Thanks for Giving...

We had an awesome Thanksgiving this year hosted by my very brave, very patient cousins, Billy and Rhonda. They recently bought a new home in Lehi, Utah which was remarkably big enough to house 25 people, if my count is right.
We all had so much fun together at Rebekah's wedding in July, we just had to get together again. Those of you who have followed my blog may remember the last time all of us got together. Does "Norovirus" ring a bell? It does with our family. Nearly everyone who attended the wedding lunch at PF Changs came down with this horribly violent "curse." Nearly everyone, that is except me. I'm not sure how that happened. I remember saying my prayers when everyone was getting sick and begging the Lord, "Please don't let me get sick. I have to much to do..." Have you mom's ever said prayers like that? I'm confident you have.
Well, this gathering was no exception. When our family arrived at Billy's on Wednesday night, we immediately got the kids ready for bed. I noticed the toilet in "our" bathroom was a little sluggish, but didn't think anything of it. The next morning, it was a bit worse and when I sought out a plunger, the "mess" seemed to increase in severity, if you know what I mean. I notified the homeowner, but we were all having so much fun, we just closed the door to the bathroom and told everyone not to use it until we could fix it. Later that evening, disaster struck...
One of the children in the course of the day had either forgotten, or did not get the memo, that the bathroom was off limits and had gone ahead and used it. No one knew until there was two inches of raw sewage in the bathroom. Not only that, it was pouring down through the vent into the unfinished basement. I was so proud of all of the cousins that rolled up pant legs and waded through the mess to help clean up. More over, I was in awe at Billy and Rhonda who shrugged their shoulders and said, "Don't worry. These things happen." They even kept a smile on their faces when we woke up in the morning to see that the beautiful walnut floor outside of the bathroom had buckled. They set a new standard of patience for me.
We went on to have great fun shopping at IKEA and Tai-Pan (whoo-hoo for me!) and spent the evening at Temple Square taking in the gorgeous lights. My brother's new apartment is right behind the temple. You literally walk out his front door and the temple is right in front of you. What a blessing for him. My parents we able to join us for the weekend as well. My mom had the blessing of taking a whole 4 days all for herself and didn't have to take care of anybody but her.
So, here is to another adventure-filled holiday with the cousins. I can't wait to see what happens next time!