Small Miracle - Believing in Prayer

Wednesday night, Braden went sledding with the Scouts.  Needless to say it was dark and cold.  As I dropped him off, I watched as these young men - probably 15 of them - huddled together in the dark of the night to offer a word of prayer before they started their activity.  I was touched.  As a mother, I hold onto every prayer offered on behalf of my children.

 On his last run of the night, Braden hit this HUGE pot hole on the hill and went flying and then sliding on his face for another 20 feet.  His face got totally scratched up and his glasses broke and fell off.  Quick side note... On Monday, we had just gotten him brand new glasses .... for the umpteenth (sp) time.    Thankfully, Braden was alright.  His face is pretty scratched up and he is a little sore, but he will be fine.  Answered prayer #1.

After recovering, Braden got up and started looking for his glasses.  Luckily, he found the frames and 1 lens.  The other lens was no where to be found.  So, they came home.

Well, the next day (Thursday), after school, Braden and I went to find his missing lens.  I googled the hill and found it on the map - another small miracle.  Once we got to the hill, Braden and I said a prayer together that we would find his lens.  We believe that God is loving and kind and knows our needs.  And surely, if he can create worlds, he can show us where Braden's lens is.  We started combing the hill which was very large.  Honestly, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.  After about 20 minutes of looking and knowing that the sun was going down quickly - I offered another prayer.  We reinacted his fall again and as I said the words, "If your frames and your other lens were here, then so must your missing lens"  I put my hands into the icy snow and pulled out his missing lens.  Answered prayer #2.  Nothing short of a miracle from a loving God who cares enough to answer the simplest of prayers.  We were grateful.  I put the lens back into my pocket, we went back to the car and offered a prayer of gratitude.  

I am grateful for prayer.  

WHAT?

I always regret wearing coats places because once I get to where I am going I then have to keep track of it.   They are bulky, heavy and cumbersome.   Quite often I will justify not wearing a coat because I am "just going into the car and then into the building - where I won't need it anyway..."  Am I the only person who thinks this way?  Well, we finally got our first real snow of the winter and we were headed out yesterday morning to church (of all places).  IT WAS COLD!   And.. still snowing!  So, I grabbed my coat and gloves and was thankful that I had something to keep me warm and dry.  We walked in the door and there was a coat rack right in front of us. Brilliant! "I will hang up our coats so I don't have to drag them all over the church".  After church,  we rounded up the kiddo's and started to get all bundled up to go home.  After getting everybody ready, it was my turn.  BUT... Where is my coat?  NO COAT OR GLOVES TO BE FOUND!  I searched the halls, all of the coat racks, empty rooms.  NO COAT.  What?  No coat?  You mean, somebody STOLE my coat and gloves... and chapstick that was in my pockets, from CHURCH?  You've got to be kidding.  So, I went home without a coat to keep me warm.

Had somebody asked, I would have gladly given them my coat, but now I feel violated and disappointed.  I understand this is a hard time of year and there are so many things to worry about.  So, I will turn to the Saviors example of feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and hope that whoever has my coat REALLY needed it and is WARM this Christmas season.

Now, that I am "coatless" I appreciate more than ever a nice warm coat and the choice I had to wear one.  This morning while taking Braden to school, I wished I had had that "bulky, heavy, cumbersome coat to keep me warm from the cold.  I guess this could be a lesson on appreciating the things that I am blessed with.

Playing Catch Up

Misc. Fun Pictures

Talmage took this picture while driving home from Las Vegas. Beautiful!

Braden at the air show in Las Vegas
Cute picture of Lila
Braden dancing

Heaven shining down on Caleb
Cute Collin

Lila playing Tic Tac Toe with Papa Tam

Braden and Collin having fun on quads and motorcycles

Thanksgiving Fun

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my brother and my sister-in-law. We cooked and cooked and cooked! Finally, around 7:00 p.m. we ate! My brother, Brandon, is an awesome cook and made one delicious and beautiful turkey. It was marinated in a brine with maple syrup over night. While it was cooking, he basted it with a cranberry, maple glaze. So moist and flavorful.

A Grammie Nancy Quilt Original

This is Collin's quilt that he was given by his Grammie Nancy. She makes them for all of the grand children.... and there are 43! At Collin's request, Grammie made a fish, frog and turtle quilt. Collin totally loves it and sleeps with it every night. What a treasure.

