30 Days of Thanks #5

I'm searching my gratitude bank for something deep and inspiring... but tonight, all I can think about are these gorgeous cupcakes sitting on my counter... for which I am truly grateful! I am equally grateful for the one day a year that I can have a truly sublime chocolate experience without feeling guilty about it!

Guilt-free cupcakes, I am thankful for you!

30 Days of Thanks #4

Thirty-three years ago, a foxy, feisty mother of six headed to the hospital to deliver yet another Luke daughter. On my birthday, I give thanks to the most important woman in my life, my favorite girlfriend, and my most trusted confidant. My Mom.

My mom, Jacqueline Luke, is a woman you don't forget. She'll make you laugh, gasp, and blush within five minutes of meeting her. I've always wished that I had even just a quarter of her confidence and spunk! She can often be found shopping for her 43 grandchildren's birthdays, drinking Diet Pepsi and nibbling on dark chocolate, chasing rabbits out of her yard, practicing organ, reading, laughing on the phone with her daughters, and cuddling her dog! She's incredibly disciplined, dependable, observant, thoughtful, and fun.

How do you properly thank someone who has loved you from the moment you were born and shaped your entire life? I'm not sure how. But until I figure it out, I'll just say, "THANK YOU MOM" for being the first person to teach me about kindness, compassion, hard work, responsibility, traditions, respect, perseverance, and love.

I am thankful for you today, and always.

30 Days of Thanks #3

I am thankful for the internet!

We all know that like all other forms of media, the internet can be evil, addictive, and dangerous. However, if used for good, it can be an amazing blessing. I can honestly say that in that last few years, the internet has changed my life. I do so many things differently. Here are just a few ways the internet has blessed my life:

* CONNECTION. I now have near instant communication with almost anyone. I rarely make phone calls, but strangely feel more social than ever. As of this morning, I know what my second cousins's child wore for Halloween this year... and the last time I saw her was when we were 5 years old... yet we are connected.

* INSTANT INFORMATION. Maps, weather, movie times, recipes, phone numbers, news, church lessons... all within the click of my mouse. Just this morning, I found an answer to McKenna's math homework, helped an old friend find a preschool in Pocatello, downloaded a song for Kenna's lip sync, and watched lip sync videos on you tube to get ideas for choreography. I think we have forgotten how AMAZING that is!

* One of my favorites...FREE DOWNLOADABLE SHEET MUSIC!

* ENTERTAINMENT. Endless options.

* SHOPPING. So many online stores now have free shipping. Why, oh why would I ever fight the cold and crowds when I can shop while wrapped up in my Snuggie and sipping cocoa?

* BUSINESS. Is it even possible to run a business that is not online?

* WEB MD. I now diagnose myself and tell my doctor what to prescribe.

* FAMILY HISTORY. I preserve my photos through an online site and journal through a blog.

How has the internet blessed your life?

30 Days of Thanks #2

I'm thankful to live in a place that has four seasons.

I can't imagine living in a place that doesn't change. I love the hope that spring brings. I love mild summer nights. I love the smell of fall. Hmmmm... what comes next? Oh, how could I forget? It's the season that lasts longer than any other season in Idaho. Winter. Well, I don't love running for my life through wind and sludge as I exit the car. I don't love gripping the steering wheel and feeling exhausted after driving through white outs. I don't love the layers of wet clothes on the floor when the kids get home from school. I don't love pneumonia. I don't love getting high-centered in my mini van... (JoLyn! This is about GRATITUDE! Remember?) Oh yeah. I do love a few things about winter. I love the thrill in my husband's eyes after the first snowfall. I love my kids' muddy snowmen in our yard. I love seeing sparkles in vast areas of untouched snow. I love that winter gives me permission to drink lots of Hot Chocolate.

30 Days of Thanks #1

After Halloween, I have a tendency to want to mentally skip Thanksgiving and jump right into Christmas. After all, it's just a dinner, right? Well, during one of Justin and I's car discussions the other night (the only time we seem to be able to really 'talk'), we decided that we should focus more on gratitude... so here goes 30 days of gratitude... blog style. (Thanks, Molly, for the great idea!)

