Trevor

It is super fun to be at the airport when your solider comes home (I always feel really proud of my brother when I see him in his fatigues).

George was incredibly excited to see Trevor and ended up hogging a lion's share of his attention.

Trevor has a lot of little ones who look up to him.

photobooth friday

It has been a while since I have found myself sitting in a photobooth but while running through the mall in Idaho Falls with Trevor who was/is home from Iraq on a two week leave I spotted a photobooth and insisted on a detour.

fight the bad guys

Today as we were heading into church George saw a man with a shaved head and started walking toward him yelling, "Trev, hey, Trevor." Then he second guessed himself and said, "Mom, is that Trevor?" I told him it wasn't and then he asked, "Is Trev still fighting the bad guys?" I said, "Yes." Then he looked up at me with those awesome, almost black eyes and asked, "Why does it take so long to fight the bad guys?"

I have been thinking about our conversation all day and am missing Trevor a lot. I also can't get Ephesians 6:11 out of my head. "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

How long does it take to fight the bad guys? I am not just thinking about bringing our soldiers home safely, though I do think about that all the time. I am thinking about the battle we all wage against the evils of the world each day. I attended the BYU Women's Conference a few weeks ago and was really touched by Julie B. Beck's talk about Nourishing and Protecting the Family. She talked about being intentional in everything we do and about developing a culture in our family. Then at one point she paused and then said, "FIGHT! Fight for righteousness. Defend your homes!" It was incredibly powerful and I hope I never forget the way I felt at that moment because the spirit testified to me of the urgency of her message and of my personal responsibility as a mother to defend my home, protect my children, and to fight for righteousness each day.

Thanksgiving, part I

I took the boys and headed to Idaho a week ago. Paul joined us on Wednesday and we returned late last night. I am so grateful for the week we were able to spend with all of my siblings and especially with Trevor as he will be leaving in December for his third tour in Iraq. We started off the week with a Thanksgiving dinner (one of three...apparently there are perks to having divorced parents) at my mom's house as well as some rough housing with the uncles.

My mom treated us to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. She is an amazing cook and an awesome host.

After dinner the boys took part in a good old fashioned wrestling match. This is a picture of George trying to tackle Trevor.

Charlie is more of a lover than a fighter.

George on the other hand couldn't get enough. He was like the energizer bunny but paid for it later that night when he threw up. Actually I take that back--I paid for it.

Travis and George. George couldn't get enough of this. I think he hit his head on the ceiling once.