Flashback Friday

My friend Rebecca does Flashback Fridays on her blog and I was telling her how much I liked the idea. I also mentioned to her that my flashback to the 90s couldn't possibly compete with her 80's. Who doesn't just love the 80s? But she encouraged me to post anyway so here goes.

This first flashback is going out to my best friend, Michele. We have been friends for approximately 22ish years. We met in Girl Scouts when we were about 6 or 7 and have been friends ever since. We were inseparable for the first 10 years until my family moved to Utah. I remember when I was 10, my family actually moved about 20 min away from hers but we would still make our parents drive us to each others house every weekend so we could have sleepovers. We would usually end up staying the whole weekend. We made prank-calls, called the radio station to see if we could get on, had food fights, talked about boys, played games, had make-overs, and a million other girly things. I don't think I have a memory from ages 6-14 that she wasn't a part of in some way.

Here is the first picture I have of us at about 6 years of age in 1986...I don't know why her head is cut off...I think my brother actually took this picture. He was 5 at the time.



This is us in 1991



The next two photos of us are when we graduated from HS in 1997, her from Cajon HS in CA and me from Enterprise HS in UT.

Super Survey!

Getting to Know Me (tagged by Emily)

NO PICTURE AVAILABLE! (Honestly, I don't have a recent picture of me. Sad, I know. One of my goals this year is to actually take more pictures of myself...not because I love pictures of myself but as I have been scrapping pictures from the last 10 years, I can probably count on one hand how many pictures of me there are. I am sure my children/grandchildren will wonder where I was all those years! I would have taken one today but my batteries in my camera died and I have to go to the store to get more...)

Where were you born? Henderson, NV
Middle name: Michelle

How old will you be this year? 29 (August)

Nicknames: Jenny, Jenn, Fred

Are you taller than your mother or father? I'm 5'1.5 and my mom is 5'1...so yes, by a half an inch!

Do you cry often during movies? Way too much...pretty much every movie I watch I find some reason to cry...it is really annoying!

What is your biggest pet peeve? Inconsiderate people; like when people leave their carts out at the grocery store or rude drivers

Favorite color: I know this sounds corny but I really like all the colors!

Favorite foods: Cookies!

Favorite beverage: Usually water but if I had to pick something besides water it would be a Strawberry Lemonade from Red Robin...they put whole strawberries in it and I usually have, like 2 refills!

Favorite cold cereal: Sugary: Reese's Puffs; Healthy: Wheat Chex or Kashi's Mountain Medley (I can only find it at Costco and only some of the time)

Favorite smells: Clean laundry, my shower gel, freshly baked cookies
(I have to agree with you completely, Emily!)

Favorite time of day: 7am when the kids get up and run in my bedroom to give me their "morning hugs." and 8pm when I get to put them to bed and spend some alone time with Chris!

Favorite make-up products? Chapstick and mascara!

How many pillows do you sleep with? One

Do you play an instrument? I wish I did

Have you ever been skinny dipping? can I plead the fifth?

Did you do any sports in High School? Dance

What was the last movie you saw in the theater? Jumper

What is your favorite article of clothing? My "date clothes" because I don't get to actually get dressed up very often.

What is your dream vacation? I don't know if you would call this a vacation but Chris and I would love to take the whole family on a 1 year RTW trip but not necessarily to see all the tourist sites but to actually do humanitarian work! Weird, huh!

What was your first impression of your spouse? "Wow, what a hottie!"

If you were an animal what would you be? A Giraffe...wouldn't it be awesome to see the world from their perspective?!

What is your favorite "me- time" activity? Digi-scrapping, blogging and reading

Favorite TV shows: Heros, Good Eats, Oprah, House

What is your dream car? I actually don't have one.

What is one of your weaknesses? Speaking without thinking

What do you fix for dinner when there's nothing to fix? Spaghetti or Tacos

If you could live in a different decade/era which one would it be? Probably during the time of the restoration of the gospel or when the Savior lived.

What is the emotion you feel the most? Joy (even though we may have problems, I am so happy with my family and feel truely blessed everyday)

Do you consider yourself outgoing? Sometimes

What is something you are constantly working on? Being a better example to my kids.

Any hidden talents? Nope!

