Christmas Photo Ornament

This year for the Christmas season I got a small Christmas tree for the kids room. With all the fun you can have with kids for the holidays, I wanted them to have a place to put their treasures. This way they can pull them on and off the tree as many times as they would like and have something that they can call their own.

Here is a cute ornament idea.

You can check out the details over at Her Cup Overfloweth: Christmas Photo Ornament

Christmas Chains

When I was on my mission, my companion and I came up with this idea to help our investigators and members feel a little bit of the Spirit each day. We created the Christmas story from verses in the Bible and Book of Mormon, then split them up onto 25 links that we then put together in the form of a Christmas chain. I have used it nearly every year since then with my Visiting Teachees, primary classes, and now my children. I have it here for you in a Word document, though I have to apologize, try as I might, the document keeps deleting my hard returns and bringing some of the verses up a page. So, open it in Word and make sure the odd numbers are all on the same pages and the evens on their pages. Then pring the odd pages on green paper and the evens on red! Pages 1 to 4 are the Spanish version, pages 5 to 8 are the English.

Christmas Chain

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Let it snow!

I haven't posted anything for a while because we've been entertaining family for the last couple of weeks. It has been a wonderful two weeks with many new memories made.

Yesterday morning we got our first snow of the season. The kids heard dad pulling out of the garage at about 6:45am to head to the church for meetings so they jumped out of bed and pulled up the blinds to throw him kisses. As is the daily ritual in our home.

Instead of going back to bed, or playing quietly, Lexie came running down the length of the house yelling, "It snowed! It snowed!" It's not seven yet Lexie go back to bed. "I need to get my coat on." Okay. Get your coat and get back to bed. There was WAY too much energy in the air at this point for ANYONE to go back to bed. I heard the kids looking out the sliding glass doors in the dining room. They were marveling at their new winter wonderland. Soon the energy bubble burst and Tanner and Lexie were running in circles around the house, giggles flying everywhere. Forget "seven", I got up to catch my little snow fairies only to find Lexie had somehow stripped herself of her pajamas. She was running through the house bare naked with just her winter coat on and shouting, "It snowed! It snowed!"

I snatched these pictures upon arriving home from church yesterday. I can't believe they waited all three hours of church to get their hands one some of this heaven-sent white stuff!

This morning we got a new layer once again of fresh white snow. Cheerios and raisin bran devoured, they both began the bundling process of going outstide. I looked at my thermometer, it read 28.9 degrees at 8am.

Tanner: Can we have hot chocolate when we come back in mom?

Mom: "I'm not making you hot chocolate if you only stay out there for two seconds.

Tanner: "Okay. I'll stay out for 3 or 4 seconds. Then can we have hot chocolate?"

Mom: Sure Tanner. I love you.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas

Here are the samplings of Christmas cards I came up with. Simple and easy to put together. Just my style when it comes to mass quantities!

Here's Card #1: O Christmas Tree

I will provide the white embossed tree in exchange for a quarter sheet of white cardstock per card. (Please order in quantities of 4 so we can exchange a whole sheet of white cardstock instead of quarter sheets.) You provide the rest (ie, ribbon, background paper, and glitter glue). I saw this card done white on white as well and it was exquisit! Really an elegant card.

I used a clear glitte glue to add a little ornamentation to the tree. This picture just doesn't do it justice. You can add any sort of brads, colored glittered glue, etc you would like to ornament your tree.

The inside: "CHRISTMAS"

Here's card #2: "Joy"

I will provide the white portion of the "joy" ornament bulb with swiss dot embossing. The embossing on the green card and the hole punch will be available for use, though, if you are interested in owning your own, it is a Martha Stewart punch I purchased at Michaels with a 40% off coupon. If you buy one, please bring it so we have more than one punch! Please order in quantities of 8 so you can exchange with me a whole sheet of white cardstock instead of quarter sheets.

My Cricut died on me this week and they are sending me a new one. So, the inside of this card can have a "Merry Christmas" in white cardstock that matches the font of the "joy" on the front. I will try and post an updated pic as soon as I get my machine back.

