What a difference 10 years make!

These first three pictures are of Brianna's first birthday 10 years ago. This week she turned 11 and it amazes me how much she has grown. She is such a great kid and we are so grateful for her.





Brianna at 11:



Forgive the silly expression but we were working on a cover for a book that she was writing. Here is how the cover turned out below.

Christmas Recap

We had a wonderful Christmas and we hope that you did too!

The kids had an amazing time opening presents and their reactions were more than I could have hoped for. We had Andrew's parents here along with my Mom and Craig which made it even more wonderful. Here is a list of some of the highlights of our Christmas season.

• Andrew and I were able to enjoy a night at the Nashville Symphony earlier in December as part of his company Christmas party. The food was very good but the music (Canadian Brass) was fantastic. I will have to go every year from now on. It was perfect for getting me into the Christmas spirit.
• Andrew and I attended a 'couples-only' Christmas Party, the first we have ever attended. We were instructed to bring a good gift and a "white-elephant" gift. It was a super fun night filled with lots of laughs and tasty treats (the bacon-wrapped chestnuts were our favorite).
  
• On Christmas Eve, the kids had to go on a hunt to find their new pajamas. I was just so sick of wrapping by that point that hiding them seemed to be both fun for the kids and merciful to me. I will have to do that again next year. The boys got matching pajamas from Old Navy. Brianna's were also from Old Navy (yes, they were having a gret sale on cool, soft jammies!!) Ella got a set of super-cute Care Bears pajamas that were hand made by her Aunty Maren.
  

• Brianna's best reaction to a Christmas gift was when she opened the book Brisinger. It is the third book in a series and she has been begging to read it for a long time. I know she is already well into the 400s of the book's over 700 pages! She brings it with her everywhere. She is also very excited for her 5 shelf bookcase and her microscope.

• Arick and Ty received Star Wars sheets and the news that there were getting a Star Wars themed room. To say this Christmas had a lot of Star Wars stuff is putting it lightly. The star wars stuff found under the tree this year included light sabers, R2D2 and C3P0 Fathead stickers for the boys room, Millenium Falcon and Tie-fighter kits, star wars t-shirts, a clone-trooper helmet etc. etc. etc. All THREE boys were delighted ;)

• Ella had a great time this year. She quickly learned that presents can be very fun. She was so excited for everything! When she opened up a princess costume, she had to put it on right away. Her big present this year was a super cute wood kitchen from Gigi. When we first unveiled the huge gift, Ella didn't react at all and I was a little disappointed. She quickly and resolutely turned around, walked over to her pile of presents and pulled out the set of pots and pans she received earlier. She then walked right over to her kitchen and started cooking up some grub. It was so cute to watch her. She played for hours!
• Ty was so much fun to watch as well. His reaction to his new nintendo DS and game was perfect.
  
• I was spoiled the most of everybody, I swear. Andrew totally surprised me with an iPhone which I love, love, love! I found it at the bottom of my stocking (which we open last). Just as I was putting my hand in there, the toe started ringing and vibrating. Totally scared me, lol! I loved it. Andrew and the kids also gave me my Swarovski and my Lenox 2008 snowflake ornaments which I collect. My other big gift is something I received in the summer and I that I mentioned before. It is a trip to Phoenix to a photographer's convention. Anne Geddes will be speaking there.

• The favorite gifts I gave this year include a set of architectural blocks for my mom that she has wanted for a while and the R2D2 robot for Andrew. The reactions were fabulous and totally reminded me why it is so much better to give than to receive . . . unless you are getting the iPhone. :)
  
• We enjoyed a tasty breakfast casserole and fresh fruit in the morning and in the evening we had a delicious ham dinner.

• We had a lot of fun with family. I finally learned how to play Settlers of Catan and I loved it. We spent a lot of time relaxing, chatting, seeing the movie Bolt in 3-D, enjoying the kids and eating great food. A wonderful Christmas was had by all.
  

Ten for Tuesday

Today's Ten for Tuesday is a Christmas theme. Here are ten things my kids see at Christmas time in our house.




1. I am baking like crazy! I made pumpkin / chocolate chip bread yesterday to share with the families we home teach and visit teach. Today I'm making crepes and several loaves of whole-wheat bread.



