Mounds of gratitude... and turkey

Thanksgiving was a beautiful day for us.

We drove to Wyoming through the lovely canyons of northern Utah.

We heard the news of Janice's (she is my favorite of the Browning cousins...) home birth (and a VBAC!) and her new beautiful daughter, Ava Jeralee.

We hung out with Tim's great family. We laughed at Grandpa's declining memory and realized we should have named our baby something easier to remember.



We ate DELICIOUS food. I usually am biased towards food because my mom, aunt, and grandma can COOK. But it was actually good! And only one variety of jello (which was delicious, I ate three servings of it!)

We went on a beautiful walk in the Wyoming countryside (?) and saw some buffalo and elk.












We played Mormon Bridge. Tim won.

I got destroyed in Scrabble my Grandma. Who knew? I think I needed some humble pie to go with my pumpkin variety.

Although the little guy screamed part of the way home, I finally got him to sleep about 20 minutes away. And we enjoyed a peaceful journey the rest of the way.

AND, we got to hang out with Trace and Michelle and their new baby Alexis. It was really fun, though we were all really tired. We like them a lot, unfortunately they live far away in Logan. Alexis and the little guy were binky buddies too... Alexis had a pink one and the little guy a blue one. It was cute, too bad we didn't get a picture.

Most importantly of all, we were able to reflect on our unlistable blessings that have been granted to us this year. But actually, I will list them, for clarity:

1. Our marriage. I think it may be the best one around. We are always seeking out ways to improve, and I can clearly see a difference this year has made in both of us. Tim and I bring out the best in each other, and I've never been happier. Everyone told us we were crazy, but look at us now.




2. Our sweet little guy. As I type this, he's just chilling in my lap, looking around at his new world and smiling away at me. He has enriched our lives beyond what I could have imagined, and I'm grateful for every moment that I can be his mommy.



3. Education, work, friends, etc. We are just in such a good place in our lives right now. We live in an apartment that is better than we could have pictured last year, we have plenty of money in our savings, we have awesome friends right across the way and lots down the street, our ward is so fun and welcoming, we are both having really successful semesters at school, we both have jobs that we enjoy and that make us enough money to squeak by, and our families have been supportive and helpful as we transitioned to this stage in our lives. Allison is a phone call away to come over and hold the little guy so I can get work done when Tim's not around, we see Devin and Hillary often, and Tim's parents completely furnished our apartment for free. My mom came into town for those blissful two weeks in September, and my dad is off serving his fellow countrymen in Dover. Charity and Josh are off serving the Lord and gaining some neat cultural experiences as well in London and Chile, while Devany is perhaps giving us a new brother-in-law in a few months. And let's not forget Lauren and Christopher's incredible charity this summer when they took us in for a month (not to mention their generous baby stuff bestowal, we've had to buy practically nothing thanks to them). I know not everyone has such an extensive safety net, and we are grateful for all they do for us. I only hope that through our small acts of kindness to others we can keep the service spreading.

I feel like I should end this in "Amen" or something.