Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We held it at our house this year and Grammy and Grandpa came over for the day. It was perfect! Thankfully, the food all turned out good and no major mishaps occured. This year, I cooked three of the side dishes in crock pots and it really made things easier. And the best part was that it all tasted great! I don't know what I would do if hadn't found Stephanie O'Dea and and her website!

After the feast, we enjoyed the great weather on the porch and played with the kids outside. Sean and Avery really loved having Grandpa home!

We also have a family tradition that we started about four years ago and every Thanksgiving, while the food is cooking, we gather round the table and make a thankful tree. We write on each leaf something that we are thankful for and then put them on the tree. It is a lot of fun and a great way to start out Thanksgiving, by reflecting on all we have to be grateful for. The kids really love this and it's neat to see what they write on their leaves.

I hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving also and were able to spend it with those you love!

The Crock Pot Lady

Okay, so I have a new obsession...the crock pot lady! She is AMAZING! Her name is Stephanie O'Dea and awhile ago she set out to make a meal in the crockpot everyday for a year. I ran across her blog one day searching for some new dinner ideas. And the truly amazing part was that a the all her recipes are gluten-free! Wow! That is huge! I have had a hard time finding good recipes, let alone ones that were gluten free! And then on top of those two things, they are all crock pot recipes. I feel like I hit the jackpot when I found her blog.

I have used one of her recipes everyday for three weeks now and I LOVE IT!!! All her recipes turned out perfect, and I put dinner in the crockpot every morning, then clean the kitchen, load the dishwasher and poof! No more work and dinner cooks itself. It is so nice to not have to worry about cooking dinner at 5 of clock with both the kids underfoot and while homework is being done. Thanks to this aweosme blog my life has lost a lot of stress. :)

So, if you are looking for dinner ideas that are yummy, delicious and happen to be gluten-free check out her blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2007/12/alphabetical-listing-of-recipes.html

Did I mention that she was recently on the Today show because of how awesome her blog is? :) And she also just released a cookbook of even more awesome recipes. :)

And as I write this, I can smell the steaks, corn on the cob, and potatoes, all cooking in the crockpot. Yummm! Who knew you could make a whole dinner in the crockpot? The recipe I am making tonight is this one: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/crockpot-layered-dinner-steak-potatoes.html

Thank you Stephanie for being so brillant and making my life soooo much easier!

Fall Fun

In between battling the flu, ear infections, and bronchitis, our family has managed to have some fun. :) We went to a wonderful pumpkin farm and corn maze close to home a few weeks ago. We all had a great time and loved being outside. I think my favorite part was watching Avery lead us through the corn maze. She had decided early on that she was going to be the leader and boy, can that girl run. It was all we could do to keep up with her as she navigated her way around the maze. Sometimes she would lead Sean lead too and they would hold hands and run. Sooo cute!

New House Pics

Part of the deck and backyard

Our screened in porch off the deck

This is our kitchen. I love having a little desk area in the kitchen for the mail and keys, etc... Ignore the mess....also a work in progress. The first picture is of the pantry, also a mess right now, but it is one of the reasons we bought the house. I love it! It has matching drawers from the kitchen and a countertop. It is a dream pantry!

This is our new living room, it is still a work in progress...I have painted and started to decorate but it is not done yet.

We did it!!

After almost four months of house drama, we finally found and bought our new house!! :) We have always wanted a huge yard for the kids and a house with plenty of room for friends and family and our dream has finally come true! We have close to an acre of land, fenced in backyard for the kids, screened in porch, deck, all the things we have always wanted. It has been well worth the wait. I have been so busy and haven't taken many pictures yet, so I will have to add those in another post.

We look forward to having lots of friends and family come to visit. :)

Goodbye to my Gentle Giant.....

