Grateful Sunday

As I sat in church this morning, I was feeling sorry for myself a little bit. Ethan was kicking the seat, Ethan wanted a drink of water. Ashlyn wanted daddy who was conducting up on the stand, etc... and so forth. Hannah took Ashlyn out for a few minutes and I was able to sit for a few moments and listen to 3 babies being blessed in church today. It made me reflect on the days when my babies were blessed and how grateful I am for each of them, and also for my husband who honors his priesthood.

Other things that I am grateful for today:

*Time with good friends.

*Ashlyn starting to form sentences and being able to more easily understand her needs.

*A peanut butter sandwich made for me by my hubby.

*Beautiful bright sunshine today!

*Lunch dates

Menu Plan Monday

Sorry I didn't get last weeks on here. I had it planned out, but I just never got it on here.

1/25-1/31

*Honey Mustard Chicken and Rice

*Quiche and homemade fried potatoes

*Homemade Lasagna (wish me luck on this one...haven't made it for years)

*Chicken Enchiladas

*Chicken casserole

*Ham and bean soup (if I can find a good recipe)

*Homemade pizza

Grateful Sunday

I've recently been following some blogs that do a post on Sunday's, about what they are grateful for. Since Sunday happens to be a day that I don't love, I've decided to do the same.

*Hannah gave her first talk today and did a great job.

*Ashlyn stayed in sacrament meeting the whole time. This hasn't happened in probably her whole life.

*I saw a glimpse of blue skies today. It has been a very gray 2 weeks.

*I got to sit and visit with a good friend today.

*The missionaries came for dinner. Normally this would be stressful for me. Not with these young men. They bring a special spirit into our home.

*A lesson on love that I needed to hear.

* I got to talk to my mom today. I miss her.

Menu Plan Monday

We ended up with some different meals last week. We were trying to use up food that was cooked and so we saved some of the meals that didn't need to be prepared right away. So, there are repeats this week. Sorry. I also don't plan the days out, these are in no particular order.

Meals for the week of 1/11- 1/17

*Scalloped potatoes and Ham (leftover Ham from Christmas...frozen)
*Spaghetti and Salad
*Chicken Noodle Soup and homemade bread
*Roast Beef and veggies
*Roast Beef sandwiches and Pita chips
*Out to eat
*Homemade Pizza and fresh vegetables

Backwards posting

I have been adding some new posts for the last few months of 2009. Make sure and check them out!

Snow Kitty

I decided I had better take Ashlyn out in the snow before the arctic air came in. It was still really cold but nothing like it is today. I bundled her all up and put on her kitty hat. She usually hates it but didn't mind today. She loved the snow! We walked to the mailbox and got the mail. We walked back and she was loving picking up the snow. She finally threw her mittend off and just picked up with her bare hands. She didn't mind that her hands were ice cold. I finally took her in and she was really mad at me. She wanted to go back outside. I let her go on the back deck for a few minutes more. She was still mad when I made her come in, but satisfied when I fed her some snow.

Menu Plan Monday

This past month I have been really good at planning my meals. It's so cold out and the kids have been home. I wanted to make sure I had all my meals stuff on hand. So, with one of my goals being that we eat out less and to blog more regularly, I thought I would start doing Menu Plan Monday again.

Meals for the week of 1/4-1/10

*Chicken Parmesan and Green Beans
*Broccoli Cheese soup and salad
* Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (using Ham that we froze from Christmas)
*Nachos and fresh vegetables
*Waffles and fresh fruit and fruit smoothies
*Roast Beef and vegetables
*Roast Beef sandwiches and pita chips

New Year's goals

I have been a horrible blogger. I blame it partyly on a laptop that keeps crashing and partly on laziness. One of my goals this new year is to be more active on my blog. Sometimes that might mean posts with no pictures as I refuse to put any more of my pictures on my laptop. I also don't really like looking at blogs with no pictures, so I will do my best!!
A new year to me, means a time to refresh and renew. I have some goals that I want to accomplish this year. I figure if I put them on here, it will hold me to it.

*Update blog regularly
*No pop, sugary drinks and sweets that aren't homemade.(trying to get away from massive ingredients that aren't good for my body)
*eating healthy as a family
*being more active
*journal writing (for everyone in the family)
*regular scripture study, also studying the RS manual weekly
*regular family home evening, with kids planning lessons as well
*less TV and more time playing games, using our imaginations etc..
*more reading
*completing some sort of craft project a month
*less eating out and better meal planning
*living on what we have, rather that spending just to spend
*focusing on positive things rather than negative
*getting and staying organized (haha)

As you can see I have lots I want to accomplish this year. It's time...

Carving pumpkins

Waiting to buy pumpkins and carve them was torture for my kids this year. But we really didn't want to move pumpkins, so we waited until we moved in to get them. Luckily we still found some great ones to carve. I was so proud of Hannah and Zach this year. They didn't even need a grown ups help. It was a really nice day on Halloween, so we sent them outside to carve them.

I think Zach and Mark helped Ethan a little bit, but he designed his himself too.

Moving in

The day we moved and the day we moved in were some of the coldest so far that we have had this fall. The people who we bought our house from had only gotten out 30 minutes before we were able to take possession of it. Because it was so late in the day already, we didn't move in until the next day. So, we moved out of our old house on Wednesday, closed on Thursday and moved into our new house on Friday. All of these days were cold and rainy.

