More Pics from Vanessa's Blessing

I got a disk from Jim's family with some more pictures from Vanessa's blessing so I thought I'd share.

Rolls

For Jim's family Thanksgiving is all about the pies but for me, growing up, Thanksgiving was all about Grandma's rolls. My grandma's rolls are DELICIOUS!!! One of the things I miss about having Thanksgiving family with my family. I have wanted to try making rolls for a while now but because of the fear of ruining them I have talked myself out of it time and time again. Ever since we have been having Thanksgiving with the immediate Marks family (minus aunt, uncle and cousins) the rolls have been store bought. Don't get me wrong, I like store bought rolls, they just aren't Thanksgiving to me. This year I decided I would be in charge of the rolls. I was hoping to get a practice run in before Thanksgiving Day but since life is crazy I never got a chance. I woke up Thursday morning ready to make rolls but quite nervous they wouldn't work out. I quickly realized I didn't have any powdered milk or enough flour so I quickly raced down to Albertson's. I got the dough all made and in a bowl to raise. I got the dough rolled into rolls and put on cookie sheets to raise again. My first batch I cooked a little long but they were still okay. To make sure they were yummy I took one and split it between me, Andrew and Ally. I thought it was good, Ally said it was yummy and Andrew gave me a thumbs up with a nod. I took that as a good sign. I'm guessing Jim's family felt the same way because I have been given the task of bringing rolls again next year. SUCCESS!!
I just love when things turn out the way you imagine them in your head!

Pie Day

Jim's family is pie crazy for Thanksgiving!! It is something I would never have believed if I hadn't experienced it for myself. Every year they spend at least one sometimes even two days before Thanksgiving making pies. Yes, it does take days to make as many pies as we have each year for Thanksgiving. They make multiple flavors and multiple pies for many of those flavors. Personally, I don't understand it. Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy pie, but when there are more pies than people at your Thanksgiving, I think that's a little bit much ;). This year the list of pies was:

Pumpkin (12)
Black Bottom (5)
Peach
Blueberry
Blackberry
Apple
Coconut Cream (2)
Lemon Cream
Banana Cream
Chocolate Silk
Chocolate Mousse (2)
Apple Dumplings
Mince Meat (4)

Jim's dad and his sister Dorothy make all the crusts and do most of the work on the fillings. They really do make delicious pies!! This year Ally even joined in the fun and made her own blackberry pie.




She was so excited and couldn't wait to eat it. Thanksgiving she ate the top crust and some of the filling and she finished the rest of it the next day.



If she keeps going the way she is, she'll be a good little cook. She loves making her own things and luckily for her, her aunt Dorothy has the patience her own mother is lacking to help her make these things.


Just a few pics to show some of the pies that were made and enjoyed this Thanksgiving. I'm grateful Jim's dad and sister enjoy making the pies and are willing to put so much time and effort so we can all sit back and eat to our heart's content. They are the best!

Hall Closet

I debated back and forth about whether or not to post this. The truth of the matter is that I am embarrassed by it. I then determined that those of you who know me, know that I am far from perfect so you really should not be shocked. So, here goes. My house has an AMAZING hall closet. It is really, REALLY big!! One of the things I loved about it when we came looking at the house, especially since I was coming from a townhouse with a one foot wide linen closet. I couldn't wait to utilize this closet and to be able to use the space wisely. Well, as the years have gone by and we have accumulated more and more, the hall closet has become more of a dumping ground. My sister Kelly always teases me and calls me Monica from 'Friends' because my house is (usually) clean but that hall closet has become such a pig sty. See for yourselves....



Now you can see why I am embarrassed by this post. (The sad thing is that I took that picture AFTER I had started working on cleaning it.)

Sunday while Jim's family was here Andrew and Steven were looking for something in my hall closet and 1/4 of the mess was out in the middle of my hall. My sister-in-law Laurie saw the inside of the closet (something I don't let many people do) and being the sweet, sweet person she is, volunteered to come help me clean and organize it. Since she was here from Oregon for only a week, I told her no, that's not the way she wants to spend her vacation. She said that she would love to, she loves organizing stuff. I told her if she had time one day maybe we could do it and let it drop. A little while later she asked me what I was doing the next day. Not knowing why, I told her the truth, absolutely nothing. She said she'd be over to help with the closet. After several failed attempts at trying to talk her out of it (not because I didn't want the help but because I didn't want her to have to do that on her vacation) I caved. Monday she, Dave and two of her kids came over. Not only did she come to help clean, she also brought stuff to make us dinner that night. She is amazing!! Laurie really is one of those people who can do it all. Cook, clean, organize, makes beautiful cakes (she made our wedding cake), jewelry, knits, etc., etc. And to top it all off, she is one of the sweetest, most genuine people I have ever met!! They got to our house about noon and 'operation hall closet' quickly began. She told me we needed three piles; things to keep, things to donate, and things to throw away. After creating our piles we started a list of how to organize the things and what to get to help me organize the closet and keep it that way. We then took a trip to Wal-mart for bins, drawers, etc. After just over 8 (yes, I said 8) hours we were finished. I have to say I LOVE MY CLOSET!!!! Even my kids love it. They can actually find things to color with and do projects with. It's amazing!! Here is what it looks like now....



