Awesome blogs from my awesome kids

My daughter Shaylee has an awesome blog!!  Check it out!

My other awesome daughter Whitney has a blog while she's in Japan!  Check it out!!

Soon, my awesome son Parker will have a blog while he's in outer Mongolia.  Check it out!

Prom night for Parker my son

I can't believe Parker's senior year is over. We have spent all day doing prom stuff: prom breakfast, prom dinner, getting ready, prom pictures.

Sweet Parker took his date to see Erv before the dance. So sweet.

LOVE this time with Shaylee!

Monarch butterflies!

Super food!

Warm butternut squash with chick peas and tahini dressing. Yum yum yum. I stumbled upon this recipe online. The blogger built this "salad" up to be the best thing ever. The flavors combine to tease the taste buds...each flavor complimenting and enhancing the next. In fact, she claims that these ingredients should not EXIST without the other.

After trying the recipe as written...I completely agree! It really is lovely. I am so sad there are no leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. :( I will definitely make this again, maybe tomorrow! :)

And I made my own tahini...in my power blender. Just 2 cups of lightly toasted sesame seeds with 2-3 tbs of olive oil. I feel so domestic.

This picture was just from the Internet, too bad I forgot to take a picture. Mine was much prettier! Really! My family all liked it...even Jaren, but no one liked it as much as I did. Of course, I had all day to think about it, dream about it, plan it, prepare it. After hearing the rave reviews, I thought for sure my family would come to the table oohing and aaahing. They did not. But I did ;)

I'm Back!

Ok, I am back with fire under me! I am committed to blogging. Thanks to my new iPhone blogging got 20 times easier! I am so happy!

I have teased my friends about playing with their iPhones like playing Barbies, but now I have one, I totally want to play Barbies with anyone that will play! Come over to my house and bring your Barbie!

I want this!!

If anyone needs a last minute, big ticket item for yours truly, to to the barn...its $125 and would up my happiness factor a lot. Especially if I end up teaching school :)

Christmas Giving

Sometimes neighbor gifts are such a pain, but it does bring me great joy! I love doing it. It's all about the packaging. I love wrapping and I love cute tags.

Merry Christmas!

Weed Notes and Caramel Apples

My grandma made pressed flower cards with dried flowers and tissue paper and plastic wrap.  I treasured these little handmade cards and wrote on.  I love her handwriting.  It's not special handwriting, but just because it's hers I love it.  In fact, when I was on my mission I wrote to her and asked her to make me some "weed notes" as she called them so I could write to investigators and members.

This new idea puts a new twist on weed notes.  I've had so much fun!  I sent some to my cousin Kelly who loves to make cards like I do.

"Want a sweet juicy car-a-mel apple maybe?"  -Enchanted (one of my favorite movies. I've had people tell me I am Giselle)

Notice?

Okay...  FYI.  I do have other clothes.  I just noticed that nearly every picture in my blog I'm wearing the same shirt.

Whoopsie.

Our 20th Anniversary

20 years, really?  I feel barely 25!  I didn't get married when I was 5, but my 18 year old is going off to BYU.  My 16 year old is counting how many kisses she's had.  My 14 year old so badly wants to be older. My 11 year old is enjoying his view of the older ones.  Anyway...

We decided this year we would recreate our engagement year by taking engagement photos, repairing our wedding rings, and returning to the Stein Ericksen lodge where we spent our honeymoon.  I guess "we" isn't the correct word, it's really "I."  I had been planning for so long to surprise Travis with all of my wonderful plans, but, it turned out not to be a surprise, and I decided that I just couldn't bring myself to spend $280 on one night at the Stein Ericksen Lodge.  So, I let Travis in on my disappointment and we planned together.  It was really a perfect weekend.  I bought Kara mint truffles because we ate them all during our honeymoon that were left over from our reception.  We had a blast and I'm way more in love than I was when we got married, and look forward to the next 20 years.

My Best Friends

Our fall drive... finally a Sunday we didn't have 1:00 church! It was Regional Conference. We went to see Matt and Misti and had a lovely day with them. The end.

