Visits with Santa

Luke is all about the festivities of every holiday. He was elated to go see Santa! He even brought Santa a gift and made sure to wear his reindeer antlers to impress Santa. A few days later Ben was talking with his friend "Santa" and Santa told Ben that Luke was the only child that has ever brought him a gift. When we related this info to Luke, he became the happiest child I have ever seen. He went into another room and yelled out, "I WAS THE ONLY KID TO EVER GIVE SANTA A GIFT!!!" It was the cutest thing in the world!

Now...Ashlynn on the other hand...well, you can see how her visit with Santa went. She later said, "Hate, hate Santa!" (She loves to repeat things twice!)

Holiday Orchard Salad

Are you looking for a new green salad for Christmas? This is one of my favorites and I love the name of it and all the yummy ingredients that go in it. Everyone loves this salad! We originally received it from Lynnette Behunin last Christmas during a mission reunion. Thanks Lynnette!

Holiday Orchard Salad
8 c. mixed greens (not iceberg lettuce)
Chopped celery
Mandarin oranges (strawberries could be used instead)
Craisins
Apples, diced
Sliced Swiss cheese

Mix greens with desired amounts of celery, oranges, craisins, apples, and cheese. Sprinkle with candied almonds. Drizzle with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette (recipes to follow).

Candied Almonds:
1 T. butter
2 T. sugar
2 oz. sliced almonds

Combine butter and sugar in small skillet. Add almonds and cook over med. heat until brown and candied. Be careful, they go from yummy to burn rather quickly.

Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. poppy seeds
¼ c. cider vinegar
sm. chunks red onion (diced) to taste
2/3 tsp. salt
2/3 c. salad oil
2 tsp. Grey Poupon (or you can use honey Dijon mustard)

Put ingredients in blender and whirl until smooth. Makes 1 cup. (Stir in poppy seeds by hand last so they don’t get too crushed.)

Dooky Duty

Earlier this week I was having a really bad day. It seemed that everything that could go wrong-did! After putting the kids to bed I finally sat down for a few minutes. All of a sudden Luke came running down the stairs. He was frantic and crying very hard. At first I was mad but then I started to really listen to what he was saying. He told me he had swallowed a 'money' (a coin) by accident. Luke was so scared and immediately fell to his knees and said, "We need to say a prayer RIGHT NOW, Mommy!" He asked me to say it because he was too scared. I felt so happy that he recognized a good time to say a prayer!!! (Good boy, Luke!) After saying a prayer, I called the doctor and asked if it was a big deal to have swallowed a coin and they told me to bring him in immediately for an X-ray. We waited for Ben to come home from work and then headed to the Doctor at 10:30pm. From the X-ray we discovered it was probably a quarter or a Chuck E. Cheese token. It is HUGE! So, needless to say, I have 'Dooky Duty' until the coin shows up! I guess they take Xrays to make sure the coin is in the stomach and not somewhere else. Sometimes a coin can flip over after a few minutes or hours and then block the airway long after the initial swallowing of the coin. I just thought I would share this info because I didn't realize it could potentially be such a serious thing! I will gladly do 'Dooky Duty' until that coin comes. I am just happy that Luke is okay and didn't choke in his bed without me knowing about it :)

Thanksgiving Festivities

We traveled over the river and through the woods to Grandma Fern's house for Thanksgiving. Kristen (Ben's sister) lives with her grandma, so we are able to visit with her also. Our children ADORE Aunt Kris-Kris!!!

Grandma Fern made a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. My parents came over for dinner too. I kind of felt bad having Ben's 90 year old grandma make dinner for MY family. For some reason I thought more people were coming. Oh-well. We had a great time with Gma Fern. Our children loved spending time at "Grah-Grah's" house. Ashlynn stayed up ALL night long telling me how much she loved sleeping at Grah-Grah's house. She was so thrilled to be there.

