I've been dreaming of a white Christmas

Well, it's already white here, so no, I'm not dreaming of a White Christmas. I do have to tell everyone that I found the BEST cd ever!!! If you have ever watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, you'll understand why this is so exciting to me. I found a CD that has all the songs from that movie on it!!! And...this is the best part...it was only $5.99!!!! It came in a collectors tin with a stocking. My sisters and I loved that show and looked forward to it every year. I have always wanted to find the CD but never could. I will listen to this all year round, I'm sure.

We went skating yesterday and that was super fun. Tanner loves skating and is really good at it. We also slept under the tree for our advent activity. We've also baked, iced and decorated sugar cookies and played in the snow. Tonight we are watching "The Nativity Story".

I have been doing a lot of reading of the General Conference issue of the Ensign and am feeling inspired to what my goals for the new year should be.

Other than that, things are going well. Tanner is done school for the holidays. He is really excited to be going to Calgary for a day. His concert at school was SOOOOO stinkin' cute. He was a little panda bear (well, all of the Kindergartners were). They all did a really good job.

Have a happy holiday and a Merry Christmas.

The secret...

...to great Gingerbread cookies that do not crack is to use parchment-lined cookie sheets. Last night Tanner and I made gingerbread family cookies and even on my Pampered Chef cookie sheets, they cracked but on my regular cheap aluminum cookie sheets that were lined with parchment paper, they were smooth. Tonight we will decorate them and then possibly give some away...lol. We will give some away. We don't need 5 dozen cookies. The following is the recipe for the cookies. It is from the cookbook "The Essential Mormon Cookbook" by Julie Badger Jensen. I LOVE this cookbook and use it A LOT. I used it when I was asked to make funeral potatoes and I had no clue how to make them. Anyways, here's the cookie recipe:

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 egg
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 1/2- 5 cups flour

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan heat molasses to boiling. Pour molasses over butter and sugar and add the vinegar. Let cool. Add egg. Mix in sifted dry ingredients. Chill for at least 1 hour. Roll on lightly floured board or surface and cut as desired. Bake on well-greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets for 8-10 minutes and 350 F. (I baked for 8 minutes only and they turned out great)

So try and enjoy!

Also, I found these useful tips in time for Christmas:

Soften butter in a hurry...just grate the amount you need or invert a small heated pan over the butter dish

To prevent cheese from sticking to your grater, chill the grater first by placing it in the freezer for a few minutes.

Gravy too salty? Ada a few pinches of brown sugar. It will mellow the saltiness without sweetening. Throw in a chunk of raw potato and the same thing will happen.

To get rid of strong smell on your cutting board, cut a lime or lemon and rub the cut side over the board. Or make a paste of baking soda and water and apply generously.

So thankful

Yesterday we had testimony meeting because we missed it last Sunday. There were lots of people who were thankful for the service that was given to them because of the big snow storm. As I was thinking, I thought about how grateful I am to the people who helped us with cheerful attitudes. After talking to my Mom and realizing that no one even offered her help to dig out her garage...not a neighbor, not a member of her ward, no one, it made me think about how blessed I am to live in a community where everyone helps everyone else and that's just what we do. It makes me grateful that I DON'T live in a city...even Lethbridge. More positives just went on my list of things that make where I live a great place to live!

I have reflected a lot on the last year and this year has been for sure one of my top 5 years. 2000 was one: married! 2003 another: Tanner born 2008:Emerson coming into the family and 2009: turning 30. This has been a wonderful year filled with, I feel, much growth for all of my family. I am looking forward to a new year with, hopefully, more growth (read:maturity), more love, more joy, more learning, more fun/sad/challenging times. I am sad to be saying goodbye to my Primary kids. I had a rough patch with them but I have really grown to love them and have love, love, loved teaching them.

We are making and decorating Sugar cookies tonight...most likely just making and decorating tomorrow. We have also had a p.j. party and watched 'The Flinstones Christmas Carol, 'The Muppets Christmas Carol', and 'A Christmas Carol' (the first, black and white version). I have never seen any of those. I have seen a version of the Christmas carol, but I can't remember which one it was. I have also seen the actual play twice. I LOVED it! You must go if you can. It is well worth the money and it's such a neat experience.


In process of making the cookies



The decorated cookies


Saturday, we went to the Temple in the bad weather. It took us 55 minutes (normally 35 minutes) because we drove so slowly. I love the Temple and I love that Matt and I have made a commitment to make it a priority in our life. We have truly benefited and been blessed because of it.

We went today and picked out our yearly Christmas tree ornament. We decided that every year, since we moved, we would pick a new ornament as a family. The first year I picked a stocking. Last year Tanner picked a glass tree, and this year Matt picked a snow filled snowman ornament/ball. None of them match the Blue and Silver decor that is on our tree, but each ornament has special memories from that year.

Well, that's all we've been up to for now. I am starting to get really excited for Christmas. I will be back tomorrow and Wednesday and then on Thursday is Tanner's school Concert!!!!! I can not even convey the joy and excitement I feel for this. I am close to floating on air. My little boy, in his first school concert...ahhhhh....So much more to look forward to!

Christmas tips

I was just looking for some Christmas movies and music and came across a few websites I thought I would share.

fanpop.com -you can watch over 100 classic Christmas shows from Garfield to flinstones to Simpson's (for those of you who like them, I DO NOT!) to friends.

classicchristmasmovies.com- again, watch right on their website some classics like miracle on 34th street, it's a wonderful life, Rudolph the red nose reindeer.

allthingschristmas.com- exactly what it says...all things from decorating to traditions to movies to watch to tips to meal ideas.

live365.com- listen to Christmas music 365 days a year.

Christmas is coming!

Lots has been happening in the last week or so. We started our advent Calendar. We have gone to the ward party, started the nice jar, put up the tree and decorations, gone to the old fashioned Christmas (Matt took Tanner because it was so stinkin cold out), written to Santa (okay, we haven't done this one yet, but we will tonight), we were supposed to go to the First Presidency Broadcast, but Church was cancelled so we assumed they didn't show the broadcast here, and today we are making cookies and taking them to someone in need.



Last week was a busy one. The best day was Wednesday. Susanne and I drove up to Calgary and went with my sister, Megan, to So You Think You Can Dance Canada Tour!!!! Megan and I screamed and screamed and then we screamed some more. Susanne did lots of screaming too. It was so much fun! Susanne is the only friend I've ever travelled with and she is great company. It's nice to be able to travel/vacation with people that you can be yourself around. My sister Megan is so fun. She was like a kid in a candy store. I have only ever seen the American version of the show so all the dances were new to me because I didn't watch the Canadian version of the show. Megan and Susanne knew what dance every one was and could tell me if it was a good one or not. So that was fun. I'm glad we went.








(some random Christmas shots)

Then on Thursday I got on e-mail that one of my other best friends had her baby. I am so excited for them. It is their third baby and they have all boys. Congrats again, Jamie! I always get so excited when my friends have babies.

On Friday we went to a fabulous Christmas party. It was soooooo much fun. I had a blast. We played 2 truths and a lie and then did a gift game. It was hilarious. It was an adult only party so that was nice to get out without Tanner for a few hours. Tanner went to the Bishops house and he said he loved it there and it's his favorite place because one of their boys has Star Wars Lego. So he was in heaven. Santa may have to do a small trip to the store to get some Star Wars Lego...lol.

On Saturday it was crazy!!! Tons of blowing snow and coldness.