Okay, here is the last card:

Card #3 Mr. Snowman

I will provide the white santa and opportunity to emboss your santa. You provide any embelisments and additional paper. For this card, you can get 6 cards out of one 12x12 blue sheet of paper. To trade white cardstock, 1/4 sheet for each santa, (Please order in quantities of 4 so I can trade with you in whole sheets.)

The inside: Seasons Greetings

M'Lady's Party

My little Lexie is turning 3 in December. She has been wispering in our ears for months now, "today is my birthday". Three seems to be the magical year a child discovers the celebration of birthdays. Particularly their OWN! I wanted this to be a special birthday year for Lexie and decided to throw her a party, but a month early so we didn't interfere with the holidays.

I started one night by making her party invitation. April came over and we made a spiral and cut it out with several little birthday icons to make a mobile.

When I was a little girl about four years of age, I remember my mom throwing me a party and decorating the living room with crepe paper all about the cieling. I thought that was the neatest thing in the whole world and asked for it every year after. I did this same thing for Lexie.


Of course we kept to our family tradition of filling the living room floor with balloons!

The morning of the party, I made the cake Lexie had picked out at the store. Can you guess what she picked? PINK PINK PINK!



She kept a close eye on my preparations and helped clean up behind me.






A little girl turning three gets to have 3 little friends at her birthday party. Maybe when we she is 30 and we are out of residency, we'll throw her a bigger party, but three little friends seemed perfect, and it was!

I hid some notes in some of the balloons. We played a game where we pretended to be a balloon, holding hands in a tight circle, then we blew and blew and blew as we grew and grew and grew until we POPPED! Afterwards we went on a hunt for the ballons with notes in them and had a humorous, good time trying to pop them. Each note had an action that we did, like twirling, touching toes, dancing, or jumping.

We decorated sun visors with craft foam stickers and markers and made bracelets with beads.

Derek made the girls peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the shape of hearts for lunch. We finished off our party with a scavenger hunt where they filled their little bags with a neclace, slinkie, some candy and fruit snacks, tiara, and bracelet. And of course, she opened presents!






For the rest of the day Lexie talked about "her birthday!" I think she had a wonderful time. I know I did!

Once upon a Columbus...

Tanner, Lexie and I have been learning a bit of Columbus this week. I merged the pilgrims story to incorporate Thanksgiving. Yesterday we made some little people to help us tell the story and today we presented our story to our "Love of Learning" group.

Here's Christopher Columbus with his telescope and map.

Columbus went to the king and queen of Portugal twice to ask for ships. Both times he was denied so he turned to the king and queeen of Spain. On the second try, they finally gave him three ships.

Here's our ships! The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Columbus traveled on the Santa Maria. On Columbus' third trip to the new world, the Santa Maria was destroyed while he was exploring a new land. The natives held him captive there until he was able to sneak away.

Here are our pilgrims and their feast! See the momma --she is praying!

Here are our Indians. Can you see the boy Indian making his "chants"?

I laminated them so we can use them for many more years to come. That is unless the kids wear them out playing with them!

Family Unity

We had our friends the Prescotts over for dinner last night. It was Jenny's birthday on Thursday and mine on Saturday, so we decided to celebrate. She has a nice case of morning sickness, so as a gift to her, I petitioned some help from the sisters in our ward to help her with some meals. Within minutes she had 8 meals lined up and another 5 or 6 ladies ready as backup. I am completely jealous since I know most of these sisters love to cook and will be delivering savory sensations to her door. I'm not much of a poet, but here is the poem I sent Jenny to tell her about the meals:

Because I know you're sick
Those birthday years we wish to wick
A dinner you may find
Eight nights at your front door's behind
Eat well, sleep well and grow
A sweet baby you'll soon have to show
No cooking from November nine
Until November 16th you will dine

Lots of love,

Emily
ps: Monday, Novmeber 10th you and your family are coming to our house for dinner. The rest of the days will be brought to you!

So, last night we did homemade pizzas, bread sticks, and of course, a carrot cake made from scratch!


Dan is a natural when it comes to pizza, he walked in our front door and went straight to the kitchen. I had all the ingredients ready and the dough prepared for him. Jenny and I sat back and let him work his magic. It had been too long since we had gotten together with them and the kids were wild with excitement.

