Happy 1st Birthday Elizabeth

Happy Birthday Lizzy!!!
Today Elizabeth turned 1 year old! We started the day with the traditional orange rolls for breakfast and then sent Amanda off to school. Katrina was sick again today and stayed home with us. When dad got home we had a fun dinner of a grown up version of mac and cheese. I diced some chicken and added it to the
homemade macaroni. We topped it with sliced tomato's and the kids ate it up. (you have to have kid friendly food for a 1 year old party right?) All during dinner she was reaching for the cake and boy was she surprised when as we were singing Happy Birthday we put it right on her tray. Some kids hesitate before getting
their hands all dirty, but she must be used to fighting
for everything she gets because she only looked at us once before she dug in. She used both hands and put the cake in as fast as she could. The top picture shows what she was able to get through in just a minute or two. After we washed her up and opened presents, she got a new outfit and a yellow spider that says and shows the letters of the alphabet. The last picture is of
her in her new swimsuit that Grandma got her and her new book. It appears that she likes the book the best and keeps fighting to get it from her sisters. All in all it was a great day and as you can see Katrina is feeling much better tonight.

A new twist on an old favorite

So I came across a recipe that builds on dad's macaroni and tomato's. We call it chili mac and it is delicious

I cup elbow macaroni ( I use Barilla plus because it is multigrain and it tastes the same)
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey breast
1/2 med onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 15-16 oz kidney beans ( we use pinto and black as well depending on what I
have in the cupboard)
1 large can tomatoes chopped and drained
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheese. ( you can use 2% cheese that is less fat and it is still
wonderful)

Cook pasta according to package directions
while past cooks, heat a LARGE skillet (or cut it in half and it might fit in a normal skillet) cook meat and next 5 ingredients and cook until meat is fully cooked.
add the beans and pasta and tomato sauce and cook until completely heated. add the cheese just before you serve for a fun and healthy dinner.

I tried this the other day and it reminded me so much of dads macaroni and tomato that I thought you would all enjoy this version as well. Let me know what you think

The Death of President Gordon B. Hinkley

Last night like many of you we heard the news that our beloved Prophet had passed away. This was bittersweet news in that he was dearly loved and will be missed by us all, and was also reunited with his Father in Heaven and his sweet wife. As I sat down to explain to my girls that the Prophet had died, they once again showed such faith when they asked when he would be resurrected =) They have been watching Lazarus Lives and want to know why Jesus doesn't resurrect us all after a few days "why do we have to wait". After I told them where he was and that his "honey" (that's what they call Steve or I when referring to the one who is not there ie Mom where is your honey or mom did your honey do that for you) was with him they were happy and wanted to know if Joseph Smith would be the prophet again.=) I got out a picture of President Monson and said that this would probably be the new Prophet. That was that and they were fine. Isn't it wonderful to know that even though this great man has died, that the Lords work continues on? I am so grateful for my knowledge that the Gospel is true and that God live and that we can live again and be together forever! I know that this is true with all my heart and it gives me great peace in times like this.

Just for Ryan

My brother Ryan wanted to see my house so here are a few pictures. The first three are the kitchen dining and family room they are all together. I also have a picture of Katrina and Allison's room as well as Amanda's. The last one is a picture of the office, scrap booking, exercise, everything that doesn't have a place room. It is never clean and this picture is actually better then most days. I didn't include our bedroom or the babies as they were occupied when I took all the photos. =) Hope you enjoy. If you double click on the pictures you can see more detail.

Simple joys

So it appears that I am the only one who hasn't posted yet this week. Things here have been a little crazy. Elizabeth has been sick again and the only good thing about it is all the cuddle time I have been getting. I feel bad enjoying the cuddle time though when I know how badly she is feeling. She is finally keeping food down and has a lot more energy and is glad to be back playing with her sisters. She still has a cough but that is definitely better then how she has been. Amanda sounds like she is coming down with it too all night she wasn't feeling well and several times we had to give her Tylenol for earaches. This morning she is milking it and is laid out in the front room with her pillow and blanket watching movies, she is most excited that she gets to pick them and that she isn't having to use a ticket to watch it =) oh the little joys in life! Even with all this going on I love being a mom. I love being the one that they call for in the night and love that I can give them the comfort that they are looking for with such simple things as laying next to them and holding them. Life is GREAT

Time on my hands!

I guess I have too much time on my hands. With all the projects I have been juggling it seems like I have nothing to do except post on the blog. Actually I have lots of scrapbooking to catch up on so I guess I better start printing pictures.
Hope you all had a great new year! Love ya all!!!

Amanda was in a school play on the 20th of December. They preformed "Bob Humbug" There were several high school students who did the speaking parts and the kids sang and danced....Well most of them. Amanda pretty much stood there and stared. No smiles or moving at all. She was pretty much scared to death. After the play Santa came and I think the only reason she actually sat on his lap was because he had a stocking full of goodies for everyone that sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for this year. As soon as it was over she was all smiles and so proud of herself for being in the play.

Are they sisters or what?

Steve and I were going through some old photos today and came across this one of Allison (among others) and were amazed at how much alike she and Elizabeth look. Tell us what you think.

Just in case you aren't sure, Ali is here on the bottom.