Happy Birthday Luke!!!

Happy Birthday to our Luke!!! How can you be one already. The time flies so quickly. I remember when you came into this world and how excited we were to have you in our family and now we are already one year later. Here are some pictures to remember your fun day! You love to be on the counter and help me cook. Here you are helping me make cupcakes.

mmmm....this frosting is so good. Luke has recently discovered the joys a chocolate and lets just say that he thinks it is marvelous!!

You were being so silly eating your cupcake that we couldn't resist taking a funny one.

You were so excited to get your toy. What fun it was to watch you explore all the different parts and try to walk around with it. Plus I think your brother and sisters liked it just as much as you did. They had such fun helping you play with it.

I have been thinking these past few days about how quickly life goes and how our children grow so much faster that I think is possible and how I hope that I make their childhood a fun, happy place. I struggle to let go of the normal everyday things (wash, dishes, dust, sweeping, etc.) and just play with my kids. It is so hard for me to sit down and do nothing but help them play with their toys or color a page. Luke has really helped me with that (I still have a long ways to go)
because he would only play if I would sit on the floor with him and then he would be so happy for hours, sometimes, and it has helped let go and try to put off those house chores for awhile and play with my kids. I know they will remember that far more than a clean house all the time. Anyway, just some ramblings. I am so thankful for my children and I hope that I can continue to be a better mom all the time.

Blog Books!

I found this if anyone is interested, it's not printing your blog out but you could still have a hard copy of your it. Plus you can change the layout and choose what to put in it too (atleast from what I read on the sight). Anyway, I thought it was such a great idea. The website is www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook.

Happy Luke-YEAH!!

I have meant to mention that we have had a happy baby for 3 weeks now. It has been awesome. He actually entertains himself now, loves to get into everything and is so happy when his brother and sisters play with him. It is so great! Now if we can only keep him out of the dishwasher. He is constantly climbing ALL the way in and getting stuck. It is quite funny.

Bath-Dos!

Our kids (don't ask me why it is underlining this!!!) love to play in the bathtub and love us to come up with fun things to do. One day they ended up with these awesome bath-dos. I have to say we have some pretty talented hairstylists at our house :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We are very excited for Valentine's Day at our house. Everyone, anyway, but Seth. This picture is what he thinks of kissing and the holiday in general. He just says, "sicky wicky". What a boy!!

Anyway, if any of you are looking for great traditions, especially for kids, you should check out familyfun.com. I have such a great time looking for ideas. Anyway, Happy Valentines Day to all of you :)

So if any of you know me at all, you know that I love to cook and bake. We had this for dinner the other night and it was awesome. We loved it. Give it a try and let me know!

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

• 6 large sweet peppers
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 3 small tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 1/3 cup canned red beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cup cubed Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 can (4-1/4 ounces) chopped ripe olives
• 4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup meatless spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:

Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds; set aside. In a large bowl, combine the rice, tomatoes, corn, onion and beans. Stir in the Monterey Jack cheese, olives, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Spoon into peppers.
Combine spaghetti sauce and water; pour half into an oval 5-qt. slow cooker. Add the stuffed peppers. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.
Cover and cook on low for 3-1/2 to 4 hours or until peppers are tender and filling is heated through. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Ramblings of a Wife

Journal: We had a great weekend. It's amazing when you actually decide to be happy about life that life is really good. I have been having some issues with Sam being gone so much with his new calling and so I have been getting really grumpy when he is gone. The kids then get grumpy, which makes me more grumpy and then when Sam gets home (the good guy still comes home when he knows what awaits him :) I have had a terrible time and cycle goes on. SO yesterday when we got home from church (an hour after it was over because he remembered he had a meeting after church and we only brought one car) I got the kids all fed lunch when I look over and he is sleeping. I was so ticked because I wanted a nap before he left for 3 hours to go to more meetings because Luke had been up a lot during the night and I was tired. Anyway, after I get lunch cleaned up, he wakes up and gets ready and leaves. By this time I am quite mad. I decide that maybe I should read the Ensign while I nurse Luke since I hadn't read my scriptures yet. And good thing because there are some great articles in there. I realized I was being quite selfish and prideful and like I tell my kids, I am CHOOSING to be mad and upset and I can just as easily (that part I'm working on too) be happy. I want him to be able to serve the Lord and I want to be supportive to him so I better shape up and be a good example to my kids. Needless to say when he got home he had a very happy wife, which means happy kids and we had a great afternoon. My goal is to be so much better and like President Eyring said in the last conference, in speaking of serving, "But it is never going to be easy for you or for those you serve. There will always be pain in service and in the repentance necessary to bring the power of the Atonement to change hearts. That is in the nature of what you are called to do. Think of the Savior, whose service you are in. At what point in His mortal life can you see an instance when it was easy for Him? Did He ask easy things of His disciples then? Then why should it ever be easy in His service or for His disciples?" I liked this quote because it helps me "buck up" and get work, just like Pres. Hinckley said is the best remedy.

Seeing the Hand of the Lord

Since this is my journal, I thought I would write some things down so I don't forget them. We are refinancing our house, paying off our furnace and trying to establish a nice savings amount so we have decided to be ultra tight on the budget for the next couple months. I have set some rules for myself and one of those is only going to the grocery 4 times in one month. So we really need groceries right now, but I didn't want to go until Sam got his paycheck, (which is today, but then it still has to clear the bank, anyway...) so I decided I wouldn't go until Monday. Plus, it's been good to go through the cupboards and see what we really have in there. Then the blessing have just come this week. We have had friends invite us over to dinner 3 nights this week, so the milk and cheese just might last us until Monday! It might seem really corny, but it was just evidence to me that the Lord cares about us trying to do what He has asked. (Mom we (really, your grandkids) are not starving, just so you know, just trying to hold off as long as possible to buy groceries).