The New Driver

Whitney is passionate about driving. We love riding with her. Shaylee loves to correct her; Whitney hates to be corrected. Love having teenagers -- I really do.

Keep on Running...

I ran 12.5 miles this morning!  Yea!  I ran with Kim Richards.  We have such a good time figuring out life and coming up with some new healthy food to try.  It is one of my favorite times.  We ran past waterfalls, cows, cute houses.  We ran in our neighborhood, Valley Hills, the North Fields, out on the Legacy trail to the covered bridge and back home.  Perfect running weather. 

Kim picked up a penny and said that she picked it up because I always did :)  Then she told me a story that she had heard during a church meeting.  A man picked up a penny from the ground, rubbed it, smiled and put it in his pocket.  He was a wealthy man and the young woman watching him, later questioned him about it. 
She asked him why he bothered, he had so much money, and most people don't bother with pennies.  He replied with a question.  "What does it say on a penny?"  In God we trust.  He credited God with everything he had ever been blessed with would trust God to lead and direct his life. 

Sometime after the meeting, Kim was doing some laundry and three pennies dropped out of the pants.  She felt like it was one of Heavenly Father's tender mercies.  Never look at a penny the same again.  She is so inspirational to me.  Thanks, Kim for sharing and for being such a great part of my life.

The penny story reminds me of when I was in the MTC. They told us to have a continual prayer in our hearts. How do you do that? They suggested putting a penny in the bottom of our shoe, so that with every step, you feel the penny and remember, to "trust God" and continually "pray".

Shaylee's Answer for New Era

Question:   

“How should I respond when my friends say that no man can see God?”

Answer:   

 I heard a talk by Brother John Bytheway that addressed this question.  He related a story about a returned missionary that was asked this question by one of his professors. The professor said, “Since we learn with our five senses, and you have never seen, smelled, tasted, touched, or heard God, He does not exist.” The returned missionary said, “Professor, have you ever seen, smelled, tasted, touched, or heard your own brain? Then it must not exist.”  It seems a silly way to answer this question, but it’s true! We know God is real because of the Holy Ghost and the witness that He gives to us, not because we can prove that He exists. If you first believe that God exists, then He will give you that witness and you will know it in your heart.

She also wrote a poem for the New Era:

Life…

Sometimes it seems

That life is like butterflies’ wings

When there is no wind

No trials or storms

The wings can soar

Happy and free.

But a strong breeze,

A hurricane-like storm,

Can rip the wings of the butterfly

And everything seems hopeless.

The Savior came for us

He can heal the wings

And calm the stormy seas.

He can help us through our trials,

Through those winds and storms,

If only we will ask of Him.

Coming Soon!

Pear Leather, Molasses wheat bread and 12.5 miles!

What's the "Bustle" About?!

Somebody really should have moved me out of the way at Travis's graduation.... take a look at that behind!

Football Medal

This is Parker's newest wound from football!  I think he got plastered by someone's cleat.  Sorry, Mom.  The rest of the team didn't get your message not to hurt Parker:)

Huckleberries

You should see the huckleberries in our garden. They are so beautiful. They don't taste good now, but, I read on the internet that when they are cooked, a culinary miracle occurs. Yippee!   Ihope it's true and even if it's not, I still love looking at the stunningly beautiful berries.

What?! Nothing new on my blog?

As much as I am enjoying my new blog, I am a little disappointed.  Daily, I go to my new blog expecting to see something new.  Some new great picture or fabulous thought.  I am surprised everytime I do, that there is nothing, now nothing.  I don't get it.  I've been reading other people's blogs and it seems that everyday there is something new to see or read.  Not mine.  Something is wrong.  Really?  I have to do all the work? 

It reminds me of my cousin when she got a new horse.  She said that she was so surprised when her horse didn't emerge from the barn with a bridle and saddle on just waiting for her to ride.  What?  Really?  She was supposed to do all the work?  What's going on with this world!