorite things about Christmas are the traditions. I've started a couple for our family that have been fun. I don't remember decorating ginger bread houses while I was growing up, but I love to do that with Chandler now. This is the first year, though, he's wanted to eat the candy off once the icing hardened. Scott got to help us this year so it was even more fun!

Wednesday night we bought and decorated the tree. It was kind of fun to have snow around us while we shopped at the tree lot. Scott jokes around with me every year about my wanting a Charlie Brown tree. I think it's kind of funny because that's the kind of tree my mom insisted to get every year. I understand the whole concept now...there needs to be room between branches for all of the fantastic ornaments! Besides, have you seen "A Charlie Brown's Christmas?" His tree is full and beautiful once its decorated by his friends! Our tree looks great every time, once the bare spots are filled in with twig stars and a collection of ornaments from all over the country and years of love. Chandler loves to put the star at the top, who needs a ladder when strong and handsome dad are around?

Sing Alongs and Christmas Lights

Our family decided to take part in the Larry H. Miller tradition this year, we attended the annual sing along at The Energy Solutions Arena. Despite the craziness for Scott with snowbike deadlines and real work stress, we made it downtown Monday night to enjoy a few of the "extras" of this holiday season. First of all, I have to thank Larry Miller and his family for their generosity. What a big event to offer the public! It really was fun to sit with a crowd of thousands and sing Christmas songs, salute the troops in Iraq and be entertained by the Jazz Bear. Chandler wasn't quite as thrilled about the experience as Scott and I, but he survived it. Luckily, the free hot dog and soda helped contribute to a fun evening.

After the sing along we headed east to the temple and Deseret Book. It was a chilly walk but we warmed up with hot chocolate and oohed and aahed the lights on Temple Square. I'm so amazed at the effort to string all of those lights so meticulously! I love the light pink ones. You wonder how the Salt Lake Temple can be more beautiful, but the lights make that happen at Christmas time. We had a great time.

The Best Birthday Boy!

Scott is officially 34, as of yesterday, December 7th. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is the most loving and attentive father I've ever known. It's rare to see a dad who will spend hours at a time playing whatever his son wants to do, Scott does with Chandler all the time--Legos, cars, video games, biking. He also does well to teach Chandler the difference of right and wrong and the importance of doing what you say you'll do. Scott takes great care of me also and really works on finding ways to make my life easier and more enjoyable. He works hard everyday and is always looking for more ways to provide for our family. I laugh every day because of him and am so grateful we are married and "fighting the good fight" together.

Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude

The holidays seem to be coming and going much quicker than I really expected this year. Thanksgiving break was fantastic! We had so much fun with dinner at Grandma's, a cousins party and spending time with Chandler. My mom really outdid herself this year for dinner. She makes the best stuffing and cranberry sauce. I'm grateful for her willingness to share so much of her time and talent with me and my family. Tori was her assistant chef and helped to make things super fun for her younger cousins. She helped Stratton draw pictures on the place cards and arranged the play area for the little ones. Tori and my mom also did a bit of prize shopping in preparation for our BINGO game. We had a great time, I can say this because I won twice, Scott or Chandler may have a different recollection of the experience. All in all, it was really a great time together. I love being able to relax and eat good food and play fun games until it's time to call it a night.

I've had a few things really weighing on my spirit the last few weeks. I'm happy to say that Heavenly Father has really been helping me to understand how I can have joy and peace in the midst of difficulty. I really am grateful for Him and my Savior and the knowledge I have They know and love me. I'm grateful for my husband who makes my life so happy and fun. Chandler is a blessing and I'm grateful I have the opportunity to be a part of his life. I'm grateful for my fantastic family who help me when I ask and keep my perspective clear. I'm also very grateful for my ward and the willingness so many have to serve so wholeheartedly. I have great girlfriends and I'm grateful for their support and patience with me. I'm grateful for my health and the ability I have to work and play and take care of my family. Gratitude is really something that makes life better when it is acknowledged. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday and are making this Christmas best of all others!

Moving Up in the Ranks

I'm so proud of Chandler for working so diligently, and happily, toward his Wolf badge. He has really been so positive when I've been a little over the top about scouting activities. It seems Wednesday afternoons are the best time to complete a little requirement or two before den meeting. I love that he is excited to set this goal and is willing to work to achieve it. He even figured out how many arrows he can earn until he is old enough to work on his Bear badge. Great job Kiddo!