Happy Birthday, Talmage!

Talmage:

* The best husband

* The best father

* Bonafide Radiologist

* Unending patience

* Eats whatever I cook

* Gives awesome foot rubs

* The love of my life

Lasik Surgery - A Dream Come True

After wearing glasses and contacts for about 18 years, I decided to get my eyes done. What a miracle! Before the surgery, my right eye was -6.00 and my left eye was a -4.75. In other words, I was blind! I couldn't even see the BIG E on my exam. Now, I am so happy to report that my eyes are 20/20 and 20/15. Every morning I am still amazed that I can see when I first open my eyes. It's awesome!

Look how brave I was being

Halloween Fun!

Carving pumpkins with dad .... and saving ALL the seeds to roast. ;)

Making "Haunted Houses" with Grammie Nancy

Braden the "Baby", Collin the "Ninja" and Lila, "Sleeping Beauty"

So much fun!

Braden Turns 12!

On October 24, Braden celebrated his 12th birthday. He had a great day! In school, he had two huge projects due and he was so excited to turn them in - isn't it always such a good feeling to be prepared?! One of his projects was a power point presentation on "Egyptians". He went the extra mile and made an interactive game while giving his report. It was very inventive and clever. His teacher was so impressed with it, that she is taking it to the district to show what he came up with. He was SO excited!
That night, we went to a steak house for dinner. He was so excited to order an "adult" meal. And... of course it was a big, juicy, steak. We went home to open presents and have cake and ice cream. It was a great day.

Bryce Canyon and Zion's National Park

Culinary Creations

Between Food Network and all of the amazing food blogs out there, I have become obsessed with FOOD! I think it is so fun to create something that not only taste good, but looks pretty too. Don't get my wrong, I am no expert - not even close, but I do love it. The only caveat is I can't stand cooking when my kitchen is not clean and with 4 kids running around, having a clean kitchen is easier said than done... so there is extra motivation to have a nice, clean, tidy kitchen. It makes me feel like my creativity can flow so much more, otherwise I feel
frustrated :(
Here are a few recipes that I have tried recently:
I am hoping to start a food blog soon and I will post recipes on there .... if you were interested.

Breadstick Mummy Dogs and Oozing Monster Apple Mouths

I got this recipe from PickyPalate.com It is a fun, festive meal, and my kids loved it.

6 Grain Oatmeal with Dried Apricots, Cranberries and Toasted Walnuts

What better way to start your day? This is so healthy and filling. You can feel good about this breakfast.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Filling

Danish Aebleskivers

Dip these in a little jam or syrup and you have golden delight!

Homemade Applesauce

My mom came and helped me ....okay, made for me, homemade applesauce. I had every intention of doing the work, but then one child needed to go here, the next child needed to go there ... etc. I sure didn't plan very well. Also, I had NO idea that you had to buy your mason jars early or you can't find them anywhere ... not even Walmart! Finally, after many phone calls, I found the LAST case of jars at a small, local grocery store. Just what we needed to finish the job. Although I was in and out a lot, I will always cherish the memories of spending a day in the kitchen with my mom. Thanks mom!

Egyptian Day

Braden being transformed into an Egyptian for school. All the sixth graders were suppose to dress up - Braden was the only one with a wig.

General Conference Weekend

I love General Conference weekend! Lots of together time, foot rubs and fort building. It was so nice to be together and listen to inspired words and council from our church leaders.


This year, Braden went to the priesthood session with Talmage. He turns 12 on October 24th! He looked so grown-up in his new suit.

My Mom's Birthday

October 3, 2008 we celebrated my mom's birthday. We spent the morning at Gardner Village and had so much fun walking around all of the cute shops that we decided to just get a yummy piece of fudge and skip lunch so that we could keep window shopping. They have all of their cute witches on display. Our Favorite witch was in sitting in an outhouse, reading the paper with a sign posted, "Witchy Poo" We cracked up! What a fun day we had. Later that night, we went to "Epic" for dinner and savored delicious crab cakes, and the best salad EVER.



Collin broke his first board in his Tae Kwon Do class. He was so excited!

Fall Festival

Last weekend Talmage took the kids up to Logan to enjoy a Fall Festival while I went to the Relief Society Broadcast in Salt Lake. I made Talmage promise to take really cute pictures.