Abundant Recompense Copy

We went to St. George for Thanksgiving and brought Brianna along. We had lots of fun (except maybe Asa, who cried pretty much the whole weekend.) We had a great Thanksgiving dinner, saw all Nate's side of the fam, saw Great Grandma and Grandpa, treasure hunted for critters in the park, sang around the piano, met Bri's lover, took family pictures, drove around and looked at Christmas lights, played games, went to the park, watched movies, and did lots of vegging. The kids love it when Grandma reads to them. This house won $50,000 in a national Christmas lights contest! Aria. We had a blast with this girl playing games one night. Addison practicing rappelling. Brianna! What a beast! She was awesome at rappelling. Heading to Red Cliffs for some exploring and rappelling. I should mention that Bryn gave us a real scare on this excursion. She was "helping" me belay for Nate. Turns out she was very invested in her job. Nate went zooming down the side of the cliff and Bryn wa...

During preschool one day last month, Leah finished her workbook page, and then put her name on the bottom as usual. And then she wrote my name right next to it. It was her first time! She was proud and so was I. My baby is getting big. Also, it's kind of incredible to teach another human being to read and write. Truly, what a privilege. I can't think of a more fulfilling job.

The snow is so beautiful when it's smooth and untouched. It looks and even sounds like peace. Then school gets out and our yard fills up with footprints of all sizes. Trails wind this way and that to destinations that were ordinary yesterday, but have become thrilling in this new landscape. Each print traces a story of one little decision after another. Sometimes I think the yards with no footprints seem like sad yards.

Brynny is thrilled to have lost her very first tooth last month! Ain't she cute?

Once upon a time there was a girl who lived far, far away from the place she grew up and the people she grew up with. She was a student at BYU, and loved it there and enjoyed her studies, but really, REALLY missed that place and those people. Sometimes when she was walking home from school on cold dark nights, she'd daydream about getting to her apartment, opening the door, and her house being filled with her family! While she knew it was just a dream, it was a fun one that she liked very much. The girl finished school, married a handsome boy, and bought a cute little house and filled it with cute little kids. She was still very far away from her home, but she understood that it would always be that way. And so, although she missed the place and especially the people very much, she chose to close the door on the daydreams she'd loved while she was in college, and those of ever moving back, or seeing any of those people from that place more than once or twice a year. It just was...