Flowers and Frills

Randomness

2009-06-26T14:13:00.004-06:00

Today seems like a great day for randomness. I mean, it's been such random weather, my mood has been all sorts of random lately, and to top it all off, I just kinda feel like it's time to ramble a bit and empty out my brain a bit...

- I am tired.

- I find myself still having a hard time getting out of my comfy warm bed in the mornings! That is SO WRONG! Why is it that I still bundle up on the couch at night with an afgan? It's JUNE! Almost JULY! It shouldn't be cold! I should be wearing shorts and sprawled on the couch with the AC and fan on full blast!

- Dinner tonight is gonna be SO YUMMY! I am making shredded sweet pork, with baby carrots, rice, and homemade bread for dinner.

- I ate Ramen noodles for lunch, and they tasted GOOOOD! Why? I dunno. But they did.

- Tomorrow I am taking dinner to a neighbor of mine. Unfortunately, I won't be eating any of the meal I take her- since I have a family party to go to, but I am serving her one of my all time favorites. Italian Au Jus Sandwhiches with home made buns. YUMMY! And what doesn't smell better than fresh bread baking in the oven? (Which is exactly where they are right now... Here's to hoping they last til tomorrow, I may eat them all before then! YUM!)

- My house is a wreck, and I really don't feel like cleaning. I think I need a housewife. You know, someone who will clean and cook so I can focus on being a mom and playing with my kids and sleeping...

- I am tired of waiting on the holdup for my business... UGH! But you do what ya gotta...

- Lilia informed me yesterday that Lacey is annoying and she wants to get rid of her and trade her in for a boy.

- Lacey was growling (very loudly) when Lil told me the above.

- My kids make me laugh.

- Joe makes me laugh too. He is awesome.

- Lacey's language has been growing by leaps and bounds. I have to share this video with you cause it is really funny. She has her own special technique to eating cherries... I got her to showcase some of her latest words in the video too. Enjoy!

- Lilia is going through a secret telling phase. It's been all sorts of fun to hear her secrets. Mostly just confessions of love for all sorts of things. But occassionally she has a real doozy of a secret. For example, she came up to me yesterday and said, "Mom, I have a secret for you." Then she leaned in close and said, "I have to go potty cause my tummy is upset." She then broke wind, and giggled as she ran off to the bathroom. The little stinker! (Quite literally)

- I have to share one other picture with you. Ironically it is seriously the ONLY picture I took while on vacation last week. But it was funny to me.

(Notice the lock? hehehe)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Slacker

2009-06-14T08:41:00.006-06:00

I am sorry I have neglected my blog! It really isn't like me to go so long without a post, but I have been super busy this last month.

So lets go back and do a bit of catching up.

Lacey is still up to her slathering antics... she no longer uses peanut butter though. She has experimented with sour cream, and found it a bit too crusty upon drying...

Her latest is shampoo and soap. In a 4 hour period the other day, she had 3 showers to get the different soaps and shampoos out of her hair...

Lilia is growing up SO FAST! At the end of last month, she graduated from preschool. They did a cute little performance, which I got on video, but unfortunately due to the wind, you can't hear a darn thing! :( Good thing I got a few pictures.

At the end of it, the kids were asked what they wanted to be when they grow up. Lil said she wants to be a ballerina.

Each kid was also given an award. Lil's was Most Likely to be Mistaken for the Teacher. (Darn smart kid!)

We got bored a few weeks ago, and decided to put ponytails in our hair. Lil and Lace giggled through the whole process and left in the ponytails all day. Cute girls!

My girls really love their family. Especially Uncle David (my baby brother).

He is all kinds of fun!

Lace is also pretty partial to Grandma. She is her cuddle buddy. They like watching TV together.

Lilia also had to finish kindergarten registration this last week. She had to go in to the pediatrician for her kindergarten checkup and immunizations. She did really well- until they went to give her the shots. They had a cute little program for the kids to follow. After the nurse does the initial Q&A session with me, they gave her some stickers. Then the doctor came in and did his checkup on her. They then posed for a super cute picture of LIL being the doctor. She was given a little bag of goodies (a bouncy ball, more stickers, some play jewelry, candy...) and finally, when they came to give her the shots, she was given a cookie and a cup of juice. The shots didn't react well with Lil, so the cookie and juice were fed to Lacey since Lil was hovering over a garbage can. Poor girl! But she was a trooper and will now tell anyone who listens that she doesn't need any more shots until she is 12. Which is "a long LOOOOONG time away!" She was given a passport to Kindergarten, and got to write her name at the top and check off all the tests they did with stickers.

And finally- the reason I haven't posted lately- I am in the middle of starting up a business... it has been slow going, and I do have at least a couple more weeks before I am ready to go, but I will give you a hint as to what I am gonna be selling...

Mothers Day

2009-05-13T11:56:00.004-06:00

My Mothers Day Weekend was pretty spectacular. It helps that I have some pretty awesome kids and a spectacular hubby. In case I haven't mentioned my new resolve before, lemme just say that I have been working (yes it IS work) pretty hard to be surprised by gifts. Due to interesting (or sometimes nosey) circumstances, for YEARS Joe couldn't surprise me with ANYTHING. From my engagement, to Christmas and Birthday presents... I am never surprised. I think it is partially because Joe knows EXACTLY what I want, and so do I. I just need to think about it long enough and I will know what I am getting.

This Mothers day started on Thursday night when Joe said he needed to go run an errand. I asked where he was going and he said, "None of your business." Which is Joe code for "I am getting your gift. Stop asking questions!" SO I didn't ask anything else. (Aren't you proud of me?) He and Lil left for like 2 hours and came back just after Lil's bedtime. He then cautioned me to stay out of the garage. Which I did.

