Good Morning!

This Easter morning we watched a gorgeous sunrise while we listened to a musical program next to the Boise Temple. The weather was freezing, but it was a wonderful morning to ponder on the life and gift of our Savior.

You can tell how cold it was by looking at Penny's cute little RED nose :) I will post more pictures later of the kids. (i put hair rollers in Penny's hair for the first time ;)

I have enjoyed reading the Ensign for this month. It really is a SPECIAL issue! I would like to write down the welcome message that was written in this issue! WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL ISSUE: When you read the scriptural accounts of His life and ministry, you realize how much Jesus Christ exemplified love. He healed and blessed. He looked past human frailty to see the heart - offering hope, healing, and forgiveness through His ministry, teaching, and great atoning sacrifice. That same Savior, the Son of God lives. He knows our hearts and loves us. He has compassion and desires to bless us. That is the message of this magazine. You will find it in the words of living prophets and apostles, teachings who Christ is and what He offers us. And you will find it in the testimonies of ordinary people whose lives have been blessed by their accepting Christ's invitation to come unto Him, learn of Him, and follow Him. We invite you to study these messages prayerfully, take them to heart, and share them with others -The editors

I drew those pictures onto poster board for sharing time today! I believe in miracles and I know that death is not the end and 'Because Christ lives, we shall live also' Spring time is so symbolic of the Greatest miracle of all, that our Savior was resurrected, He lives! Happy Easter Sunday!

Easter Weekend

I hope everyone has had a beautiful weekend. Last night a wonderful elderly couple in our ward offered to watch our kids so we could attend the temple, what a kind act of service. It is so refreshing to enter the temple and enjoy some peace and quiet ;) Today we have finished some spring cleaning. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner, I love missionaries! And I made a yummy dessert :)

Caramel Brownies

Doesn't that caramel look good?

Recipe for Caramel Brownies:

50 Caramels (14 oz. pkg.)

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Melt until smooth

1 pkg. milk chocolate cake mix

3/4 c. butter melted

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Combine & stir by hand until smooth

1 c. chocolate chips

Grease 9/13 pan. Press 1/2 of batter into pan and bake at 350 for 6 min. Remove from oven. Spread caramel mixture over top then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Crumble remaining dough over top. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min.

ENJOY :)

Does Penny look like me or what?

Penny D. 2008 2yrs.old

Staci D. 1980 2yrs. old

Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter bunny came to our house and left some treats in our mailbox. The kids colored there own bunny bags and hunted for some yummy treats in our backyard!

It's the first day of spring!

PSALM 19 David Testifies: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. There line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

I am grateful for spring time and for the beauty of the earth. Everything truly denotes that there is a God. ' I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world, Heavenly Father created for me and you! '

Simple Pleasures

A little bird delivered two beautiful cards for Dallin and Penny

The Dog peaking out the back door at the bunny is adorable!

Inside the card it reads: May you find lots of eggs and lots of happiness.

I know Dallin will be grinning from ear to ear when he gets to go gather some eggs and candy to put in his little basket. Oh the excitement of being a kid.

Receiving mail is one of those simple pleasures that brings a smile to your face!

Thank You Poppa and MaKey

We Love you too!

Family NIght

The kids had a great time coloring eggs! The Easter Bunny will be coming to our house tomorrow! They're Excited!

24 cents for a box of cereal at Albertson's

This morning I went jogging and we cut our run a little short so we could go to Albertson's at 6 am to pick up our pre-order of cereal. I ordered a year supply of cereal for a total of forty dollars. Incredible deal! Fruit Loops, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Corn Flakes . . . We can survive off of our food storage now :) We have cereal and moo milk!

LUCK!

I hope everyone had a lucky day yesterday. I wore my green lucky slippers I made and my husband was still pinching me ;) I am one lucky gal to have a great hubby!!!

While i am thinking about luck, my husband also spotted a ladybug inside our house on saturday

Ladybug Lore:

*If you find a ladybug in your house, count the number of spots and that is how many dollars you will soon receive. (My husband actually found a two dollar bill on saturday! And the lady bug had two spots :)

*If you find a ladybug in your house you will have good luck! (I have found a ladybug in our house the past two years before spring time. Rather than saying i am lucky, i prefer to acknowledge that i am blessed ;)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

* Irish blessing: May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go!