A Halloween to Remember

So much fun! That was Halloween this year. I thought things could be a little different for this holiday for our family. I really wanted to have some of those traditions that I remember from my childhood. I asked Chandler if he would like me to make his costume this year. He wasn't thrilled about it, but he didn't have his heart set on anything specific so he humored me. Scott, Chandler and I visited JoAnn's and looked at different patterns. (I'm not the most creative seamstress but I can definitely follow a pattern.) Scott and Chandler's excitement didn't really begin until we came across the costume fabric...then the ideas came flowing. Chandler decided to be an alien, complete with a Mexican wrestler type mask, and Scott and I would be the MIB. Easy enough. Aside from sewing the pants together with one side right side out and one side right side in, there weren't a lot of frustrating moments. It was totally worth it though! Chandler was really excited to wear his costume and even asked if he could sleep in it. Scott was impressed with the final product (he was pretty nervous about my skills and kept asking me if I knew how to sew.) It was fun to dress up and be a family.

It seemed there was always something fun to do in October...parties, get togethers, pumpkin carving. We hosted the family pumpkin carving the Wednesday before Halloween. The weather was perfect! We built a fire and had treats set up in the courtyard.

Everyone had plenty of pumpkins to carve and the kids looked so great in their Halloween costumes. There were some real masterpieces this year! I can't wait for next year!

Catching Up

So much has happened this past month. I'll get to that later but I have a little dilemma that seems to keep occurring. This has been hard for me to talk about because I really want to become more positive in life and focus on the blessings that come to me so abundantly. But, here it is, I have a hard time with my husband's ex wife. It seems drama and pain are really the only way to live with her. I don't know how to change my attitude and feelings so my words and actions don't make matters worse than they are. I'm sorry to all of you that hear me talk about the same situation with her over and over. I'm sorry I've allowed myself to change for the worse because of all of it. I've let the difficulty with her really impact my life and my family's and I don't know how to climb out of this hole...
I guess the climbing out for this comes like it does for anything difficult--one step at a time, moving forward with faith, believing Heavenly Father will help the burden be lighter, counting blessings, living more abundantly with the spirit.
What lesson am I to be learning here? Any suggestions for me to learn it faster so I can just be done with this difficult part of life? I'm working on it but I'd really just like some rest from this hard part of my life.

Hilma Orabell Beesley

My grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago. I was with her when she left this life and moved on to the next, to my grandpa and her parents, and others who loved her. She was a lovely grandmother who always wanted to teach something and laughed with her grandchildren. I often felt like her favorite as I sat on her sofa and neatly made my rows of X's on the pillowcases. She taught me to crosstitch, make apple pies (I wish I'd paid better attention) and always think "waste not, want not." I loved Grandma Beesley and often think of the fun times I had with her at her East Millcreek home. I learned to wash windows with vinegar water and newspaper, make fresh brussel sprouts, and keep a tidy house. Her funeral was a celebration of her life and I was happy to hear so many people talk of the wonderful time spent with Orabell. She is missed and I'm so grateful I am a part of her and she of me.

What the heck?

Sunday night was an interesting turning point for the Hoopes-Smith-Carr-Walker family. Chad, my older and sometimes wiser brother, proposed a new challenge...biggest loser. I had no idea he even watched reality tv. Of course Challey, my younger and sometimes wiser sister, instantly latched onto the idea and promoted it fiercely to the rest of us. It's kind of a joke to look at Amy (Chad's wife) and Spencer (Challey's husband) and imagine them being any lighter, but they were game for the challenge too. Supposedly everyone is kicking in $25 and the person with the greatest weight loss percentage gets the pot January 1st. Generally I try to maintain my weight and be somewhat healthy. Actually, I've never really tried to lose weight and I kind of sabotage any kind of efforts of it. I figure if I work out at the gym then I'm entitled to eat whatever I want, aka, rocky road brownies. But, now the brownies are gone and I really could make a conscious effort to work out more regularly and cut back on the sugar intake. Any suggestions to get your mind and body off the stuff? This should be an interesting 3 months and many of you may have little gifts on your doorsteps of fancy Halloween cupcakes and glorious pumpkin treats or apple creations. Lately I've been in the mood to bake and create.