Hi out there

It's been a while and I have been intending to blog for some time now. Today is a total random post because I can't quite make all my thoughts flow together to it'll just be point form:

-you know you have a true friend when you don't worry about her coming into your messy home and being judged

-my mom came for a visit and it was GLORIOUS! I was so excited and she got to even go to Tanner's school and see his teacher

-having my awesome neighbor for an impromptu supper was the BEST!

-going to Susanne's for pizza, movie and conversation was MUCH overdue

-dance class was super hard for me last week...i was almost in tears but this week it was 100% better and i had so much fun. i feel like i'm finally getting the steps.

-i love my clogging shoes.

-i'm really trying to soak in all of tanner and come up with an amazing post for his birthday in less than a month

-i've been eating lots of chocolate...more than i should and i am really starting to regret it. i just shouldn't have it in my house.

-tanner plays so well with his friend on a daily basis. we love having him over.

-tanner has been to 2 birthday parties in the last 2 weeks and it's been really fun to see him get excited and pick out the presents without even asking for something for himself.

-recently i was mentioning that halloween is such a weird "holiday"...if you can even call it that. i was explaining my feeling and then proceeded to say that it's like christmas. it's kind of a fake holiday. i absolutely LOVE christmas but i don't really agree with all the commercialism of it.

i don't DIScourage tanner from the whole santa thing but we certainly do not ENcourage it. we don't talk about it or get him 'excited' for santa to come. we're kind of neutral with him when it comes to that. if he wants to believe, far be it for us to tell him to not believe. but if he doesn't want to believe then that's fine too.

we really encourage the true meaning of christmas and we talk every year about how the real birthday of the savior was in april but we celebrate with the rest of the world. we also talk about how the "idea" of santa came to be.

anyways...so as i expressed this i was asked if i read him fairytales and i said i did. then the opinion was expressed that the 2 are the same thing. it has really got me thinking and wondering if it really is. i'm leaning more toward the side that it's different because they don't commercialize cartoons/fairytales and make you believe in the fact that animals talk in them.

i think they are the same in that they are both stories but i don't like that santa is made out to look like he's a real person. disney land is the land for fairytales where imaginative things become real but there's no "santaland". there's no place for understanding that it's just a story. i hope that makes sense. i really really hope that makes sense to those reading this.

anyways, i think that there's a difference in the two. i'm not suggesting that santa isn't something fun as a kid to believe in but matt and i have personally made the choice not to make that the reason for christmas. anyways, that's my hot topic for today, i guess.

-i made this really yummy salsa chicken for dinner last night. i'll put up the recipe later.

-what the heck is up with cristina (from grey's anatomy)???? where is her spunk? shes becoming a bit of a softie.

-matt and i went out for a really fun date on saturday. we went to tony romas and then bowling and then to DQ for dessert. i am so in love with the mini blizzard. a perfect size for me.

-i already have christmas apps on my iPod touch.

-have you heard the song from bruno mars called just the way you are???? it's my new favorite song. if you haven't heard it, get it on youtube. it's the loveliest song.

-speaking of music, taylor swift's new cd is very good as well.

-we had the great opportunity to go with my mom over to my aunt's last night and watch her band practice. tanner got to even play the spoons...which he was very good at.

-we had our family pictures done 10 days ago. i'm excited to see how they turn out.

-relief society was a cry fest on sunday. we were talking about faith to heal. it was a super good lesson and really touched a lot of people

-i want to make something really yummy with apples but i'm not sure what. any ideas????

-i feel a lot more personally peaceful. i am letting a lot of stuff go that i thought i had let go of, but hadn't. it's a great feeling.

-i'm grateful for the opportunity that having just one child has brought me. i feel like i can be a better friend/mother/wife/person because i can really focus on all those things easier than if i had to divide my time between more than 1 child. i hope that doesn't sound like i don't want more children because i do. but my "season" right now is just to have tanner and i'm okay with that. i do have moments of wanting more but not aching like i use to.

well, i think that's it. sorry there's no pictures. maybe next time ; )

A give away...not mine...someone elses : )

If you like magnets...or anything crafty, go over and check out this fun blog.

A few of my favorite things

Check out this cute, easy wreath..

http://bugaboominimrme.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-cant-knit.html


I LOVE this:

http://apumpkinandaprincess.blogspot.com/2010/09/halloween-candy-jar.html

And if I had a girl I would SOOOO make this:

http://craftedition.blogspot.com/2010/10/updated-ghost-costumeoutfit-pillowcase.html


Looking for birthday party ideas??? Have a look at this amazing blog:

http://creativebirthdaypartyideas.blogspot.com/

Overload!