The next day, after Joe left for work I DID ask him one question... am I still banned from the garage, cause I gotta take the dog out to go potty... Nope. I was safe. The item in question was in the car. Which was with him at work.

That night, I was banished to the bedroom so Joe could move the item in question down to our basement. Later, Joe said he was gonna give me my gift early. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, "Happy Ol' Lady's Day!" Then he asked Lil if she had a gift for me. Lil ran to her room and came back with a little purple envelope. The envelope contained a 1 hr. massage. :) Yay! So, of course, to tease Joe I said, "So I had to hide in the bedroom and stay out of the garage because of this gift card?" To which he flashed a conspratorial smile. We both knew there was more to it. He then revealed that the remainder of the gift (Lacey's part I guess...) would take time with me out of the house. Well what do ya know, I was gonna be spending ALL DAY Saturday with my mom!

Saturday, after the typical routine (grocery shopping) Lacey and I headed off to my mom's for the day, where Mom taught me how to make jewelry:

(I made these)

Joe and Lil stayed home, went to a family baseball game, and eventually joined me and Lace at my mom's for dinner. During dinner Lil came up and said, "Mom, I have a secret for you." This is something she does QUITE regularly... It's usually, "I love you." or "I love Daddy!" or "I love Pizza." WELL- this time the secret was:

"Daddy and I stayed home and worked REALLY HARD on the present in your bathroom!"

CRAP! I know what I got.

I mean, YAY! I got a medicine cabinet! BUT- CRAP! It's not a surprise! I managed to make it ALMOST all the way with it being a surprise. But a mere TWO HOURS before we went home the secret was spoiled by a well meaning sneaky 4 year old. How was she to know that the ONLY thing missing from my bathroom, the ONLY thing I have wanted in there since we moved in was a medicine cabinet?

I tried to be surprised when I got home, but I must not be very good at it, cause as soon as I gave Joe (and Lacey) a big hug and kiss, he asked, "So, how long have you known?" MY response: ::SIGH:: "Two hours... (head hung in shame- then speaking very fast), but I swear Lil didn't MEAN to tell me, and I was really surprised which STYLE you got, and I love it, and I had NO IDEA until she told me. You did GOOD!"

See? He did good!

As promised, and then some...

2009-05-05T11:34:00.004-06:00

The picture of Lilia with a red mustache and knee...

Then there is just some random cuteness that is my kids.

That would be peanut butter on her hands and arms...

Leftover cuteness from Easter

Lacey loves Lil's boots.

Seeing Red

2009-04-26T11:28:00.003-06:00

Today, my oldest child WHO DEFINITELY KNOWS BETTER took a permanent marker to her body. I knew the permanent marker was next to my laptop (in a fairly high location put away where Lacey couldn't get to it) but I figured Lil would have known better than to play with it. Oh how wrong I was! She gave herself a bright red mustache, colored both her knees and a little on both her arms. Now, though I knew she was gonna be dealing with the red for at least a few days, and I was angry, a little, I still was trying to hide my smile while I took pictures. It is hard not to find some humor in the situation, that is, until I got a good look at my laptop...

As background here, Lil has had full access to our old desktop computer for the last year or more. We had her set up with her own password and parental controls set so she could play with only certain games and websites. Well- the computer finally kicked the bucket last week. It was an old computer and had lived a good life... Back when Lil was a bit younger she had taken a crayon to the computer screen. She had gotten in significant trouble for that little act. Luckily, crayon is easy to clean off a computer screen. WELL-until we can afford to replace or get Lil her own computer, Lil has been using MY LAPTOP to play her games. I set her up with her own account and games. But-- she was under strict instructions that she is not to color on or around the computer.

Just so ya know, permanent marker is easily removable from most hard surfaces (with a bit of hairspray), though it seems it doesn't come off laptop mouse pads so well. Needless to say she has been given a lifetime ban from playing on my laptop.

Maybe when I am in a better mood I will post the picture of her with the marker all over her face...

Food for Thought Friday

2009-04-24T08:20:00.002-06:00

I found this recipe online this last week, and can I just tell you how ABSOLUTELY AMAZING it is? I was very happy with how this turned out. My only word of advice? Make sure you are as close to right on as you can be with the weight of the meat, if you have too much it could be a bit dry...

Pineapple and Green Chile Pork Burritos

1 lb. boneless pork chops (I used thick cut chops)

1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple

1 cup salsa verde (green salsa, or tomatillo salsa- it's all the same)

1 (4 oz.) can green chiles

1/3 cup brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 8-10. I definitely recommend cooking it on Low. It shreds easier. Using tongs, squeeze the chops to shred the meat. Serve on flour or fresh corn tortillas with some lettuce, cheese, rice, and tomatoes or any other burrito toppings. For my rice, I used white rice and added a bit of lime juice and cilantro.

This recipe is SO TASTY! And for those of you in my neck of the woods, it is nothing like Cafe Rio (or Costa Vida) pork, but it IS sweet and very VERY good!

Food for "thought" Friday

2009-04-17T15:29:00.000-06:00

This recipe was introduced to me by my husband. His mom always called it Eggs Benedict. Which was NOT the same. My husband ordered eggs benedict a few years back at a restaurant and was, quite frankly, disgusted by what he was served. The next day I made him his mom's Eggs Benedict. It is an Easter tradition in our house. As are egg salad sandwhiches.

"Eggs Benedict"

3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
1-2 c. grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
3-4 hard boiled eggs, chopped up or diced
Toast

In a medium sauce pan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir with a whisk until the roux turns a golden color (about 2 minutes or so). Quickly add all the milk and stir with a wisk until mixture boils. Add salt, pepper and cheese. Once the cheese is melted, add chopped boiled eggs.