What is a word or phrase you overuse? "Like..."

What was the hardest thing that happened to you this past year? Moving back home where Chris took a very large paycut and an even bigger hit in benefits! But since it was self-inflicted, we can't really complain much.

What is the best thing that happened to you this past year? I gave birth to our sweet Abigail almost a year ago exactly!

What is one thing you hope to accomplish this year? Buy/build a house!

The best piece of advice you learned this past year? To allow God to direct my life instead of trying to push my own plan & to be content with where I am and with what I have!

I Tag: Stephanie B., Michele R., Amme R. Mandi M. and Kristi H. and anyone else who wants to...,- You must post a recent picture of yourself!

The Making of a Star

Austin loves to sing, dance and, even, act. He will act out whole scenes from his favorite movies (all the actors, word for word). The only problem is, he inherited his mothers severe stage fright. So when he goes to perform, and you can really tell he wants to, he just can't bring himself to do it. So I continue to be his only audience until...last night. Last night, I was able to record him. So without futher adieu, here is Austin making his singing debut...hehe



Unfortunately, my camera battery died and I only got a glimpse of his shower performance. I still thought it was pretty cute! Maybe, next time. LOL

New Scrapbooking Pages

I posted more scrapbooking pages on the left in the slide shows under both family slides and Allison's slide. It has been interesting to scrapbook Allison's pictures when she was the same age as Abigail is now. They look so much a like. I am glad that I am finally getting around to scrapping them so I don't start getting their pics mixed up.

Cupcakes!

I saw these cute Valentine cupcakes in a newsletter I get from Familyfun.com. I thought the kids would enjoy making them and they looked easy enough. We were having our monthly DeMille dinner on Monday night so I decided that we would make them and bring them that night so I didn't get stuck eating them all. There is over 30 DeMille's so I had to double the recipe. That didn't seem too hard, right? I didn't really calculate until the cupcakes were in the oven that would mean that I would have to actually decorate 48 cupcakes. I thought, no problem...the kids will decorate maybe 5-10 each and then that will leave me about 20-30 to decorate by myself. Well,my kids only decorated 1 each...just enough for them to eat. That left me with 46 to decorate! Half way through decorating them the family night dinner was cancelled because half of them were sick. Now that left me with 46 cupcakes to eat! Not good! Did I mention that the kids had also made Valentine candy bags for their 12 cousins. We could NOT keep all this sugar in the house! Since it was FHE night anyway, we decided to deliver the cupcakes to all the family members anyway and talked about service, etc. It ended up turning out ok but, needless to say, I am "cupcaked-out!"

A Kool New Toy!

So, I just bought a kool new toy with money I earned doing surveys (that is whole 'nother post). I bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. It is the cheap version of Adobe Photoshop but I didn't want to spend $4-600 on the full version until I learned the easy version...and let me tell you...that will be a long time. But I did learn a new trick today that I thought was so kool I had to share it. Look at the first two pics and then look at the last pic. When taking a group shot, especially with children, they often are turning their heads and fidgeting, etc. You rarely get a shot that everyone is looking at you AND smiling. So you end up taking about a hundred different shots hoping that there will be at least one worth anything. I took about 2 dozen of the kids on the stairs and really none of them turned out well. BUT I learned how to combine the pics so that you can use the best of two or several pictures. IT IS AWESOME! In the first picture Austin is looking at the camera but the kids on the left are fidgeting. In the second picture the kids on the left are looking and smiling but Austin is looking away from the camera. The one on the bottom is the combined picture. FUN!

Tribute to a Prophet

As I was picking Austin up from school today I noticed the school flag was at half-mast. I thought for a second and realized why. It warmed my heart to know that Austin goes to a school where people care that our prophet has passed. I felt overwhelmed for a second and found my eyes tearing up. I couldn't help but come home and make my own little tribute to such an exemplary man.

Things I learned from President Gordon B. Hinckley
1. Stand for Something
2. Be Positive
3. Love your spouse - my husband and I learned so much from watching the Hinckleys and their deep devotion to and respect for each other.
4. Don't be Ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
5. The importance of temple work
6. Stand a little Taller, Be a Little Better - nothing will seem overwhelming if we just try to be a little better each day. What great council!
7. Go Forward with Faith

As much as my heart is saddened that I won't be able to hear President Hinckley's delightful jokes or his inspired council I know how much he missed his sweet wife and am glad that they can be together again.

