Meet Frosty the Snowman.

We finally got some good snow around here! It's been dumping on us the past few days. We went out on Thursday to shovel the walks and it was the BEST packing snow I have ever experienced. Right when Benjamin and I went outside Jed got home from work, so we all three had a great time together. Jed and I had a snowball fight... I was dodging all of his speedy and well-aimed snowballs, while fruitlessly trying to get my snowballs to fall within the vicinity of where he was standing. Very sad. I'd like to blame it on the fact that I was wearing his enormous gloves that resembled baseball mitts on my hands, but I know that is just an excuse. Fact is, I've lost every bit of aiming skill I ever had; you'd never know I was on the high school softball team.
At least Jed promised me that he wouldn't dodge a snowball if it DID come near him. I should have been offended, but I was just grateful. :)
At one point, Benjamin ran up to Jed, got 'in his face', and yelled, "Don't throw Mama!" He didn't think Jed was being very nice by throwing snowballs at me. I thought that was so funny! Unfortunately, Benny didn't stick up for me long... Jed got him to join his team and sent him after me with a snowball. :)
We also built a good-lookin' snowman. I have a picture of Benjamin with a snowman for every winter of his life so far, this being the third. It's officially tradition!

Miracle of miracles, I got Benjamin to look at the camera for a picture. (The picture on the left was actually from today, when we went out again to shovel the walks.)

I liked this picture because it shows our little house in the background. What a cute little family I've got. (Of course Eliza was happily sleeping in a warm cozy bed at the time.)

saying "my kids" still seems trippy

Here are some recent pictures of our cute kids. We are starting to get into the groove of having two little ones around.

So fun....

Not so fun.... :)

My sweet friend from Kirksville, Pattie, made Eliza and Ben little hooded towels. Don't they look all snuggly in their new towels? Ben loves his. If he ever balks at taking a bath I remind him that after his bath he will get to snuggle inside his new warm soft towel, and then he always gets into the tub happily. :) Thank you, Pattie!

"Sorry, Benny, we are all out of milk.... That's not milk; that's buttermilk.... No, Benny, I don't think you would like buttermilk."

I've been out of milk for a few days now.... A "quick trip" to the store around the corner is no longer a quick trip.... There's much more that goes into getting out of the house these days.

Anyway, this morning Benjamin wanted waffles, so I looked through my recipes to see what I could make without milk. I decided on Applesauce Pancakes, and I replaced the milk with buttermilk. They turned out yummy! As you can tell, Benny was happy with the results. :)

Sisters' Cafe

Introducing my new cooking blog - The Sisters' Cafe! That's right - my sisters and I have created it together, and with five of us contributing (come on, Mindy!) there's something new on there nearly every day. Yum yum delicious. The link is on my blog list on my right sidebar: sisterscafe.blogspot.com. I hope you guys visit and check out our mouthwatering creations!

Happy Valentines Day!

valentines activities

Last night we all went to a "Fun with Food" activity at the Library together. Benjamin loved the smoothie he got to make. And here is a photo of me last night with Eliza. When I looked at her in the mirror she just looked so tiny snuggled up on my shoulder, so I asked Jed to take a picture of her. (The picture didn't do it justice - in real life she looks so itsy-bitsy.)
She is just such a little newborn still. I love it!




Here is Benny this morning with Eirik, snarfing down chocolate Valentines cupcakes. Melody hosted a fun Valentines playgroup this morning. I had to coerce Benjamin to take this picture with me, showing the Valentine he made for Jed. Notice it has "BYU" written on it. When I asked him "Do you want to write Happy Valentines on the card?", he said he wanted to write, "BYU! Go Cougars!"

he actually performed for the camera

There was a time last November when "Praise to the Man" was Benny's favorite song. He knew all the words then and wanted us to sing it with him constantly. He moved on to other favorite songs although he still likes it. The other night Jed and Ben were playing with his trains in his room and Benjamin started to sing this song to himself. He sang from the beginning to the end over and over without help, and so Jed got the video camera to tape it. The only thing I regret is that Benjamin isn't really singing for most of it (he is just saying the words). He is actually really good at keeping to the melody and singing on key. It's impressive!

I think it's hilarious how Jed was egging him on to jump off the bed. When Jed gave him an 'out' Benny immediately sat down and got off the bed. You can tell he was so torn between not wanting to jump and Jed's 'peer pressure' to jump. :)

the latest...

Our first picture of Benjamin and Eliza together. Eliza is now 4 weeks old. She is still so little, yet she has already grown so much! This picture makes her look bigger than she really is because of the layered clothes.

And a few more pictures of when my mom and Brittany came to visit when Eliza was 2-3 weeks old.

A Tribute

I watched the funeral for President Gordon B. Hinckley yesterday. I wanted to watch it because I loved him, respected him, and will always have a special place in my heart for him. But I didn't expect to feel so inspired and uplifted by listening to the speakers and watching the tribute "In His Own Words." Afterwards, I left feeling determined to be more committed to the Savior, to stand a little taller in the gospel.... I won't share all my thoughts here, but I am so thankful for the life President Hinckley lived. A life that truly showed the way to Jesus Christ. His example stands as a beacon to me. I feel so much gratitude to him.

"I take in my hand the Book of Mormon. I read its words. I have read Joseph Smith's explanation of how it came to be. To the unbelieving it is a story difficult to accept, and critics for generations have worn out their lives writing books intended to refute that story and to offer other explanations than the one given by Joseph the Prophet. But to the open-minded, this critical writing has only stimulated them to dig deeper; and the more deeply they dig, the greater the accumulation of evidence for the validity of Joseph Smith's story. Still, as has been demonstrated for a hundred and fifty years, the truth of the Book of Mormon will not be determined by literary analysis or by scientific research, although these continue to be reassuring. The truth about the origins of the Book of Mormon will be determined today and tomorrow, as it has been throughout the yesterdays, by reading the book in a spirit of reverence and respect and prayer."
(President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Praise to the Man," Ensign, Aug. 1983, p. 4)

I heard about the "Hinckley Challenge" from my sister, Melanie. This website, http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/, has been set up as a way to honor President Gordon B. Hinckley. Here's the challenge: "President Hinckley often stressed our making the Book of Mormon part of our lives. He was 97 when he passed away, and we would like to celebrate his life and teachings by reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days."
Well, I'm doing it. I'm going to accept the "Hinckley Challenge" and read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. I think if I kept this goal a secret, I would never reach it. So, I'm recording this goal so that I am accountable to someone... anyone. Just the fact that someone out there knows that I made this goal will help motivate me. I know, I know, I'm feeling reckless! I'm scared to death that I am going to fail miserably, but that fear has often kept me from making and reaching difficult goals (that is, goals that are difficult to ME). Sometimes I feel like I am a person with great intentions... but that's it. So this post is my attempt to help myself accomplish something I want to. So here goes!