Be

On sunday evening the prophet passed away.
I got a call around 9:45 pm from a friend that just wanted to let me know.
My very first thoughts were of his wife, and how he is now back together with her again.
Then I thought of earlier in the day, it was our ward conference. We sustained the leaders of our church.
We were able to sustain the prophet 1 last time.
That is a memory that I will keep.
I love President Hinckley.
I have loved reading all about his life from the articles that are being written about him.
I have loved seeing countless photos of him on blogs that I read.
I love reading the stories from personal experiences that people have had with him.
I never met President Hinckley.
But he touched my life.
He has been the prophet my whole married life.
He has been the prophet while I have had my 4 children.
I have listened to him speak more times than I can count.
He urged me to be a little better, to do a little more. Gently he urged, with a smile and a wave of his cane.
He encouraged me to stand a little taller...and wrote a book about it!
He gave me the "6 be's"...and then added 3 more for good measure.
I have this hanging in my home. I think of it often. Its not something that I have as decor that I forget about..but I think about them as I pass it.I have read the book "Way to be" with my kids a couple of times....I think its a great time read it again.
I love President Hinckley.
And while I felt a tug of sadness at my heart when I heard of his passing, I feel a greater tug at my heart of joy and love for him and how he has encouraged me to "Be"-

polar bear boy

Here are a few photos of Luke on his birthday....he had a polar bear birthday. (in case you could not tell by the photos)
The darling polar bear costume was made by my sister in law, and we borrowed it for the day.
Luke has loved wearing it, and he wanted to sleep in it, and wear it to school.
He is having a great time being 5...his favorite thing to ask anyone is,
"Do I look 4 anymore?"-
We had a fun friends party this afternoon. Very simple, and Luke thought it was great.

today he turns a whole hand

SO very excited for him to wake up in the morning.
Excited to spend the day with him celebrating.
I can't believe that 5 years have passed since his birth.
It makes me so emotional!
I have many thoughts to share...but I think I will wait.
I think I will hold them in my heart for a while longer.
I will have to share later in the day more photos of this boy
who will hold up 1 hand when asked
"how old are you?"

on my mind

This is what is going through my mind today...


Check this out here,
and then click listen to samples.
I saw this last friday during the inspiration shopping trip. Kept thinking about it.....found it last night on I-tunes and bought it, and have been listening to it... ( I tried to figure out how to link to apple but it has a worm)

Went through our music the other night and found songs I did not know we had..and found songs that I love but have not heard in a long time. It is time to create some new playlists.

This song (#4 Thank you for the music) keeps going through my head...again click listen to samples.

Other thoughts...besides music...
*Savanna is home sick...hoping it does not spread to the rest of us!

*Planning a polar bear birthday for a very important almost 5 year old!

*Feeling so grateful for friendship! I miss the ones that I don't get to see! I even miss the ones that I live close to! I don't get to spend as much time with girlfriends as I would like!

*I am in the mood for salads after posting a comment and reading Meghans "salad shout out"- I posted 5 salad recipes there....and there were some that were posted that sound yum!

* I am also in the mood to create and not clean or work around the house...but my creative space is a mess...must clean it up now.
BYE!

What to eat Wednesday 2 for 1 Tortellini Spinach Soup

I got this recipe from my friend Kaleen while we lived in Payson UT. We would share dinner ideas, and we often would cook each other's dinners. (I miss doing that...and I miss her!) I had a lot of spinach to use up one evening and she had ravioli. SO we combined efforts and used her recipe. The spinach recipe came from a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Whenever a recipe calls for spinach, this is how I make it.

Sautéed Spinach
This is great in the Tortellini soup.

Wash and remove stems & cut up 1 pound spinach. Shake off as much water as possible. Heat in large skillet:
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Garlic clove minced
Add the spinach. Cover skillet & cook over high heat until steam appears. Reduce the heat & simmer until tender. 5-6 minutes in all.



Tortellini Spinach Soup
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 Tablespoon margarine or butter
2 cans beef broth (26 oz)
8 ounce frozen or fresh tortellini or ravioli
1-15 ounce can chopped spinach or fresh sautéed spinach
1-14 1/2 ounce can stewed tomatoes or undrained cut up/or can of diced tomatoes seasoned with basil, oregano, garlic (comes pre-seasoned in the can)
Grated parmesan

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, cook garlic in margarine for 2-3 minutes. Add broth & tortellini or ravioli . Heat to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach & tomatoes-simmer 5 minutes more. Serve with grated parmesan.

Oklahoma City makes top 10

WOW- we made the top 10

But for something so embarrassing!

WE are in the top 10 for the most obese cities in America!

Saturday night my mom was telling us how she had seen Oklahoma City's Mayor on The Ellen Degeneres show, and how great it was. Then she ran into him at my nephews basketball game, and had the chance to tell him so in person.

I saw this in our paper this morning,
right next to the half page section on girl scout cookies. ( which by the way, my niece is selling if you want any)
It made me laugh...maybe if I bought the cookies, I should eat them while I walk on the treadmill.

So here is the link to the OKC million website..." this city is going on a diet" go check it out...lets get off that top 10 list!

Another little funny side note- I thought of this as I just typed the above sentence.
For those of you who know the movie Finding Nemo-Ellen plays Dory-
Think of her voice and Dory when they are being chased, and the angler fish gets stuck and she starts taunting and singing "no eating here tonight-no eating here tonight, no eating here tonight, your on a diet!"

Week in review

did not post much this week...
here is a recap

Doing good with the no fine resolution....I was very ambitious and checked out many books about all things polar bear for Luke this week, I have high hopes to keep them all together and return them on time!

Savanna had her colonial fair at school...

Tucker has fallen many times, off of the kitchen table and chairs. He bit through his lip and I had a moment of panic. All is fine. We were reminded of how many bruises Luke used to have. So many that after the summertime, and we returned back to school, Savannas previous teacher said.."is that the same bruise as last year?"

Went on an inspiration shopping trip to the mall...Luke and Tucker "set up shop" in pottery barn kids...
my mind is filled with fun things to make and do for and around our home.

Jack was the handyman and took care of his brother before himself. They both got new remote control cars from their grandpa, and the packaging had screws holding it all to the box. Jack took it upon himself without asking me.... he just went and found the screwdriver, and took Lukes box apart...then took care of his own.

Watched movies and played with the family-Went to my friend Leslies, and played/sang with their Wii and Ps2- loved doing the singing with Savanna.

Attended our stake conference- went to the evening session with Jay, without kids (yea) and felt uplifted and inspired...then attended the 2 hour session today as a family. AND Luke sat through the entire thing! (and Jay took Tuck out!) Ahhh what a treat.


Ended the day watching video of the year Luke was born...our time in Oregon. So sweet seeing Savanna and Jack and Luke so much younger...5 years younger. Listening to their sweet sweet voices and the cute things they used to say. I am so thankful to have that video. I know I don't have as much video of Tucker (but I have waaaayyyy more photos)



Ready to start a new week-
My resolution for this next week is to get on the treadmill daily...

sweet face-sweet boy

Hard to imagine that he would ever cause any trouble!

hat and gloves

mondays accomplishment

This is what I made on Monday...Donna gave this to me for Christmas unfinished.
We will use this for notes for the family, and our post-its that we use for jobs, and to do's.
I love it, and am happy to have something on that wall. We had a clock there for a while, but I never really liked it. Then we had the christmas pop box. I love that I finished a project. It really does get me excited to work on other things.

what to eat wednesday-Pesto Chicken Milano Pasta

I got this recipe from somebody in Meghan's family, in one of those online recipe exchanges.
Usually I get recipes that are too complex, or too bland. BUT this one is neither of those things.
Great the first day, great the 2nd. I love the mushrooms...and the chicken, and the alfredo, oh I just love it all together!


Pesto Chicken Milano Pasta


8 oz. linguine
2 T. olive oil
4 Boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1 8 oz. container of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup alfredo sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 T. pesto
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/3 cup tomatoes or 1 tomato diced
1/3 cup green onions, chopped


Cook linguine. Heat oil in skillet and add strips of chicken, cook fully. Remove chicken from skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook until golden stirring often. Stir in alfredo sauce and broth, simmer. Add chicken, cheese, pesto, tomatoes and onions to skillet. Heat until cheese is melted.

Serve over linguine and add additional cheese to top.

OK... I did it a little different. I added the green onions with the mushrooms after they were almost finished cooking. I also grilled the chicken. The tomatoes, I used canned. I just drained the liquid, and measured them out. This made A LOT!

monday

My sweet neighbor brought over a surprise dinner on Saturday night. I was so excited! It was an unbaked pie that I could use for sunday dinner.
And look how cute the "S" is on the top!

The recipe is called Gobbler Cobbler Pie
from Paula Deen and can be found here. It is good... A great way to use up turkey too!

On a totally unrelated note...I put Christmas away today. I was finally ready. I think today was my most productive day in 2008-It was a miracle of a monday-Almost all of the christmas bins are loaded and ready to be put in the attic. AND...I created things today! It feels good...gets me excited for tomorrow, my mind just keeps going on what I want to work on next! IT feels so great to start getting our home organized again. I have felt that since having the 4th child...I just have had to let things go. (and its a year later!) BUT, ahhhh.. the light, I can see the light.

sunday evening

The end of the day, and many thoughts swirl through my mind. I get like this at the end of the day. I start thinking about 1 thing, and that thought leads to another.
The house is very still (finally!) and I think I can just let my mind go...its very relaxing.
I am listening to this...
so my thoughts have been about Joseph Smith, and of course Christ.

It all started with me thinking of my Grandfather.

Tonight I missed him.

My mom had called and said that Nana was not doing well, and could Jay go visit her. He did and he came home with Grandaddy's scriptures for Jack. Before he died, several times, he said he wanted Jack to have his scriptures when he turned 8, and was baptized. He passed away 3 months before Jack turned 8.

So Jay bringing the scriptures opened up some emotions for me.

I remember Grandaddy calling when Jack was really really little. (oh my memory.. I wish I could remember exactly when!) I know he was under 2. Anyway, he wanted to know how much it would cost for Jack to serve a mission. He wanted to help Jack be able to go on a mission when he was old enough. I was so touched. We never talked about it again, and nothing was ever said or done. But I know of his desire for Jack to serve the Lord.
So I was thinking of Grandaddy and his testimony, and having his scriptures for Jack. And listening to the CD- And I started thinking of my testimony. It made my heart full.

I miss Grandaddy. I know that Nana is lonely, and is still trying to figure out how to live life without her companion.
I started thinking about how excited he would be to talk about the upcoming elections. ALL the candidates. I never talked with him about politics. I don't think I ever felt "old enough"- but I can remember my mom talking with him. I can see him getting animated, and fired up about things. He was a researcher....he would think and think and think, and gather as much information as he could. (thats how we ended up with so many great books..if he wanted to know something he would research it!)

So...my ending thoughts today are closing with my gratitude for my family, my grandfather,
my testimony of Christ, and the blessing of music. How it can bring me closer to Christ, and fill our home with His peace.

this is how things looked 1 month ago today

Everything encased in ice.

Today we are proud

At the beginning of the school year, the oldest 2 were so concerned about Luke going to pre-k.
AND not for the reasons you might think.

They were worried for themselves.

