play school time

Today Ezra and I were playing around with a book we got at the library. It was full of pictures and songs and came with a CD to match. It's called Dog Train by Sandra Boynton. Some of them are hilarious. Fun times. 

After that I decided to test Ezra's reading skills and started off by writing some words that I knew he knew. He was having fun with it so I kept writing more and more words which he would sound out. I could see it in his face that he was so proud he was actually reading! I think it kind of dawned on him that reading is easier than he thought it was going to be. We got to the second page of words before he tired of it. I'm so proud of him, he's learning so much! 

Just for the record, those two kids I have are so good! They have their moments, but they are usually so sweet and kind to each other and very thoughtful. I feel very blessed to have this time to hang out with and to have them all to myself. They make me so happy!

volleyball and bread

Today I had planned on writing about how I taught Ezra to play volleyball and how much he loved it and how cute it was to see him "bump" the ball all around. He is good at it too. That did make me very happy...but tonight after I saw on Kayli's blog (your making quite the appearance on here lately Kate!) a recipe for Lemon Coconut Quick Bread I had to make some post haste. And oh my goodness was it tasty! It was definitely the highlight of happiness today. Especially since I haven't seen the sun since Friday and that is getting me down! But anyway, here's the recipe if you are interested. It's easy to make and so so yummy! I would take a picture but it's late and I'm tired so I'm not going to.


Lemon Coconut Quick Bread
2½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it's fresh!)
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups granulated sugar
2 cups finely shredded unsweetened coconut
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest (or more if you want a bigger kick of lemon)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick or ¼ pound) butter, melted

1. Heat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour an 8x4 inch or 9x5 inch loaf pan. (I love my Chicago Metallic commercial loaf pans for baking both quick breads and sandwich loaves like Farmhouse White.)

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt using a rubber spatula, then stir in the sugar and coconut.

3. In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture, stirring just until combined.

5. Add the melted butter and stir just until smooth. Be careful not to overmix.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the loaf comes out clean. Ovens vary, so start checking for doneness after about 60 minutes (55 if you're using a 9x5 inch pan).

7. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes and then carefully remove it from the pan. Try not to slice into the loaf until it's completely cool, but that probably won't be possible. Store in an airtight container for 3 days or wrap in plastic and/or aluminum foil, pop in a plastic zipper bag, and freeze.

on being grateful

So I looked at today a lot differently than I usually do. I made a point of finding something that makes me happy and I found all sorts of things. Interestingly, today we received the Ensign magazine in the mail and as I was flipping through it I found a wonderful article called "The Value of Experiencing and Expressing Gratitude." I thought it very timely.

In it the author states that gratitude is a positive experience that comes from recognizing gifts or blessings and feeling grateful. This is exactly what I felt inspired to practice more in my life. Also, the article states that practicing gratitude has all kinds of health benefits, not to mention the fact that it can lead to increases in optimism, vitality, happiness, a sense of well-being, and a greater satisfaction with life. In short, grateful people enjoy more positive memories about their lives, have more empathy, are more generous with their possessions and feel less envious and enjoy better quality relationships.

It's really a great article. I was going to link it, but they don't have it up yet.

Today I was grateful for many things, among them:

Birthday flowers

a late birthday meal (scrumptious) made by husband

and a husband who does dishes too!

One more thing- Today Ezra told me that he didn't like Sundays. I asked him why not. He said because he missed his mommy and daddy while he was in Primary. I thought that was very sweet! That's the only time all week long that he's not with me and he missed me! What a sweet boy.

new blogging agenda and my husband is like superman.

So blogging has really got me down. I feel uninspired and bored with it. I still like to keep a blog though, so I thought it's time for a change. I'm going to start posting something everyday that makes me happy. I've been thinking a lot about happiness lately- about who are good examples of happiness, what it is, how to get it and keep it, etc. One of my most favorite people in the world* also happens to be one of the happiest people I've ever known. Here's a hint: she's also a redhead. If you know her, you know who I'm talking about. One of the things I've noticed most about her is that she smiles a lot, she laughs a lot and she seeks after funny and happy things. So, in light of the fact that I want to learn to be a more happiness seeking person and also because this winter is dragging and getting me down I'm going to turn this blog into a happiness recording blog.