For Family night, Derek taught a lesson on family unity. (We started at 8pm, so it was short and sweet.) Just a slice of tomato isn't a pizza (here's some dried from our garden with italian herbs we used on our pizza). We need all the other ingredients together to make it. Then he shared a scripture about how important each portion of our bodies are, and collectively, they make up the whole body. Then he put out two bowls on the floor and told us that our entire family had to get up on one bowl. Believe it or not, our entire family of five got up! The Prescotts did it too! The kids loved this. While the parents were all recovering from our challenge, our little ones couldn't get enough. They hugged each other and jumped back up on the bowls.

We had a nice time and probably thuroughly wore Jenny out.

Happy Birthday!

November 8, 2008
Today is my birthday! I am 33 years old. I have been thinking about ME the last couple of days knowing that a birthday was around the corner. What do I have to celebrate? So, here’s what I’ve reflected:

What I love about ME:
I’m a red head. Yes, we take 20% more anesthesia, but I’m the only one in my family and I feel unique!

I know this sounds crazy, but I am grateful for my birth defect. Many of life’s hurdles have been because of it. It has defined me and helped form me into the person that I am. My biggest lesson learned is that I am beautiful. Not just on the outside, but really truly beautiful on the inside.

I am a return missionary. Spending a year and a half teaching the wonderful people of Uruguay about their Savior in large part taught me that I can do anything.

I CAN to anything! Though my mortal body sometimes prohibits and life’s circumstances impede, I love a challenge and enjoy a myriad of hobbies that enrich my life and push me to greater limits.

I am a sister. For too many years my siblings have looked to me as a mother. Since I was 12 my mother has worked. I compensated for her lack of presence in the home and it caused many years of struggle amongst us. We are all older now, and because I live far away, they have come to appreciate me as their sister. I love being their sister! A sister is a friend and my siblings are some of my greatest friends. I love you Nathan, Kimball and Carlie!




I was Nephi’s wife. Our 9 years at the Hill Cumorah Pageant as cast and staff taught me some valuable lessons about peace, hard work, and friendship. It was there that I really discovered how truly vivid, glorious and exhilarating life can be. One summer I was cast as Nephi’s wife. I stepped into that role as royalty to see some of my own potential and divine inheritance.




I have a degree. To those who have masters and PHd’s, this may not seem much of an accomplishment, and to others who are still struggling for their first bachelors after years and years of working towards it, it may seem like bragging. I loved the time I spent at the University of Utah and value my education. I have to laugh, Tanner and Lexie went to a friend’s home the other night so Derek and I could have a date night. The father of the home is a huge BYU football fan. For the last couple of weeks, Lexie has been chanting, “GO BYU!” around the house! Derek is also a graduate of BYU. We love each other for the educations we have received and are grateful that we don’t get into college football much.

I am a mom to three incredibly amazing children. I could write a thousand page book on my experiences as a mother and how much I truly love this part of my life. And while the lessons I have learned are many, it is humbling and still very much a work in progress. With all my heart, I love you dearly my sweet Tanner, Lexie and Colin.




I am married to the BEST hunk of handsomeness a girl could ever imagine in her wildest dreams. He is a large part of ME, well actually, he is EVERYTHING to me. Over the last 5 years we have been married, I have become a better person in so many ways. As I reflect upon it, I am truly humbled that Heavenly Father would grant me such an incredible person as my eternal companion.


Above all, I love ME because I know I have a Savior. Everything I am and everything I hope to be I owe to Jesus Christ. I know He lives. I know He loves me. I know He died for me so I can live forever with my family. For all good things that have defined who I am, what I am and where I am in life, these things I owe to Him who is my Master and my Redeemer.

What I want to work on for the thirty third year of my life:
After giving birth (naturally-wow what an accomplishment!), I have a shelf. I SO hate this exterior part of me! The worst is that I know there are more to come and what MORE can they do to this aging body?! Goal: gotta go shelf!

Time. It is forever a constant struggle to maximize, prioritize, and make quality. “Mother’s who know, keep it simple” as Sister Beck said. This has become my new motto and focus for life. Goal: ever constant self evaluation of how I am spending my time.

