all is calm, all is bright

The end of Christmas day that started out oh so early.
Everyone is in bed, the house feels so calm.
There was snow today, and so the light at night seems extra bright shining through the window.

I have been thoughtful today of those that are lonely, or whose hearts are broken.
For those who feel in despair, and have sadness.
For those that this Christmas just does not feel like Christmas.
For those who feel lost.

My sincere prayer tonight is for calmness to come to their hearts. That in the stillness, they will feel the love of our Savior. That they will have a feeling of peace, and the hope of a brighter day. I pray that the greatest gift, love, will be felt in their hearts.




Merry Christmas.

playing dress up

This post has nothing to do with Christmas, or of anything important, but a funny story from the weekend.
After Jack's baptism, we all came back to the house for hot fudge sundaes. Somebody started talking about a size 10 shoe. My ears listened in for who was talking about such a large size. (I can say that, since I am that size and sometimes larger, depending on the shoe)
Anyway,- I asked who has a size 10?
One of my mother in law's friends said-"I do, you should come try these awesome shoes on"

Ok, a little background. I never wear heels. AND, hardly ever have. And when I have they have been for moments. Even my wedding shoes were very low heels, and I broke one of the heels off during the reception. I have heard people talk about shoes, and even talk about them lovingly, and longingly. Not something that I understand.

So I walk into the other room to see a very high heel shoe. And not just any high heel shoe. A prada high heel shoe.
I slipped my foot into it.
WOW-
Have you ever put something on, and you are kind of transformed? Think playing dress up, when you were much younger and how when you put on that certain dress, that was a few sizes too big , or hat, you were immediately somebody else?

Well that was how this was, but they actually fit! And fit good. And they were not uncomfortable.
Heels, that fit? ME, Heels?
So I waltzed around the living room for a few minutes, in these very high heels, that made me taller than I have ever been, and felt for a moment, not at all like a mom of 4 kids.


Then took them off, and came back down a few inches back to earth.

so much

So much to see ...
So much to do ...
So much I want to blog about ...

It is Christmas time and we are on vacation! So fun to come to Grandma and Grandpas house!
The kids are having a great time ... they did so well on the drive here.

We borrowed a video player for the car, and the kids were great to share the space to watch the movie. (except for the times that they weren't!)

Tucker is having a great time exploring. SO many things to discover and destroy.
We tried to take a family picture, and its so funny to look at, you can watch frame by frame as Tucker figures out how to take apart a watch stand, and knock it over and get to all the pocket watches inside.

The kids are so excited for Christmas, and the fun of being at Grandma and Grandpas house. Grandpa used the special phone to call Santa to put the kids wish list in.

The kids are already planning what time they should wake up on Christmas morning...
The adults are trying to figure out how long they will be able to sleep ...

Baptism Day

Tonight was Jack's baptism-
The first thing he said this morning was-
"this is one of the most important days of my life!"
If I were to sum up how Jack felt it would be with my favorite word,
JOY
He was filled with JOY tonight.
Just beaming.
Before, during and after ....
He knew what he was doing was right, he was so excited, he could hardly contain himself. Bubbling over.
I spoke, cried the whole time. So happy for him.
He smiled the whole time.
After his baptism, and he was getting dressed, we could hear him while we were waiting. He was squealing.
So cute, so happy, so special, so him.
Such a blessed day.

he worked so hard ...
we are so proud ...
he was voted most valuable cadet ...
he is a fireman ...
he is my brother ...
Way to go Jamey ...
We love you!

I beleive in Christ

As I have been going about my daily routine, I keep getting sidetracked.
I feel a little overwhelmed- I pause to try and regain a sense of direction. I try and focus a little, and then I feel pulled in a different direction.

I keep reminding myself to focus on what is most important.

I sing to myself when I am happy,
when I am troubled,
when I am thoughtful,
when I am searching for answers,
when I am bored.

And this is the song (I believe in Christ) that keeps going through my head ...

I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I'll Sing;
I'll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand amens my tongue employ.
I believe in Christ; he is God's Son.
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his; his name be praised.


I believe in Christ; oh blessed name.
As Mary's Son he came to reign
'Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.
I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
Who did gain all his Father hath,
Who said to men, "Come follow me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be."

I believe in Christ- my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I'll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.
I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
From Satan's grasp he sets me free,
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I'll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.