Serve over warm buttered toast. OH so yummy!

Silk Tie Dyed Eggs

2009-04-14T10:40:00.004-06:00

I read on THIS site about using silk ties to dye your easter eggs. So, I thought I would give it a try. And it worked SO WELL! I loved it! For a tutorial on it GO HERE

The super simplified version is that you cut up old silk ties (can be purchased from DI or a thrift store for 1-2 dollars each). You can fit three eggs or so per tie. You wrap the RAW egg as tightly as you can with the silk (pattern side facing the egg). Tie it off with a twist tie, rubber band or string. Tie another piece of white cotton over the top of the silk tied egg. Then place them in a deep pot and cover with water and 1/4 c. vinegar. Boil for 20 minutes, allow to cool and VOILA! Perfectly cool dyed eggs!

On to the pictures!

These are Joe's ties. I stole one of them, then I hit up DI for the others. (And yes, there is a tie in there covered with my girls pictures!)

I think this green tie was my favorite! I LOVE how the eggs turned out!

This one was Joe's tie.

Didn't they turn out awesome!?

Out of the mouths of babes

2009-04-13T22:24:00.003-06:00

Lilia is getting so smart these days! I am truly enjoying my conversations with her! She definitely keeps me on my toes. Take Saturday night for example:

Me: Lil, you need to go to sleep so the Easter Bunny will come.

Lil: The WHAT?

Me: The Easter Bunny! He brings you your Easter Basket.

Lil: Mom- the Easter Bunny is a fairytale.

(I just walked away shaking my head…I am one of those parents who refuses to spend all night convincing her the EB is real just so I can turn around in a few years and admit I lied to her...)

Easter morning-

(Lil walks into the kitchen and is at first, perturbed at her sister for making noise, until she notices her basket…)

Lil: WOW! I guess I was wrong, the Easter Bunny is NOT a fairytale!

Joe: (chuckling) hmm, 4 years old and already able to do something mom can’t.

Me: huh?

Joe: admit she was wrong! (Laughs harder)

Me: jerk…

(I love you Joe!)

Another funny from earlier today that had me laughing:

(I called Joe from my cell phone while I was out of the house to get an address off the internet for me. The conversation went as follows)

Me: Hiya babe. Do me a favor would ya? Could you look up the address to the Food Bank. I forgot to write it down.

Joe: Maybe- what will you give me for it?

Me: Um... Love? (as in my love and gratitude... not "love" SHEESH!)

About an hour later:

Lil: Mom! Give me that!

Me: What?

Lil: That thing in your hair (it was her hair bow- I found it on the floor of the car and had put it in my hair to remind me to take it inside the house)

Me: No way, man! I am wearing it!

Lil: Come on, mom. You have to share! If you share that with me, I will share something with you.

Me: Really? What will you share with me?

Lil: Um... Love?

Like mother like daughter, I guess!

Now as a disclaimer or two...

1. Joe is a tease. I realize after writing both of these that Joe sounds like a total jerk, but he isn't. He

just likes teasing me. And though it took me almost 8 years, I am finally okay with his teasing. Most of the time...

2. I am a tease too. I had every intention of giving Lil her hair bow. I was just waiting for her to ask nicely. Which did eventually happen. And I got me a good "love" from her in return! In the form of a kiss on the cheek.

I will be back tomorrow to share my tie died easter eggs with you! :)

A day in the life of Lacey

2009-04-11T22:27:00.005-06:00

Lacey is in a *wonderful* stage right now. I actually find it kind of funny. If it didn't require so much clean-up I would find it even more funny.

Lacey just LOVES to change clothes. We never had this problem with Lil. Most likely because her dresser at this age was OLD with warped drawers that weren't easy to open... Lacey's outfit changes are frequent and colorful. The part that makes it even better is that she is wearing LILIA'S clothes. Her's are out of reach in the top drawers...

The point of this blog is to show off a little bit of cuteness, and a whole lot of trouble making. Please join me on a journey through Lil's drawers, and the many functions her clothes serve to Lacey!

Good morning! This is my first outfit! I really am a ham first thing in the morning...

I only wanted to try it on, really. Not 10 minutes later I traded in the original outfit for this smashing number. The shirt fits much better around my waist. I don't know WHY mom insists on buying clothes that are too big for me...

Then I found this striking electric blue shirt and just KNEW if would make the color of my eyes *POP*! Wearing the shirt right side in and frontwards takes away from the blue of the shirt. I prefer it this way. Don't you like it? I do- though I am sick of mom taking my pictures.

Mom made me put this outfit on. I had to go run errands for a couple hours. How BORING!
As soon as we got home from those errands (before Lilia could even take her coat off) I changed shirts... It's the same shirt design, just a much more feminine color, and much more roomy...
Mom made me run more errands in that last outfit. Ugh! I just wanna be home and redressing! Speaking of, I am especially proud of this next outfit. I like it so much I actually chose to wear the clothes as they were meant to be worn! Don't I look cute?! (Pay no attention to the clothes I discarded on the floor next to me)

This outfit is much more trendy. Well, okay- it will EVENTUALLY be trendy! I am such a trend setter. Trust me. All the kids will be wearing shirts like this in the future!

Now, I know this looks like the same outfit, but trust me it's not... that last shirt was short sleeved- THIS one was long sleeved. I was cold... (not like the sleeves did a whole lot of good)- now, where's my snack?
Once I was bored with this outfit, I changed into something much more fitting for me. A dress! Mom swears it's a shirt, but I tell ya, it is MUCH to large for me to wear as a shirt.
wanna see the back? Not sure why they put a flower back there, but I am not a designer, what do I know?

