Come What May and Love It

Catching up with the Family

2012-02-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

I have been adding a lot of other things to my blog recently and I have neglected talking about my children.
Starting with L, She is back in school and living at home. She decided to stay at home to try to save money but she is missing the social aspect of it. One benifit of living at home, her grades are almost 100% in everything. She is enjoying playing her Clarinet again in the campus band. She left it alone for about 2 years after graduation. She is also experiencing Campus Choir. One of her regrets in High school is not trying out for choir. She has a great alto voice. She decided she wants a job at a ranch or at a national park. She put out applications to a few places. She had a phone interview at a national park that is a few hours away from us. If you know what park that is and are going there this summer contact me and I will let you know where and what she is doing. She would LOVE to have people she knows stop in and say HI! It seems like a pretty good job. She will be working 40 hours a week. She will have meals provided. She will have a cabin to live in. She is really excited.

Now for D she participated in the Distinguished Young Women program (Formerly Jr Miss) She fiddled a number that was written by Natalie MacMaster. The fiddle music was on line and we just printed it off. However we did not have the accompniment. We had a very talented neighbor couple compose and record the music for her. She did a great job. There were 34 girls total. D had a lot of comments about how well she did. She learned a lot through the adventure. She is now getting ready for the Sweetheart Ball. It is kind of awkward that it is a girls choice dance. with the whole "sweetheart" thing it makes the youth think they have to be a couple to go. D did ask a boy that she has been friends with for a long time and she hopes that it takes that pressure off.

On to H. What can I say H is H! He has calmed down a lot from the energetic little boy he use to be. I think he has grown up a lot in the last few years. He is loving choir and feels good about his singing ability. I think he is definatly following in his Dad's footsteps in this area. he also is still doing Ballroom. I think that as an 8th grader he feels a little odd because he likes ballroom and choir and gets teased about both but I keep telling him that in the long run these things will be things that other boys look back on and WISH they could do. I also ask him if being teased makes him want to stop and he just says NO!!! So on we go. He seems to be getting a little better control of his homework and grades. In the past this is a huge contention in our lives. However this semester, he is getting a B average.

Now for Sabot, He is showing his age. We are all sad that our little puppy is getting old. He has a haze over his eyes and sometimes when he drops food he knows it is there but he cannot see it. I think he also has arthritis in his legs. Once in a while he limps and he also does not like climbing the stairs in the front of our house. He is okay climbing the inside stairs. I think the outside stairs are just a little steeper than the inside stairs. It will be a very very sad day when he is no longer a part of our little family.

Dad, there are changes that may be coming but it is too early to anounce them yet.

Mom, same ol' same ol' taxi driver, maid, laundry mat operator, and head chef!

Mod Podge picture frame

2012-01-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

A few years ago when L was in a pageant, a friend suggested instead of getting her flowers that

will die, make her a frame that has the pageant theme to it. This way she can keep it forever. This year D is in the same pageant. Her theme is Urban Jungle. I wanted to have a thick frame and do a sky line across the bottom but I could not find the right type of frame so I scrapped the skyline idea.

I found a picture frame for 50% off at a local store. I made sure that the frame was flat on the front.

I decided where to put the line between the two papers to be on the front of the frame and I traced it.

I used Mod Podge to glue the paper to the frame (yes I love mod podge).

The main colors other than jungle was a light blue and purple. Her group was the pink flamingo's for the opening number and she wore purple for her fitness routine.

You cannot see it but I used a big jewelry bead to put the pink feather in. I then used a heavy duty epoxy to attach it. I also put Urban Jungle on the bottom with her name on the top but because I do not use my kids name on this blog I did not take a picture of the final product. I also shadow cut her name out of purple and the blue for the main letters. It really is an easy project and my daughter loves it. :)

destiny

2012-01-12T20:44:00.003-07:00

Love

2012-01-07T14:56:00.001-07:00

My favorite saying for a long time has been Come what may and Love it. I now have another faveorite saying. Hmmm should I change the name of my blog?

duh why did I not think of these!

2012-01-05T14:24:00.002-07:00

Great tips!!!

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.. I didn't know that!
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.
To make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic, and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.
Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.
Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away: Plant your plants in the ground, work the nutrients in your soil. Then wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover with mulch, and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip to eliminate static cling. It works; you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... Ta DA! ... Static is gone.
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
De-fog your windshield: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!
Re-opening envelopes: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup an d gone forever!
Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!
Wash your dryer filter: Did you know that cleaning your lint trap with a dryer sheet can ruin it? Dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free, and smell good. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box? Apparently that stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! You can test it by running the lint trap under water. If the water goes through you are good. If not then you need to clean it. The best way to keep your dryer working for a long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.
Drop a small object on the carpet and can't find it. Place panty hose over the end of the vacuum hose and start vacuuming. The panty hose will trap anything to large to fit through the tiny hose and keep it from getting sucked into the vacuum.
Wearing a skirt or dress on a windy day. Cut open a few sections on the bottom seam. slip in some heavy washers or flat weights (anything small heavy and flat will work) then sew the seam back up.
Need to cut some corn off the cob. Use your bundt pan. Place the ear on the opening in the center of the pan, and as you slide the knife down the ear, all the kernels will collect in the main part of the pan

Mod Podge suitcase

2012-01-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

For Christmas, I encouraged my kids to make each other something. I was sweetly surprised. This is a photo of an old suitcase that H got from grandma's house. It was dark blue cardboard with holes in it. It has sat at her house and not used for at least 40 years. He spray painted it white. Then he mod podged the fabric that he found. I did a little bit of helping him when it came to tricky corners but for the most part he did this himself. :)
BTW His sister LOVES IT!

Mod podge necklaces

2012-01-02T16:35:00.002-07:00

D made some gifts for her freinds as Christmas gifts. They are really easy and take about 15 - 20 minutes per necklace.
For the instructions click here.

I love mod podge!

2012-01-01T20:19:00.001-07:00

STEP 1 - Find an old window. STEP 2 - Clean STEP 3 - put some kind of sealer on the flaking paint. I used mod podge. STEP 4 - add fabric or paper to the back side of window. I used paper and mod podge for this step also. STEP 5 - find some creative thought, either cut it yourself with a cricut or buy it at a craft store. STEP 6 - hang on your wall and ENJOY!

Christmas fun.

2011-12-24T18:00:00.001-07:00

This year for Christmas I decided I wanted the kids to make each others presents. They have decided on their own that they wanted to give each other 2 gifts. They have for the most part made one and bought one. There will be more about this later. Along with making gifts I decided to make them be crafty and I bought brown paper from Home Depot. I then told the kids that they had to do something creative with their wrapping. They could do anything they wanted as long as what they used was in this house. I did collect craft paper and ribbon and jute etc. from around the house. We found some sites that had fun packages. Here are a few links, #1 and #2. I told the kids to use their imagination. :)

We also found some bows and flower patterns and this is what we found. #1 and #2 and my favorite #3then the one that blew my mind. google crafts made out of TP rolls and you can be blown away too! #4. We pulled out scrap paper and paper from an old book that was going to go to the DI and got to work wrapping. Here are some of our bow creations.

Here it is Christmas eve and this is what our tree looks like. I told my kids that they did not have to wrap like this every year and they said "No! This is fun!!!"

Crash Potatoes

2011-12-05T20:40:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I posted a new recipe because I have been on a cooking slump!

I found this recipe and it looked easy and good, So I did try this for dinner tonight! Yumm! they turned out great!I used red potatoes and boiled them whole and unpeeled. When sticking a fork in them, they went in easy and they slid off they were done. They cook a little more in the oven. For the seasoning I used salt, dill, and garlic. After cooking them, I sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on top. Click here for the recipe.

A teenagers Christmas wishlist

2011-11-16T03:26:00.003-07:00

My teenage daughter was laying on the floor last night working on her Christmas list. I did not think anything about it until after she had gone to bed. My husband handed me a paper and said look at what I found in the garbage.(Her list)~~~~~~For:
(my brother)~ that he will understand math.
(my sister)~ That she will get good grades.
(My Dad)~ To have a day of doing what ever he wants.
(My Mom)~ to get her vacation with Dad.
My family ~ to have peace
My Dog ~ to not go blind
(My Friend K)~ to have a day without worry.
(My Friend A)~ To not feel lonely at her house.
(My Friend K)~ To find a good group of friends.
(My Friend A)~ To have her Dad back.
(My former friend J)~ To understand that we might be able to still be friends.
Grandma ~ To not hurt
WORLD PEACE
To let those people who have no house to have a home.
To let those who have fought for America years ago know that they are America's hero's.
To let the wars going on stop and just let everyone love each other.
To let the people in the world who have less than me have the same as me.
To let people in Africa and other countries have clean water and doctors so they won't be sick any more.
To let the people in the world that have no Family, feel loved and wanted.
To let the men and women who have fought for my freedom, and haven't seen their family for months, come home.
To let everyone in the world that are starving, fall asleep with a full stomach.
To let everyone in the world that are cold during the night wake up with a blanket around their shoulders.
To let everyone have friends as good as mine.
To let every newborn baby have a blanket and a family.
<3 <3 <3 I went to bed with a full heart and feeling like I had, had a Mom's payday! <3 <3 <3

Tortellini soup

2011-09-21T07:04:00.006-07:00

Can I just say, YUM!!! I really like this soup. It is a meal that eats like a soup but does not come from a can! L has not really always loved it. Her first year doing potato harvest she was needing to take dinner with her. We had some of this soup left over. I told her to take it. After working 1/2 her shift and it was getting cold, she took a dinner break. She took her soup over to the microwave and heated her soup. She said the smell wafted out of the microwave and everyone else could smell it. They asked what she was eating and she said Tortellini soup. They said "Turtle soup?" lol well she took a bite and it hit the spot. It is now one of her favorites. In fact every year that she does potato harvest she requests this soup so she can carry it with her. :)

1 (3.5 ounce) Sausage
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef stock
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup red wine (Sometimes I omit & sometimes I substitue 1/2 c grape juice - 1T then add 1T vinegar.)
4 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped (Sometimes I use 1 can diced tomatoes)
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup tomato sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
8 ounces cheese tortellini (I have tried frozen, dry and the fresh packed, in the Deli section by the lunch meats. I do NOT recomend the dry tortellini. My favorite is Buitoni but it is a little pricey so I usually get the frozen)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions
1. Place the sausage in a large pot over medium high heat and saute for 10 minutes, or until well browned. Drain the fat except for about 1 tablespoon, add the onions and garlic and saute for 5 more minutes.
2. Next add the beef stock, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming any fat that may surface.
3. Add the zucchini, tortellini, green bell pepper and parsley to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until tortellini is fully cooked. Pour into individual bowls and garnish with the cheese.

Tomato soup

2011-09-15T07:36:00.007-07:00

when the harvest season is here and the temperature has dropped it feels like soup season to me! We love soup. I have about 4 soups that I like to make but one of them is not chicken noodle. I do not even try chicken noodle. Why should I when my sweet husband makes the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had. The first one I like is Tomato. I like tomato soup out of a can so when I found this I thought how can it not taste great. It is now my favorite soup. The can of soup is no longer as good. One thing about this soup is I do not really care for big chunks of green pepper. So I like to puree or mince them in my processor. If you just leave the peppers out it tastes totally different.

I found this recipe in this cookbook on amazon.com. I do change it up a little bit from the original.

2 cup chicken broth (I use 2 herb-ox cubes, it does not have MSG and 2 cups of water)
1 small onion, minced
2 T minced green pepper
1 T chopped celery (I use a little more.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground white pepper (I use regular)
1 (16 oz) can Italian stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 T sugar (I do not use this)
1 cup half and half (I use anything creamy. even just 2% milk. I would not use skim because that is not creamy enough)

In a large sauce pan combine the chicken broth, onion, green pepper, celery garlic and pepper. Bring to a boil reduce heat and simmer uncovered, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the un-drained stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and sugar
Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir in the half and half. Heat through and serve.