Aunt Kris-Kris bought a gingerbread house to make with the kids. They loved every minute of it. I yelled at the kids a few times to stop eating the candy and then I noticed that Kristen was eating it too. That's why my kids adore her! She lets them have more fun than Mommy does.

As soon as we pulled up in our driveway after our trip, Ashlynn started yelling at the top of her lungs..."NO! NO! NO! Want Grah-Grah's house and Kris-Kris!!!

Look! We just had another baby! Just kidding. This is my new nephew, Camden. He was born in October and we were so happy to attend his baby blessing over Thanksgiving weekend.

Here is my sister Jaime and her family with Camden. The only one missing is Josh. He had OTHER things to do at the moment.

Camden is such a sweet little baby. I was feeling a little under the weather so I wasn't able to hold him as much as I wanted to. It is so wonderful to hold a new baby and a new member of our extended family. He is so loved by all his siblings and family.

Yah! Take that!

I am sure if you are reading this, you are wondering why the heck I have Rocky music playing instead of Christmas music. Let me explain...

A little over 2 years ago, someone told me, "It appears you like to do things half way in your life. You've probably lived your whole life like that. Maybe you are used to giving up on things and you are okay with that."

I was in shock because this person didn't even know me, but somehow felt he had the authority to say whatever he wanted. I guess living as a missionary in another country, learning a foreign language, leaving my family for 18 months, being accepted into BYU, getting a job as a MTC teacher, being a wife, giving birth and being a mother is only accomplished by living my life in a
half--- way?!!

hummmm...I don't think so Sir!

Well, I later replied to his comment with this, "That's not true. I've never given up on anything...except a diet and who hasn't given up on a diet!"

Well, today I am happy to say I have reached my lifetime goal at Weight Watchers and hit my 30 pound mark! I even lost 2.6 pounds over Thanksgiving week. Now that I hit this goal, I think I'll lose another 10 pounds just because... I WANT TO!

I didn't do this for him. I did it for me and it feels so good. Doesn't everyone need a Rocky song from time to time?! This song just sums up the way I am feeling today. It makes me what to work even harder!!! YAH!!! So take that and......(well, you know how the saying goes!).

Quote of the Day...by Ashlynn

Our sweet little Ashlynn HATES washing her 'princess' hair (that's what she calls it). Well, the other day I was fighting with her to let me rinse the shampoo out of her hair. After swatting me away several times she yelled out...
"Daddy, Daddy says (she likes to repeat things twice),
'no wash hair!'." I told her that Daddy never said that. She then said...

"Jesus, Jesus says 'no wash hair'."

Somehow she knows Jesus has a higher priority! After an outburst of laughter from Ben and I, we reassured her Jesus never said she couldn't wash her princess hair. Nice try Ashlynn:)

The Swearing Cookies Recipe

Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Icing
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin, vanilla and egg, blend well. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 15 minutes or until completely cooled.

Brown Sugar Icing

3 TBSP butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2-2 cups powdered sugar

Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, combine 3 TBSP butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for one minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Cool 10 minutes. Add milk and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Beat in enough powdered sugar for desired consistency.

The Thanksgivingmobile

Has anyone ever seen a Thanksgivingmobile? Well, here it is. Created by the one and only...

...Luke. Can you see how proud he is of his creation?

Stand a Little Taller

Every day since the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley, I have read from his book, Stand a Little Taller. The quote for today is this:

November 17, page 336

"For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

"The kingdom of God is not a DEMOCRACY. Wickedness and righteousness are not legislated by majority vote. Right and wrong are not determined by polls or pundits, though many would have us believe otherwise. Evil never was happiness. Happiness lies in the power and the sweet simplicity of VIRTUE."

- President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Is this not the perfect quote to hear this morning? I really needed to hear it and be reminded of these powerful words from a prophet of God. May we all stand a little taller today because of it!

