Thankful Thanksgiving

This thanksgiving was less than ideal. Covid has yet again disrupted our lives. I’m usually pretty positive about the changes that the world is under. We wear our masks to school, work, and stores. We keep our distance from people and keep our partying down to a minimum. However, this year when the kids got a cold that didn’t allow us our traditional Thanksgiving, I was furious. I knew without a doubt it was a cold, but we had no other option but to stay. Poor Scott took the brunt of my anger. Better yet, he got the whole of it. The tears, the yelling, the doubt, the anger. Luckily, after the decision was made there was a body combat at class at the gym and I punched out my emotions for a good hour and felt loads better after. 

After I was able to set my emotions aside, I accepted the situation and got down to planning our meal. It turned out great. In fact, Cache had a great time helping  with the pie and rolls and even Beckett jumped in and lent me a hand. I don’t relinquish control very well, but I was proud of myself for letting the boys help and proud of them for wanting to help. I love making memories with them. 

The day wasn’t the beautiful fight free family day that I was envisioning, but it was good. We enjoyed our time together and ate a lovely a meal. We spent time drawing and Tayden drew an awesome Donald Duck. We remembered our blessings and thought of the pilgrims. All and all, it was a good day. Although, I can’t wait to get back to tradition. 

One great part of this thanksgiving was his counsel from our dear prophet to flood social media with posts of gratitude to help combat the unrest that the world is feeling and promote hope and peace. Scott and I took the challenge. Here are our posts. 

From Scott:  

*I am so grateful for these boys who call me dad. Being a dad is hard, and extremely challenging. Luckily Stacey and I have been blessed with four sons who bring us so much joy and happiness! #givethanks

*Where would I be without my parents! These two have taught me so much in life, and I love them dearly. They have always been my biggest support and have wanted nothing more than success for me and my family in life! Beyond grateful! #givethanks

* It’s these moments at the end of a day that help me to remember a loving Father in Heaven. And for HIM, I am grateful. It’s these moments that everyday help me feel HIS presence. This allows me to know I am important. Not just important, but special enough for this world to be created for me to grow, and everyone around me. #givethanks

*Today I am grateful for modern medicine. Two years ago I began to feel a little off. My legs would get tired easily, and I would often become short of breath. No big deal right? I thought for sure it was just me out of shape and getting older (35). I took several test- 11 EKG’s, a stress test (I could hardly do that) tons of blood work and my results all came back inconclusive. There was no reason why It should be linked to my heart many stated. Luckily I was blessed with a cardiologist that knew something wasn’t right and scheduled an angiogram to be certain. One hour later I was the new recipient of a stint place in my Left Main Coronary Artery. The cardiologist estimated it was between 90-95% blocked. He called it the Widow Maker and stated that I was incredibly lucky. I was lucky alright, but I know more than anything I was truly blessed. Blessed with finding the right doctors at the right time, and listening to a loving wife. Because of modern medicine I am alive. I am able to play with my family and enjoy the things I love. And more than anything, I am here to watch them grow to be men. For that I am grateful! #givethanks

*Life is so much easier with this beauty at my side. Stacey is absolutely my better half, and I surely would be lost without her. She’s the one that ALWAYS laughs at my goofy jokes, and continues to keep me grounded. In addition to babysitting me... She is an amazing mother to our four boys. She’s patient, loving, and most importantly has an absolute selfless devotion to her family. How I  was SO blessed to find her will forever be a mystery to me. For this,I am grateful! #givethanks

From Stacey: 

* I’m so grateful for our Superintendent and school district for keeping the schools open for our kids and the teachers for showing up each day. They have worked endlessly to find solutions to the challenges we are facing. The masks, hand sanitizer, temperature checks, social distancing, quarantines  and many other protocols have allowed my boys to go to school. I’m grateful to see them among friends, learning in person and thriving each day. #givethanks

* Happy birthday, Scott Packard! God knew I needed you before I was even aware something was missing. You filled my void. You found me. You make me whole. Today, I #givethanks for you.

*Today I #givethanks for a healthy dog. A couple of weeks ago, Luna gave us a scare and we learned she has an autoimmune disorder that causes her blood to attack the platelets (ITP). We started meds and she is responding wonderfully. In fact, we found out today all her blood work is normal! There’s a long road ahead to remission, but today we are celebrating. She is so very very loved.

* I LOVE being in Young Women's. I adore my girls. I feel at my best when I'm with them. As a leader our goal is to help the girls nourish the body, nourish the soul and connect with Christ. I couldn't be more grateful to be part of this great work. Its such a blessing. #givethanks

* I’m grateful for our thankful tree and the opportunity it provides my children to #givethanks. They have blown me away with their gratitude from socks to soldiers and everything in between.