"All of us have to deal with death at one time or another, but to have in one's heart a solid conviction concerning the reality of eternal life is to bring a sense of peace in an hour of tragedy and loss that can come from no other source under the heavens." ~ President Gordon B. Hinckley

The Month in Pictures...

I have been pretty busy these last couple of weeks so I just barely had a chance to download the 115 pictures I took over the last month. Allie was sick most of the month with some weird things. She stepped on a tack-strip and it didn't even bleed but over the next week became severly infected. It went from the size of a needle poke to larger then a qaurter. I had to soke it several times a day and put polysporin on it and then bandage it up. Once we got that in control, one of her eyes became infected with some weird thing and after several weeks is just now going away. This mom thing can be really scary and stressful and times...:)

The rest of the month, I spent babysitting for several different family members. My kids love playing with their cousins and since they haven't been able to play outside at all, it is nice to have something else to do besides try and be entertained by mom. BORING! (That is a new word that Austin has been using frequently...any advice on how to quench that habit would be greatly appreciated.)

Allie's Infections



I love how this outfit brings out the color in Abigails eyes.



Abigail learned how to climb stairs...she is so proud of herself!


Allison dressed herself this morning...together thses clothes look a little risque but I promise that she doesn't usually look like a "street walker."


Allie loves to help make dinner...she helps every night!


Austin, Allison and Abigail with just a few of their cousins

Tagged!

Ok, I've been tagged and...if you're re reading this, you've been tagged!

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
- Still growing up...I was only 18.
- Working as a telemarketer...yes, I was the one annoying you!
- Falling madly, deeply in love...Chris asked me to marry him almost 10 years ago exactly!
- Going to college (and almost failing because Chris wouldn't let me study)!
- Fighting with roommates (remember that, Stephanie!)

5 things on my "to do" list:
- Make hair bows for the girls
- Catch up on all my magazines I get in the mail
- Visiting Teaching
- Science project for Austin
- Go to Costco

5 Snacks I enjoy:
- Cookies
- Skittles
- Popcorn
- Brownies
- Peanut M&Ms

5 Things I'd do with a Billion Dollars: (wow that is WAY too much money!)
- Buy a home and pay off both our parent's homes
- Travel the world
- Start a business for Chris
- Become a philanthropist
- Definitely go back to school (Great idea Rebecca!)

3 Habits:
- Blogging
- Oprah (although I've been slacking...I have about 7 that I have recorded and not watched)
- Food Network

5 places I've Lived:
- San Bernardino, CA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Cedar City, UT
- Logan, UT
- San Diego, CA

5 Jobs I've had:
- Dance instructor
- Greenhouse worker
- Convergys: Telemarketer, Quality control, Command Center
- MOTHER!

Finally...a good reason to blog!

Several months ago, when I wrote my first post I wasn't quite sure why I felt so compelled to do so. I had been reading several of my friends blogs but I am beyond "peer pressure" and the juvenile desire to "fit in." After several months of thinking about starting a blog I finally jumped in, still not quite sure why I did but wanting to pacify the continuous feeling that I should start one. As much as I loved sharing recipes and pictures and news of my children I still felt like there was a bigger reason.

This past week I have had several things happen that led to the answer that I have been seeking. First, I have to tell you about my "missionary" experience.

