{unwrapped}

{happy 6th bud!}

I couldn't let this day end without popping on here to wish my Kaden HAPPY BIRTHDAY today. It is so hard to believe that my baby boy is already 6 years old. Our day was so fun and full of great birthday things that I am very literally just settling down for the night and getting a few things done before I head to bed. What a fun day we had today and what a great blessing it is to be able to celebrate Kaden today. His life is definitely an enormous blessing in OUR lives. More about his fun birthday to be posted soon. For now, a letter to my sweet little 6 year old....

(Photos above are of Kaden at 3 weeks old and Kaden TODAY......6 years old!!!)

Kaden Bud....Mama loves you so much. I don't believe you will ever truly know how much I love you until you have little ones of your own. My heart literally does feel like it will burst with all the love I have for you. I remember loving you so much from the very second that you were born. As soon as I saw your face, my heart literally ached to hold you close to me. Even now, I can't get enough of you and often have to just sit and snuggle you. You are one of my most priceless treasures. Kaden, you bring so much happiness to our lives. You are so incredibly smart and have the most awesome personality. You are so fun and clever with an amazing imagiation. You are kind and polite and such a perfect gentleman. I love that you never fail to come and get both my door AND Seneca's door when we are ready to get out of the car. You are awesome bud!! I love that you have such a tender heart. I see so much of me in you and I feel a bond with you because of that. You make me laugh and you have also been such a great comfort to me when I was going through a rough time. You have always been able to sense when Mama is hurting a little bit and are right there with the tightest hugs ever, whispering, "I love you Mama. Don't cry. You're the best Mom ever." Oh Kaden...I love you so much. You are living proof to me that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us. He must have known that I needed you. I am overwhelmed with gratitude to Him for sending you to our little family and can't wait for another fabulous year with you. I love you Bud.....to the Moon and around and around and around and around and around and back again! Love, Mama :-) 

{craft night & recipe swap}

This past Friday, we had yet another awesome monthly craft night. The past few months, I had a lot of requests from those who have attended past craft nights to have a recipe swap and possibly also crafts that focused on recipes as well. So, this month, I decided to offer recipe magnet boards and a lunch box recipe box for our crafts. I used this fun patterned paper that I am sure you have seen me use over and over and over again, simply because I LOVE it and also thought that it would look great in just about any kitchen with any decorating style. The flowers I used were a serious find. Flowers are usually so pricey…..sometimes 99 cents to $1.99 a stem (at least the kind I like to use). However, on a complete whim, I decided to look down the silk flowers aisle at Walmart a few weeks ago, even though I had been down that aisle before and thought most of the flowers looked a little cheap-y. I was thrilled to find these fab red flowers in bunches of 7 for only $3.00. They were the perfect color red and with a jumbo silver button in the center, were the PERFECT embellishment for the recipe boxes. Happy day! The word “Recipes” is just black vinyl lettering that I rubbed onto the green/white polka dot strip before adhering it to the box. And the vinyl touch are the fun ribbons, torn fabrics and tulle on the handle. When I designed the box, I didn’t have any of these at home and was excited to find some left over from a super cute lunch box class that my friend Kim taught at a crop I hosted a few years back. So those left over ribbons, fabrics, etc. are on this sample and then I went and picked out fabrics and ribbons for the actual craft night. I am in love with the black and white fabrics. I stood there for over a half an hour trying to choose between all of the beautiful patterns. I love the combination of ribbons, fabric and tulle. Thanks to Kim for that awesome idea that I adopted for this month’s project. Love it! (P.S. Remember to click on pictures to see them in their true form. Typepad is still having issues with my pictures looking slightly deformed. LOL!)