9/11

2011-09-11T18:47:00.002-07:00

Growing up with a patriotic father, I love my country. I love everything that we have here. On 9/10/2001, I lived in a false sense of security. Thinking that we would never be attacked on U.S soil. I thought that everything my Father and Grandfather had fought for had given us freedom from that fear. The next morning I became aware of a new reality. I knew that we were under attack. It ripped my heart out. In the next few days, I watched the country come together in our grief and sadness that such a horrible thing could happen here. I have watched Americans sacrifice. On 9/11 many loved ones who have died. After effect of 9/11 of our soldiers going to war. Including the personal sacrifice of my sweetheart leaving our home for a year. In the years since, I have watched our country forget. Forget that unity we once had. Forget what our country was before 9/11/01. I wish I could get that security back. I wish my children could live without fear of being attacked on our homeland. I watched this video from the 2002 winter Olympics. This video started me thinking today about my country I hope you enjoy it also.

click here for the link

God Bless America, Land that I love.

salsa #5

2011-09-07T15:40:00.003-07:00

This salsa is authentic salsa from a hispanic friend. My girls like it.
2 jalapeno peppers
blanch till the pepper skin is a little darker kind of olive in clor, pull off steam, then cut and seed. (Avoid touching your face or use gloves.)
6 tomatoes
cilantro chopped
2 cloves of garlic
blanch tomatoes and pull off skin.
blend jalapenos, add tomatoes, garlic and salt, and continue blending.
add cilantro.

This is the basic recipe and I like it but I have been know to make adjustments. Sometimes I add salt or vinigar or lemon or lime. I have also added sliced green onions. No matter how you make it, it is YUMMY!

Salsa #4

2011-09-05T12:32:00.002-07:00

This is D's favorite salsa. But then again she likes anything with avocado's in them!

Avocado Tomato Salsa

fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1/2 avocado, cubed.
1 green chili pepper, seeded and chopped.
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley (I do not always use this)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar.
2 tsp grated lime peel.
1 tsp lime juice

Directions:
Combine tomatoes, onions, avocado, peppers, parsley, vinegar, lime peel, and juice.
Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Salsa #3

2011-09-02T07:36:00.003-07:00

This really is a recipe that I shoot from the hip. I do not follow anything. If I have More of something it is okay to put more in. If I do not have something like the green chili's or jalapeno, it is okay to make it without. Sometimes I make it with Lemon juice instead of vinegar and lime. You really can change this up each time. Here is the basic recipe we like.

6 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 sweet onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 can green chili's, drained
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
salt to taste
Directions
1.In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, add jalapenos 2 teaspoons at a time, tasting after each addition to see how hot the salsa has become. Jalapeno peppers vary in heat, so it is important to taste the salsa to ensure you do not make it too hot to handle. When working with the jalapeno, you can blanch the pepper in hot boiling water for a few minutes. the skin will turn dark. It will make it so you can peal the meat away from the skin. Also if you want more heat from the pepper, use the seeds. If you want less heat discard the seeds. I like to puree my green pepper in a food processor for a better flavor. Salt to taste. Cover and let stand for at least an hour. Enjoy!

Salsa #2

2011-08-30T06:31:00.003-07:00

Corn Salsa. I really like this salsa. I could eat it by the spoon fulls by it's self. Shhh don't tell anyone. I found this recipe a long time ago. How long do I have to make the item for it to become my recipe? Or do I still need to claim it belongs to the person I got it from? I use this salsa on anything you would use regular salsa on, Chips and dip, Taco's, enchilada's, burritos, Nachos etc. You can also use it with chicken or fish.

2 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained
1 bunch finely chopped cilantro
5 green onions, finely sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1 avocado, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1.Stir the yellow and white corn, black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, green onion, red onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large bowl. Gently mix in the lime juice and avocado. Drizzle with olive oil to serve. Let stand for about 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.

Salsa #1

2011-08-28T08:23:00.004-07:00

I love food at the harvest season. They just taste better! This recipe is one I found a few years ago and during the time Leif was gone to Iraq, we made lots of different salsas. We made the chunky salsa with the normal ingredients. We got a traditional Mexican salsa recipe and made it. We made corn salsa (one of my favorites). We made salsa with black bean's and one with Avocado chunks. We made Mango salsa and Strawberry mango salsa. You could say it was the year of the salsa, or I was on a salsa kick. I will share a few of these recipe's with you. The first I am sharing is the strawberry/mango salsa. At first I thought what do you eat it with. Duh chips. It is really good with just a bag of chips. you can also use it with any of the recipe's you would use a mango salsa with, Your Mexican fish/shrimp dishes would be a great paring for this MANGO/STRAWBERRY SALSA . I do not use as much of the mango. My family likes more strawberries and less mango's. Enjoy!

PIE!!!

2011-08-25T12:28:00.004-07:00

My husband loves to make pie. His favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, because he can eat pie. He has made, peach, chocolate cream, coconut cream, bannana cream, Apple, Apple carmel, and many more. I however am not a huge fan of pie. Last Thanksgiving he asked me what kind of pie I wanted because he wanted me to have a pie I like. I thought about it and I remembered a pie at a restaurant that I thought was okay, sour cream lemon. I did a search and found a recipie for it on the internet. We made one for thanksgiving and it is now one of our families favorite pies. It has a few steps to it but all in all it is a good pie. Oh and do not even think of substituting lemon juice for a real lemon. It is not the same. Well I guess you can but it does not give the same flavor. .Click here for the link

Homemade Lemonade

2011-08-20T13:15:00.003-07:00

So refreshing on a hot august day!
This is so much easier to make than it seems. If you do not already have a little hand juicer they are real cheap at Wal-mart.

4 lemons fresh squeezed
1 cup sugar
1/2 gallon water.

mix and enjoy!

Summer fun

2011-08-13T09:55:00.008-07:00

In about January we started talking about our summer fun. We talked about going far away, or maybe somewhere that we could fly. We had a limited budget for our trip. I looked at airplane tickets and at the time the cheapest flights were to Denver Co. for $250 per person. Now that is not much per person but when you times that by 5, I knew that would be over 1/2 our budget. We still wanted to take the kids on a plane ride but did not know what to do. Leif and I talked about it and decided to stay local and bump it up. We decided to do things within driving distance and use our money for fun things that we never do because of no money.
There were many many things that were on the list but we narrowed it down to the following:

The first thing was we booked a 1 hour flight for the kids to fly around the Teton Mountain range. L sat in the front and flew the plane for a few minutes. That was thrilling for her.

That night we went to Bar J Chuckwagon. I don't love the food but I do love the entertainment.

Next the kids went on a Zip line that was over 3,000 feet long. I think they loved it.

We did squeeze in some time at Lagoon, my least favorite place to go. Which is why it was my 13 and 16 year olds first time going. Poor deprived kids!!!

The main reason we headed to Utah was for a visit with H's heart specialist at Primary Children's Hospital. Thank goodness we are safe for a year. We get to go through the same tests next year but until then we will take a sigh of relief.

Sloppy Joes

2011-08-03T07:48:00.003-07:00

I really like Sloppy Joes. They are yummy. In fact I do not even mind the Manwich brand. However my oldest has never ever liked manwich's. About 5 years ago I got a ward cookbook and a lady had submitted a sloppy joe recipe that I thought I would try. L loved it. She now says she does not like anyone elses sloppy joe's. Only mine. :}
1 large chopped onion
2 lbs ground beef
cook onion and beef together then add

1 1/2 c catsup
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp vinegar
4 tsp sugar (I do use only 2 tsp)
1/2 c water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp chilli powder

simmer for 10 minutes.
put on buns add your favorite toppings, lettuce, cheese, pickles, or nothing at all, enjoy.

Thomas's Cabbage Salad

2011-07-31T09:44:00.007-07:00

A Thomas family Tradition. This is a salad that my mom use to make for family gatherings. It is now one of my family's favorites.

Cabbage Salad
1 head of cabbage
3 green onions sliced.
some sesame seeds and almonds. (you can use cashews also)
dry ramen noodles (to be put on later)

Dressing
1/2 c sugar (I use a little less)
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1/3 c rice vinegar ( rice vinegar has a mild flavor I have used white and red also)
3/4 c oil.

Mix the dressing till the sugar is dissolved. If I am taking it to a gathering I usually leave the dressing in the bottle. When I am ready to serve I pour the dressing over the salad, crumble 1/2 package of ramen noodles mix and serve.

2011-07-25T06:47:00.008-07:00

Photo fun #5

Day 21: Micro, Upclose. I tried to take some photo's of up close things. I went around the house and took of knobs, and corners and you name it I took it. I did not like how any of them were turning out. So I gave up and just posted a photo that was a close up of a bird. So yes I gave up. But it was still in the back of my mind. I still took a few more photo's of close ups. In the end I like how this one turned out.

Day 22: Landscape I really wanted to find a place to take a photo of the Tetons with a cute old farmhouse. I told my family I wanted to go on a sunday drive. We got in the car with my husband at the wheel. He took off in farmland. He pointed out some landscape that was interesting and I said yah I like that, but he kept going. After about 4 times he said well where do you want to stop. I said I thought you would stop at the last 4 places. He said you did not say stop. lol I guess me agreeing with him that places looked good, it was not good enough. So we kept driving. We got out of the car about 4 times and took photo's. Finally we ended up at the Teton's. There was no little farmhouse to take a photo of but this little fence is almost as cute.

Day 23: Black and White This photo is talked about here

Day 24: Love I knew when I saw this day's challange, I knew I wanted to do this setup. However to get my husband to do it is another issue. He is not a mushy type. I mentioned it to him one day but it took about 2 weeks to follow through with it. When I told him what I wanted he said how are we going to hold hands but you take the photo. I grinned and said "timer". I really like how it turned out.

Day 25: Citrus. Now I thought this was a little weird because one of the earlier challanges was fruit. Okay I will do it anyway. I had nothing in mind. I just took photos and changed them and took more. When I was done I really did not like any of them by themselves. I was looking at them on my laptop and the thought "the life of a lemon" popped in my mind. And here you have it. And might I add, the lemonade was quite yummy!

Photo Fun #4

2011-07-24T09:11:00.007-07:00

Here I go again on #4.

Day 16 Glass Jar. Okay so it is suppose to be a mason jar or jelly jar. I have these antique jars that I love. I decided to use them instead of finding a mason jar. I lined them up in my kitchen window and liked the effect. The first jar to the left is a coffee jar that came from my Grandpa Jacobson's house. The second photo is a little mustard jar we found on a trip to Utah. The third jar is a really cute milk jar. You can't see it really well but there is a picture of a cow being milked, in the glass. The last jar was a really cool glass jar that we found in Oregon. It has a few words on the bottle. I came home and looked it up and it is a perfume bottle. I meant to only get kitchen stuff but oh well it is cool looking anyway. So it sits with the rest of my kitchen antiques.

Day 17: Bokeh When I read that word I had no clue what that even meant. I had to look it up. This is what I found. It is a homemade filter you place over your lens. I watched a little tutorial on how to do it.you can watch it here I went on main street and took this photo. It is actually upside down but I liked how the lights lined up better. there are street lights, stop lights, tail lights and head lights in this photo. I then came home and downloaded it on my computer and used photoshop to change the color of it. I can't wait to try this at christmas time. Then after I did the effect, I found out that Bokeh is actually anything that the background is blurred out. I want to get some filters to try the different effects.

Day 18: Eyes No I did not read ahead when I did my self portrait. I did not know that today would be eyes. Oh well. I found different photo's of all of my familiy members and I cut out their eyes and pasted them into one photo. Then in Photoshop I played with the color and walah I came up with this! :) Of course you can find the dog's eyes but can you match up the other 5 sets? The thing I really noticed is how much H's eyes are just like his Dad's!

Day 19: Summertime What is better in the summer than a slice of watermelon?!

Day 20: Water I found a really fun place in Rexburg to swim. It is called monkey rock. I guess people cliff jump from the falls down into a pool below. It is crazy to find this place. It is out in the middle of farmland. Here is the directions on how to get there. We just punched in the coordinants on the GPS and drove straight there.

photo fun #3

2011-07-23T10:16:00.009-07:00

I hope you are not getting tired of these but I am going to be deleting them from my FB page so I thought I would save them and the story of each, here on my blog.