I think that it might have been because of the middle line in the 4th verse "so come what may"
that I have had this song on my mind today.

There has been so much topsy turvey stuff going on- recovering from sickness, being with out electricity, car repairs, things not going as planed, broken dishes, missing shoes, preparing for Christmas, and vacations, preparing for a baptism, having the electricity go out again for a while-
sometimes you just feel full....as in done, enough. Ready for things to slow down or just stop.

I needed to remember ...
I can handle things-
I have strength-
I know where to turn-
He will ease our burdens and make them light on our backs.
"so come what may"
I believe in Christ.

HOME!

we got power-
we found out around 5ish-
its 8-
dishwasher is running...(mold-how could there be mold when things were so cold?)
kids are asleep in 4 separate beds!
christmas music is playing-
all lights are on-
joy joy joy-
so much I would like to write about-
so many insights-
but I must be task oriented and get things accomplished-
there will be a time for posting later!
thanks for all the well wishes, prayers, and good thoughts.... will for sure post more later-

...and to all a good night!

8

8 years ago yesterday, we had our first son.

We named him after my grandfather. I love remembering how it was calling him and telling him we just had a son, and that we wanted to name him after him.

I read this earlier this week, and it kind of summed up how I felt.

I always get reflective as the kids pass another year, and on this milestone birthday of turning 8- I did the same.

While at home I grabbed the photo albums of his birth and first year and brought them over to my moms. Jay and I flipped through them and had fun remembering what life was like then.
How much Jack would cry if I was not near. Not just a little but so much sobbing.
And how that changed over time, until right around his 3rd birthday he actually was able to say it like this:
"momma, I used to be your boy, but now I am daddy's boy"

We marveled at how much he has changed, and how much he has stayed the same.
How he has grown physically. From being so small, to so just right for his age.
How he looks so much like he did 8 years ago.

I love this boy.
I am so glad he is in our family.
I love his tenderness.
I love his desire to do right.
I love how he can talk and talk and talk. And how we can walk away, and come back into the room, and he will still be talking.
I love him-
Happy Birthday Jack-

Day 6 no power

We are ending day 6 of no power.

Day 6.

I don't think that I can really describe the mixture of emotions-
While I am thankful to have a warm home to be staying in while we are displaced, (my mom deserves a medal for all that she has had to put up with!) I am so-0 ready to be back into our own home. To have everyone in their own bed.

I went to the house today and bagged & tossed everything that was in the fridge and freezer. Would you believe that the fridge felt warmer than the house?

I kept singing in my mind, over and over, the "theme song" of this blog ...
I keep having to check myself and try and realign my thoughts on a positive course.

SO the positive thoughts that I pulled on today were ...

I will be able to start the new year with a clean fridge, and freezer. NO leftover old bottle of something that probably should be tossed. No half eaten container of green olives. No more half used bottles of miscellaneous condiments. I will get to go "shopping" to restock that fridge in the new year.

Surely our electric bill will take a dip in rate!

Any bugs, or other critters will most likely be gone!

All the trees will be nice and pruned for the spring!

I will keep moving my thoughts in the positive direction. I will find the good-

Day 3 no power

We are ending day 3 of no power...and I am needing to stay grateful.
I think I may need to restart my posting of a blessing a day.

I found myself tired, grumpy, annoyed.
I told one of my kids to shut-up.
That is not a word we use- and never to each other.
I locked my keys in the car.
I found myself a little lost, and confused, anxious.

But I had a warm place to stay, with family that loves me.
I had time to take photos of things.
I took the kids to a friends house for bubble baths in their jetted tub.
There was easy made dinner from the freezer stash, reheated by my mom waiting for us when we got home.
Jay brought over the computer so I could do some photo editing.
I am so thoughtful and prayerful for others, my dear friends, who are away from their homes...at church, or other places.

What to eat Wednesday-Taco Pasta

I crave routine. I need order. And its Wednesday. And I post what to eat on Wednesday.
So I will do it. Maybe it will bring some sense of order to my brain.

I found this somewhere on the internet. I don't know if it was a blog, or Better Homes and Gardens. I had it on my menu plan a few weeks ago, and finally made it one night.
Our whole family loved it. I know I say that when I post these, but really...to get a family of 6 to all eat something is seriously "postworthy!"

