Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Mother Teresa

I found this on a friend's blog this morning and fell head over heels absolutely in love with it!

I ALWAYS love a little Mother Teresa wisdom.

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you find happiness people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world your best and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.

It never was between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

Give the Best Gifts

My fabulous friend Carly left this little bit of inspiration on her blog that I am so in love with that I must share. It's 2 weeks till Christmas, so to all you crazy gift givers out there, we love you, but don't stress yourselves out! Enjoy the season.

"Christmas gifts should be in memory of the divine gift--the life of Jesus Christ. His gift gave us eternal life; our gifts should enliven with joy those who receive them. His gift was the sacrifice of his earthly life, our gifts should represent personal sacrifices on our part." --John A. Widtsoe

Sunday

We are sick. Sick with colds, the kind that make you cough and cough until you almost throw up. The kind of cold that makes your head pound with every cough. We stayed home from church today. Daddy is the only one not sick. He has left on travel this afternoon and will be gone all week. I made bread for him to take with him, per his request. I made cinnamon swirl bread, large and small loaves, and cinnamon rolls. I have a new method. I sprinkle my counter with cinnamon sugar and then roll the dough out on it, and then put butter and cinnamon sugar on top. Then I roll it and it has the tasty cinnamon goodness on both sides. It's pretty tasty, I must say, and makes really good toast! This week I cooked a turkey from its frozen state. I wasn't sure about it, but the good old Internet came through for me and not thawing the turkey is actually recommended by the govt. food people and the turkey hotline. Who knew? Anyway, it of course yielded much turkey, so today I made Tex-Mex Turkey soup. Very tasty! It's basically a variation on taco soup. The salsa bottle slipped while I was adding it, per the recipe, so it's kinda spicy, but maybe it will clear out all the goopiness from my cold. Kelsey gobbled it up. I diluted it a little with some water so it wouldn't make the steam come out of her ears. She's so funny. Such an independent little sass, but still wants to nurse constantly throughout the day. I've been toying with the idea of weaning her, but I receive such fabulous physical side effects myself, that I have serious reservations. Plus, everything that ends with Kelsey is really the last I'll experience, since she's the end of the baby road for me. Everything is a little harder for me to give up with her than with Jeremy. I got very melancholy taking down the crib. Sometimes I feel so happy they are growing up and becoming less dependent on me, cause it can be exhausting, but the little babies are so cuddly and fun to hold. My children are very precious to me, in a way that is hard to explain to anyone that never struggled to get pregnant. Tonight I'm thankful that we get the First Presidency Christmas devotional on our TV at home. There's no way we're making it to the Stake Center tonight. As I turned the BYU channel on to get ready for the broadcast, I caught a talk by President Eyring. I will leave you with a quote that struck me.

"The most important and most difficult trial for us all is to become clean and know that we are."

-President Henry B. Eyring

Happy Holidays!!!

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November, Part Deux

Thanksgiving week was full of fun! My cute cousin Katie came down with her family to go to Disneyland. Every time I see them I wish we lived closer to them. They are some of the nicest people I know. Our kids piled on Christmas Mickey Kelsey and her little girl are born in the same month. They play cute together. My cute kids! The kids had fun on Tom Sawyer's Island. Thanksgiving Day we went to visit my mom and dad and grandma. My sister and her little girl came too. Jeremy got to read the book to grandma that she'd given him and show her how much he's learned. Kelsey got her picture taken in the family high chair. It's over 100 years old. It was nice to talk to my mom. I don't get to see her very often. On our way home we stopped by our friend's house to drop off some baby clothes and got to visit with the Greer/Huffaker/Ireland family. So fun to see them! I wish I'd taken a picture, so I just stole this one off FB. Then we drove home and went to our neighbor's house for dessert and fun. The kids had fun with this cool toy. Friday we went to the park for a family photo shoot! Thanks so much to my awesome SIL Kathryn for taking our pictures, and Jared too! She's fixing the lighting on them and I can't wait to see them all done, but here's just one. Kelsey stepped in dog poop and then got it on David and I so we went home to change and then took our photographers to Mimi's for dinner afterwards. Yummy. They brought me the wrong soup by mistake so I got another soup for free! On Saturday we had a Jenkins family Thanksgiving. Kathryn made place settings for everyone with these cute lollipop turkeys. Kelsey tried to eat her lollipop with the wrapper still on. Silly girl. We all had fun holding our new nephew, Chase.Kelsey loves babies. It was Chase's blessing day as well, and he got blessed in the same little outfit Jeremy was blessed in almost 7 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long. With that busy week over, our house has fallen into sick mode. The kids and I have yucky colds and we are lucky to have had a healthy Daddy to take good care of us. Monday he stayed home from work. I was glad he did when Jeremy came to me wanting to make a paper boat. Daddy helped him and they had fun floating it in the bathroom sink.