Day 11:sihlouette This is a photo I took last summer when we went to Oregon. When I took the photo, you could still see the kids in their clothes. After I got this challenge I worked on making them a little darker. I like how it turned out.

Day 12 Sun Flare I had no idea what a sun flare was when it pertains to photography. I had to look it up on the net. Then I did not want to get a purple streak across my camera lens like I have in the past. So I looked it up on the net how to do it in a correct way. So this is what I came up with. I think it looks pretty cool!

Day 13: Reminds you of your childhood. Black Cherry Koolaid reminds me of my childhood and my Grandpa Jacobson. But how do you take a photo of a package of koolaid?! So I went to my childhood home looked around and did not really find much. There is my swing set that I spent hours on but it is kind of ugly. I thought about a picture of main street that I walked every day to and from school. (up hill both ways) and it is kind of just a small town road. I took a photo of one of my elementary schools and they did not turn out right. While at my parents house I was outside talking to my dad. I took my camera and aimed in his direction without him knowing and I was able to capture this. I guess I can say I was and am Daddy's girl. So a lot of my childhood memories have to do with him. I remember hiding from him when he would come home from work. Surprise, he found he every day really fast. Could it be becuase I hid in the same spot every day?! I remember running to grab tools as his helper when he fixed or built things. I remember the color funnies Kyte he would make me every summer. <3 my Dad!

Day 14: Someone you love Okay so I skipped a day. I wanted to take my 3 children out to the sand dunes and take a photo of them. However getting the three of them together and in a good mood did not work. So I cheated. :(

Day 15: Day 15 Action This is D running in her 3rd 5K. She loves to run. Notice in this photo how both of her feet are in the air. She and I both liked that interesting point. :)

Photo fun #2

2011-07-22T11:16:00.007-07:00

Day 6: Books. I love children's books. I was the Bookfair coordinator for the local elementary school for about 4 years. It was so much fun. I was a little sad when that adventure came to an end. I like the elementary level documentary books about the world or presidents or wars. I love the dinasour series. I like the "if you give a mouse a cookie" the books by Shel Silverstien just make me smile.

Day 7: High Angle I was hoping that high angle was from the bottom looking up because when I read it I had a lot of things I was thinking I would like to do. I looked it up on the internet and no! It is looking down on something. So L and I just played around for a while and came up with this. Isn't Sabot adorable?!

Day 8: Sunset. Okay so I cheated on this one. I went into my files from a few years ago. This was from a cruise to Alaska. This was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen!

Day 9: Fruit. When I read this challenge, I thought about a whole basket of fruit. I went to the store and looked in the produce department and the only thing that stood out to me was the strawberries. I got a carton and brought them home. I got out a pretty blue antique bowl and took a bunch of photo's. Some of the photo's were in the house and some outside. I looked at them and decided to try some other angles. the second time around I took this simple strawberry and laid it on the table. walah It is my favorite. Sometimes simple is the prettiest way to go!

Day 10: Animal. Now of course I could have used Sabot again or I could use any one of the 100 photo's of birds on my bird feeder but the week before I read this challange, I had seen a random Camel while driving down the road. I do not know about where you live but here, the only time I see a camel is at the Zoo! So when I read this challenge I knew I wanted to go take his photo. I got there and was taking the photo's of him across the field and he started walking towards us and wouldn't you know it, the battery died! It came right up to us and L was feeding it grass and was able to pet it. However the whole time she was scared it would spit on her!

Photo fun

2011-07-21T13:08:00.012-07:00

On FB a friend posted this photo challenge. It has been fun and I have learned things along the way. I decided I wanted to post them here for safe keeping. Here are the first 5 challenges.
Day one: Self portrait. Now I do not think I am that great of a subject plus it is not very easy to take a photo of yourself so I did my eyes.

Day two: Your favorite pair of shoes. Well I did my bear feet. I do not love shoes. I wear them outside simply because when I was younger, I was walking in my front yard and I found a piece of glass with my big toe. My sister decided she was going to go find that piece of glass and put it in the garbage before someone else got cut. She also found the piece of glass with her big toe. So I never go out the door without shoes on but if I am in my house or feel comfortable enough in your house, I kick my shoes off. However I did not take this photo at the beach! It is the miracle of photoshop!

Day 3: Hands, this is a photo of a family of 4 children. I took this photo about 9 months ago. It did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I just left it in a file and did not think about it again until this challenge came up. I pulled it out and looked at it and decided I wanted to try to figure out how to do the black background. The babies hand in the original was blurry and not in the older childs hand. I cut the babies hand out of another photo and put it in this one. I know that there must be a quicker way to do the two procedures, but it took me 3 days working off and on to get this photo where I wanted it to be. So until I learn a quicker way of doing it, this is the only photo like this I will do.

Day 4: Clouds. This was a sunset out my kitchen window! need I say more?! this is one of the reasons I love Idaho.

Day 5: Today's breakfast. This is a yummy breakfast. It is Orange essence French toast. It is a family favorite. I have posted the recipe for this here

French Dip sandwiches

2011-07-13T21:30:00.005-07:00

Now this is one of my cheats but I thought I would share it because I did not really like this until about a year ago. I was headed to my sisters house on a Sunday. She told me on the drive down to her place that she was going to make us french dip sandwiches. I have never liked them but to be polite when we got there I ate it. Hey! I liked it!!! Surprise!!!!! It is so easy. Get some rolls. Depending on what you like. If you like to soak the au jus up with your roll get a hogi roll. If you like a little less soggy then get the Oroweat multi grain thin buns.

I prefer the thins and my family likes the hogi roll. Oh also the thins do make it a little healthier. Go to the Deli section in your grocery store. Ask for some roast beef sliced as thin as possible. Don't forget get some Swiss cheese, and a package of McCormick au jus.

Mix the au jus according to the package. Put the meat in it and let it come to a boil. Put the rolls,cheese and au jus/meat on the table. Put bread on plate, put on your desired amount of meat. Top with swiss cheese. (you may not love the strong taste of swiss cheese like my 18 year old but even she says this sandwich needs it.) Place about 1/2 c au jus in a small bowl. Dip and Enjoy! See I told you it is an easy menu item!

Strawberry Streusel Muffin

2011-07-11T08:16:00.002-07:00

I like muffins but I have not found any recipe's that I like from scratch, so I have always used the box. I know how lazy! But when you can't make any from scratch that taste as good why go to the effort. This is a yummy recipe that calls for fresh berries (I use frozen also) sour cream and yogurt. It comes out real moist. I hope you enjoy this Muffin recipe as much as we do. Click here Strawberry Streusel Muffins

My Dad

2011-07-06T07:06:00.006-07:00

My Dad has always been a very patriotic American. He has the tallest flag pole in my hometown. He was in both Korea and Vietnam. He is a retired military man. I have always wanted to get a photo of my Dad showing his patriotism. I love him. Now for the story that goes with this photo:

One day last week a friend commented on facebook that the float for the parade from my hometown was finished. It had a hometown hero theme. There was going to be 4 vets on the float. I did not think anything of it at that time. Two days during the week, H went to help Grandpa with some yard work. Sunday we were sitting around the dinner table talking about what we wanted to do on the 4Th. I really wanted to go to the parade in a town just south of us. But I could not justify going 45 minutes away to see the float from my little town. I commented to my family, there is a float from (my hometown) It has a hero theme to it and they have 4 vets on it. It is kind of funny they did not ask Grandpa to be on it. With that H pipped up and said maybe that is why Grandpa went to the store and bought some military clothing. I got on the phone and called Dad. I told him "H says you bought some military clothes yesterday." he replied with a simple ya. "Oh what did you get them for?" He said "I guess I am in the parade tomorrow." "What! And you were not going to tell me?" So we made our plans to the parade 45 minutes away.

We showed up at the parade about 1 hour and 15 minutes before it started. I tried to call Dad to find out what side of the float he was on but he did not answer his cell phone. So we had no idea till he got to us that we were sitting on the wrong side of the road. L, H, and I ran in front of another float and got to the other side of the road. I stood there and took about 5 photos of the float as it came towards us. Most of them have evidence that he was eating a doughnut, even though he has sugar diabetes! I took the camera down and screamed "WAHOO" and Dad turned and saw us. He then stood up and saluted us. I saluted back and The whole crowd around us started cheering for him. My heart started swelling. and I teared up. I am so proud of him and it was really cool to hear the crowd cheer for "My Dad"! Then after he got past I looked at my hand and thought great! I did not get a photo of him! So L ran down the road and caught up with him and told him I wanted a redo. I got my camera ready, he stood and I got the photo. The crowd once again, cheered but this time I was able to keep my composure! I got the photo even if it was staged. Like I said, I love my Dad!

There is a P.S to this post. I talked to Dad yesterday and he said anytime someone stood out of respect of the flag that was on the float, he would stand and salute them. If anyone cheered for the vets on the float he would stand and salute them. It was good for him to see the respect servicemen are getting. When he came home from vietnam there was no respect. I hope you were one of the lucky ones that got a salute from my Father.

here's whats for dinner

2011-06-24T11:06:00.002-07:00

Hayden has gotten on a food kick lately. First he came to me and told me I am a great cook. He thinks I should publish a book with all of my great recipies. I told him thank you but I can't publish a book because I did not make up the recipies. He said what about cabbage salad, well that one came from my mom. What about peach pasta? well that one came from the interenet. He is also gotten on a cooking show kick. He really likes Kitchen Boss. After every show he wants to try something on the show to make for dinner. So I guess for dinner tonight we will try .Buddy's grandma's lasagna

Rainbows vs rain

2011-06-16T09:04:00.006-07:00

I heard a quote the other day "you cannot have a rainbow without first enduring the rain." I for one love rainbows. After hearing this quote it made me think about challenges. There are different kinds of challenges. There are good ones and bad ones on the path of life. Some of my personal challenges,

Good challenges: for the most part being a parent has been a good challenge. A photo challenge from a friend is a fun challenge, reading the scriptures daily, is a challenge that should be easy but I make it harder than it needs to be.

Hard challenges: having my husband gone for a year, loosing a loved one, feeling of being alone, watching my children face challenges.

Life is always a challenge good or bad. No matter what kind we face there are three things to do to make it through. Keep your "chins" up. Keep a positive attitude. Stay on the Lords side.

summer Potato salad

2011-05-25T13:36:00.002-07:00

Just in time for the first weekend (Memorial Day) of the summer season. When I was growing up, one of the summer picnic items my mom would make is a potato salad minus mayo. She made it without mayo because she does not like it. When I was younger I did not care either way. After I was married I went to a picnic and ate the mayo potato salad. Afterward, I had a major case of food poisoning. I quickly became a fan of my mom's potato salad. I did not get this from her but I searched the Internet and did some changing and this is pretty close to what I remember. It does have a red tint to it and looks a little different than what you are use to but it has a great flavor and you do not have to worry as much about keeping it cold to prevent food poisoning. I still take precautions but without mayo it is less likely.

4 cups cooked cubed potatoes
2 tablespoons dill pickles - minced
1/4 cup French Dressing
1 cup chopped celery
2 Hard Boiled Eggs - chopped
2 Tablespoons parsley
1 Tablespoon mustard - you may use whichever type of mustard is your favorite
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons minced onions I like my onions really small
1 cup sour cream
Salt - salt to taste. 1/4 - 1/2 t
Combine potatoes, french dressing and sour cream. Chill one hour. Add other ingredients and mix lightly,
chill again and serve well chilled.

