Family stuff.

Doesn't seem like I've updated much lately about family matters. So, thought I'd take a few minutes to catch up. I love this picture of Jason. Daddy caught him just right!!

Cheeky little Justin. I'm sure he was saying "eese!" here.

My boys are getting so big!! They're nineteen months old now. They're starting to say some words. So cute. They like cinnamon bread, so I'll give them some in the mornings. They'll go through five or six slices easy. So, I'll give them a piece and tell them "One more, and then no more."....the other day Jason holds up his little pointer finger and goes "Oh more! "--made me chuckle. They've pretty much got me wrapped around their cute little pinkies.
Justin loves our kitty. He'll try to imitate her, "mow", and when he see's her he makes a little "tch, tch tch" sound, because that's how I usually call her. Justin loves bananas, so he's got "nana" down. They're pretty good at trying to imitate some of the things we say. They've learned to fold their arms for a prayer, but they don't hold it for very long, and of course we finish by clapping our hands, not with the normal "amen".

The girls are doing pretty good in school. A's and B's still, I get a little concerned though with my new work schedule, and making sure they're getting their homework done. Jon's good about getting them going on it, but I usually have to call and make sure Haley's done all aspects of her assignments. Guess we'll see how they're doing when we get their next progress report. I haven't been taking many pictures lately. I've got to get on the ball, so I can post some.

We'll hopefully getting a second vehicle in the next few weeks. We were hoping to have a nice enough tax return to be able to buy one, but we've got even better happening, because Jon's mom is giving him her old car. Yay!!!! We just saved a couple grand. This will help out tremendously around here, I can't even begin to say how much. See, those Temple blessings have already started. Now we can use whatever tax returns we might get back to get caught up on bills, and with any luck get a patio put in the backyard. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good return!!

SO true!!!

Saw this over on Heather's blog. Love it!!!

Spring in springing!!!

I looked out my (car) window, and what did I see?

Popcorn popping on the (I don't know what kind of) apricot tree!!

Is it safe to come out yet?

Monday again?????

I'm actually a little torn on Monday's. It's one of my day's off from work, so that makes it a great day. But, it's also recovery day in my household. The house is so thrashed on Monday mornings. Laundry has begun piling up again over the weekend. I was almost to the bottom of the pile on Friday, now--the mountain has reappeared.
Our lesson yesterday in Relief Society was on simplifying, taken from the General Conference issue of the Ensign. I SO need to simplify. We have way too many clothes. I don't even wear a quarter of what I have in my closet and drawers. Jon too, and the kids. Maybe my project for the next week is going to be going through closets.
Yeah, I need to do some major simplifying in the girls' bedroom. Where did they get so much junk????? I couldn't have possibly bought them all that stuff.

Well, let's see. we're moving into March--I think I'm going to adopt the word

SIMPLIFY

for March--maybe even the rest of the year. We'll see how March goes. I'm going to get a jump start on it now though. Wish me luck. I have much junk to wade through.

Pondering the scriptures

So I was reading in Mosiah (in the Book of Mormon) the other day, and a scripture caught my attention in a manner that it hasn't before.
Mosiah 27:14
"14 And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith. "


This scripture really spoke to me. We all have those people in our lives with whom we have some concern, or problems or whatever. For myself, one of those people is my hubby. It is one of my greatest desires that he become a more active member of the church, that someday we might be sealed together as a family in the Temple. I know that he has his free will though, and no amount of my praying that he join the church can make him do that. I've prayed often for that anyway, or that his heart might be softened. But after reading this scripture, I think I've discovered what I will pray for from now on--that he might be brought to the knowledge of the truth, and then he can act upon that as he will. I certainly am not expecting him to get a visit from an angel, but hey, if the Lord see's fit, that would be sa-weet!!

Happy Birthday Jon!!!

My honey came into the world on February 21, 1970. Yup, that makes him 39 today!!!!!

He was a pretty cute little guy! (Jason looks a lot like him)

Jon's little doggie--Frankie

He was a rocker from early on.......

He looks pretty cute and innocent here.

Jon's on the right, his brother Brad is in the middle.

Again, Jon on the right.

Looks all bad boy here.

I met Jon in 1993.

If I had known what a bad boy he was, I probably wouldn't have gone out with him. But, I'm glad I didn't know. We hit it off from the start. He is the love of my life.

He is a good husband, showers me with love and affection. I am so grateful to be his wife.

My handsome man. I love a guy who isn't afraid to cry. He cried when all our kids were born.

Here with his first born, Ashley.

He is a terrific poppa.

With Haley.

I love this picture of Jon. He looks SO handsome.

With his boys.

Jon never, ever expected he'd have four kiddos.

Actually, he claims he never even wanted any.

He sure loves his kids though.

39 looks good on you Honey.

Hope you have a great day!!!

♥♥♥

Food, Glorious Food!!!

Just thought I'd share some of my favorites from the past few weeks.
(sorry this picture is a bit fuzzy)
YUMM-O!!! I love this litle sandwich. I got the idea for it from Rachael Ray, and my hubby. Rachael did this sort of open faced english muffin snack with the basic ingredients. Then last week, we got some sourdough bread and Jon made a couple yummy sandwiches with the pesto and some ham, and I thought, "Oh!! That thing Rachael Ray does would be good this way!" So, here's what we do:

You need:

Basil Pesto

Sliced Provolene Cheese (mozzarella would work too)

Sliced tomato

2 slices Sourdough bread

Spread pesto on each slice of bread, lay a slice of cheese on each half, then put a slice of tomato on one half. Put together and grill for several minutes on each side until golden brown, and cheese gets melty. You can spread a bit of margarine on the outside of each slice of bread for a little extra yummy fatness, but it's really not necessary.