2. Each year, as one of our Family Home Evening activites, we cut out snowflakes to hang on windows. You can make your own virtual snowflake here: http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com/ (This site even shows you how to fold the paper so you can make real ones if you'd like.)



3. The Polar Express train circling under the tree. Ty received this train last year as a gift from Grandpa Craig. When Ty gets to be the engineer, the smile on his face is priceless!



4. Thanks to Monique for sharing the "Teach the Children" FHE. This is a lesson we will do every year from now on! The ornaments on the tree represent one of the symbols of the real meaning of Christmas.



5. I have piles of boxes building up in my room. I don't have very much time to go out and shop these days so I did most of my shopping online.



6. Our new Gingerbread house. We are years away from making the perfect gingerbread house, but we sure had fun (and a little frustration) this year. The gingerbread house is a kit from Trader Joe's. The kids are counting down to when they can eat it on New Year's Eve.



7. I love Nativity sets. We have five right now. I made this one at my very first Relief Society "Super Saturday" craft event and I'm amazed it is still with us after 12 years!



8. On the top of our tree sits my sterling silver star. I was given this by my Mom and Dad the year that I danced in the Boston Ballet's Nutcracker. I played a 'party boy' because I was small enough to fit in the costume. I still remember the tag on the gift that said, "To: The Star of the Show!"



9. I absolutely love when the stockings have been hung. These special stockings were hand made and personalized by my Aunt Lou Jean. Mine was made when I was a baby and it is the stocking I grew up with. Andrew received his stocking as a wedding gift and the kids were given theirs after they were born. I love how the stockings remind us of our loving family in addition to the impending arrival of Santa.



10. I love children's Christmas stories. This is a photo of some of the Christmas books we own. The music box in the center was another gift I received when I danced in the Nutcracker.

We hope you and your family have a very safe, wonderful and enjoyable Christmas!!

Tennessee Sunsets

One of the things that I love about Tennessee is the sunsets. Enjoy! BTW, the pink in the sky was really that pink. I thought the lake looked like punch. I am so grateful I had my camera with me.

Southern Living Shrimp Casserole

Gigi made this recipe a few months ago and it is one of my new favorite dishes. Yum.

Prep: 30 min., Cook: 17 min., Bake: 25 min.

Yield

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
• 1 1/2 pounds medium-size raw shrimp
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 (10 3/4-oz.) cans cream of shrimp soup, undiluted*
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar-colby cheese blend
• 1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs

Preparation

1. Prepare rice according to package directions.

2. Peel shrimp, and devein, if desired.

3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add bell pepper and next 4 ingredients, and sauté 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Stir in soup, shrimp, salt, and pepper; cook 3 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. (Do not overcook.)

4. Combine shrimp mixture and rice. Pour mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup shredded cheese and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs.

5. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*2 (10 3/4-oz.) cans cream of celery soup, undiluted, may be substituted.

Chicken-and-Rice Casserole: Substitute 3 cups chopped cooked chicken for shrimp and 2 (10 3/4-oz.) cans cream of chicken soup, undiluted, for cream of shrimp soup. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Carol Dodd, Arley, Alabama, Southern Living, APRIL 2007

She read what?

Brianna surprised us this week by reading the classic Mutiny on the Bounty. Of course she loved it and tells me that I need to read it so we can have our own little book club. One of her wishes in life is that she can go to the adult book group that I attend. I just love my little nerd. If you had any doubts that she is a nerd (a beautiful one I might add) then you must know what she is asking Santa for this year. She wants a microscope for Christmas so that she can investigate sand further. Enough said.

P.S. I wouldn't want her to be any other way.

Poor Puppy

Last night we attended a neighborhood party. Part of the decor included a small animal pelt. When Ella saw it she said, "OH NO! Poor puppy." Gotta love kids!

Happy Thanksgiving

We just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family.

A few shots from our trip to California

Andrew and I had our first weekend away without all the kids. We flew to San Diego to see Andrew's sister and her husband be sealed in the beautiful San Diego Temple. We left the kids with my Mom and Craig. They thoroughly spoiled the kids by taking them to the Science Center and shopping and Church and let them watch movies, etc. They even managed to keep their sanity! Very impressive.