Honey lime Enchiladas

2011-05-22T21:38:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago I came across this recipe. I know that in my family, enchilada's have not been a real big hit. I thought it looked good. I decided to buy the ingredients to make it, despite my families dislike. The biggest enchilada hater was L. She is away at college so I figured one less person to please. I made it on a Monday night. It was a huge hit with the 4 remaining family members. The next day my starving student showed up and was wondering if we had anything leftover in the fridge. She was hungry. She told me she was craving Cafe Rio food. I told her we had the leftover enchilada in the fridge. She turned up her nose. I pulled it out and gave her a sample of the food. She took a dish of it. I do not know if she ate it because she liked it or if she was simply hungry enough.
You can find the recipe here, at Sisters Cafe. A blog I love to follow. They have lots of fun yummy recipes. Thank you sisters for yet another big hit!

End of the year

2011-05-19T08:25:00.012-07:00

The school year is almost over. We have been going to the end of year concerts both orchestra and choir for both D and H. To be honest with you, I kind of miss the band concerts also. It all started with H's choir concert. They really sound good for a 7th grade choir. They did something fun this year. They did a flash mob at lunch to fireflies.

The shirts they are wearing are real fun. The front says "Madison Choir is Epic"
Then listed on the back are a bunch of reasons. Some of the reasons are inside jokes for the choir. But most of them are funny.
It says
"Because:
1. I am in it.
2. Mrs Hale Rocks!
3. Singers get the spotlight
4. We have gum jar parties.
5. The guys & girls are hot!
6. Chuck Norris can sing too.
7. Without music the world would B(flat sign)
8. Singing & Harmonizing is awesome!
9. It takes a real man to sing like a woman.
10 We ARE the instrument, no case needed.
Then we went to D's Choir concert. I have often said that women alone cannot sing southern gospel music with the right feel. You need the male voice in there also. Well I ate my words. The women's choir did an amazing job singing one of those songs. I was real impressed.

They also sang a song with the combine choir and sang the song "I am a major model of a modern major general". The women's choir was leaving the stage and the combine choir rushed them and took them prisonor. They returned to the stage and sang the song.

The last concert was last night. It was an orchestra concert. For a change my daughter was sitting right up front. Usually when we go to one of her orchestra concerts, she is in the back and we cannot see her. Great photo opt right!? I got out my camera and got it ready to take the photo's. NO SD CARD! AAARRRGGG! oh well. I am going to the store today and buying extra SD cards and keep them in my camera bag. I guess I can say I learned something from this.

As for L, She is having stress of her own. She is in the middle of her 2nd semester of school. But that is not her stress. She has a really good friend who is real sick. He is in hospitals in the Seattle area. He is now in such critical condition that they are moving him to the U of W. So keep him and her in your prayers.

Peach pasta

2011-05-04T07:11:00.005-07:00

I know this sounds a little odd. It sounded odd enough that I had to try it. So if you are a daring cook, you will not be disappointed in this meal. I have made it for My family many times and the kids and I love it. Leif on the other hand will not give it a try because it just sounds weird to put pasta peaches tomatoes and garlic in the same dish. Oooo just writing about it makes my mouth water! click here for Peach pasta recipe It is one of my favorite dishes. It is best in the fall when the peaches are in season, however because of my cravings I have found frozen peaches at the store. In fact and I think I will be buying some to make today. Oh one more thing. This is good warm but even better cold out of the fridge. mmmm I hope you have the courage to try it. I promise you will not be disappointed.

We're off to the races

2011-05-01T23:08:00.004-07:00

Here it is, midnight and my mind is racing all over the place. Jumping from one subject to another. As I lay on my pillow racing at 100mph in my mind, I wish I could sleep as soundly as my husband! Maybe then I would not be aware of his snoring. My mind is jumping from the fact that Osama bin Laden is dead to the mysterious red mark that magically appeared on the back of H's brand new suit today at church.
1st Osama... I am scared. I know he had followers, lots of them! Starting 10 years ago, I was hoping that one of his own men would get him. If one of our soldiers got him his followers would get mad and retaliate against us. For this reason I am glad that I do not live in a big city. I worry another attack will happen on our soil.
2nd D .... Her sweat, heart will not be sad about this but I am. She tried out for our elite Choir. At first she did make call backs. This told her that the choir teacher was interested in having her in the elite choir. This got her hopes up. She has been checking the Internet all night to see if she made it. She finally went to bed at 10 pm and asked me to keep checking. She did not make it. I cried, but I know that she will be okay with it because she loves the women's choir. She also has a demo speech tomorrow. It is left to me to get all the supplies together and over to the school for her to present. (I know, why do I have to get it together? I have to get some of the supplies at the store and then prep them.) If I forget something, will she fail because of me?
3rd H ... He got a red mark on the back of his suit today at church and we are not positive where it came from so we get to take a 3 week old suit to the dry cleaners tomorrow. grrr that just makes me mad! Oh well, on a more positive note, His scout leader came by tonight and told us how well H is doing in scouts. He is getting his star the end of the month. He has 2 merit badges that he has 1 thing to do in each and one badge that he needs to do all of it and he will have his life also! I am so proud of him! His leader also talked about what a great young man H is. He said he notices what a gentleman H is and he credits part of that to ballroom. He is thinking about putting his son in ballroom also. Now the big thing going through my mind about H ... He is turning 13 tomorrow! ~sniff~ I can't believe my "little" guy is no longer a child (he will always be my baby). He is going to officially be a teenager!
4th ... L Does she like her new roomies? Do they like her? Is she really trying hard in school? Is she doing okay having her special someone so far away? She has a guy that they have now realized they like each other. He is in another state (his home) right now and he is sick. He has been to the hospital this last week and I can tell it is worrying her. It is a new relationship that is trying to be developed long distance. She has met his parents on skype and says they are nice. I know that they both have imagined surprising each other by showing up at their locations. This tells me they miss each other. But at the same time I hope she is able to keep her mind on her studies and keep her grades up.
5th ... friends and family
6th ... friends and family in crisis!
7th ...
8th ...

Start your engines .... ready .... set ...

lettuce wraps

2011-04-25T10:51:00.005-07:00

A restaurant in Idaho Falls use to have a menu item that was one of my favorites, Lettuce Wraps. They changed the menu and I can not get them anymore. I was craving them a few months ago. I decided to do a search and find them. I was happy when I found it click here . I made it for my family and it was a hit. The one exception was we are not fans of the peanut sauce. We love, love love the sesame sauce. I do not make the stir fry sauce. I double the sesame ginger sauce (which is basically the same thing) and use that in place of the stir fry sauce. I made it again this last weekend and the whole family was saying how it hit the spot. I also put chow mein noodles on the table to eat with it. Oh and it is so messy you NEED napkins but that is 1/2 the fun. Leif does not love the mess so he just makes it into a salad. That is okay because in the end it all tastes the same.

Jeremy's Egg

2011-04-24T07:50:00.001-07:00

JEREMY'S EGG
Jeremy was born with a twisted body, a slow mind and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killing him all his young life. Still, his parents had tried to give him as normal a life as possible and had sent him to St. Theresa's Elementary School. Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy irritated his teacher.
One day, she called his parents and asked them to come to St. Theresa's for a consultation. As the Forrester's sat quietly in the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five-year gap between his age and that of the other students!" Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forrester's. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read or write. Why waste any more time trying?
As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Dear Heavenly Father, She said aloud, "here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared with that poor family! Please help me to be more patient with Jeremy." From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loudly enough for the whole class to hear. The other children snickered, and Doris's face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-Why, that's very
nice, Jeremy. Now please take your seat." Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes, Miss Miller!" the children responded enthusiastically – all except for Jeremy. He just listened intently, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.
That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents. The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh, yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arms. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.
The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and turns into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that the moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom. "My Daddy helped me!", he beamed. Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty! Surely, it must be Jeremy's, she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "but Jeremy - your egg is empty!" He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too!"
Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then his Father raised him up!" The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.
Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket...................all of them empty.

I am not one to copy someone elses work and put here but this story had a great impact on me. I do not know who the original author is or I would give them credit.

Me, Myself, and I Homework by my 7th grader

2011-04-20T12:41:00.010-07:00

I was born early on a Sunday morning May 3rd, in R. I. I was born in the year of the tiger. On the morning I was born, my parents were both asleep, when they found out that I was coming. After my parents got to the hospital, they found out that there were problems so the doctor would have to operate for me to be born. The doctor said that I almost did not live. Then when the doctor saw me for the first time he could not believe how small I was. I was only 3lbs 9oz. I was 20 inches long and so skinny I had no fat anywhere on my body.

My parents picked out my name 4 years before I was born. Their bishop’s name was H. They liked his name. My middle name is Thomas. It is my grandparent’s last name. H means fire, and Thomas is twin, so I am a fire twin. During my blessing when I was about 1 ½ months old, I cried the whole time. My aunt told my mom that if I cried that meant I would grow up to be a singer, and she was right.

My Dad is a great guy, he has been in the military since he was 18 years old. He got out for about two years to get a masters degree. He got back in and he is a captain now. He is a counselor, and he works at the JCC (Juvenile Correction Center). Two years ago he was in Iraq for a year. My dad is funny and smart. He just turned forty-four on the 15th of March.
There is my mom she, spoils me quite a lot. When I ask if I can do something, like go to the game place, she will drive me there. My mom stays home and takes care of the family, and cleans the house and takes care of my dog. Her age is forty-one years old.
My oldest sister, L, is eighteen years old. She is in college. She is a little tom-boyish. She loves to shoot all kinds of guns like laser, paintball, pellet and real guns. She also likes to arm wrestle. She likes to ride horses and her favorite animal is the dolphin. Sometimes we are really good friends and sometimes we are not.
My other sister, D, seems like a daffodil, but she can play sports as hard as a mountain. She loves to play football. When she is older she wants an old fancy truck. She really likes old things, like antique stuff. My family is awesome, I come home mad and they make me feel happy. I seldom get in fights with my family, we get along well. My family makes me laugh a lot.

When I was little my mom says I did not like to be held. I liked swinging in my swing. I liked to make people laugh. In my baby book it says that when I was about 4 months old I did something that made my mom and dad laugh I knew I made them laugh so I did it over and over. Some of the firsts that I did were at 3 months old I started baby talk and smiling. At 6 months old I was rolling everywhere and turning in circles. I stood up at 9 months and walked at 16 months. I got my first tooth at 17 months and it was not normal. It was a molar. My first words were baba and mama.
Some of my favorites when I was little was Elmo from Sesame Street, and Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. My favorite toys were little toys I could hold in my hands. I liked a little Spiderman toy and a little Buzz and Woody. I liked little things. I would call them baby trucks, baby Buzz, baby Woody, and baby trees (broccoli). My favorite babysitter was Nikki Huff.
One of my early memories was I remember bonking my head on the table to make my Dad’s scouts laugh. They were at our house. They laughed so I kept doing it until I had a huge bump on my forehead.
I feel that scouting is a serious thing, scouting can save lives and can help you in your life. Like how to start and stop a fire. How to be a better person and some of the things you will need to know for the future. When I'm older I want to get my Eagle.

School is very important to me. I want to go to college even if I hate school, because I know how important it is. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't.
The Elementary School I went to was A. Elementary. When I was almost 8 I broke my left arm. I went through a surgery and they put a pin in my arm. After two months I got my cast off and I was baptized. When I was 9 we went to Yellowstone Park. When I was 10 I went to the middle school. My Dad was sent to Iraq for a year. The best thing that happened was when I was 11 was when my Dad came back from Iraq. When I was 12 it was my first year of scout camp and I was ordained a deacon.

My best talents are Ballroom and singing. I got 2nd place in the Cha Cha and 6th place in the Paso Doble. In the group dance we got 1st and 3rd. Next year I’m going to sign up for the Upper Valley Idol. I love soccer and I think about it almost every day. If I see someone with a soccer ball I will steal it from them and see if they can try to take it away from me.
Some of my accomplishments are trying my hardest in scouts and ballroom competitions.
My friends are cool, I know I've picked the right ones. They make me laugh and I comfortable with them. They are a lot like me which is a good thing. We look out for each other and care for each other.

I feel like I'm a good friend to others. I like to make them laugh, I never use my friends, and I'm nice. I'm never rude and I share things with them. When I see one of my friends getting bullied I immediately try to stop it.
What make me miserable is when I get yelled at or picked on. Like when someone calls me names or hits me. I do not like it when someone stands over me telling me what to do.