Amazing, isn't it?? I honestly can't believe it is the same closet. It is so nice to have everything in its place and to actually be able to find something without having to tear everything apart. I am so, SO happy!!! The only bad thing is, now I have the organizing bug and I want to tear the rest of my house apart. I just have to take it one project at a time. I made a nice, BIG, looooong list to work from. I'm so grateful that Laurie was willing to sacrifice a day of her vacation to help me out. She is the BEST!!!

Vanessa's Blessing

Every year Jim's brother and his family drive from Oregon to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with the family. It is always a great week of movies, games, delicious food and fun! This year we decided to take advantage of them being here and bless Vanessa at the same time. It was a little difficult getting it arranged and scheduled because my parents decided to leave for Houston the same Sunday we wanted to bless her and it was our ward's ward conference so we were told we couldn't do it during Sacrament but we could do it our house. It was a hard decision to make because we really wanted to do it with Dave and Laurie here because we rarely get to share these events with them but if we did it at our house my parents wouldn't be able to be here for it. After much deliberation and back and forth, we decided to bless Vanessa yesterday at our house. We missed my parents but it was a perfect day. She was surrounded by all her family and friends who love her so much! Jim gave her a beautiful blessing and then we were able to enjoy yummy food (thanks to Ellison who made the yummy meat and everybody else who brought delicious salads and apple crisp)and just hanging out and visiting. The kids had so much fun playing with each other and the dogs who also visited.

It's days like yesterday that make me so grateful that I have the Gospel in my life. I'm so thankful that I am married to a worthy man who holds the priesthood and can perform these special blessings. I am so grateful for our fabulous families and friends who do everything they can to share these special occasions with us. It is days like this that make me miss those family members who cannot be with us. I really felt the loss of my Nana yesterday because this is the first of my kids' blessings she has missed. It was really hard not having her here with us but I do know she was with us in spirit. Although Nana and Papa were not here to celebrate this day with us I am so thankful I still have my Grandma and Grandpa Stay who were able to join us. My kids love my grandparents in fact Ally calls my grandma 'greatest grandma' (her way of saying great-grandma). I am so glad that they have not only their grandparents but great-grandparents to influence their lives.



I love having our families so close by to make these occasions so special. It's also so nice to have such wonderful friends who have become family to us.



I love all my kids' cousins and the relationship they have with each of them. Jim's sister's boys are quite a bit older than my kids but they are always willing to play with them and they are always so sweet and kind to my kids. Even though we only see Dave's kids once, maybe twice a year you'd think the kids are always together. They all get along so well. Later in the night Andrew, Liam and Steven created a tower out of blocks. They were so proud of themselves because it was taller than them.



It was a fabulous day!!! Thanks to everyone who made it great!

Vanessa is Three Months Old

Wow! Vanessa is three months old today. I can't believe it!! She is such an amazing baby and a blessing to our family. I love her so much! I am enjoying each and every second with her. I feel guilty because I didn't enjoy Andrew and Ally at this stage as much. Don't get me wrong, I loved them and was so happy to have them, but I just didn't enjoy everything like I am with Vanessa. I even enjoy my alone time with her in the middle of the night when it happens, which isn't very often anymore. It doesn't even cross my mind that I am tired or that I will be tired during the day. I don't know if it's because I am older (definitely not wiser) or if it's the drugs. Yes, I am one of the lucky ones that suffers from postpartum but this time I was smart and got on medication during my pregnancy. Whatever it is, I am just so glad I am enjoying motherhood so much! Vanessa is a very happy baby. She loves to coo and talk and she loves attention from anyone. She loves to smile and has a very beautiful smile! She loves her brother and sister and is very loved by them. I am still having to constantly tell them to stop smothering her because they are always in her face and giving her kisses. I'm glad they love her so much. It's fun to watch them interact with her.

For her three month birthday she caught a cold, at least that's what I'm hoping it is. She hasn't had any fever but is really congested. Even though she can hardly breathe she is still so happy. It's amazing. I love her and I am so glad Heavenly Father felt he could trust me enough to mother this amazing angel. I'm glad He has blessed me with my three wonderful angels. I only hope and pray (and cross all my fingers and toes) I can be the Mom He wants me to be and help these three grow up to become the things they were destined to be. I am so grateful to be a Mom and that I am so blessed to be a Mom to the wonderful, fabulous kids I have!