Motherhood is my greatest challenge. I was once told that I would learn the importance of being unselfish in this life. My role as a mother really defines that! I want to be a better mom. To be more patient. To give more selflessly. To serve. To create. To educate. To inspire. My children are my greatest joy and my greatest contribution to this beautiful world.

Early to bed. Early to rise. Let’s face it, aging is the topic of choice here and my beauty sleep is of great value to me. Goal: get up earlier and go to bed in a more timely fashion. My husband will admire me forever if I can really accomplish this one, so this goal is 50% for ME and 50% for him.

Lastly, spiritually, I need to step it up a notch. Reading my scriptures as I am nodding off to sleep at 11pm or midnight just doesn’t cut it. With the wealth of resources I have at my finger tips, my goal is to put the Lord first.

So, I have about 20 other things that I am working on or want to work on, but too many goals are unrealistic. I am not writing any sort of “plan of attack” in this blog, but I do have something established to help me be a better 33!

Emily, you’re awesome! Today is your day! Make it the BEST! Happy Birthday!

knock knock

This week for Family Night we decided to talk about humor. I remember from my childhood psychology class in college that sometime around the age of 4 children begin to experiment with humor. Sure enough, the other day Tanner and one of his buddies were trying out their senses of humor while they were playing.

Tanner: "hey Mark!"

Mark stops what he is doing and gives Tanner his attention

Tanner: "Look at that pole over there."

Mark looks.

Tanner: "Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Mark: "Ha! Ha! Ha!"

When I was 17-18 years old, I was a nanny for a family with 2 boys ages 5 and 2. The 5 year old had absolutely no sense of humor. Zero, zilch, nada. But for his younger brother, the 2 year old was a natural. It seemed that everything he did was whitty and just outright funny. We all felt badly for the older boy. He was very smart, but could never quite steal the show. So when I listened to Tanner's joke, I just smiled. He deserved an "A" for effort, but when it comes to humor, can we just say: zero, zilch, nada?

For family night I got on google and looked up some knock knock jokes. Here are a few I found:

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Abbott!

Abbott who?

Abbott time you answered the door!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Abe!

Abe who?

Abe C D E F G H...!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Ada!

Ada who?

Ada burger for lunch!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Aida!

Aida who?

Aida lot of sweets and now I've got tummy ache!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Al!

Al who?

Al give you a kiss if you open this door!

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Juan!

Juan who!

Juan to hear some more of these?

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Jamaica!

Jamaica who?

Jamaica mistake

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Ketchup!

Ketchup who?

Ketchup the tree again!

Well, it was slow going, but in the end, we were all laughing. (Apparently, he gets his sense of humor from his mother's side!) Then I stepped away to dish up desert (pumpkin bars). When I returned I found Derek reading his Calvin and Hobbes book to him.

Calvin: "Let him go you psychotic savage!"

Mom: could we please teach our son humor using other words besides "psychotic savage"?

Derek: huh? oh yeah.

We did have a talk wth the kids about when it is good to use humor. Laughing at ourselves and using humor to help others be happy are always fun. And we talked about when not to use humor. Like making fun of others, or at times when we need to be reverent or respectful of others.

The next morning at the breakfast table Tanner and Lexie were thick into knock knock jokes.

Tanner: knock knock

Lexie: who's there?

Tanner: Joey

Lexie: Joey?

Tanner: I ate a hot dog and now my eye hurts.

Tanner and Lexie: Ha! Ha! Ha!

Hum. I think I'm done intervening in the humor department for a while.

Yummy Whole Wheat Bread by Lisa Hill

A gal from church posted this recipe. I made it tonight and it is a keeper. I didn't have any white flour, so I substituted with wheat which gave me a 100% whole wheat bread. I also added some gluten (1/2 to 3/4 cup) and one extra egg. It came out light, fluffy and delicious!

