Friday, November 30, 2007

Some things about me.

My soon-to-be-sister-in-law, Wendi, tagged me to tell 6/7 things about myself.
She is marrying my brother Matt, they have some of their engagement pictures up if you want to see them at

http://www.sloanphotographers.info

1. I went to six elementary schools, 2 junior high schools and 3 high schools.

2. I home-school my children. Could number one be a reason for that, I'm not sure. I do it though because after lots of prayer and deliberation, I can't deny that it is what is right for our family. It is hard and frustrating but also challenging and rewarding. Most people think I'm crazy and some days I believe them but being a mom makes us do crazy things sometimes.

3. I would love to travel the world with my family. I saw this family that prepared financially for a couple of years so they could leave and see the world. They packed minimally, planned very carefully and did service projects and stuff along the way and it just inspired me. Some definite points of interest would be Egypt, France, Jerusalem, Ireland, Azores Islands and New Zealand.

4. I have a terrible habit of staying up late and sleeping in and then telling myself all day long I won't do it again that day. I've never been a morning person.

5. I like to play PlayStation with my hubby. I'm not very good and only play some games but I still have fun.

6. I love having all girls for all the girly stuff in includes. But for the life of me they won't let me do anything to their hair other than an occasional curling. I have to beg and plead and bribe and fight to get a pony tail that will come out about 3 minutes later.

I hope this was enlightening instead of boring. So if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged as well.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Christmas Traditions


Each year, each of our girls get a new Christmas ornament. It has become something they look forward to all year. They each have theme that they choose from: Riley is hearts, Amellia is angels, Claire is stars, and Olivia is snowflakes. We do it this way so that my tree still looks nice and they will each leave with a set that they can just add balls or whatever to. It is lots of fun watching them decide and cherish their pick. Here are this year's additions:

So what is a tradition that you enjoy? Tell me about it!

Self portraits

Here are some self potraits we did today in school.

Riley's and Olivia's

Claire's and mine

Amellia's

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Family Thanksgiving
Awesome Graphics at pYzam.com


We hope you have a wonderful day. We are off to Rexburg for a couple of days.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

One of my Thanksgiving dinner favorites.

This recipe was passed to me by my sister, Emily Neilson, a few years ago and it has become a 'must-have' for our family. The recipe makes enough that I save 1/2 of it and serve it over cheesecake during holiday parties. (Garin has an awesome cheesecake recipe that I will post when we make it this year.) It is also good on turkey sandwiches the next day or with bagels and cream cheese.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.



Strawberry-Cranberry Sauce

12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
10 oz bag of frozen strawberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Boil sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and boil gently for 10minutes. Cranberries will swell and pop. Add strawberries and bring back up to a boil. Mash the berries and keep boiling until thickened.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Here is a thought...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate;
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.


-excerpt from Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech



Watch then read:
So maybe you've seen this video a million times like I have but every time I watch it I get goose bumps and a lump in my throat. It reminds me of the quote above. We are all unassuming to our potential. We all have something to give that may not be to this caliber of talent or easily seen or heard. It maybe be that the sum total of all the little things that we have to give amount to more than any one outstanding thing.

George D. Durrant, “Doing Genealogy: Finding That Glorious, Elusive Condition Called ‘Balance’,” Ensign, Apr 1985, 18

When I was a young man, my sports hero was a man named Robert Mathias. He won the decathlon in the 1948 Olympics and again in 1952.

Mathias ran the 100 meters in 10.9 seconds. The winner covered the distance in 10.4 seconds, a half-second faster than Mathias. In the 400 meters, Mathias’ time of 50.2 was far short of the 45.0 time of the specialized runner. Mathias high jumped 6 feet 2 3/4 inches, some 6 inches less than the man who won the high jump competition for those who had entered just that one event. His javelin sailed 194 feet 3 inches, far short of the 242 feet throw of the man who spent his entire effort in that event.

Bob Mathias wasn’t the best at any one specialized event, but he did each event well enough that when all his scores were added together, his overall score made him the decathlon champion.

Life is much like a decathlon. To fulfill our own potential and to be of service to others requires that we take part in many events. If we attempt to set records in one event, we may fall far short in another. And if we measure our efforts against those of a specialist, we can feel inadequate and even guilty that we don’t do better.

What is one thing you and only you can bring to light and make the world a better place? You are a child of God, embrace it.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Fall Fun

On your mark! Get set!

GO!



After all the rain and snow we had in September and early October we have had a very mild few weeks. Some may even say an Indian Summer. This makes for perfect conditions for playing in the leaves. Riley, Amellia, Claire, and Olivia had a good time the other day with their friends Jordan and Jayven. They would rake, jump, throw and start all over again. Even Max had a good time trying to catch the leaves.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Hallo-weenies




Enjoy these pictures of our Halloween night.