Savory Houses?!

Last night Todd and I went to a Christmas Party at the home of some good friends of ours. The treats were yummy and the company was good. But I had a nagging question on my mind until we were well into the party. When we were invited, we were asked to bring a treat and a can of Easy Cheese. (Squeezable, sticky cheese in a can used as a condiment on snacks) So, the nagging question was... What in the world are we going to use the Easy Cheese for?! Well, the answer finally came... the processed cheese in a can was going to be used for a contest. A contest of unusual likeness... We were making 'savory houses'! Instead of gingerbread houses with candy and royal icing, we made 'savory houses' with saltine crackers and other salty treats such as goldfish crackers, cheeze-its, and pretzels. The Easy Cheese was, of course, the substitute for icing and held our creations together. I really wish I had my camera to take pictures of some of the structures that were made. The best ones were a manger scene and a Cape Cod bungalow.
This is a really fun idea for someone who wants a new, fun activity that doesn't involve sweets. And, it's not really too Christmas-esque so it can be done anytime of the year. Try it with your family and see what you come up with!!

" ... Seek ye out of the best books..."

The older I get, the more I realize that I still have a lot to learn. I often find myself relating well to a quote that my sister used to have on her wall. It goes something like this... "If I was sent to the earth to accomplish a certain number of things, at the rate I am going I will never die!" I constantly feel like there is more to do and more to learn and I wonder when I will find the time to get it all done.
One of the things I wish I had more time to do is study the scriptures. Besides the fact that reading in general is not a hobby of mine, I often let other tasks get in the way of the time I could be spending reading the scriptures. I often feel regretful about this and for that reason, I have never been one to read popular books for enjoyment. If I do find spare time, and feel like reading something, I choose the Ensign or the scriptures or maybe even the occasional self-help, educational book. A few of my favorites are "Seven Habits for Highly Effective People", "The Five Love Languages", and "Standing for Something". But, just recently I read a book that I would like to place at the top of my list of favorites. It is called "The Peacegiver". I was so deeply enlightened and touched by this book that I can't easily put it into words. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that our salvation comes only through true repentance... made possible by Christ and the Atonement that he made for us so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. This book explains these core beliefs of ours in such profound detail, that I couldn't help but want to be a better person after reading it. If we could all follow the counsel in this book, we would find a depth of happiness that we have never known before.
With all of the demands that life brings us on a daily basis, it is so easy to become overwhelmed and feel inadequate. But I believe the counsel that the Lord gave Joseph Smith in The Doctrine & Covenants can be a big help to us if we follow it "...seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith." Inspired books of scripture, words from our church leaders, and other books that testify of Christ and his teachings are really tools that we have been given to make it through the difficulties that we face. "The Peacegiver" is no exception to this rule. For anyone who loves to "escape" into a book, I highly recommend this one! I hope you love it as much as I did.

Christmas with Grandma Day

My mom (AKA Grandma Mac) started a new tradition a few years ago. Every year, on a Saturday in December, she invites all of her grandkids over… that’s right, all 32 of them… and they spend time with just her. They always do a couple of Christmas crafts, decorate Christmas cookies, and then eat lunch. This year, once again, they all had a ton of fun! They made snowmen out of fun foam and made Christmas bracelets and bookmarks. Some of the older kids also helped Grandma set up her Christmas tree this year! That was an especially wonderful project!! We are so thankful to have such wonderful grandparents for our children. They love spending time over there and playing with all of their cousins… especially on “Christmas with Grandma Day”!!

Decorating the tree (and observing for some :)

Fun foam snowman

We love our cousins!!!

Catch Up Time!!

A lot has happened in our family in the last month. And I am behind on my journaling of it all, so bear with me as I try to catch up! We might have blog overload in the next few days! :)

One Year... And One More Toddler!!

Spencer officially (as of 15 days ago) has one year under his belt and at the same time has doubled the toddler population in our house! This time last year, my Christmas shopping was done, my Christmas cards were out, and I was enjoying many hours of relaxing with my newborn son. Whether it was feeding, cuddling, or just admiring, those peaceful times have not been forgotten. They have, however, been replaced. Now my hours are filled with other activities that are no less enjoyable, just more exhausting!! My days now consist of replacing all of the contents of my lower cupboards over and over, cleaning up the bomb that goes off around the highchair three times a day, and keeping toilet lids and bathroom doors closed. I shouldn't forget to mention kissing boo-boos as Spencer, in his attempt to walk, falls constantly.

I would also like to take the time to say (as cliche' as it is) "Time Flies When You're Having Fun"!! Spencer is really a fun, happy boy who is very nice to me. :) And, as soon as he gets rid of his pacifier and bottle, I think he'll be able to keep up with Bella! If she thinks she can boss him around forever, I think she has another thing coming!! :)

Here are some pictures of the birthday festivities at our favorite, cheap, party venue...

P.... P.... Pizza.

Here is the traditional "I can eat my own cake at one year old!" ritual.

Who invented this mess anyway?

Above and below Spencer is enthralled with his presents and ripping the paper.

Now (with Big Sis)

Then. ... Awwww!

