Arizona for Great Grandma Marge and Thanksgiving

We had a great time in Arizona for ten days. The first half of the trip we spent with the Shumways celebrating Great Grandma Marge Shumway's 90th birthday. She is such an amazing woman, it was so nice to have some time with her and see and meet all the people who love her and whose lives she has touched.

We had a great time swimming (85 degree thanksgiving weather! ) at Grandma and Grandpa Shumway's hotel pool, eating good food and sitting around and chatting. Hazel and Charlie LOVED spending time with the McFarland kids and aunts and uncles, not to mention Grandma and Grandpa Shumway. They get so much attention with the Shumways, and they LOVE every single second of it.

One of the highlights of that first weekend was getting to go out to south Phoenix and see the house where Grandpa Shumway grew up. Such a cool old house, with so many good stories.

The last of the Shumway clan took off on Monday and we spent the rest of the week with Shawni and Dave. The time went by way too fast.....there's always a million things that Shawni and I plan to do that we never get around to (I guess that's what happens when you put too people together who each try to pack WAY too much into life). But, the things we did pack in were great. Hazel can't stop talking about how she got to go to Claire's Joy School with Ms. Shawni as the teacher. And Charlie keeps walking around our house with various balls asking for Max....his big cousin who played ball with him all week. They loved the trampoline....and Hazel took quite a few determined dips in their FREEZING swimming pool.

Hazel spent most of her days dressed up as different princesses. When will that stage end, anyone?

Hazel and Claire were alternately best friends and worst of enemies.

Shawni is much more brave than I am, bathe five kids at once? No way.

We had a great Thanksgiving. We started the day at the Mesa Turkey Trot. Shawni and I ran almost 6 miles....we were both pretty impressed and surprised at ourselves. I know, I look like I'm falling over, but I'm just trying to take little Gracie's hand and this is the only picture I have to post right now!

Our thanksgiving dinner was fabulous, I think the best Turkey I've ever tasted. Jeff has perfected his technique.....I'm sure he'll pass along his tips if you're interested. I relished not having to host....and had such a good time just soaking it all in.

The turkey actually looked much prettier than it does in this picture.....I promise.

The day after Thanksgiving my parents, Charlity, Eli and his girlfriend and Jonah and Aja arrived. We had a few crazy and fun days with everyone there.

It was so great being with the Pothiers, just being there. They seem to me like a real family. Family scripture reading in the morning between piano practice and homework and running off to school. Their family dinners have real conversations and their kids have real chores. This is the kind of family stuff that I'm kind of excited for. That big, busy family feeling is priceless.

And it was in the midst of that awesome big family feeling that I found out that I was having another miscarriage. Darn. Two in five months. It was quite devastating....especially because I was so envious of the family Shawni and Dave have created. Maybe one day?

I felt so watched over as all of this was happening....not only by Jeff and my family there, but also by God. I felt he was really holding and protecting my fragile heart and making me stronger than I could have been on my own. Now we're on to "consults" and Boston IVF to try and figure out what's going wrong. I'm just trying not to worry and instead to have faith and concentrate on enjoying at least another year of sleeping through the night.