Pumpkin Fest

Ok, I have to admit...Luke is not the only pumpkin lover in the house. I don't sleep with pumpkins at night like he does, but I think I am a little obsessed with eating pumpkin stuff! Maybe I am deficient in Vitamin A or something:) I didn't grow up eating pumpkin treats as a tradition, so I am not sure where my addiction comes from. Every year I look forward to October and November mainly because I get to stuff my face with pumpkin: bars, cookies, bread & cheesecake.

I am still working at losing weight, but I do allow myself to bake a treat once a week-usually on a Sunday. Every Sunday for the last month I have made some sort of pumpkin treat and November is not finished yet. Yipee!!! December seems to be more of a chocolate fest for me, so I have to get in as much pumpkin stuff as I can! As long as I work really hard at exercising and eating the right food during the week, I am able to indulge in my weekly Pumpkin Fest with no problem. I even managed to lose 2.4 pounds the week of Halloween!

Eight years ago, one of my friends gave me a recipe for Pumpkin Cookies w/ Brown Sugar Icing. They should come with a caution sign because they will make you swear. I am not kidding. I won't tell you some of the things Ben's co-workers said when they ate them:) The funny thing is that I don't care that much for traditional pumpkin pie. I also don't add nutmeg or cloves to my pumpkin recipes. I only like pumpkin and cinnamon together. That's it. A match made in heaven!

Trick or Treating

The long awaited day had finally come. HALLOWEEN! Our little Batman and Princess were able to attend a carnival at my work and then they went to a 'trunk or treat' that evening. We also did some door to door trick or treating. They had so much fun! We have candy coming out our ears! I have to hide it before it destroys my diet! We hope you guys all had a great Halloween too!

Carving Pumpkins

Once again, this is not the order I wanted the photos. Oh-well. Check out Luke's 'scary eyes' face. He is very proud of it. Ashlynn is sporting some major 80's look with her hair and clothes. I love it.
This was the first year Ben and I didn't really care about Halloween. I can't believe I just said that! In the past we have both LOVED Halloween and we usually dress up and each carve a pumpkin. This year we only did 2 pumpkins. We can't seem to pull ourselves out of this slump. Our thoughts for the upcoming Holidays are the same way. What is wrong with us?
Thank goodness for children. They have forced us to still have some fun this year. Ashlynn took one look inside the pumpkin and saw the 'guts' inside and said, "EW, GROSS!!!". She ran to the front room and laid down on the couch and 'read' a Toys R Us magazine. She is such a little diva! I should have taken a photo of her laying there. She wanted nothing to do with the filthy pumpkin. Ashlynn cracks me up and I love her to bits.

Luke asked Ben to pose like the carved pumpkin. Ben, of course, couldn't refuse. Don't they all look alike? :)

Pumpkin Patch

This is not the order I put the photos on Blogger, but I think it is having problems lately. ANYWAY, here we are at the pumpkin patch. The kids love riding the tractor to get to the pumpkins.

Here are the kiddos cheesing it up.

Luke was just a LITTLE excited to be sitting in a field of pumpkins.

Ashlynn hated walking in the pumpkin patch. She started crying and saying, "EW, Gross" every few seconds. She is such a girly girl.

I love capturing moments like this...when they actually enjoy being with each other and no one is getting hurt.

Pumpkin...oh how I love thee!

I know I have mentioned several times that Luke LOVES pumpkins...well, this is proof. Does anyone else out there sleep with their pumpkin for the whole month of October? Luke has since replaced the pumpkin in the photo with one he found at a local pumpkin patch. The new one is square shaped and he swears he found 'Spookley'. If you don't know who 'Spookley' is, you have to check out the book at the library. It is a great story.

I also have to share a story about something that happened the other day. While standing in an aisle at Target, I noticed the woman next to me had purple, punk styled hair. She was also wearing chains and skulls everywhere and had piercings and etc. I don't think she was dressing up for Halloween due to the piercings and tattoes. I tried to block Luke from seeing her because I knew he would think she was dressed up for Halloween. Well, I could see the exact moment he noticed her because his whole face lit up and he ran to her side with a smile from ear to ear. He was only 1 foot away from her and yelled out (while pointing), "Mommy, look at her!!! SHE IS ALL READY FOR HALLOWEEN!!!" The woman did NOT think this was funny. I tried so hard not to burst out laughing. My face turned red and I tried to pull him away from her. He was so excited that he had found someone who loved Halloween as much as he does.