Happy December to everyone! I'm sure this month will be filled with fun adventures as well!

November, Part 1

A couple weeks ago I took the kids to visit my sister and her family in San Diego. We had a lot of fun hanging out, eating yummy food, and going places together. David even got to come down on the last day and eat yummy tacos with us. We got to visit my grandfather. Jeremy loves to play in their backyard. Here's my cutie patootie niece getting ready for family pictures. I got to take their pictures this year for them and it was so fun! Daddy had the next day off so we went to Disneyland! They are all decorated for Christmas. It's beautiful. One of our favorite holiday attractions is the Haunted Mansion all decked out Nightmare Before Christmas style. Daddy had fun taking pictures of Kelsey while I took Jeremy on a big ride. She's learned how to say "cheese." But only when she wants to of course. Playing peek-a-boo with Daddy and his hat. That Saturday was the last game of the soccer season. The kids love to run through the tunnel of people who came to cheer them on. We missed the team picture because it was on Sunday, so I told David to have the kids pose with their banner. This week we had the soccer team party at our favorite pizza place. Jeremy had fun playing the arcade games. We had fun playing with Kelsey.Jeremy was so excited to get his trophy! He kept asking me when he was going to get it. They gave David a little coaches trophy too. Kelsey liked it and screamed when I took it away from her. I've been wanting to move Kelsey out of our room because we couldn't go in there when she was sleeping. Since bunkbeds were the eventual goal, we decided to get them now. I found an awesome deal on Ebay! Thanks to Grandma who gave us some Christmas money to help buy them!We organized and counted all the screws. David graciously let me help. ;) First one together. Now the top. Ta Da! Jeremy loves them and was so excited to sleep on the top bunk. Kelsey has been doing great sleeping on the bottom with her bed rail to keep her all tucked in and safe.I love these cute surf sheets I found on Ebay for a great deal! And finally, Thursday night/Friday morning was the movie we'd been waiting for - NEW MOON!!! I painted my toenails blood red with sparkles just like Edward! I broke out my red feather boa. I went with some friends to the midnight showing. We made matching shirts that said Bite Me. Thanks ladies, it was so much fun! Can't wait till next year!

Octoberfest

So we've been home from Disneyworld for a month already and I have been the laziest of bloggers, so here's the October recap. My favorite thing about October is that it's Marie Callender's pie month! We had pies for birthdays and pies just because! I LOVE PIE!!!

My next favorite thing in October is our annual visit to the pumpkin patch. Our traditional pumpkin patch we go to every EVERY year was booted out by a new pharmacy. What? It seems like they're on every corner. We tried out the Seal Beach Pumpkin Patch, and it was pretty good.
Playing the Pumpkin Drums

Daddy and his girl

The cutest little pumpkin in the patch

Me and my boy

Jeremy wanted to go on the rides. They were so expensive! We let him choose one and he chose the big slide. It did look like fun!

Kelsey must taste everything.

Jeremy the Scarecrow

I love the way the sun hits their hair and makes it golden.

On Columbus Day, Daddy had the day off so we went to Disneyland. Jeremy loves the Great Mickey Pumpkin.

Run Away! She loves to look at the characters but doesn't like to get too close.

I love this picture of Daddy and his kids! They sure love him.

Waiting while Daddy and Jeremy went on the roller coaster. There they are in the first row for Jeremy's first ride on California Screamin'. Jeremy got chosen to play with the green army men. They were fun. Round and round and round they go! That night we celebrated Grandma's birthday at the Rainforest Cafe and then took her into Disneyland for some rides and fireworks! Daddy injured his leg playing racquetball so he was home with us for a day. It was fun to have him home all day with us and it was nice for Kelsey to have a playmate while Jeremy and I did school. I told Daddy he could stay home every day, but he convinced me that he really does need to go to work.

Hey, I can dream, right?

The next Thursday night I took Jeremy to Disneyland for a little Mama/Son date. It was great. He had lots of fun with his lightsaber. We went on some rides and then found a place for the fireworks!