It made a lot. I froze a good portion.
Fast forward to day 3 no power.
I cleaned out our fridge yesterday and brought everything to my moms. I pulled this one out.......and what do you know? It freezes great too!

Taco Pasta

8 ounces dried penne
2 pounds uncooked ground chicken
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups water
1 -1 1/4 ounce packet taco seasoning mix
2- 11 ounce cans whole kernel corn with sweet peppers, drained
2 cups sliced pitted olive
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
2- 4 ounce cans diced green chile peppers
8 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
tortilla chips
sour cream

Cook pasta, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a 12 inch skillet cook ground chicken and onion, half at a time, until meat is brown. Drain fat. Return all of the chicken mixture to skillet. Stir in water and taco seasoning mix. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked pasta, corn, olives, half of the shredded cheese, salsa, and chile peppers.

Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 3-quart rectangular casserole. Bake uncovered in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Serve with lettuce, tomato wedges and if desired tortilla chips and sour cream. Makes 12 servings.

(When I thawed it, I just warmed it up on the stove, and served it over lettuce like a taco salad.)

day 2 tuesday no power-PM

Just thought I would share some of the funny things from today. More for my benefit to remember these times, although I am not sure how I could forget any of this!

There are multiple family members staying at my mom's and multiple people stopping by for one thing or another. Some members are speaking with each other, some are not. The stress is a little high at times... The oldest family member is 91, and the youngest is 14 1/2 months.

The 91 year old is my Grandmother. She is a little bothered about having to leave her home and come stay over here at my mom's. She was starting to feel a little weepy. She was in the back bedroom because she gets "a little" bothered by the noise of my kids. I went back to check on her and she cried saying "I feel so strange, not being in my own home, and not having anything to do. Everyone is too busy to talk to me- I just feel so strange" I said I know its hard to not be in your home, do you want to come out and talk with us while I am making dinner?" She said alright- She got up, and came out for a bit then went to the bathroom.
She comes back out and says...."I know why I feel so strange...I have had my pants on backward all day!"

A few moments later she tries to yell louder than my children and their cousin.. 'isn't there somewhere else these kids can yell, like the garage?"

She sits down on the sofa, and we put some soothing music on for her that we think will help calm her (and us)- I am getting ready to start feeding the kids and Jack is playing with Tucker-and its getting a little noisy.
She says ...
My kids never screamed.
I have Tucker in the high chair and he is getting antsy for dinner.
She says ...
Why does he scream so much?- I say- because he does not know how to use words.
She says...Will you hurry and feed that boy? He is hungry!

After dinner she is trying to listen to the news, and its ...imagine this...a little noisy. She grabs the remote and turns the tv all the way up- Its at this point that I look at Jay and feel so grateful that Target had just called a little earlier saying they had power and were ready for us to come pick up our prescriptions.
We leave, we come back, the house is calm and quiet. I pass my Nana in the hall, she is moving fast. She races to the sofa and stakes her claim. And grabs the remote, and, you guessed it, turns it all the way up.

We are finishing up with the evening news... they just said it could be about a week that we are without power. When we drove through our neighborhood the perimeter had power, but none of the homes in the middle.
After all these stories, I am glad we have a warm place to stay. That our kids are warm, and we have running water, and I could do a load of laundry. I was able to get food out of our fridge and freezer-and make a yummy dinner.

Hmmmm I can hardly wait to see what is in store for tomorrow.

day 2 tuesday no power-AM

The weirdest weather-
I have taken some photos- will try to post some more later today...
there is beauty among the ruins-
Jay is headed into work today-
I am going to run by the house and check the freezer and deal with the food-
I am hoping to run by a few friends homes to check on them, maybe get their cellphones and chargers and go charge them for them-
Still feeling grateful and a bit guilty-

day 1 monday no power

we lost power this morning around 8-
we are at my mom's-
amazingly she and my sister have power-
the rest of our family and friends along with many others in OK do not-
they say this is the worst ice storm in OK history-
over 500 thousand without power-
the main roads are alright to drive on-
the neighborhoods are real icy-
sams, target, hobby lobby, the mall, little Caesars pizza were all without power-
I feel a little guilty for being in a warm home, where we can cook, recharge our cell phones, have internet, take a hot shower, bath the kiddos-
I am worried for those that don't have comfort tonight, like I said in a last post, its all fun when there is power...not as fun when you dont have your comforts.
pray for those that are completely without heat and electricity- that things will be restored quickly, and the workers will be safe doing so. That the weather will continue to improve..
Did I just complain about a mosquito last week?

happy snaps

These are snapshots of things that have brought me joy...
some are funny, some took work, some were pure luck, some are holiday, some are food related.....enjoy!