Samantha's Mission Possible!!

"Did you do a poke yet?" was the question my amazing brother asked his 10 year old daughter after about 3 miles of walking in 80 degree heat. Since her diagnosis 5 years ago with Juvenile Diabetes, I am sure this is one of the more commonly uttered phrases in their home. It is second nature to them, but when he uttered those words, a tingle went up my spine as I caught another glimpse of what they deal with on a day to day basis.

Along with her diabetic status, my sweet niece and her sweet little sister also suffer from a condition called celiac disease. This is where the body has an abnormal immune reaction to gluten so it has to be completely eliminated from her diet. I have a great deal of admiration for my brother, his wife and their little family. They are pillars of devotion, stability, and accuracy as they handle these less than ideal circumstances in the most ideal way possible. They are always aware of what needs to be done to manage their daughters’ health and always prepared to do just that. One example of this effort is another incident I witnessed on Saturday. My sister-in-law was carrying juice boxes (incase her daughter was low and needed a quick dose of sugar). But when approached by a frantic, unprepared stranger who had a diabetic relative that was passing out due to low blood-sugar, she freely gave him the juice that his loved one desperately needed. That is sympathy and understanding at its best.
Well, on Saturday my kids and I had the privilege of spending the day with my brother and his amazing family and some other family members as we participated in the JDRF 5K Walk. About 25,000 people showed up to trek up and down in the heat to try to raise funds to help JDRF find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. It was an honor to participate and something I will never forget. I worried about my niece during the walk (especially after seeing another person suffering so badly) but she was incredible! She even worked a little harder than me at times because she pushed my stroller for about ¾ of a mile!! And she had fun doing it!! What a trooper! We were all hot, sweaty, and tired, but the kids ended the walk by running to the finish line with big smiles on their faces. Here are some pictures…

(sorry they are in reverse order)

Me and my kiddos at the end of the walk. Spencer crashed out at about mile 2.

Do we look tired? Well, the bad news is that we still had another mile to walk to get back to our car!

Here's the whole gag... Samantha's Mission Possible was our theme!

You guys ROCK!!

The kids are all grabbing for treats at our resting place.

Chansey and Bree walking hand in hand... all smiles!

Eathan and Caleb... not a word of complaint out of these two!

It sure feels good to know that you are a small part of something huge that has the potential to help so many. I only wish I could do more! Too bad I am not a millionaire or a biological scientist! :)

Happy Halloween!

I am typically a very positive and optimistic person. But, I can't lie... for the last several days I have been a bit of a scrooge about Halloween. I spent a great deal of time wondering why we celebrate Halloween...?! I know it is many peoples' favorite holiday. But I just don't get it... On Halloween, we endorse activities that directly contradict what we spend the other 364 days of the year trying to teach our children to do. Just to name a few... 'be yourself' ... 'eat healthy'... 'go to bed early'... 'don't talk to strangers'... do you get what I mean?!
So, the reason for me explaining this all is because I finally see the light! For all you Halloween lovers out there, I get it now! The reason for Halloween is to HAVE FUN!! That's it!! And that's what we did. We spent time together as a family and had fun! It is still not my favorite holiday, but fun nonetheless. Here's a brief recap...
On Thursday, we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat. That's where people line up their cars in the parking lot and decorate the trunks with Halloween gear. Then the kids trick or treat to everyone. This year we had a chili cook-off and some really fun games. The most exciting attraction was the pain-stakingly crafted 'Spook Alley'. Todd, with a couple other awesome ward members, spent about 6 hours turning the nursery rooms into an amazing haunted house. It was a hit!! He even stayed in there the whole time and caringly jumped out and scared all of the little ones! :) In the end, he was thankful that it only took about 30 minutes to take down. :)

The big night though was, of course, Halloween!! Without further adieu, here are the costumes...

Spencer didn't really have a costume. I couldn't find one that wasn't girly, constricting, or made of fleece. So I bought him this cute little outfit to wear. It says "hair wolf" (which I thought was funny) so we spiked his hair too. And his teeth match the hair-wolf's! :)

This is the Dark Spider-man climbing the wall.

Raggedy-ann (otherwise know as Raggedy-ansey) posing like a good little girl!

Bella was a black cat (who looked a little cuter before her make-up was smeared)
BTW- It took 8 shots to get a good picture of her. AHHH!

I just thought this was funny... Eathan is playing with Bella and Spencer at Grandma's house (as he often does) but he didn't take his mask off to do it! He's a die-hard I guess!

Our Halloween festivities included, going to visit grand-parents, hanging out at my brother's house for his block-party, trick-or-treating in my brother's neighborhood, and spending time with some super-fun friends after all of the festivities were over. Last but not least, the night would not have been complete without home-made caramel apples (at the above stated friends' house). YUMMY!!

The end result you ask?!... The point off all this madness?!... A TON OF FUN!!

(And four sticky, exhausted children!)

P.S.- The coolest thing this year was that Todd dressed up too! I don't have a picture, but I will get one and post it later. He was a 70's dude and it was pretty sweet! (You can catch a slight glimpse of his polyester garb and butterfly collar in the background of the first picture of my post.)