I enjoy reading about the lives of others. I feel like, for the most part, we are all God's children going through life, trying to find peace and happiness the best way we know how (whether or not you are LDS). I draw strength and wisdom from reading about others lives...their trials and accomplishments and how they deal with each. One day I stumbled upon an Evangelical blog that had a post titled - "Evangelicals vs. Mormons: The Great Divide." So, of course, my curiosity got the best of me and I read the article. In the wake of Mitt Romney running for president, the LDS church (known to the world as "Mormons") have had several articles written about them and I always find myself reading them and wondering what the world really believes about me and the beliefs that I hold so dear. As I read this article it had several misconceptions about the church. I read the comments in regard to the article and was also amazed at the misconceptions held by the articles readers. I have never felt compelled to comment or "debate" online about my beliefs but something just kept telling me that I needed to comment. So, as best and as unargumentative as I could, I tried to dispel the myths they had written about. I was actually kind of proud of myself for doing so in a way that was not offensive to anyone but got the point across that what they thought didn't match what we actually believe and I referred them to the church website if they would like more information. I am usually so timid when it comes to discussing my beliefs for all the usual reasons...rejection, fear, etc. After responding to the article I felt that maybe I shouldn't have. I showed Chris and he also had mixed feelings. On one hand he was really proud of me for stepping in and saying something but on the other hand he is always very "proper" and knows that "contention is of the devil." We were now both wondering if it was appropriate and it continued on both of our minds for several days until...I was reading an e-mail I get from LDSLiving.com. They were discussing an article by Elder M. Russel Ballard. The following are excerpts from it and the answer to the biggest reason I blog.

"How different your world is today. If you read newspapers, the chances are you read them on the Internet. Yours is the world of cyberspace, cell phones that capture video, video downloads and iTunes, social networks like Facebook, text messaging and blogs, hand-helds and podcasts. As many in my generation are just getting onto email, that’s already becoming old hat to most of you."

"This is your world, the world of the future, with inventions undreamed of that will come in your lifetime as they have in mine. How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?"

"The Lord over the centuries has had a hand in inspiring people to invent tools that facilitate the spreading of the gospel. The Church has adopted and embraced those tools, including print, broadcast media, and the Internet. While the Internet is often misunderstood and incomprehensible to many of my generation, it is second-nature to yours. Almost every career you are entering into will require you to utilize the Internet effectively."

"There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time."

So there you go. Finally, a good reason to blog. Not that I am going to give up posting pictures about my family or other random thoughts that I have but maybe I can also use this blog to share my testimony of my Heavenly Father and of his son, Jesus Christ. I cannot deny the feelings I get everyday as I feel my Saviors love for me. I know that Heavenly Father lives and has a body of flesh just like you and me. I know that he sent his son Jesus to set the example for us and ultimately suffer for our mistakes. He wanted us to all return to live with him but he knew that we would all make mistakes and that no unclean thing can dwell in the kingdom of God. I know that the truth of the gospel was lost with the original apostles of the new testament. But then a young boy who was humble enough to pray to ask which church was true and which he should join did eventually restore the truth to the earth. I know without a doubt that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God but that he was still just a man and no man, save Jesus, is perfect. Through Joseph the priesthood of God was restored to the Earth so that families can be sealed together for eternity and blessings can be given to the sick and needy. That same man was persecuted from the day he mentioned ever seeing Heavenly Father and Jesus. But he never denied what he saw even after being tortured, jailed and eventually murdered for he could not deny it because he knew God would know if he denied it and feared God more then man. We follow the same organization that existed in the ancient times, even the church that Jesus Christ himself established. It is through my beliefs in the gospel that I am able to have hope in our future no matter what else happens. My faith makes me a better mother, friend, sister and wife. It doesn't make me perfect but it gives me something to strive for and I know that when I do make mistakes that I can be forgiven and try harder next time. It is because of the Savior and his gospel that I no suffer from depression (which I was diagnosed with in High School). I could not deny the tender mercies from the Lord that happen daily in my life. I see miracles happen everyday.

So with that said, I hope that I can do what Elder Ballard has suggested and join in on the conversations that happen online and help, in my little way, define what "Mormons" really believe.

Chicken Recipes galore!

I get tired of the same old chicken recipes so here are some nice twists on chicken. I have made each of these in the last couple of weeks and my family liked all of them.

Chicken Piccata (courtesy of allrecipes.com)

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 egg
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1/2 cup boiling water

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, beat the egg together with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice. Set aside.
2. In a shallow bowl or dish mix together the flour, garlic powder and paprika. Dip the chicken in the egg/lemon mixture, then in the seasoned flour.
3. In a large skillet, melt butter/margarine and brown the coated chicken pieces.
4. Dissolve the bouillon in the boiling water, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour liquid into skillet. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, turning chicken pieces after 10 minutes, until chicken is tender. Garnish as desired and serve.

I served with a broccoli salad and buttered bread. You could also probably serve with rice or pasta.