I'll admit that I suffered from a lot of anxiety before we left the kids and I am very grateful for all those around me who put up with my over reaction. It was comforting to know my kids were in great hands and I did manage to really enjoy the weekend.

We arrived late Friday night and picked up our rental car. I love National Rental Car because of their Emerald Club! When I made our reservations, I paid for a 2-door standard but as an Emerald Club member, we were able to choose the 7 seat Dodge Journey without any extra charge. The extra seats turned out to be quite handy for our trip as we often had 5 or 6 people in the car. After that, we drove from LAX to our hotel in Santa Ana. We booked reservations through Priceline at the Doubletree Hotel ($45 a night which was 55% off their website rate!) and it turned out to be a very nice place to stay! The warm cookies were a bonus, even if they were a bit too crunchy for my taste.

Andy and Jamie at the San Diego Temple

The Smith Family

Saturday was spent in San Diego for Andy and Jamie's Sealing. It was a beautiful ceremony and it was so neat to have the Smith kids there at the Temple. I took a few photographs after the ceremony. I would have liked more time to shoot everyone, but we were late for the dinner.

Jamie and Andy by the Beach Bonfire

Steven Staring at the Fire

David by Firelight

Later that night we all went to a bonfire on the beach. I really enjoyed it and had a lot of fun hanging out and practicing my low-light photography skills. It's pretty difficult, but I did manage to get a few neat shots. The silhouettes below are the result of some of the experimentation I did. I look forward to trying that again in the future.

Dave and Logan

Steve and Crystal

Here are a few candid shots from the bonfire:

Awwww!

Hand Talkers

The Smith Brothers

Dave in a Cave

We left Sunday afternoon after hanging out and attending Church. It was a quick trip but was just long enough to have a good time and catch up with family and friends. When we picked up the kids, it was obvious that Ty and Ella really missed me. Their hugs were very tight . . . and I have to admit that I loved it! Bri and Arick were pretty happy to see us, too. It was a great weekend and it's good to be home.

Congratulations Andy and Jamie!! Thank you for letting us be a part of that amazing event. You are kind, generous, and wonderful. You deserve every bit of happiness you get!

Pet peeves

Just wanted to share some of my pet peeves in life.

1. Shoes and socks being left all around the house.

2. Buying/finding items at the grocery store that have already expired.

3. Doctors incorrectly billing the wrong amount. Seriously, four in the last few months have been billed for higher amounts than they should be.

4. People hurting other peoples' feelings because of their opposing political affiliation. Ridiculous.

Ten for Tuesday

Seriously, I am so behind on blogging things. I have just had a crazy few weeks and blogging has not been at the top of my list. So here are 10 random bits of info.

1. Our little patient Ella is healing well physically, but I worry about the emotional toll it took on her. She has had two nightmares now that were obviously her reliving the stitches. She was screaming for me and thrashing and would shout, "My hand! My hand!" and "My mommy! My mommy!" Those two sayings are exactly what she screamed during the stitches and it totally breaks my heart that she is having nightmares about it.

2. I took a picture of Ella's stitches to show Andrew and when Ella saw it, she said, "Poor thing baby, so sad"

3. We went to a " trunk a treat" last night in the freezing cold. The kids loved it still, especially that they got to go around three times (or seven if you were Arick).

4. I discovered pink grapefruit Jelly Bellies and they are now tied with my other favorite Jelly Belly flavor, Juicy Pear.

5. I am starting to sell stuff on Ebay again, as well as on Craigslist. A little extra cash for the holidays never hurt, but I am mostly looking forward to reducing the stuff I have to clean up.

6. I am sad to hear one of my favorite shows, Pushing Daisies, might be canceled. I wish they would cancel some of the other muck that is on tv.


7. Have you seen this jewelry? This is totally on my wishlist. I love it. I would choose the light blue, pink and white crystals instead to make it just right. Type in "hand stamped silver jewelry" in the search box on www.etsy.com to see lots of beautiful jewelry in this style.

