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Thursday, August 18, 2011

I need to stay home!

I had a job interview today...a job as a receptionist in an Orthopedic office that paid about $13 per hour...but I canceled the interview.  As I was trying to get ready to go, I looked at the piles of laundry around me, listened to my kids argue with each other, and realized my prayers were being answered.  Heavenly Father wants me to be home with my children and my husband.  No amount of money can make up for the lack of time I would be able to spend with them each and every day. 

So, as a dear old friend said, "Those huge life decisions are killers but there is so much peace in knowing that there is someone who will let us know exactly what to do and prepare the way. Or not, as He may see fit."

So we will continue to struggle right now to pay our bills until my transcription work picks up a bit and I get my new Scentsy business off the ground, but I will be blissfully happy at home with my children and husband around me, even when I have huge piles of laundry to wash and occasional arguments to settle. 


I love my family, and nothing makes me happier than spending time with them. Sure, most days are hard, but no other success in life is more important to me than my family. Someday in the future when I look back on the path I have taken in life, I hope to be at the top, wrapped in the arms of my eternal family.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Come see this car in the Melba 4th of July Parade


Nick restored this go-kart that belonged to my dad.  Daddy bought it in the 1960s and drove it in the Idaho Centennial parade in 1963. 

After that, it sat in a shed for over 40 years.  Needless to say, it was not very pretty when we brought it home...


But Nick took the seat apart and recovered it with new fabric, painted the body and wheels, and cleaned up the engine. 

The only thing he could not salvage was the gas tank because it was full of rust.  Now it is beautiful again, and I am so excited that he will be driving it in the Melba 4th of July parade...I just wish Daddy was here to see it!

Popovers...Yummy!!

I tried a new recipe today.  While looking at the blog How Mom Did It  I found this recipe for popovers (I have heard of them but have never had one in my entire life.)  They looked very simple, so I decided to give it a try.   Wow! They are really good (especially with homemade strawberry freezer jam).

Wanna make some for yourself?  Here's the recipe...

But first, you need to know the secret to making popovers...

1. Get the muffin tin cold...stick it in the refrigerator.
2. Do NOT (do not , do not, do not) pre-heat your oven! I am serious. You are going to put a cold pan into your cold oven once you are ready to bake them. There is something about doing it this way that makes the popovers puff up so nicely...


Now for the recipe...


3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Whisk the eggs and milk together then add salt and flour, and mix those ingredients together until well blended.  (I didn't take a picture of this, but I think you can figure it out.)

Spray the cold muffin pan with cooking spray.  Fill the muffin cups 1/2 full with batter.
(Yes, my muffin pan is broken in 3 pieces, but it is Pampered Chef, and I love it, and it still works just fine!)

Put the pan in the COLD oven and turn on to 450 degrees.  Set the timer for 25 minutes and then wait...DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN!

When the timer goes off, remove from the oven.

Stick a toothpick in the popovers to release the steam...

Now you will have perfect little popover cups to fill with yummy homemade strawberry freezer jam and enjoy!
Make sure you bake plenty because it is easy to eat a few of these...or do like I did and eat as many as you want before you wake the kids up...I guarantee they will be gone in a flash when the kids discover them!

Next time I make these, I will put whip cream on top too! (that was Greg's suggestion, and it sounds delicious!)

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Update to "It's HOT Outside!"

Is that all I need to do to get a rainstorm...blog about how hot it is?  Tuesday night about 10:30 we got a fabulous thunderstorm with thunder, lightning, and TONS of rain...HUGE drops were falling (I know...I was outside in it driving to the store).  It was absolutely crazy and wonderful!  It only lasted about 20 minutes, but it sure cooled everything down, and then it rained again about 1:00 in the morning and a little more later in the morning.  It was cool and wet outside, so I took the kids out and pulled the weeds along our road.  Rain is wonderful for making those weeds pull right out of the ground.  I even had fun pulling weeds...don't think I can say that about the kids, but at least they helped!

Anyway...I just wanted to say...I LOVE THE RAIN AND I AM GRATEFUL TO HEAVENLY FATHER FOR SENDING IT TODAY!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

It's HOT outside!!!

