A Wonderful Tribute

Gordon B. Hinckley

I found this great video tribute to President Hinckley that you really should check out. It is well worth the time.

Pinewood Derby

The car
Trenton anxiously waiting to watch his car race.
And they're off...Trenton's is on the far right.
Notice Trenton's new badge on his left pocket. He was very excited to get that tonight for completing three of his twelve requirements. He is extremely motivated to earn badges and is constantly asking when he will get his next one.
Owen took it all in stride. He loved watching all the action. Notice his little shoes...they have little race cars on them -- very appropriate for the night.

President Hinckley

As I reflect today on the life of our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who passed away yesterday, I am struck with how much I loved and adored this man even though I had never met him personally. I loved hearing him speak as he always put my mind at ease. He was such an optimistic person. During the Nauvoo Temple open house, a film was shown and at the end of it President Hinckley's voice began out of no where and it was enough to take your breath away. I know he was a true prophet of God. Who else could do all that he did at the age of 97? I am so happy that he is being reunited with his sweet wife whom he missed so much. I wonder how my children will adjust to this. This is the only latter-day prophet they (and me) have ever known.

Here is my favorite quote by President Hinckley because I think it is a wonderful reflection of his personality:

"Keep trying. Be believing.

Be happy. Don't get discouraged.

Things will work out."

My Blog's Reading Level

I find this so funny! You would think my four years of grad school would be evident in my blog writing, but I guess not. I am dying for all of you to run this test on your own blogs...don't be embarrassed, I don't think it gets any worse than mine!

Funny boy

I just had to post this adorable picture of Owen. He keeps us all happy with his never-ending smile. He is such a sweet boy. It is hard to believe his first birthday is just around the corner!

Fun in the Snow

We got about an inch of snow last night, so the kids had some fun playing in it before school. Trenton had a two-hour delay (which is so funny considering we only got an inch!), but was disappointed he didn't get to stay home the whole day. His plan was to build a snow fort, but I don't think there was quite enough snow for that. He had fun trying.

Random Stuff

Amy has tagged me and I am going to try my best to play along. I have to name seven random or unusual things about myself that most people don't know. This is hard for me because I have done a couple of these before, so we'll see what I come up with.

1. I rarely watch television. I can't sit still long enough to watch it (with a few exceptions) without feeling guilty that I should be doing something productive.

2. I absolutely love to travel. I get the itch to go somewhere almost monthly. It kills me to stay in one place too long. I think it would be so great if Nathan and I sold our house when we retire and bought an RV to travel the country visiting friends and family.

3. I have a really hard time seeing other people struggle/suffer. I want to fix everyone and it frustrates me when I can't. I struggle to know whether I am really helping someone or enabling them. Sometimes I can't handle the mental anguish of it all that I have to focus on myself instead, which is really hard because I naturally put myself last.

4. I have an intense fear of bees. I hope I don't pass that one onto my children.

5. I love to find recipes that sound good and change them a little to make them my own. You will almost always find garlic, olive oil, basil, and white wine in my dishes. These are my favorite ingredients.

6. I worry a lot when I have a long to do list. It stresses me out so much to have things that need to be done and I can't get them done right away. I love checking off things on my to do list when I complete them. I think I stress my family out a little too much when I have a large to do list because lately I have been making everyone help me get things done, but on my time schedule (which is right now!).

7. I love compliments and feeling appreciated (but who doesn't?). After working really hard on something, the best thing in the whole world is hearing that someone enjoyed/liked it. I need to work harder on appreciating what others do for me.

I now have to tag 7 people to list seven random or unusual things about themselves. So, I am tagging Melissa, Kim S., Christianne, Ashley, Jami H, Jamie Shepherd, and Jamie Shipp. I am sorry if some of you have done this recently.

27 Dresses

27 Dresses

Some friends and I saw "27 Dresses" last night and I have to tell you that it is a must see. I absolutely loved it. It is one you need to catch with the girls because it is definitely not a guy flick. For fun, I thought I would share a couple of pictures of the dresses I have in my closet from the old days.

This was a very small, low-cost wedding, so we had to do our own hair (hence my horrible hair).

I was seven months pregnant with Trenton here.

Our First Snow

Well, it's official. Kentucky has had some snow this year...if you want to call it that. We woke up Thursday morning to find just a dusting on the ground. Trenton was so excited because he thought he wouldn't have school. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for drivers) the snow didn't stick to the roads at all. The snow was gone before lunch. Ashleigh and I went out to eat for lunch with Nathan and that's when Ashleigh noticed all the snow was gone. She was upset because she said she wanted to play in it. I don't think they could have done much playing with the little amount we got.
Do you think this will be it for us this year? I have to wonder! I feel sorry that my kids never get to play in snow, but selfishly I am so glad we haven't had much because what a pain it makes getting anywhere.

Our First Pinewood Derby Car

It's almost time for the Cub Scout's Pinewood Derby and Trenton is hard at work on his first car. He is so excited (as he is with anything related to Scouting) and has big dreams for his car. Here he is cutting out his car at Scouts. Notice how pink his cheeks are. This is from all the playing he does every week before and after Scouts. As soon as he comes home from school on Wednesdays, he is ready to go to church for Scouts.This is the design Trenton picked out for his car. We have our fingers crossed that it will at least resemble the picture. I'll post a picture when it's finished.

Charity

This may not be the best picture, but it is a picture of twelve freezer meals that now fill my freezer. I wanted to post this picture as one way of thanking my sweet friends who made these twelve meals for me. A couple friends and I have decided to try assembling freezer meals once a month to help us through that "I don't know what to cook for dinner" syndrome that we seem to be going through these days. This month was a trial run. We chose our recipes a couple weeks ago and then assigned individual grocery lists. Today was the day set aside to actually make the meals to be frozen. Well, Trenton was still not feeling well this morning and couldn't go to school, so I couldn't help make the meals. It killed me to not be a part of it. It was a tremendous amount of work and there was nothing I could do to help. My sweet friends made all of my meals for me without a second thought. As I picked them up tonight, I had to hold back tears because what a wonderful blessing this is for my family. I am not one who allows myself to be served very often because I love to do the serving. I am grateful for this humbling experience today and for the wonderful sisters who served me. What wonderful examples of charity they are. Thank you! I now want to return the favor and serve someone in a big way. What ideas do you have for me? I am excited for this chance to "pay it forward."

Owen's stocking

A package came in the mail today for Owen and this was what was inside. My sister-in-law, Katy has made all the kids stockings. She just got Owen's done because she was busy studying for her CPA exam (which she passed, yeah!) before Christmas. My kids love their stockings so much. I am so grateful she is so sweet to do this for them. It takes so much time as you can see by all the detail. Thank you, Katy! You are the best Aunt (unless Julie is reading this and then we'll have to talk :)

The mystery gift

So many of you wanted to know what was inside my gift wrapped in newspaper. Well, here it is. This is my very favorite Christmas movie. It wouldn't be Christmas without seeing it. Now I have the story behind the movie. A very thoughtful gift from my hubby.

A Thankful Heart

Today was a very humbling day for me. My day began with a prayer of gratitude for the beautiful weather outside. We hit a record high of 72 F. Wow! It felt like May not early January. I am so grateful that I was able to spend time with my children outside today. This is not something I would expect to do at this time of year. We had such a great day despite Trenton still feeling pretty yucky from the flu. He just can't seem to shake it. I am grateful for how well he is handling it though. Such a tough young man. I am also so grateful for our neighborhood and all our neighbors (minus the mailman :). It is definitely not as great as Melissa's, but my kids love it so much and I think this is the first neighborhood since I was a kid that I have known all my neighbors. With life so busy, I think it is a rare thing to really get to know your neighbors, so I am grateful we have. I was locked out of my house for a short time today and I felt comforted knowing I could go to anyone on the street for help. I need to do more for them (and complain less about them). I was also reminded today how blessed we are to live in such a great city. How blessed I am to have so many activities for my children to do. Today we chose to go to the zoo and just like that we went to the zoo (I thought Trenton could use the fresh air). I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Mr. Mischievous

...and he's off!

Owen is officially walking now. He took off on Christmas Eve and hasn't stopped since. I wished he would have waited a couple more months when he turned one, but he is a strong little man just trying to keep up with everybody else.

Wrapped with love

This was one of my presents under the tree. I wonder who it was from? It was wrapped in newspaper and my name was written with a Sharpie.

Favorite Christmas gifts

Ashleigh's baby center from Aunt Julie
Trenton's (very hard to find) Dwarve's Mine by LEGO from Santa and Robosapien from Great-Grandma
This is "Robby's" remote control. Trenton is still learning how to use it to make his robot do all kinds of amazing tricks. He dances, whistles, burps, picks up things, throws things, and much more we are still learning about. It is a really cool toy.
How fun it is to have a book with your name in it!