Christmas Miracle

It’s not even Thanksgiving, but we’ve already witnessed a Christmas miracle. Scott put up Christmas lights!! All it took was a sweet little five year old to look at his daddy and ask please. 

The Hunt

This years hunting season was great! At least I’ve been told, I didn’t go. However, Scott had lots of opportunities to take Tayden and even Beckett got to tag along a few times. Matt and Jen came in from Minnesota to hunt, along with Grandma and Grandpa Packard, Grandpa Great and Uncle Fred. It was a family affair this year. The boys spent nearly every weekend plus a few weekdays up on the mountain. Although Tayden wasn’t successful this year, Scott was and brought home an elk. Which I was extra graceful for because we were out of hamburger. 

The Yeti made a nice hunting addition this year. We bought this particular kind of ATV with hunting in mind and I was happy to see get put to use. Plus, nobody was complaining about the heated seats and heater. 

Canal Fortress

We’re heading into late fall and the weather is getting cooler. The canal has dried up and the boys have discovered the fun of exploring the empty beds. They’ve found hammers and wood, sheet metal and toys and about everything in between. I’ve loved the hours they’ve spend outside. But perhaps my favorite thing of all is the fort that Beckett and his buddies have been building. 

They’re quite the little gang and proud and proud can be of their special place. I’m holding on to this pure joy of childhood as long as I possibly can! 

Halloween 2k20

I am not a lover of Halloween, but this year actually wasn't that bad. The weather was warm and the kids were agreeable. However, it was a really strange year. And not just because of Covid. 

My family is growing and the kids are getting older. The older they get the more independent they become. Independence reared its ugly head when Tayden decided to stay home and watch the football game instead of trick or treating. That is true to Tayden, football over all. However, he did go out later with a buddy for about 30 minutes between games.

Beckett earned his fourth grade right of passage and went alone with some friends. He was so excited and they were out for ever! He ended up with six pounds of candy and could not have been more pleased. After trick or treating they watched a movie and partied until 10pm!

That left Cache and Kyle with Scott and I. Cache had a bit of a stomach bug the day before and wasn't feeling 100%, but came out for a bit. After he was done, we dropped him off with Tayden and Scott and I finished up with Kyle alone. 

Kyle provided Scott with some of his proudest dad moments. Kyle is cut from the same cloth and loves candy, even more...free candy. He was sprinting from house to house and never slowed down a bit. As we walked up to a bucket of candy left on the porch he asked Scott what the sign said. Scott read, "Only one please" Kyle's reply, "One piece? More like one bucket!" At another porch bucket he took a handful. Scott told him only one and he said, "What? I don't see an invisible sign telling me how many I can have!" 

The night came to an end and we tucked the little boys in bed. With Tayden and his friend downstairs watching the game and Beckett at his friends house, Scott and I watched a movie. It was strange and awesome all wrapped into one. Watching the older boys do their own thing has me grasping at the younger boys youth and begging them to stay little a while longer. Simultaneously, I'm excited for the day that they can experience the joy independence. Motherhood is a trip. 

Happy Halloween, but happier its over. On to the next!   

Duck Rescue

 It was one of our favorite nights of the year. The Annual Hansen Halloween Party! We love that night. I'm not a fan of Halloween, but I sure love the party. This year, a Boise game was on at the same time, so Tayden and his buddy ran home to check the score. They ended up staying for a little while to watch the game.

I stayed at Jodies and was chatting with my girlfriends. The next thing I know, Tayden bursts through the door saying, "We have a duck! We caught a duck!" He was so excited he was having a hard time spitting out the words. Finally, I got him calmed down enough to tell me the story. 

As he and Mason were watching the game, they noticed some commotion outside with Luna. They looked out there and noticed she was chasing a duck. It tried to take off a couple of times, but kept running into the fence. So Beckett and Tayden ran out there and cornered it. Beckett through a blanket on top of it and they rescued the poor thing. 

They brought it over to show everyone and we decided it was best to take it to the canal. So we loaded up the duck and lots of kids to set it free. It was the most exciting part of our night!

Baptism 3

Last weekend Cache was baptized. He had been waiting for his special day for weeks and couldn’t wait for it to come. It was a beautiful day surrounded by family. Due to COVID, we had an individual baptism. It was awesome just having our family there and taking part of the program. Kyle led the music, Grandma Karlson and Grandma Packard said the prayer, while Grandpa Packard and Uncle Justin (via video) spoke. And my personal favorite was having Tayden and Beckett as witnesses. It’s hard to believe we only have one left to baptize!