Everyone seems to have a "cold day" story and ours is not very exciting but here it is anyhow...when Matt went to do the papers on Saturday morning and the car got stuck just as he pulled off the drive way...so it was sitting on the road. I suggested to Matt that he call his friend and ask to borrow his quad to deliver the papers. So he did and his friend was so gracious and lent Matt one of his quads. Then as we got talking I thought of when the night came and our car sitting, half covered by snow drifts, on the road. So I suggested we try to get it onto the driveway and call and see if someone could help us. Lucky for me I have a best friend who's husband has a shovel on his quad and was happy to come and help us. So we finally got the car on the driveway and we are so thankful for the help that was given to us. We had to have the car towed backwards onto the middle of the road to get a "run" onto the driveway, but it worked! Then we went over to Susanne's house and ate, watched footloose (my first time ever!) and played games. It was a blast.

They cancelled church here on Sunday and that was kind of weird. But all in all, it's been a great week-ten days. Matt came home Thursday night and that was wonderful.

So ever onward. It's suppose to be cold for the next couple of days so we'll have inside days.

I'm half way done

I am just about finished my Christmas cards. I just glued the "face" part of the cards onto the card stock. I think I have done 150 cards or more. It stinks that I can't post pictures. I am hoping that we can get Internet at our house in the new year. Then I'll have to back post a ton of pictures.

Matt left this morning for Medicine Hat for a week. He has some temporary work for now. I don't mind him being gone during the day but I really hate being alone at night. Tanner will be sleeping in our bed while Matt's away. Tanner loves to sleep with us but he's a bit of a bed hog so we don't do the 'family' bed thing. He can sleep with either one of us, but not both of us.

Tanner was so funny the other day. He got $26 for his birthday and Matt was asking him what he was going to get with it. This is the conversation:

Matt: So, what are you going to get with all that money you got for your birthday?

T: (without hesitation) a really cool hot wheels

M: but grandma collins got you 5 new cool hot wheels. pause...Aren't they cool enough?

T: uhhh...no! I need a cooler hot wheels. Or maybe I'll buy a really cool backugan.

As if the toys he got weren't cool enough! I am seriously thinking of having him go through his toys in December and having him fill a box to give away or donate. He has a ridiculous amount of toys. I think we might make this a yearly tradition at Christmas time. I think it will help him to be more giving and generous. He recently broke a friends toy and I told him he would have to choose one of his new birthday toys that he got and give it to his friend. He was really upset about that, but he needs to learn that he can't go around being careless with other people's toys. He has to be respectful. Maybe I'm over-reacting....I don't know. Is this just a "boy" thing or can they learn to be respectful of toys? I'm glad that for Christmas, we got him the Transformers cartoon on DVD and Santa made him a rag quilt. We decided not to get him toys because even though I have asked people not to, they always do buy him toys. Matt has a large family and I have a fair size family that buys lots of toys for him so Matt and I do other things. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one with this problem of excess toy giving. Maybe as he gets older it will calm down a bit. Okay, so that was good to get it off my chest.

Well, I think that's about it for now. As I am telling myself today "chin up, tomorrow is a new day."

Have a good one.

Footloose

Thanks to my dear friend, Susanne, I will be watching Footloose for the first time ever. I am so excited! There are several movies that I have never seen that I need to see to be one who can say "oh yeah, I know that movie". I'll let you know how I like it when I see it.

All I want for Christmas

I was thinking about gifts...mostly because I'm pretty much done my shopping...and I thought, not for selfish reasons, I would put mine up here. I am a huge list person and I love to shop from lists. My friend has a "favorite" etsy list and I think that is such a good idea. So the things I enjoy or like are:

1. Bath and Body works soap-gentle foaming or moisturizing NOT the deep cleaning kind. Betcha some of you didn't know there was a difference...lol

2. Brown/tan brads for my card making

3. Zip up Hoodie in any color

4. One of those winter hats that covers the ears and has the tie dangling down.

5. Movie passes

6. Any Church movie (I really enjoyed Forever Strong)

7. High School Musical #1, the Re-Mix

8. Taco chips and cheese sauce (for nachos and cheese) it's a weakness

9. Mini Wheats (brown sugar) because I am slightly addicted...lol

That's about all I can think of.

I'm really looking forward to doing our first Christmas together as a family here at home. I have list of 24 different activities to do during the month of December. some of them I used from Megan's blog from last year.

Some of them include: A Jerusalem dinner, go for a drive and look at the lights, go to the old fashioned Christmas downtown, go to the ward party, have a $5 dinner, watch Christmas movies after making a Christmas treat, sleep under the tree (or really close to it) as well as some other things.

Some of them have to be placed in certain places (ie the ward dinner or the old fashioned Christmas) but I'm going to have to make up some sort of calendar to put them all in. Sadly, I do not have an advent calendar.


(The Advent Calendar I made)

My sister made one for the little boy she nannies last year and I asked her if she would make one for Tanner this year. She didn't make one for his birthday so maybe for his Christmas gift she made him one...who knows...one can hope. If not, I am going to make a permanent one in the new year. I'll have to make a temporary one this year.

I've been SOOOO crazy busy making Christmas cards to sell. Matt asked me today if I was done and I replied "I hope so". So that's why I haven't gotten around to making an advent calendar. I would love any ideas or if any of you have one, could you let me know how to make it.

It doesn't really feel like Christmas because there is no snow yet. Matt said he heard on Friday we're suppose to have snow. I love the snow, but I'm enjoying the snowless weather right now.

So in other news...Tanner had his 6th birthday! I invited 9...yes NINE children over to our little house. We were so very lucky and had great weather. Matt and I took them over to the park and played there and Matt started a game of 'what time is it mister wolf'. Everyone seemed to have fun. He got too many gifts. He got a beautiful Nativity from my Aunt. He really loves my Mom's nativity from when we were kids so it's nice for him to have his own. It's an adult type one. Porcelain and a really fancy, moss covered stable. Matt and I don't even have a stable for our nativity. He got 7 new backugans, 3 new transformers, some monster tonka trucks, sugar cereal (he LOVES, by the way) and some bionicles and dress up clothes. He got more than that (I KNOW!!!!! SERIOUSLY!?!? totally ridiculous the amount he got) but that was the main part of what he got.
My sister Melany got him this pressure nerf ball gun...it is soooo much fun. Matt and I use it A LOT! I told her I would like another one so Matt and I can have gun fights. It's just a gun that shoots balls. I know, I'm such a bad parent...encouraging gun fighting...lol. It is so like Melany to get something like that. I can't wait to see what she gets him for Christmas. I didn't do a fancy cake this year (making cards, remember) so I bought these Wall-E cake decorations. Tanner loved them. For his friends party, I did a caterpillar cake. Sharon lent me her jumbo cupcake pans and I made one for each child and they got to decorate the cupcake and take it home for their treat. They all had fun with that. Well, that's probably more than what everyone cared to know about his birthday, but we had a good time...even though he fighting a cold AGAIN!



















Matt is still looking for a permanent job. The Fed-Ex thing...well, we haven't heard back from them at all. So we're back at square one. He has some odd jobs that he's working on, but nothing to bring in the income we need for our bills. He counted the number of places he's applied to right now and he told me it's 27 places. And that's just in the last week. So hopefully something will come of it. I'm not too stressed this time round. We've been through this before and the main thing I learned is that I can't force someone to hire Matt so there's no point in stressing too much about it. Obviously, I'm a little concerned, but we're praying and Matt is doing the best he can. We know that we're doing all we possibly can to put figure out what to do. But that's enough of that.

We just got our new ensign today so I'm excited to read that today. I love the ensign and it really makes me feel so grateful and appreciative of what I have. It really helps re-set my priorities every month or re-affirms that what I'm doing is what I should be doing. Tanner uses the 'Friend' to do Family Home Evening lessons. He will usually read the picture stories (the ones that have pictures for words) or read the 'Matt and Mandy' story. He would teach FHE every week if we let him, but I have to put him into the rotation in the new year. I would like to make a FHE chart because right now I just have it on our calendar who's doing what.

