Our door is always open

There's a cute little Primary song that goes something like this:

Our door is always open
To our friends who pass this way.
We're always glad to welcome a friend
When he passes along our way.

I hope you know that I feel the same way. We had so much fun with our dessert night last night & we were so glad to have so many dear friends in our home. We had a steady stream of visitors from 5 pm until 10:30pm. Amazing! We have been so richly blessed to be surrounded by wonderful people here and will miss them so much.

No matter where we are or will be, you are always welcome in my home. (Unless you are a creepy stalker reading this.) I'm glad we have email and facebook to keep track of friends near and far. If you find yourself in our area, let me know! I mean it!

We were overwhelmed by the love and support and offers to help that we received yesterday at church and last night. Seriously! My mom always told me to leave everything better than I found it. I hope I have done that here and helped in some way that will be long-lasting. We have grown to love our neighbors as we have served together, worked together and received love and acts of service in our times of need.

I didn't know that our house could hold that many people or that much joy at once!

One Last Dessert Night

As our time here draws to a close, we are having one last dessert night this Sunday. I think I have mentioned our dessert nights before. We invite a few families at a time over for dessert on a Sunday night and let the kids play while the adults talk & get to know each other better. We usually invite a new family that recently moved in and a few families that we think would be a good fit for them to come at the same time. (I have this thing for match-making.)

This Sunday, we invite all our friends in the area to come say "See you later." Come over any time after 5pm. If you'd like to bring some food to contribute to the party that would be great, but not required. Mostly, we want to get to say good bye to as many of you as possible.

If you need more info, let me know.

Start dessert night in your area. It has been such a blessing to have so many neighbors in our home. We didn't make it to everyone, as we had to stop for a while after Eliza was born, but we made so many new friends. Step out of your comfort zone and immediate circle of friends. There are so many wonderful people all around!

From Lydia- for posterity's sake

Lydia just told me a very serious story in her most serious voice.


 Name changed to protect the innocent.




 "Mary used to have staples in her bum. They came out and now she just has a big crack there, 


so we can't do flips anymore. She's ok though, since she always wears pants."





I really had a hard time not laughing...

A new find

I found a blog I had never seen before & I'm loving it. You've probably all seen it, but I'm going to share anyway. It's called Your Home Based Mom.

One thing I loved right away was a recipe I want to try- enchilada quiche. Maybe it's the hcg diet I'm doing right now, but it sounds so good to me!

As you gear up for the holidays, check out her series of tips for feeding a crowd. Whether it's your family party, Ward party, Relief Society dinner, PTA luncheon or a rockin' block party, have big parties! They're more fun!

Look at these fun things from her Super Saturday!

When you've got some time, go look! You'll want to stay a while!

Today

Today  This week has been really stressful on the house selling/ buying/ moving front. Strange things have happened like the inspector showing up with no notice on the precise day that my house was the messiest it has been since before we listed it, finding out that the house we are buying is going to take longer than we thought, and driving to Saratoga Springs to look at a rental house for our mid-range plan, only to have the lady renting now refuse to let us in. Awesome. Today we were supposed to have our appraisal, the time got changed after the appraiser should have already been here, and then when he did come, he didn't bring his key to the lock box. I was gone as directed, so I couldn't let him in. We have to reschedule & start over. I was not a happy camper. If you saw my facebook post, now you know why... Our agent, Natalie, has been so great & is taking good care of us. It's the crazy things beyond our control that make me nuts. (Me, a control freak? Never...)

Anyway, today my sister and  I took our kids to Gardner Village to enjoy the fun Halloween atmosphere & kill time while the appraiser was{not} at my house. Part of the fun & tradition of GV is getting lunch at the Naborhood Bakery. Yummy! I'm doing another round of HCG, so that was off the menu, so to speak. I also love the cute candy store, Sweet Aftons. No dice. I kept reminding myself that I would be glad tomorrow that I didn't ruin my diet there.

Later we went to McDonalds so the kids could run around for a while longer. Again, I would have normally had lunch there, but just had water and the apple I brought with me.

After I found out about the key mess, I was headed to the grocery store for vegetables. When I got there, my usual reaction to medicate my stress with food was a struggle. Have you ever had the chocolate chip cookies from Smith's bakery? They can cure many ills. But it went and bought a new flavor of gum instead.

Tonight for Relief Society we had a progressive dinner. I almost didn't go because I knew I wouldn't be eating with everyone, but I really wanted to go visit with the great ladies in my ward. I ate before I left & took my apples slices with me. I ate apples while we visited. No cared that I wasn't eating enchiladas and it felt so much better by the end of the night.

On my way home, I was mentally counting the calories that I would have consumed if I hadn't been doing hcg today. Sandwich and/or cookie, fudge, maybe McDonalds, cookies or candy bar at Smiths, chips, salsa, enchiladas, salad, and an assortment of desserts at RS. Wow. It would have been a very bad food day. I thought to myself, "This must be how people with self-control feel." Sad, but true. It was by no means a typical day for me, but I would have not given it much of a thought to enjoy all that food.

And the Diet Coke I would have consumed today! Let's not go there.

I'm so glad I stuck to my plan. I am worth it!

Have I ever told you...

...I have a wonderful husband! He's so perfect for me and my family. I am constantly reminded of that, and I thought I'd let world know, too.

The above picture was taken at the Salt Lake International Airport as I was leaving for San Jose, California, where I spent 18 months as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I met & dated Tim after he had served a mission in Arkansas. We dated for a while & then I left on my mission. He waited for me and supported me and I treasure that time as sacred. I have every letter he wrote to me during that time. (We couldn't call or email each other.) I treasure those letters! Who else these days has written correspondence from a loved one for that length of time? He still writes me cards and notes and is so supportive and patient with me!

But, the reason for this specific post right now, is so I can document another wonderful thing he does. He is so devoted to his parents, grandparents and siblings. He grew up around the corner from his paternal grandparents and spent a LOT of his childhood on the farm with his grandpa. His grandpa is now in his 90s and struggling. It torments Tim that he isn't close enough to help daily, the way he saw his dad & grandpa do with his great grandpa.

When Grandpa was brought to Utah Valley Regional Med Ctr a few years ago, Tim & I got there as the ambulance was pulling up to the doors and Tim didn't leave his side. When Grandpa got Life-flighted to Salt Lake a few months ago, Tim was waiting for him when he landed. He took time off work to sit with Grandpa for days when it looked like it might be the end.

Grandpa is now back in Moroni and his children are taking care of him around the clock. Tim took a day off a few weeks ago to spend the night and help for a few days. We got a call last week to see if Tim could help again and he gladly cleared his schedule to be there. He spent two days there doing anything and everything Grandpa needed with patience, dignity and love.

Tim, you are amazing! I love you!

Treats during General Conference

This weekend is special to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is our semi-annual general conference where we listen to talks from the leadership, apostles and prophet of our church. If you'd like to know more about that, feel free to ask, or check out www.lds.org.

While we listen from home as a family, we try to have some fun treats to enjoy while we do. Here's what we're making this afternoon.

(We call them Janika cookies, others call them Peanut Butter Bars)

½ cup butter or margarine
½ c sugar
½ c brown sugar- firmly packed
1 egg
½ c peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 c flour
1 c oatmeal

Cream together first four ingredients. Mix in vanilla and peanut butter. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. If dough is too sticky, add more oats or flour. Gradually mix them into peanut butter mixture. Spread dough into an ungreased cookie sheet. (11x13) Bake at 325 for 12 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE.
Cool slightly. Spread thin layer of peanut butter over entire thing. Cool completely. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting. (I like a fudge-type frosting on this.)