The kids had a snack that Hannah and her friend made the day before. Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. Notice that Ashlyn and Zach still have their coats on. The doors were open all day since the movers were moving things in. It took several days before our new house finally warmed up.

This is the view out of my kitchen window. We have lived for several years without much trees, it has been so fun to enjoy them again. I can't wait to see what all the seasons will bring.

Sold!

It was a long summer and early fall, but we finally sold our house and found a new one within a couple weeks. It was not a fun process. If anything could go wrong, it did and then some. But hidden among the trials were great blessings. We love this house and will miss it and our neighbors dearly. We have many memories here that are dear to our hearts. With that said though, we are excited to create new memories in a new house. We are excited to have a home that will finally fit our family of 6 and that will bring new adventures.

Saying goodbye, was hardest for our sweet Hannah. She laid in the doorway and refused to leave. We pretty much had to drag her out. She cried all the way to Grandma's house (so did I).

Fall Birthdays

We have several birthdays in the fall and winter months at our house. My birthday came first. Mark took the day off and we went to Lawrence for lunch and to look at some shops. Mark made me this awesome cake that I found here. It was so yummy that Ashlyn had to have a taste before everyone else. It was such a great day!

Mark's birthday was next. We spent the day at the apple orchard. I made him a yummy key lime pie that I didn't even try.

Hannah turned 12 this year. I know I say it with each birthday, but I can't believe how fast my children are growing up. Hannah had a fun birthday party with her friends. My friend Colleen made her this fabulous cake.

Isn't she beautiful! She has been such a great help to me while preparing to move. She has been a little mother to Ashlyn. She loves having a baby sister so much! Her favorite person right now is Taylor Swift. She loves her music and her hair. :)

Hannah's 12th birthday

Hannah wanted to have a sleepover for her 12th birthday party. She invited her bestest friends and had a ball! We picked up some party supplies at the store. They ended up being red, black and white and lime green. We just rolled with the color scheme.

The girls first played Spin the Bottle. This isn't your typical spin the bottle game. The girls would spin the bottle to a color square. Whatever color they landed on they then had to paint a nail that color. It was pretty fun! I got to help paint nails.

We also sprayed bleach onto black pillow cases. Don't you love the protective garbage bags!!

My friend told me about the game Skittles. All of the skittles are placed in a bowl, and then passed around the circle. The girls pick two skittles out of the bowl without looking. If the colors match, they could eat them. If not they had to put them in their mouth and store them until they finally got a match. It was so much fun. We had some good mouths full of skittles.

Beautiful girls! They were all so much fun to have in our home. I was laughing all night long at conversations they were having.

Oatmeal masks and cucmbers on the eyes to help relax them. They were also listening to music. The oatmeal was quite messy and kept sliding down their faces.

The finished pillowcases. I sewed on the ribbon and ric rac and then ironed on their names. This was the girls party favor to take home. The next morning before the girls went home, they had donughnuts and chocolate milk. It was a fabulous party!

Apple Orchard 2009

We've been to this apple orchard before, but it has been awhile. I think Ethan might have been around Ashlyn's age the last time we came. I think there were a couple years where they didn't have any apples because of a late spring frost and then a couple years where we planned to go too late and the apples were done. We spent Mark's birthday at the orchard. The kids had a good time looking for good apples to pick. We had a lot of rain and so it was muddy. Ashlyn's shoes kept coming off (they were too big). Ethan also fell out of a tree b/c his shoes were slippery on the branches. Luckily he wasn't really hurt. Just muddy. It was a great day!

School starts.... 2009

The kids started back to school last week. I really enjoy having them home and wasn't ready for them to go back at all. I also enjoy the relaxed feeling of summer. No homework, no rushing out the door early in the morning, no paper clutter...just time to be together. No worries though, I am a normal mom, I do enjoy time away from my children as well. It makes me a better momma to have some time to myself.

Hannah started 6th grade this year....I can't believe how big she is. I have really noticed the changes in her this summer. She isn't my little girl anymore. Not too long before she is a true teenager. She is so much fun and definitely has her own style of doing things.

Zach started 4th grade this year. This is the first time since Hannah and Zach have gone to school together that he finally got a teacher that she already had. I really like the teacher and am happy to get to interact with her again. Zach is the best helper. He is always doing things for me. He is so polite too. He is just so easy going like his dad...but has this sweet sensitive side to him.

Ethan started kindergarten this year. He has the same teacher that Zach had in kindergarten. He has a big class...24 kids. I don't think any of my kids have ever had that many kids in their classes. We have been so blessed. Ethan is my little spitfire. He pushes buttons I didn't even know I had. haha! But he is so sweet and loving as well. He still loves to hug and kiss me. How lucky am I!!

I think Ashlyn will miss having the kids around. She has finally learned how to say all of their names. It is so cute. She is really talking a lot right now. It is so much fun to hear her little voice and see her personality shine.

I had really hoped to be moved and in a new house and possibly a new school before school started this year. I guess there must be a reason we are still here in this house and school. I am learning patience and lots of faith through this process. I truly do believe that when it is meant to happen, it will!