Yesterday, my sweet and precious kitty Addison, was put to sleep. He got sick so suddenly and without any warning. On Monday, I saw that he was very lathargic, wasn't eating or drinking and just looked really sick. I took him into the vet and they weren't exactly sure what was wrong with him. They thought it could be diabetes, his kidneys, a virus or infection....basically anything. They took some blood and gave him fluids and then I took him home to wait for the lab results. He was so sick and I knew whatever it was, it wasn't good. I spent as much time with him as I could, Eric even slept on the couch so that I could have Addison in bed with me. Early the next morning, the vet called me and told me that it was really bad....he was in renal failure and she had never seen numbers that bad. He had days to live. It was either hospitalize him for the last few days of his life and have him alone in a cage, or put him down and end his suffering. I chose the last option so that he could leave this world being held in my arms, knowing how very much he was loved. It was a horrible miserable day and it was so hard to let him go, but I knew it was what was best for him. I held him for a long time, told him everything I wanted to tell him, and then as I held and kissed him, the vet ended his suffering.

Those of you who are not animal people, won't understand just how painful it is to lose a pet. Our animals are so much more than pets, they are a part of our family and we grieve their loss like we would a good friend.

I was in college when I adopted Addison. I went to the humane society to pick out a cat. I remember looking at all the cats and wondering how I would ever choose between all those sweet kitties. Then, I heard a gentle meow and a small black and white paw came poking out of one of the cages. That was it for me. I like to think that Addison chose me first. :) I went over to the cage and the purring began. Decison made. I was hooked. I couldn't get him home fast enough. Addison became my truest friend who sat on my lap and purred, through heartbreaks and hard times. My tears fell many times on his beautiful black fur and his purr helped heal many wounds in my life. He never did anything bad. Never! He was one of those special cats who is always obedient. I have only known one other cat like that in my life, he also died far too young. Why does that happen?

Addison would always come running when he heard my voice, or when I entered a room. He was fiercely loyal and loved me no matter what. I am so very thankful for the 13 wonderful years I was able to share with him. I only wish there could have been more....

Sean turns 7!!!

As crazy as it is to believe, my little man just turned 7! Where does time go, really? It seems like such a short time ago I was calling him my little bug and rocking him to sleep with his binky! Now he's a first grader!!

The day started out with Eric taking Sean out for a very special Daddy and son breakfast. Then off to school, where I later brought in cupcakes for his classroom party. Then, afterschool, we had the family party. Sean loves all things Mario and so we had a Mario Birthday party, complete with amazing Mario cake (which a very talanted baker made, not me). :)

Race for the Cure

This is old, but I am still behind on catching up the blog. Last month, my fellow leaders and our young women volunteered at Race for the Cure. We have done this every year since I've been here and it is the most wonderful thing ever! My aunt Mary and my grandma Carrie Lee were both survivors of breast cancer so this is a cause dear to my heart. It is so amazing to go and support the runners as they go on a grueling physical and emotional journey to fight breast cancer. This year the girls and I did transportation so we directed the buses carrying the runners to where they needed to go. We had walkie talkies and all it was so cool. And I have to say how very proud I am of our amazing group of girls. To volunteer we have to get about around 3 am to get ready and get there by 5 am. The girls never complain and are always soooo excited to go.

My First-Grader!!!

I can't believe the day has come.....I am the mom of a first grader! My little boy started first grade yesterday!!! Grammy brought over McDonalds for breakfast and after making some pictures, I dropped Sean off at school. He told me that first graders don't need there moms to walk them in. He said "Mom, that would be sooooo embarassing". Sigh. Are we at the stage already? Wow!

Uncle Paul

At the end of May, Eric's brother Paul came to stay with us and he was with us until this past Sunday when he went back to California. While he was with us, we had lots of fun and went on a few trips together like to Great Wolf and Myrtle Beach. He was an awesome help around the house and in fact, Monday was the first time I have loaded the dishwasher myself since he's been here :) The kids loved having their Uncle around and I enjoyed having the company during the day. Thanks for the great visit and fun memories Uncle Paul! :)

Fourth of July Fun

This year for the Fourth of July weekend, we headed down to Myrtle Beach. We left Thursday night and returned Sunday afternoon. We rented out a little house while we were there and it made the trip that much more enjoyable. There is so much to do in Myrtle and we had lots of fun visiting the amusment park, aquarium, and especially the beach. It was a great weekend and the only downside was how quickly it went by.

