Yes I finished it.  And not nearly as fast as I thought I would because frankly I didn't love it!  I found myself trying to plug through to get to the good stuff.  But without saying too much, I am still waiting for the good stuff. I hate to say this but maybe the movie will help me out with that.... But I don't usually like my books made into movies so I might just have to learn to like the ending to THIS story.

So I am dying to know what others have to say about the book.  Have you read it??  Did you like it. 

I need to know.

I really should start that book club I've been wanting to do so I can get these things off my chest.

a few of the things i love

I think just for fun (mostly for myself) I will add a few of the OTHER things I love to this blog.  I still love to post about my kids and family but there are lots of other things I would love to write about. My two favorite things to do are read and eat, seriously I could survive on those two things.  I love to discuss what I read, whether I love it or hate it and whether anyone else should read it.  I love to eat, but only particular things.  I love trying new recipes and I think I'll share a few of those here.  I'll try to take pictures, but a photographer, I am not.  Also this past year I have found that I love to sew, thanks to my Grandma's old Bernina.  I am NOT great at this and can mostly sew straight lines, but with a great pattern, straight lines can turn into something great... I think. I also love gardening, but you know, this year my garden REALLY stinks and half my flowers didn't grow so I won't be mentioning those things.   So....

The Best Green Beans!

Last night after Madey picked some of the green beans from my garden (one of two items that actually grew) I wanted to do something different with them for dinner.  So after looking up recipes online I saw a few that said just to boil them with new potatoes.  I have never had them this way and it sounded interesting.  I happened to have 10 small new potatoes from the vegetable stand on Yellowstone Hwy, left on my counter from several nights ago.  Amazing!  I never have ingredients laying around that I actually need.  
So here's what I did.


1. Diced up 8 small new potatoes.
2. Boiled them in salted water until I could stick a fork in them easily.
3. Added the large handful of fresh green beans to the potatoes.
4. Continued to boil until green beans were barely tender.
5. Drained them.
6. Added a large tablespoon of soft butter and sour cream.
7. Added a splash of vinegar (I used apple cider)
8. Added a splash of worchestshire sauce and Salt and Pepper.
9. Stirred until everything was covered (It was just a light coating of sauce).


And we DEVOURED it!  The green beans and potatoes were so delicious, I am going to make them again this weekend. We finished them off today for lunch.  Even my picky eater, Emmett, loved them and he dislikes most vegetables as a rule. I thought since green beans are in season you might like to try it too.  You wont be sorry!  It was Yummy.  I wish I had a picture because it was pretty too.
LOVE fresh vegetables!

Home

We got to go home this past weekend and had so much fun. It's funny how we still call it home and we haven't lived there for 10 years. It still feels like home though. As soon as I take that Price/Manti exit and the overpass takes me into Spanish Fork, I feel different. Always excited to see my family, younger because I just get to chill, happy because I can get a Johnny's coke if I want to and drive up the canyon or down the river bottoms if I want to. Mostly glad I get to sit on my mom's couch and talk and talk to my parents and brothers and sisters. As a bonus my kids get to be ignored and spend hours playing with their cousins in the basement or outside and they LOVE it! I think they forget Cory and I are there. What do they need us for when they have Aunt Lisa to take them anywhere they want to go?

We went home for my niece Hailee's baptism.

She and her mom Melanie looked so beautiful.

It was a great baptism and makes me so excited for Emmett's next month. I hope they both took in everything that was said. Both of Hailee's grandma's gave great talks. Whenever I go to baptisms I think a lot about the gift of the Holy Ghost. I think it takes a lifetime to learn everything about that wonderful gift and how to listen so we can hear it. I know I am still trying.

Hailee's little brother Cash and my brother Ryan looked great too.

I love little boys in ties.

And Ryan did a great job on the baptism and confirmation.

We also went home for a surprise party for my dad's 60th Birthday. My sister Lisa planned the whole thing and it was so fun! He was actually suprised! I thought after we (all 6 of my brothers and sisters and families) left him and my mom in the living room and told him we were headed out early to the restaurant that he was going to catch on that something was going on, but he didn't.

My Dad teaching Emmett one of his favorite things to do.

I thought it was funny that at the party there were so many people we hadn't seen in a while but yet we (my brothers and sisters) all still squished together on the same table and talked and laughed the whole night. This picture was taken at the baptism but it was pretty much the same that night. I wish I would have gotten a picture of everyone! At least of my dad since it was his birthday party! But I never seem to get out my camera at the right time, that's just how I am.I really do wish I lived closer so I could spend more time with them. You know, just drop in on Sunday or go see Simon's baseball games or go for a walk with my sister's and sister in laws. It's hard living away sometimes. It even feels like my brother John and Heather live there since they are always there when we are.
I guess in a way everyone wants to be home.
It's a comfort thing I guess.
I'm glad I live close enough to go home.

A Good Idea

So every once in a while I have a good idea. Not very often, but you know occasionally it happens. Today when I was thinking about what I could do for Family Home Evening
- I know you're shocked that we actually have those around this house -
at 3 o'clock this afternoon, I kept thinking of the song "Follow the Prophet." Cory and I are sunbeam teachers in Primary and this happens to be the song they are working on. Our sunbeams LOVE this song! I can actually see all their mouths moving when we sing this - even the boys.

( As a side note, I'd like to say that my favorite part of this past Sunday in primary was during this song. The kids march in place for the chorus and wave their fingers when they say "He knows the way." Well, our kids really get into the actions and Tyler always gets carried away and goes right from the marching - into star wars moves. He still sings and everything. But I love watching his facial expressions when he is swinging that lightsabre.)