Well, sorry for the LONG winded entry. I had a lot that I was thinking about and wanted to share. I hope everyone is enjoying their day and has a great week!

Check this out!

I came across THIS and entered to win. It would make a great baby gift...don't you think? I have a friend who's expecting this month and I just found out this morning that another friend in Calgary is expecting. So many babies! too bad it wasn't me...lol.

Soemthing funny

My Mom had this at her house and so I copied it...

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it...don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.


Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow ear? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is 1:1. If you have two bodies, your ratio is 2:1, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?

A: Can think of a singe one, sorry. My philosophy is: no pain...Good!

Q:Aren't fried foods bad for you?

A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! food are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they are permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit ups if you want a bigger stomach

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel good food around

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. And remember: Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather a skid in sideways-a glass of wine in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up , totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, what a ride'.

And for those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

What really bugs me...

...is the fact that I haven't changed my blog for a really long time and now I've lost all my widgets. It's so annoying. Now I have to go in and type all the blogs I read...minus a few because I don't have them memorized and they're at home written down. So please be patient...thanks

Interested in knowing

Recently there was a conversation that was had in my presence about global warming and I thought it would be interesting to hear what others think. Do you believe that the Lord has control over "global warming" or do you think it is a result of natural man (like Al Gore says it is)? To everything there is a season...

Also, I was also told that in Moses there's a scripture about proof of evolution. I haven't looked for the verse but wow...all this time I didn't think it existed and now perhaps I was wrong.

Today is the day....

There's a H1N1 clinic they are doing here in town so I am taking Tanner at 1 to get his shot. We'll see how it goes. I have a new Transformer for him to try to ease his discomfort. I will be giving him Tylenol when we get home and icing his arm. He may need some extra cuddles (which I LOVE!!!!).

That's all for now. I may have more later....we'll see.

I took the plunge

I got the H1N1 shot. I really wasn't sure about it but I was volunteering at the clinic they were running here and a lot of people said I should have it. I was really leaning on the side of doing it and so I decided, why not? I wasn't going to have it but then I talked to my sister and I changed my mind. Tanner will be getting it as well. I talked to the kidney specialist (nephroligist) and they strongly recommend him getting it so we will be going tomorrow to have it done. He is NOT good at shots. When he had his vaccinations last year, it took 2 of us to hold him down still. And he's strong so it's not that easy to that. Some people may think that it's ridiculous that he throws a tantrum (so I've been told) at 5 years old to get a needle, but he's just a kid still so I do not attempt to make any excuses or justifications for the way he is. I compare it to when my Dad died. People brought over copious amounts of casseroles and for years and years I could not stand to eat casseroles. It wasn't until I was married that I could willingly eat them. It's a bad memory that's associated with them. I'm totally fine with them now. I don't make them too often but I do like certain ones more than others.

We had a really great Halloween. Matt handed out the candy and sent Tanner and I out and told us not to come back until our pillow case was half full. We did end up being out for about 2 1/2 hours but our pillow case was only about 1/3 full. Tanner was having fun and it was a nice night so we just kept going.

Lots has been going on and we are having a great time as the weather is fairly good still.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 C butter, softened
3/4 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 C all purpose flour
1 C quick cooking oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (I use more like 1 1/2...we love cinnamon)
1 C cooked or canned pumpkin

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars

beat egg and vanilla into butter/sugar mixture

in a seperate bowl combine flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon

stir into creamed mixture, alternately with pumpkin

fold in chocolate chips

drop by the Tablespoon fulls onto greased sheets (or if you're using the pampered chef cookie sheets, you don't have to grease them)

Bake at 350 for 12-13 minutes

A great day

Yesterday was a great day! Do you ever have those perfect days where everything just go great and there's nothing, at the end of the day, that you can think of that you didn't like? I love those days. Even Tanner was so good and obedient. A funny story about him...okay more like a conversation:

Matt: You did great today at skating buddy!

Tanner: Yeah! (this is a VERY typical response. He doesn't really say thank you unless you prompt him to)

M: pretty soon you'll be skating better than me.

T: Yeah...pause....and swimming too





Matt got pretty good at swimming this summer, but Tanner is better than him. We all had a good laugh about that.

Matt is home now as the season ended on Monday. I told him it was nice to have him home and he said "we'll see if you think that in 4 days". It can drive me batty to have him home but recently, I actually really enjoy it.

I was looking at where I was in my scripture reading this morning...I am WAY behind. I really wanted to read the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament this year but I am only in Numbers 21 and in 2 Nephi 18. I guess I feel like I've been able to get more out of my studies than just reading it and not really pondering it and thinking about what I'm reading. When I finish, the next time I read them I'm going to keep a scripture journal and write any thoughts or questions I have on them. I try to do something new each time when I read the scriptures. I'm just reading about Moses and when his brother Aaron died. I just love learning about the things in the Old Testament. I never really fully appreciated learning about them when I was a teenager. I think as we grow, we learn to appreciate them a lot more because we can apply them in our lives more easily. We have more life experience and have experienced more trials.

We had a great Stake Conference this last weekend. I was able to go to the Adult session and Matt went to the Sunday session. Tanner had been sick all week and I am a little paranoid of him getting the H1N1 so I kept him home. If I could, I would keep him home this week too...but we can't all live in a bubble. Anyways, Matt and I took turns going. The theme was "Lord, I would follow Thee". We had a great talk on how we need to ultimately rely heavily on the Lord because he is the one constant in our lives. It was a really good talk. I wish they would publish the conferences in a newsletter so we could re-read them. You can only write notes so fast and you usually miss stuff.

Well, I think that's it for now. Tanner and I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. I'll put the recipe up later. They are most excellent.

What to say, what to say...

I haven't had a super eventful or exciting life the last week and a bit. Tanner was home sick all last week. He had a really high fever and I finally took him to the Doctor and he said it was just something viral. A lot of it is going around right now so I kept him home. I am REALLY busy making Christmas cards for the Christmas craft and bake sale on December 5th. I want to have 150 cards and I'm at 54 right now. I'm duplicating now. That's much quicker than coming up with 150 different cards. So that's time consuming. Then after that I get to assemble my 54 cards for our family and friends. I decided to something super easy that I could cut out and assemble later so it won't take too long to do that.

There's a movie that we rented at the Library that I have to strongly recommend to people. It's called Forever Strong. It's a really good movie. It's rated 14A but there was no swearing or sex. I think it had to do with thematic things. There's a scene in it where the kids are at a party and there's alcohol but to me, that isn't a reason to rate a movie 14A. It was really inspiring and it's based on a Rugby team in Highland, Utah.

Halloween is this week and I'm not really that excited. I don't know why. I should try to get more excited so Tanner gets more excited about it.


(This is him on Halloween night)




(We went as a Pioneer family to our ward family Halloween party)


I'm more excited for Christmas. I can NOT wait to give all my gifts to my family and few friends I buy for.

I bought one of those gifts today. I bought tickets to the "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" tour in Calgary!!! I called up my friend this morning at 7AM and told her the good news! So December 2nd we're off to Calgary to enjoy a fun night. We have reasonably good tickets. It's 7th row in the lower section (not floor). It's going to be so much fun!


(Us on the big night!)

Well, not much else is new. Have a great day!

Equally yoked

Yesterday as I was making a special Halloween treat for Tanner I tipped over the bread machine container, which was filled with water, and it spilt all over the counter. My first thought was "if Matt had done the dishes (because it was his turn to do them), this wouldn't have happened". Then I remembered something I heard from someone about how it is the woman's job/responsibility to look after the house because the men go out to work. This doesn't sit well with me because I think that to be equally yoked, as we are told to be, means, at least to me, that everyone shares in all responsibilities. I do most of the cooking, for example, but Matt does know how to cook and likes to cook when he has the chance to. But I would never expect Matt to do certain things because I did other specific jobs (I hope that makes sense). I know Matt works full time outside of the home but I don't think that's a reason to come home and not help out with dishes or parenting (and I am in NO WAY saying that Matt does that, this is just an example) or cleaning up. I think it's stereotyping when a man is expected to only do certain things and a woman is expected to do only certain things.

