Sunday, blessed Sunday

Today I woke up after a not so restful nights sleep. I found myself frustated and not in a great mood to attend church. So before it came time to go to church I knealt down to talk to God and try to figure some things out about my life. I asked him why he had made me so successful as a full-time missionary and what I needed to change so that I could be successful now. I had a good conversation with the big man upstairs and then I went to church with my beautiful girlfriend Kristen. The church proceedings were uneventful but I felt the Holy Ghost alot and it brought me some answers that I had been searching for. After church we went to Kristen's home ward to hear her sister Rachel and brother in law Jared speak about temples. It was a fantastic sacrament meeting and I again felt the Holy Ghost alot only this time it was more of just a comforting feeling and it lifted me up :)

Later in the day we went to the ASU institute choir performance, that was a magical show of talent. There were special numbers that included christmas bells, and there was even someone signing to the deaf in the audience during one of the songs. It was a very powerful show, and I got to spend it side by side with Kristen...felt alot of bonding during the show.

Then we watched the movie Charly at Kristen's house to finish off the evening. It was a fantastic day and I found many answers I had been searching for. I thank God for the gospel and the peace it brings. New phrase from today: BFFE :P

Thanksgiving 2009

So the day of thanks was definitely unforgettable this year...

We started the day with an Erickson family turkey bowl at Shepherd. Rob and I covered the rushing and some of the blocking with the help of Eric, Jared, and Jake. At the beginning of the game it seemed a shoe-in. The other team hadn't even started scoring and we had scored twice, but somewhere from within came a hearty dose of thanksgiving courage and they started scoring and didn't stop till they had beaten us 8-4. We had a couple good spills, I skinned up the knees and one of the opposing players caught the football right in the face! haha But all in all it was quite the game.

Then came the turkey trot...

I spent time the night before helping Kristen(my girlfriend) put her bike in order for the turkey trot, but it didn't help much as there were so many people not ready the morning of that we would have had all the time in the world to work on the bike. Jake was unhappy with his bike and opted to use the Hundleys extra bike, so that meant it was Kristen with the duty to drive to the Hundleys where I disassembled the bike's front tire and we put it into her car to take back to the Erickson side of town. Turns out I fixed Jake's original bike in 20 seconds flat! haha Well I guess that's why you shouldn't let your impulses govern you all the time. Speaking of Jake, I also had the opportunity to meet his fiance Jennifer. She was down for the weekend and aside from having to wait 2 hours at the airport and hang-out at home while Jake worked, she seemed happy to be down in AZ for the holiday weekend. Very nice girl.

Then it was time for the bike ride/run. Kristen, Rob, and I took turns running legs of the 6 miles. Elizabeth ran too! She was crazy fast, and ran in her sandals while holding her cute skirt up. lol. Cute little girl and wicked fast. I only ran a mile, but I pushed myself quite a bit and actually finished the run pretty quick, and along the way got a nice asthma attack. Haha I forgot I get that sometimes when I run, luckily no lasting effects hit me, and I used Faith's inhaler when I got home. I think I had trouble because I hadn't really warmed up yet, I just kind of went with it and started running.

Then it was back to the house to clean up and onto the Thanksgiving meal! Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, yams, jello, gravy, rolls, etc. In short: DELICIOUSNESS! It was definitely an awesome meal and I got to meet grandma as well! Oh and I cannot forget that there was some excellent sparkling cider! I had like 3 glasses of it! We were about to leave when the pie was unveiled, and I waited in line to have the delicious chocolate one. Jake was trying to cut it and sought to use my help to cut it. haha Fat chance! I told him that he needed extra practice so he could be ready to cut the cake at his wedding which is only a month away. He laughed and went back to cutting, and then whoosh, he launched the pie off the counter and tumbling towards the floor! I caught about half of the pie on my plate and the rest smashed onto the floor. Guess I should have helped him after all :P

After Kristen and I ate a piece of pie it was off to the McLaws Thanksgiving! haha As if we hadn't eaten enough! Well luckily the meal was just about over when we arrived but I had yet to hear about the McLaws Turkey Tragedy! My mother clued us in "your father awoke this morning at 4 am to put the turkey into the smoking pit he had prepared, and then went back to sleep. When he awoke at 8 am the coals had all gone out and a half cooked turkey had been chillin for hours" With that dad ran to the store and bought some chicken and a turkey breat so thanksgiving would not be ruined. But still a half cooked turkey remained and my brother J.R. laid claim to it saying he would blow it up out in the desert using his homemade cannon! We drove out east almost to florence, AZ and found a barren spot of ground where he blew the turkey to smitherines! It was awesome, and his car was covered in turkey guts! All enjoyed except his daughter Barbara. She was scared and kept saying that we were all done because she didn't want anymore loud noise. Then J.R. and Dad blew the turkey bucket up and we cleaned up and drove home. Totally awesome!

Upon arrival home we watched Galaxy Quest, ate pie, and Kristen and I delivered brownies to the families that Jake and I home teach. Then the evening was ended with an Ericksons basketball game! Intense, fun, busy, and filing; it was a thanksgiving to remember! And all the while i was side by side with my girl, there is nothing else I could have wished for! :)

Thanksgiving.com

Anyone ever notice how all of our holidays somehow have become hyper-commercialized? As easter, 4th of July, Halloween, approach, it can be seen all over the internet, tv, and superstores everywhere, yet the thanksgiving holiday seems to have not become overly commercialized...I find that interesting and I believe it is due to the fact that it's a holiday about giving thanks, the mad rush to the stores for gift buying doesn't occur until the day following thanksgiving. The only thing somewhat commercial about this holiday is the food and the football. But most families have already found their own traditions and no amount of commercial advertisement is going to change that. The typical family will have activities or movie watching in the morning as the food is prepared and then will pig out in the late morning/early afternoon which is followed by overdosing on dessert and watching the famous turkey bowl which is always between the same 2 teams every single year. Aside from that, each family has formed it's own traditions sometimes it's a time to play cards or board games. Sometimes people just chit-chat and joke around with their loved ones that they only get to see at this time of year, and sometimes it's a chance to nap and relax just to prepare for the coming stress and chaos of the "commercial holiday nightmare".
Well this thanksgiving I thought the best thing I could do to show my appreciation to God was to start blogging my daily fun-filled adventures. I have neglected this project for quite sometime and need to start now. I have no time to waste, just memories that will fade and dissapear and never be passed on to family and posterity. So this is me saying thanks for all that I've been given and all I will come to receive..each and every day and the opportunity to live it to the fullest and then blog about it right here. :) God Bless! and Happy Thanksgiving!