What makes me laugh and smile is watching TV shows like, Gilligan's Island, I Love Lucy, or The Cosby Show. What also makes me happy is ballroom practice, and card or video games.
When I'm older I either want to be a cop, a science teacher or a history teacher. Be in the Tabernacle choir. I want to get my Eagle from scouts. I just finished with my star. I want to meet someone famous.

One of the best memories was when I got my dog. He was 2 months old when we got him. We got him for Christmas.

My other best memory is when I went to Oregon in the summer. We went to the beach and we went on a boat and saw a whale. We saw some light houses.
Another best memory was scout camp. I had so much fun with my friends. I got lots of merit badges done.
My worst memory was when it was the 2nd trimester this year. I got an F in math and I had to work hard to get a better grade. Math is the hardest subject for me, but I work my hardest on it. I think it can be fun.
I like to go to the game place and play laser tag. I like to laugh with friends. I like ballroom practice and video games, read books or watch TV. My favorite color is orange, favorite food is pasta salad. I like funny movies or action packed movies. NCIS is my favorite TV show. My favorite books are Alex Rider, Calvin and Hobbs, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. My favorite season is summer. I like soccer and football. My favorite football teams are Denver Bronco’s and Green Bay Packers. My favorite school subjects are science, history, and choir.
I don’t enjoy Math as homework. Spelling is boring to me. I hate it when I see people being bullied. I don’t like apricots, dramatic movies, winter, baseball, and math.
I am goofy. I am talented, and protective. I am out going. I talk a lot. I am happy and hyper. I have a habit of making noises with my mouth. I can sing and dance.
What makes me feel different is the way I act. My nick name is Bud like a little leaf (my dad’s name is Leif). I love hot and spicy foods. In the last year I have matured a little more and I have more and different friends. I want the world to remember me as a good, fun, and cheerful person.

chinese spaghetti

2011-04-18T15:18:00.007-07:00

When Leif was told he was leaving for Iraq, we had a 6 day notice. It was a whirl wind and he was gone. 4 days after he left it was valentines day. I did everything I could to avoid the fact that it was valentines day until I walked into Broulims and everything was red and pink. It was depressing. The best part of the day that I will never forget, was my neighbor invited my family and I to dinner. She gave up dinner with her husband or a nice little meal with her children so she could include me and my 3 children. Dinner was so yummy that we have used that recipe many many times. In fact it has become one of our favorite meals. Prudence Pennywise (click here) is one of my favorite web sites. In this meal
there is Orange chicken,

what our family has started calling Chinese Spaghetti,

and yummy broccoli. The sauce on this is a little strong so we just add 2x as much broccoli and it is all good.

Thanks To my friend and her family for a day that really meant a lot to me.

My heart feels his

2011-04-14T09:41:00.003-07:00

The first letter I got from H said "My mom's heart feels mine". It is so true. Everytime he feels joy I feel joy. Everytime his heart feels sad I feel it. Through his 12 years of life, he has had some real trials. He has been bullied and picked on and he would not stick up for himself. He had an experience last year that gave him a little more self confidence and he now has some good friends so for the last year or two the bullying is not what it use to be.
That being said, yesterday I got a call from a Dad that told me my son had hit his son. I was so sad to hear that, but I knew I had to get to the bottom of it. I am not the kind of mom that thinks my kids are perfect or have the attitude "not my kid". I went to Hayden and asked him what had happened. He proceded to tell me that Kid #1 got out a piece of paper. Kid #2 wadded up the paper and threw it out the window. #1 got out another paper and #2 did it again. H asked #2 to stop and it just kept going on. after asking more than 3 times and it did not stop H hit him. He felt like his friend #1 was being bullied. In my investigating I found out from the mom of #1 and H that #2 continually bullies #1 and slaps #1 on the back of the head on a regular basis. So I learned that H will let others bully him but he will stand up for his friend. I told him that hitting is never okay. We talked about how he could better handle it. My heart is sad for him today, yet at the same time I am proud of him for standing up for what is right.

The hunt for Cinnamon Rolls

2011-04-08T20:26:00.004-07:00

I have had homemade cinnamon rolls that were delicious. But I have never been able to make them. I would try and they would be dry or it would be too thick. There is a perfection to a cinnamon roll. Kinna crazy but some of the best cinnamon rolls in my town are sold at the school. Their cinnamon rolls are delicious! People make orders by the dozen. I was on the quest for the perfect roll. A lady in my neighborhood taught a youth group how to make the perfect cinnamon roll. My daughters brought a sample and the recipe home. They were perfection. I wanted to try to make them. Of course when we went to make the perfect cinnamon roll my daughter had lost the paper with the recipe on it. A few years went by and I still yearned for the perfect homemade roll. I remember the recipe from the neighbor had potato flakes in it so I went online and googled Cinnamon rolls and potato flakes. I found it at www.cooks.com and tried it once and they were good but I decided to make some changes. Here is my version

REFRIGERATOR CINNAMON ROLLS
2 pkg. dry yeast
1 c. warm water
1/3 c. sugar
dissolve the sugar and yeast in the water. let rest till the yeast is activated.
add
2 c. flour
1/2 c. potato flakes
1/3 c. butter
2 tsp. salt
1 c. warm milk

Beat 2 minutes until smooth. Add:
2 eggs
3 1/2 c. more flour
Mix thoroughly and then let rest for 20 minutes under inverted bowl. Roll out to 18 x 6 inch rectangle (about 1/3 cup butter). Butter (I melt butter cool to room temperature and pour on). Sprinkle with 1 cup brown sugar and 2 teaspoon cinnamon, roll up. Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
Place in greased 9 x 13 inch pan (I use a 9 x 13 inch and 9 x 9 inch square that way you never have doughy centers). Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight. Let rise 20 minutes after removing from refrigerator. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
FROSTING:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. cream or milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Salt
1 lb. powdered sugar
I plan on trying to make a sticky bun out of it. MMM I can't wait.
I have put an orange frosting on it. The orange frosting takes a little more effort to put in orange zest and fresh squeezed orange juice, but it is SO worth the effort. ORANGE FROSTING: 3 tablespoons soft butter, 1 teaspoon orange rind, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar.

My favorite quotes from the weekend

2011-04-03T09:38:00.024-07:00

Example: Arise and shine forth by keeping the sabbath day holy that thy light may be a beacon unto the world

Self worth: It is great if a woman stays at home she should not feel feel less valued for staying at home with her children. But at the same time she should not feel guilty if she has to work out side of the home to contribute to the household income.

Service: When I am generous to his children in need, he is generous to me.

Home: The husband is the head of the home but the wife is the heart of the home.

Individual worth: Teach each boy or girl that they are made in Gods image and that they are sons and daughters of him.

Choices: Desires shape our priorities,and Our choices shape our actions.

Service: Small and simple things are great things brought to pass.
Our small and simple act will accumulate to bigger service.

Missionary work: we should always preach the gospel every day and if necessary use words. :)
Service: Often in serving others, we will find answers to our own prayers

Revelations: Some revelations come immediately powerfully, quickly and all at once and yet others come gradually and quietly. Like turning on a light vs the sunrise. No matter how they are received it does not diminish the fact that it is a revelation.

Temples: No sacrifice is too great for Temple attendance.
The world can be an overwhelming place to live .... in this sacred sanctuary we can find peace.
A TEMPLE IN ROME ITALY!

Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered. good story about his son that he spent the night holding and cleaning up after. The following week, his son passed away.

All of us can reach gods expectations no matter how mighty or how little we might be.
Lynn G Robbins
I think this is my favorite talk of the 4 sessions I listened to. To be and to do are inseparable...To do without to be is hypocrisy, or feigning to be what one is not, a pretender. Conversely, to be without to do is void, as in 'faith, if it hath not works is dead. We have to do lists but do we have a to be list? No because to do is something you can check off a list but to be is not. Can we check off being a good parent off our list? To be will help change a behavior but to change do in a behavior mearly changes for the time. The best way to teach to be is to be the type of parent that Heavenly Father is to us.

We testify to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people that God not only lives but he speaks. We are mortal messengers with angelic messages.

May we be examples of honesty and integrity wherever we go and in whatever we do. I believe that none of us can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane. He taught us how to live and he taught us how to die.

Conference Sunday Breakfast

2011-04-03T06:51:00.006-07:00

mmm French Toast. I have become real bad about breakfast. I think the kids are just as happy eating a bowl of cereal. Why should I go through the effort of getting up every morning to cook for them. I know my husband would like them to have a full breakfast of eggs, a slice of ham, some sort of fruit and a muffin. Nah I will sleep in. However there are rare occasions that I look forward to breakfast. This morning is one of those mornings.

I am making French Toast. Not just regular french toast! I like to put a little twist to it. In the mix I add a little orange juice and some orange zest. After I place the french toast on the heat source, I sprinkle the one side with cinnamon. I forgot to do this to a few of the slices this morning and My kids say this makes a huge difference. I also make my own syrup. My family is so use to my syrup, they cannot stand the store bought syrup. D says she can taste the preservatives in it.

My homemade syrup
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c water.
Bring these to a boil. Turn it down and Let it simmer for about 3 minutes.
take off the burner.
Add 1 t Maple extract

April fools

2011-04-01T09:33:00.002-07:00

I think My family gets tired of my april fools pranks but I like them, so they will continue.

Pranks from this year

#1 Green food coloring in the milk. When Leif got it out, he smelled it, tasted it and said, haha food coloring. :( fail.

#2 yogurt with part of an apricot put in the shape of a fried egg. H looked at it and used a fork to pick it up and exclaimed "what is wrong with it?"

#3 fingernail polish bottle opened and spilled on wax paper to dry overnight. I will place on the new carpet and chew D out for it.

#4 place a note on L's apartment door that says there are 12 pictures placed in the apartment and a special message on one. In reality there is no note and only 11 pictures. :)

The best from the past,

need a raisin and fly swatter. Act like you are hunting down a fly. Swat at it and exclaim "Got it" bend over and pit the "fly" (raisin) in your mouth. - got some eww grose and MOM!

need newspapers and shredded paper. Go to a closed door. (I did this while L was sleeping) I taped the paper over the door (leaving a pocket or an air hole) fill the whole with shredded paper. :) it all fell in on her.

expermenting can be fun!

2011-03-29T07:45:00.019-07:00

Leif and I wanted a treat last night but wanted it to be a little on the healthy side. We were at the store when we were talking about it. We decided we wanted to try to make some sort of Ice Cream sorbet.
We wanted fruit. So we picked out a mango, a carton of strawberries, and lemons. We were not sure if these 3 would go well together but hey, it was worth a try.
After a little tasting and trying here is what we ended up putting together.

Mango Strawberry lemon Sorbet
1 mango
1 carton strawberries
juice of 2 lemons
1 cup milk
1/4 c sugar
1/2 t vanilla
dash of salt (it helped cut the tart without adding more sugar)
We blended everything together in a blender and then put it in the Ice cream maker according to manufactures instructions. Then I put it in an air tight container in the freezer for about 30 minutes It could have stayed a little longer but over night it gets a little hard. It would need to be set out before serving if left overnight. It was yummy and very satisfying for your sweet tooth.
If you have never cut a mango click here for video that shows how to cut into it and avoid the pit

pasta salad.

2011-03-24T09:31:00.012-07:00

D's all time favorite food that she could eat anytime anywhere is Pasta salad. This is one meal that I make that has no recipe. I just throw in some of this and some of that. I cook up a big pot of multi colored pasta. Drain and then chill. I usually drain the hot water off and add cold water with some ice cubes, stir it until the whole pan feels cold. Then drain and make sure there are no more ice cubes. A must have in this salad is green onions. Beyond that it is whatever is in season or in the fridge. I put in carrots, celery, green peppers, olives, cucumber, tomatoes, etc. During the winter, I have done canned veggies like corn or green beans. Sometimes I add cubed cheese. I stick this in the fridge so when the kids want a snack or get their dinner on their own they can just get it. The dressing is what makes the whole salad! I use Good season Italian dressing. I have not had a salad made with any other Italian dressing that was as good. When you serve the salad is when you add the dressing. Otherwise all the dressing soaks into the pasta and is just not as good. If you think the salad is going to get all eaten at dinner go ahead and put the dressing on. If not, just let each person dish up their salad and put the dressing on at that time. You can also sprinkle on some parmesan cheese. Yum Yum Yum!

