Too Busy!

But, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

tree hunting!

The weekend after Thanksgiving we always go out for Christmas trees. This year just our family went & we had a blast. The tree was quick to find & there was enough snow on the ground to pull the kids on their sleds and skis.

That evening we took the kids to see Michael McClean's,

"Forgotten Carols".

It was a great way to start of the Christmas season!

great watch

If you need:

*a little uplift

* a little smile

* your children to be busy for 16 minutes & 24 seconds

*a reminder that kindness matters

then watch this!

My kids sat still and couldn't quit talking about (that's how good it is!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

Just know that everyone needs to be validated!

&

YOU ARE AMAZING!

random thankfulness

Today I am thankful for my voice.

For the past few weeks, on Sunday night,

I have gone to a choir practice at the Tabernacle.

This choir has been called the "Turkey Choir", because their performance is on Thanksgiving morning. They have been performing for years and years, so it is quite the tradition for the community.

My first night there singing with them was very emotional.

I haven't sung in a choir like that for years and the power and beauty that I heard was amazing. The conductor is a professor up at the college and a true professional.

His wife accompanies us on the piano, I haven't known of

anyone who could play like she does.

I look forward to going every Sunday evening for and hour and a half to sing with this group.

This will be the closest that I ever get to singing with the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

So, I enjoy every second of it.

Come Thanksgiving morning, 10:00 a.m. @ the

Rexburg Tabernacle.

It will last a little less than an hour and

the experience will be amazing!

creating

I have been too busy creating and sewing

to get much posting done.

The hard thing about it is my projects are for Christmas

and since I love a good surprise,

I can't post any of them.

But, I have to say they are super fun!

We are sure to have a very meaningful & full

Christmas this year at the Puzey home,

as we strive to simplify &

show gratitude for all we have!

man teaching little man

Sam loves to practice up on his shaving skills with his dad!

We love our dad!

color

My girls needed some new dresses & I love to create!

So, we chose their fabric and designed these.

I love my girls!

month of gratitude

GRATITUDE

I am so looking forward to this month & the next!

There is so much good in my world.

Here are only 10 (there are so many more) people that bring me happiness!

1. Casey- he will always be at the top of my list.

Because he continues to love me through every phase in life.

2. Tanner- he takes his role as 'beta' male very seriously!

3. Ashlyn- she is unique, confident and beautiful!

4. Sam- all he wants out of life is to make people laugh &

to make good food (future chef).

5. Ellie- she keeps it real at our home &

let's me know when I need to improve on things!

6. Elder Holland- I can't listen to one of his talks &

not be emotionally, mentally & spiritually better.

7. mom & dad- they continue on, even against the

greatest odds

8. Jodi- helps me reach new heights

by her example.

9. mom & dad Puzey- they love & live adventures daily

10. Elmo- when I hear his voice I always have to stop

what I'm doing to see what he' doing

who are you?

i have the opportunity to watch "winnie the pooh" often.

it is fun to see the strong personality traits of each of these characters come out.

this week i am playing the role of rabbit-who is always stressed!

like rabbit, i'm:

-taking to many responsibilities on myself

-bossing everyone & having no one listen

-always going a million miles a minute

-basically, not enjoying what is really important to me.

so, after tonight, when the Halloween cavnival is over i will learn the word 'no'.

i think a mix of-

piglet's tenderness

kanga's love

and tigger's fun-loving

would be a good mix for myself!

who are you?

who would you like to be?

baby mine

my sweet girl woke up sunday with a fever,

so that evening we made her a bed on our floor

so I could be close to her if she needed me.

about 11:30 p.m. we hear a smashing rendition of

"daddy's homecomg".

While she was sleeping she sang to us,

"I'm so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be"

she sang the whole song & ended with,

"pat his cheeks & give him what? a GREAT BIG KISS".

i rolled over and watched Casey as the song went on,

he was proud,

we both giggled and then went back to our own

dream lands.

full weekend

dad & the 3 oldest went out on their first hunt!

-they saw a deer & didn't shoot, but they also saw. . .

this amazing butterfly
-whittlin', a campfire favorite
-on their discoveries they came across an old homestead

they didn't get a picture of the home,

but did of the awesome three-seater outhouse!
-all 3 decided to try it out
-while at home Ellie & I sewed some sweet Halloween bags

and waited for their arrival on Saturday afternoon so that we could can

APPLE PIE FILLING! (delicious)

reminiscing

---time is flying by

My first baby is now 12, & I almost look him straight in the eye as we converse with each other. His voice is deeper and he gloats that he can wear his dads shoes.

Our 10 year old is contemplating shaving her legs and thinks that her eyebrows should be plucked.

Our 7 year old man has decided the he will be a chef and a dad when he gets bigger.

Our 4 year old has figured out that Jesus lives in the clouds!

Time is flying & I love this stage of my life. I want to just keep things as they are-

even though our days are hectic and we jump from event to event,

I am happy!

snow?!?

We got our first snow of the season.

(Even though it isn't the season-- yet!)

The kids got excited and dug out the snow gear.

By the end of the morning we had snow men and snow forts being built.

By mid afternoon the snow was gone!

youth triathlon '09

Last weekend Sam, Ashlyn & Tanner participated in a youth triathlon.

They got to swim, bike & run with 177 other kids from the area.

It was an amazing experience and they all found

out that they could do scary & hard things!

Case and I were very proud of them.

They were amazing!

young love

One of my favorite things is to find notes in my kids pockets.

I know that this won't always be the case!

But, for now the innocence of 7 year olds is refreshing.

This came from Sammy's jeans-

-Sammy I love

you I just

can't say it

in your face-

LOVE IT!

squeezing it in!

I've had a busy week,

but this is what I have done to keep my sanity in check!

labored day!

This is what we decided to do on Labor Day- can TOMATO JUICE.

It started in the tomato fields picking only the best

with our friends, the Parker's.

We started with an assembly line and had everyone doing something.

From washing tomatoes to

blanching to

grinding to

processing to

watching little ones.

We ended up with 114 jars all together.

It was a long day, but lots of fun!

recipe:

*put in quart jars

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. salt

juice from tomatoes

water bath for 45 minutes

sound sleepers

the best of bed partners!

winter prep!

Saturday was the day of (and I hate to say it)

winter preparation!

Not that I bake bread for the winter, but for the next two weeks.

The peaches (I made another batch) are for winter!

CORN

We husked over over 12 dozen ears of corn,

to try our hand at freezing it!

We had a lot of fun.

I do have to say that I love Saturdays because it is know as the 'work' day.

And no one can complain about.

And by the great chance that someone does complain about it,

the consequence is more work.

I definitely receive the win/win situation.

Sam found one ear of corn with four cobs growing inside!

It's so big it looked like a bridal bouquet.

We moved the operation into the kitchen!

Our finished product, heading out to the deep freeze!

COAL

We also got our ton of coal to get us through the winter months.

We will be very toasty snuggled around the fire.

Ashlyn claimed that she would have black lung disease &

Ellie couldn't have been more proud of the dust

that covered her from head to toe!

All in all our Saturday was super productive and the kids are learning about working together to accomplish good things.