At separate times they confided their concerns. They worried about what would happen if Luke yelled at the teacher. They worried about Luke yelling at other kids. They worried about Luke running away. They both worried about the big what if....what if Luke had to go to the principals office.
We did our best to calm their fears, and let them know, that they did not have to fix it, nor was it a reflection of them, nor would it change how anybody felt about them.

Their individual reputations would stay intact.

But as the parents we did worry. The concerns we had. The prayers that were said.

And today was progress report day.
I have been waiting for this report.

What a blessing of a day. All 3 were fine. Nothing to report.
All satisfactory.
As I had all the kids in the car I was making a big deal to the kids about how wonderful it was...and how great they all did. I made an especially big deal, for Luke, saying how good he did at going to centers, and how good he did obeying, how good he did with others etc.
Savanna smugly said.... "hmmmm I wonder where he learned that from..as if she was the great example and teacher.."
And Luke without missing a beat says "my teacher, Mrs.Cox."

So we can't take credit for the good...does that mean we won't be blamed for the bad?

What to eat Wenesday- Chili Salsa Beef

You know the saying... never trust a skinny cook?
Well throw that phrase out the window. My super talented, and super skinny sister-in-law Denise, shared this with me a few years ago.
This makes a lot.. Easy easy, and can also be made with shredded chicken.

Chili Salsa Beef

Cook a roast in crock pot until it shreds easily. About10-12 hours
Saute
1 Tablespoon olive oil in pan with 2-3 garlic cloves
Then add
4 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 ½ cups salsa
2 cans black beans
Add roast, and simmer for 1 hour.
Serve over rice with lime and cilantro as a garnish and chips.

Library Fines & Resolutions

Last night when Jay got home he said,
"so did the armored truck have to escort you to the library today?"-
I laughed and he said...
"I don't even want to know"

You see, I had some books checked out for a while. We had the power outage. Things were in disarray. We left town, we came back to town, people were sick. I had the cards out to renew online but just did not get it done.

I had promised Luke a trip to the library, and I wanted to see if they had the magazine REAL SIMPLE, so I could check out what Meghan had read, and do the quiz like she did.

So I finally returned the books, and checked on the fine.

JAY STOP READING NOW!

This is where $$ signs start flying all over the place. The total for my laziness?

$30.

Thirty Dollars.

Can I just tell you all the things I thought of that I could have paid for with that $30-
That $30 could have been a lot of things.
That $30 could have been a copayment for one of the many dr. visits this week.
That $30 could have been a family dinner out.
That $30 could have been 3o days of sonic drinks.
That $30 could have been a manicure.
That $30 could have been a trip to hobby lobby,
or to target.
That $30 could have been a lot things....my mind is going numb thinking of how much my laziness cost me.
So in the spirit of the new year, and making resolutions...I am setting a goal of returning things on time. Come on, its not like I live far away from the library. AND really, you can renew online.
So in that spirit, I am compiling a list.
A $30 list.
I am going to make a list of all things that I can come up with, that I could spend $30 on, instead of fines. Not to beat myself up, but to encourage myself to not let this happen again.

So help me will ya?

List anything you can think of that $30 would go towards.
It can be serious, it can be funny.
Help me out.

WOW

So the readers of this blog LOVE
Ree over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

I have not received so many comments in 1 day-
it has been fun to have such a response!
(funny to get excited over 6 comments!)

So come on now, share the other blogs that you are reading...
Don't be shy ...

yum

Meghan sent me to this wonderful food blog. All of her pictures look so good.
I think that she must have great lighting in her kitchen, and a good camera, and I guess she is a good photographer as well.

I had never made a pot roast like this, or the mashed potatoes she links to.
I did today.
YUM!
Another one the whole family loved.
I think I will go sneak a carrot out of the leftovers.
MMMMmmmmmm.

give a sign

A little while back I posted about a compliment I received.
And, I challenged you to let somebody else know how you feel.