I did end up cleaning the mess and did the dishes (which I don't mind doing most of the time) but it was just something I thought about as I was making these treats for Tanner and wondered what it means to everybody else to be equally yoked with your spouse.

RSS Feed

Can anyone help me to get an RSS feed on my blog? How do I do it?

And the winner is....

Congratulations Lahni, you are the winner of some really yummy Raspberry Jam, homemade cards and your choice of peaches, pears OR applesauce. I couldn't figure out how to get the page from random.org onto my blog so I'm sorry : (

Just e-mail me your address and I'll mail it up to you.

Thanks everyone for your comments and sharing your favorite posts so far.

Hymns

Can anyone explain to me why there are only AMERICAN hymns in the church hymn books. Why isn't O Canada in it (it gets glued in). This is a bit confusing to me. Why shouldn't every country have their national anthem in the hymn book? Do all countries even sing their national anthem on the specified day? Hmmmm....wondering....

OH! 1 more post and I've reached 250! WOW!!!! That's a lot in 14 months. I will close my contest on Thursday and there will be a winner on Friday so if you haven't entered please feel free to do so now.

Where do you stand?

I came across this song that says everything I feel right now. It's a song by Lisa Stonehocker and it's called Where you stand.

There's a quiet whispering deep in your heart
It's a voice that reminds you who you really are
You were faithful to Father
You worship The Son
You rejoiced in the plan that allowed you to come to this earth
To learn and achieve
Now is the time to stand up for what you believe

Do you remember the promise you made back then?
How you longed for the chance to show Faith in Him
Now that you're here and you're finding your voice
Your living the plan and you're making the choice
Where you stand

You knew there'd be moments when you walked alone
The darkness and trials you'd face on your own
You knew there'd be times when the choice was unclear
And you need Him to quiet your doubts and your fears
To give comfort and show you the way
Now is moment to say:

Do you remember the promise you made back then?
How you longed for the chance to show Faith in Him
Now that you're here and you're raising your voice
You're living the plan and your making the choice
Where you stand.

A give away!

I have officially been a blogger for over a year. I feel like I want to give something away. Maybe some of my homemade raspberry jam and some homemade salsa. If this interests you (or even if it doesn't) tell me what your favorite/most memorable post has been. Make sure you check out some of my first posts to refresh your memories. I will do a draw in the next 10 days-2 weeks. I might even throw in a few of my cards.

kidney beans and stars

What does the title of my post have to do with each other???? They don't. It's just what I wanted to name it because of 2 different things I was thinking about.

First, kidney beans are killing me! Not in the literal sense but they are killing my arms. When I'm warming up on my treadmill, I use cans of kidney beans for my arm exercises. It is quite intense some mornings but I'm learning to manage. I don't have dumb bells so I have to use what I have and that something is cans of kidney beans. It's the same thing right? I'll get the same result, don't you think? lol

Stars...oh man, I LOVE doing my paper route these days because I get to see a sky full of crystal clear stars. Millions and millions of them. They are so beautiful. On Monday, I almost fell off my bike because I was busy gazing up at the stars. Such a blessing to be able to see them so clearly. We don't have the light or air pollution that Calgary does so we see them much clearer here.

If any of you are looking for a good FHE lesson, this week I read the book "Mister Penny" (it's about working together) and then we cleaned the house. I don't think I can remember a time when Tanner was so excited to clean. He wanted to empty the garbage's all by himself (normally Matt helps him do this) and actually did it. He cleaned up his toys quicker than he ever has before. Anyways, it was a great book and taught a good lesson.

Some of you might have noticed that my blog is not private anymore. I've decided to open it up again for a little while. That is why the comments have to be moderated now. If any anonymous people want to comment they can but I get to decide if their comments are going to be published. I was just feeling really uncomfortable, previously, with having unknown people make rude comments. I feel like this way, if they want to remain unknown to the public but want to (they don't have to) tell me privately who they are, then they can still remain anonymous/unknown to the public while still enjoying my blog. I hope that makes sense. I want everyone to enjoy my blog but I don't want it to be a source of contention or back biting between my commenter's like it had started to become before I made it private. Anyways, I hope that my blog will something that people want to read and find enjoyable.

To end my post I'll end with a quote that came in a local newsletter

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Music and lyrics

Yesterday at choir practice, our choir director shared an article from the Mormon Times about music from someone who is very well know in the church music industry (forgive me, but the name has slipped my mind at the moment). He talked about how Satan uses some of the most gifted, talented people in the world to influence people and about how we should not tell our kids that what they are listening to is junk because it could be the most amazing piece of music but it's not about the music, it's about the lyrics. There was more to the article but she only read part of it. I agree with that. You can have a super talented artist sing a song but unless the words of that song are inspiring and/or uplifting, then it's not a good song lyrically. I notice that a lot in music. It's just another way the adversary influences us and our children and friends. Next time you're listening to a song that you like, listen to the lyrics and see if they are positive or negative, suggestive words. It's amazing to realize just how lyrically bad songs are these days. That's why I try to play it safe and listen to church music only, unless I'm alone. I don't want Tanner to be influenced by all the bad, suggestive words in songs these days. Even when I'm listening to songs that I listened to when I was a teenager is risky. At the time, I thought nothing of it but now I am a lot more aware of the words in them and what the message they are trying to tell. I do listen to radio and other music, but if there's a bad word or suggestiveness in it, I turn it off. It's not worth it to me. I want to be able to invite the spirit into my life and have it with me all the time and if I listen to some of the songs that are out there, I know I won't have it with me.

In other news...Matt passed his gun class he had to take to get a gun licence!!! Now that he has that, he can apply at Brinks to be an armored guard...and hunt! We're getting low on deer meat and I'm trying to use it sparingly because I LOVE deer meat. It is so good. I'd like to try other kinds of wild life meat like elk or moose. Matt just has to get a tag to be able to shoot those and then we can stock up so we don't have to buy yucky hamburger. I am not a big fan of hamburger.

Tanner is enjoying Kindergarten, still. He's had a few of his friends over to play last week. I was busy making salsa, and applesauce with Susanne. If any of you have beets that you need to get rid of (or you have too many and can't use them all) please let me know. My beets didn't quite turn out so I would like to do some more. I love beets so as much as you're willing to share, I'll take.

This year I canned Pears, Peaches, Beets, Applesauce, Salsa, Peach jam and in October I will do my Raspberry jam. I have LOTS and LOTS of raspberries so I am making lots and lots of jam (Erica, you can for sure expect to get some). I love canning. I wish I could can more but we couldn't afford too much this year. I did do more than last year, which was great. Next year, I plan on doing more than I did this year. Pretty soon, I'll be canning 2-3 times a week for the whole summer.

Well, that's about all to share for now. I hope everyone has a great week.

Books, Books, Books!!!

I'll bet you can't guess how many books I have read since the beginning of September?

Wanna know??

FOUR! 4 great books.

What were they?

I bet you wanna know that too...lol

1.Mormonville- This was a really great book. I laughed out loud numerous times. It's about a journalist that is sent to Helaman, Utah to basically find out what was wrong with the church and why everyone was following this "cult". It was very well written. Clearly not the kind of literature that Jamie or Lahni would read, but it was overall, a good book. I would absolutely recommend this book.