Originally, I had planned on having decorated dividers inside of the recipe box. However, wanting to keep the price down for everyone, I decided to simplify the dividers a little bit. I simply cut 5 4.25 x 6.25 pieces of white cardstock and printed out 5 labels on red, baby blue and green Bazzill cardstock and then adhered them to the top of the dividers, making sure to slightly stagger them so that you can see all of the tabs when they are stacked. They are super simple, but still look really cute with the box. Because I knew there were varied levels of experience as far as scrapbooking and paper crafting go, I wanted to make the design pretty simple so that all would be able to create it easily without getting frustrated. I was a little worried that it would be too simple, but when I completed the box, I was really happy with how cute my simple design turned out. The gals needed very little instruction and they really enjoyed having a fun design that didn’t take much time to create. YAY! Just about everyone that came to craft night ended up making at LEAST one lunch box recipe box and at least one recipe block magnet board. And there were a few that planned ahead for Christmas and made a bunch of them for Christmas gifts. Can you believe that Christmas is less than 6 months away? I LOVE CHRISTMAS! WOOHOOO! Overall, the crafts were so much fun and I never get tired of seeing how happy gals are after completing crafts themselves. It’s such a fun thing to be able to learn new things for yourself and for gifts. It’s great to be able to tell people that you made something all by yourself. They did a great job and both projects turned out so cute!!

As for our meal this month, I decided to have each person bring their signature dish to share. Prior to the craft night, I asked that everyone submit their recipes to me for two reasons….first, to make sure we didn’t end up with all desserts or all main dishes, etc. and second, so that I could compile all of the recipes into a little recipe booklet for everyone in attendance. The little booklet turned out really nice and all of the ladies were so excited to be able to have copies of all of the recipes to take home. in addition to the recipe booklets, I also purchased a variety of giveaways that all focused around the food/cooking theme....a cake save, mixing bowls, various sizes of measuring cups, cutting board, recipe cards, a decorative plaque and a completed recipe magnet board. The giveaways are definitely a fun little *extra* to our craft nights! We had such a fun combination of food…salads, soups, pancakes, dips, etc…and every single dish was DIVINE!!! And it just wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t share all of the recipes with you!!! YAY!!! I will start by sharing the 3 recipes the I brought for craft night. The first is an absolutely DELISH punch. Instead of bringing pop, etc. like we usually do, I thought it would be fun to have a special beverage to be able to share the recipe for as well, since it WAS a recipe swap. The punch was heavenly…we chugged it all night long. By the end of the evening, we were all a little silly and started questioning what was in the punch. LOL! I give ya my word though,that it was only sugar. Ha ha! Here it is…. (check out the orange slices...are you impressed? LOL! They took me forever...but are kind of a fun floating garnish!)

CITRUS GROVE PUNCH

3 C. sugar
2 C. water
6 C. orange juice, chilled
6 C. grapefruit juice, chilled
1 ½ C. limeaid, chilled (I added a little more, to taste)
1 liter ginger ale, chilled

In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; cook for 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until cool.  Combine juices and sugar mixture; mix well. Just before serving, stir in ginger ale. Serve over ice.

In addition to the punch, I decided to try out two NEW recipes. Most of my recipes are all CHOCOLATE ones and Chas wanted me to try a few new ones that didn't have chocolate. BOTH turned out absolutely DELISH. However, the craft night was probably not the best night to try them out. A group of women is NOT the best demographic for non-chocolate desserts. LOL! So, needless to say, despite the fact that they were tasty, there was a LOT left over. LOL! Chas was definitely excited when I brought them home though. ;-) Here are both of the two new recipes that I tried out.....

CHEWY PECAN PIE BARS

1/4 C. butter, melted
2 C. packed brown sugar
2/3 C. all purpose flour
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 C. chopped pecans
Powdered sugar

Pour butter into a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.  Combine brown sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl; mix well. Stir in pecans and spread over butter in pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately dust with powdered sugar. Cool before cutting.

 

BLOND TOFFEE BROWNIES

½ C. butter, softened
1 C. sugar
½ C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ C. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 C. English Toffee Bits (or Heath Bar Toffee Bits – found by chocolate chips)

Cream butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and add to creamed mixture gradually. Stir in toffee bits. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

And now for the other delicious recipes that we were able to try out at the craft night. A huge thank you to everyone for sharing such AWESOME AWESOME recipes. EVERYTHING was delicious!!! (I tried to get pictures of everything, but I missed a few of the dishes that arrived later, since I was busy getting everyone started on their crafts.

