Our Thanksgiving...And Much To Be Thankful For...

Our Thanksgiving this year was spent up in Cedar City near Duck Creek in a nice cabin with my dad and Georgie and families. It was a very different experience! We have never been anywhere but Farmington for Thanksgiving. There was so much food...DANG IT! Good food! Our highlights of the trip were roasting marshmallows over an open fire in the woods, family game time, and sleepless nights with our little one. I really felt Thankful to be able to get to know my siblings a little better without the distraction of the X-box. Thanksgiving night we were laughing for hours until we were crying. I miss those times with them. They are fun to be around, and I am looking forward to watching them grow up.

Eric's entire family was together for the week, so we only stayed a couple of days in Cedar City. The house was full of cousins, and they were all in heaven! On my husband's side of the family, there are 15 grandkids and of those 15, there are only 3 girls! When I was pregnant with Hayden, so were all of my sister-in-laws...with BOYS! There are 4 boys all born within a year of each other! They have such a good time together. I seriously love all of Eric's family like my own. My sister-in-laws are probably the most fun women that I have ever known. I wish we could get together more often. It was sad to say goodbye.

And now...here are a few things that have been on my mind that I am Thankful for:

• My husband. He and I have had quite a year. It has been our goal to get our lives in order, but it hasn't been without a fight. Change is hard! But, I count myself as lucky to have a man that will encourage me and won't let me give up. It is so comforting to have him by my side, and I truly feel like together we can accomplish great things.
• Family. It is not often that someone has great support systems on both sides of the family, but I really do! I have family that are all strong in the gospel, and are examples to me. I feel like our family has such a legacy of faith, and I hope that I can leave that legacy with future generations.
• My Children. I feel the weight of being a mother daily. I have been blessed with 2 amazingly active children who challenge my patience daily. But, there are so many moments where I stand in awe that these children are my gift to raise. I am thankful that I am able to teach them about the Savior and about the gospel. Maya has started to fold her arms and say "Amen", and Hayden has started to say some very insightful prayer. They both have such individual talents and abilities. I am Thankful to be a mother!
• Work. A few weeks ago, I had the best day! My kids were happy, I was happy. I was able to get so much done, and even serve someone in the ward. At the end of the day, I was exhausted from having done so much. As I was lying in bed, I felt at peace. I had done my best. I realized what a great feeling it is to be able to say at the end of a long day that I had worked as hard as I could. There is such a peace that comes from work well done. Knowing how to work, and work hard is something to be Thankful for.

What's Up at the Salway home!

The past week, Eric and Hayden raked all the leaves from our back yard. I have some really cute pictures from that! I'll try to post them later. Eric would have Hayden stand in the garbage can to push the leaves down to make room for more. They had a leaf fight and everything!

On Saturday we started cleaning out the garage and the storage area. What fun! Honestly, though, I love that feeling of having things in place. I am realizing we have way too many baby clothes, but I don't want to get rid of them yet! I think we have one bin for each age bracket boy and girl. That adds up quick.

One other thing that we've been doing: About a month ago in a regional conference, the Prophet spoke and basically said that if something is bothering you in your life, stop complaining and change it! So...I am changing the things I complain about. My biggest problem was that I was feeling like I was being thrown into my day. I would wake up when my kids woke up and I felt like there was too much to do and I could never get on top of anything. I have since started waking up and going to the 5:45am cycling/weight class at the gym and I now have time to shower, start a load of laundry, and read my scriptures all before the kids get up. Now when they wake up, they wake up to a happy mom who is excited to see them, rather than a sleepy, groggy mom who wants more sleep. It is awesome! I feel really overwhelmed sometimes, like there is too much that needs to be changed in my life, but I have to start somewhere. There are many mornings that I don't want to get up, but I say to myself, "Too Bad!" and when my mind starts making excuses, (but really what else do I have going on at 5:45 am?) I say, "So what."