Madey has always loved this song too. She taught herself to play it on the piano about a year ago and taught the rest of us ALL of the verses (there are nine). So we sing this regularly for FHE.

My idea, after having the song stuck in my head all day, was to assign all three kids a prophet from a verse and have them teach us about them. We found the pictures in the Gospel Art Kit and I helped Conner and Emmett with any questions they had about their Prophet.

When Emmett was teaching us about Adam, I was so surprised the things he taught us that I had not helped him with (he has and has had GREAT primary teachers). I could tell that he loved teaching us.

Madey taught us about Noah and about Daniel. I learned things about Daniel that I hadn't known before and loved listening to what she had to say about them both. She always includes how people feel when she talks and did with these Prophets too. I could feel her testimony of prophets while she was talking.

Conner taught us about Jonah. When I asked them who they wanted to talk about, Conner immediately yelled "Jonah, Jonah" then sang to himself "learned, deep down inside the whale."
Conner really knew his stuff about Jonah too. He knew that Jonah didn't want to do what Heavenly Father had asked him and that he ran away. His favorite part to teach was when the whale threw Jonah up. He even demonstrated with his toy whale. But the best part was that every time he said anything about Jonah, he followed it with "learned, deep down inside the whale." I think he said it like 8 times during his lesson.

So I know this is a long boring post about our Family Home Evening lesson. But I thought it was good - for us- on so many levels.

My kids got to shine.
I learned, a lot.
Cory enjoyed watching his kids teach.
It was almost no prep, for me.
I think my kids learned a few new things too.
And most of all it was successful family time, which doesn't always happen around here.

Facing Fears, Drowning and Perfect Teachers

I have tortured Emmett and myself in summers past by making him take swimming lessons. He really hated every minute of these and never has gotten use to the idea of going under water. Even though he will play in the water in a hotel or something like that he hates it when you actually try to teach him to swim for fear you will make him dive in or just go under water.

So I knew when I saw the flyer come home from school, about two days at the community pool teaching them water safety, that we were probably going to go to battle about the water again. He did try to get out of it for a long time. But I assured him that they wouldn't make him do anything he REALLY didn't want to do. But I was hoping he would feel a little peer pressure to try new things and join in the fun. I worried that I should go with him and I worried that it would be worse if I were there. I finally opted not to go and sent him on his way hoping he would face his fear and go under water and actually like it.

He came home the first day and said
"Well I had a little bit fun but I am NOT going again," very casually.
I asked him why not and he said he drowned two times. I said
"Wow really two times, did they jump in and save you?"
"Well no, I just drowned a little" he said.
I tried to get the story out of him (knowing it was not nearly as bad as he was saying) but as always with him it's hard to get him to stay on one story line to get all the info. He was pretty calm about it but by bedtime he was still very sure he was not going back.
"I will just stay at the school while my class goes, Mom" he said.
The next morning he was very upset that I was making him go back. He wouldn't even get ready for school.

So I went into school early to talk to his teacher thinking I might have to go with him this time. She was so great, let me just say here how much I LOVE Emmett's teacher, Mrs. Bair. She is the perfect teacher for him. She said right away that he did have a hard time. She said she could see it on his face. She said she stood on the side of the pool right by him and his partner and encouraged him. She said things to him every good mother would say to their kid when they are scared. I was so grateful in that moment that she was there and was able to help him. She has always been able to "read" him and help him in the right way. She laughed when I told her what he said about the day before and put in all into perspective. She told me he had to go swimming again and that I shouldn't go. She also said she would break the news to him herself.

He came home that day and said
"Mom I will tell you what I had, I had a blast!"
"That's great Emmett, what was different?"
He said "Well I didn't drown and I faced my fear."
He even went under the water, bobbing he called it. He said the canoe was the best part and he was so glad he went.

I love when someone else can make such a difference in my kids life for the better. And I am so happy Emmett is finally trying new things

Let's Just Pretend It's Spring

So the sun has been shining for a good 3 days straight now and I LOVE it. If I just feel it's warmth through my bedroom windows (which fully face the afternoon sun this time of year) or stay in my car and pretend it is as toasty outside as it is inside then... well
I am HAPPY!
I love the sun and spring and while I am mentioning things I love let me add that I love dirt (the kind I get to dig in not the stuff that always lives in my house) flowers, water, the smell of grass, heat, exercising outside instead of on the treadmill, hiking, bar-b-ques and standing in my front yard talking to my neighbors! All things that I am desperately needing right NOW!

But for now I think I will just enjoy the sunshine. Because I heard that it has been snowing in Utah for the past 3 days.

Christmas.. come and gone.

The best part of Christmas this year was at 5:20 AM on Christmas Morning. Madey and I had had MANY negotiations on what time she was allowed to get up this year. We began discussions on this back in November. Nobody (or I mean Cory and I) wanted repeats of years past, when she stayed up ALL night. One year, the same year Conner was just a baby, she came into our room every hour all night. Last year she at least stayed in her room. This year I said she was allowed to wake us up at 6:00AM, of course she came back with 5:50, 5:51, 5:52, I finally gave in at 5:59. So on Christmas morning I woke up at 5:15 and lay there for a minute and realized I could hear little voices and squeaking doors. I walked into Madey's room and saw this....



Notice the Christmas lights, Madey has had those up in her room since the first of November. She really is Miss Christmas, she LOVES everything about it and makes it fun for all of us.
Every year I am amazed at how much more fun it is to be a parent at Christmas!! I love watching them.
They tore into their presents of course and and they were all opened by 5:30.