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

1 can artichoke hearts
1 pkg. fresh spinach
1/2 c green chilies
1 c mayonnaise
1 c sour cream
2 cup mozzarella shredded cheese
Parmesan cheese to taste (your preference)
 
Rinse well the artichoke hearts and cut into small pieces.  Wash and cook spinach; drain well! Cook artichokes, spinach, and green chilies for 10 min. on medium heat (do not add any liquid).  Keep stirring to avoid burning.  Add mayo, sour cream, and both cheeses, stirring constantly to blend.  Keep stirring until dip boils.  Simmer for 15 to 20 min.; stir as needed.

RANCH CHEESE DIP

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 Tbsp. Hidden Valley dry ranch powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 cup grated cheese
 
Mix first 4 ingredients well. Add cheese and mix until blended. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes if possible. Serve with your favorite crackers.

FRUIT DIP

1 7oz can marshmallow creme
1 8oz cream cheese
 
Mix together marshmallow creme and cream cheese in  bowl until smooth. Enjoy.

JODI'S COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES
(These are HEAVENLY...like crepes that melt in your mouth!!)

1 cup cottage cheese (large curd)
4 eggs
1/2 cup flour
6 Tbsp melted butter

Whip cottage cheese, eggs, flour and melted butter in a blender.  This should be a thick batter.  Test a small amount of batter on grill. Add a small amount of flour if it needs thickening.  Make the pancakes about four inches in diameter. 

Cook pancakes until golden, then flip and cook for an additional minute. Do not overcook. These pancakes are moist and should spring back to the touch.
 
Enjoy with your favorite syrup, butter and powdered sugar!

CORN CHOWDER

1stick butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 can cream of potato soup
1  14oz. can of chicken broth
8 oz. pkg of cream cheese
4 can white & yellow corn
1 pint of half & half
1 bunch of green onions
3 tsp. creole seasoning
 
Melt butter in pan add chopped green onions and saute. Add broth & soups to onions and cook on medium heat & stir until smooth. Add corn & heat until warm. Add half & half & chunks of cream cheese. Stir until cream cheese is melted then add creole seasoning.  Then Enjoy!

I wasn't able to eat a ton of all of the other dishes, partly because I think I had 4 bowls of that corn chowder. It was HEAVENLY! She also brought these incredible wheat rolls to go along with it. She just took wheat Rhodes rolls, rolled them in butter and cinnamon sugar, let them rise and then baked as directed. It was like dipping a cinnamon roll in soup. HELLO! It was DIVINE!!!

 

PARMESAN ROLLS
(Jewels made these at my request...they are SOOOO yummy!!)

Frozen Rhodes Rolls
Butter
Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Roll frozen Rhodes Rolls in melted butter and then in fresh Parmesan cheese then rise and bake as directed on package.

 

SPINACH & HONEY ROASTED PEANUT SALAD

1 large bag Spinach
1 cup sliced Strawberries
1/2- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2-1 cup Honey roasted peanuts

I just throw it together with a poppy seed dressing and enjoy.

ENGLISH PEA SALAD
(I wasn't able to try this one, simply because I was already so full by the time it arrived, but everyone who tried it said that it was yummy)

2 cans of small English peas
1/2 onion chopped
l large pickle chopped
1-2 hard boiled eggs chopped
3 stems chopped celery
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1/2 bell pepper chopped
Salad dressing

Mix all of the ingredients above.  Add Miracle Whip Salad Dressing to taste, chill, and serve on lettuce leaf or just plain. Great for picnics, cookouts, etc.

 

CABBAGE SALAD

1-2 bags of cabbage (I like to get the mixed cabbage- with carrots,etc.)
2 cups chopped chicken - cooked
2 chopped green onion
2 T sesame seeds
2 T. toasted slivered almonds
2 pks chopped ramen chicken noodles- Hard
 
Seasoning= dressing
1/2 cups oil
1/2 cups rice vinegar
2 T. sugar
2 packages flavor packet from noodles
 
Mix and dress salad 10 or so minutes before serving.