Mmmmmmm!! I love this little treat. It's SO dang good.

The only problem? Smith's has discontinued it. I hope the other stores don't do the same.

Ok, can you say Peppermint Fetish??

I bought two, count them, two 2 pound bags of peppermint candy in the past month.

this is the first day.....a couple of days later.......
Less than two weeks later.........
Ok, I ate these all. by. myself!!! Noone else in my house even likes these that much. I ate four pounds (actually more) of peppermint candy by myself in less than one month!!!!

hmmm, I wonder why my pants are feeling a little snug?

Words can't express

What a beautiful experience!!!

There really aren't any words to explain or express.

I was overwhelmed, touched by the spirit, embraced with love and filled with peace.

Thank you to all the dear sweet people who took time to come and share this wonderful experience with me. Mom, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Shirley, Patriarch May, Erin, Missy, Kata, Ann, Cindy, Sherrie, Jenn, Cheryl, Miriam, and Brother and Sister Tilton--it was such a wonderful surprise to see you there--made me cry. To those of you who I know would have liked to be there, thank you for your kind and loving thoughts. You were there in spirit.

I wish I'd gotten a few more pictures. Oh well.

A Valentines Day card

This is Haley's cute card for me on Valentines day.

(I love the "illasradid by Haley Firelein" part )

I'm kind of wondering who Bobby is though.

Grrrr!! I detest Mondays!!!

Well, normally I detest Mondays. But this Monday should be a good one. My mom and dad are in town, so are my Aunt Shirly and Uncle Ralph. They've come for the temple trip. I'm a little nervous, and a lot excited. I got my Patriarchal Blessing last night. I thought it was beautiful. I can't wait to get it in it's written form, so I can read over it again and again.
So, by Tuesday night, I will have accomplished two of my new years resolutions. Yay!!

I had a lovely Valentines Day. Hope you all did too. I got some sweet cards from my girls. I'll have to post a picture of Haley's card soon. It cracked me up.
Jon made me a lovely card, and got me a box of See's chocolates. Yummy. I bought him a steak. Romantic no? Ok, he loves steak and we rarely have it, so that's what I bought him. It made him smile.
Jon's birthday is this Saturday. So, I need to come up with something nice yet inexpensive for him. I'd love to hear any ideas.
Well, hope you all have a grrrrreat Monday!!

Mirror mirror on the wall,

Why do you make me look so small?

When in all reality,

I'm the size of a small city!!

Ok, so what's the deal with my bathroom mirror??????

I look GOOD in my bathroom mirror. It's very generous and kind.

When I go anywhere else, and see myself in other mirrors--not so much. There, I see the wrinkles, the broken ends on my hair, the thick calves, the extra weight. (And we won't even talk about the honesty the camera dishes out).

Does anybody else have a lying mirror?

Disgusting!!

OK, Kim--you asked for it!



Kim asked if any of us have gross kids too. Oh yeah, I have gross kids. Not just gross, super messy. Makes me wonder if they're learning anything I try to teach them.



Let's see, there's the boogers that get wiped on the wall, next to their beds. And I don't find them right away, no. Only after about three months, when they're all hard and dried up, and nigh on impossible to remove. Ugh! (I think we may actually have cured them of this one, but still--there are still boogers on some walls in this house)



The bathroom is the worst room of the house. One of my darling girls is scared of flushing the toilet, I dread the day that I have a guest over who needs to use the bathroom, and I forget to double check it first, they're going to find a nasty surprise in the toilet.
They're both scared of using too much toilet paper for fear it's going to make the toilet overflow (apparently, several years ago (like five or six), when my sister was babysitting them for me, her toilet over-flowed. They've been freaked out about that ever since)----(how's that for you? parentheses inside of parentheses?) . So anyway, since she's afraid of putting too much paper in the toilet, this darling daughter of mine, wipes and then tosses the used paper in the trash can. SO GROSS!!! Their wet towels are always left on their bedroom floor. I don't know how many times I've told them to hang them back up after their bath or shower.


The messes I find in the kitchen after I come home from work some nights? Ashley is a very creative girl, and loves to try out her ideas at the kitchen counter. Unfortunately, she has yet to master the art of cleaning up after herself.



Maybe I need to nag more than I do???

And puh-lease, don't tell me how much worse my boys are going to be. I'm scared, very scared!!

Ba Ba Ba Ba!!

Have you seen this Pop Tarts commercial? Oh my goodness, I love it--it's just so cute. But, even more than I love it, my little Jason loves it. Every time it comes on, he perks up. He starts "baaaa, ba ba ba baaaa; ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba-ing" all over the place. Then he starts his little stomp dance routine to go with it. Adorable I tell ya'. I'm hoping to be able to catch him singing and dancing to it one day on video tape. I even think the little character looks a little like him.
Anyway,.......

Here's what I've been working on this week. A little woven purse. I think it came out cute. I love the colors in it anyway.

I'm going to have to try one out of regular yarn. I think it will make for a tighter weave. THis one is really loose, so I had to line it with some fabric. Oh my gosh! Braiding the strap really cramped my hands up. Stinks to get old.