Making ornaments ...
The wonder and excitement...
Making button trees for family ...


trees in the kids bedrooms ...



Holiday decor everywhere ...


my spoon tree in the kitchen window ...
our candy countdown ...
my gift to myself last month ...
sleeping family ...
happy family being kind ...



yummy yummy candle ...
yummy yummy chocolate ... (I love these at Easter, and now I can love them at Christmas!)

fitting both cars in the garage before the ice came ...
dinner in the crockpot ...

BRRRRRR

Oh baby it's cold outside!

We woke to thunder, lightening, & ice!

A very odd combination- but fun to have a change of schedule! I say fun only because we are warm, have enough food and have electricity. Would be a totally different story if we were without power or food.

We started getting calls a little after 7, wanting to know if church was canceled, and people trying to get a hold of Jay to find out what the other ward was doing.
Our whole stake canceled all of the meetings as I am sure many other churches did the same.

I am working on a picture post...and since today is a "home day" I should have time to do it...
will be back later with it!

What to eat Wednesday-Rocky Road Fudge

I found this in a magazine that my mother-in-law, Carolyn brought when they came out for Tucker's blessing. We all loved it. It does not last very long!

Rocky Road Fudge


1 package ( 12 ounce) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 T B butter
1 package (10.5) mini marshmallows

Grease 8x8 or 9x9 metal baking pan, line with plastic wrap. In 4 qt saucepan, combine chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter & butter. Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes or just until ingredients are melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Stir in marshmallows into fudge mixture. Pour into lined pan evenly. Cover pan with plastic wrap & refrigerate fudge firm 3 hours.

Invert fudge onto cutting board, remove plastic wrap. Turn fudge top side up. Cut fudge into 36 pieces. Store in fridge.

what is next

coming up...what to eat wednesday...and boy is this one good!
Yummy chocolaty christmas treat......

A Mosquito and A Christmas Carol

Tonight while tidying up I was listening to "Oh Holy Night" and found a mosquito.

It was alive.

It is December 4th-

Singing Christmas Carols and dealing with summertime bugs.

I think I am ready for the weather to change.

I could, but

I could write about how I finally went to the Dr- and tell how I have a sinus/ear infection, and bronchitis-

I could write about how I went to the pharmacy and picked up prescription cough syrup and antibiotics, and then a load of chocolate, for medicinal purposes of course-

I could write about how Luke gave a talk in church yesterday and I missed it-

I could write about how when I picked Luke up from school today his teacher told me that he shared the gospel with the class, (he told his talk to the class) and that she said she believed every word-

I could write about how concerned I am that Target seems to be discontinuing my favorite storage container that I have been using the last 9 years of my organizing life-

I could write about the amazing things my mom is painting in the kids rooms-

I could write about how I finally gave in and let the kids decorate the big tree, and how the bottom quarter is empty for Tucker-

I could write about how loopy this medicine is making me, and how difficult/comical it was to make dinner-

But instead I think that I will climb into bed.

Hooray for December 1st

AHHH-Can I just tell you what a pleasant morning we are having here?
And its 11:23.
This feels like its a payback for how unpleasant our thanksgiving weekend was.
I love it when our family is happy, everyone is agreeable, and goes with the flow.
We usually have 1 that is like the big rock in a stream that just kind of makes the water go around it. Maybe thats why this day feels so pleasant, you have to have the contrast to really appreciate it.

We came downstairs to this display on the table.


I asked him about the "people inside"-
It was funny to hear his interpretation!

This is Joseph, Mary and the "baby Jesus"-

He did not know why he put the wagon on top!


Lex Luther is a statue, and superman is a door(Hmmm???)


These are all the animals at the stable...

Ok, here we have a shepherd (knight), and the 3 wise men played by Gaston, Frozon, & Spiderman, and Belle plays the angel!

Here is to a great first day of December, and hoping yours is great too.
If not...there is always tomorrow, today will give you something to contrast from!