Another Christmas has come and gone. Where does the time go? We hope you each had a blessed Christmas, we sure did.
28 December 2012
30 November 2012
Thought…
"I have found that, rather than dwelling on the negative, if we will take a step back and consider the blessings in our lives, including seemingly small, sometimes overlooked blessings, we can find greater happiness."
—Thomas S. Monson, "Consider the Blessings", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012
22 November 2012
Thanksgiving…
“Thankfulness is measured by the number of words; gratitude is measured by the nature of our actions.”
President David O. McKay
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”
Cynthia Ozick
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
William Arthur Ward
Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.
21 November 2012
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie…
2 c. pumpkin puree
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (room temp)
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
1/2 c. milk or cream
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
1 pie crust
Cream the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Mix in sugar and spices. Add liquid ingredients and mix until completely blended together. Pour into pie crust and bake @ 375 for approx. 60 minutes. (May be longer.) Pie is done when a metal knife inserted comes out clean.
13 November 2012
Thoughts…
"I pray that we will humble ourselves as little children and reach out to protect our little children, for they are the future for us, for our Church, and for our nations."
—Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012
"The most powerful teaching of children is by the example of their parents."
—Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012
06 November 2012
31 October 2012
Happy Halloween…
Tips for Crochet Beanie Size…
0 to 3 months
Hat circumference 11.5" - 13"
Hat height: 4.5” to 5"
3 to 6 months
Hat circumference: 14" - 17 "
Hat height : 5.5” - 6"
6 to 12 months
Hat circumference: 16" - 19 "
Hat height: 6.5"
12 months to 3T
Hat Circumference: 18" to 20"
Hat height : 7"
3 to 10 years
Hat Circumference: 19" – 20.5"
Hat height: 7.5"
Pre-teen to teens
Hat Circumference: 20.5" - 22"
Hat height: 8” - 9"
Women's
Hat Circumference: 21.5" - 22.5"
Hat height: 10"
Men's
Hat Circumference: 23" - 24"
Hat height: 10" - 10.5"
Measure the size of the head. Wrap a measuring tape around the head (forehead, back of head, above ears) to find out the circumference of the head. Remember the hat will stretch., so make it an inch or two smaller. A hat that has been made using a double crochet will stretch more than one made using a single crochet.
For example, you want to crochet a hat of 12.5-inch circumference. Divide this measurement by 3.14 (value of pi). So, 12.5/3.14 is approximately 3.98, which can be rounded off to 4. Stop expanding when you have reached a diameter of 4 inches.
- Ch 2.
- 8 dc into the 2nd ch from hook. Join with slip stitch to beginning of round.
- 2 dc into each dc (16 st)
- Increase in every alternate stitch, i.e., 2 dc + 1 dc + 2 dc + 1 dc + ... (24 st)
- 2 dc + 1 dc + 1 dc + 2 dc + 1 dc + 1 dc + 2 dc ... (32 st)
- 2 dc + 1 dc + 1 dc + 1 dc + 2 dc + 1 dc + 1 dc + 1 dc + 2 dc ... (40 st)
Keep increasing in this manner until desired size has been reached. As mentioned earlier the hat measures 12.5 inches in circumference, so stop expanding when 4 inches diameter is reached. From the next step onwards start working even, i.e., 1 dc into each dc. Once you have stopped expanding and started working even, the edges of your circle will start to bend. Continue working even until desired length has been reached. Any stretch can use any stitch: sc, hdc or dc.
27 October 2012
Thought…
"Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence."
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Of Regrets and Resolutions", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012
Catching Up…
Last night the kids and I went to a wedding reception for a sweet girl in our old ward. I told the kids before we left that we would be seeing people we had not seen in a long time and they would tell them how big they were and all that jazz. I wanted to get there close to the beginning so I wouldn’t miss anyone. It was a reunion of sorts. It was so good to catch up with a couple of old friends and get some great hugs from people. When we moved, I never intended to lose touch with people, but it just happens. Life goes on and is busy. I savor moments like these…
25 October 2012
Weather…
Today my mother is grateful for rain. I’m all for rain too, but this time of year her rain is our…
21 October 2012
Thought…
“With the help of the Lord, we can repent and change and be more loving and helpful to children—our own and those around us."
—Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012
20 October 2012
Apple Pie Filling…
Today I bottled 10 quarts of apple pie filling. I’d never done it before, but it 
I used a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com. I did add some additional spices… 
17 October 2012
Follow This Link…
My sister is in the running to win some great prizes for these awesome photos she took of her girls. Follow this link and like her pictures.
Do it now! I’ll owe you one.