Yummy Whole Wheat Bread by Lisa Hill
This will make your house smell amazing.
6 cups hot water
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp yeast
Mix, then let the above bubble for 15 min. Then add:
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. salt
2 cups white flour
Stir for 5-10 min. to develop gluten. Add about 4 more cups of whole wheat flour. Knead the flour into the dough one cup at a time. Finish the bread with white flour (2 cups more or less) until the dough is right. Let the dough rise until double in an oiled covered container. (Trick for winter: turn you oven to 200 degrees, then turn off. Boil a pan of water and place in bottom. Put your bread in there and it will rise quickly.) Shape 4 loaves and rise until double. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 min. The bread should sound hollow when you tap it.
Note: Make sure your mixer can handle this whole recipe since it makes 4 loaves and is a lot of dough. I have a Kitchen Aid professional 6 qt and it did great.

12 simple ways to supercharge your brain

by Jay @ Dumb Little Man, on Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:00am PDT

Here are some things you can begin doing as soon as today to begin the great brain tune up:

Eat Almonds Almond is believed to improve memory. If a combination of almond oil and milk is taken together before going to bed or after getting up at morning, it strengthens our memory power. Almond milk is prepared by crushing the almonds without the outer cover and adding water and sugar to it.

Drink Apple Juice Research from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) indicates that apple juice increases the production of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in an increased memory power.

Sleep well Research indicates that the long-term memory is consolidated during sleep by replaying the images of the experiences of the day. These repeated playbacks program the subconscious mind to store these images and other related information.

Enjoy simple Pleasures Stress drains our brainpower. A stress-ridden mind consumes much of our memory resources to leave us with a feeble mind. Make a habit to engage yourself in few simple pleasures everyday to dissolve stress from your mind. Some of these simple pleasures are good for your mind, body and soul.
Enjoy music you love
Play with your children
Appreciate others
Run few miles a day, bike or swim
Start a blog
Take a yoga class or Total Wellness routine

Exercise your mind Just as physical exercise is essential for a strong body, mental exercise is equally essential for a sharp and agile mind. Have you noticed that children have far superior brainpower than an adult does? Children have playful minds. A playful mind exhibits superior memory power. Engage in some of the activities that require your mind to remain active and playful.
Play scrabble or crossword puzzle
Volunteer
Interact with others
Start a new hobby such as blogging, reading, painting, bird watching
Learn new skill or a foreign language

Practice Yoga or Meditation Yoga or Meditation relives stress. Stress is a known memory buster. With less stress, lower blood pressure, slower respiration, slower metabolism, and released muscle tension follows. All of these factors contribute significantly towards increases in our brainpower.

Reduce Sugar intake Sugar is a non-food. It’s a form of carbohydrate that offers illusionary energy, only to cause a downhill slump once the initial burst has been worn off. Excess intake of sugar results in neurotic symptoms. Excess sugar is known to cause claustrophobia, memory loss and other neurotic disorders. Eat food without adding sugar. Stay away from sweet drinks or excess consumption of caffeine with sugar.

Eat whole wheat The whole wheat germs contain lecithin. Lecithin helps ease the problem of the hardening of the arteries, which often impairs brain functioning.

Eat a light meal at night A heavy meal at night causes tossing and turning and a prolonged emotional stress while at sleep. It’s wise to eat heavy meal during the day when our body is in motion to consume the heavy in-take. Eating a light meal with some fruits allows us to sleep well. A good night sleep strengthens our brainpower.

Develop imagination Greeks mastered the principle of imagination and association to memorize everything. This technique requires one to develop a vivid and colorful imagination that can be linked to a known object. If you involve all your senses - touching, feeling, smelling, hearing and seeing in the imagination process, you can remember greater details of the event.

Control your temper Bleached food, excess of starch or excess of white bread can lead to nerve grating effect. This results in a violent and some time depressive behavior. Eat fresh vegetables. Drink lots of water and meditate or practice yoga to relieve these toxic emotions of temper and stressful mood swings.

Take Vitamin B-complex Vitamin B-complex strengthens memory power. Eat food and vegetables high in Vitamin B-complex. Stay away from the starch food or white bread, which depletes the Vitamin B-complex necessary for a healthy mind.
I don't believe these are that tough. If you find yourself increasing stumped, give a couple of these a try.

Written by Shilpan Patel of Success Soul and cross-posted from Dumb Little Man, a web site that provides tips for life that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane.