 

SUNBURST LEMON BARS

Base:
2 c. all purpose flour
½ c. powdered sugar
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
Filling:
4 eggs
2 c. granulated sugar
¼ c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ c. lemon juice (for more intense lemon taste, use fresh squeezed lemon juice)
Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
2 to 3 Tbsp. lemon juice

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl with electric mixer, beat base ingredients on low speed until crumbly. Press mixture evenly in bottom of ungreased 9x13 in pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.
Meanwhile, in large bowl with wire whisk, lightly beat eggs. Beat in remaining filling ingredients except lemon juice until well blended. Beat in ¼ c. lemon juice.
Remove partially baked base from oven. Pour filling evenly over warm base.
Return to oven; bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until top is light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In small bowl, mix 1 c. powdered sugar and enough lemon juice for desired spreading consistency until smooth. Spread glaze over cooled bars. Cut into bars.

 

WARM NUTTY CARAMEL BROWNIES

1 t. vegetable oil
1 pkg. (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 pkg. (18-21 oz) brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies)
3/4 c. packed brown sugar, divided
1 c. salted mixed nuts, divided
5 rolls of Rolos (40 pieces total), divided

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet. Chop 1-1/2 c. chocolate chips. Combine brownie mix, water, oil, eggs, adn 1/4 c. brown sugar. Fold in chopped chocolate. Pour batter into cookie sheet & spread evenly.

2. Chop nuts or use pre-chopped mix. Combine half of the nuts and remaining 1/2 c. brown sugar; sprinkle evenly over brownie batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

3. Meanwhile, cut 16 Rolos into quarters. Place remaining 1/2 c. chocolate chips in microwaveable bowl & microwave on high 1 minute or until melted, stirring after each 20-second interval. Spoon melted chocolate into resealable plastic bag; set aside.

4. Remove cookie sheet from oven. Immediately press remaining 24 Rolos evenly into brownie in four rows of six caramels each. Sprinkle quartered Rolos and remaining nuts over brownies. Trim corner of chocolate-filled bag; drizzle chocolate evenly over brownies.  Serve warm. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Overall, the craft night this month was a complete success. We had a great turnout, some new faces and new friends, a few visitors, fun crafts and great food!!!! HAPPY HAPPY DAY! Already looking forward to next month!

P.S. Typepad stopped letting me change font colors on the recipes halfway through my entry. No idea why. I don't ask anymore. Typepad constantly has issues. Anyway...gotta run to swimming lessons and then will come back and fix up the details on this entry...colors, etc. EDITED LATER TO ADD...came back to fix the colors and it still won't let me editthe text. *sigh* Seriously. Oh well. Make today a GREAT one!

{screaming}

This is me right this very second. Ok. So it's not REALLY me (this chick still looks pretty when she screams and I'm pretty sure there was nothing pretty about my version a few seconds ago), but had my camera been set up directly across from me about 2 minutes ago and managed to take a picture of me all by itself, THIS is what you WOULD have seen.....literally...hands to the head and all.  I am seriously not even kidding. I started blogging about 2 hours ago..and hadn't stopped typing until 2 minutes ago when INTERNET EXPLORER decided to shut down on me. And if you could see how fast I type, you would know how much I had typed in that 2 hours. :-) The ONE TIME that I wasn't backing up my entry the whole time...just in case this were to happen...and within 2 seconds, despite my shouting, "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" at the monitor, it was GONE. I put off this particular entry UNTIL today (part of Memory Monday, which we now no longer have...I apologize for that), simply because I knew it would be a more lengthy one (that shouldn't shock you..they are all pretty lengthy. LOL!)....and I was very literally on the VERY LAST PARAGRAPH when my internet died out! I seriously could just throw something. I ALMOST threw my laptop at the wall. Ok...so not really, but maybe something that wasn't worth so much...like a shoe or a banana or something. LOL! I am so completely exhausted and tired from blogging and now so angry about having to do it all over again, that i just have to go to bed before I continue screaming and wake my kiddies. *sigh* Dang. I could really use a Dunford Donut.