I am suppose to do Sharing Time in Primary this coming Easter Sunday and I need some ideas! I found an idea at http://www.lds.org/ Sharing Time - Testimony of Easter It's a little program with thoughts, scriptures and songs:

The Easter story is a story of love. Heavenly Father loves us so much that He sent His Son to earth to atone for our sins. Jesus loves Heavenly Father; He was willing to obey Him. And Jesus loves each one of us. He gave His life so that we may be forgiven when we do something wrong and repent. . . . . .

. . .Jesus died and then was resurrected, which means that He lived—and lives—again. We do not fully understand how Jesus can live again, so we think of it as a miracle. There are many miracles all around us that help us understand the resurrection of Jesus.

Winter time is long and dark; The flowers and seeds are sleeping. They wait for the light of the sun to awaken them. The warmth of spring brings them to life again, Like a testimony of the Easter story. A wonderful thing happens in spring—The birds sing, the grass becomes green, The world is awake with the promise of life, Restoring the earth in its fullness.


Song: “Nature’s Easter Story”

Tiny brown buds become blossoms on a tree

Dry bulbs pressed deep into the earth bloom again.

A little egg inside a nest becomes a bird.

From a gray cocoon, hidden beneath a leaf, comes a beautiful butterfly.

These tiny miracles help us to understand the greatest miracle of all, the Resurrection. When the stone was rolled away that Easter day, Jesus had risen from His tomb.

“He is not here: for he is risen” (Matt. 28:6).

I would like to also use these pictures for F.H.E tomorrow, I think it's a great way to explain the Easter Story to our little kids. Please leave a comment if you have any ideas for an Easter themed sharing time.

This year we are starting a new tradition of having our Easter Egg hunt on the first day of spring. The Easter bunny will come and hopefully it will be nice weather so he can hide eggs in our back yard for the first time since we have lived in our house. The first year for Easter it was raining and last year Penny was in the Hospital with Pnemonia. Since we don't have family close by we are just going to have a little potluck with some friends, have the kids make a homemade Easter Bunny bag and then they can follow the foot prints of the Easter bunny to the back yard. We will color eggs for our F.H.E activity. Then on Easter Sunday we want to go watch the sunrise (we are going to wake up the kids instead of them waking us up :) and then at 7:30 am there is going to be a special musical program at the Boise Temple outside. Hopefully it will be a special day focused on the true meaning of Easter.

So, that sums up what we have to look forward to this week!

Good Night Friends and Family

Love ya :)

HAPPY FRIDAY

This is a for real picture, no editing or anything! The lighting caught the white tips on the pedals of the flower and added a neat affect!

Do you celebrate St. Patty's Day?

I do not recall ever reading about the History of St. Patrick. Have you? Why do we wear green on March 17th? At kaboose.com they have a few articles about the History, Traditions and Symbols, check it out ....


What Are the Traditions of St. Patrick's Day? There are many traditions and symbols associated with St. Patrick's Day and Ireland. Here are a handful of the most popular practices.
Shamrock: The shamrock as symbol of Ireland and St. Patrick's Day is partly due to the natural abundance of clover plants in the country, but largely due to its strong association with Christianity. According to Robert Mahony, Professor of English and member of the Center for Irish Studies at Catholic University, legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock to visually illustrate the concept of the Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) when trying to convert polytheistic pagans to Christianity.
"A clover is one plant with three leaves, but the three leaves are necessary to make it [complete]," explains Prof. Mahony. "[In Christianity,] God is three persons, but it's not the same as three gods." The simple analogy is thought to have helped non-Christians understand a fundamental element of the Christian religion, facilitating conversion.
It was through the retelling of this story that the shamrock became associated with St. Patrick and Ireland's conversion to Christianity. As a result, the shamrock is a widely used to commemorate Saint Patrick's Day, and in modern times has been appropriated by secular institutions as a symbol for the Irish.
Four-Leaf Clover: Although clovers are most often found in nature with three leaves, rare four-leaf clovers do exist. Finding one is thought to bring someone extreme luck. The folklore for four-leaf clovers differs from that of the Shamrock due to the fact that it has no religious allusions associated with it. It is believed that each leaf of a four-leaf clover represents something different: first is hope, the second is faith, the third is love, and the fourth is happiness.
Leprechauns: Just what does a mythical leprechaun look like and why are they so special? A leprechaun looks like a little old man and dresses like a shoemaker with a cocked hat and leather apron. A Leprechaun's personality is described as aloof and unfriendly. They live alone and pass the time by mending the shoes of Irish fairies.
According to St. Patrick's Day: Parades, Shamrocks, and Leprechauns by Elaine Landau, the legend is that the fairies pay the leprechauns for their work with golden coins, which the "little people" collect in large pots--the famous "pots of gold" often associated with leprechauns.
If you listen closely for the sound of their hammer you might be able to capture one. If you do you can force him (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal where he's hidden his treasure. Be careful! Do not take your eyes off him for if you do he will surely vanish and your hopes of finding his treasure will vanish with him.
Green: So why do we all wear green?
Probably because you'll be pinched if you don't! School children started this tradition. Green is also the color of spring, the shamrock, and is connected with hope and nature. Historically, green has been a color used in the flags of several revolutionary groups in Ireland and as a result it appears in the official tri-color country flag, adopted in 1919.
In addition to that, Ireland is often called the "Emerald Isle" due to the lush natural greenery found on the island. Says Prof. Mahony, "One of the things that strikes people all the time is how Ireland is incredibly green--it's very far north, but it doesn't get frozen. When people say that 'Ireland has 40 shades of green,' they are right!"
The luck of the Irish Want to be lucky this St. Patrick's Day? Follow this advice:
1. Find a four-leaf clover. 2. Wear green (so you don't get pinched). 3. Kiss the blarney stone. 4. Catch a Leprechaun if you can.
In honor of the festivities we leave you with this Irish blessing: May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go!