First off, a funny and amazing story:

Today in church Jonathan and I were sitting behind some friends with a one year old baby. Jonathan had been holding Annika but I had just sat her on my lap. The sacrament had just gotten over when I heard my friend let out a loud and terrified gasp! I look over to see the baby falling head first over the pew to where we were sitting. Miraculously (and like super man) Jonathan grabbed the baby's leg just before she would have landed straight on her head! The whole congregation turned to see what was happening as Jonathan pulled the baby up by the legs and handed to her father. He was a stud! What reflexes! You probably had to have been there, but it was awesome!

Secondly, my happiness for today is:

It made me happy today when we sat down at church Jonathan made the kids move so that he could sit by me. And then he held my hand. 

The picture has nothing to do with it, I just like it.

*it's Kayli :)

We bought a house!

We have been trying to decide what to do for housing next year for quite some time. We were always leaning towards renting for one more year because mostly we thought no one would give us a loan to buy a house since we've only recently become contributing members of society. But as it turns out, we are more responsible than we thought. Hallelujah!
So we found a cute little three bedroom two bath in Fort Thomas on a dead end street a block away from a park. They apparently have really good schools in this town so it's a little hard to find decent houses here. We feel really fortunate to have found this house, in this location, at the price we did. It's definitely in need of some updates but it does have potential. We are going to update the bathroom before we move in- there is currently no bathtub-probably in April. Also, we just signed the kids up for a great preschool starting in August. Everything is falling into place! Here are some pictures:

The funky basement that was used as a "salloon!" It is pretty huge. We are thinking paint and carpet.

This bathroom will be totally redone.

Out back.

So after the initial excitement/panic attack,we are excited about this upcoming adventure. Everyone is invited to come for a visit!

Ezra's birthday party

It is a cold and dreary day so I thought I should take some time to update the blog. First, Ezra's birthday party:

So we decided to have a "Wild Things" (from Where the Wild Things Are book)  birthday theme. I involved Ezra as much as he wanted to be involved in every stage of planning and such. We invited a few friends and their parents, so we had lots of food:

I did not get a picture until most of the food was gone but we had things like Wild Rice Soup, Max's nuggets, Peanut Butter and Jelly Crowns, Celery boats, Ferocious Fruit... I can't remember what else, but there was lots of food.

For a craft, we made Wild Pet Rocks (Ezra's idea). I forgot to take a picture of everyone's rocks, but here is Annika's.

Then Daddy read the book with all the kids. They liked acting out the wild thing parts. 

On Christmas this year, Ezra was so disappointed that Santa put all the presents under the tree and did not hide them around the house. So for his birthday we had all the guests hide the gifts they brought while Ezra waited in our room. He had to go around and find them before he could open them. He thought it was pretty cool.

The morning before his party Ezra asked where his birthday shirt was. I had forgotten to make him one so I hurried and painted a 4 on a plain shirt. He didn't know the difference! ha ha!

And of course there was cake. It was a plain white cake this year. I had plans for a grander cake, but I ran out of energy. Maybe next year...

...but of course he didn't care.

I suspect he had a good day. :)

And of course the biggest surprise was having the Iddings show up. THat was Pretty COOL!!

This is for Dylan!

We had Ezra's birthday party on Saturday. It turned out really well. We had great company and lots of food. The biggest surprise was a visit from Dylan and his parents from Indiana! It TOTALLY made Ezra's (and our!) day to see them! Thanks so much for coming you guys!! It was really sweet and very nice- especially since Sarah is nine months pregnant! It was so great to see you and made us miss our Indiana friends all the more!

I heard that Dylan wanted to see pictures, so this one is for you Dylan!


More birthday stuff to come when I get some time....