So maybe today's Memory Monday should be this....WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SCREAMED LIKE THIS? What was it that made you this angry? Yeah..that's a good one! Go for it! And I am off to bed! ;-)

(The irony of all of this, is that our Family Home Evening lesson tonight was on how to deal with anger. LOL! So according to the cute story that I read to my kiddies, right now, I should either walk away, climb a tree, take deep breaths, run, ride my bike or talk to someone. LOL! Guess I should take my own advice, huh?! I'm still thinkin' that a donut might make everything better though....at least until I have to sit down and type everything all over again. And if not, it would at least muffle the screaming for a minute. LOL!)

{wheeler farm & two-wheelin' it}

Yesterday, our little neighborhood had a mini enrichment summer outing at Wheeler Farm. I hadn't been to Wheeler Farm since Chas and I had our wedding reception there at the Activity Barn over 8 years ago and I thought it would be fun for the kiddies, so we decided to go. However, I had a few errands I needed to run before hand, so we planned on meeting up with everyone at the farm instead of meeting at the church beforehand. We got to the farm a little late and didn't see anyone we knew. So, we decided to just start looking at the animals. Before we headed over to the animals, I kinda psyched the kids up for a few pictures. The best part about Wheeler Farm (from a "Photo Mom" perspective), is that a lot of the fun picture photo areas are BEFORE you get to the animals....so I was able to say, "Just a quick shot here and we are almost to the animals!" LOL! I promised the kids that I would take a bunch of pictures right at the beginning and a few of the animals and then put my camera away....which I did. I was SO THRILLED with some of the shots that I got of my kiddies. Lately, I have tried not to be such a stress case about my kids posing and smiling perfectly in every shot and the funny thing is, that by RELAXING, my kids are actually happier about the pics and in the end, I actually get the real smiles without a fight. Go figure. LOL! So we just played around and was completely silly trying to get them to laugh. A few moms walked by and I could hear them giggling about how silly I was being to get them to smile....but when you get shots you are thrilled with, it is SO worth being silly in public. LOL! I didn't really know if I ended up with any good shots or not until I looked at the pictures when we got home!!!!! Some of these are SO CLASSIC! I love them! I wish I would have had them dressed up....but I think I shall frame a few of these anyway. They are simply TOO CUTE not to. Gotta love Seneca in her little Dolce Gabbana replica sunglasses. LOL! So cute!! I am seriously in love with the first picture below on the left with Seneca looking up at Kaden. Oh my goodness! I am so happy I caught that. HAPPY DAY!!!!! And the others in this same pose, etc. turned out so cute too!! The second two shots below are edited with vintage actions. Kinda fun to mess around with a few different actions on these.

A few more casual shots...love these. Not sure I love the way I edited the first one. Might mess around with that one later....my kids look kinda ghostly in it. LOL!

Shot a few quick shots of them individually as well. I love love love this one of Kaden. What a serious stud. And little Seneca...LOL...she just can't sit still. So really, I love this picture too, because it is SO "Seneca!" Always on the move!!

The kids absolutely LOVED all of the animals.Both Kaden and Seneca had fun petting ever single animal and all THREE of us had fun making each of the animal sounds, trying to communicate with all of them. LOL! Again..got a few funny looks from some of the moms, but having fun with your kids totally trumps caring what you LOOK LIKE when you play with your kids,right? LOL!  

I seriously threw myself together in the morning so that we could get out early before it got to be 98 degrees, so I look BLAH, but here were are at the farm! YAY!

