So... this happened.

It's taken me a few days to write about this because I needed to come down out of the clouds and write coherently but since that isn't happening any time soon I'm just going to say it - MY SON PLAYED QUARTERBACK FOR THE BYU COUGARS IN A REAL GAME IN LAVELL EDWARDS STADIUM!!!!!!!  I still can't believe it.  It was only a few plays and they wouldn't let him throw because we were so far ahead but it still happened.  I have dreamed of this happening ever since I stepped foot on that campus as a student almost 40 years ago.  I imagined one of my children playing on that field and everyone hearing his name over the loudspeaker and seeing his picture on the big screen and it all finally happened last Saturday afternoon.  I tried to film him playing but I was crying and shaking so hard that we get carsick watching the film.  To say I'm proud of him is the understatement of the century.  He fulfilled his and his parents' dream of many years and I am absolutely overwhelmed with emotion about it.  The Deuce is still loose and I couldn't be happier!

I'm Thankful for: Savannah

It's very fitting that I would get to finish up my thankful journey with the girl that changed my life, forever.  I have never been a "girl" person.  I had one friend at a time growing up and abandoned them altogether in high school when they made very different choices from mine.  I couldn't relate to the emotional roller coaster and the dramatics and the pettiness of girls.  It was all too scary so I just hung out with my family or boys.  When I started having children I was very happy to just keep having boys.  I never wanted a girl.  I was too scared that it would be an emotional nightmare and that I would say or do something to scar her for life.  Thankfully, God and my husband knew better.  Enter Savannah.  When she was a little girl she had some tendencies that made me nervous.  She was very headstrong and I didn't feel super close to her.  I was afraid that she wouldn't listen to the things I needed to teach her so she could go back and live with Heavenly Father and me someday.  After she got baptized she just kind of changed into the "real" Savannah.  Her temperament calmed down and she became the most teachable, obedient, sweetest child in the world.  Ever since then we have become like one person.  All she wants is to do the right thing, always.  I can't say enough good things about her because, in my eyes, she's perfect.  I've never loved a girl as much as I love her.  Having her in my life has helped me understand why my DIL's are so close to their moms.  That mother/daughter bond is priceless and unbreakable.  Vannie is not any of the things I was scared of and so much more than I ever dreamed a daughter could be.  I love her so unconditionally and completely that it's scary.  She is the angel on the top of my "thankful" tree and I love her with everything in me. 

I'm Thankful for: Aleigh

Aleigh is one of my favorite daughter-in-laws.  She's actually more like a daughter because she has been in my life for a long time and since she was pretty young.  She is my only DIL that I got to know without her sweetheart around.  She is also a convert to our faith so I have been a big source of information for her when it comes to the practices of our church.  Kind of like a mother/daughter relationship.  Aleigh is a sponge.  She soaks up every good thing she can and incorporates it into her life.  She accepted our religion faster and deeper than anyone I've ever known.  She is extremely crafty and creative and energetic.  She has many hobbies and is good at tons of things.  I can talk to her for hours and have, on several occasions.  Everyone is her friend, everyone loves her right when they meet her.  She is engaging and fun and kind.  She is a huge gift to our huge family and I love her more than I can say.

I'm Thankful for: Hunter

Hunter is my baby boy.  He is the epitome of being "his own man".  He doesn't like copying anyone.  He wants to make his own mark and not be lumped in with "The Moore Boys".  He is unusually obedient and this makes me very happy.  He has a very good heart and only wants to do what's right and help others to be happy.  He loves the gospel and strives to share it whenever he can.  He is a great example of quiet fortitude.  He has always been shy but has managed to overcome seeming shy by sheer will.  He forces himself to address his weaknesses and tries to turn them into strengths.  I'm very proud of the man he has become but miss the little boy that I had such a strong bond with.  I love this boy with all of my heart and want only the best for him.  He makes me proud every day.

