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It has been a crazy, busy, wonderful, challenging last few weeks. Sometimes I wonder how there can be so many things happening at once and then how blessed I am to live today. I am so grateful for modern medicine, modern media and technology, and modern transportation. I am over the moon grateful for family. And I am humbled and grateful for the knowledge I have of the restored gospel and my Savior.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving I was at Costco getting gas. As I picked up the nozzle I felt a pinch and thought it was just "a pinch" and hung on until I couldn't anymore. When I opened my hand, I realized I had been stung by a bee (or other yellow/black flying insect) on my left ring finger. It hurt like crazy. I was able to get home and put it on ice but the stinging and itching was intense...and it started to swell. I had a miserable night and it just continued to swell. Playing organ the next day was really tough and I kept it on ice, kept taking Benadryl and using hydrocortisone - to no avail. The next day Rich took me into to the Walgreens pharmacy to get it checked out at their little clinic. They prescribed some steroids and good antihistamines which helped immensely. By the Thanksgiving I actually had a hand back!

On Wednesday (before Thanksgiving) Rich and I headed down to Joey and Carlie's for Thanksgiving. We had such a good time. The kids are growing like crazy and so much fun to be around. Gideon is wrestling and has a practice every day. He has some bruised ribs at the moment but seems to be taking them in stride, nevertheless. Glory loves to sing and seems to be a songbird nearly every waking moment. While we were there Joey and Carlie presented the kids with an early Christmas present - an electronic piano keyboard - and Glory loves playing and she loves singing while she's playing. It was fun to watch her and Scarlett playing together (Scarlett playing her flute) - it brought such sweet memories back to me with our kiddos. Levi wrestling too and loves playing his computer games. And Reah is such fun...always drawing, playing, and loving. The whole family was involved in the thanksgiving dinner preparations - Scarlett had baked pecan pies (she must have known they were my favorite), Carlie made apple pies, Joey made sweet potato pies, and I don't know who made the Oreo pies but they were gone the first night. We had ambrosia salad, corn, potatoes, gravy, cranberries, turkey, relish trays...seems the food just kept coming and it really was yummy!

On Friday Rich and I spent the majority of the day shopping for pjs...didn't get it all done...but came home and spent the evening playing phase 10 with Carlie, Joey, Rich, Scarlett, and Glory. The next morning we headed to the temple with Joey ands Carlie on our way home. I enjoyed that immensely.