Count Your Blessings

Grandpa Kirkham would often say to keep a journal of 5 things you are grateful for each day. We have so much to be grateful for, and I'd like to share a few of our last 2 weeks blessings.

1. Pie Party - We are blessed with friends, food, and a wonderful evening. Many people helped us get ready by helping clean, make pie, and set up.

We didn't start anything for the pie party until about 72 hours before the event. We were trying to put everything away in our house from room shifts/painting.

Counting how many come in and out is futile. Our home was full. It was a week ago Saturday.

2. Education -  Sweetheart continues to use his education every day. He is learning a new programing language named Python. Apparently it's super cool. I finished my continuing education credits through a brain and gut health seminar. Underfoot and Hurricane continue to go to school.

They have discovered a great book we got from the library and want to do all the experiments in the book. They are mostly all household items. They have had SO MUCH FUN doing the different things.

3. A Place to Live - In the clean up path of the pie party, I turned on the auto clean of the oven on Thursday evening. I've cleaned the oven that way for the past 6 years. While we were outside cutting boys' hair, the oven billowed black-gray smoke that filled the house like a foggy night. It was so smokey that Underfoot, Hurricane, and I slept in the back of the Pilot.

Sweetheart got home late from work, bundled up, and slept in an open windowed house. We have spent the last 72 hours cleaning our house literally from the ceiling to the floors with vinegar, baking soda, Mr. Clean soap, and whatever other concoctions there are. I went to restart the oven to push some lemon scent through the vents, and the oven died. I can't count how many loads of laundry I've done. Saturday evening we had a professional company come in and treat the house. We are grateful that it didn't turn into a fire. We are thankful to the people who came to help us wash down walls. We slept the night at a neighbor's house.

4. Entertainment - While being out of house, we saw a fun play. Mrs. Miller, the boys' drama club instructor, found tickets to a play for the club to attend. If you paid for the tickets, you went. We had a great time at High School Muscial Jr..The boys liked show. The show was done by 8-15 year old children.

5. Temple Dedication - Last Sunday the Phoenix Temple dedication occurred. We are grateful to have chapels and temples to attend for worship. We are grateful to have a family and the hope that we can live together forever. We are grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and for the significance he has in our lives. We are not always grateful for trials but know they must happen as there is opposition in all things to make us better.
We hope that this letter finds you health, safe, and in a good place in your lives.

Be Well,
Mama and Sweetheart + 2 Boys who we think are wonderful

Music Performance

Last week some amazing things happened. Sweetheart worked a lot, and he came home to be a full-time Daddy on Friday afternoon and Saturday while I attended Time Out for Women in Phoenix. He installed a reverse osmosis water filtration system for the kitchen sink and refrigerator.

Underfoot was a firefly/stink bug in the 2nd grade performance.

He had a line about the importance of manners and to use your very best ones. He came up with his own costume one hour before show time.

We put glow sticks on his wings to make him light up.

Sweetheart made it for the concert. Yeah!

I went to see an orthopedic doctor about my ankle. He gave me a cortisone shot in the ankle. I'm to report back in 2 weeks to see if it is helping out or not. Hurricane decided to take pictures of the whole event.

He even video recorded the whole conversation about the proposed treatment. Underfoot fell asleep on the exam table. It was a half day of school so the boys came with me on errands. Let's say 3 ring circus is about how awesome the experience was.

Sweetheart feels like he makes some progress but is losing some steam (a.k.a. enthusiasm) for the project. That's what happens when there are long hours.

Underfoot was the student of the week in his classroom. He was allowed to display things about him throughout the week.

On Friday, he presented to the class. He shared Lego space ship, Star Wars figurine, swim ribbons, pictures, and a special picture of his temple visit.

Time Out for Women was fun.

Six women went together, stayed in a hotel, and enjoyed the conference. I drove, and they were all impressed by my mad rush-hour-traffic skills.

I returned home to very happy boys.

Sweetheart and boys attended a family history potluck. He took rotisserie chicken and rolls. That was a Kirkham family home evening dinner when we went to Lava Hot Springs. He didn't bring the potato salad or soda though.

Be well.

Balance Restored!

We watch a comedy sketch group that makes us laugh. One of the skits talks about restoring balance. The skit has a super hero named Captain Literally.
Our house has been in dishevel since before we left for Mexico. As of last night, balance has been restored! We have traded 3 rooms around, painted, and de-cluttered.

We will now resume life without all the furniture in our kitchen.

Underfoot brought home a cough and stayed home Monday and Tuesday. Hurricane got jealous and feigned sickness on Tuesday so he could stay home and not miss out on the "fun." They were banished to their bedroom and were better by Wednesday.

We took our annual family pictures.

After pictures, Underfoot treated our family to dinner at Pizza Hut for reading and getting the Book It! gift certificate.

The boys wanted to cut jack o' lanterns. So we did.

We celebrated Sweetheart's birthday this week. Sweetheart like a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing.

Grace Earls gave us black cocoa from King Arthur Flour. The cocoa enhances the chocolate flavor. This typically rich dessert now was over the top rich.

Sweetheart said that after 3 bites he was done. The filling is peanut butter cups.

The 3 Musketeers went trick or treating.

They picked 10 pieces of candy and the rest was purchased by Sweetheart to take to work. We hope that in the long run we will save on dental bills.

Sweetheart's writes....
It has been some time since I have last written the weekly email. I have been entangled in office politics since our return from Mexico. The mess at work has put me in a difficult position. The project that I have been working on for the last year has to be finished by the end of the year. The deadline requires that I work ~50 hours weeks through the end of the year. After three weeks of that, I am tired.

Be Well.