Papa and Grandma

Andrew's parents came for their first visit to our home this last week. We had such a great time together and the kids loved having them here. Some highlights of the week, included:

-Family Home Evening with Papa beating us all at a memory/visualization game (with ease I might add) and eating Andrew's yummy cookies.

-Visiting the Civil War site where much of the Battle of Franklin was fought.

-Having them here while Andrew and I received new callings (I am the new Relief Society second counselor and Andrew is the Ward Mission Leader). Papa was also able to participate in my being set apart, which was a special moment for me.

-Eating tasty fried green tomato BLT sandwiches, yummy fried chicken and fried okra at the famous Loveless Cafe.

-Brianna and Grandma having a late night party reading all of the joke books that grandma has sent Bri over the years.

-Watching Planet Earth and snuggling with Papa and Grandma.

They left for Utah this morning and we are missing them already. We are so blessed to have such loving family.

Our home part 1

Well, I was able to finish 90% of my spring-cleaning list before my in-laws arrived. I still have some vertical surfaces to clean, some vents to vacuum and some touch ups to do, but I may leave it for a rainy day. Here are the results and I am glad to finally share some photos of our home.


Here is our master bedroom. We do plan on painting the walls a different color soon. I haven't found the wall art or the lamp that I want in my bedroom yet. The glider is being replaced with a black recliner in the next couple of weeks. We are just waiting for it to be delivered. Eventually, I would like to hang sheers on the windows and get a rug. Ella and her crib (I know she is 19 months but I get nervous being away from her) will finally move to the room she shares with Brianna.

On a side note, the bedroom furniture was delivered this last week and it means the end of broken plastic drawers and baskets to hold our clothes. It is so much easier to keep our room tidy now! I love my bedroom so much. I hate leaving it and so does the rest of the family. No matter how many times I tell my kids that the bedroom is for Mom and Dad only, I still find them in there lounging on my bed, reading books, and watching t.v.



This is the living room. Our plans for this room include more seating, a coffee table, and a rug. We will have to move the piano to another part of the house and shift the bookcase to where the piano is for those plans.


This is our dining room that we made into the office/craft space. We do wish there was a door to hide the mess but at least it doesn't get in the way of family life now.


This is our bonus room over the garage. It is the one room that I don't feel the need to keep as clean since we do a lot of playing here. I will share a picture of the other half of this room in the next post so you can see all the things we do in this room.

All in all, our home is coming along nicely. A lot of the plans I mentioned could take years to complete, but that is what makes the process so fun.

P.S. Papa and Grandma arrived safely . . . the kids are beyond excited!

Spring Cleaning

Twice a year I get in my spring cleaning mode. I clean as many nooks and crannies as I can stand, try to get everything put back into its proper place, and sort through clothes, getting rid of those things that are worn out or are too small. It is, at the least, a seven day endeavor and I feel so great when I am done.

Here are some interesting facts about my current spring cleaning (all numbers are estimated as I often give up counting when I get to a certain point):

25+ batteries and I have no clue if they are dead, used or new
Over 40 blankets(many of which were baby blankets and are now being donated)
21+ pairs (and sometimes just one in a pair) of gloves/mittens (which only get used a few times now in TN)
At least 150 pens and pencils in about 15 different places. That would explain why we could never find one when we needed it.
Lots and lots of coins (I will add up the total later and edit this)
Easily over 1000 items that were not in their proper place.
16 times today that I have asked the kids if they are done. 16 times that I have heard "No".
Over 20 socks that were finally reunited with their mates. Woohoo!
4 boxes leftover from moving have been emptied and crushed. I swear these boxes just appear out of thin air.
All Library books have been located, phew!
We are still missing 3 things on my "to find" list and it is driving me nuts!
6 garbage bags full of broken items and various other junk.

And just to make sure that you don't think that I do all of this by myself. Andrew is a big help too. Andrew has been patching up the wall dents and doing touch up painting. He has refinished the top of our kitchen table that looked awful (thanks sweetheart, it looks beautiful!), he has helped organize the medicine cabinet and the garage, and he put in a new garage door opener. Now if only my kids were that helpful! Getting my kids to help has been a huge tug of war but I am winning.

Ty's tonsils

Andrew and I took Ty to the doctor on Monday to discuss his sleep apnea and snoring. Ty's tonsils are definitely a problem so we have scheduled surgery for March 25th. The doctor thinks that his tonsils are partly responsible for his slow growth and the swollen lymph node that has been on his neck for 2 years now. Hopefully this will help alleviate the problems. This will be the first time any of our kids will be under general anesthesia so I am a bit nervous. Ty is four and should handle the recovery well, unlike his Auntie Jamie who just had hers removed and had a rough time. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Just one of those days

I am a very happy person but I still have those days and today is one of them. In the last 24 hours, I have made too many mistakes, I am exhausted and overemotional, and a bit overwhelmed. I just wish I could crawl back in bed and stay there until tomorrow.