There is so much to share!

We had a great Thanksgiving. We had 2 thanksgiving's but sadly, we were not sent with any left overs....hmmmm....maybe other people didn't enjoy our company as much as we did theirs and they purposely denied us turkey left overs!!!!!! lol

We went to the Carriage Museum after our wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. It was nice to be able to spend the day together doing something new.

Tanner "helped" Aunty Amy make caramel Apples. He was eating the sprinkles off the plate

Emerson and Tanner were so cute on Sunday! They were chasing each other around my Mom's table for a good 30 minutes. It was hysterical.

Uncle Blayne and his nephews. I just love this picture.

Tanner and his cousins on Matt's side of the family.

Can you believe that these boys are all pretty much 1 year apart. Tanner the youngest, the middle, W, 14 months older and S a year older than W. They ADORE Tanner and Tanner loves them too.

Uncle Blayne took the boys for a golf cart ride and let them each take a turn driving. They all wanted to drive the big vehicles home.

We ate dinner at my Mom's outside. It was such a beautiful day and we all enjoyed our meal.

Can you believe that this cute boy is going to be 7!!!!! Just over a month and he's going to be 7. Plus, I just love that sweater. I got a steal of a deal at The Children's Place. It was 20% off! He looks adorable (I'm not at ALL biased...lol)

Tanner "needed" to have a picture of his shoes...I gave in (it didn't take that much convincing)

Tanner's school had a cross country run and this is Tanner on his run.

Tanner and his best bud R.

Another best bud J

oh yeah...he has a few best buds. This is another one.

You have to click on the picture to see it large to appreciate it. You'll notice that his top tooth is missing. It's one of only 2 pictures because he's a little self concious about it. I could just eat him up!

Happy weekend!

Check it out!

So I'm not a photographer but I know a ton of people who I could give this away to as a gift, so please go and check it out!


Check out this amazing givewaway of Life. Camera. Actions. on Simple As That! http://rebeccacooper.blogspot.com

What are you thankful for?

I frequently get asked "What is Tanner's Diagnosis?". I don't mind telling people because I feel like if by my story I can help someone deal with something in their life, then I've made some sort of difference. Some people don't really know what a cleft looks like and I just want to make it clear that ALL clefts are NOT the same. He also has a 'condition' called craniosynisos...essentially what this is is that the bones in his head fused together prematurely and and he had to have his head cut open and have his skull re-shaped (thereby creating the necessary space for his head to grow properly). He also was only born with one working kidney. He has a couple other things but those are the major ones.

So why am I writing about this??? Well because not just today but every day I look at Tanner, I am so profoundly grateful for the miracle he was and continues to be in our lives and the lives around him. It really amazes me what medicine has been able to do for him and will continue to do for him to help him be as 'normal' as possible. He started off like this:







and now he looks like this:







I am grateful for modern medicine. Tanner has had over 5 surgeries in his short 7 years of life and will have more surgeries down the road but I don't worry about it because I have faith and trust in not just the doctors and their knowledge, but in God. And I KNOW that it is because of Him that Tanner is still here and with us.

I am grateful for the town I live in and love so much. Calgary was great for the time being but it is no longer where I belong or call home.

I am thankful for the gospel and the knowledge it provides and for the strength and comfort it brings.

I am thankful for Christ.

I am thankful for jobs that provide not only what we need but things we want as well (not EVERYTHING we want, but we don't have to scrimp as much).

I am thankful for my life and for living in the time that I do. Although the world is so worldly and there is so much temptation and bad I am grateful that I didn't have to walk across the plains.

I am grateful for health. This is really important and although some days I wish that my body would function the way I want it to (read:get pregnant), I am grateful for the blessings my health allows me.

I am grateful for the earth and the beauties of it. I am easily captivated by fall and all the beauty it brings. There is almost nothing more beautiful than fall.

I am thankful to be alive and be able to learn and grow and choose to be happy.


Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Chicken

I'm usually a very bad eater. Okay, not THAT bad but I don't really pay attention to what I eat, how much etc. On the way home from a work conference about a month ago, I had a really nice visit with the lady I work with. She is also the Relief Society President in our ward. Anyways, we were talking about health etc and she said something that really stuck out to me. She said that she was asked how she feels after she eats certain foods. How does it make her body feel. I never thought about it until a few days later when I ate a whole foot long sub and I felt so gross after. It was even a healthier sub. Anyway, ever since then I've been really paying attention to what I eat and how my body responds. My body can't do very much junk (chips, pop, candy, cookies etc) which is okay. I feel much better when I'm eating healthier and although I still treat myself occasionally, I stick to pretty healthy food options. I got this box of Chicken at Superstore and the chicken breasts are HUGE! So I thawed one out last week and wasn't too sure what to do with it. So I looked in my fridge and saw a salad dressing/vinaigrette so I tried it and it was SOOOO good. It was an aged balsamic vinaigrette. I had it with jasmine rice and broccoli and it was perfect. So I recommend if you're looking for something quick to marinate your chicken with, try a vinaigrette.

