Month of Gratitude (didn't we do this last year)? Never can have too much gratitude, eh?

      Yet another week has flown by - Thanksgiving being just around the corner.  We can't believe November is half-way through already.  We've had amazingly warm weather, Sat. was 70 degrees & we had a wonderful time all day, working in the yard & getting ready for the BMP (big Mormon party) at our house that night.  It turned out to be an Alex party, as most of the kids were close to his age, but we had everything from 11 - 18 yrs, although Seth ditched the party, as he was invited to another party with a friend from the ward.  They had 4 wheelers, so I can't say that I blame him.  All we had was pizza, pop, pizza rolls & brownies.  The kids had a great time & it was fun having them here.  Love the Mormon youth in this area, such great kids.  Funny thing happened as the night wound down, I was hurrying from our sunroom into the kitchen to grab a barstool & forgot that I had finally closed the sliding glass door.  I was literally running & ran into the door.  Now I know how a bird feels when they hit the windows in flight!  Needless to say, I was stunned for a couple seconds, couldn't figure out what had just happened.  Then the pain hit & I writhed on the couch for a few more seconds.  Matt got me some ice & my nose didn't swell hardly at all & didn't turn black & blue, so it must not have been that bad, although it is still sore to the touch.  I was grateful not to have a bruised or discolored face, as I was teaching Gospel Doctrine the next day.  I love to teach & had so much fun getting a little Family History Tree done for my lesson & for our home.  It made me so curious as to how all these people got to America from Denmark, England, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, etc.  I found myself wondering where all their stories are at, we have some, but there's so much we don't have.  These lives are so interesting to me - love reading their histories.  It's so important, esp. for our family, as we are so far from any family at all, that our kids understand where they come from & what their ancestors were like.  Studies have shown that people who know their families, extended & ancestors & have good relationships with them have much more resilience for things in life.  I was so happy with how our Family Tree turned out.  I was able to find a beautiful hand penciled tree that Matt helped me figure out how to use power point to move all of the names I could fit on there around until I had it where it was legible.  It's great to have that in our home & I was amazed as I was looking at geneology charts on the computer, how many lines still have so much work to do.  There is so much done already, but still so much left undone.  My lesson on Family History has made me realize how important it is do help those who have gone before.  I kept thinking about Megan & how much she has done.  I want to be more like her.  She is such an inspiration to all of us. 
      The girls have their concert at the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony the same night as Seth's opening night for the play - hopefully we can hit both of them, trying to decide whether or not to go to the Interfaith Thanksgiving rehearsal that night as well, as they are singing one of my favorite hymns of all time abt. Joseph Smith.  "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee" YouTube has a fantastic version of this, sung by a complete choir & orchestra.  I first heard this hymn at the Liberty Jail Symposium that was held with Elder Ballard to celebrate the 50th year of the Liberty Jail visitors center.  The young missionaries sang it and it was so moving.  Not very many dry eyes in the audience.  It was so neat to visit with some of Joseph Smith's descendants who were there.  Some of them are now members, but many are still not.  Being there made me realize how much we have already learned abt. the history of the early saints, as so much of the presentation was a repeat for us in many things.  There were obviously many things that we didn't know (like how the Liberty Jail door got reunited with the building), but I felt so grateful that our kids know so much about the early saints because of our many experiences here.  I hope that will stick with them throughout their whole lives. 
     I think I've mentioned this before, but instead of e-mails all the time, because many times you probably don't have time to read my lengthy e-mails, I have a blog for our family activities.  This is our family's personal history basically, so anytime you want to catch up on what we are doing & once I figure out how to upload pictures & videos, you can just visit our blog @ blogspot.com (Argyles in Missouri).  This will save both you & I time, as I won't have to feel obligated to catch up everybody in these e-mails & you can visit the blog when you feel a desire or find time to visit.  Blogging is so fun, very addictive way to keep track of family life.  Really enjoy Shahna's blog.  Just fun to see what is happening with our families.  We love you all & hope your week is wonderful.  Watch out for closed glass doors, they can be hazardous to your face!
    Still no progress on our farm, but we are just praying & hoping that our real estate agent was right in that our current tenant has plans to move out at the end of this month.  Keep us in your prayers, as this would be such a blessing to us right now.  Thanks for all you have done for us & we hope to be able to return the favor at some point in our lives.  J.T. has been on his mission for a year now!  It's hard to believe his mission is half over.  He says the work is hard, but he loves being a missionary.  He is having some testimony building experiences & we hope that this will be something that will stay with him for the rest of his life, as he will need to reflect on his mission many times, as I worry abt. the support that isn't there for him when he gets home.  We may be needing to help him out again, I would hate him to be inactive after his mission.  He has come so far & has made alot of progress with so little support.  He is such a good kid & we were privileged to get to know him better.  Daniel is loving being a missionary as well.  Still struggling with the language, he's somewhat self-conscious abt. sounding silly when he tries to speak, so he's been relying on his companion alot for help.  He loves his companion & they are a good match together.  He loves the work & loves the gospel.  Thankful for the opportunities he is having to serve in the field.
     A friend of mine has a missionary daughter in the Phillipines & we have been following all of her updates.  One of her friends was one of the sister missionaries that was trapped in the apartment that flooded.  They were finally able to break through a hole in the roof & stayed on top of the roof for 3 hours while debree flew all around them & bodies were floating by.  I can't imagine what they have been through, along with all of the Phillipino people over there.  Our prayers are with them.  There is so much to be done there.  So grateful for the church and all they do to help in situations like this.  This friend's daughter has a Phillipino trainer that lost 9 family members in the typhoon, 2 of them being her parents & many of them siblings.  They need our prayers & support.  They are setting up a fund to help this family, so wish I could contribute something.  It will be so nice to get our farm situation resolved.  It's frustrating being so tied down with finances.  I know the Lord is helping us, as I've felt his comfort many times, even when my faith was dim.  The hardest part abt. trials is being patient for the Lord's timing.  But I really do trust that He knows what is best & our part is to just do all we can & then trust that somehow things will work out. 
      We were so surprised to hear abt. the 40 tornadoes that hit parts of Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, etc.  Strange time of year for tornadoes, but it has been unseasonably warm, which affects the weather in this way.  Many towns were completely destroyed.  People don't know where their houses are, nothing left, just carried away.  I'm always amazed by how people seem to come very quickly to how little the things that we accumulate matter.  They are grateful that their loved ones are still with them and realize that is what really matters.  We  pray for each of you often.  We love our families & hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  You are each dear to our hearts.  Thank you for the wonderful people that you are & for sharing your lives with us.  That means more to us than you will probably ever know. 
    God bless you all in the coming holidays & don't forget to visit our blog!