{C} another adult in the house

Today Cason turned 18 years old.  

We didn't get any photos today but I do have this photo that was taken last night with his friends that came over to celebrate him with a birthday dinner.

We are 14 years into this blog and, if you haven't figured it out by now, we generally just post the accomplishments, the celebrations and the wins.  But that doesn't mean we don't have our share of the defeats, the mundane and even the negative.  Today was a hard day for Cason in his new role as adult and for me as a mom to a new adult.  I hope that Cason will look back at this birthday and be able to laugh at his "house arrest" and that he will remember parents who navigated something hard by pausing, taking a deep breath and then responding instead of reacting.  We all learned something today and maybe that is all we can ask for.

On that note, here is my advice to Cason at 18!

Take note, you have your entire life ahead of you.  The choices you make in the next 5-10 years will be the most important choices you will make and will largely determine the rest of your life.  

Don't forget that YOU are in charge of much more than you realize and all of your dreams and ambitions are well within your grasp if you simply choose to take control.

THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL

 your being

your beliefs

your attitudes

your thoughts

your perspective

how honest you are

what books you read

how grateful you are

what you stand up for

how often you exercise

how you treat yourself

the type of food you eat

how many risks you take

how kind you are to others

how you interpret situations

how often you say I love you

how you express your thoughts

whether or not you ask for help

who you associate yourself with

how quickly you say you're sorry

the amount of effort you put forth

what you do with your spare time

how you spend/invest your money

how much time you waste worrying

how often you think about your past

whether or not you judge other people

how often you give time to appreciate life

whether or not you try again after a setback

         I love you Cason.  Happy Birthday!!!

{K} speaking in Vernal

The best part about COVID19 is that wards throughout the church have created links to their Sacrament meetings, so I get to log in and watch my daughter give a talk on a random Sunday in December while she is on her mission.  Just a late Christmas gift to this mama's heart <3

Christmas Day 2020

warning: photo overload

Merry Christmas!!!

I was glad to receive a couple of photos of Kaitlyn from Christmas morning....to know she is being well taken care of by the good people of Vernal.

And then K got to facetime us while she opened her gifts from us and while we opened the gifts from her.

Merry Christmas 2020

After a polarizing year, we tried to remain neutral and cover all of our bases with two sides of this year's family Christmas card...

and in case it was hard to read....

To all of our liberal friends and family

Please accept, with no obligation implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

We also wish you a fiscally responsible and personally fulfilling recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year of 2021, but not without due respect for the calendar choice of other cultures.

 

To all of our conservative friends and family

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

'twas the night before Christmas 2020

Christmas Eve at our house means the kids have staked out their "spot" for tomorrow morning and we gather to have each of the kids read a Christmas story of their choosing and open a gift from one of their siblings.