They are awesome! The Halloween fireworks show is the best I've ever seen! My all-time favorite!
The line at the ice-cream shop was so long that we came home and made ice-cream sundaes.Then we feel asleep curled up on the couch listening to Daddy read us the scriptures. It was a great night!Soccer season is on! Jeremy is doing better and better every week and is having so much fun! Kelsey is hard to keep off the field. Jeremy got to be player of the game one week and he was SO excited! Grandpa & Grandma come to as many games as they can. It's fun for Jeremy to be on the same team as his cousin. Kelsey enjoys having cousins on the sidelines to play with as well. We got to go to Disneyland with my sister, BIL, and my niece. She and Kelsey both loved the teacups and the carousel.Later, we were on our own and checked out the Jedi show. Kelsey loves to sit with her big brother. She also found a little boy to love on. His mom actually used one of our hair bands to make a ponytail on top of his head to get the hair out of his eyes, so they had matching head sprouts! Later we met my sister's family at Hometown Buffet to celebrate this boy's birthday! He and Jeremy both had fun making and eating big bowls of chocolate ice cream! Our ward Halloween party was fun for the kids. Jeremy liked playing the games and winning the little prizes. Kelsey liked standing on the stage with the big kids for the never-ending costume contest. I had to take her down finally cause she was running all over the place. We had a fun surprise when my BIL and SIL showed up from Utah at the party. We love them and don't get to see them very often. Jeremy was excited to tell his uncle all about something, probably Star Wars. I finally broke down and we drove to Irvine to where our pumpkin patch had moved. It was so nice to be there. We measured the kids against the How Tall this Fall Scarecrow, as is our tradition.

Kelsey laughing at Daddy. Jeremy enjoying his free bounce in the bounce house thanks to the coupon they had online. Love it! Group Hug! I love that my kids are always up for a squeeze! Cuties with the Giants We had a special treat and went to Chick-fil-a after the patch. YUMMY!!! We lucked out and hit the Friday night promotion. We can go back any time till the end of the year and redeem our receipt for the same meal we ordered that night for FREE!!! LOVE IT!!! Kelsey is way into dunking in the BBQ sauce. On Halloween night we went to our friend's party. Here's my dragon and fairy princess. Kelsey loved this dog dressed up as a chicken that we encountered while trick-or-treating.

My poor niece was having foot pains and so David carried her around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat. When we got back we went to the backyard spook alley. You can see how Kelsey felt about it. I actually screamed louder than everybody. But it was fun, and I was proud of Jeremy for going through it. Here he is winning the prize for putting the nose the closest on the Jack-o-lantern. Great job baby!

It was a super fun, busy month and I am ready to move on to new adventures!

Tagged!

I was tagged by my friend Brenda who could possibly be my really great friend Brenda but I never get to see her! Here in totally random order are 10 totally random things you may or may not know about me.

1. I have a hard time leaving the house. I like to go places, but I hate getting ready and refuse to go anywhere not put together. Once I'm dressed and hair and makeup done and out of the house I don't want to come home cause I may never leave again! LOL

2. I was homeschooled from 2nd grade on and am trying my hand at it with Jeremy. I have discovered it is WAY harder than I ever imagined and hats off to my mom who had to teach me!

3. When something I love is on sale I feel like I need to buy every single one of whatever it is on the shelf. I have come home with 2o boxes of brownie mix because I just couldn't leave any there at the store.

4. I changed my major so many times in college, from child development to dance, to floral arranging, to interpreting for the deaf, that it took me almost 10 years to get a 2 year degree in general studies. I consider my college degree a complete waste of my time and money.

5. I love disposable diapers. When I got pregnant with Kelsey I was so excited to buy diapers! I started stocking up on them and telling people it was financially smart to get a supply ready now, but really I just love them. I think it's because I was raised with cloth and so disposable seem very luxurious to me, but consequently I love changing Kelsey's diapers!

6. I am terrified of losing my children and have a paranoia about them being in anyone else's care but my own. They never ride in anyone else's car except for the rare trip with Grandma.

7. It really bothers me when people label me as the bossy controlling wife. David hates making decisions and I don't want to sit around so I just decide. He likes me to make lists and will do anything I ask him to do. I am thrilled when he decides something and I try to go along with it since it's so rare.

8. I can talk to just about anyone and always amaze my husband by how many people I strike up conversations with when I go places. I can never figure what I do wrong though, because as much fun as people have with me at first, I can't seem to keep lasting friendships. I have no close friends beyond my sisters.

9. My parents were married 3 weeks and managed to conceive me. As much turmoil as this has brought into my life, I would never trade it, for the wonderful family members I gained from that union.

10. I would rather give up chocolate for the rest of my life than my computer. AHHHH, the horror! I am seriously addicted to all the things I do on the computer! Facebook, games, blogs, and all my thousands of pictures.

Okay, I tag Cherish, Kyla, Mindy, Kathryn! Love you guys, can't wait to read about you!