Hooray for Me!

This past year I have been working on something very difficult...LOSING WEIGHT! I have always struggled with my weight, but I think this last YEAR (yes, one whole YEAR!) was the hardest battle I have ever had with it. Maybe it is because I am older now and have had 2 children & struggle with some personal issues??!! I don't know. But I do know that I can be proud of one thing...I NEVER gave up. One year ago at the beginning of October, I signed up with Weight Watchers and I promised myself that I would never give up. Well, to celebrate my one year mark, I wanted to tell the world that I have lost 25 pounds! Some people could probably lose that same amount in 6 months, but I have never been one to take a shortcut:) I am so delighted to say I kept my promise to myself and it feels so incredibly wonderful! I absolutely love Weight Watchers and I can't say enough about the program. I had a lot of ups and downs and sometimes I thought it was impossible for me to lose weight. I still have about 10 more pounds to lose, but I had to take a moment to reflect on this past year and celebrate in a non-food way!!! The photo above was taken by Luke a few months ago when I won an award at WW. I have since lost a few more pounds. I am so excited and feel so good! I can honestly say...I worked my tail off:)

Look what I've been up to!

These past two months have been so stressful...actually this whole year has been pretty stressful. I will spare you the details:) No one wants to blog about their problems, so I have decided to focus on some of the good things I have done in my spare time. It's always fun to try something new. I need to do this more often.Look what I did!!! I have NEVER canned anything until now! Ben's wonderful Grandma Fern has a 'secret' jam recipe that is almost as wonderful as she is. She gave me the recipe a year ago and I finally got enough nerve to give it a try. I had to give her a few calls to make sure I was doing it right, but all in all, I think I did a great job! It was fun to do too. I made 3 batches of jam: 2 raspberry and 1 strawberry. I feel so domestic!

This is our new clock. I made it!!! Our church had a Super Saturday crafts event and I signed up to make this. I, of course, was the last one to finish. For anyone who knows me, also knows that is the story of my life. Now I can't wait to hang it up and actually use it!

Encore Presentation: "Together Forever"

Ben sings this song to Luke every night. It originates from a Winnie the Pooh movie. It is so sweet to hear them sing it together. Luke LOVES this song. I filmed it from my camera the same day I filmed the Jingle Bells one. I have tried to film him singing with our video camera before, but he wouldn't do it. I think using a regular camera tricked him because he thought I was only taking photos!-hence the big 'CHEESE' at the end.

I haven't been tagged for a long time!

My friend Torrey sent this to me. I haven’t done a tag for a long time, so I’m doing it! If I mentioned your name below, only do the tag if you have the time and want to:)


4 TV Shows I watch:
1) Lost (where is it?)
2)Heros
3)Prison Break (only on DVD’s)
4)Oprah (only on DVR-I erase the celebrity ones-I don’t really care about their ritzy, unrealistic lives)


4 Favorite Restaurants
1) MacCool’s Irish Pub (very original & tasty food)
2)Boston’s Pizza (Gourmet Pizzas!)
3)Olive Garden
4)Corbin’s (the best halibut & cheesecake ever)


4 Things that Happened Yesterday:
1) I went to work for 4 hours.
2)I followed my Weight Watchers goal VERY WELL.
3)I took the kids to the library for a Halloween Storytelling event.
4)I went for a walk with the kids.

