Winter Wonderland

Nestor, Dallen and I had the most wonderful Christmas this year up in Ohio with Laura and her beautiful family. It was a much needed vacation for us and we all fell in love all over again with our little Miss Charlotte. She had us all mesmerized with her charm and personality, even Dito was smitten. I think the feelings were mutual with her towards Dito as his was the only name she learned to say while we were there. She would call him "Deetee" and we thought it so cute we'd have her say it over and over again.
Christmas was wonderful, the time together was enjoyable and the food was delicious...isn't it always good to eat something that someone else has cooked. Adam likes to give our family a hard time because we always rave about a good meal and mmm and ahh through a good dinner. He even calls us food snobs because we like nothing better than a good home cooked meal...if that's what a food snob is then I'll proudly wear the title. I love good food made by loving hands. Is there anything better than sitting around a table eating heavenly food with family. It's one of the sweetest things in life.
While there we trekked out into the bitter cold, and boy was it bitter, we took a trip to Lake Erie cause I had never seen a great lake in my life. It was beautiful and felt like I was standing next to the ocean. Now I can check that off of my list of things to see before I die. Maybe next time we can take a trip to Niagra Falls so that I can check that off my list.
One of the high lights of the trip was the snow that began falling Sunday evening and didn't stop until Tuesday evening. As most of you know, here in Georgia we don't get much snow, maybe one dusting a year, so it was fun to see so much snow at Christmas...at least a foot of it. Dallen and I played in it a few times, Nestor, Dallen and I went for a walk in it on Sunday evening as it came down in soft big flakes. We even tried to make a snowman, but it was just too powdery and soft. So we went sledding instead and had a ball. Dallen was so excited about getting on that hill that once we handed him his inner tube from the trunk of our car he took off by himself and was headed down the hill as we were walking up. We all took a turn or two going down the hill and Laura and I laughed all the way down as we went together. It was a wonderful day with wonderful memories. Dallen could of stayed there all day, but our lack of snow clothing and Charlotte's lack of enthusiasm for the sledding brought us back to the warmth of Laura's home.
Life is sweet and my family means everything to me. I am so thankful for the time I am able to spend with them and I especially look forward to next Christmas when Dario and Joshua will be home and we'll be able to celebrate together again.
May all of my loved ones out there in cyber space have a wonderful, blessed year and know that you are in my thoughts and in my heart where ever you are.

Missionary Albums

As you all well know, both of my sons are serving missions outside the country and sending packages to them can add up to big bucks. Just to send four pounds to Argentina costs about $22.00. Ouch! Last year they both wanted peanut butter...right there that one item was one fourth of the weight allowed. Ouch again!
Also, there is no guarantee that the package will even get there. I am jealous of all of you stateside missionary moms.
So when I send a package I have to be creative and try to find fun, lightweight things to send that the boys will enjoy.
Well, I started searching the internet for something nice to send them that I could make that wouldn't weigh too much and I found these really cute photo albums made out of paper sacks. They were so much fun to make and there are even pockets in them so we made special paper and everyone in the family was able to write to them. The best part, they hardly weigh a thing. I'm so excited for them to receive them, let's all just pray that they'll get there.
If you'd like to see how to make these little albums just go to the web address below. Have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poVN2rU6WzU&feature=related

This One's for Kim

Just so you know, I was chastised by my older sister because I posted some pictures of Halloween on Facebook and not on my blog. I just didn't have a whole lot to say about Halloween this year. It was a usual Halloween, Dallen anxiously waiting all day, heading out as the sun was setting and running from door to door for candy. It really was uneventful, Kim. I will have to say that I had to chuckle as Dallen and I were walking hand in hand and his little five year old friend, Lauryn, was running ahead trying to get to the next house just as fast as possible. Dallen looks at me and says, "Those five-year-olds just get too excited." Big words coming from a six year old who had been running with her just five minutes earlier doing the same thing.
So, Sis, here is your blog, here are your pictures and thanks for the reminder to sit down and share my life with you all the way here in Georgia. Love you forever.

Cakenstein!

Well, it's official. I am now the mother of four adult children. How did that happen so fast? I still can't believe it.
Nathan just had his 18th birthday and being the great mother that I am (wink, wink), I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. I was expecting an answer like "chocolate" or "carrot cake", you know, some yummy flavor. Instead he throws at me "How about a pumpkin cake like you made me when I was little". I wasn't expecting that one, and if you had seen my sad little pumpkin cake you'd know why I hadn't made many cakes like that throughout the years. It looked more like a orange mound with a distorted face. But, Nathan still loved that cake and he wanted another one.
Since I had once attempted to make a pumpkin cake and wasn't very good at it I decided to try my hand at something else. So to the internet I went and did a search of Halloween cakes, and this Frankenstein cake is what I came up with. Nathan loved it and I actually enjoyed making it. It's not the best, but it is much, much better than my pumpkin cake of the past.

Apron Strings

Those of you that know me or have ever dropped in on me while I'm cooking know that I always wear an apron when I'm in the kitchen. I love aprons. Even my kids know this. Several years ago Joshua made a Zuluaga snowman family out of clay and dressed us all in things that we love, and he put me in an apron. So when a friend sent me the following article in an email it warmed my heart so much that I just had to blog about it, many of the sentiments in this email express why I love aprons so much.

The History of Aprons

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principle us of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dressed, and they used less material, but along with that it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, ;and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in the apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER: Grandma used to place her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.....but LOVE!