Southwest Chicken Skillet
(courtesy of BHG.com)


Ingredients
1 1- to 1.5-ounce envelope fajita seasoning mix (I used taco seasoning because I already had it on hand)
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces
Nonstick spray coating
1 medium yellow or green sweet pepper, cut into squares
1 small zucchini, bias-sliced (I actually didn't use any because I didn't have any)
1/2 small onion, cut into thin wedges
2/3 cup salsa
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1/2 cup cooked or canned black beans, rinsed and drained
8 8-inch flour tortillas (optional)
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Directions
1. For marinade, in a medium mixing bowl combine fajita mix, water, and oil. Add chicken to marinade. Stir to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Spray a large skillet with nonstick coating. Preheat over medium heat. Add sweet pepper, zucchini, and onion; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from skillet.

3. Drain chicken; discard marinade. Add chicken to skillet. (If necessary, add 1 tablespoon cooking oil during cooking.) Cook and stir for 4 to 5 minutes or until no pink remains. Return vegetables to skillet. Stir together salsa and chili powder. Add salsa mixture, corn, and beans to skillet. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve with warm tortillas and cheese, if desired. (To heat tortillas, wrap in microwave-safe paper towels; micro-cook on high power for 30 seconds). Makes 4 servings

I have had other recipes similar to this one but this was still good.



Slow-cooker Chipotle Lime Chicken Thighs with Jamaican Rice and Peas(courtesy of Food Network)


1 cup sliced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
4 pounds skinless chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce with 1 teaspoon sauce from can
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges, for garnish

Arrange onion, celery and carrots in bottom of slow cooker. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and arrange over vegetables.
In a medium bowl, whisk together tomato sauce, lime juice, chipotle chiles with sauce, and garlic. Pour mixture over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Serve half of the thighs with this meal (topped with diced avocado and cilantro and garnished with lime wedges) and reserve remaining thighs for another meal.

Jamaican Rice and Peas:
2 cups instant white rice
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can red beans, drained
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/4 cup chopped scallions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, combine rice, coconut milk, water, beans, thyme, and lime zest. Set pan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Fold in scallions and season to taste with salt and pepper.

I was a little worried about this recipe because it used a lot of new ingredients I have never tried before. It actually turned out good...even my kids ate it. It was a little spicy so if you are sensitive then you should probably use a little less of the chipotle chilies.

I got this from a friend...

You Belong in Spring

Optimistic, lively, and almost always happy with the world... You can truly appreciate the blooming nature of spring. Whether you're planting flowers or dyeing Easter eggs, spring is definitely your season!

What Season Are You?

Change...

I found this post on a blog that I occasionally read. It touched me quite a bit since our family has just been faced with huge change and she worded it so beautifully; I wanted to share it with the rest of you. (courtesy of mormonsoprano.com)

Isn’t life interesting? We build a comfortable “personal space” around ourselves. It is almost like our own mini world-within-a-world that we carry as an invisible shell. This protective shell is the sum of all our experiences, knowledge, hopes and fears. It shapes how we see the world. It defines ‘life as we know it’, and becomes our truth. We like to believe we now have all the truth we ever need to be happy and do not need anything else to come along and disrupt things. We have the best intention to live “happily ever after”. But, then the forces of nature and the grand design of the universe has a way of puncturing our small world. Invariably this happens just as soon as we get comfortable. It often feels we are constantly in the process of “mending holes” in our shell, and making space for new knowledge and truths to come in. We call this process Change. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow likened the discomfort of Change to the seasons.

“Into every life a little rain must fall”

Human beings alternately desire and fear change. It has the power to save or damn, to bless or curse, to mend or destroy, to improve or decay. In fact, Change lives up to it’s name: it is a chameleon. It offers both joy and pain each time it arrives, depending on where you are standing. We all know the trite saying “when life brings you lemons, make lemonade”. But could this be a truth? Can we actually benefit from what initially appears to be a disaster? Consider the rain that Longfellow mentioned. When it starts to fall, it will spoil the backyard party, but saves a farmer’s crops. It makes our shoes muddy, but our lawns green. It places the worm in mortal peril, but the bird gets a good dinner!