16 October 2012
Changes…
Some of you might remember my chair. She was a good chair… my baby chair. She’s been gone for almost a year, so just before my birthday I decided it was time for a new chair. The new chair had to be just right. She couldn’t be too big, the space just wouldn’t allow it. I’m not sure how I actually stumbled upon her. Pinterest I’m sure… I liked her shape and detail. She fit my vision which had came from an episode of The High/Low Project on HGTV. I started looking for others like her, but kept coming back to her. She was THE one. I showed her to Rick and he liked her too. When my mother in-law asked what to do for my birthday, I told her a gift card to World Market would be great so I could put it toward my chair. Well, Rick and the kids surprised me by getting her for me! The surprise came a few days early… thanks to Sam! Once she was here a chain reaction started in the living room. It had needed some help for a long time. Today the last of the pieces (for now) arrived. I know I still need some accessories, perhaps a shelf and a blanket, all in due time though. So without further ado…
Evelyn says we should call it the Color Room.
I also picked up some new pillows for the family room…
13 October 2012
Thought…
"We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ."
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God", Liahona and Ensign, November 2009
Jell-O Cells…
This year for science we are studying Anatomy & Physiology. Our first lesson was an into to Anatomy & Physiology which ended with us making edible cells out of candy and Jell-O. It was great fun! Evelyn has to leave for ballet right as we were finishing, so she missed out on the picture taking.
Jell-O = cytoplasm
Peanut M&M = mighty mitochondria
Plain M&M = lysosomes
Smarties = Golgi body
Fruit Roll-up = endoplasmic reticulum
Sprinkles = ribosomes
Tubular sprinkles = centrioles
1/2 of an Orange Slice (we couldn’t find large gum drops) = nucleus
Boost the Immune System…
It’s that time of year… the temps have fallen, which seems to bring the germs out! Here are a couple of things we do to help fight the yuckies.
When you feel something start to come on take this combo of stuff for 4 days…
1000 mg Vitamin C= 3 x a day with meals
Echinacea= 2 pills 3 x a day
Garlic= 2 pills 3 x a day
Golden Seal= 2 pills in the morning & 2 pills @ bed
We also like Source Naturals Wellness Herbal Resistance. It has a slightly burnt honey/molasses taste with a minty aftertaste. I know, weird, but it works! My kids take it no problem, so you (mom) shouldn’t have a problem with it either. Like the above mix of pills, start taking this when you feel something start to come on. Hopefully these thing will help you fight the yuckies this year!
12 October 2012
Christmas in October…
If you want to get technical, the gift was bought in September… but that’s just details. Anyway… my parents were kind enough to get us some shelving units for our basement for Christmas this year. The kids & I worked most of yesterday to get them set up & things organized. Everyone helped… the boys took things to the recycling bin & stacked things on shelves, Evelyn helped me build the shelves & get things organized. (There’s hope for my little hoarder yet!) She was my Right Hand Woman! I didn’t get any pictures until we were already into the build...
After we were done!
Thanks so much Mom & Dad!
08 October 2012
Something to Remember…
Rick and the kids watching an episode of the 3 Stooges… Sam’s belly laughs. I wish I could bottle it. It makes me smile.
07 October 2012
Been Busy…
It was nice to sit, listen to General Conference today and keep busy with some projects. Wish I could show you pictures… but that would spoil the surprise. I have a long list of things to finish, with more orders coming in. Hope I can get it all done on time!
I know it. I live it. I love it.
05 October 2012
Thoughts…
"We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."
—Thomas S. Monson, "The Divine Gift of Gratitude"
"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life. May we recognize that each one is doing [his or] her best to deal with the challenges which come [his or] her way, and may we strive to do our best to help out."
—Thomas S. Monson, "Charity Never Faileth"
04 October 2012
Get in the Picture…
This article is me…. I hate having my picture taken. Rick always gets after me about it too. After reading this article I will try to do better, but it’s going to take time.
“Last weekend, my family traveled to attend my oldest niece's Sweet Sixteen party. My brother and sister-in-law planned this party for many months and intended it to be a big surprise, and it included a photo booth for the guests.
I showed up to the party a bit late and, as usual, slightly askew from trying to dress myself and all my little people for such a special night out. I'm still carrying a fair amount of baby weight and wearing a nursing bra, and I don't fit into my cute clothes. I felt awkward and tired and rumpled.
I was leaning my aching back against the bar, my now 5-month-old baby sleeping in a carrier on my chest (despite the pounding bass and dulcet tones of LMFAO blasting through the room) when my 5-year-old son ran up to me.
"Come take pictures with me, Mommy," he yelled over the music, "in the photo booth!"
I hesitated. I avoid photographic evidence of my existence these days. To be honest, I avoid even mirrors. When I see myself in pictures, it makes me wince. I know I am far from alone; I know that many of my friends also avoid the camera.
It seems logical. We're sporting mama bodies and we're not as young as we used to be. We don't always have time to blow dry our hair, apply make-up, perhaps even bathe (ducking). The kids are so much cuter than we are; better to just take their pictures, we think.