2. A little Sisterly Advice- the beginning and end were good but the middle really dragged on. It is about a girl who goes to college and navigates her way around the first year of college and dating etc. It was an okay book.

3. Never the Bride- I enjoyed this book for many reasons. This story is similar to the movie 27 dresses. Not exactly but sort of the same. I would recommend this book.

4. Surprise Packages- This was the 3rd and final book in a "trilogy" that my Aunt and I have been reading. It was a really good book but I was a little disappointed in the end. It ended in a way that leaves you to think about what the ending could be. I was looking for closure in the series but it's good that I can think about what happened to the characters in my own mind.

Now I'm reading 'Whale Done' for book club in October. It's basically a relationship book. I haven't started it yet but it's not a very thick book so it won't be like reading a Dr.Phil relationship book...thank goodness.

I went onto our library website and looked for a bunch of books that I have wanted to get to read from the church bookstore but don't want to invest the money in buying them. So I found a cheaper way to read them...checking them out at our library. They, surprisingly, have A LOT of the books that I want to read. They even have quite a few very 'churchy' books...like a FHE book that has some great ideas in it. I can not not read lately. I might have an addiction to it. We'll see how long it lasts.

Books, books...who could ask for anything more??? I love books!

47 Million

...dollars in my bank account....heck no! I don't even wish I had that much money EVER! because that much money would be too much for me to handle.

...people in Calgary...no, but it sure feels like it sometimes

What does this number represent????

Abortions in the world.

This is a very sad and disheartening fact. The speaker on Sunday was talking about families and he brought up this little fact. I don't get it...why do people feel they have that right to make that judgement call in behalf of a totally innocent, unborn child? Why? Don't they know that there are people that struggle every day to get pregnant or who can't even have children of their own?

When I was pregnant with Tanner and we knew that he was going to be born with Cleft lip and palate and with cysts on one of his kidneys, one of my cousins wife said that it would be better off if Tanner had died because he was going to be born with so many complications. I don't know why she felt she could or even should make that judgement call but it was never up to her to decide. It is ALWAYS up to the Lord. Sometimes it hard to see past the now and see into or even think about the future let alone eternities but we have to place our trust in the Lord and know that he knows all and has a plan for each of us. I believe that those who have abortions don't know better. In my own little world, they couldn't possibly be members of the church. But in reality, I know some of them are. This is so sad to me. People make bad choices every day but that is why I'm grateful for the Atonement. We are required to forgive ALL men...not those who we want to forgive, but everyone. Some days this is harder than others and I'm sure it's the same for everybody else. No one is perfect at forgiveness, but we all need to be trying harder to be better at it.

I was thinking today that it's almost been a year that my Uncle passed away. Sometimes this is hard for me to think about because it reminds me of my Dad and all that he missed out on... being a grandpa, seeing his daughters grow up and get married and go on missions among other things. We were so blessed to have such a great Dad who loved us and taught us right from wrong. Sometimes you just don't know what you have/had until it's gone. Why does death have to re-set the "importance-o-meter"? Why can't our families be important every day? I do know the answer to that and it's because we're not perfect. I just hope that every day we try a little harder to not only make our families more important, but to show them as well.

Just to clarify

I mentioned that I use raw pumpkin seeds in the trail mix below...these are not like raw seeds right out of a pumpkin. They are called raw pumpkin seeds and they are green in color. They are a bit more expensive than the regular cooked pumpkin seeds or sunflowers but if you mix them with the sunflower seeds, it's not that expensive.
And yes, seeds are NOT considered a nut. That was news to me too when Tanner was allergy tested.

A little bit of randomness

I have to laugh sometimes at some of the things I read in the paper. Today I read about a girl whose hand was grabbed by a seal and took her for a swim. She was 5 years old and the article said the girl was upset "...that the seal didn't ask her if she wanted to go for a swim." Potentially this could have ended in tragedy but it didn't. Oh, the silliness of people...

I found a nut free trail mix a month ago that Tanner loves and since the school is suppose to be nut free, it is a perfect snack for him to take. This is HIGHLY addictive (well, at least for me) but very enjoyable.

2 parts granola
2 parts sunflower or pumpkin seeds (I like to use raw pumpkin seeds)
2 parts raisins
2 parts dried fruit (we like a mixture of any of the following: banana chips, mangoes, craisins, dried blueberries or yogurt covered blueberries, apple slices, coconut, dried strawberries)
1 part chocolate chips or chocolate covered candy (like smarties or m&m's)

If you use dried blueberries, they are a bit pricey but they are really good. My Mother in law told me you can get the yogurt covered blueberries at Safeway. I only add about a handful of the m&m's because that is what Tanner would pick out so I only put a little bit in. You can buy all this stuff in bulk at Superstore (except the apple slices. I used my food storage apple slices. And I'm not sure where to get dried strawberries) for about $10-15. Since it's just the 3 of us, I don't need that much but if you wanted it just for snacks for your kids to take, it would be cheap.

Tanner is really enjoying kindergarten so far. They went on a hunt for Chester the raccoon. If you haven't read any of the books in this 3 book series, I strongly recommend you do. They are such cute books and have a great message. The first book is called "The Kissing Hand". The name of the other 2 have escaped me but I got them from my Relief Society Presidency as a gift when we first moved into the ward when I was pregnant with Tanner. Tanner loves treasure hunts and they're fun to do.

What else is new???? We went to Calgary this past weekend for a little vacation. Matt and I didn't really get to go anywhere and Megan and Dean are starting up a little business of photography so we were some of their first subjects.

Normally at this time of year, I already have Tanner's Halloween outfit thought about and his birthday cake in mind. I'm sad to say that I haven't even thought about any of that. I guess I'll be looking for ideas soon enough.

Tanner had tubes put in his ears on Monday. He's such a trooper. He took his baby (his monkey) and said that baby would protect him. When they brought Tanner back up to the room, the nurse said that Tanner told her that he had the most fun ever! I had to laugh a bit at that. After all that he has been through, for him to say that surgery was fun is kind of funny to me. It is the easiest and quickest of all the surgeries he's had so it doesn't really surprise me too much. Anyway, he's fine and happy and I can tell he hears better. He's not always asking us to repeat ourselves. And the T.V. isn't blaring when he's watching a movie.

Well, I think that's about all for now.

Here's a thought for today, When life gets tough to stand, KNEEL

Pictures!!!!

Here are just 3 of the many pictures that my dear sister, Megan, and her husband, Dean, took for us this last weekend while we were up in Calgary.

Matt and I



Our family



Tanner on the Monkey Bars

Is it me, or is the world becoming more corupt

Today in the paper I read a short article about a lady (forgive me but I can't remember the name of this "famous", very 'hot' newscaster lady) who was being interviewed on Oprah about a headline she was in this summer. It was about an inappropriate video being put up on youtube and about how she didn't know about the hidden camera that was taping her. Now, to me, people get so out of joint for having their inappropriate videos put up on youtube but people don't have a problem with nudity in magazines or billboards. What is wrong with this world????? It's the same thing.

Allowances

What is your rule/policy/guidelines on giving allowances? This is what my thoughts are...totally random, but nonetheless mine. I think .50 a week is sufficient for Tanner, but does he earn the money or just get it because? That's my problem. I want to instill the value of work so I don't really want to give him money for doing chores (or rather, being/teaching him to be responsible for certain things). So what do I do???? What works for everyone else? What doesn't? What do YOU think? I really need some ideas/suggestions. The thing with Tanner is that he is constantly asking for money or asking us to buy things for him and we want him to appreciate the value of money and that you don't just get what you want (despite what certain other people may feel). I remember getting an allowance as a child but I can't exactly remember if it was attached to anything. I remember having chores but I'm not sure if we got paid to do them. Maybe Megan remembers...do you????? Is 5 almost 6 years old to young to start giving an allowance? Nevertheless, I need some suggestions.