There are many philosophies about change, and how to handle it when it walks into our world and makes itself at home. It usually comes as an unexpected, uninvited and unwanted guest. But along with the discomfort it also presents new opportunities. This is a hard concept for any of us when we are experiencing something that is ending our world as we know it. The opportunities, or blessings of the event may not be seen for years. Sometimes, the full picture eludes us all our life. Most of our unexpected changes are just annoying daily occurrences. A detour in the road, an appliance on the blink, bad weather, a bounced check, or the traffic jam that delays our arrival time. But other changes come along that are truly heart wrenching and more difficult to reconcile; unemployment, divorce, poverty, illness and death, just to name a few.

We have all worked very hard to gain the knowledge, experience and truth we have today. Understandably, we hold tight to it and don’t want to lose any of it. When change comes along, it means we must relinquish our certainty. There is hope when we hear others who traveled an especially difficult path say they “gave up something good for something better”. But, we wonder, is this really possible?

This past year, my daughter was in the hospital for 9 weeks in a city hundreds of miles from home. I was taken in by the Ronald McDonald House near the hospital, and experienced many tender mercies. During that time, I discovered that I had joined a special ‘fraternity’ of sorts with the other parents and families undergoing tremendous life changes due to an illness, accident or birth defect of a child. Life as we knew it was forever lost. The uncertainty of the future was overwhelming. We all had our own unique story and grief to carry. And yet we were united in the common bond of suffering, and the effort of holding tight to the one thing left; Hope. Small victories were celebrations: A baby beginning to breathe without a respirator; a paralyzed son finding his voice again; a heart getting strong enough to remove the monitors; a successful surgical procedure; a wheelchair outing to the garden; and every single smile. Our lives were counted in moments and milestones instead of days. When my daughter eventually experienced the miracle of recovery, and we returned home, our hearts were filled with unspeakable joy. Our love for God and belief in His power was undeniable. As time passes we can see clearly that the blessings that have come from enduring this experience outweigh the sorrow and suffering. You would think that when someone experiences a large and dramatic trial of their faith such as this, that would be enough to sustain them for the rest of their lives. We fall victim to the “happily ever after” syndrome again. But the truth is that life’s victories must be won in the battle of daily living. The interesting phenomenon is how easily the miracles we receive fade once the intense pain of the moment is gone. Even with such dramatic witnesses to us of the Lord’s divine power, it is hard to maintain the intensity level of this Faith indefinitely. Our hardest test may be to remember the Lord when things get comfortable again. Perhaps this is why we continually undergo the changes that challenge us the most individually, so that we are reminded that our lives are not really our own. We live on borrowed time, and need continual divine help. We must learn to trust in the Lord and discern what He is trying to teach us in order to have true happiness.

I can honestly say that in looking back over my life thus far, and all the wondrous changes I have experienced, I have gained much more than I have lost. It stands to reason, that any of the changes I am currently experiencing or the future ones that come along, will also bring better things in their own time. Why this knowledge is so hard for me to keep a hold of is a frustrating mystery. It is so easy to forget, and to lose Faith. I suspect it was designed to be this way as a part of the human experience.

Today we celebrate the first day of the advent of Jesus Christ. He is our example in all things. His birth, life and death fulfilled God’s promise to each of us that our lives and suffering have a purpose.

The wisest among us learn to embrace change when it comes, trusting that it is part of a divine plan to bring us the most happiness. Longfellow had it right when he concluded;

“The best thing one can do when it is raining,

is to let it rain”

All settled in…sort of…

It has been two weeks now since we moved. I think we have everything pretty much in order. It has been a little crazy but we have been amazed at the help and support that we have felt both from family and friends before we left Las Vegas and immediately upon arriving in our new home. So we have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who showed up to help us move, sent us warm wishes and then came to move us in and make sure we felt welcome. We already had the Bishop and Elders Quorum visit us just three days after the first time we attended church. Is that a record?

Chris has also started his new job. This is his third day. It is quite different then his previous job but he thinks he will learn a lot. We also got his test results from the P.E. and HE PASSED. YEAH! I never doubted he would. He is so smart. Now we just have to wait the required time (another year or so) and he will officially be called an Engineer…it’s only taken 9 years!

