Thanksgiving 2020

Pratt was having a pretty severe breakout of the Corona virus during the month of November, most of our family and many from our branch tested positive and were home in quarantine, so having the usual company over for Thanksgiving was out of the question. Even the Barneses couldn't come from Wichita - especially with a newborn baby - so mom went to have Thanksgiving with them and made our numbers even fewer. But thankfully, Larry, Destini and Jenny have been so interconnected with us since they moved here at the beginning of the month that we all considered ourselves already exposed. We were able to have a relaxing, peaceful day with just our closest dear ones  - and stuffed ourselves with all the usual goodness.

Right before Thanksgiving, President Nelson released an uplifting video about the power of gratitude (his prophetic power was evident!), and issued us a challenge to flood social media with gratitude for one week. The effects of this challenge were magical. Where once there was skepticism, accusation and division, positivity reigned. The happy, joyful posts far outweighed all others - they seemed to stomp out the former trend of fault-finding and finger pointing we had been left with after a hard year and a bitter election.

I'm thankful for so much this year, but to mention one big one, I'm thankful that the Beireises were able to move closer and get settled near us. Their distance from us and the financial and family problems they had been having were something I was praying about with great concern. Now, at the end of the year, I realize that all my prayers were answered and those problems have been sorted out. Larry has a place to settle and rest. Destini is free to pursue her future (in fact, she's all enrolled in EMT school for next semester - she's going to be so great!), and Jenny is enrolled in Pratt schools where she is surrounded by LDS friends and positive influences. I'm so grateful God hears our cries and intervenes for us when we feel helpless to change our circumstances.

 

Blessed Snow

Kansas only ever gives us enough snow to leave us wanting more. When the snow falls on the prarie, we have to play before it melts away! I love every single flake!

 

Auggie the Doggie!

Here's another something unexpected coming out of this crazy year...we got a dog! Scott took me with him to Topeka for some Podiatry meeting he had and while he was conducting official business, I went and wandered around at the mall. Well, that mall happened to have a pet store and that pet store happened to have a bulldog puppy. Over the years, we'd talked about getting a dog for the kids but always put it off - so much work. I told Scott I'd do it if we could get a bulldog (something so fat and lazy it could do nothing but lay around). We looked into it once or twice but never found anything so we never did anything. When I told Scotty about the bulldog puppy at the mall he wanted to see it so we held hands and went window shopping at the mall together. As we stood ogling at my handsome puppy crush, the pet store guy pounced on my vulnerability and brought the dog out for us to hold and play with. We were both smitten, but we said no thanks and walked away. That night and the next morning at the hotel we hashed out the "should we" and "should we nots," and the arguments that won out were these: a puppy would be an epic Christmas present for the kids - and - Nolan needs the experience of having a good dog before he moves away from home (it's now or never!). We even prayed about it a bit, and called and got the go-ahead from mom, who very graciously said she wouldn't mind. So we decided to dive in. Nevermind that on our way back to the pet store, we got a call from home telling us that Nolan had lost his temper with his siblings and punched a hole in the wall. That immediately threw a wrench in our excitement. This was something we had never experienced in parenting and it felt pretty serious. He punched a hole in the wall?! The fact that we followed through with our purchase after such disappointing news is a strong testament to this puppy's cuteness. After a verbal lashing over the phone and some serious threats, we quickly forgave Nolan and brought the dog home anyway. The sweetest part of the story is how loved I felt when Scott was eager to buy this dog for me. It was so expensive and this was going to be a hectic and painful endeavor - like adding a newborn to the household (one with sharp teeth and a propensity to chew). Scotty was so gracious and generous and determined to please me. He is so good at showing me love. He's been loving me like a superhero ever since, too - pitching in and helping and sharing the work. The kids have also stepped up, showing a lot of maturity - getting up in the night and everything. We've rearranged our house and our lives to welcome this little animal in, and he has brought us so much joy! Charlie has probably paid the greatest price. She no longer reigns spreme at home and we have had to find ways to secure her some safe places around the house. She's so cute when she hides out in the little wall mounts Scott and Nolan put up for her. It's been a very exciting several weeks after months of repetition, isolation and seclusion. God even sent us some sunny days and some snowy days to maximize the puppy fun.

P.S. After giving everyone 24 hours to brainstorm some bulldog names, we narrowed the options down and decided on Griffin. Until Mae burst into tears and said, "I hate that name!" She wanted to name him Bronto, which none of us were excited about, so Scott lovingly pitched the idea of Auggie (our 2nd place name) and Mae through her sniffles agreed that Auggie does rhyme with "doggie,"...so, Auggie it is!