Birthdays

What is your rule on birthday parties? We didn't decide what our guidelines are for birthdays are until we moved to Raymond. Tanner is allowed as many friends as the years he is turning (this year he get to invite 6 friends because he is turning 6) but I guess my question is do I let him invite all 6 or do I make suggestions on the 6? He has been to many parties for kids that I would not really encourage him to invite to his party because they aren't really playmates of Tanners. The other thing that on "weak" day I have conflicting feelings on is the pressure to invite all the kids that he's ever been to their party. That would make for a huge party. It's hard when they get older because the get invited to so many parties and you don't know if that parent is going to expect an invite to your child's birthday. The other thing is that we do not do goodie bags. What parent wants their child to come home with more toys and things? I certainly do not. I mean, I guess it's fun for the kids to get something but my thoughts are that they got invited to a party and got fed fun food and cake and got to play games. Shouldn't that be enough? It's a lot of pressure sometimes. I don't want Tanner not to be invited to parties because of the guidelines we have set for the parties we have for him, but we just can't afford to have 10 kids come to our place, eat food, and take a loot bag home. We are simply trying to be modest in our life and that, for us, means not having big birthday parties.

The other thing Matt and I have been talking about lately is sleepovers. Tanner had his first friend sleep over last night and Tanner has slept over at one of my best friends place because I had to work late. I talked about it with Matt and then with a friend of mine and she said it would depend on who it was. I think that's how I would like to do it too, but it's still too early to tell. I read about an alternative to sleep overs called "late overs". The child comes for the evening until a set time (decided by you and the other parents). They get to do all the things that you would normally do at a sleepover like watch a movie or play games, eat the junk food they normally eat (or healthy if that's your choice) and then they go home at 10 or 11 or whatever pre-determined time. I like that idea for a lot of reasons. But I do think the occasional sleepover with certain children is okay. I don't know, what's everybody Else's thoughts and or guidelines on this subject. When my sisters and I were little, sleepovers were 100% okay. We slept at friends' house that were in our ward and that was it. OH! except we did sleep at our neighbors house when my Dad was in hospital and my Mom stayed with him and when my sister got hit by a van. We grew up with these neighbors and played with them almost daily. When we got older we were allowed to sleep at the friends' house of the kids my Mom babysat but that was when we were grade 6 or older (from what I remember). These are kind of big stages now because of all the bad things that happen or could potentially happen at a sleepover. There are so many kids that have been assaulted or abused at sleepovers so it's not a simple thing anymore.

We have been having a great summer so far...still...lol. Tanner is in swim lessons again this week. Today I almost had to throw him in because he was refusing to go in. What a turkey! He got to go up to Calgary again last week too. He had a great time and came home with an adorable haircut. They went to the zoo and saw the Koalas and watched the Elephant show, went swimming, to the Aerospace Museum, and for a sleepover at Aunty Carolyns.

Well, that's about it for now.

If my life depended on it

I could not fall asleep last night if my life depended on it. I lay awake with random thought going through my head and the song " I could have danced all night" from the movie My fair lady. I watched it and LOVED it! I love watching all the old movies that my Mom loved when I was a kid and I thought they were so boring. Like Casablanca, and Breakfast at Tiffany's and Singing in the Rain.

Anyways, I am thankful for so much lately. For being able to go to the pool as much as I want with Tanner. We love the pool and it's a great place to be on a hot day like today.

I am thankful for being re-connected with my friend from childhood through our blogs. She was my first best friend and I actually slept at her house the night my Dad died. I remember her and her Mom talking to me about what had happened and that they were there for me. It was such a huge comfort to know that my friend was still my friend even though my Dad had just died.

I am thankful for my amazing husband who this last Sunday carried my heavy church bag to church while we walked to church because I was careless and got a sunburn. He is so thoughtful and constantly does little stuff like that for me.

I am thankful for my sisters. My sisters are a huge part of my world and I love them a lot. I think about them daily.

I am thankful for my friends who are amazing and forgiving and kind to me. I have the best group of friends anyone could ask for.

I am thankful for Christal's blog. She is so uplifting and I hope my blog will be more like hers and that I myself can be more like her. I think she is an amazing person and she is so grateful for so many things.

I am thankful for my Mother who always has such great advice. Just this week I was asking her how do I encourage Tanner to say other things in his prayer other than the 3 things he always says every other time he prays. So we've tried a different tactic and it's been working pretty good. She's so smart!

I am thankful for the Bible. I love the Bible. I have been studying it this year and am thoroughly enjoying it. The stories are more personal to me as I read them and I love that I can apply the principles into my life.

I am thankful most for the gospel and for the Savior. I can see the difference it makes in a persons life and am grateful that I have the blessing of both in my life.

Anyway, those are just some of the many things I'm grateful for this week. My life is not my own. It belongs to the Lord and I hope that I can do the things that He wants me to do and live a life that honors His name.

This one's for you Lahni

The article that refers to what I'm talking about is here:


Although it doesn't specifically say "no Lingerie", it does say that we should not find reason to remove them and to me it is finding reason to remove them to put something immodest on (weather it be in your own home or not, it is still immodest) when we take them off to put on lingerie.
This is clearly my opinion and I'm not trying to say anyone is right or wrong. But I DO feel like (and again, this is MY FEELINGS and opinion) it is defiling the garments when anyone takes them off for lingerie. Of course you have to take them off for swimming. I don't wear mine when I swim. I don't know anyone that does. Anyway, the article is worth the read and everyone will read it differently and that's okay. But that's what I based my opinion and feelings on. So take it for what it is. I'm not here to say I'm right and everyone else is wrong. I'm also not blogging about this to start a huge debate on something that is personal to each individual. I'm just making myself clear on where I'm coming from.

On another note...Tanner and Matt had a great time at the father/son camp. They left really early on Friday and left me all alone...lol. I ended up going swimming with my best friend and her sister and their children. It was a blast! Then on Saturday, I went to Sharon's to hold her baby. Oh so little and cute. I never really understood the phrase "I could eat him up" until I became a parent. But it's true. We had a great Sabbath. We had a wonderful dinner at the Burton's and then came home and hung out and watched Joseph, prince of dreams. We only allow Tanner and ourselves to watch church movies on Sunday. So we have a few of them. I'd like to get more adult ones. We have a bunch of the living scripture ones. I'd love to get the "Liken" series. They look amazing and I think Tanner would really enjoy them. WE are kind of strict on Sunday's about our activities (if you can call them that). We never have big meals or play outside. We are together as a family and read, or play church games (we have a couple of them) or watch a movie or nap or visit people. I know, we're so boring, but I believe that it's part of keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

My MIL is coming this week and we are looking forward to that. There's also the Primary annual swim party. It is always fun except this year we only get the pool for one hour instead of the two that we normally have because of how much the pool costs. It should be fun, none the less.

I can't believe that July is almost over! Where does the time go. We ended up getting a family swim pass so we can go as often as we want. It is perfect in the hot weather we are having lately. I love getting into the cool water and just relaxing.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I hope everyone is having a great day.

First

I went to the pool yesterday and got burnt because I didn't wear sunscreen. I am paying for it today BUT I'm going back to the pool tonight with one of my best friends and kids. I will wear lots of sunscreen tonight and just continue to nurse my burn with aloe vera gel. Matt and Tanner on gone for their father/son camp out and left at 1:30. I don't think most people are even going to be there until 4 or 5. Oh well, more time for them.

I just wanted to let those of you know who commented on my last post that I did respond in the comments as well.

Tanner has his surgery date set for August 31st for his ear tubes. HOORAY! He'll have them in before school starts. That makes me so happy. He'll even be able to do an additional swim lesson in August so that will be good too.