Despite the move, I think the kids had a great Christmas. They are absolutely thrilled to live closer to their cousins and grandparents. They are still unsure how much they like the cold. Today it is extremely windy…Austin keeps mentioning that a tree is going to fall on our house. I had to reassure him twice that we don’t live close enough to any trees for that to happen. But they do love being pulled on the sled by Grandpa Carter’s 4-wheeler. Here are some pictures of the last two weeks. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Top Eight Things I will miss about Las Vegas...

Beside the people of course, here are a few of my favorite things about Las Vegas. I will probably think of more once we are gone but these the the ones I remember now...they are listed in no particular order.

While living in Las Vegas one goal Chris and I had was to eat at a different place every time we got to eat out. We were able to accomplish this most of the time but there were a couple of places that we would always go back to.

#1 Roberto's Taco Shop (also known as Faustos in Henderson)- Best Steak Fries (they were on our speed dial)


#2 POP's - Best Philly Cheese Steak



#3 Rec Centers - As a family we were able to take at least a dozen different classes for really cheap prices. Austin took swimming, Art, tumbling, and Tae Kwon Do. It was awesome and definitely something I will miss.








#4 Peter Piper Pizza (I know this is the third food place but it wasn't for the food) We loved going to Peter Piper Pizza because it has a roller coaster for the kids and lots of games and even a simulated motion ride plus pizza all for relatively cheap. You could spend endless hours of fun there and Mom and Dad loved having it available to help the kids "earn" a chance to go.




#5 Water Parks - Being that Vegas is in the dessert and it is very (no - extremely) hot in the summer the parks have water toys for the kids. LOOOOVE ITTTT!!! It is really the only way you can be outside for longer then 15 (maybe 10) min.



Here is another fun park the kids like to go to.



#6 Our backyard - I loved walking down my stairs into my kitchen and the first thing I would see every morning is my green "Hawaiian like" backyard. It was so pleasant and relaxing to sit back there. Plus we had an apricot tree...oh how I will miss our sweet, juicy and fresh apricots. We loved making jam, pies, crepes, syrups, etc with all the apricots we got. I don't think you can even grow apricot trees where we are going. :(



#7 Our neighbors house - For any of you who have been to our house you know first hand the smile and the "What were they thinking?" look that comes to mind. It was kind of humorous to look at after awhile and provided a good laugh every once and a while. Plus it was a great landmark to tell people where our house was..."we live next to the glow in the dark florescent green house..."



#8 The Elementary School - We are zoned for the best school in the district...probably all of Nevada. I actually heard a rumor that it was featured on the Today Show because is has this amazing micro society. Here are some pics of "Going to Town Night" where the kids get to spend all their hard earned "Gold" at all the different stores. Each class has a different business that they run. They have to get a business license, advertise, sell, etc. It is such a great idea and the kids love it and learn a lot from it. Austin's class ran a Movie Theatre. They sold tickets and popcorn.





Here is Allie buying a book at the "book store."


And here are the kids getting their picture taken with Santa Claus at another "store".

How Sweet the Memories...

We have our pictures and video come up on our screen saver on our computer and this video of Allison popped up today. I hadn't seen it for awhile and I just thought it was too cute. I just couldn't help but share it with the rest of you. This is Allison's first birthday party. I think she is loving her first piece of chocolate cake...what do you think? Hehe!




Ok so here is the link. After several different tries I couldn't get the video to actually work on the blog so here is the link to Google Videos. You will have to cut and paste it into the web browser because I couldn't even get a link to work. :( There is still a lot to learn about this whole blogging thing...if any of you fellow bloggers have any advice I would love to hear it. Enjoy the video!

We've Been Keeping a Secret!

Our family is moving (Dec. 22nd)!...there I said it. For some of you, I know this isn't a secret but if you live in Las Vegas, it is. We had to keep it a secret so it didn't get back to Chris' boss who is also LDS. He also works with a lot of LDS people. We wanted to make sure he found out from us. I can give a lot of reasons to why we are moving but for some reason they don't make this any easier for me. I will miss so much about Las Vegas...things that no one can possibly understand unless they have lived here. You never fully appreciate what you have until I think it is gone. As we get closer to the moving day Chris and I have been noticing so many more things about life in Las Vegas that we will surely miss. Most importantly are the many great friends we have made. Although I have always lived in some great wards, I have never had so many people from one ward befriend me the way the Durango Ward has. I have had so many calls just to see how I am doing and "girls nights out," etc. The only thing I can do to fully say thank you is to hopefully "pay it forward." This truly has been the most difficult decision Chris and I have had to make in our short married time. We know that it is the right choice but it is still hard.