4 Things I'm Looking Forward to:
1)Trick or Treating with my kids.
2)Seeing my sister’s newborn baby (who hasn’t arrived yet).
3)pay day (things are SOOOOO tight right now)
4)reaching my lifetime goal at Weight Watchers

4 Things on MY Wish List
1) new curtains & blinds
2) a new place to live
3) a trip to Ireland
4) painting lessons


4 Little Known Facts about me
1) I have kept a journal since I was 8 years old.
2) I cried when I witnessed a dog adoption (the dog was so dang happy!)
3) I sang (with a group) the song “Love Shack” in a Lesbian Karaoke bar in Vegas. (NO, I was not drinking and we didn't know it was a lesbian bar)
4) I love yams & sweet potatoes.


4 people I tag (if they want to do it)
Becca
Danielle S.
Melissa B.
Jenny
Caitlyn (I know, I added a 5th one)

Jingle Bells Already?

Well, it snowed today...a lot! I can't believe we got soooo much snow for the first snow of the year. What happened to Halloween? What happened to my beautiful green grass that I just cut 2 days ago? I was NOT thrilled about this...but someone else I know loved every minute of it. Luke had a sudden case of ADHD and went outside 4 times throughout the day. He just could not get enough of it! Luke outgrew his boots from last year, so Daddy had to quickly improvise with these fashionable Target bags.

Ashlynn took one look out the window this morning and said,

"Oh No!... Nose SCARE Me!!!" We tried to get her to say 'SNOW' a few times but she insisted it was pronounced 'NOSE'. She had NO desire to go outside. Ben tried to get her to stand on the front porch and she did it. Within a few seconds of standing there, a clump of snow fell off the leaves and landed on her head. This was very traumatizing for her and she let the whole neighborhood hear about it. I didn't take any photos of her.

A few days ago, I was checking my camera to see what features still worked after Luke broke it. The video still works. So, here is Luke's version of Jingle Bells. Maybe he had a hunch that snow was on it's way! He has a strange look on his face because he is trying to smile and sing at the same time during the entire clip.

Fall Festival

We love this place! It is a 100+ year old farm about an hour from our home. In the spring we have attended their Baby Animals Days but this was the first time we attended their Fall Festival. Ben had to work...but my sister, Jaime, made a quick weekend visit with 2 of her 3 children. We had lots of fun! Cotton candy was a must-have! This was Ashlynn's lunch. I know, I am a great mom. She refused to eat anything else once the cotton candy melted in her mouth.
We attempted to make candles too. Luke was very determined to make his own candle and didn't like it when I attempted to help him. He LOVES crafts, art...basically anything hands on! Here is my sis, Jaime making her candle too. Jaime is having a baby in about a month! She was such a trooper walking around that farm for hours and hours!
It's not everyday you get to make a corn husk doll! How fun to think children really used to play with these...and they were happy?! Ashlynn's doll was a 'primpris' (princess) of course and Luke made sure we knew his doll was 100% boy!
This machine removed the kernels from the corn.
Ashlynn was having a showdown with this rooster.
I have never seen a rooster look like this. I think he is beautiful.

Luke was loving a ride on this horse.
He even got to use an outhouse. He was scared when the door slammed behind him.
Luke and cousin Ryan had lots of fun on this ride. Luke loves scary rides and laughed hysterically the entire time. Ryan was a brave little soul and seemed to enjoy the ride too!
Little Avery is fearless! She acted like she had done this a million times before! Look at her little hand holding the saddle. So cute!
A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Support Local Farmers

Today I went to an ORGANIC Farmer's Market down the road from our home. It was sooooo much cheaper than the grocery store and that's why I am taking the time to blog about it! The other day I bought an organic green pepper from Target for $2.50 because the non-organic ones were all gone! Well, today I bought 2 green peppers for $1.00!!! I also bought a one pound sack of green beans, 2 small pumpkins, 1 acorn squash, a pint of FRESH raspberries (not moldy, nasty ones), 4 zucchinis, a head of garlic, a huge cucumber and...oh yeah, a whole watermelon for a grand total of $14.00!!!!!!!! I know I would have paid $28 or more for the same thing at the grocery store. So the moral of the story: If you buy local produce, it will be healthier for you, it will taste a whole lot better, it will be fresh, you will save a lot more money and you will support your local farmers and the local economy. It couldn't get better than that:)

Stay Calm Mommy!