Happy Veteran's Day

Today as I was driving to pick up Ally from preschool I was looking at all the flags in people's yards and I couldn't help feeling extremely patriotic. I realized how much I love our flag and love seeing it. I love all that it stands for. I am so grateful I get to live in this country where I can be free to choose my religion, free to speak my mind, and have more than I can ever want or need. I am so grateful my kids don't have to live in a country wrought with war and they don't have to live in fear of bombs or men with guns outside our door.

Today I am very, VERY grateful for all the men and women who are willing to risk their lives so me and my kids can live the peaceful lives we live. I am thankful for their parents, wives, husbands and kids who are there to love and support their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers while they are dedicating their time to protect me and my family.

Last night while the kids and I were eating dinner I looked over and saw Jim's empty chair, which was empty because he hadn't made it home from work yet and I started getting upset. I was frustrated that it was another dinner with just me and the kids. I was feeling sorry for myself because with his commute and travel schedule there are many times I feel like I am alone in parenting my kids. This morning I got my 'wake up' message. I was watching 'Good Things Utah' and Reagan Leadbetter read an e-mail her husband sent his employees regarding Veteran's day. It really hit me hard when he talked about those people who have left and are going to have to leave their families to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. These families will be having many dinners with an empty chair at their table so I can enjoy all the things I do. Wives and husbands will be 'single parenting' for at least a year, maybe more for me and my family. They will be closely watching the news dreading being the one that gets the call about their family member being killed while protecting me, my family and all the things we take for granted. I am truly grateful for the sacrifice so many people are willing to make for people like me who they have never met and will likely never meet. They truly are better people than I am. I am so glad we have this one day a year to remember them and all they do for us, even though I feel we should be being grateful to them each and every day.

Halloween

Every year we go out and visit the grandparents on Halloween. The kids love trick-or-treating at their houses and showing off their costumes. This year we added Aunt Dorothy to our houses to visit. Ally really wanted to see her since she was dressed up as Dorothy this year. It was so fun to go visit all of them. Another reason I am so grateful we live so close to family - makes the holidays even more special. It was really fun to visit Dorothy because she just got a new dog that made the perfect Toto for Ally. Yes, if I was a more creative Mom I would have made Vanessa into Toto but I'm not, so she was a pumpkin and Max made a super cute Toto and was more fun for Ally anyways.






Even Andrew wanted a picture with Max.

We came home and went out trick or treating. Jim stayed home with Vanessa while I took Andrew and Ally around the neighborhood. I think I liked it better when they were a little younger because this year they wanted to keep going and going. They were really excited when we found a few homes that gave out big candy bars. I finally convinced them it was time to go home since it was getting cold and dark and we still hadn't had dinner. They had a really fun time this year and it was fun to see how excited they both were about going to each house. I know that I need to enjoy the trick or treating now because there will come a time that they don't want to go out with their mom.

Andrew's School Party

Andrew's school doesn't have the 'traditional' Halloween party. They have what they call a 'History Fair.' Each grade dresses up as something from the time they are learning about when Halloween comes. This year his class was learning about the War of 1812. There were quite a few things he could have been but he really, REALLY wanted to be an Indian. For those of you who know me, you know that I am far from creative. I buy my kids costumes every year. We had already bought him a $40 Star Wars something or other (yes, I let them pick out their own, and no, I don't always know what his is) so I really didn't want to go buy another costume for him to wear for one day. He told me the morning before the party that if I couldn't come up with anything, that's fine, he just wouldn't dress up. I just couldn't disappoint my sweet boy so I put a plea out on Facebook and my dear, sweet, wonderful friend Kelly answered my cries! After school we invaded her house, which she was trying to get ready for book club that night (that's when you know you have a true friend, she's willing to put her cleaning aside and help you not only come up with a costume idea, but put it together too.) to get to work on a costume. She had an old couch cover that was made out of tan micro-suede so we cut that and tacky taped it into a vest. We cut a strip for a head band that I could glue feathers to, yes I figured I could handle that. The next morning Andrew got dressed for school and....



Success!!! I think it turned out great! And the best part, he was happy with it. I know that you are thinking that a seven year old boy would be happy with anything, but no, not my son. He is extremely picky. I don't buy him anything unless he is with me because he won't wear it if he doesn't like it. Sooooo, thank you, THANK YOU Kelly for helping me make his school costume a success because had it been left up to me, he would have been in a brown paper bag vest, if anything at all. I'm so glad I have such wonderful friends who are so willing to help my kids out when their creativity deprived mom just can't fill their expectations. I really don't know what I'd do without all of you!