Gratitude

I have so much to be grateful for it would be impossible to list it all right here. But what is right at the top of my list are those people who "light the flame" each and every day of my life. Friends and family that love and support me. You know who you are..
Thank you!!
Here are a few fun pics from our Thanksgiving celebration...

My cute sister, Celeste, who put on a wonderful spread on her birthday!

The boys helped out a little. Cole wasn't too excited about it. But Ledoux whistled while he worked. For all of 5 minutes...

Tons of food...

The "kid" table...

Our choice of pies...

How much better could a day get?

LDS Humanitarian Center

As many of you know, this year for Keri's birthday party she asked all of her friends to bring a gift for the LDS Church Orphanage instead of bringing one for her. Much to our amazement each of her friends donated generously, all 32 of them. It was both rewarding and humbling.
Today was the day we made the trip to the Humanitarian Center to drop everything off. (I know, her birthday was 4 weeks ago. But sometimes, that's just the way it goes at the Cooper home.:D) I wanted to make it a whole family experience so we waited until the kids were out of school and Mark had a free day.
The first thing we did was load the supplies into the car...

Then we went up to the Humanitarian Center...

And went on a tour of the facilities...

All of the donations that they accept for the LDS Church Orphanage must be new. Hence, the birthday party...

After watching a wonderful 10 minute video of "Ye Have Done It Unto Me" we unloaded her donations...

Then we took a few photos for her scrapbook. (Well, the scrapbook I'll put together when I have the time.)

I love the scripture in 2 Corinthians 8:14 that describes charity "But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want:that there may be equality."
There have been many times where I have mistaken charity as those who "have" giving to those who "have-not". But this is not the true meaning. Charity is "the pure love of Christ." There is no one who is better than another. We are all needy and dependent on God. For everything! And this little experience has opened my heart just a little bit wider this holiday season...

Keri Flying

Tonight was Friends and Family Night for all of Macs' Cheer Groups. Here's a sneak peek at what Keri's group has put together for the upcoming year. It's a little rough. But luckily they still have another month before competition. The best part of it all was that they "stuck" their pyramid. Sorry about the quality of the video. Mark was the one videotaping this one. HERE WE GO...

Cole on Guitar

Ever since Cole's guitar teacher moved to Logan Cole has been learning how to play the guitar on his own. One of his favorite songs to play is "Sweet Child of Mine." Check it out...

AF Classic

Last Saturday was the American Fork Caveman Classic. The last cheerleading competition of the season. Keri's team did great! Lots of tumbling, loads of stunts, and tons of cheering.
Keri also did a solo routine! We were so proud!

Halloween

This year Keri joined most of the girls in our neighborhood and decided to be a "baby." Look at how cute they all are...

Ledoux came down to Happy Valley to hang out with Cole and Carson...

This was our only Halloween decoration of the night. We stuck Cole outside on the front porch. He scared a few of the kids that were out trick-or-treating...

Keri's Birthday Party

What A Day! Keri is now 11 years old. To celebrate the big day she invited over 35 of her friends to her party. We played games, opened presents, and had cake. Then Keri gave each of her friends a blanket. Most of them chose to cut or tie the ends. It was so fun to see how creative they got. Wish I had taken more photos. But it was all I could do to keep up with these energetic girls. Wow!

Keri had also asked everyone to bring a donation to the LDS Church Orphanage instead of bringing a birthday gift for her. When the party was over we went through all the donations and organized everything. She filled up her box and then some. I was so amazed at how her friends gave so freely. It will be neat to take her to the Humanitarian Center to drop her box off.