The picture says it all . . .

Doesn't that face say a thousand words?? That has been our week, bumped and bruised but hanging in there. It's not as visible as it was in person, but Davey has a black eye. He was sliding down our slide out back, head first for some reason, and hit his Power Wheel which was just off to the side. It started with a little blue bump and spread. I guess the scratch on the side was from the same incident, but I didn't notice it until after nap that day. He also has a sore little nose from being sick and is wearing his BYU hoodie and is obviously upset by Saturday's game. I think Max Hall probably looks a little like this too. Man did he have a bad game. We'll still cheer for him next year and honestly and truly I am happy for the Utes. A BCS bowl would be good for our state and good for the whole conference. Bust the BCS and show those big schools Utah means business! Davis was spared watching the game, he was playing with his cousins while Lowell and I watched it at Chili's with my family. A nice outing other than the loss. The good news about the Penrods is that we bounce back! Check out this shot:

Still beat up, but we are happy!
And some Cutie Carter too. Sunday church went okay except Davis has been SO emotional as he has taken his steroids for the croup. It helped immensely with his breathing, but the drama was almost too much to handle. He has been very clingy to me, crying whenever I am not with him which is very odd for my little man. Sure we're best buds but I have always worked full time and he has been great with whoever he is with. He also has not been sleeping well at all, waking frequently and being hard to console. He varies from 'roid rage to cuddle bear to super super whiny. So happy he is done with that and still praying Carter doesn't get it. He has done great though he started coughing a little last night. They have both had a runny nose and I think that is independent of the croup. I was going to say it would be the first cold they haven't shared, but I don't want to jinx it, so I'm not saying it!
Carter in his Thanksgiving outfit, ready for church
Davis, and his fake smile and black eye
Such cutie boys! I think this one is going on some ornaments (artscow of course, 1.99 with shipping for a pic fired onto a porcelain ornament.)

So to go on with our great week Sunday night Lowell was working on our humidifier which didn't seem to be working when a burning odor came up through the vents. Then the furnace stopped working. Monday we had the furnace guy over and he says it will be $300 for a part to be replaced. So much for saving money, every time you put some away it gets eaten up. Part is in, turns out it didn't fix it so you'll need another part, now pushing $1000 or you can get a new furnace. He suggested new because ours was 10+ years old. That's strange I said, the house is only 6 years old. I guess either the builder or the people who owned the house before us put a used heater in. That's great. So we just went with the new furnace hoping for less troubles in the future. Can't get it until the next day though so day 2 without heat and we are getting chilly. Luckily we have had a lovely mild November and some extra blankets, footed PJs, and a space heater took care of us okay. Tuesday I went grocery shopping with the kids and my dad and it was horrible! I guess I shouldn't have combined 2 days of no nap and poor night time sleep, with steroid let down, with lunch and nap time. It was bad. I come home to the furnace guys thumping away and guess what, exhausted kids won't sleep again. It's getting pretty late and they are still at it and I still need a turkey so what does crazy me do? Take the kids to the store again! Hillary and Cyndel helped but it wasn't great. Hill and I took the boys to McD and they did okay except the lovely McD folks just plain forgot about us so it was a long time to eating and of course my impatient children thought playing outside in the drive thru would be more fun than the play place (????) but did NOT want to leave and made sure everyone there knew that. Finally home again to a warm and quiet house, so much to be thankful for! And I am a little ashamed to admit it, but this was one time we really needed it, I gave the munchkins some Benadryl and they knocked right out without a peep and slept in this morning. Today I am thankful for Benadryl! The last couple of days Davis has been begging to play golf, I don't know why, but Hill came with us to Trafalga today. I have a coupon (of course) so we played a round and played at the arcade for $8. The boys were actually quite good other than leaving even if they really have no clue about golf.

Carter with his tickets, woohoo!
What we spent the most time doing, throwing the ball in an opening and running to see where it went.
A short lived attempt at putting.

We had lunch with grandma and that brings us up to date! Seems like such a long week already and it is only Wednesday! But things are looking up, tomorrow I am taking a "by-day" on my diet and enjoying a truly fabulous eating holiday! I actually work from tonight all the way until we eat at noon tomorrow, but it will be worth it. We'll have a traditional thanksgiving complete with an always excellent turkey and my mother-in-law's pumpkin pie that no I will not eat and yes, they surprisingly have still allowed me to be in the family. Then we'll take a lovely nap and repeat with a less traditional steak dinner with my fam. Just for kicks I am throwing in the tradition with a turkey (my dad won't eat it) and sweet potatoes (most won't eat it, but this is Jessica's recipe from UVMOM and it is excellent!). That is a heck of a lot of food for one day. And I'll get a free turkey dinner from the hospital while I am on call, so I'll put that in the fridge and have it Saturday. The gift that keeps on giving.

Friday is the big day for us shoppers, Black Friday. I have been checking out the ads for weeks and am still finalizing my game plan, including secrets like going to the Payson WalMart and having WalMart match other ads, thus avoiding the big tickets items at that store. I also have 4 people in my arsenal this year so we can divide and conquer. Should be fun!

I just wanted to say that I am very thankful this year, even though I may not want to repeat this week. I am so so thankful for my Savior and that all this isn't meaningless, that families are forever and there is so much glory in store for us. I am thankful my Heavenly Father sent me to my family and to my husband and his family and that He sent us our boys. I am grateful we are all healthy and well and warm, much too well fed and comfortably clothed. I have some great old and new friends who all mean the world to me. I really don't have that many friends, so the ones I do have mean that much more. You uplift and carry me on tough days and bring a smile to my face even on great days. Far too many of you live far away but I still think of you almost daily and smile. I hope I can be the type of friend to you as you have been to me. You know who you are! (Hint: if you actually read this blog, it's probably you!). I am thankful today that a little guy we draw blood on frequently who was literally at death's door for his first birthday, got the liver transplant he so desperately needed. And it was because friends of theirs lost their daughter. It was a miracle she was a match and it just made my day today to know that sweet little guy will make it to his second birthday. I am thankful for my job and for the financial stability it provides my family. I used to be grateful we were debt-free (minus house and one car), dang new furnace, but I am grateful we had an emergency credit card and that my house is again warm. May god bless all of you this Thanksgiving holiday! Loves!