Happy Halloween!

The last couple of days have been a hustle and bustle of Halloween fanfare. Fringe, feathers, beads, straw hats, apples, cards and candy! Last year I stayed so busy with all the preparations that by the time I got to the Ward Halloween party, I was exhausted. I was hoping I wouldn’t overdo my self like that again. I didn’t, but close. Thankfully, Tanner had a Halloween birthday party to attend about a week ago which got his costume made and out of the way. I am pretty sure this will be my last year to decide what Tanner will be for Halloween. (I think I said that last year too.) I kind of just made it and told him what he was going to be and he was cool with it. He did inform me as he was putting on his chaps, vest and cowboy hat that he wanted to be a spider. I told him if he still wanted to be a spider next year for Halloween, I would make it for him. He has been talking about being a spider the rest of the week, but happily and most excitedly, puts on his cowboy costume. What a trooper!

I went to Walmart to see what I could find for fabric for Tanner’s chaps. I found some awesome fake-suede looking stuff that was nice and stiff, but with a little spandex in it for give. Perfect for kids, and only $2.39 a yard. I bought one yard. Then, I found some fringe for $1.29. I bought 2 yards. Viola! I made two set of chaps (one for Tanner and one for Colin) and two vests for $4.97. For Lexie I borrowed a Pocahontas costume from a girl from church. It was missing the headband so I found some of grandma Gloria Ellingson’s ribbon and sewed some feathers into it. She looked darling and I was grateful I didn’t have to make her something.

So, this year for Halloween, I had a cowboy, an Indian and a little buckaroo!

It has been a long time since I have dressed up for Halloween. I was wandering around Target one night late and walked by some orange and black stripped stockings. Perfect witch attire! So, I snatched them up and brought them home. Next, was the hat. Walmart had a fairly fancy one for $9.99 but that was out of my budget. Actually, I don’t have a Halloween budget so it was coming out of my grocery budget and ten bucks was too much. I found a bare-bones plain witch hat for $1, added some black tulle ($1), fringe ($1.43) and then made a sash and big black rose from some scraps of material I had at home.


Our tradition for giving away apples on Halloween continues. I bought 9 bags of apples this year and went through all most all of them just at the Ward Halloween party. I have decided that this is by far a more expensive route than if I were to buy the "good" candy at the store, but I sense they are valued by the comments I get from the children and parents as they walk by, so it is worth splurging for. This year Tanner labeled himself “principal apple stuffer”. He single handedly stuffed all 9 bags of apples into individual sandwich baggies. He also cut up all the little tags we put inside each one, but decided it was mom’s job to stuff those in with the apples and tie them off. It was a fun project to do together. Lexie is still too young to understand what it means to bruise an apple. Though, honestly, I am pretty sure she isn’t too young, I just haven’t taken the time to cut open an apple and show her a bruise. I spent some time yesterday keeping her from throwing the apples around. Glad she likes balls I suppose.

Happy 6 months Colin!

My how time flies! I'll never forget the day you were born. You came on our date night and a wonderful datenight it was! We walked back and forth over the bridge between the medical towers and the hospital and I would lean into your dad as the contractions would come. With each contraction, he would tell me of a memory we had together over the last 5 years we have been married. It was a sweet walk down memory lane all the while we were anxiously looking forward to your arrival. You came so quickly too! Just two hours of labor and then you slipped right out. Your dad got to deliver you!

When I first saw you, I thought, that looks like a healthy baby! You had lots of fat already built in and you immediately knew mom was holding you just seconds out of the womb. You were a good sport. Well, we were both good sports!

The last 6 months have been delightful. You LOVE to smile and are my first baby to smile and laugh so early. You also love your mom and love to be with me. I've been savoring my moments with you and can see our interactions together that you are one smart kid! You are a snuggler and love to be held chest to chest. It has taken you almost your whole 6 months to feel comfortable being held facing outward, but you are now discovering the world around you and all that there is to explore. I look forward to the rest of your life as discovery will be your main focus for quite some time. Introducing you to this beautiful world you now live in is one of the BEST parts of being a mother. I love being your mom. I love you Colin!

ps: The red hair and drool forever make you my son!