I had a hard time with this next shirt... (Mom says you can click on the image to see it bigger)

I finally gave up on that darn shirt... and moved on to this thingy. Mom says it's a leotard. I say it's just retarded. How am I supposed to fit my head through these holes? And why are there two of them? I only have one head!
This outfit was donned for my appearance at dinner. I decided to go with light tones. Good for spaghetti.
And finally- bedtime. Mom couldn't find matching pajamas cause I had thrown clothes EVERYWHERE. So here I am in all my mismatched glory. Mom really ought to study my previous outfits for some fashion sense and instruction...
Hope you all have a good night!

(Mom's note: This was a mild day. Me and the girls were out of the house for about 4 hours running errands. Talk about lost opportunity for clothing changes!)

Insight from a 4 year old

2009-04-09T21:41:00.005-06:00

So, this last week I have taken on a really fun project. Okay- maybe it's not fun for everyone, but it is ALL SORTS OF FUN for me! I have been converting all my parent's slides into full sized pictures (or at least jpeg's that can be printed full size). These slides are mostly of family and vacations, the family shots are of me and my sisters. There are a few with my younger brother, but for the most part, slides were a thing of the past by the time my baby brother was born (sorry David!). I promised my mom I wouldn't steal all the pictures, NOR would I post them all on my blog and facebook, etc. But I did have to share just one. Why? Because it was the one I was editing while I had an awesome conversation with Lilia.

(This is a picture of my dad, back before my parents were married. He passed away due to complications from an Aortic Aneurysm 11 years ago this week)

Lilia: Who is that? Is that your daddy?
Me: Yes, that IS my daddy.
Lilia: What is his name?
Me: His name is Joe, just like YOUR daddy.
Lilia: Wow. Our daddy's are named Joe! And he is died and in heaven with Jesus, huh?
Me: Yeah- he is in heaven.
Lilia: (placing her hand on my cheek and leaning her head to the side a bit) Do you miss him so much, momma?
Me: Yeah hun, I do.
Lilia: The bad guys were being mean to your father and that's how he died. But Jesus will make him alive again and then your father will come back and see you again. (She repeated this same version a few times and finally added) And I will see your father with you. That's where I am going to be.

Out of the mouths of babes often comes the most insightful and amazing thoughts. And I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Lilia for saying this to me tonight. It has been 11 years, and still the pain is there. I miss him just as much tonight as I did 11 years ago.

Sorry mom, I am going to share just a couple more pictures...

(My dad with his three girls... I am the baby)

(Dad taking me for a ride on my sister's bike)

(Dad showing his girls their new baby brother)

I have now written the end of this post some 4 times. Each ending sounded trite or too emotional. So I will end this with one sentence. I miss you Dad- and I love you.

Lilia in REAL time...

2009-03-28T15:37:00.002-06:00

SO as I type this Lil is in the process of labeling papers for people coming to dinner tonight. She already made mine. It says "PaM" when I told her my name was mom she said, "yeah but everyone else calls you Pam!"

Without any assistance she has written some others

JoE
DAVED (David)
LiLia (herself of course)
LaEcy (Lacey- almost!)
KiVEN (Kevin- we are dealing with issues where she gets "eh" and "ih" confused)
STEVE (Steven- she said she calls him Steve- backwards s)
JoolE (Julie- I love it!)
WENDE (Wendy)
and gRAMo (Grandma- backwards g- if you think about it, a short "o" DOES make the ah sound...)

While doing Steven's she had the "st" written and said, "Look mom! St! Like Stairs, and stars, and steps, and street, and stickers..." she just kept going and going... it was cute! I LOVE that she is reading so well.

I love my daughter! She is so awesome!

Food for "thought" Friday

2009-03-27T08:50:00.001-06:00

Wheatie Cookies are one of my all time favorite cookies. My great grandmother gave this recipe to her granddaughters, and my mom has made them for me and my siblings for as long as I can remember. When I moved out, my mom passed this recipe on to me. And lemme tell ya- it sounds weird, but they are SO DANG GOOD! Trust me- just try em!

Wheatie Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 c. coconut
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. wheaties (hence the name) or other flake cereal (use bran flakes if it makes you feel better about eating them!)

Cream shortening and sugars. Add beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Add coconut and mix until incorporated. Sift dry ingredients (or stir with a wire whisk) and add to wet ingredients. Blend in vanilla. Stir in cereal. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE.

Sleeping Through Gethsemane

2009-03-26T08:29:00.009-06:00

Last night I went to a fireside that was (to say the least) awe inspiring. It was so fantastic, and so inspirational. The speaker was a woman named Diana Hoelscher. She was FANTASTIC! This was the third opportunity for me to hear her speak, and sadly, only the first time I have actually made it there. Luckily, she will be coming back one more time in a few months. Well- I did something at this fireside that I rarely ever do- I took notes. And because I FOREVER want to remember what she said, and because I know myself so well, I decided to put these notes in blog form. Why? Because the piece of paper I took the notes on will only survive so long, but my blogs will last forever!

(They really will! I turn each years posts into books! More on that later...)

((As fair warning, those not in a spiritual mood may not appreciate this blog post, but I am still riding the spiritual high this speaker left us on last night and this post truly is for me. ALSO I am paraphrasing just about everything that is not quoted scripture. All the blue links will take you to the LDS.ORG website for cross references within the scriptures...))

So- on to the notes!

She started this off with an illustration:

(Forgive the blur- click on it for a clearer picture...)

The red numbers are the points I found very relevant. My notes will keep referring back to this picture...

First and foremost, though people blame Eve for the fall, and YES she was the first to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, she also knew she HAD to.

