On The First Day of Christmas.....

My grandparents gave to me an advent calender and yummy candy. Every year my mom and dad do the Twelve Days of Christmas for my kids. They are giddy every morning as we sit by the glowing Christmas tree. Who gets to open it? Who gets to read the poem attached? We have to have a system or there will be tears. I think it is such a fun tradition and I wanted to share the excitement of it with everyone. On The first day of Christmas they gave them Christmas candy, the advent candle pictured below (totally from my childhood), and a cute elf advent softie that has a pocket for each day. You move a tiny wooden candy cane to the day's pocket. Cute. Stay tuned for more Twelve Days of Christmas excitement!

Halloween 2008

I need to post about Halloween. I just keep hoping my camera will turn up with all the pictures on it. It hasn't. So I will record the events with what photos I have pieced together, and I will add more as I collect them from friends.

The festivities kicked off early in the week with the ward Trunk-R-Treat. Carter dressed as a giant pinata and I had on a giant sombrero and held a pinata stick. It was a hit! Not easy to maneuver in though. The kids got so much candy, we made them give most of it to us and we handed it out on Halloween. Cruel, I know.

Early on Halloween morning Courtney and I got up and decorated the kitchen with cobwebs, lights, and spooky music. The boys thought it was great, and as a result got very few of their chores done. Later that morning I helped in Bowen's class, for my center we made slime. The kids were thrilled. This grosser the better when your seven.

I then made a quick trip to Cooper's preschool class for a little singing program, he was dressed as the Dark Night and was adorable singing his heart out in his mask. Then it was back to the school for the costume parade. Jackson was a football player (just an excuse for everyone to see him in his cool Desert Hills uniform) and Bowen was Obi Wan. After the parade it was home to start on the doughnuts. I made 400 this year! They turned out great, but you just can't picture it unless you see the pictures. We did it in the garage this year, so we could socialize and see everyone. Everyone from the neighborhood stopped in and many brought their bowls of candy and sat and hung out. It was a blast.

Courtney was a Rubik's cube this year and chose not to go trick-or-treating, so she had a bunch of friends over for pumpkin shaped pizzas (compliments of Papa John's) and bone sticks (bread sticks). I think they had a good time.


I really like Halloween, I don't know why, it is always so crazy and busy. I think that I like it because I get to be a kid again, and maybe because it signals the beginning of the holidays. I love being a mom and experiencing the world through my kids eyes.

A New Blogger

Courtney has her own blog. You should check it out, she is getting some good reviews at school for her wonderful writing. An added bonus-she is funny. Click here to read.

14

That's how many years I have been married today. That is a lot, especially considering that I was only eighteen when I got married. So, I have been married almost as long as I have been single. Wow! Here's the special day we have planned. Carter will go to work, putting out Veteran's Day flags on his way out. I will get up, workout, get the kids up and off to school. Laundry. Go to a school function. Go to the DMV and get a new license (see below. Make dinner, get Court to Young Women's, Jack to scouts, Carter to Young Men's, help Bowie with his homework and get he and Coop to bed. Get older kids to bed and then hopefully kiss my husband before I go to bed. Just like yesterday, but busier. If you want to know how much I love Carter and how glad I am that he chose me as his wife just look below at his birthday post. Here's hoping for a cruise on year fifteen!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Today is Carter's 36th birthday. Happy birthday Cart! I don't want to go all sentimental and mushy on you, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention a couple things about my mate. Carter takes good care of our family, he works hard, and hardly ever takes any time for himself. I also admire how hard he serves in his callings. He never misses a meeting or and activity, and makes darn sure we are at the temple often. My mom says Carter knows how to anticipate people's needs. He does. He brings a blanket before I am cold, a glass of water before I am thirsty, a treat for fun, and a hot bath before I ask. He has always treated me with great respect, and is a great example to his sons. One of the best qualities about Carter is he is willing to change, and try to make himself better. He is always looking inward at what he can improve on, and sincerely making an effort to do better. He is humble and submissive to the Spirit. I could take a page out of his book. Carter, thank you for making our lives fuller. better and more meaningful. One homemade pumpkin pie coming right up. Happy Birthday!

It's Not Lost

It was stolen out of my purse- out of my car- right in my driveway. Along with my wallet. Along with my identity. Mean mean people.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

My camera is missing! All the cute halloween pictures, all the funny halloween pictures, everything!

How I Get Through Most Days

Our church just finished our annual October conference. It was beautiful. In a world that isn't kind, the Gospel, and most especially the Savior is my anchor. These are quotes for Elder Uchtdorf's Sunday morning talk. Read the rest, it will fill your cup like it does mine.

"Hope is not knowledge,but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance."


"The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light."


"We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for [our] good” as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair."

To Clarify

I have had several emails asking me about my "new business". I am not launching a business, but my good friends are. Tomorrow. They are selling all natural bath and body products which are awesome. It is called "Posh in Clover". I will post their website soon. You should check it out. I am doing the cupcakes for the event. Sorry for the confusing post before!

Creating

Sticky floor, sticky arms, sticky feet, even a sticky ceiling. That is what you get when you can anything, even if it is not a sticky thing. We ended u with 70 jars of beautiful golden peaches. Sounds like a lot, but it is not rare for us to go through 3 bottles for a meal. My kids love them. This year I really reduced the sugar and you can't even tell. I also mustered the energy to do 20 bottles of peach raspberry jam. Thanks to Amber for the wonderful recipe I use every year. The best thing about canning this year is that everyone I know was interested in learning how. I got to teach quite a few women in my neighborhood how to can and we all felt so productive. I owe a great big thanks to my mom and grandma's who wisely passed on this homemaking skill. If you don't do it, try it! Just one fruit or jam/jelly. Your family will love you for it!
Here are a couple things I have been working on.This is a banner my sisters helped me put together for a friend's baby shower. I like how it turned out. I made a few extra triangles and made the letters removable so I could change it into a Happy Birthday banner for Cooper's upcoming birthday. I like that I can change it for any occasion. I think I will make a girlie one too.
I saw these tissue paper balls on Martha. They look much more difficult than they are, but they dressed up the shower nicely. I will be making several more for a business launch party this weekend.
Here is the most recent cupcake order. It was for an 89th birthday party. Flavors included: Coconut with coconut cream filling, Lemon with lemon curd, Chocolate with chocolate pastry cream, Vanilla with vanilla pastry cream. They turned out yummy! I am doing over 200 this weekend for the launch party. I was thinking I need a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, or a pumpkin spice. Any flavor suggestions? What is your favorite flavor? Help a girl out.