We're having a great summer and loving every minute of it. I'm hoping to get our Internet back soon (at our house) so I can post some pictures but we'll see.

I am so thankful this week for so many things. I feel over flowing with thanks. I have amazing friends who are strong and who I love so much, and I have family that I am especially thankful for too. I try to always be thankful for my family and friends because they are important to me, but sometimes I know I take them for granted.

Anyway, that's about all for now.

Have a great weekend!

better late than never

It's been a while...I know! Our Canada day was great. My family was here for the big event and then we had a BBQ at my aunts. Later that day we had another BBQ at my friends and then we went to the town carnival. It was so much fun!

Here's something I've been thinking about for the last few days. It is my opinion and I know not everyone will agree but here it is. When a person gets engaged and has a bridal shower is it appropriate, even if the bride wants it, to give lingerie? I don't think it is. If you are a member of the church, IN MY OPINION, you shouldn't even be wearing that kind of stuff. At a shower recently held, the bride got some risky lingerie. Even if it was a joke, I don't think it's appropriate because it only makes the giver of the gift look bad...especially if it's another member of the church. My opinion is that it's wrong. But obviously, that's just me. I am learning to not speak my opinion so freely because it can get me in trouble sometimes and because I realize that not everyone thinks the same way I do...thank goodness!

Tanner is in swim class this week and next and he loves it. He loves the water and I'm hoping he learns some techniques instead of just playing around in the water. I am doing some fun things like mini at home camps with him. This week I'm doing a sports theme and we are going to play all different kind of sports. Last week we did a space theme and made planets and aliens. Next week we're doing an airplane theme and we're going to build an airplane (not a real one) and talk about different kinds of planes. Tanner likes it and is excited about our different themes. He's so cute.

The other night he kept coming out of his room (which is really out of character for him) and finally in a firm, strong tone I told him to stay in his room and go to bed. I went in his room to check to make sure he was staying in there and he said to me "you're a terrible Mom". I told him "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I love you". Then Matt said to me "you know why he says that, don't you?" and I told him I didn't. It's because sometimes when I do things like the one time I forgot to put on his bike helmet and my friend gave me trouble, I said "I'm sorry I forgot, I'm such a terrible Mom". Not even thinking about it. But I guess I do it more than just that one time because Matt said he's heard me say it a few times. So I have to watch what I say about myself.

Other than that, our summer has been going great.

What a difference

A year really makes a difference. As I dropped Tanner off in Calgary yesterday, I was thinking about where I was last year at the same time and let's just say it was not in a good place. Matt was jobless and I was suffering from some serious depression because of where our lives were. My Mom took Tanner for a few days so I could have a break from life and it was very much needed. And now this year, Matt's working and our relationship is good...he's such a good, hard worker and he really wants the best for his family. He really tries hard at everything he does and very rarely complains. I know he really hates something when he says even one thing negative about it. It makes me realize that I complain way more than I think I do. He never has anything bad to say about anything and when I start complaining or whining about certain things, he just lets me vent and then says something like, well, who cares...you're a good person and you're just trying your best. I love that man!
I feel like such a retard lately because I took Tanner to Doctor last week to get a referral for and ENT specialist and it was a resident that came and looked at him initially. When he was done I asked if the Doctor was coming in and he said that only if I wanted him to but that he (the resident) was a doctor. My response was "oh, good". OH GOOD!!!!! What in the world! I was just caught off guard because normally when a resident looks at him when were anywhere else (the ACH or his pediatrician in Calgary) the normal doctor comes in and looks at him as well.

THEN...as if that wasn't bad enough, I had a pap (I know TMI) today and just before he (the same resident who saw Tanner last week) left the room, he told me the gown and cover up were under the pillow and to put them on. I was a little confused because normally unless you're having a full physical (which I wasn't) you just undress from the bottom down. So I did just that and then when the nurse came in I said "I don't need to take my top off do I?" She said no just as the resident came in. Holy embarrassing! I was just confused because when he said to put the gown on, I thought "why do I need the gown on...maybe he thinks it's a full physical". I think I will be on my death bed before I go back to the doctor again. It was far too embarrassing. Hopefully I'll have an exceptionally healthy year and not have to go back for Tanner or I for a year.

So next week I have major company. My Mom, older sister, Amy, my Aunt Carolyn, my younger sister, Megan, and her son Emerson, and my Aunt and Uncle from Utah are all coming to my place for the Raymond Parade! Plus, my Mom and her 2 sisters are having their parents sealed to each other and then being sealed with their brother (who previously passed away) to their parents. It will be a wonderful thing. I'm really excited. I don't know why but I think about how sad it has been that they were not sealed together as a family until now. It makes me feel even more grateful that I am sealed to my family forever. Well, needless to say, I have some major cleaning to do. My sister, Amy, HATES HATES dusty things so I have to dust. I have to say, I'm not a big duster. Thankfully, I don't have a huge house to dust millions of little areas. Then on Monday, Matt and I will clean for our own FHE activity. The lawn will be needing to be mowed, but that takes us about 1 hour tops if we both do it. If he does the back and I do the front, it's easy. I am going to clean as I go in the next couple days and just do a final cleaning on Monday. I know, what a boring life I lead...lol. Well, I should get going. I have scripture study to catch up on.

Have a great day!

OH! everyone should check out my sister's website. It's so fun! Just click on "Megan Doll" on the side bar. You won't be sorry.

What do I have to say????

I have thought of many posts to write and things to write about but of course I did not write them down and they have escaped my mind. Tanner is going up to Calgary this week and I'm looking forward to having time to myself. Lately, Tanner has been acting up and not listening at all. It must be because there is no school. I can't be that bad of a parent, can I????

We've been busy with yard work and weeding our garden. It's a lot of work but I can't wait for the reward. We have found out that the cost for a pass to the pool here is going to be $200 for a family of 4. I'm hoping that individual passes might be cheaper. It's $5 for adults and $3 for kids so to make it worth the $200, you'd have to go every day for the whole 8 weeks it's open. It just might not be worth it. If you have a larger family, it will cost more per child. We haven't totally decided yet. For sure NOT a family pass, but either 2 passes (1 for me and 1 for Tanner) or just pay as we go to it.

I am reading the book "The 5 love languages". It is really a good book. It has already made mine and Matt's relationship better. Knowing each other's love language is really helpful for both individual and relationship purposes. I would highly recommend the book to anyone. The next book I'm going to read is Anne of Green Gables. I'm looking forward to reading it. Then I'm going to read Pride and Prejudice. I finally watched the BBC version of that and loved it a lot. It's 5 1/2 hours long but so worth the time.
Anyways, that's about all for now.

Surgery

So Tanner's tubes fell out of his ears and he will have to have some put back in. We have decided to close our file at ACH with the ENT there and do the surgery down here. We feel that if this is to happen often, then it would be more efficient to have it done here rather than up in Calgary where the wait list is fairly long. It's not a difficult procedure. He'll be in and out in a day but he does have to go under. I have a feeling that this will be a life long thing so it's better to be closer have have shorter time to get in than longer. I'm 100% fine with it. It's no big deal. At least not for Matt and I. After a surgery or two, we have become efficient in our handling the side effects...tiredness, sleepiness, restlessness, crying, needles, doctors, lack of appetite. It almost, for us, becomes second nature when were in the situation. Maybe that sounds like we don't care, but we do. It's like practicing riding a bike or writing. Once you do it a couple times, it becomes easy in a way. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyways, that's the news around this part of life.