I'm Thankful for: Tracy

Tracy is one of my favorite daughter-in-laws.  She is very soft, sweet and pretty.  It has been a joy watching her blossom as a young married woman.  She is very happy when she lives in sunshine, ha ha!  She loves everything pink, fluffy and girly.  She is becoming quite a good cook because she wants to.  She is crafty and creative and very willing to learn.  She is obedient and patient and kind.  I love being around her and Jensen because they get along so well and their love is very apparent.  Tracy gets along with everyone.  She is striving to learn new things and to be more outgoing and brave. I love her and I'm proud of her. I'm so glad she is Forever Moore.

I'm Thankful for: Jensen

Jensen is my silent soldier.  My son who was never really a child, ever.  He was born an adult.  He is super quiet and super cute.  He is very loud and boisterous and hilarious while texting but not actually with his vocal chords.  He has always made me very proud because he has an intense desire to do what's right.  It's fun watching my children grow up and seeing who they gravitate toward in later life.  Jensen and Tanner have become quite good friends as adults and I'm pretty sure that Tanner didn't even realize Jensen was alive as a child.  Jens is super easy to like because he gets along with everyone and is always kind and helpful.  I'm very proud of him for going to chiropractic school and doing so well in everything he attempts.  I love that he is so humble and teachable and that he still comes to us for advice.  He is a great son and I love him very much.

Tears and Traditions

I had a very emotional walk this morning for some reason.  I decided that tears are very therapeutic.  When the body gets stuffed to overflowing with emotion then the feel of hot, salty tears running down your cheeks is healthy and necessary.  This is my first holiday season without any children in my home and the flood of memories of holidays past and the traditions we celebrated year after year has been wonderful but also triggered the aforementioned overflow.  I remember right after Thanksgiving dinner getting so excited to set up the Christmas tree and bring out all the decorations.  Our tradition was to set the box of ornaments in front of me and I would take each one out and examine it for any needed repairs and then hand it to the first child in line.  They would go put it on the tree and then the next child would follow and so on.  The children loved to play with their "guys" in the tree.  Day after day they would set up little scenarios with their toys and play for hours.  Putting up the outside lights was always an adventure.  They all had jobs to do from unpacking the lights, to checking the strands, to hanging them up.  Dad always joked that he put the most expendable child on the top of the ladder and it usually ended up being Kyle, ha ha!  It was nice when they got tall enough to not need the ladder very much.  Brandon's job was to supervise and spend most of his time on the couch.  We have an advent calendar that I made while pregnant with my first child and they would love to wake up to candies every day through the month of December.  Logan is the earliest riser so he would always be the one to get it down.  Tanner usually didn't get his till after school because he was asleep until about 2nd period, ha ha!  We loved doing The Twelve Days of Christmas for people because it was so nerve wracking trying not to get caught.  They didn't love the caroling I made them do for our close friends but I did.  Posing for the Christmas card picture was always fun too, not.  I would read them Christmas stories all during the month of December.  We would sit in the living room with hot chocolate and I would read a chapter or a short story.  (Maybe the overflow isn't quite done yet).  They loved going to the mall together to get each other their secret Santa presents.  They had to try to hide the presents from each other and not let each other see which stores they went into.  Christmas Eve we always had a party and invited family and friends and then after everyone left we would have Dad read the Christmas story in Luke and we would open one present and then leave milk and cookies for Santa.  Christmas morning was a blast.  They would gather each other up from their bedrooms at 0 dark thirty and then come into our room and get us up.  Dad would always go first and film what Santa had brought them and then they were let loose.  I love that I can cry over these memories because that means they were special.  If we didn't have these traditions and they weren't so wonderful then they wouldn't be worth crying over.  I hope everyone who reads this establishes lots of traditions in their families and then is able to cry at their memories later in life.  We are starting new ones with our bigger and older family and that makes me very happy.  So, all you ladies my age and older, pass the eggnog and go ahead and have a good, refreshing cry:)