Three years ago I proposed to Andrew

It was three years ago today that I proposed to Andrew. Wait, haven't we been married for almost 12 years? Well, yes we have, but in case you haven't noticed, today is Leap day. Back in February of 1996, another Leap year, when Andrew and I were dating, I came across an article that said something similar to this:

"There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only in leap years, further restricted in some cases to only February 29. In 1288 the Scottish parliament under Queen Margaret legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year; few parliament records of that time exist, and none concern February 29.[1] Another component of this tradition was that if the man rejects the proposal, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency, and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). There were similar notions in France and Switzerland." (wikipedia)

Oh that sent my heart and head spinning. What if I didn't have to wait for Andrew to propose to me? We had discussed marriage by this point but he was being so elusive about any kind of time frame. So I finally decided to go ahead and go for it.

The first time I asked him to marry me was in the hallway of my apartment. Andrew was not impressed and pretty much told me it wasn't romantic enough. So that night we drove up to go shopping at Crossroads mall and visit Temple Square. It was incredibly chilly, 9 degrees with awfully cold winds, and we were both quite nervous. After gathering some courage (I always appreciate how hard it is for guys to propose now) I finally did ask him, even on bended knee. He responded with a bit of a lecture, which really confused me. He said something to the effect of, "If we do this, it is for eternity, divorce will never be an option and if you can accept that as well as this, then yes I will marry you." The word this in his answer meant the diamond ring he was holding in his hands. Andrew had been planning to propose the next night and that is why he had the ring with him.

Obviously, I accepted his conditions and he accepted my proposal. Less than four months after that, we were married for eternity in the Laie Hawaii L.D.S. Temple and lived happily (for the most part, hehe) ever after.

Every Leap year since that night we have celebrated our engagement and those celebrations have been some of my favorite moments in our marriage. However, our plans tonight have been canceled due to the strep throat epidemic at our house (all four kids have it). So to mark our special anniversary, I decided to share our story on our blog. I am so grateful for that night three long years ago that two young, naive kids decided to spend the rest of their lives together. It has been an incredible journey ever since.

And to Andrew: I love you sweetheart, thank you for saying yes.

My new photography blog

I will be posting my photography work on my new blog amylynnsmithphotography.blogspot.com. I have included a link at the top of the sidebar as well. I want to keep this blog about our family and the new blog will help showcase my business better.

You may have also noticed that I have decided to go with the name Amy Lynn Smith Photography instead of Amy Lynn Photography. That is due to the fact that there are four other Amy Lynn Photography businesses on the Internet.

Tornado Clean Up

I just wanted to share with you a picture of Andrew helping with some of the Tornado cleanup. They helped by burning wood piles and cleaning debris, as well as moving piles of metal within 20 feet of the road so that FEMA will pick it up. Andrew was in awe of the destruction the tornado caused.

If you click on the picture you should be able to find Andrew. (There is a light dusting of snow.)

Layered Salad Reuben-Style

Layered Salad Reuben-Style

Simple & Delicious

Here’s a fun twist on the traditional seven-layer salad that’s great for large gatherings any time of year. It combines lettuce and tomato with Reuben sandwich fixings. I like to buy pastrami in 1/4-inch slices at the deli counter and chop it up at home, but you can use leftover corned beef instead. --Amy Smith, Avon, Connecticut

SERVINGS: 12

CATEGORY: Salads

METHOD: Baked

TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min.
Ingredients:

* 4-1/2 teaspoons butter, melted
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 2 cups cubed rye bread
* 1 package (16 ounces) ready-to-serve salad greens
* 2 cups chopped pastrami
* 1 large tomato, diced
* 1/2 cup sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
* 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
* 1 bottle (8 ounces) Thousand Island salad dressing
* 3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the butter, salt and pepper. Add bread cubes and toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer in an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Cool.
In a large salad bowl, layer half of the salad greens, pastrami, tomato, sauerkraut, onions and dressing; repeat layers. Sprinkle with croutons and Swiss cheese. Yield: 12 servings.

Please note: I found the recipe and picture on Taste of Home's website (I am still keeping my cookbook to prove my famous-ness). You can find it here: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Layered-Salad-Reuben-Style

Leave a comment and let me know how you liked it after you have made it.

A lonely cowboy

Ty came up to me today in this getup and told me, "I'm a cowboy and I need someone to play with" Aw, melt my heart.

18 months old

To celebrate 18 months, here are 18 facts about Ella:

1. Ella is a genuine sweetheart. She loves her brothers and sister and gets so excited to see them.
2. Everytime the front door opens she says, "Hi Daddy" as she has associated that sound with Daddy coming home.
3. She loves to shower all of us with hugs and kisses.
4. Her smile and laugh, as well as her dancing, can get anyone out of a bad mood.
5. She can speak so many more words now with some recent additions being Gigi, toy, eyes and ewwwww.
6. She loves her baby doll.
7. She also loves to play with cars, much to Ty's annoyance.
8. She loves shoes. The shoe fascination is funny because she loves to put everyone else's shoes on and hates to take them off, but she loves to take hers off (which is not appreciated in the car or the store).
9. Her demeanor is pretty easy going and happy but you can tell when it is naptime/bedtime as she gets quite persnickety.
10. She is a healthy eater although the scale still doesn't prove it. I am just ridding her closet of all the 6/9 month clothes.
11. She did attend nursery at church for the first time and she adored it. Andrew and I were able to do our callings much more effectively and the quiet was nice. Hopefully the transition will continue to go as smoothly.
12. She is scared of things that roll towards her, especially cars.
13. She loves to scribble and it can keep her busy for hours.
14. She has chewed off almost every eraser on a pencil in the house.
15. Her favorite food is mac and cheese.
16. She still sleeps in our room since I am too scared to have her sleep upstairs.
17. She is often the first to fold her arms for prayer. Of course, as soon as everyone closes their eyes she makes a break for it
18. She has PKS which is "Photographer's Kid Syndrome" which means that anytime she sees me with my camera, she hides. She is also a wee bit scared of the camera.

Stuffed nose, literally

Ella is such a stinker. Her newest fascination is sticking things up her nose!!! Where did this come from? I can't trust her with anything as she has used napkins, toilet paper, wipes and today it was bread!! Besides Arick's famous "bead stuck in his nose" incident, I have never had an issue with this. What gets me though is that she keeps doing it. I can't imagine that it feels pleasant enough to keep doing it. I may just have to go buy her a nose plug, lol.

I'm kind of famous, kind of

I was shopping in Walmart the other day and discovered the book section. Since I am trying to eat healthier, I focused on cookbooks. I picked one up and quickly flipped through the pages when I saw the recipe "Layered Salad Reuben-style" and I thought, "That's odd, I won honorable mention once for my recipe with that title." Then it hit me, that it was my recipe! I looked over the page and sure enough there was my name "Amy Smith Avon, CT" (where I used to live). My recipe can be found in a cookbook in most Walmarts, that is so cool. I did receive $25 for my honorable mention(the contest was in Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious magazine). However, I am starting to feel that my $25 recipe was a bargain for them, especially since I bought the cookbook for $13, I guess I only won $12. Funny thing though, I have made that recipe only once, the night I created it from leftovers, so I actually needed a copy so that I could make it again.

Happy Birthday Marshall!

Just wanted to wish my brother a very happy birthday! I bet this year will be your best yet!

A great blog for clean reads

Brianna loves to read, as do I. I want to make sure that she reads books that are at her reading level but that don't introduce mature content she doesn't know about. Finding books that are quality and clean can be a struggle. On a whim I typed in clean books on google and up popped this great blog: http://cleanreads.blogspot.com/

I love what this blog is about. I have read some of the books on their list and I have found their reviews to be very accurate. So if you are looking for good clean reads for your kids or for yourself, then I highly recommend visiting this blog.

Happy Valentine's Day

We hope you all have a great day!! We made these cards yesterday for the kids to hand out as valentines during their parties at school. (ETA: The cards were a big hit! We will definitely do something like this next year as they were inexpensive and fun.)

Brianna turns 10!

I know this post is a couple of weeks late, but it took me a while to find the photos. For Brianna's 10th birthday, she had a small birthday party at our home. The girls made miniature food and they all had blast. Here are a few pictures to showcase the fun.




I can't believe that my first is 10. Brianna has been such a joy. She loves to read, draw, cook, and be creative. She loves music and can be found listening to Hannah Montana, Elvis, the Beatles, They Might be Giants, and High School Musical. She is doing very well in piano lessons and also loves gymnastics and archery. As a first child, she has spoiled it for the rest of the kids. She is so good natured, helpful, obedient and loving, we love having her as part of our family.

So close!

Ella is almost 18 months old and will then be allowed to go to Nursery in church. Then we can stop trying to keep her quiet during class or chasing her down the halls. Yippee! Isn't she a cutie?

Tornado Warning

Last nights severe storms here in TN were amazing and, unfortunately, deadly. At times there was 40-60 lightning strikes a minute creating an incredible light show. It is amazing how beautiful danger can seem.

Luckily we were not affected by the storm seriously. The only thing lost was sleep as we couldn't go to bed until the Tornado warning had expired. We use our big coat closet for a shelter and we put the three oldest kids in there to sleep. Andrew, Ella and I hung out in our bedroom and watched the weather updates to see if we needed to take shelter as well. The closet fits all of us nicely and has a 72 hour kit just in case.

I should ease your worries though, since our town has never been hit by a tornado. We live near lakes that are believed to affect the path that a Tornado would take. I don't know if that is true, but it is what we have been told. I just hope that it works as long as we are here.

G.N.O

For a 10th birthday gift, my mom treated Brianna and I to a girls night out (G.N.O). She purchased 3 tickets to the Hannah Montana 3D movie before it sold out. So last night all three of us enjoyed dinner at a sushi restaurant (Bri's fave), some window shopping at the mall, and a great movie/concert of Bri's fave pop star. I will admit that the 3D movie format is the best way to attend a concert ever. You get great views of the star, the 3D images were fantastic, and the girls in the theatre were much more calm and quiet (no ringing in my ears after). Plus it is cheaper. Hopefully more concerts will do this (already looking forward to U2).