I'm a midget

Today Tanner had a kindergarten readiness "test"...seriously?!...No comments from me on that one. Anyways, the teacher handed the parents this package as we were leaving. It contained some memories of each child's year in pre-school. In it, they had made this book of memories. It was so cute. One of the pages was a page all about Mom. These are some of the things that Tanner said: I was 30 years old (correct), I am 1 foot tall (um, hello...I may occasionally act like a baby, but do I look like one?) and weigh 100 lbs (so so so off). My favorite thing to eat is Kraft Dinner (I think he was thinking of himself on that one), when I'm not busy looking after him I like to clean (that's pretty accurate) and that I would like to talk to Susanne (yep, I always want to talk to Susanne so that one was right on). Now for Matt: He is 17 (I sure hope not), Weighs 40 lbs (that's only 7 more pounds than what Tanner weighs) and is 10 feet tall. His favorite food is deer meat (100% right) and his favorite sport is hockey.

So there you have it friends, I am a fat midget and Matt is a skinny, probably not even there, giant.

More later.

A short public message for Jamie

Jamie, hello, of course I watched Grey's!!! I can't even wait. I was going to stop watching it at the end of this season, but now I HAVE to watch it next season. I think George is out. His story line depleted this season so unless they have something totally awesome for him, I can't see him returning. And we will visit in June when I drop Tanner off for the week. I believe it's the 26th that I'll be up. It's a Wednesday for sure. The Wednesday before July 1st.

Okay now for all those other people who possibly read my blog....

It's been a great 2 weeks. Calgary was really fun and we were all very productive. We had a great Mother's Day and celebration of my sisters' birthdays. Megan will finally get some clothes she wanted that fit her after having baby "E". He's such a doll...no pun intended. He didn't like Matt too much though. He got scared when he started talking to him. Maybe with time Matt will be less scary...lol. It's a bit of a sensitive subject for Matt. A small hit on his self esteem. Most kids/babies love Matt. And I'm not just saying that. Matt is amazing with all my friends' children. He's just such a good Dad.

I found this paragraph from a talk that Julie B. Beck gave back in November 2007. It's part of a really great talk and I would encourage all of you to read it because it is a really great talk (I know, I said that already).

" Mother's who know do less. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods in order to spend more time with their children"

I believe in that quote full heartedly. I love that so much. It helped to confirm to me that not having T.V. in our house and not having a computer and only listening to church (because that's the only wholesome music I have) music is helping us be more spiritual and helping the spirit be in our home more frequently and more strongly. I am glad that Matt and I made that decision because it has blessed us in many ways. We do spend more time with each other and building our relationships with each other. And that's the most important thing right now. Well, one of them.

The weather has finally started to be consistently warm that it we don't have to dress in layers.

Here's a nice little story for you. ANd I would love any of your opinions to tell me if you think I made the right choice.

When Tanner rides his bike, he likes to "park" them behind the vehicles. We are telling him every time he goes out to park in the special spot he picked (which is on a grass hill on our yard) and not behind the car or truck (it's Matt's Dad's, not ours...on loan). So a couple weeks ago, he left his tricycle behind the car and as I reversed I hit it. It didn't do any damage, just scratched it a little bit. We reminded him again that it's not safe to leave his bike behind the car or truck because they could get wrecked and then he would have no bike to ride. So last week he parked his 2 wheeler with training wheels behind the truck. We got in the truck much later that day and when I went to pull out of the driveway I heard this "klunk". I knew right away what it was. So I jumped out and got the bike and showed Tanner that the front wheel was completely bent and that he wouldn't be able to ride it. He seemed a bit sad but then said "you can buy me a new bike". To which I said that we could not buy him a new bike because he needed to take care of the bike he already had (plus we don't have $60 to buy him a new bike every time his bike gets run over). So then he didn't say anything and I told him he would have to ride his tricycle again. When we went to my Mom's on the long weekend, she has a bike for him that someone gave to her. We'll let him have it when he comes home for July 1st from Calgary but did I do the right thing in not buying him another bike? Is there anything else I should have said to him? How can I help teach him to care for his bike? That is my wonderings...

Well, I should go and pick up the little munchkin from school. He only has 5 more days left...crazy! He has his final music performance tomorrow and Megan and my Aunt Carolyn are coming down for it. I'm really stoked about it. It should be really cute. Anyways, Have a great day!

up and coming weekend

I just picked up the car with it's new tires...nice!

I am really excited to go to Calgary this weekend. I'm sure my Mom will have lists of things for us to do, which she generally always has.

Last night Tanner was the Goalie at Soccer and he did a great job. He was such a little star goalie...my biased opinion. He's really enjoying soccer right now. I do have to get him some new running shoes because right now he's only got one pair and they're his indoor school shoes. I know I can get a pair at Wal-Mart for $5.98 so I think that's what I will do. Next year, I'm going to put him in Soft Ball just for something different...expose him to a different sport. I think it will be good. We have to try and find a sport that doesn't involve too much physical contact because of his kidney (he only has one and we must protect his good one from getting damaged).

Well, I think that's it for now. Happy Long weekend everyone!

Baby it's warm in here

I think I'm getting baby fever. There have been a number of babies born to women around me or announcing of babies coming. I'm itchy. Itchy all over. Itchy for a baby...let's hope it happens soon.

On another note, we have to get new tires put on our car tomorrow. We got a flat tire this weekend coming home from Calgary and it was repaired but it didn't last so we are getting new tires. Such is life.

Matt got a aerating job. Hopefully he'll get some good business this summer from people. Especially if we are going to have a baby

This month is so busy! I can't believe that it's almost half over. Time is so precious. There's none to waste.

Well, I'm off to find some books for T-Dog (Tanner's new nickname...apparently). I'm not sure I like it but Matt does so whatever. At least it's not the horrid nickname my sister's friends use to call her in jr.high.

I am so super excited about the Grey's finale this week.

More later.

What do you think

Last night at book club (yes, I know, I'm such a nerd...lol) we got on the topic of obedience to laws of the land vs laws of God. I heard a talk...or it was in part of a talk...that mentioned that when the law of the land is different from the commandments, we are suppose to try to live the law of the land. Then I got thinking today, isn't that what the article of faith say is We believe in being subject to kings presidents rulers and magistrates in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law.

We got talking about hos doctors aren't allowed to suggest certain alternatives because it's against their oath or whatever...but they could call you up (or talk to you in church) when they are outside of medical walls and tell you those alternatives. Wouldn't that be considered, in a black and white world, deception or lying? When you withhold the truth that's not being totally honest.

I'm reading (as if I wouldn't be) this book called "The Tomas Jefferson Education". It is such a good book. I am actually considering the possibility of thinking of home schooling Tanner because of reading this book. Education has, in many societies, become socialistic and not so much about educating. This, in my opinion, is not the way to educate children. It talks about the difference of teaching vs educating. Teaching is more about the conveyor belt type life and educating is more about inspiring and teaching kids to think for themselves and not what the government wants people to think.

You can see it a lot in schools. All you have to do is look at the fact that recently they are talking about letting children out of discussions on anything religious...be it evolution, or even the creation of the world. They basically are taking God out of schools altogether and not allowing kids to make the choice. There was a really good sentence in the paper today that I will have to post another time because it was so good. I think the people who are so worried about this are most likely people who have no strong religious affiliation and are concerned that their child will be easily influenced to believe something else. Why should that matter? We live in a country where we are supposed to be able to worship freely, right? So how does controlling the topic of religion allow that freedom to citizens of the country?

I think it's almost comedic that the government tells us or tries to prove to us that they are such heroes in giving us "free" things like 'free' health care, or 'freedom' of speech, or 'freedom' of religion. Yet those things aren't really free. We all will have to pay double in health premiums as of July 2010. We don't really have freedom of speech or religion because if we did, those who believe something different from what the government thinks you should believe in, wouldn't be persecuted for believing something different. Well, that's my rant for now. Just something to 'chew' on, I guess.

Anyways...what do you think?