Disneyworld.....without kids!!!!!

This was Eric driving in the car behind me on the Autotopia car ride. This was taken in the wee hours of the morning on our magic hours day.


This is us having lunch inside the Sci-Fi resturant at Disney's Hollywood Studio. It was designed to look like a drive in and you sat in little cars to eat your food and there was a big movie screen playing old sci-fi clips in the front. Awesome!!



Last week, Eric and I went on a five day trip to Walt Disney world, WITHOUT THE KIDS!!! We haven't been away alone together for four years and that was only overnight. This was the first REAL trip we went on alone since our honeymoon, so it was long overdue!

We had a blast! It was so nice to actually hop on a plane and physically leave the state. It made it easier to leave the kids behind and just focus on us. Plus, my mom was watching them so I knew they were in good hands. :) Disney truly makes everything magical and from the time we checked our luggage, we didn't have a care in the world. We stayed at a Disney resort, so once we arrived at the airport, all we had to do was go to the Disney Welcome Center and get on the bus for our resort. They took care of claiming our luggage and brought it to our room when it arrived. It was amazing! I have never been on a trip where I didn't have to worry about hauling bags around. The whole trip was full of Disney magic! Whenever we wanted to go to one of the parks, we just took a bus, monorail, or boat and we were there. No worries!

Some of our favorite memories of the trip are:

-Staying in the magic kingdom until 3 am. It was like a ghost town with only a very few people scattered here and there. We were able to walk on any and every ride we wanted to. It was amazing! They had the extra magic hours that night for resort guests, so the park closed at midnight for everyone else, but resort guests could stay until 3 am!!! And we actually managed to stay awake the whole time. We loved it!!!

- The animal safari at Animal Kingdom park. Wow! We were able to really get close with some of the animals. At one point, a baby giraffe, came right up to the truck where I was and if I had just stretched out my hand, I could have touched it. It was really hard not to!!! And the rhinos kept circling the truck and crossing the road in front of us. A few of them got close enough to touch as well. But I woulnd't have dared to try that. :)

- Eating at some of the five-star resturaunts Disney has to offer. Wow! Our favorite one was Citrico's inside the Grand Floridian Resort. It was sooooo good!

- Celebrating my birthday at Disney!!! It was amazing! I was treated like royalty all day. I was given a special fast pass for my birthday that allowed me to immediately walk on any ride for the whole day!! And at every meal, I was given a special dessert complete with candles. :) And they make you wear this button that has your name on it and says that it's your birthday and so the whole day, people kept saying Happy Birthday! (I actually didn't like that part) I was spoiled and it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. :)

There are really too many to mention, but it was an amazing trip and it was so nice to enjoy Disney and all it had to offer from an adult point of view. We love going as a family too, but it was nice to determine our own schedule and do what we wanted without having to worry about strollers or extra bags full of snacks, diapers, etc. Eric and I definitely plan to again sometime!!

Easter Sunday

It has been a crazy long time since I have added anything to my blog, so I have a lot of catching up to do. This is a picture from Easter Sunday. Sean and Avery have matching colors on. They were so cute! Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out that great, but hey, something is better than nothing. :)

We had a great Easter weekend and this year we tried something different. We asked the Easter bunny to bring the baskets on Saturday so that on Sunday we could focus only on the Savior and the true meaning of Easter. It was wonderful! On Saturday, we had an Easter egg hunt, colored eggs, and enjoyed our Easter baskets. Then on Sunday, we were able to focus all our thoughts on the Savior and his magnificent sacrifice and gift of eternal life for all mankind. It was the best Easter we have ever had and this is a tradition that we will definitely continue every year.