Well, so much for our rainy cool weather...I think summer is finally here to stay!  It has been in the 90s for the past few days.  I have decided I was really enjoying the cooler wet weather (even though I complained about it a bit back then).  Now we have to crank up the AC inside and try to keep the grass green outside.

Mandi and Porter went whitewater rafting to beat the heat today.  The Boise Police Activities League does a free Raft-Along on the Payette River every year, so the kids rode the bus to cascade, rafted down the Payette, and then had lunch before they came home.  It is a lot of fun for them (even though Porter said it was "boring.")  Lately to him, anything that doesn't involve video games is boring...we definiltely need to keep that boy active!  Mandi loved rafting and even met some new friends.  She said their river guide made them all jump out of the raft and get wet.  I am glad they were able to participate in this today!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

My Goal...

Helaman 5:30 "And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul."

Ah...if I could just use a still voice of perfect mildness, maybe my kids would actually listen! I default to the voice of thunder way more than I should. So that's my goal this month... I'm really going to work on that one...

.

Bountiful Baskets

We bought our first Bountiful Basket today. For only $15 we got about $30 worth of produce including bananas, apples, plums, nectarines, strawberries, mangoes, limes, carrots, cabbage, celery, grape tomatoes, green onions, and swiss chard (not sure what to do with that stuff yet!) All I had to do was take a basket to the site and transfer the fruits and vegies from their baskets to mine, and I was on my way... The kids were excited to have some fresh fruit to eat (including new things to try like mangoes), and I came home and started a pot of Easy Sausage Supper (one of my favorite easy recipes). Just boil some water with chicken or beef boullion and layer in potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and smoked sausage then simmer until it's all done...It smells and tastes delicious!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Happy Birthday, Greg!

We celebrated Greg's 44th birthday on June 15th.  We made him a Funfetti cake and some cupcakes and invited his parents over for cake and ice cream.  His friend, Bill Holstein, came over too.  He got cash from his mom and dad, and Bill brought him a long-sleeve Harley T-shirt.  We gave him a green Swiss Army knife that he found on ebay.


Happy Birthday, Dad...WE LOVE YOU!


Mom took Dad out for dinner at Fuddrucker's so he could use his Birthday Club coupon.  (We are signed up for the birthday club at Red Robin, Coldstone Creamery, Tucano's, and Taco Del Mar too, so we all get lots of birthday goodies!) 

Anyway...back to Fudds...we split a 1-pound burger and their delicious fries with cheese sauce!



Then they brought him this incredible birthday sundae...



And we ate every last bit of it!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Free Fishing Day

Today was Idaho Free Fishing Day, so we packed up the poles, bought some worms, and went to Wilson Ponds to try our luck.  Mandi's friend, Emmery, came with us too.



Aubrie caught the first fish of the evening (as usual),



then Porter caught one too (that's his fish laying in the dirt)... 


It started getting a little chilly and breezy, and we thought about going home, but then mom hooked a fish too.  Unfortunately, as soon as I got it close to shore, it wiggled off the hook and swam away.  I was determined I was not going home empty handed, so I baited the hook again and cast out the line...another bite!  Reeled him in to the shore, and...yep, you guessed it...he got away!  Now I was really getting mad, so I decided to try just one more time.  Finally!  I hooked one and he did not get away...so we came home with 3 rainbow trout, which mom cleaned (because no one else wanted to help...eww gross!), then I broiled them with some lemon pepper, and we had a little snack...YUMMY!


We can't wait to go fishing again!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Jump Creek

Greg and I took Nick, Mandi, and Porter on a hike to Jump Creek today (Aubrie and Krystal had to work, so we will have to take them another time).  It is a little recreation area out past Marsing.  It was kind of hard to find because of the "No Trespassing" signs, which caused us to take a wrong turn for a bit, but we finally figured out the way to go, and it was beautiful! 


Just had to watch out for rattlesnakes and poison ivy along the trail...YIKES!  (At least Greg was "packin' heat"...he brought his 357 just in case!)



There was about a 1/4-mile hike back into the canyon that opened up into a beautiful waterfall. 



