One of the "Girls"

OK, so I have been told that I have yet to put an actual picture of our chickens on the blog. This is one of the "girls" that we have. Rachel just loves the chickens. She screams if we don't take her on our jaunts out to the coop to check on the chickens. Then, if you don't catch her a chicken to pet, she is just upset with you. She just giggles and giggles to pet them, and will stand at the fence and watch them for ever. It is fun to watch her. If she is ever outside she can be found toddling to the coop to see who is out to visit with.

New Recipe

Hi all. I decided that I would put a new recipe on my blog each week, as I love to try new recipes. For now, I will just put recipes on that I have tried and then let you know whether or not they were "family friendly". I don't know if I can just put the recipes on here if I got them from a certain site, so I will just tell you where to get them for now. Tonight we had a recipe that I got off the internet from Paula Deen. You can find the recipe by searching her recipes on the Food Channel. We had Chicken Spiedini's and spaghetti squash. The chicken is wrapped around a chunk of asiago cheese and then rolled in olive oil and bread crumbs. These are great! The spaghetti squash I cooked up in the microwave and then put butter and parmesan cheese in it. I can't say that it was the best looking meal, but everyone ate it up. When feeding my family spaghetti squash, I always treat it like spaghetti noodles and serve it in some way related to the noodle and then my kids will eat it. How is that for tricky? Anyhow, give this a try and let me know if you like it.

My Little Music Director

Rachel is my one year old busy one. She rarely sits to watch TV, she will stop to laugh at something on the TV and then run off on her way. To our surprise during General Conference, she actually sat during President Monson's talk and then she led the Choir in their song. This is her leading the music, although it is hard to see anything but her flying hands. We were once told that it didn't matter if your kids went to church when they were little, as they wouldn't know any different. I beg to differ. I think that they are so close to the spirit and they can feel it. So now, when I go to sacrament meeting and wonder, "Why am I here?" while I wrestle between Izzy and Rachel for that hour, I will think of this picture and know why.

3 Generations

Last weekend my mom and grandmother came to visit. They like to be busy, if you only knew, and so I have to have projects for them to work on while they are here. There is never a shortage of projects in this house, so while we listened to General Conference they helped me finish my canning for the year, potatoes and carrots from my garden. My garden was a ton better than I had expected, as we just picked a spot, rototilled in some manure, planted some seeds, and then watered every few days. We were able to can 33 quarts of potatoes/carrots/onions and 11 quarts of beans. (This is why the hair is not so neat in the photos and the expressions slightly haggardly.) We also made bread, and my grandma is holding a jar of pickles that she canned for me out of her garden. In addition to the fact that I really appreciate these women for all they do for me, I am eternally thankful for the relationship that I have with them. Most of who I am is because of these women. They have taught me invaluable skills that I am able to use to care for my family. They are who I call when my days are long, or I am attempting some new thing that I need advice for, or when I just need someone to listen for a minute. I am also very thankful for the relationship that they have with my children. My children love them and look forward to their visits. They are also learning from them and becoming their friends. Thank heavens for family.

Oh the Talent..

Tonight we got to see our kids' talent in the Primary Talent Show. Abby played the top part of a duet of "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" I was supposed to accompany her, but was informed just prior to her performing that she would rather do it alone. I wasn't sure if I should feel upset or not. She did an awesome job though. She is getting to be quite accomplished and does well performing in front of others. Kaleb's talent was cookies. He came home from school today and made "Dipped Gingersnaps." I helped only in that I cracked the eggs and made a million little balls of dough to get ready to bake. I had to laugh at a comment that Kaleb made while cooking. We were talking about making mistakes and how a small one can ruin whatever it is that you are making. He says to me, "Well, Mom, it is OK that I make mistakes because I am a work in progress." Kaleb has had a talent his whole life in that he has these very adult words and phrases that just pop out at the correct time and make so much sense. He just tickles me sometimes with his wit.

My kids have great talents and I am so glad that I get to watch and see what comes next. We are all works in progress. Don't I know it.

Six Random Things About Me..

I saw this tag a while ago from my friend Viki and then again from Annie so I thought I would try it for myself. So here goes..

1. I think that ice should be it's own food group. My favorite treat is a full glass of crushed ice from the hospital (good thing I work there) with Diet Coke over the top. I will eat enough ice that my body temperature drops so low that I am shivering.

2. I have an almost obsession with lip gloss. If I don't watch myself, I will buy one from every store I go to. Pink, of course, is best as that is my favorite color.

3. When I cook I like to imagine myself a great chef and will try to cut/dice things like the pros. Luckily I haven't removed any fingers yet. I am a good cook though - even if I do say so myself.

4. I am willing to try anything at least once: strange food, weird outfits ( in the dressing room only), and crazy carnival rides. Things that I have surprisingly liked are the raw tuna appetizer from PF Changs and the Screamer from Disneyland. You will still never catch me in bell bottoms though.

5. I have been married to the same man for almost 14 years. I say that as being strange because where I work that is definitely an oddity. And I still even like him - well, most of the time. Ha, Ha. He really is great - he even carries lip gloss in his pocket for me so that I will have some no matter where we are.

6. I have worked in Labor and Delivery for almost 5 years, and I still have to choke back tears when a new little spirit enters the world. Sometimes I am more emotional than Mom and I have to step out to wipe away the tears. No matter what, it is a beautiful moment.

All is safely gathered in..

Abigail got back from Mallo Camp yesterday. She was so full of news about all her adventures. She loved it, and wishes she could go again. I was thrilled to hear of all her fun adventures, and just as thrilled to have her home once again. A hymn came to mind last night as I checked on all my sleeping "chicks" before going to bed. There is a line in Come, Ye Thankful People Come that just echoed in my mind "all is safely gathered in." The next stanza is e're the winter storms begin - I am not ready for that, but I still know that all is well when we are all together. The times that we are all together seem to get farther apart as activities and schedules keep us going. Chad left this morning at 6am for a scouting activity so tonight I will be able to once again think, "all is safely gathered in." I am thankful for my family and that we can be together forever.