November in Everyday Photos

Here is our November in everyday photos:

We started this gratitude challenge from The Small Seed. I say "started" because I think we only did 2 of the 25 days. Oops. But the first day we left a message for our sweet neighbor who has been fighting breast cancer. Rapunzel even took part in the fun.

I was having a particularly frustrating day at church and just wondering why I was even there, but then Hudson kept crawling over to the feet of this painting and I realized that we were still worshipping in our own perfectly imperfect way.

On Emme's birthday, we had a big DHS Drama Reunion to celebrate Russ's retirement. It was so fun to be involved and I was even invited to sing a special musical number, "For Good" with a group of who I perceived to be the best of Russ's students. I felt flattered but pretty nervous about singing the first 2 lines of the song. I felt myself feeling all sorts of high school emotions and nerves, but it was a very fun performance. Russ just kept saying, "I love you so much!" when he greeted him after. He is a special man who has had a special influence in both of our lives.

I must have hundreds of pictures of Emme in her dress ups. This is the case because I love to see her imagination at work, but it is also the case because she is almost always in them. It can get annoying and the negotiations to get her to wear normal clothes get old too, but when I see her this happy, I am reminded that it's okay to let her be little.

Hudson and his darling cousin Parker are less than 24 hours apart, and so Shane and Mandy invited us over for a little party for Parker on the 19th. I'm so happy that they'll grow up so close in age!

To Shaye's delight, Hudson started cheering during this BYU game. We then proceeded to lose, but what else is new.

We went to the Jubilee of Tree. It's such a lovely event. The Kisses for Kycie tree was especially touching; that sweet girl passed away from the complications of late-diagnosed Type I diabetes. Her tree was so moving, with angel wings and plenty of pink. Santa was there, and Emme was excited to see him. However, once she caught sight of him, she started crying. The rest of the night, she was looking over her shoulder saying, "Santa's not scary..." We also got to see Diamond Talent perform. Seeing them perform always brings back mixed-feeling memories for me, but they do such a fantastic job. This definitely got us in the holiday spirit.

Thanksgiving weekend we had a little shower for Marci. She is expecting a baby boy in March. We went and got massages. It was the first time in a decade for me, and it was such a wonderful afternoon of pampering. I love my friends!

And there is November in everyday photos!