Disneyworld!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Disneyworld! In May we won those free airline tickets from JetBlue to go wherever we wanted. We thought about all the places we wanted to go and decided that Disneyworld would be the best choice for our family! It turned out that they were having a special promotion that if you stayed in one of their hotels you got your meals for free! It was awesome! We each got one casual meal, one snack and one sit-down dinner a day. We were never hungry even with all that walking! It was great! The flight there was great! Jeremy was a professional traveler as always. I'd take 50 of him on a trip! Kelsey read the safety instructions... and was excited to be on board. We only had 3 seats, but lucked out and had both sets of seats to ourselves. That was great so Kelsey had more room to be her own busy self. Cute kids with their matching shirts. Random TV watching on the plane. Stretching her legs between the 2 legs of the flight. We layed over in Austin for about 20 minutes but didn't switch planes. Jeremy got to meet the pilot and that sweet man let Jeremy sit in his seat. So exciting for a little boy! Look Daddy! Welcome to Orlando! This screen at the airport was interactive. When you touched it, it rippled like the ocean waves. The first night we stayed at the Residence Inn and went to church the next morning. The temple is right across the street and I love it. It's so pretty and I was excited to see it again! My cute kids at the temple. They humor their mother and let me take lots of pictures.Me and my boy Daddy's girl
It started to pour so we had to leave. After church we checked into our Disney Hotel. We stayed at the All Star Sports Resort. It is one of 3 budget-friendly hotels at Disneyworld. The housekeeping staff were so creative with the towels. Our first morning at the resort we headed over to go on my favorite ride, Expedition Everest! It is so awesome! Here's our family in front of the ride that takes you forwards and backwards through the snowy mountain to meet the Yeti! AAAAAHHHH!!! It's so cool! We saw the Finding Nemo Musical which was sooooooo good! The music was really great. I hope they bring it to Disneyland someday. Dino Sue, our favorite T-Rex. Funny how I always think of T-Rex's as males. That park is beautiful with all the water and bridges, and foliage. I did the limbo, fun. Jeremy eating his Mickey ice cream sandwich. He had one every day. Live it up boy!Kelsey loved the ducks. My sweet boy liked watching them as well.At Hollywood Studios, Jeremy liked the replica of Grauman's Chinese Theater. He especially liked finding C3P0's footprints and wanted to know where R2D2's were. They had some really fun shows. The Indiana Jones show was fun and showed us how they set up a movie scene with explosives and fake acting. We enjoyed our ice cream sandwiches. The ice cream cart's computer was broken and they couldn't take our snack credits so they were doubly free! We thought it was funny. The car stunt show was another movie set-up and it was really cool to see all the tricks they use! Of course they told us not to try this at home. Darn! Kelsey thoroughly enjoyed her ice cream that night at the Hollywood and Vine restaurant. Good to the last drop! After dinner we watched the Fantasmic show. It was so awesome because they have a theater there that holds 9,900 people, so it's pretty easy to see the show there compared to Disneyland. So great! One of the nights we were there we ate at the Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at Downtown Disney. It was so good. Dessert was especially fantastic. This little white chocolate cheescake pudding number was so good I could eat it everyday! It was so fun to try new restaurants and foods we wouldn't normally get because they were free on the meal plan! We spent a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom. It has so many fun and familiar things, and some of our new favorites as well. It was fun to see the park all decorated for Halloween. Going into the Magic Kingdom, their castle justs amazes me. It's huge, and beautiful, and everything I think a castle should be. Just a warning, you'll see it a lot on here! The castle at twilight. Go space rangers, to infinity and beyond! Autopia! Racing with Daddy, Jeremy won of course. ;) They had fun activities in the streets. Jeremy played ball with the train station workers. Hopscotch Hula Hoops Cute kids waiting to go on Haunted Mansion There were these bushes everywhere with beautiful purple berries so I made our family take a picture with them. They humored me.Carousel Cuties Kelsey and her Daddy loving the train ride togetherOn the ferry to the Magic Kingdom This camel spit on you randomly as you flew by on your magic carpet. DISLIKE! Haha Country Bear Jamboree! Kelsey loved it! Bring it back! People Mover! Another classic. Again with the castle Classic Disney Photo We went to a Character Buffet. Jeremy enjoyed it. Kelsey not so much! Terrified! Good thing there was more chocolate ice cream to appease her.I guess she takes after me. My favorite was the dessert buffet! Mmmmm... The fireworks show was fantastic! Epcot is a new adventure every 100 feet or so with all the different countries featured there. Jeremy had the most fun in Mexico. He loved the drums! Kelsey loved the maracas! The Chinese acrobats amazed me! Viking Jeremy the Fierce! Looking over the water at night. It was so pretty to see all the countries lit up. The water and fireworks show was beautiful. Back at the hotel, the pool felt so nice in all that Florida heat and humidity. I felt like I had been walking around in a hot shower with my clothes on. Yuck! Our last morning as we were getting ready to leave, we used our remaining 6 snack credits to bring the cousins a special Disney treat. Chocolate-dipped Mickey Mouse rice krispy treats. I think it's really a testament to our self-control that they all made it home. Yummy! The bus got us to the airport really early so we explored and had fun. The Harley-Davidson store was a popular stop! Everybody wanted their picture on a Harley. Including us. Waiting to board the plane to go home. It was a fantastic trip. I'm so thankful we were able to go and we can't wait to save our money and go again someday!