God gave two great commandments to Adam and Eve. Don't eat from the tree, and multiply and replenish the earth. Problem is, there was no way to do BOTH at the same time. While in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were still spiritual beings. They had no blood coursing through their veins, and they were still able to stand before God. In this state they could not procreate. It's as simple as that. Eve ate of the fruit, Adam followed suit, and both were cast out of the garden. They fell.

Point 1: Because of the fall, we were physically separated from God. But not from his comfort.

We are required to follow the laws of Justice and Mercy. As stated in Alma 42: 12-15 (the important parts are bold- she only went throught 12 and 13, but then described what is written in verses 14 and 15)

12 And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which ^aman had brought upon himself because of his own ^bdisobedience;

13 Therefore, according to justice, the ^aplan of ^bredemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would ^ccease to be God.

14 And thus we see that all mankind were ^afallen, and they were in the grasp of ^bjustice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.

15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself ^aatoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of ^bmercy, to appease the demands of ^cjustice, that God might be a ^dperfect, just God, and a ^emerciful God also.

Point 2: We are required to do the best we can and work as hard as we can to return to live with God again.

Point 3: Because we are not perfect we can not make it on our own. We needed the Atonement to make up the difference. To bridge the gap between us and perfection.

Point 4: The atonement consisted of three parts:

First, the Garden of Gethsemane.

-Jesus Christ knows what EVERY temptation feels like.
-No one knows what it feels like to be me. To know my thoughts and feelings. No one- except Christ.
-Christ absorbed vicariously all pains, hurts, anguish, heartache, illness, and even loneliness in The Garden.
-When you were lonely and a friend stayed with you. Where did your loneliness go? When you were in sick and were given a blessing of healing, where did that illness go?

Second, on the cross.

- While on the cross the feelings of Gethsemane returned for a second time. He cried "^aMy God, my God, why hast thou ^bforsaken me? " (Matt. 27:46) And eventually, he gave up the ghost.

Third, the resurrection.

-Alma 7: 11-12

12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.
-definition of succor: Topical guide definition- to help. From Medieval Latin succursus, from past participle of Latin succurrere, to run to the aid of (like you might run to the aid of your hurt child...)

So Who is God? Heavenly father? Jesus? it can be confusing... The answer: It doesn't matter. Jesus never did anything that didn't sustain our Heavenly Father.

God is the title of the highest level of the priesthood. Christ has attained that level of the priesthood.

My mother has the glory of being a mom. When I become a mom, will I be equal to her glory? No- because my becoming a mom, made her a grandma. When I become a grandma, she will become a great grandma, etc. So it is with Christ and Heavenly Father. All glory given to Christ sustains Heavenly Father and his glory.

Point 5: At what point is my work enough? When I die? Is that when the Atonement takes over to catapult me into perfection? Is it when I am resurrected? No. It is when I am baptized. THAT is when the covenant is made. When I promise to do my best, to work my hardest, and in return I can return to live with him again.
"When I was baptized I made a covenant to take upon me the name of Jesus Christ and to serve Him and be obedient.
Heavenly Father has given me the Holy Ghost. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, I can be forgiven of my sins when I repent. If I keep my baptismal covenant, I can return to live with Him." (Faith in God pamphlet)

Sometime after your baptism, or maybe even just before, conversion happens. When everything you have been taught just *clicks.* This conversion is a necessary part of the plan.

Point 6: Repentance is where you transfer your pain and sins to Christ.

-We need baptism because without the covenant of baptism, repentance goes nowhere.
-It doesn't matter where you do, repent! It may be best to be alone. For us mom's, alone time is practically non-existant. If the only place you are alone is in the shower, so be it. Brushing your teeth, driving the car... The place is not nearly as important as the act...

Point 7: There is NO DIFFERENCE between your baptism and taking the sacrament.

- How amazing is it to have a cleaning lady come once a week? 10. Times. Better.
- Every week the sacrament takes away all of Satans amunition.
- Every week you can renew your baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament. You are clean. And pure. And perfect again. EVERY WEEK. It is a wonderful feeling. And it is addicting. You begin to need it. To CRAVE it.
-Remember every Sunday is a new beginning.

Repentance is the key. You need to ask for forgiveness, and try with all your heart to not repeat the transgression.

So, should you really repent for things you KNOW you will do again? Should I repent for raising my voice to my children, to thinking bad thoughts about someone I don't necessarily like?

-Even the little things. You may do it again, but you can't break the habit on your own. **Diana Hoelscher made a point out of telling us that this part is her personal feelings. There is no documentation to prove it, it isn't written in some book or spoken in the scriptures or any general conference... this is her feelings** You can;t stop by yourself. Ask for forgiveness and as you continue each night/week to ask forgiveness with sincerety and faith in God, He will help you overcome it. He will purify your desires. Trust in Him.

Alma 34: 14-16
14 And behold, this is the whole ^ameaning of the ^blaw, every whit ^cpointing to that great and last ^dsacrifice; and that great and last ^esacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, ^finfinite and eternal.

15 And thus he shall bring ^asalvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

16 And thus ^amercy can satisfy the demands of ^bjustice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of ^cjustice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal ^dplan of ^eredemption.

And finally-
Choose a date for your "rebaptism" (meaning the day you take this into your heart and remember that the sacrament IS your rebaptism). The night before pray to be forgiven of those things you can not remember, and if it needs be that you repent for it individually , "bring it forth to my memory." For these items, don't say "I shouldn't have done that." say, "I know what I did was wrong" and try with all your heart and mind to refrain from repeating the sins.

-Satan will work hard to keep you busy so you don't repent. DON'T LET HIM DO IT!

Diana ended this fireside with a promise that if you do this- you WILL be cleansed. You will feel pure, and clean, and you will learn to rely on these feeling and come to crave this feeling each Sunday.

Odd and interesting tidbits I loved:
* No matter where you are, prayer should feel like home. Like comfort.

* Abraham 3:4
4 And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its ^atimes and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a ^bday unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand ^cyears according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s ^dtime, according to the reckoning of Kolob.

If you do the math, that means 22 years is 31 minutes. A long life of 88 years is just over 2 hours. Would you want to return to heaven after your life and be sent to the Telestial Kingdom because you couldn't hold it together down on earth for 2 hours??

Food for "thought" Friday

2009-03-20T11:23:00.003-06:00

So for St. Patrick's day, I make Corned Beef and Cabbage every year. Last year, I made one that was (for lack of a better description) "Eh." So this year I did a bit more searching for the RIGHT recipe. And I do believe I found it!

Corned Beef and Cabbage (adapted from Cooks.com)

1 (2 1/2 - 3 lb.) corned beef
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 lb white onions, peeled (or a couple handfuls of dehydrated onion)
1 can beef (or chicken) broth
2 cups water
3-5 potatoes (I used plain ol' idaho baking potatoes), sliced in 1/4 inch slices
1 lb baby carrots
1/2 to 1 head cabbage (to taste or as much as fits!), quartered and de-cored

This is prepared in a pressure cooker for best results. Place water and broth in cooker with rack. Cut slits in beef and place sliced garlic in the slits. Place meat on rack. You may need to adjust the amount of water/broth based on the size of the beef and the size of the pressure cooker (the instruction manual should tell you how much). Close cover and cook on medium high until rocking. Turn down to medium(it should continue to rock) and cook for 1 hour. Run pressure cooker under cold water to release pressure. Once safe, open lid and add all the vegetables and as much cabbage as you can fit until it hits the "full line."

Replace lid and cook on medium high heat until rocking. Lower heat to medium and cook for 5-7 minutes. Run under cool water again until pressure is released, then removed lid and serve!

I suspect this recipe would be fantastic if crock potted. I would suggest you cook the meat for 8-10 hours on low. Adding the veggies about half way and adding the cabbage an hour or so before serving since cabbage cooks quickly.

If any of you try this in the crock pot PLEASE lemme know how it turned out!

Nothing much and then some!

2009-03-19T14:21:00.002-06:00

So I have felt the need to blog this last week or so, but for the life of me, I can't seem to come up with anything worthy of blogging! So let's start out with some Ism's for ya...

Lil-ism's

The other day Lilia was trying to get me to play along with some game or another that she had made up, but I was in the middle of cooking dinner and was unable to play her game properly. She looked at me and said, "Mom! I am frustrating! You are making me frustrating!" Now, I know what she meant. I was frustrating HER... but that's NOT what she said. I apologized for upsetting her, but in my head I couldn't help but think "you have no idea kiddo..."

Lil has always been one for bargaining. Be it dinner time, bedtime, play time, or any other time. She is always on the market for a better deal. She knows that at dinner time she is required to eat so many bites of food before she is excused from the table. She knows the routine for bedtime. But neither bits of knowledge keep her from trying to cut a better deal for herself. For example: A few nights ago she was required to eat 5 bites of the main dish- she ate one bite... decided she didn't like it and said, "Mom- I have a better good idea. I will eat 3 bites and be done!" (RIIIIGGHTTT) She does this with EVERYTHING. I tell her it's time to come in from playing at the park- "Mom, I have a better good idea! I can stay out and play for longer!" She is so full of BETTER good ideas!

Lilia is SO excited to go to kindergarten! She can hardly stand it! I wonder if she realizes that big kid school is every day... She asks me almost every morning if she is old enough to go to big kid school yet. sadly, it seems all her friends in preschool will either be at the other school or (if the parents get their way) in the other time slot... I have asked for afternoon preschool where most all the other mom's I know want their kids in morning. We'll see how it goes!

Lil has officially started learning long vowels. It's been tough! ((I am thinking the best thing I could have done for prepping myself for kids was to take child psychology classes and child education classes!)) I fully expected her teachers to be the ones to teach her the rules for long vowels... But who really expects a preschool teacher to teach their children 1st grade reading skills!? With the help of my mom and my cousin I have given Lil some pretty good rules for long vowels. Neither of which is foolproof, but seriously- what grammar rule is??

Rule 1: If there is an 'e' at the end of the word and a vowel nearby (we haven't discussed just how close yet) the 'e' gets scared and the other vowel calls out it's name. Example: Cake, make, bake. Rule Breaker (or at least bender): takes.

Rule 2: If two vowels go walking (two vowels next to each other) the first one does the talking! Example: wait, bait, heat. Rule Breaker: point.

At this stage I am so eternally grateful that I married Joe. When Lil is in highschool there is no doubt she will easily overtake me in secular knowledge. At least DAD can help her with her homework!

Lace-ism's

Lacey is finally starting to make progress toward speaking! Her latest accomplishments?

She can count: "eee-two-eee-two-eee" (that would be 3-2-3-2-3)

She is getting better with animal sounds. Though she can't quite place a sound with the name of an animal, she can moo when she sees a cow and neigh at the picture of a horse. My personal favorites are the rooster (which for a while was doodle-doodle-doo but as of this morning was cocka-doo) and the pig (she sounds like she is choking on something when she makes the pig sound- it's pretty funny)

She is also an excellent mimic, but only on her terms. The other day I was trying to give Joe a greeting from Lacey while he was getting in the shower. Lacey was standing at the bathroom door and this was the convo that took place.

Me: Say "Daddy!"
Lacey: Daddy!
Me: Say "I love you!"
Lacey: No
Me: Daddy!
Lacey: Daddy!
Me: I love you!
Lacey: Uh-uh
Me: Daddy!
Lacey: Daddy!
Me: All done? (hehehe)
Lacey: All done?!

Just today she started thanking me. As I was getting her clothes out of her drawers I would hand each piece to her and she would give me a smile and say "Tee koo!" Love it!

And finally- She has learned a new favorite word around our house. The word is: Dam. I chose to spell it like that cause I refuse to believe she learned a bad word! Though it took us forever to figure out WHAT she was saying for real, I was relieved to realize she was only saying "jump" Seems she is a lot more like her mother than I thought! (See below for explanation)

Baby Pam-ism

When I was a toddler (around 18 months) I had a favorite saying that had my parents thoroughly befuddled. "Cocoa sh*t!" It became a real problem when I stood up during the sacrament at church (that would be a very quiet time) and yelled, "Cocoa sh*t! Cocoa sh*t!" Talk about mortified! Later that day, while explaining to the bishop that my parents had NO IDEA what I was saying, my oldest sister (then 8 or 9) said, "Duh Mom! Coke is it!" ((Do any of you remember those commercials? I totally do! Then again, I am constantly harassed by my siblings and mom about this story, so I have no choice but to remember those commercials!))

Photo Blog- time for some catch up.

2009-03-06T10:41:00.005-07:00

So starting at the beginning... Valentines day wasn't super fancy. But- Lilia and I DID put together a totally PINK dinner for Daddy. We had Cornbread (dyed pink of course), Creamy PINK Chili (it's usually white), peaches, pink lemonade, and of course some lovely decorated sugar cookies for dessert!

(Lil helped me decorate the cookies)

A few weeks ago Joe and I FINALLY started a long awaited project. We decided to FINALLY tackle the final wall in out kitchen. This specific wall had caused us all kinds of grief since it originally was wall papered, then the vinyl part of the wall paper was removed, and then paint was slapped up over the remainder of the wall paper. Trying to remove the painted over paper was proving rather difficult, so instead we decided to buy ourselves a 3 lb box of joint compound and RE TEXTURE the wall by hand. It took us about 8 hours to get the new texture up, and I then spent the next couple days priming and painting. This project isn't quite finished yet since I am gonna add a faux finish eventually, but it is in considerably better shape now!

The other day I decided to make some oatmeal bread. I got the first part under way, then added the yeast to some warm water and went to occupy myself elsewhere while the yeast did it's thang. Well I kinda sorta forgot about the yeast, AND the bread. About 45 minutes later this is what I found...

(It was all over my cookbook! But MAN it looked cool...)

Joe's birthday was last Sunday. It was a pretty low key birthday for him, but after the excitement of last year, I figured a down day would be fine. Though to be fair, it was a REALLY down day. Both girls were sick. So- we spent all day (no kidding- all day) watching The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on TV. It started at 11 and ended at 9:30 pm! Sometime during the course of the day I caught these two pictures.

(I sure do love him!)

And finally- it seems lately that Lilia's favorite thing to do is ride her bike around in our basement. She usually does so without the aid of her helmet and pads, which is fine with me since I don't think she is in danger of being hit by a car down there... Anyway- she DOES like putting her helmet and pads on Lacey. Lucky for Lil, Lacey loves it too!

Welcome to the family!

2009-03-06T10:34:00.003-07:00

Meet the newest member of our family. She is 3 years old, and quite peppy. Don't mind her pale complexion. I suspect she is a bit nervous and will warm up to our family quite nicely. Her name is Vanna:

(As in Vanna White- Read: Van of White)

Draper Temple Open House

2009-03-06T10:09:00.002-07:00

So Joe, and I (as well as most of my family) went to the Draper Temple Open House with the kids the other day. It was so beautiful! It was a bit cold, but the temple was absolutely beautiful inside and out.

A couple highlights...

* We saw the baptismal font, and I asked Lil if she wanted to swim in it. Her response:
"No, that's for Heavenly Father and Jesus to swim!"

* Before leaving, I asked Lilia if she wanted to see the temple. She got really excited and was so happy to be able to go inside the temple. She then said, "I can't wait to see the beautiful bathrooms!"

*When I told my uncle the previous story he asked Lilia why she wanted to see the bathrooms, and this was the following conversation:

Uncle Dan: Why do you want to see the bathrooms?
Lil: Because they are beautiful and CLEAN!
UD:What makes you think they are clean?
L: Because it's the temple! (that was on my prompting)
UD: Oh... do you want to see the sealing rooms? (if you don't know, that's where marriages take place)
L:(looking up at the ceiling and giggling) That's silly!

* Lacey was pretty fussy before we got inside the temple, but it seemed that as soon as we arrived she calmed right down. Both my girls were exceptionally well behaved and reverent inside the temple.

* The Draper temple has some amazingly beautiful rooms in it. The paintings were incredible, as were the murals in a couple of the rooms.

I truly hope that everyone in the Utah area takes the opportunity to walk through the Draper Temple. It is absolutely beautiful and such a wonderful opportunity!

Food for "thought" Friday

2009-03-06T10:06:00.002-07:00

I found this recipe online, and was pretty happy with the flavor. Spicy, but not too much. Enjoy!

8 Can Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 cans chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can corn
1 can white chicken breast
1 can northern white beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes (flavor to your liking) -I like mild....I'm a wuss.

Add all cans not drained in a large pan and heat through. Just until it boils then turn down the heat. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, and cheese.

Food for "thought" Friday

2009-02-20T08:37:00.004-07:00

So I was torn on WHICH recipe to post here since I have found a few good ones over the last few weeks... But since the one I found last night needs a bit of tweaking, I figured I should start with one from last week.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1 1/2 c prepared rice

6 medium to large bell peppers

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/2 cup honey, separated

grated cheese

Dice onion and place in a skillet, add ground beef and brown however you prefer seasoning to taste with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Once the meat is cooked, add the cooked rice. Add 1 can tomato sauce and a HEAPING 1/4 cup of honey. Simmer on low while you prepare the bell pepper.

Cut the bell peppers in half and remove seeds and membrane. Cut the stem off and place side by side in a 9X13 baking dish. Pour meat mixture into each bell pepper "boat." In a small bowl combine the remaining can of tomato sauce and another HEAPING 1/4 cup of honey. Microwave for about 30 seconds to better incorporate the honey and tomato sauce. Stir well then pour the sauce over the stuffed bell peppers.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until peppers are cooked to desired done-ness. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese. Serve once cheese melts a bit.

YUMMY! This recipe makes a lot. I cut it in half and was very happy with how it turned out. Also, the filling freezes well, so feel free to make a full batch and freeze half if you have a small family.

The adventures of Lilia

2009-02-17T09:44:00.004-07:00

Lilia has been so much fun lately. She and I have started a new adventure. I recently started reading her a chapter book. She enjoys reading, and is not as thrilled with me reading to her, but she seems to finally be getting into the storyline.

One of her favorite activities is dress up. She loves having neighbor girls come over and dress up with her.

Some nights we let her play a round or two of rockband (drums) before bed. She loves playing the drums and can even survive on her own (on Easy, of course)!

She has also recently found a new love for working out. She likes to take her shirt off like the guy in the video though. This video is especially funny. Don't mind the fact that the darn camera won't focus. The purring sound is the camera trying to focus...

(She is talking about a girl in a sports bra by the way...)

Hope everything is well with you!

The adventures of Lacey

2009-02-17T08:48:00.005-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since I posted! I am amazed at how quickly Lilia and Lacey are growing up. Lacey has hit a really fun stage lately. She just LOVES lotion. She has a medicated lotion I have to put on her face everyday, so she thinks that is where lotion goes. Problem is, I keep the lotion out of reach. So instead she uses any and EVERY cream like consistency she can find, as lotion. For example, the chocolate frosting...
Or her personal favorite- butter...

Then there is our latest addiction here at our house. We have become big fans of Wii Rockband! Both the girls love it, and I managed to get a video of Joe helping Lacey rock out on the drums:

You will notice that Lacey keeps grinning at the camera. She thought I was taking her picture, so she was giving her best cheesy grin. Love that girl!

Coming soon: The adventures of Lilia!

Pay it Forward, Round 1

2009-02-17T08:29:00.002-07:00

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch though...Post this same thing on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in. Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift!

((And don't worry too much- if you aren't one of the first three, I signed up for two of these... just one of them I don't have to post the blog until I receive the item made for me. So you will get a second chance! Good luck!))

A window to my world...

2009-02-06T08:26:00.002-07:00

Sorry I haven't written in a while. It's been a bad week for me. I went in for a root canal on one of my back teeth and am having a hard time getting over the pain this time round.

The kids have been pretty good lately. Lilia is a good helper and remembers to bless me "that [my] owwie teeth will feel better" every time she prays. She asks me all the time if she can give me a kiss, but will she get owwie teeth if she does... Such a good kid. She is also doing really well at school. When she started preschool this year she came home with a set of books called, Bob Books Collection 1. It has 18 books in it, each progressively harder with more difficult reading skills. Well- Lilia is now on the last book in collection 1! She is reading "Sox the Fox" its about a fox that wants to eat a hen and then hen warns all her friends and they all get away from the hungry fox. It's cute. We are in the process of finding and buying her the Bob Books Collection 2. :D She does love reading.

Lacey has found a new love in our rockband drum set. She loves banging on the drums, and using the foot pedal. It's pretty cute. She is also starting to talk more, which is nice. She say "Hi. " and "Bye bye!" very well as well as dad and mom. She is working on "All done" and is a pro with "no!" We were worried about her hearing for a while but it turns out she is just taking her time talking (most likely because her super helpful sister is quick to talk for her). She understands directions very well, and follows them almost everytime. She loves to help me clean up. Such a cutie!

I was reading a friend's blog last night and she posted about a friend of hers who wrote a blog about motherhood. This friend had written that most days she barely touched her "to do" list, and that it felt like on most days she was "running in molasses." Not really getting anywhere, but working hard to make the small bits of progress that she had made. I really like this analogy. It is so true! Everyone has a list of things to accomplish throughout the day. Some write it down, others type it up, some keep it in their head. I can't tell you how often my short list of "to do's" takes me days to accomplish. It's amazing that I find time to do anything between diapers, baths, preschool drop off, cleaning up the latest child mess, lunch making, child dressing, and any other number of regular and not so regular items that trump the "to do" list.

But at the same time- it is on those days when you find that even without finishing your "To do's" you have accomplished so much! You have paid attention to your children, you have cared for them, you have told them (maybe not in words) that they are more important than the laundry or scrubbing the kitchen. You have been a mother. You have loved, and taught, and hugged, and smiled at your children. In the eternal perspective of life, you will be better remembered as the mom who helped her children grow up in a loving home. Not as the mom with the cleanest kitchen. It is so easy to get caught up in everything that isn't done. It is much harder to stop and remember that even if you can't manage to clean every room in your house, you CAN be there with your children, doing what needs to be done (and sometimes doesn't need to be done) with them.

I love the idea that when Joe gets home and sees the house in a bit of turmoil I can tell him that I spent the day running in molasses. My goal for that specific day was to keep up with my kids and if any of my "to do" list was completed, well- that is a bonus!

Hopefully life is good with you. Have a wonderful weekend!