Berlin Candy Bomber

We are all aware of the Berlin Wall that went up between West and East Berlin after World War II. The Russians had blocked off all entrances into West Berlin trying to starve the people there, and then the Americans arrived, flying overhead dropping food into the city. One pilot decided to do a small act of kindness for the children in West Berlin and has become a legend in our day. His name is Gail Halvorson. Gail had a soft spot for these children and began dropping candy over Berlin attached to little parachutes. He would wiggle his wings as he would fly over so the children would know it was him and became to be known fondly as "Uncle Wiggle Wings". We recently had a special program in our church honoring heroes in our communities. When Colonel Halvorson found out he was one of the heroes to be honored he flew to Georgia all the way from Tucson, Arizon to re-enact the candy bombing in our community. Dallen and I had the special priveledge to go and meet the Colonel and attend the bombing. It was especially touching to attend as one of the ladies there to honor him that day had been a child in West Berlin and had wished her whole life to meet this wonderful man that gave her hope in such a dark time of her life. What a blessing to have those around us who lift the lives of other through small acts of kindness. May God bless this wonderful man for his Christlike love.

Just Laugh!

Hello World! I am back! I know it's been a while and all of you have missed me. Okay, maybe my sister and Laura have missed me. But as you can see, I am back, thanks to my wonderful husband who has spent hours cleaning up, fixing up and doing whatever it is you do to get a computer up and running again. Hooray, for computer nerds!
Now that I'm back I just wanted to get off on the right foot and get a little laughter going. You see, this morning while Nestor, Dallen and I were cuddling in bed before taking Dallen to school we had a good belly laugh, all three of us. It was a wonderful way to start the day and one of those moments that only those that were there could appreciate. Not only is it great to laugh, but is there anything better than a five year old laughing with you? It was music to my ears and a joy that leaves my heart full. Then I came to the computer to write my missionaries and I came across a little gem that put a smile on my face and made me laugh again. So if you're having a down day or haven't had a good laugh today, I hope you find these enjoyable and feel better about the rest of you day and go around with a smile from ear to ear. Go ahead, have a good belly laugh. It's the best medicine for the blues.

Alternative Meanings

Arbitrator: A cook that leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's.

Avoidable: What a bullfighter tries to do.

Bernadette: The act of torching your mortgage.

Burglarize: What a crook sees with.

Control: A short, ugly inmate.

Counterfeiters: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.

Eclipse: What an English barber does for a living.

Eyedropper: A clumsy ophthalmologist.

Heroes: What a guy in a canoe does.

Left Bank: What a robber did when his bag was full of loot.

Misty: How golfers create divots.

Parasites: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Pharmacists: A helper on the farm.

Polarize: What penguins see with.

Primate: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.

Relief: What trees do each spring.

Rubberneck: What you can do to relax your wife.

Seamstress: Describes 250 pounds in a size 6.

Selfish: What the owner of a seafood store does.

Subdued: A guy that works on submarines.

Sudafed: Bring litigation against a government official

Welcome to the Sixties

I was talking with my sister, Kim, a while back and she was giving me a hard time because I haven't blogged in such a long time. So I sat down at my beloved computer and tried to think of something interesting to write...I thought about putting pictures up of Christmas festivities, you know, making gingerbread houses, our traditional Christmas eve dinner, the homemade gifts we exchanged this year (By the way, Laura made me a chalkboard calendar for my fridge and I love it). I thought of all these wonderful things, but it seems as if the time is too far gone, and anyway Laura beat me to the punch and has already blogged about all of these things. So if you just click the link to her blog it's all there. So I was still struggling as to what to write about so I went into my picture file and decided what could be more fun than to share will all of you some old family pictures of myself and my two sisters and the wonderful fashion sense that we had...although I think a lot of the styles we can blame on our mom as she was still buying our clothes. So, for your delight, sit back and enjoy some wonderful fashions from the 60's.Here I am with my sister, Kim, don't you just love the stripped pants I'm sporting? There is my mom with her lovely piled up hair....just wish I could of worn my hair like that.Kim and I again, I think this is our Sunday best. As you can see, Kim got all the melinin in the family while I got the milky white skin. Some things never change.It's Kim again, hot little legs she showing there.Remember the Pixie haircut? I try to forget it, what was my mom thinking? I really love the hip orange pants I'm wearing, they go well with the lovely curtains behind us. I still remember that Yogi bear under the tree, it was for my niece, Angie.Here I am with my oldest sister, Karen, we love her dearly but think its time she gives up the cat eye glasses. She's been wearing them for the past 45 years.Every girl wants to pose on top of a car, right? You can see that Kim had to get into the action.Here we are, the three diva's.

Questions

Laura and I were snooping around on some different blogs and came across these questions and thought that it would be fun to ask Dallen for his answers.

Why did God make mothers?
So the children won't get hurt.

How did God make mothers?
By using their ribs, I mean their shoulders.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
They're not made out of any ingredients.

Why did God give you your mom and not some other mom?
Puz (that's Dito's word for because) I would get lost.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
She was like a boy, I'm not kidding, she really was.

What did your mom need to know about your dad before she married him?
Kiss.

Why did your mom marry your dad?
Because they wanted to have babies.

Who's the boss at your house?
Mom and Dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
Ones a girl and one's a boy.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
Cook food, cook food.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
I'd make her more colorful, all her skin and hair would be more colorful.

A Time of Thanksgiving

Here's a game of tag
That should be great fun,
Count ten of your blessings
Begin with number one.

Count to number ten
Then tag four others,
You can tag your friends,
Sisters, children or mothers.

My ten blessings

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ
2. My family
3. A very loving husband
4. A brand new baby granddaughter
5. Having two sons on a mission
6. My health
7. Verizon Wireless family plan so that I can talk with my loved ones that are far away every
day
8. Great friends that I can always count on
9. A home where I am safe and warm
10. My brand new down pillow....yum

I tag Laura, Kim, Wendy and Deb
Just copy the poem above to your blog and add your ten blessings below the poem.