Day #1

I truly am thankful to live in the 21 Century, and to be blessed with all sorts of marvelous inventions... like indoor plumbing for instance, or electricity, or dishwashers, or mascara... but there's one invention that I think I love more than any other. It's one that I'm willing to pay $5.00 a container for. One that I can't image life without...

Clorox Wipes. Oh, Clorox Wipes, how did I ever potty train a child without you? How did I ever clean a toilet seat without you? How did I ever prepare raw meat without you?

Today, I am thankful for you.

How the Stevens Celebrate Halloween!

I must admit it. I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween. Once I became a Mom, the holiday changed for me. There's just something not quite right about dressing your child up like a demon and sending them out into the darkness with other insane looking creatures in a quest to bring back a bag of diabetes... nope... not quite right. But whenever I start to really hate the holiday, I think back to my childhood Halloween memories. I LOVED Halloween! I remember planning my costume for months. When trick or treating, I remember running as fast as I could to each door... because getting a bag of candy was magical! And my mom made every holiday extra magical too. I remember my girlfriends always commenting that they loved how my mom decorated for each holiday, and I loved it too.

Yep... this is me on a Halloween night long ago. See? I haven't changed a bit!

So, in honor of my childhood, I try to make this month fun for my own kids--the kind of Halloween fun without all the gore! This is a quick look at our family's spooky traditions:

SCHOOL PARTIES!

This is Kyler enjoying Pumpkin Plinko at Rimrock Elementary's Spooktacular.

Carson at his first Preschool Halloween Party.

(His favorite part was eating a doughnut off a string!)

HALLOWEEN PIANO RECITAL!

Me as a retired piano teacher.

My piano students. They say they hate me making them dress up... but I know they love it!

For our Halloween group lesson/recital, we studied Hector Berlioz's spooky symphony, "Symphony Fantastique Movement #5." (I actually think a few kids were nervous in parts!) We performed creepy music, and enjoyed carmel apples! This was the first time I made them... and I think that tradition is going to stick. They were sooooooooo yummy!

WITCHES NIGHT OUT!

This is a tradition in my neighborhood. All the ladies dress up like witches and go out to dinner together. We think we're pretty hysterical.

I just had to post a picture of my neighbor, Linda, who started Witches Night Out. Each year, her costume is different. She cracks me up.

FUN HALLOWEEN DINNER!

This year's Halloween dinner wasn't as good as years past, but the kids loved it anyway.

BOO! Isn't this the SCARIEST picture you've ever seen?

PUMPKIN PARTY!

Since all of our pumpkins were so small this year, we chose to paint them rather than carve them.

Justin thought it would be a great idea to let Ashton paint one too... but Ash preferred sucking on the paint.

And painting his face.

And painting his Budda Belly!

Bootiful art!

COSTUME PARADE!

McKenna as a 5o's girl. Can this girl pose or what?

Ky as a football player.

(After scoring so many touchdowns this season for his flag football team, he fell seriously in love with the sport!)

Carson as Young Anakin Skywalker.

Ashton as a Dinosaur.

( By some miracle, I got a shot of Ash with his hood on... he hated the hood!)

TRICK or TREATING!

The Stevens cousins.

Ashton at our Ward's Trunk or Treat. He. Loved. It. After collecting three treats, he plopped down on the pavement, ripped open a sucker, and enjoyed it for the rest of the night while swaying and rocking to the Halloween music. He was in sticky-sweet heaven!

Carson and cousin Jake enjoying doughnuts and Hot Chocolate. Mmmm... that sounds good right now, doesn't it?

Just look at these faces! Facial hair... bullet holes and stitches... Nope. Not quite right... but so much fun! Happy Halloween!

2010 Family Pictures

We finally did it! Family Pictures! Carson was 6 months old in our last photos (see above)... now he's four!! Justin's sweet sister called and warned us of the impending snowy forecast so we threw some matching shirts together and headed out to do the impossible: capture a photo of all of us smiling and looking in the same direction! Aunt Brooke did a fantastic job cracking us up, wiping runny noses, and providing Ash with bits of candy in between shots! Thank you Aunt Brooke! Here's a few of our favorites: