Spiritually Blessed.....

Since Taylor has turned twelve, we have had many opportunities to feel spiritually blessed.  The first of these opportunities is when we took her to the temple to do baptisms.  After she got over her fear of drowning in the font, we were able to relax and feel the Spirit at work.  It was an amazing experience for her, as well as Reed and I, to share some of the love we feel for such a sacred place with her.  

The next opportunity happened at the Draper Temple dedication.  Reed and I were able to take Taylor and Torey with us, and once again we felt the love of our Savior as we participated in this sacred event.  Even though we enjoyed most of the dedication, we all felt a sense of loss because one of our family was missing.  Jake was not old enough to attend, and we all felt the loss of his sweet presence.  I guess we learned a little bit about what it will be like in the Celestial Kingdom if our whole family is not there.

The next experience we had was also amazing.  Taylor's friend invited us to accompany her, her mom, and her grandmother with them to Young Women's General Conference at the Conference Center.  We were so excited and grateful for the invitation.  On the way we were rear-ended on I-15 by a trio of girls also attending conference.  The miraculous thing is that neither vehicle was damaged and we were all able to safely continue our journey.  We arrived at the parking garage and were shuttled through the underground tunnels to the Conference Center...

Taylor and I were so excited to be sitting where we could actually smell the flowers adorning the pulpit and enjoyed the Spirit that resided in the building.  Taylor could not get over the size of the building, and I failed to tell her that you can actually park a 747 inside.  We were able to hear the General Young Women's Presidency speak to us, as well as our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.  Afterwards Taylor was able to meet Sister Mary N. Cook, the first counselor, who hugged her and asked her about her favorite part of the conference.  

Back through the tunnels to the Lion House Pantry where we enjoyed a lovely meal.  It was a spectacular night - one we will not soon forget.  We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to attend.  The blessings we experienced were truly once in a lifetime.  
We also gained a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We know that Thomas S. Monson is a true and living Prophet upon the earth, listening to him in person was an amazing experience.  We felt the love he has for all of the young women of this earth, and were able to laugh along with him at the disparity between his generation and Taylor's.    We know that Heavenly Father protects his children, especially if they pray in faith and are on the Lord's errand.  We know that through the atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ we can all be reunited with our family and live for eternity together.  We know that the women of this Church are strong and independent women who are given a charge to protect their virtue in an increasingly evil world.  The Young Women's presidency spoke a lot about virtue and the importance of remaining sexually pure, something that the rest of the world seems to forget.  We are grateful for their messages, and for their love.  We cannot wait until next week when we can hear the Prophet again...

Garden Prep....

Last year, after planting twelve tomato plants, our garden got away from us.  Between the weeds and tomatoes we were not able to locate the dirt until late October.  We are going to try to remedy that this year.  Reed was a champ and built us some garden boxes, along with a lot of help from the kids, and a little help from Copper.  Last night, while Taylor and I were away, Reed, Torey, and Jake leveled them out and laid some gravel paths.  So far, we are off to a good start.  We have our fingers crossed that this year will be the year of the plentiful harvest!

Leprechaun Lunch....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We were the lucky recipients of the annual visit from our leprechaun, who turned the toilet water green, but did not leave any gold.  One of us was momentarily devastated when the toilet was flushed, erasing all traces of our visitor.   The tears were wiped away, and a smile was had, when we were reminded of the promise of a leprechaun lunch.   It is a family tradition that cannot be ignored.  Today we were treated to a green sandwich, green Jello, green drink, green M&M's, cold coins, and delicious grapes.  Some of our lunch friends were grossed out, but some thought we were super duper cool.  Thank you to Niki for letting us share your loaf!

Happy 7th Birthday JaKe!

Happy Birthday to the best boy in the world.  We love you so much and are so happy you are in our family.  Here are some of our favorite memories of you...

1.  When we brought you home from the hospital you quickly decided the best place for you was in our bed.  That has just recently ended.  When you were about eighteen months we decided that enough was enough and tried the tough love route of making you cry it out.  We put you in your bed and shut the door thinking that you would eventually cry yourself to sleep, with us coming in at 5, 10, and 15 minute intervals to check on you.  What we did not expect, however, was that you would get out of bed and use your little head as a battering ram to knock down the door.  You screamed in a rage, ran at the door, slammed your body against it, fell down, and repeated several times.  Finally we thought we should intervene.  We didn't want to deal with a brain damaged kid over sleep habits.

2.  For the first three years of your life you avoided pants like they were the plague.  If I had cared more I would have put up a fight, but it wasn't worth the effort to get you to stay dressed.

3.  You have a deep abiding love for chocolate chips, or chocolate of any kind.  For the past three years your cake order has been the same:  chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, with m&m's on top.  It never gets old.

4.  You are an environmentally friendly little man.  When Grandpa day began you quickly learned the joy of picking up aluminum cans.  You will pick up any can, anywhere.  You also really enjoy going and cashing in the "luners" for cold hard cash.  You are also a little bit of a miser when it comes to your money.  I will also never forget the time when we were at Grandma's and you "made an announcement" asking everyone to save their cans.  A little later you discovered some in the garbage and you started to cry.  You were devastated to see what could be recycled in the trash.

5.  Along with the above the other day you brought home a green pen tube.  I asked you what it was and you told me it was a pen tube and you were thinking that Grandpa Mark might have some parts so you can repair it.  Thank you for taking the recent campaign of reduce, reuse, and recycle so seriously.

6.  You do not like contention.  You are the family peacemaker.  Any yelling, loud noise, or arguing makes you upset.  You are also really quick to stand up for someone who is getting picked on.

7.  You are also affectionately dubbed "the perfect child" because when someone else is in trouble you always pipe up with "I didn't do that" or "My room is always clean."  Your sisters really appreciate that.

8.  I will never forget the day that you said, "It is not fair that you and Dad get to share a room, and Taylor and Torey get to share a room, and I have to be all by myself."  It gave me a new perspective on what you were thinking, and showed me that the grass is indeed always greener.

9.  When you were in nursery you approached the nursery leader and said, "You look beautiful today."  I think she cried.  Ever since she has really liked you.  You have always been a flatterer and it has saved your bacon many times.  One day I was really yelling at you for something and you interrupted my rant with the same words: "You are so beautiful."  I stopped mid-sentence because you can't really respond to that!

10.  You make us so happy and we are glad to have our "Bobba" in our family.  You are the best little boy ever.  You are a good listener, you try your best to be good, you clean up when I ask, and you are very affectionate.  

Happy Birthday to Jake!

My Mom Used to Fancy Herself a Doctor....

Well, she still does.  It's not her fault.  Her entire family are self diagnosers.  When I was younger she had diagnosed me with anorexia nervosa, in its most severe form.  I think I was in sixth grade when I realized the extent of her preoccupation with my weight.  My parents were out of town and we were staying at my Grandma's house.  She had made a delicious dinner of beef stroganoff, which to my recollection I had never eaten before.  I was sitting next to my Grandma and noticed that every time I took a bite she smiled, and when I asked for seconds she looked like the cat that had eaten the canary.  She could not hide her gloat.  I finished my seconds as she exclaimed, "Natilie, I am just so proud of you."  I expressed my puzzlement at that statement, and then much to my dismay she answered with this.  "Your mother and I have just been so worried about your anorexia.  It is good to see you finally eating."  Imagine my astonishment when I was told what a life debilitating disease I had.  I spent the next ten years of my life battling the label of a recovering anorexic.  It became especially obnoxious during my eighteenth and nineteenth years.  My mom tried to stage an intervention several times, especially during my engagement.  I spent the bulk of my free time trying to convince her that I did indeed enjoy the occasional meal.  This has nothing to do with anything, except that I am trying to share a really great recipe, which triggered a really weird memory.   It will cure any imaginary disease your mother may inflict upon you.  I only wish she would accuse me of it now.

Grandma's Beef Stroganoff

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. chopped onion

some mushrooms

1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 c. beef bouillon

Saute first five ingredients in skillet until beef is brown and onion is tender.  Drain fat.  Combine next three ingredients; stir into meat mixture.  Cook over low heat ten to fifteen minutes or until hot.  Serve with noodles.

P.S.  Whatever you do, do not mistake the 1/2 c. PREPARED bouillon, for 1/2 c. bouillon powder.  It does not yield good results, does it Niki?

Lucky.....

The other day Jake and I visited our local grocer.  It was just the two of us and he told me "it was just like old times," as he swung his hand in mine.   I agreed, and told him that I missed those times, when he and I would shop and spend time alone together.  Because he is so persuasive and generally complimentary, he talked me into a delightful pot of shamrocks, which someone had generously dusted with golden glitter.  Jake is a true March baby and cannot resist anything green or Marchish.  And besides we are 1/16 Irish so it would have been unpatriotic not to buy them, regardless of the tight economy.   Since that day this pot of shamrocks has adorned our kitchen sink bringing us the hope of good luck.

And wouldn't you know it, we needed it.  Yesterday was such a beautiful day that the kids and I went out back for some baseball.  We also took mercy on our Copper dog, and let her out of the kennel to soak up some sun.  And now, I must ask you a question.  What is your opinion of the "sanctity of the backyard?"  I ask this because Copper had not been gone for more than a few minutes when she comes running into the backyard with a man following her.  He was medium build, slight frame, bald, wearing a navy blue long sleeved cotton henley, jeans, and ray ban sunglasses.  I would put him in his late forties to early fifties, and I had never seen him before in my life.  He asked me how I am doing, and the kids immediately gathered in behind me as if they were closing ranks.  It was weird.  Turns out, much to our chagrin, he was animal control and had seen Copper on the road.  We talk, he asks me if she's licensed, and blah, blah, blah.  But the whole time I am super nervous because he has violated the sanctity of the backyard.  The lucky shamrocks kicked in and we were let off with a warning, thankfully, but what is with some stranger going in your backyard?  I thought that was bad form.  What are your thoughts.....

Red Letter Day....

It's official!  Reed passed his Algebra final.  He overachieved on it really.  He is now officially done with college and is set to graduate in May.  Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!?!?  I think we can safely say that more time and effort was expended in this one class than all of the others put together.  We are so happy that he is done, and so thankful for Uncle Jeff for the help and motivation!  Jeff did a fantastic job as well.  Congratulations to our dad and uncle on a job well done!  We love you, and can't wait to spend that extra time with you.  On a side note:  A celebratory dinner was had for the two accomplished gentlemen at Brick Oven.  A night out on the town was well deserved for these two!

Welcome March...

we have high hopes for you.  Someone is counting down the days until his birthday.  He will be seven.  We have a district science fair we are excited about, along with other school activities.  Baseball will be starting soon, hopefully it will be warmer than last year. The flowers are starting to peek out of their winter hiding spot, and this means that {{fingers crossed}} the Christmas lights will be coming down soon.  But not a word will be said until after this week.  You see, this week is the College Algebra FINAL.  We cannot wait for it to be over.  Please keep him in your prayers! 

Speaking of Chicken Dinner....

Today we were invited to dine at my lovely mother's home.  She threw together a fabulous feast of ham.  And Niki brought pistachio salad which contained Cool Whip.  And I brought a Snickers salad (if you can call it that), which also contained Cool Whip.  And Mom made a peach jello salad, which as you guessed, contained Cool Whip.  Jammie broke the mold and brought cheesy potatoes.  She was even so brazen as to put extra butter in them, but only because she lacked enough sour cream.  It was a bold choice, but it payed in dividends, as they were delicious.  We were joined by my Grandparents, who seemed in high spirits today, and then later my aunt and uncle arrived from Colorado and added more spice to the event.   We mocked Jammie, but only a little, who seems to be taking her responsibility as a mother WAY too seriously, as she is thinking about asking for a  "do over" because she believes she has ruined her seven month old.  Jammie, there are no mulligans in parenting - and it is a darned shame!  The only sour note in the evening came when Warren shouted "Who let the dog out!"  which was a bit puzzling because the dog was out when we arrived.  To our horror, the dog had {{sniff}} massacred a chicken.  Warren rushed out to save the bird, but to his dismay, it had long since left this earth.  The only thing left to do was pick it up, pet it, and dispose of its remains.  Jammie wept.  May that chicken rest in peace.