But we really need to make an effort to get in the picture. Our sons need to see how young and beautiful and human their mamas were. Our daughters need to see us vulnerable and open and just being ourselves -- women, mamas, people living lives. Avoiding the camera because we don't like to see our own pictures? How can that be okay?
Too much of a mama's life goes undocumented and unseen. People, including my children, don't see the way I make sure my kids' favorite stuffed animals are on their beds at night. They don't know how I walk the grocery store aisles looking for treats that will thrill them for a special day. They don't know that I saved their side-snap, paper-thin baby shirts from the hospital where they were born or their little hospital bracelets in keepsake boxes high on the top shelves of their closets. They don't see me tossing and turning in bed wondering if I am doing an okay job as a mother, if they are okay in their schools, where we should take them for a vacation, what we should do for their birthdays. I'm up long past the news on Christmas Eve wrapping presents and eating cookies and milk, and I spend hours hunting the Internet and the local Targets for specially-requested Halloween costumes and birthday presents. They don't see any of that.
Someday, I want them to see me, documented, sitting right there beside them: me, the woman who gave birth to them, whom they can thank for their ample thighs and their pretty hair; me, the woman who nursed them all for the first years of their lives, enduring porn star-sized boobs and leaking through her shirts for months on end; me, who ran around gathering snacks to be the week's parent reader or planning the class Valentine's Day party; me, who cried when I dropped them off at preschool, breathed in the smell of their post-bath hair when I read them bedtime stories, and defied speeding laws when I had to rush them to the pediatric ER in the middle of the night for fill-in-the-blank (ear infections, croup, rotavirus).
I'm everywhere in their young lives, and yet I have very few pictures of me with them. Someday I won't be here -- and I don't know if that someday is tomorrow or thirty or forty or fifty years from now -- but I want them to have pictures of me. I want them to see the way I looked at them, see how much I loved them. I am not perfect to look at and I am not perfect to love, but I am perfectly their mother.
When I look at pictures of my own mother, I don't look at cellulite or hair debacles. I just see her -- her kind eyes, her open-mouthed, joyful smile, her familiar clothes. That's the mother I remember. My mother's body is the vessel that carries all the memories of my childhood. I always loved that her stomach was soft, her skin freckled, her fingers long. I didn't care that she didn't look like a model. She was my mama.
So when all is said and done, if I can't do it for myself, I want to do it for my kids. I want to be in the picture, to give them that visual memory of me. I want them to see how much I am here, how my body looks wrapped around them in a hug, how loved they are.
I will save the little printed page with four squares of pictures on it and the words "Morgan's Sweet Sixteen" scrawled across the top with the date. There I am, hair not quite coiffed, make-up minimal, face fuller than I would like -- one hand holding a sleeping baby's head, and the other wrapped around my sweet littlest guy, who could not care less what I look like.”
03 October 2012
Thought…
"We are sons and daughters of a living God, in whose image we have been created. Think of that: created in the image of God. We cannot sincerely hold this conviction without experiencing a profound new sense of strength and power."
—Thomas S. Monson, "Canaries with Gray on Their Wings", Friend, Liahona and Ensign, June 2010
02 October 2012
October…
Today is October 2nd… I’m already a day behind… How did that happen?
Do you remember what October means? October is Downs Syndrome Awareness month. So for this month I will be blogging every day…. or by the end of the month there will be 31 posts.
Join us!
05 September 2012
Back to School Pictures…
I’ve never been great about taking pictures on the 1st day of school. I was inspired to do better this year. Everyone even got a new shirt!
Kindergarten
2nd Grade
4th Grade
24 August 2012
Breakfast Mission…
I’ve been on a mission the last 2 days to make breakfast easy once we start back to school. I’ve made 3 kinds of muffins, 2 dozen Egg McMuffins and 2 loaves of this Chocolate Zucchini Bread. I have more on my list to do tomorrow. My freezer looks so nice and full!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread:
adapted from JoyofBaking.com
4 cups shredded raw zucchini
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
3 large eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Grease (or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray) two 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pans.
Grate the zucchini, using a medium sized grater. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.
In another large bowl whisk the eggs. Then add the oil, yogurt, sugars, and vanilla extract and whisk until well blended (can use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer). Fold in the grated zucchini. Then fold into the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Then fold in chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely. This bread can be stored at room temperature for several days, or it can be frozen.
Makes 2 loaves.
06 July 2012
Progress…
She started taking lessons in September & has taken to it like a fish to water. Must be the name! She has good genes on both sides of the family for it.
p.s. She isn’t happy that I’m blogging this. lol! Silly girl.
p.p.s. Sorry about the crappy sound quality. This was impromptu & I recorded it on my phone. I'll know better for next time.
18 June 2012
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