Yesterday Luke was trying to play a computer game and exploded when he hit the wrong key causing the game to shut down. He was so angry and looked around the room for everything and anything he could throw, smash or break. Well, our camera happened to be right in his path. He threw it across the room and smashed the LCD screen and some other things. Needless to say, I may not be able to post pics for a little while.

Can I just say how much self control it took to not injure this child? I broke down and cried instead. Luke immediately stopped his tirade and ran over to give me a hug. He said, "It's okay Mommy cuz Daddy is at work making money so we can buy a new one! You don't need to be sad!" These were my thoughts..."Stay calm...stay calm...say a prayer...stay calm...don't hurt him...stay calm...etc..." Since I already had these photos uploaded, I thought I would post them and remind myself how much I still love this little guy.

Luke LOVES pumpkins! That may be an understatement! He wants a pumpkin birthday party some day, a bed shaped like a pumpkin, he wants pumpkin decorations in his room, etc...pretty much anything pumpkin. He can't wait until Halloween. Everyday he asks if it is Halloween yet. The other day he decided to make pumpkins for Daddy and all of his friends at work. He couldn't imagine drawing pumpkins without actually being dressed like a pumpkin too.

Here is documentation of Luke's first written word without ANY help from me. He drew the Easter Bunny carrying a basket of eggs and candy. He then drew a big Easter egg for his 'DAd' and I think he attempted to write 'Mom' too. How fun to see your child spell a word with no help!!!
Just practicing their broom skills for Halloween. Doesn't every child do this?
Oh...and practicing his scarecrow skills too. He has got all his bases covered for Halloween.

BTW, his Aunties Beth and Kay (from Tennessee) gave Luke this orange shirt. He loves it to say the least.

Kid to Kid

Last Saturday Kid to Kid ( a used children's clothing store) launched their Halloween Costume Sale. My kids already have their Halloween costumes, but I wanted to buy more dress-up clothes for them to play with at home. I thought the store opened at 9 am, but I showed up at 10 am to discover that they had just opened their doors 5 minutes before I walked in. Hooray for me!!! I could not believe the selection and I could not believe how cheap everything was! Two out of the 4 princess dresses and the princess shoes were Disney brand. They looked brand new or almost brand new.
All of these costumes ranged in price from $1.00 to $5.99!!! I paid less for 10 items this year than I paid last year for Luke's Buzz Lightyear costume! Way to go Mommy!!! Can I just tell you how my children's mouths fell open when they saw their new costumes??? They screamed and jumped up and down and immediately tried them on. They have since changed outfits 5 times each day since we bought them.

As soon as little Ashlynn puts on each dress, she stands up and throws her arms in the air and twirls as fast as she can. It is so adorable!!! She saw Dora do it once when Dora turned into a princess. Ashlynn thinks she has to do it everytime to become a princess too.
So excited!!!
This one still has the price tag on it.
Yah, I think they are pretty dang happy right now:)

Grandma Fern turns 90!!!!!

Grandma Fern is an amazing woman and she turns 90 this December! All of her family members decided to throw her a party early because we all know how crazy the month of December can be with the Christmas rush and crazy weather. Gma Fern still takes line dancing classes and does all her own gardening and canning.
Aunt Kris-Kris (that's what the kids call her) giving cart rides around the yard and garden.
Ben's family.
His sisters Kay and Beth and his mother, Carolyn flew out from Tennessee to attend the party. It was so fun to visit with them. Kristen lives with Gma Fern so we get to visit with her frequently and Ben's brother, Ron, was the only one not able to attend.
Another photo of the Purcells.
'Primpris Ashlynn' (that's how she says it) waiting for her carriage ride.
Ben had so much fun visiting with his sisters, mother and grandma. We all had a great weekend and the weather was unbelievable. What a fun weekend!!! We are sad it is over. Happy (early) Birthday to a wonderful woman and grandmother!!!!