Shhh this is a top secret recipe.

2011-03-22T07:02:00.003-07:00

One of my families favorite meals is meatloaf. Yes you read it right ... meatloaf! My kids love my secret recipe. They have eaten meatloaf made by other people and they understand why meatloaf is not liked by most of their friends. hehe It makes me feel good that they like it so much. :) now for the secret. First if I get my usual hamburger of 93% fat free it makes the meatloaf too dry so I get 85%. I cook it on a broiler pan. That way the extra grease drips out too the bottom. Now for the secret recipe.
Hehe Shh don't tell anyone I cheat. The recipe comes on the lipton onion soup mix box. If I did not have the box I could not make it. Click here to find it for yourself. Prep time is about 10 -15 minutes. Bake time is 1 hour and whala it is the best meatloaf ever. To finish the meal we like baked potatoes and some green beans. Oh and I like to serve it with Bulls eye BBQ sauce. Hope you end up liking meatloaf as much as my family does.

Trials Trials Trials

2011-03-20T08:58:00.013-07:00

Everywhere I look there are trials.

I look at my children and their friends. I look at my son and being in middle school. That is a trial in and of itself. I look at my 15 year old daughter and the pressures of getting ready to date. She also has a friend whos father is missing. D is not sure how to handle it with her friend. She wants her friend to know she is there for her but she is afraid that if she says anything it will just make her cry. She knows that the friend is in school and doing things to keep herself busy so she does not have to remember. My heart also breaks for her friends family.

I look at my college student. L has all the pressures that come with college life. Finding friends that she can have some fun with, wanting to feel special in the eyes of some boy, (only premissionaries) getting good grades, making good choices, ect.

I look at the friends and family around me and see more trials. My mom says she is sick and tired of being sick and tired. I feel bad for her. My good friend from college had a baby last month and in the next few weeks found out she has cancer. (A very scary word.) Another friend has children with a life long sickness and things are not going good for them. My heart breaks for people with health problems because most of the time it is hurry up wait and see, here is some drugs it might or might not help. There is also a niece who has had her heart and engagement broken. There are many many more that are having a hard time with life right now.
I look at the world around us and see natural disasters, evil people, corruption, and wonder why. I heard someone say the other day that we are one more step closer to the second coming. I guess this is why I put the title of my blog as "Come what may and love it." I put this saying on my wall when Leif left for Iraq to help "keep my chins up".
I decided to look at lds.org to find some more inspirational quotes from some of my favorite speakers like Gordon B. Hinckley or his wife Marjorie Pay Hinckley, two of my favorite people. I found this by someone I don't know as well but it is still insprational and what I needed to hear this morning.

"I rejoice in belonging to such a loving and caring organization [as the Church]. No one knows better how to bear one another's burdens, mourn with those who mourn, and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. I choose to call it 'enduring together.' What happens to one happens to all. We endure together.

"May we be an instrument in lightening the burden of others."

Richard C. Edgley,

So I guess I am an instrument and if the Lord would just tell me how to help my friends and family to "endure together" with them I will do it. I love and pray for you all

Spicy Chicken Romano

2011-03-18T07:37:00.007-07:00

My favorite meal at a restraunt is a Carino's, Spicy chicken Romano. mmmmm.

So I decided I wanted to try to make my own. I bought a box of Ramano's Macaroni Grill Pasta Alfredo. (I found it at Wal-mart)

I followed the instructions on the back. While cooking the sauce I added crushed red peppers so it can release the flavor. I cut thin slices of chicken. For me this makes a huge difference. When the pasta is all cooked according to the package, I added a can of artichokes (drained) and some sun dried tomatoes.

I tried both the dried tomatoes and a little can of sundried tomatoes. I think the little jar had a better flavor, but they are a little more pricey. I am not a fan of mushrooms but if you are, add them at this time. Warm thoroughly. Enjoy.

one of my hero's

2011-03-16T15:57:00.003-07:00

One of my hero's is a little boy named Mattie Stepanek he only lived to be about 11. He was wise beyond his years. This is one of many poems that he wrote.

We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment.
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment.
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice.
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment.
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.

September 11, 2001
© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek

Can't believe I am saying this. I am craving squash.

2011-03-14T10:51:00.017-07:00

I love going through the internet and finding recipes that I would like to try. I decided I want to keep them in the same places. So for my first one here it goes. I hate squash, or I thought I did. People would give me squash and I would turn it down. I hate squash cooked in the oven with a little butter and brown sugar. Yuck! One day I got some butternut squash in a
Bountiful Baskets So I decided to research and see if I could find a squash recipe I could handle. I found garlicky butternut squash click here

I LOVE SQUASH! well when it is made with this recipe.
It says to peal the squash. The first time I made this, I killed my hands and it took almost 45 minutes to peal it. The I found a tip that helps a lot. Blanch (boil)the whole unpeeled squash till when you press your fingernail or tip of knife it turns the skin a different color. (about 5 minutes). After you do that, the knife slides under the skin with ease. Much easier!

Squash soup.
On a cold day Leif and I took the recipe one step further. After we cooked the squash, we pureed the squash. Add a little salt and pepper for taste. Added some milk, skim if you are worried about calories, cream if you are worried about flavor. :) (I just thought of an even more sinfull ingredient I might add next time I make it ... Cream Cheese.) I served it with some garlic bread. It was a hit for the whole family.

Keep your chins up

2011-03-06T18:04:00.004-07:00

I have a good friend who passed away a few years ago. She was only 76 years wise. I have been thinking about her a lot this week. She was a little grandma about 5'2 and lots of wit. My children and I still have a lot of Nonaisms. not a day goes by without us talking about Nona's pennies from heaven, or Nona bear, or Nona bites (the burnt edges of different dishes) ect. This week as I have become aware of others struggles I am reminded of her one bit of advice. Keep your chin's up. But when said to her, She would follow up with which one? I have recently had the luck of reading her life sketch and found that she really went through a lot in her 76 years of life. No wonder she had her wit and humor. She also said she had learned in life if I don't laugh I would sit and cry.

I am watching some friends go through some trials right now and I spent the day fasting and praying for them and wondering what I can do for them. One of these friends has on her blog a scripture that really has gotten me to think.

"For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee...I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer...For the mountains will depart and the hills shall be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

Oh thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted! Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones...great shall be the peace of thy children. Thou shalt be far from oppression for thou shalt not fear, and from terror for it shall not come near thee." 3 Nephi 22:7-14

I know that if we just endure the trials in our path and stay strong in the gospel, He will reward us in heaven. I had a bishop tell me during a trial,"out of everything bad that happens something good will come of it." It is so hard to keep that in mind at this time of my friends trials. My heart hurts for each of them.

The last day I saw my dear sweet Nona I went to the Nursing Home, where she spent her last few weeks, to say goodbye. We chatted for a moment and she gave me a message for each of my children. I knew it was time to leave. I leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. I wispered in her ear Keep your chins up. She responded with which one? I said your spiritual one. She said till I see you.

So I guess all I can say is,
KEEP YOUR CHINS UP
whether it is your pretend one or your real one or your spiritual one.
I love you all.

Natural High's

2011-03-04T08:29:00.006-07:00

For two of my children their natural high is Ballroom. They love it. H has found a little self confidence through ballroom. His team competed a week ago and got a blue ribbon - first place. I think it was the cha cha. They also got a 3rd place ribbon for another team routine. The next day he got 2nd place in syllabus. (couple routines) That ribbon was the cha cha. One of the last dances he learned was the
paso doble. He kept getting call backs and he could not beleive it. He got 6th place!

Let me explain how cool it is to even place at these competitions. In H's level of competition all of the children get to dance the first time. (up to 50 couples) then they split it into two groups the first 1/2 (A group) are the technically better part of the dancers. the two groups are then cut down to about 12. after that the next call backs are the final 6. When the final 6 are out there you know they will get a ribbon. Both of H's ribbons were in the A group. For D's level it is according to ability. The groups are bronze silver and gold. If you are bronze you can compete up but if you are gold you cannot compete down. In her level there is also about 25 - 50 couples per dance. They wittle it down to the top 8 and give ribbons to the top 8.
Now to brag about D's experience. She got a 3rd place ribbon the first night with her group. They were thrilled. The stress for them was the costumes. They were still being made. They were suppose to be at the competition by noon. The competition started at 2:00. D's group was not suppose to dance till about 5:00. Plenty of time right? The costumes showed up about 20 minutes before their first dance. AAAHHHH stress. oh well they did great! For syllubus She danced the Tango with one of the best dancers in her class. All the girls hope to be able to dance with him because he is the one to win the most at the competions. He also makes the girls he dance with look amaizing. So she had the most hope for the tango. They kept getting call backs and she was thrilled. In the end she got 8th. At the end of the competition she found out that the only ribbon that boy got during the competition, was with her.
L's high is freedom. She is living in an apartment now. She is loving it. At first she thought she would just live at home but I knew she would not exert herself to make friends and put herself out there. I encouraged her to move out but told her that the choice was ultimatly hers. When she came to me and said she was moving out, I cried. She said, I thought you wanted me to move out. I said "yah for you. But I always want you to be my little girl." Well now that she is out, she loves it. I don't know if she will ever want to move back home.

mmm Salsa mmm

2011-02-23T12:38:00.027-07:00

I love salsa. Salsa is yummy to the tummy. For the last few years my kids and I have expermented with salsa. We have made my own fresh salsa recipe, corn salsa, black bean salsa, strawberry mango salsa, avacado salsa .... YUM!! Last year I went to the craft fair at Bonneville High School. I saw a table there that a lady had canned salsa set up and she sold out. She turned to her hubby and said I should have made more. I asked her if she would be back next year and she said no. She was moving out of the state. I thought back to all the salsa's I have made. I think I want to start selling salsa at the local farmer's market. The only question is ... "will people buy it?" I don't want to put out a bunch of money the first week and have nobody buy it. My sister said she has one of those tents they use that only has the canopy top. I have one card table and I need to find another one. I can have D make a sign to use for the first few weeks.I think it could be fun. Leif thinks I should have one table to sell at and one to make fresh salsa in front of people. I am kind of excited and just wish summer would hurry and get here so I can plant my salsa garden and get things going. :) What should I call it? I am thinking Salsa Stop or Salsa Station. mmmm salsa!!!

spring is coming (I hope)

2011-02-17T08:53:00.003-07:00

February is a depressing time of year. The sun is not here for very long each day. I am tired of the snow and cold. I just simply get grumpy. I tell Leif in February he needs to take me somewhere that the temp is higher than 50 and the sun is shining.

On the last saturday in February, I saw a robin and a baby lamb! I HAVE FAITH!

Christmas thoughts

2010-12-23T15:02:00.003-07:00

Here we are a few days before Christmas. All the excitement is at a high. The children are more excited about what their gifts they are giving than what they are getting. I call that a mom's pay day. D commented the other day, "I have no Idea what I am getting because I can't remember anything I asked for." H is all excited about what he picked out for his sisters. L has a job of her own this year and is able to purchase the gifts with her own hard earned money. She has definatly given her gift giving a lot more thought. Me ... I am just greatful to have my husband, my heart, home for the holidays this year. Beyond having him home I do not need or want anything else. I hope this holiday season is full of memories.

Christmas A-HA!

2010-12-06T11:18:00.023-07:00

So My newly wed dream of a Christmas tree was to have a different sets of colored decorations, so each year I could decide what color do I want this year? A blue tree or a red tree or a white ... you get the Idea. My Mom's tree was always a little country modge podge of different ornaments and I always wanted the store front tree.