I've been sewing a lot in the last few days. I have a few projects I'm working on. Mostly for other people but there are 1 or 2 that I have set for myself.

Things are ho hum my. I think sometimes we all get in those phases/periods where things are just the way they are. It's like nothing is super good but there's nothing that's terrible/bad/negative either. It's like things are a bit monotonous. Next weekend we'll be up in Calgary for Thanksgiving so that'll add some "spice" to our regular everyday life. Speaking of which, we always get at least 2 thanksgiving dinners (we are very lucky) and I have been asked to make rolls for both of them. I will actually be making them tonight and tomorrow and freezing them because I'll have to make at least 2 batches. Matt's family is large in number and some of his extended family will be there so I'll have to make at least 24 or more just for that dinner. I love making rolls/buns. Although time consuming, the reward is so delicious.

Happy Wednesday!

What did you do today???

My week this week started off rough. When we got home from Calgary I was unloading my car and when I went back out to get a second load, I tripped (I'm pretty sure on my high heels) and tumbled down our front steps and banged up my knee pretty good. I had it taped the next day, but it's still pretty tender. Needless to say, I won't be wearing heels for a while.

Conference was today. Growing up, my Mom always worked on a project during conference. Weather it was sewing matching dresses for us (please do not ask), or cuddle quilts after my Dad died, or as recently as card making or putting together each of my 3 sisters missionary binders...there's always a project. I sometimes have projects and sometimes I don't. This year I worked on 4 different projects. Wanna see?????


First, I downloaded (it's a free download)and printed off a General Conference Bingo from Oopsey Daisy. Then after the morning conference I went into town and got them laminated. Tanner is excited to use them for tomorrow.






Second, I bought fabric for 2 projects I'm working on. I'm not going to tell you who, what, when but they're going to be awesome (yes, I'm just a little excited)







Lastly, I had the "feathers" photocopied at the same time I got my laminating done and colored them and placed them on this turkey. We are using this for our daily scripture in the morning. This month is all about being grateful (after all it is Thanksgiving next week for us Canadians). Each scripture (on the back of the feather) has a thing to be thankful for, so we'll be plucking the turkey this month...lol. The turkey is an enlargement and I put it on a ceiling board (I'm sure they have a specific name, but I don't know what it is). I will be laminating these this week too.








I also photocopied stuff for 5 weeks worth of FHE lessons. I just have to color and laminate. I'm all about laminating for durability. We haven't been very good at having thought out FHE's. They're kind of put together last minute and I was feeling kind of let down by my lack of planning. So I thought about what it is I felt we needed to work on improving as a family and what reminders our family could benefit from and put the lessons together with any handout/visual aids needed. We are going to learn about being grateful, education, family, friends, and sabbath day observance.

Anyways, tomorrow I will be pretty much finishing the coloring and cutting out so everything can be ready to laminate next week.

I booked Tanner's birthday party for November and his party supplies came (via celebrateexpress.com) and we are all pretty excited to say the least. We're splurging a bit this year because....well, because we wanted to. Next year will be low key as we'll be up in Calgary for his baptism. We'll have a little party at home for him but the main focus will be on his baptism.

Tanner is such a happy boy and we just love him so much. I am not at all sad about him being 8 next year. I'm really excited and this is something that I've looked forward to for a long time. I do feel a slight pressure to teach him 'everything' but I know he'll make his own mistakes and learn from them and grow each lesson. He is so special to us and we really try to enjoy every moment with him.

Conference was really good today and I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Bullying is NEVER okay!

This moved me to tears as I worry about this issue every day. Just yesterday Matt overheard a child make an obvious negative comment about Tanner and the Mother didn't do anything about it. Bullying comes in many different forms and even though kids are curious, there is a VERY fine line between comments/curiosity being appropriate and inappropriate. This is not just a frivolous thing...this is a very serious issue and we all need to take it seriously. Even if we know our kids are not being bullied, there are other kids out there that are and they need people to stand up for them. We can not afford to be ignorant or dismiss the issue. Different isn't a negative thing. Essentially, aren't we all different???? Just because someone looks different or chooses a different lifestyle does not mean we have to be mean about it or to that individual. Let us all remember that WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF A LOVING FATHER IN HEAVEN and he loves us all...no matter our differences.