Well, I found this today from Donna Downey's site.
I enjoyed it, and plan on using it more often.
Does not take much, but the impact will be huge, on you and the receiver.


give a sign of gratitude

transition

Our family is in that transition that happens this time of year.
I think I will call it going

from
to


definition of NOEL
definition of NO

We go from happy, sure do whatever you want, play on the computer, eat treats, watch movies, stay in jammies all day, play with all the toys, sure you can have a 4th hot chocolate ...

to

Me saying, No, not right now, no, no you can't right now, no, I already said no.
And the kids saying, "NO!" I DON'T WANT TO! Whhhhhhyyyyyyy? Not me, I didn't do it.
(and then we have all the other sounds for no, that we are using for Tucker, as he is exploring and discovering all that he can, but should not do)

It sure is hard after having so much fun to get back into our routines!
The kids go back to school on monday. That should help.
I am trying to say yes as much as possible.
And keep that feeling of Noel, despite all the No's.

Holiday Highlights

Highlights from trip
not in any sort of order..just a rambling list of memories as they came to my mind on the drive home
(this is long, no punctuation or grammar checked, and lots and lots of photos)


not cooking any meals for 11 days, but still eating better home cooked meals than we do at home-

meeting pauls fiance Mary-
seeing how Luke "took"to her so quickly



luke being happy about getting the one thing he asked for Christmas- a silver bell from santas sleigh

my oh so appropriate charm from jay- a snowflake- to remember this years weather

savanna wanting her hair curled almost everyday

luke spotting every train, and every train track on the drive, and proclaiming oh so loudly "look its the polar express!"

jack finally getting to play with his Christmas gifts, and getting excited about them


sitting in the hot tub

falling snow

jack's baptism and his happiness, joy and glee

savanna still enjoying toys


movies, movies, movies

reading a book

stitchin

tucker taking to grandma the day we were supposed to leave to go back home


having the flexibility to stay longer

attending church together as a family with grandparents twice





kids playing happy


once again fitting everything into the van for the trip home

jay surprising me with a after Christmas deal of a lighted christmas tree for our family room

tucker waking up at midnight new years eve and enjoying our new years toast



watching the fireworks at the top of pikes peak outside, and freezing our tails off






party with the barton family on new years eve, and the kids having a blast, dancing and just being themselves



prada high heel grown up shoes-


going shopping on a date with jay in denver to the beautiful mall

tucker getting his own phone from his uncle and loving it


boys playing PS2 with their dad

savanna getting set up on email and webkins, and enjoying the world beyond her home

driving around manitou springs, Garden of the God's

tucker standing on jack's board


going to the same stores as home, walmart sams target, ross hobby lobby,

and then going to the ones we don't have REI, crate & barrel, the container store, gatherings,

eating eating eating

tucker excited for all the excitement



having jay all to ourselves- no work, no church

jay playing with the kids

lukes constant pleading of "will you chase me"

christmas morning 5 am wake up

christmas morning waiting on the stairs


tucker and his 1 piece outfits

luke making snow angels



all the kids playing outside in the cold (oh so cold)

grandpa using the special santa phone to call the north pole

driving around looking at christmas lights

jay putting tucker down for a nap and not giving up

luke and the reindeer food


beautifully set table for meals


jay getting the kids beds ready for night- without me asking for help

kids presenting the nativity story, acting it out and playing multiple parts each

luke announcing "hurry! a baby is coming"

and then "oh i forgot my sheep"


the 3 wisemen



having jays laptop available to check email, pay bills, and feel connected & using it more than he did

tucker being our best all around traveler ever!

borrowing a dvd player for the car

kids picking out presents for each other

luke being so excited to see a present with his name on it


enjoying the time to just be

car making it for another trip

tucker overcoming fear of dogs

taking 742 photos

While on a date with jay to the beautiful mall, understanding fully what luke said when we went "looking" for christmas toys .... "there are so many things to want!"

letting go of preconceived thoughts of how things are supposed to be, and enjoying the moment the way things are