Then kids came along. little paper and pipe cleaner ornaments so my dream was to have a tree downstairs that they could decorate with their stuff, and one upstairs so it could be my perfectly coordinated color tree. Last night I finally realized, (yes I am a little slow, or thick headed, you pick)it is not about the color of the tree, but about the memories that have built around the tree.

Through the years we have gotten ornaments that meant a lot to me. The first year Leif and I were married we got a special first year ornament. It has been on our tree for 19 years, from the little charlie brown tree in our first apartment to our 7 1/2 foot or taller trees.

My girls love these ornaments. They were made by Grandma. I think all her daughters (and in laws) and granddaughters have gotten a set of snowflakes. She has made some beautiful ornaments, scarves, hats, blankets, southern bell barbie dolls ... etc. It seems that for the last 20 years she has constantly had a crocheting project going on but this year she is just getting too shaky and week. My mom is getting so she cannot do the little grandma gifts anymore.

Someone who has had a huge impact on our family is a dear friend Nona. She has given us a lot of memories over the years from Nona hugs to driving Daisey crazy, the game goblet and these ornaments that are now part of our traditions. (more about our dear Nona) http://ldldhcliffnotes.blogspot.com/2009/03/happy-ark-day.html The pickle ornament is a jar and then a pickle inside. here is a link to explain the German tradition. http://www.christmas-decorations-gifts-store.com/store/PPF/parameters/340_63/more_info.asp The kids always anticipate the pickle present. The other two are from a set of 12 that are the 12 days of Christmas.

We have many memories from trips. Seattle, Nauvoo temple open house, Jackson Hole, yes we live close but this trip we were hiking at Jenny's lake. It was the height of the berry season. We had fun eating the fresh berries, till we saw a sign that said do not take rocks or pick flowers or eat the berries from the national parks. OOPS! (don't turn us in for breaking the law please) We added lighthouse ornaments from Oregon this year.

We only have four of these ornaments and when H was little he wanted to know why he did not have one of these special ornaments. I had to explain to him that it was because Aunt Kristen had made them and she died the year he was born. I am sure she would have made him one if she would have known him. We hold these very dear to our hearts. For a few years after she died I would pull these out to place on the tree, I would cry. I sure miss her.

These are some of my personally favorite ornaments. We also have a little soldier for last year when Dad was in Iraq, a brace face girl for D, a soccer boy for h, a graduate for L and many many more with stories. So after all these years, I have a modge podge tree just like my mom. I would much rather have this tree than any color coordinated tree

A greatful heart

2010-11-21T23:11:00.008-07:00

With Thanksgiving coming up I decided to show you what I am most thankful for.

Aside from my family I am most thankful for the simple things.

I couldn't forget that I am thankful for my camera so I can capture all that I hold dear!

photography

2010-11-14T10:40:00.010-07:00

So one of my favorite past times is photography. I love taking pictures of people places and things. I spend time day and night trying to figure out the best angle, lighting or dimensions are best for the photo. I even find myself daydreaming of photo's. Some of the things I have thought up worked out, others ... not so much. I went down to the river in Idaho Falls and tryed to take a photo at night with the temple reflecting on the water. That night, the water was like glass. If I would have known what I was doing, It would have turned out great. I did not know what I was doing and here is the outcome:
I got on the internet the next day and studied how to make it work. I am so proud of me for finding the answers. The next night I went to the Rexburg temple and took more pictures. This is the result:
However I still was not happy with it because of all the cars in the parking lot. So trip 3 on a sunday night, last night before the moon came out and before the first snow fall, here is what I got:
I also took another trip to Idaho Falls and was disapointed because the water was not like glass anymore. But here is what the 2nd night looked like:
I posted a few of the pictures on flicker to get feedback on how to make them even better. I ended up getting an email from the LDS church asking me to give them my photo's to use whenever they want. I am a little sad because I do not know if I just want to hand over my hard work. It is not like I just clicked the camera and walah here they are.
I have also had people ask me to take photo's and I enjoy doing so but when I am done with the whole photo & editing process they offer me money and I feel funny taking it because it is something I love doing, and I am still learning.

challenges and blessings

2010-09-12T17:08:00.005-07:00

So I got a calling as the Mia Maid advisor. I have not been in young women's since I was one myself. Today's lesson was a particular challanging topic. I would have liked to get to know the girls a little better before going to the topic of chastity.
I hope they took it well. They seemed to react well and did not seemed to put off by the subject. Now I just hope they will live their lives for their future not for the present.

Leif was gone for 3 weeks and got back two days ago and now he left again and will be gone for 3 more days. While he was gone, he got in a wreck. the military vehicle he was in rolled. I count my blessings that he is okay. he called right after it happened and I did not really think too much about it. It was not till I saw this picture that it hit me that wow he was in a wreck.

so from our challenges blessings will come.

State Fair.

2010-09-03T13:21:00.003-07:00

I decided after the county fair to enter some in the state fair. I got a ribbon for D's and H's photo's.

2010-08-19T08:45:00.011-07:00

The girls and I entered some photo's in the county fair.
These are L's

These are D's

These are mine.

ending

2010-08-13T07:23:00.003-07:00

Well our trip home starts today. It has been a good week. We have done a lot this week. We went whale watching, eating, rock hounding, eating, beach combing, eating, rock hounding, and oh yah did I mention eating? The kids really like eating fresh seafood on the coast.A little sad looking at LaReesa and knowing that she is moving on in life. I hope we can continue family trips and have her a part of it. Who knows maybe our family trips will be to where ever she is.

simple pleasures

2010-08-10T17:53:00.005-07:00

We went to the Yaquina head and Yaquina bay light houses today. While we were there we saw a cute little Amish couple having their first experience at the beach. She stood there and let the wave go over her feet and just giggled.

whale of a tale

2010-08-09T17:47:00.004-07:00

saw a whale today.
two of these are whales one is not.

family fun

2010-08-05T17:10:00.002-07:00

So it has been a difficult two weeks that are now behind us. We were suppose to leave friday at 6:00 on Wednesday Leif said lets leave tomorrow. So we left a day and a half early. It was needed I can't wait to see the beaches.

2010-03-03T21:03:00.012-07:00

Wow it has been a long time since I posted on here. A lot has happened the last 6 months.

L is in her last few months of her senior year. We have spent some time going out and getting some beautiful senior photo's of her. I love doing photography. They are not quite the professional quality. I just hope she is happy with them. Here are my two favorite ones. I think the pictures are beautiful because she is beautiful. I think her senior year is turning out to be her favorite year. Grades are good and so are friends.
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D has had lots of fun with Ball room this year. She is a natural at it. It is fun to see this side of her. At a competition in December she won 3 ribbons. 1st in Waltz 3rd in samba and 6th in Cha cha. She is 14 going on 21. She is growing up too fast. She is in drivers ed and chomping at the bit to start driving right now. I tell her to go ahead and drive and then I will let the cops know where to find her. They will then prevent her from driving till she is 18. I would be okay with that.
*

H is also doing Ballroom and is real good at it. He also got 3 ribbons at the competition in December. 3rd in swing 6th in cha cha and 6th in waltz. Then there was another competition in Feb. He got 5th in the paso doble.
He will be turning 12 in a few short months. I cannot believe that time has passed so fast. Something that has been fun about watching Hayden grow up the last year is, he realy cares about how he looks. I figured he would be a typical boy and not want to take a shower every day. He had a girl in PE tell him he smelled good. I think that had something to do with it. He grew his hair to a longer length and then wanted it cut shorter. I hope he does not go vain but having a son care about his looks is an unexpected surprise.
*

The biggest news is that our soldier is home. Our home is back to normal. I missed him so much this last year. In some ways it was what I was expecting. In other ways It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It feels good to have him back.

1/2 way done!

2009-09-15T21:46:00.006-07:00

Well Leif was told he would be gone 400 days. We are 1/2 done with the 400 days. He keeps telling me it might be shorter but I am a child of a military man. I know that I cannot count on anything you are told through the military. So as a defensive move I will not believe Leif till I can wrap my arms around him!

L is in full swing of her senior year. Can it be true? We have taken her out for a few of her senior pictures. I have been very greatful for her and all she has done for me this year. When ever I need a shoulder to lean on she is there for me. Thank you L!!

D is a ninth grader and thinks she is older. She is my rock. she does not let the little things get to her. I wish I were more like her and were able to let the little things roll off my back like she does. She is a generaly happy girl. She was so excited to get back to school because she is my social butterfly.

H is in sixth grade. I love my (not so) little man. He is growing more and more each day. I wish I could just "put a rock on his head" and slow his growth down. I think he has done the most changing since Leif left. He has tried hard to take on some of the things that Dad does around the home. He wanted to take care of watering the lawn. I told him he could be incharge of the back yard. there were some days this summer that my back yard was not completley brown. hehe it was fun to see him try.

June went fast!

2009-07-08T10:14:00.007-07:00

Things are going right along. We have had a busy month. we left in the middle of June and took the girls to EFY. They love it. It is a good time for them to make new friends. They also have a fun time learning more about who they are. This is the first year that both girls were there together. I think that they had fun doing it.

The following picture was taken at EFY I may be a little prejudice but, aren't they beautiful!

While they were at EFY, H and I had a week long date. We went to the Holgo Zoo, miniature golfing (he is now hooked), Bridal Veil Falls, and to Delta UT. trilobite hunting. This picture is of H and his aunt pounding rocks trying to find trilobites in the middle.

The second week we were gone, we went to the Oregon coast. We had a ton of fun. We saw tide pools, went to one of the nations best aquariums, saw sea lion caves, roasted marshmallows on the beach (despite 40 mile/hour winds) and much more. We ended our trip at the Redwoods. Our last night on coast was at Crescent City, California. We went out on the docks and saw the evidence of crabbing. While we were there we saw brown pelicans, blue heron, tons of seagulls, and some harbor seals. It was sunset and just across the water was a light house. It was beautiful. The next morning my sister and I walked on the beach and found tons of agates. My children became rock hounds during that week.

An update on Leif. He is keeping busy in Iraq. There are lots of news reports that the military is pulling out of Iraq. This is kind of true to the point that our military is not taking an active roll in the day to day patrolling. However it does not mean that the military will be coming home anytime soon. (darn)

May's updates

2009-05-24T12:55:00.006-07:00

May has been a busy month. All the year end school events have kept us very busy, Concerts and field trips and add to that projects around the home.

L was told that the Orchestra teacher wanted to put together some band insruments to accompany them at their year end concert. They were going to preform PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. He asked the Band teacher to announce tryouts for it. L walked into the room and Mr Hansen (the orcestra teacher) said I know how well you play you do not need to tryout. The part is yours. After that the choir teacher found out about the ensamble that had been put together and wanted the group to accompany the choir at their year end concert. Therefore L had band, orchestra, and choir concerts within 1 1/2 weeks. Not to mention the orchestra and choir concerts for H and D. The orchestra teacher then opened up some spots for the ensamble to join the orchestra to go to Las Vegas to see a broadway performance of phantom. L was thrilled to go.

Mothers Day was a sweet suprise. I had low expectations due to the fact that Leif is not here. The 3 kids went shopping for me. They got me 3 roses because I have 3 children. They were red on the inside for my husbands love and white on the outside for our eternal family. (this is what they told me.) That is a mother's payday!

It has been a rough week. I usually talk to Leif every morning. This week we did not talk from Tuesday till friday night. When we did finally talk, some of the soldiers there had died. Leif knew one of them. So knowing he had a rough week I felt more stress. I know that Leif will come home okay but I still worry about him.

Hayden's birthday tradition

2009-05-07T06:50:00.004-07:00

Happy Birthday to my Baby. Okay he is not a baby. He is 11 years old. For the last 11 years Hayden has only been healthy for maybe 3 of his birthday's. His health problems range from Asthma for the first 3 or 4 years to having his finger ran over by a training wheel on a bike and it broke his finger and ripped off the finger nail or he broke his arm the day before his 8th birthday. This year he has stuck with his tradition. The day before his birthday he got a gusher of a bloody nose. We tried for 20 minutes to get it to stop. Finnaly we took him into the comunity care and got a pack put into it. It was packed real tight. At one point he said, "Mom my nose feels like it is going to POP!" Poor boy! he stayed home from church on his birthday and did not go to school the next day after the packing was taken out for fear he would get bumped and start it all over again. I wish he would find a new yearly tradition. Maybe when he is 12 it will change!