We had to wade through a little water to get back to the falls, and poor Nick dropped his cell phone in the creek, but we had a lot of fun nonetheless and got some good exercise too!  Nick even climbed up on top of the cliff way above us.



Friday, May 27, 2011

WET!

Wow! I can't believe how much rain we have been getting lately!  Right now as I look out the window, it just looks like a sheet of water falling from the sky!  It sure is keeping everything pretty and green, but I am ready for some warm weather!  Hard to believe it is almost June and it is only about 60 degrees outside.  CRAZY!  It even snowed a little bit just about a week ago.  But, I will be thankful for the rain and cool weather now because I will really be missing it when it is 100 degrees outside later this summer.  I am also thankful for our somewhat mild weather here in Idaho, as many states in the country have been enduring tornados.  Just this week, on Sunday, there was a tornado in Joplin, Missouri, that killed at least 125 people, and hundreds more are missing.  Since then, just about every day this week, there have been deadly tornadoes in other states as well.  It just makes me realize how close the second coming really is!


Thursday, May 26, 2011

A New Look and an Update!

It was definitely time to update the blog, so I also decided to give it a whole new look!

Porter graduated from 5th grade at Endeavor Elementary on May 24th, 2011. His teacher, Sonia Galaviz, put together a graduation ceremony for the entire 5th grade, which was a lot of fun. The students even got a "diploma" with the picture, taken in a cap and gown. It is hard to believe he will be in middle school next year!

Mandi is just about done with 7th grade at Pathways Middle School in Meridian. She has had a good year and has done very well but, because of outrageous gas prices (almost $4 per gallon), we are going to send her back to East Valley next year. Driving back and forth to Meridian twice a day 5 days a week is really taking a toll on our pocketbook! I think she has gained some valuable study skills, though, and she is very excited to return to her old school!

Aubrie is just finishing up finals for 10th grade and is excited to be done with school for the year. She has also done very well academically in all of her classes, including Seminary. It is fun to help her pass off her Scripture Mastery scriptures, and I am so happy that she is gaining a testimony of the gospel.

Nick finished up his first year at CWI. He will be 19 in August and hopefully will be turning in his mission papers soon. I know it is a big decision for him, but I also know the most important thing he can do with his life right now is to serve a mission for Heavenly Father and share the gospel wherever he may be called.

Krystal just finished up her second year at CWI. She has not yet decided on a major but is thinking about Business Management, as she and I will be starting a boutique soon (if we could only think of a name for it!)

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today.  Porter gave me the cutest card he made at school...


Nick made belgian waffles for breakfast, and the kids all made dinner for me.  I got to spend the day just relaxing after church, and it was WONDERFUL!  I am so thankful to be a mother to 5 beautiful children.  Thank you for making my day so special!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Soccer Season...Yay for #23!!!

Porter and Mandi both played Nampa Kids Soccer this year. They were both #23 on their teams.  Porter's team was the Red Devils.  Porter absolutely loves soccer and is quite an incredible player! His coach nicknamed him the "Sleeping Giant" because he always surprised the other players. He is smaller than most of the other players but can sure keep the ball away from them! He constantly tells us that he is going to grow up and play professional soccer, and at the rate he is going it wouldn't surprise me.



Mandi doesn't have the love for soccer that Porter does, but she had fun and is really good too. Her team was the Pink Pumas.  She played goalie most of the season and can kick the soccer ball more than halfway down the field with those powerful legs of hers!




Saturday, January 22, 2011

Is that Barry Gibb?

Greg has always really liked Barry Gibb and, last fall, he decided to grow out his hair (much to my dismay!) and see if he could make himself look like Barry Gibb.  We took these pictures of him, and his friend, Bill Holstein, worked a little photoshop magic to make the background look like the one in the real Barry's picture...

A lady at church, Susan Davis, told Mandi to tell Greg to stop looking so good with the long hair and black leather jacket, but as soon as the pictures were done, I sat him down and cut that hair OFF!!  (quite the pile of hair!) Sis. Davis was a little disappointed when she found out I cut it, but she said he still looked cute.

He made a pretty good Barry Gibb look-alike, but I sure hope he doesn't ever feel the need to that again!  (I really like his short hair and clean-shaven face!)