Boy time

Today I'm grateful that I got to spend time with my family. The boys, to be specific. With my mom and sisters gone, my dad and two brothers invited us up for roast and potatoes....a total guy meal. (There was nothing green or fresh on the plate, which made me want to come home and eat our head of lettuce and all the apples in the fridge.)

I love boy time, especially when it's time with my four favorite boys. I don't have to worry about how I look, because they don't care and they won't make any comments if they think my hair should be this way or something I'm wearing doesn't match the rest of my clothes. It's so relaxing.

The best part is three of the four of them love the desserts I make, which always makes me feel a little better about myself. Once I was talking to my mom about what I should bring for a family dinner, and she suggested vegetable. Not that I have anything against vegetables, but they're really boring to me... They're a side dish meant to be steamed, salted and peppered, and consumed after all the good stuff is gone. But I agreed to it. I can't remember if it was during that same conversation or if someone called me back, but my oldest younger brother suggested that perhaps my cooking skills would be put to better use making dessert. lol.

I still have yet to make a dessert that my youngest brother likes. :P The little runt. lol. Today I made churro cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and it took us forever to get him to even try a bite. When he finally did, he pretended to gag on it like it was the nastiest thing he'd ever tried. Sigh... Someday I'll make something he likes.

He's a cutie, though. I love it when he comes up and says, "Rachel, can I have a hug?" What boy says that? Jeff doesn't even say that. lol.

Anyway, I'm grateful that I kept up my reputation as a good dessert maker and that the three boys who have slightly more developed taste buds really liked the cupcakes. :) They turned out yummy, even though it felt like I was eating spoonfuls of cinnamon sugar.

On that note, I'm grateful that Jeff didn't mind being my sous chef (or shoe chef, as he usually calls it) this morning while I was scrambling to get the cupcakes made before church and making us almost late for church in the process. He's such a good sport with things like this.

I'm also very grateful for the men and women who have given their lives for the freedom of this country. I'm grateful for the men who had a crazy idea that countries should be governed by the will of the people, not the will of a king, and were willing to pledge everything they had, including their lives, to ensure that the Americans who came after them wouldn't suffer at the hands of tyrants. I'm grateful for patriots who believed in unity and freedom for all men and who throughout the years stood up not just for the freedom of Americans, but for those abroad who couldn't stand up for themselves.

Thank you to all veterans on this Veterans Day. You've given the great sacrifice, putting the freedom of your country ahead of your own life.

Here's an awesome tribute from the Tabernacle Choir. I almost cried several times during this. So beautiful: http://byutv.org/watch/event/bc8f3b03-3bbc-4474-b2d2-419924cab6c7