North Carolina

2009-04-18T12:23:00.005-07:00

Well Leif is in Kuwait city right now. He will be there for the next two weeks. He then will head out to Iraq. I got to go to North Carolina and spend 6 days with him. The best part is when we thought he had to check in on Monday morning and they just had them check in their bags and they could go till Tuesday morning at 6:00am Leif and I called this our BONUS DAY! I really enjoyed having this time with him but now this week I miss him even more than before the visit. I am counting down the days to April 2010!

This is Leif in Kuwate waiting for breakfast. HAND OVER THE DONUTS AND NO ONE GETS HURT!

Don't you just love the beautiful landscape!

Almost 2 months

2009-03-26T16:19:00.003-07:00

Well Leif has been gone for about 1 1/2 months. Things are going along well. I don't miss him too much if I can talk to him every day. Hmm I wonder if I will talk to him every day when he is out of the country? I don't think so! I told Leif that it is a good thing that I am slowly going off him because if I did I would have major withdrawl. I get to go to North Carolina to see him on the 6th of April. I am kind of excited and kinda not. I can't wait to see him again and spend some time with him but at the same time I am sad because I know I have to just say goodbye all over again. L is doing well She had a great time doing Jr Miss. Now she is trying to get ehr drivers license. She is a nervous driver, so she is not looking forward to getting her license. D is in the middle of track...running yuck! She is of a different breed. It is good for her. H is doing better in school We made some changes for this tri and he seems to be keeping up a little better.

HAPPY ARK DAY!!

2009-03-02T08:42:00.003-07:00

I honor of my dear friend and grandma figure to my children, Wenonah Vee Norton, I want to wish you all a HAPPY ARK DAY. She celebrated it every year with my family and a few others in the neighborhood. She said that in the scriptures Noah collected the animals and then comanded them to MARCH 4TH. Every year we would get different Noah's ark memorabilia ie, games, statues, ect. We always got floats (because Noah Floated on the water) of some kind. Last year she gave us floats and a little note saying how this was her last Ark day and was entrusting it to our family. She wanted us and our children to always remember and celebrate Ark Day with happy thoughts. Along with her note she said that once Noah was done floating, he stood on dry ground and planted seeds of many kinds. She gave each child a package of seed that would continue to come up every year. Nona (as we called her) Passed away in June. NONA YOU ARE MISSED

military update

2009-02-26T13:40:00.003-07:00

So Leif is currently in Mississippi. While he is there they are getting mostly class room training. One of the things he is learning is some basic phrases in the Iraqi language. They will be leaving there and heading to the mohavi desert in California. Leif will be leaving the unit for a week and go to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for some mental health provider training. He called me and asked me if I could come there and spend that week with him. Then we realized it would be at the same time as L's Jr Miss. I wish I could split myself in 2! any of you know any wizardry and can help with the potion let me know asap! When he is done in Texas, he will meet back up with his unit in California. Then the unit will be transfered to North Carolina. I know, he is zig zagging all over the nation! His expected departure from the states is about April 15. I will keep you all updated as we find things out.

Come what may and Love it!

2009-02-18T22:28:00.006-07:00

Well we are off and running through our year. For the sake of reuniting with Leif I hope it goes by real fast. On the other Hand L will be graduating and our life will never be the same so I guess I do not want it to go to fast. AHHH can I have it both ways?

L is getting ready for Jr miss. It has been good to have a distraction this week. They did a trial run through with the talents. The mock judges really like her talent and kept raving about how wonderful it was. They said the only problem is she now needs to beleive how talented and beautiful she is.

D is getting excited to start track this year. The girl is from a different breed. She loves to run distance. When she has ran 5K in the past I expected her to fall to the ground and be exahsted. Instead she says wow that was fun I want to do that again! Crazy girl! It is fun to watch.

H is H! what more can I say! He keeps us laughing and is always full of love. He is busy and always pestering his sisters. (out of love of course.) He is being real cute taking on the MAN OF THE HOUSE role. He and I want on a date tonight. He had to hold the doors open for me. We went bowling. One time I got a gutter and he said "you did that just to make me feel better!" I smiled. Of course I did. hehe

Leif is in Mississippi right now. In a few weeks he will head for California and the Mohave desert. If any of you want to email him is address is leifs100@gmail.com. He can check his email every couple of days. I am sure he would love to get letters.

It is OFFICIAL!

2009-02-09T05:32:00.001-07:00

Leif leaves on Wednesday. He will be going to Afghanistan. He leaves out of the IF airport and goes to Boise for 2 days. From there he will be flying to Mississippi. We do not know how long he will be there. I am going to miss him like crazy!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:36:00.004-07:00

We Had a great Christmas this year. It was kind of hard knowing that Leif will probably not be with us next year. The children and I tried to give him gifts that will be useful for him while he is gone.
As for the children's gifts, they get 4 things and what ever comes from Santa. The 4 things have to fall in these categories. Something you want, something you need, something to play with and something to read.
L's want was slippers
Need was a dress to perform in for Junior Miss. However, it had to be specially ordered and is on back order. It will not be here till middle of Feb. Thus she got to open a box with a picture of it.
Play with was a puzzle game.
Read was 2 books. Chicken soup for the teenage soul and The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

D's want was a cookie press. She loves anything to cook with
Need was new shoes. You can't live in Idaho with only open toe shoes.
Play with was scrap booking supplies.
read was a historical book on the Salem witch trials. (she loves history) and "Fairest" by the same Author of Ella Enchanted
H's want was star wars Lego's
Need was a new coat
play with was a remote control helicopter I think Leif has had more fun with this than H.
Read was 2 books of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, very popular with the boys his age.

Sabot, a new stuffed animal toy and two greeny bones. Yes he is spoiled! We had to remember him this year. We did not get him anything last year. On Christmas day he decided to TAKE one of H's toys as his own. We had to go to Wal Greens on Christmas day. We did not want to do that again.
By doing this I notice that my children's wants and needs are kept very simple and when we get them a little more they are thrilled. It makes giving to them very enjoyable. When they are excited for what they get, I get all I want for Christmas.

Our Big news.

2008-11-10T22:57:00.008-07:00

On Thursday October 23 we got notified that Leif will be going to Iraq or Afghanistan. He will be leaving in February or March. He will be with a medical unit. We are not sure if he will be with a medical brigade that will go set up a hospital (2/3 chance) and stay in that one spot or if he will be in a combat brigade (1/3 chance) that will be moving around. Right now he is at a training for a month in Texas. He will be home 2 days before Thanksgiving. We should know by the time he gets back where he is going. He will be deployed for 365 days. However Obama may change that. I am missing him like crazy and he has only been gone for a week and a 1/2. I hope I can make it a year. The Children and I are planning monthly adventures they range from little day trips to weekend trips to Utah and 1 10 day trip to the Oregon coast. With the last trip to the airport to pick up dad! I figure I will need things to look forward to, to make the time go faster. I guess as GBH said in the quote to the right, along the way there are delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, I guess that is what we are facing. I cannot wait for our next beautiful vistas!

My Beautiful girls!

2008-11-07T13:51:00.003-07:00

This is their school pictures. I just think they are beautiful. But then again I am their mother. Naw they are Just Simply beautiful. H was sick on picture day. Then we were not informed of picture retakes so, I guess no 2008 pictures for him.

October sunrise

2008-10-31T11:05:00.003-07:00

We get some great sunrises out our front porch! D and H took this on Halloween morning 2008.

One of D's wished came true last night

2008-10-12T10:16:00.010-07:00

We went to Natalie MacMaster's concert last night. It was fun, exciting, and most of all impressive. She is 6 months pregnant and she is still doing the clogging and dancing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HuwuZG_HFo&feature=related I added some youtube links with her music and dancing. She really is a great entertainer! D. said over a year ago that if she could meet anyone famous she would want to meet President Hinkley or Natalie McMaster. She met Natalie last night. I am glad one of her wishes came true. It was fun to watch D. watch the concert. She got excited when she played her favorite song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdHR12lPcgI and when she did a really impressive back leg kick. I had told D that because Natalie was 6 mo. pregnant she probably would not do the kick BUT SHE DID! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv7xSTHmWUo&feature=related Watch this till about 3:40 she will do the kick!
Thank you to Benjamin for helping us get some of the tickets and Thank You Aunt Tracy For introducing family to Natalie's music. She came here from Utah just to go to the concert with us!

Spuds

2008-10-08T10:17:00.003-07:00

We are officially in potatoe harvest now. It use to be that I would say, I am not a potatoe farmer. My father is not a potatoe farmer. I have never been involved in potatoe farming. In fact spud harvest is a nice time for people from Idaho to go to disney land cuz nobody else is there. However the last 2 years, a member of my family has worked in the cellers separating the dirt and twigs from the potatoes. It really is good money for a high school student. She makes as much money in 2 weeks as she could in 3 months. So I can no longer say I am not involved in spud harvest. I drive her both ways, and I make sure she gets a lunch. I am more involved than I ever thought I would be. lol

birthday fun

2008-09-22T08:29:00.007-07:00

For My birthday I ran away from home. Four of my friends and I left and went to Utah for a scrapbooking convention. I had pics to post on here but one friend threatened to call the police to have me remove her pic if I posted it. Another friend was giving me a dirty look in the pic and a 3rd friend was blinking so I guess I will spare them all. We were their from 9:00am - 6:00pm. It was long and fun. You would not beleive the deals they have there. When I went 6 months ago, I spent all my time shopping and finding great deals. This time I decided I had a project I HAD to work on. I only bought things pertaning to that project. I did not spend as much money their but we did spend more on the hotel. I guess I did not spend less over all. O well it was my birthday and that is about all I got for my birthday.

I am hooked

2008-09-18T22:14:00.004-07:00

I am hooked I find myself coming and changing something every day. I know I come here for the novelty of it. After a couple of weeks I will forget all about it and obsess about something new.

Watching my children this week I have been thinking a lot. I do not remember my childhood being this difficult. I do not think that their childhood is abnormally difficult, and maybe they do not think it is difficult. I think what makes it hard for me is that I am the mom on the outside and have very little control over what is happening to them when they are not with me. I like to hear from my children what happened in their day at school. I ask them to tell me something happy about their day. Then I ask them to tell me something sad about their day. I find that by doing this they tend to open a little more. However when they tell me something sad that then makes me mad I really have a hard time not going and kicking some kids hind end! I guess that is the nature of mothers instinct! If anyone has any profound words of wisdom feel free to leave it for me. =o)

Our house is all a buz ....

2008-09-12T17:19:00.014-07:00

Our house is all a buz with homecoming week. They had decade day at the jr high. I realized I am really old when I took D to school and noticed the most popular decade was the 80"s. What happened to the 50's or 60's or even the 70's? Some of the other days were clash day and spirit day. Here are a few pictures of L marching in the parade and at half time. At the time of homecoming, L did not have her uniform. She got it this week.

my first blog

2008-09-10T20:44:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I am new to this. I went to enrichment night and learned how to do this. I did it once and lost everything so I guess I will try again. Just so you know, ldldh are the first initials of our names. I will update you on our children.

L is in 11th grade. she is in marching band and loves it, dispite the 7:00 am practices in 40 degree weather. I guess it rained on her this morning. She is also hoping to be in the pit for an upcoming musical.

D is in the 8th grade. She loves her violin. Her favorite fiddler, Natalie McMasters,http://www.nataliemacmaster.com is coming to BYUI next month and we have tickets to go see her. She is planning to run a marathon in a relay with 6 people next summer. If you want to be one of the 6 in the relay let her know.

H is in the 5th grade. He is a busy guy still. He is in Choir this year and loves it. He comes home with new warm ups like mee maw mee maw... It is fun to see him enjoying it. He has a male teacher this year. He seems to be doing well with him.