8. The kids have been requesting that I make the pumpkin soup I posted earlier. That is a huge deal!

9. Andrew and I are going to California soon sans kids and I am a bit freaked out being away from the kids.


10. I discovered a new herbal drink that I love. It is called Gingerbread Spice and with a little sugar free French Vanilla creamer, it is perfect. Just in time for the chilly mornings around here.

Our little patient

Last night was one of the days that I am sure will not make her favorites list. Just after the older kids got home from school, she tripped on her way to give me a hug. When she put her hands down to catch herself she place her hand on a trash bag ready to be taken outside. Unfortunately, an opened can left a horrible gash in her hand. I won't go into the gory details but essentially she had the cut as far as she could without hitting bone or muscles/tendons. She need six stitches to close it up and she screamed the entire time. It broke my heart.

Curry Pumpkin Soup

I love pumpkin based soups so I came up with this recipe for the cooking group I go to. It was delicious. Try serving in a pumpkin for a fun presentation.

Curry Pumpkin Soup

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons butter
½ large onion, chopped finely
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Madras curry powder
2 cans low sodium chicken broth

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup Half and Half (fat free is fine) cream
2-3 tablespoons white sugar to taste
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onions until soft. Stir in flour and curry powder until smooth. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble. Gradually whisk in broth, and cook until thickened. Stir in pumpkin and half-and-half. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds (optional).

We are back from Atlanta!

We had a wonderful trip to Atlanta and I just had to share my favorite picture. Our visit to the aquarium was such a wonderful experience. We attended a special event hosted by the conference Andrew was attending that was held after the Aquarium closed. Our kids were the only kids there, so no competing for prime viewing space at any of the exhibits. And the food . . . OH MY HEAVENS! I had some of the best steak I have ever tasted. The biggest blessing though was that Andrew got to experience a little piece of Atlanta with us. It was great.

Enjoy the photograph (click on it to see it bigger), I will share more this weekend.

8 Favorite TV shows...
1. Monk
2. Psych
3. House
4. Pushing Daisies
5. 24
6. House Hunters
7. Good Eats
8. Any tv show that gets Ella's attention and keeps her out of trouble

8 Favorite Restaurants...
1. Sushi restaurants in general
2. Outback Steakhouse
3. Los Hermanos
4. The Cheesecake Factory
5. Tucanos in Provo
6. City Limits Diner in Stamford, CT
7. The Melting Pot
8. Panera Bread

8 things that happened yesterday...
1. I sorted 8 laundry baskets of misplaced items.
2. I snuggled with Ella and Ty.
3. I found friends on Facebook.
4. I made black beans and rice for dinner.
5. I worked on finalizing details for Super Saturday.
6. Organized papers.
7. I watch the Mentalist and thought it was pretty good.
8. I talked to Brianna about following directions better at school.

8 things to look forward to...
1. Jamie's visit to Nashville this weekend
2. General Conference
3. Less bugs
4. My photo session tomorrow
5. Our upcoming trip to Atlanta (hopefully we will have not troubles with obtaining gas)
6. Super Saturday
7. Fall Decorations
8. Hot chocolate or in my case hot french vanilla by Stephen's

8 things I love about Fall...
1. The leaves!
2. Apple picking (hope to go this weekend)
3. Pumpkin bread
4. Hot soup
5. Buying and making Christmas gifts
6. Lower utility bills
7. Thanksgiving
8. That my kids are in school

8 things on my wishlist...
1. A clean house
2. To paint my bedroom and bathroom.
3. To get my attic space organized.
4. A trip to Disneyworld with Brianna.
5. To get more sleep
6. A massage
7. Ella will start playing with toys and not my stuff.
8. Lots of fabric for my quilt projects.

Amy Butler Fabric for the girl's room
Heather Bailey Fabrics
Cotton Blossoms
Fabulous Fall - oerfect for my fall decor plans


I tag Cristina, Sandy, Gail, Kory, Ashley, and Sarah.

The tree that once was

Here is a pic of the tree that cost me a chunk of money. Money that would have been so much more fun to spend on a trip to Disney World. Ty, however, thought it was a great way to spend money. He had such a fun time watching the men use such "cool tools". The tree fell down a week ago and thanks to a neighbor who heard the first pop warning sound, kept my kids far away from it. The tree fell down about 30 minutes later.