hymn of thanksgiving

I'm reminded (especially looking at these pictures) of how much we have to be grateful for:

Two beautiful, healthy children
A good marriage
A home to live in and plenty of food
Jobs that not only pay our bills but actually bring us both a measure of intellectual challenge
And, in my case, a job that still lets me spend most of my time home with my children
Education
Membership in the church (and the spiritual benefits we reap when we actually try to do what we're supposed to do)
Family members that are not just family, but also our best friends
Citizenship in a country where we're entitled to our own opinions
(Dan adds, "Experience living somewhere besides Utah . . . for a little perspective")

And of course, our list could go on, but we'd probably lose most of our readers by then. But I think these are the most important.



Once again, not a lot to report from our end. We laughed (and cried!) at Sarah's post about Lydia's new artistic abilities. (And I have to admit to being a little worried when Dan tells me that this artistic ability may run in the family . . . he did something similar as a child). We've somehow muddled through yet another week. I spent more time on campus than usual because we were interviewing new candidates for Writing Fellows--which has been an interesting experience. Some of the candidates are exceptionally well qualified--some of the best BYU has to offer (including a young man who's a member of Vocal Point, for all you acapella fans out there). And some have been, well, interesting. We ask all the students to come prepared to teach us a five minute skill, and this week I learned, among other things, how to tie a figure-eight knot for rapelling, how to make a peanut butter sandwich (twice!), how to take someone's blood pressure, how to fold a shirt, how to stand at attention, how to meditate, how to make pipe cleaner animals . . . and I can't remember the rest. It's been a good experience, but I'm glad it's (almost) over.

Dan had a phone interview with SUU this week--a promising sign, but we're not sure how well the interview went, since Dan (apparently infected by long acquaintance with me) has spent the intervening days over-analyzing what he said and what he *should* have said. We're still hoping for at least the next level of interviews, but we'll keep you posted.

Andrew continues to be alternately endearing and frustrating. (We talked in Relief Society today about being grateful even in times of trial, and I realized that right now, the biggest trial I face is only about 3 ft 4 inches tall . . .). While I was on campus this week, Andrew had my mom call me so he could talk to me. He picked up the phone and said, "Mommy, you left me! . . . And you left your baby! . . . Okay, bye." With that heart-rending message, he hung up. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

This morning, while Dan and Andrew were playing together, Dan started to sing "Manamana" (from the Muppets). Andrew apparently didn't like it, because he turned to Dan and said, very seriously, "Daddy, don't you know it's nice to be quiet in the mornings?"