OK, enough blubbering...I will be sending out my new address info. by e-mail so you can either leave me a comment here if you want it, e-mail me at our family e-mail address or e-mail me at jennifer40@hotmail.com and I can send it to you. And we always have blogging!

Digital Scrapbooking

A lot of people have been commenting or asking about my scrapbooking pages that I have on my blog so I thought I would tell you a little bit about it.

I just started scrapbooking about three months ago. I never got into paper scrapping before that because it was too much money, too time consuming and took up too much space. Yes it is very cute and even a great journal method but I am, unfortunately, much too practical. Chris' cousin, Wendy, introduced me to a computer program called Scrapbook Max that does digital scrapbooking. There are a lot of other programs available to do digital scrapbooking on but this one seemed to be the best deal for the money and was also very user friendly, thus, very practical for me. Digital scapbooking solved almost all of the issues I had with paper scrapping...much less money (I have only spent $50 so far and have completed about 75 pages of scrapping), much less time (let me repeat...I have completed about 75 pages in about 3 months...I don't know any paper scrapper that could do that unless they did it full time) and less space...I keep it all filed away on my computer until I am ready to print and then it will be nicely made into a book (a littler one then you can even do paper scrapping) that I can display on my shelf.) There are a ton of freebies you can download and additional kits that you can buy. Once you have downloaded the zip file. You unzip it, and then you can drag and drop any papers or elements into Scrapbook max when you need them. FABULOUS! It took me about 10-15 hours (spread about over 3 months) to do all 75 pages. The first couple might take a little longer but once you get the hang of it you can go pretty fast. I give digital scrapping two thumbs up.

A Night without Pictures!

I am so bummed! OK, a little bummed. Our ward had our Relief Society Christmas Enrichment dinner last night and it turned out SOO beautful BUT I didn't get any pictures so I am bummed. I have to tell you about it though. All the ladies in the ward loved it and I was so grateful that we (the enrichment commitee and I) could provide such a wonderful service that made them feel like the Queens that they are.

The night was called "The Keeper of the Violin." This month is Christmas (of course) but it is also the birth month of our Prophet Joseph Smith. We had a guest speaker, Linda Isom, who happens to have a violin that is over three hundred years old! She tells the story of this amazing violin and how it traveled from person to person and how it ended up in the hands of her great-great grandfather who happened to be a great friend to the prophet Joseph Smith. There are stories written about how he would spend hours playing for the prophet and his family and friends and even what songs he played for them. Linda happens to be a concert violinist so she was able to take us back in time with a couple songs that were played for our Beloved Prophet. She then tells how the violin was mangled and musically abandoned and how the instrument litterally died. When she came to pocess the instrument (also a series of miracoulous events) it was in was in a box in several different pieces. She tells how the instrument was restored but that it has taken 60 years to bring it "back to life." Linda says that this violin has been played for about 9 of our prophets and she finishes this wonderful story by playing Joseph Smiths favorite hymn "Poor Wafering Man of Grief." What a wonderful story!

But that was just to top if all off. The Enrichment commitee was able to provide a 5-course meal completely served to the ladies. The tables were each assigned to be decorated by a different lady and they turned out BEAUTIFULLY! We have such talented sisters in our ward. Then we served a 5-course dinner...here is the menu...

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Parmesean Crisps
Mandarin Orange Salad with Orange Viniagrette
Ham, Baked Potato
Green Beans, Rolls
An assortment of bite-sized desserts

I don't think I could have recieved any more compliments then I did but the best part was just knowing that we made the ladies feel so special.

I HAVE to give a special THANK YOU to my amazing husband who stayed in the kitchen the entire night helping serve up the plates and then doing ALL those dishes while the ladies enjoyed the program. WHAT AN AMAZING MAN!

Our RS President took pictures and said that when she figured out how to e-mail them, she would e-mail them to me. When I get some I will add some to this post.