Do you know the history of the blarney stone? If you would like to learn some History facts today, i would encourage you to look it up. It is interesting. I would love to go to Ireland someday!

Have you ever found a four leaf clover? I have one framed in my house ;) I have even actually found a 5 leaf clover . . . cool huh! I am one lucky lady :)

Do you wish that you could catch a leprechaun and keep his treasure?

It seems a bit odd to me that we celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

I luv, luv to take pictures of flowers! This is one of the Gerber Daisies with the sun reflecting on it. I think I am going to print out some pictures of these flowers and make my own postcards.

Penny's smiles are contagious :) SPIDER GIRL!

This past week Penny has fallen asleep anywhere for her nap. (pictures -in the family room corner and in the hallway upstairs) Yesterday we went to the park. It was a gorgeous spring day. All the fresh air wiped Penny out. I love spring time - going for walks and playing at the park. We even have pink cheeks from yesterday. The kids were so excited to get out, it has been a bit to chilly and windy the past couple of weeks. So, spring is on it's way. I was also really excited yesterday because on our way to the park I invited an inactive LDS family in my subdivision to come to the park and they came! The Mom is really sweet! I look forward to building a friendship with her!

i made some LUCKY St. Patrick's slippers for my G-ma
and i added some puffy paint on the bottom of the soles so they won't be slippery ;)
i am excited to send her a package. She loves crazy socks and bright colored shoes, I hope she will get a kick out of these slippers.

The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved -Victor Hugo

My sweet heart brought home some beautiful flowers for me yesterday!

Happy Birthday to my oldest sister Marnie

We won't publicly mention how old you are today ;) WOW how time flies! I can't believe it!

I am always sharing stories with my primary girls about how I admire my older sisters. You set a great example for all of us younger kids. The oldest child has a heavy task on there shoulders to plow the way for us youngins. I have a lot of cherished memories with you, you were my second mom as a little girl. Thanks for all the love and support you have given me throughout my life. I am glad that you are my big sister. I love you!

Kraft Foods

I love all the Recipes from Kraft Foods! They are tried and true recipes! Did you know you can sign up for free magazines from them? It's a great deal, with incredible ideas in each issue! You can also check out there web site. SIMPLE and DELICIOUS

The pictures above are just a few ideas of many more you can discover on there site.

* Sleepy Bear Pancakes and Beary Berry Banana Split with Teddy Grahams

* A ray of sunshine bagel

* Cheese and fruit snack Butterfly - CUTE! CUTE!

Peanut Butter Jelly

I need some lunch meal ideas. Lunch is my least favorite meal! It is either PB & J, Tuna, Mac & Cheese or Ramen Noodles - Soup and if the kids are lucky they get fruit ;) Just teasing, they eat plenty of applesauce, oranges, peaches, and bananas . . . Ladies what do you do for your kids?

Here is an idea from my sister, she removes the crust off a slice of bread, then flattens the bread and puts the PB and J on top, then rolls it up. It is a fun twist to the ordinary sandwich, the kids love it. It is also not as messy!

As a kid my G-ma would put PB and Jelly in a bowl and let me mix it together and I LOVED eating it that way. I would lick the bowl clean :)

I had posted a silly song about Peanut Butter Jelly Time but I deleted it, there was an inappropriate link on it that my son clicked on while listening to the song. There are crazy people out there that have to spoil innocent fun.