Happy Thanksgiving!!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving this year. We went to my parents' house to make dinner. For lunch we had a nice veggie tray and crackers and cheese.
And it was complete when we were able to watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" while we ate. I realized that in 28 years I have NEVER seen that show!
Rigdon was free to help himself. His favorites were the carrots and olives with the crackers in a close third.
After lunch we were able to open a fun little package from my sister-in-law, Allison. She made these darling age-approriate folder games for each of the kids. Avri got one to practice subtraction facts, Talmage got one for ordering the alphabet and Sadie got one for matching complex patterns. They also got a letter from Aunt Allison explaining the games that she had made for them as a gift and giving them their one rule: They have to remember how much she loves them every time they play. :)
They couldn't wait to get busy playing their games.
Sadie was so proud of hers that she didn't want anyone else to touch it. So she found a great hiding place in Grandma's house to put it and then forgot where she had put it. So we have to go back and scour the house for it.
While we were waiting for the final touches on dinner we read 3 Thanksgiving books. Two of them were new for the kids, and we learned lots of new things about Thanksgiving.
Grandma needed help making one last pie...
And Grandpa needed help setting up the outdoor nativity, which Avri was very willing to help with.
I am so thankful that I live so close to my parents and that we are able to spend so much time with them. We really miss Utah and being close to all of the rest of our family. But seeing so many people here who don't have any family close by makes me realize how blessed I am. I have always loved my family, but if there is one thing that I have learned from becoming a mother more than anything else (except maybe patience) it is love. I didn't really know what love was before I was married. And then having Avri taught me an entirely new kind of love. When I had more than one child it was truly an amazing experience to see that love grow. Love is never divided, like time is. It is only magnified and intensified. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a wife and a mother to 4 beautiful children. I am truly a blessed person.

Music Video

I have tried to shelter my kids from Lady Gaga, but alas, it was to no avail. We went to see Puss In Boots at the theatre the other night and a preview for Chipwrecked had the chipmunks singing "Bad Romance." So the kids have been asking me to find the song online. Once we found it this is what we got:

Anxiety?

I was awakened at 2:45 this morning (just a few minutes ago) to sobbing sounds. I got up to investigate the sound and found Avri laying in her bed completely distressed. She was sobbing hard enough that she could barely tell me what she was so sad about. After a few minutes I finally got out of her that she had not finished her homework packet for school the previous night before she had gotten out her pet rat to play with it. She told me that Daddy had told her she could play with her rat and so she did, but her homework packet wasn't done yet and then she proceeded to sob to me that she was so sorry that she was making bad choices. ...WHOA!!

First of all, her homework packet is something she gets to decide when she wants to do. It isn't due until Friday morning each week, so if it isn't done by Tuesday, that's okay! Secondly, since when does this wake a person up in the middle of the night and make you feel such remorse that you sob this hard? I talked her down from her anxiety attack and explained to her that she wasn't making bad decisions. I told her that it is also important for her to play with her rats because they need attention and exercise and that she will have plenty of time tomorrow to work on her homework packet. But I can't help but be concerned about a 6 yr old who is having anxiety attacks in the middle of the night.

Do you ever feel like you are just completely un-certified to be a mother and handle these kinds of things? I have absolutely no experience with this kind of stuff! I have always known that Avri is a rule follower. She may not LIKE the rules and she will tell you that, but she always works so hard to follow those rules. But I had no idea that she was stressing over them SOOO much! Makes me really think about the way that I parent. Am I too hard on her? Is it just a trait that she carries? Wow. Okay, I think I'm going back to bed. Maybe something will come to me in my sleep.