After we spent about an hour chatting with the animals, we bought suckers and went for a wagon ride. The kids LOVED the wagon ride. In fact, they loved it so much, that as we came to a stop at the end of the ride, they were thrilled to be able to go on ANOTHER wagon ride, since we finally caught up with all of the little kids from our neighborhood as THEY were just going for a wagon ride. LOL! So we road around on the wagon again and then headed home. We were there about 2 1/2 hours and that was about my limit, because it was getting HOT!!!!! I was seriously starting to melt. LOL! But we COULDN'T leave without playing on one of the huge tractors. And it was there that I managed to get the funnest shot of my little ones!!! This picture is SO classic. After trying to get Seneca to just stop stearing the tractor for two seconds just so I could at least see her face, I guess Kaden decided to take matters into his own hands and totally forced her head over to me with his hands. LOL! And both of their faces are SO CUTE!!! OMGOSH...I just about died when I got home and saw that I had managed to catch this very literally SPLIT SECOND moment. I SO love my camera!!! LOVE IT! This one is ABSOLUTELY going in a frame! I think this is the most classic "Kaden & Seneca" pic that I have! HAPPY DAY!!!!

And after the farm and rest time, we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening outside playing in the sprinklers. Kaden's two little buddies, Jackson and Hunter, came over to play and they had an absolute blast. You've already heard me rave about cute Jackson and Hunter is in my primary class on Sundays and is SUCH a great kid as well. Last week, Hunter called me to see if he could come over. Funny thing is, he's a bit older than Kaden and they have never played together before, so I was a little surprised when he called. His mom is a good friend of mine and she said that that day he was bored and out of the blue said, "Can I just call Heather White?" Ha ha! I think he probably would have just come over to play with me! I love my Primary kids...they are so great! The boys had a blast. Hunter's sister came over and kept Seneca occupied as well...so everyone was happy and having fun. YAY!

The boys played basketball for about 2 seconds and then came inside BEET red, saying that it was too hot.. LOL! So I sent them home to get their swimsuits and we broke out the water rocket and our neighbors turned on their waterslide and they all played in the water for hours. These two kids are such good kids and their families are so awesome as well. I am always happy to have them play with Kaden. And they did have SO MUCH FUN! They were laughing so hard...it was so funny! Oh happy day! What a great way to end a great day!

And now, we are so happy to announce, (((drum roll please)))) that Kaden is TWO-WHEELIN' it! HAPPY DAY! I feel so terrible that he is SIX next week and just learned how to ride his bike. I feel terrible, because it is 100% our fault. Bikes just aren't as big as they used to be, it seems, and all of the kids just ride around on their scooters. Finally, this year, we were like "OH MY GOSH....Kaden needs to learn to ride a bike!" LOL! So bad, I know. Poor Kaden. But I say again, for the record, so he doesn't get teased for being almost six when he learned to ride a bike, that it is very simply because we just didn't think about it. And the cool thing is, Chas gave him one push and he was GO GO GO! He went from not knowing how to balance to cruising down the driveways and dodging things on the sidewalks in about 5 minutes. LOL! Congratulations buddy! You're a stud!

Something cute about my little guy before I take off to finish dinner....so I don't ever forget. He is playing outside with his friends and Chas and Seneca so that I can get dinner ready and he just ran in a second ago to use the restroom. When he came out, he said, "Mama, do I look like Ben 10?" (He put on clothes earlier today that he thought looked just like the Ben 10 action figure he has. LOL!) When I told him that he sure did, he went into major detail about how his shirt looked the same as Ben 10 and his shorts looked the same as Ben 10, etc.. I told him he ABSOLUTELY looked like Ben 10. He was thrilled to death. LOL! Kaden has this seriously cute shy smile that he gets when he is seriously happy. It's like he's trying to hide just how seriously happy he is that he looks like Ben 10, because he's afraid if he smiles, he will completely burst with happiness. LOL! It's hard to describe...I wish I could capture it in a picture.  The funny thing is, Chas kinda does the same thing when he thinks he's being funny. LOL! The edges of his mouth just barely turn up like he's trying not to laugh at just how funny he is. LOL! Anyway....so because he all of a sudden was talking about Ben 10 with me for so long, I asked him if he was PLAYING Ben 10 outside. He kinda hung his head a little bit and said quietly, "No. I'm playing house." Ha ha ha! So funny. Apparently there are mostly girls outside, so their idea to play house trumped any of his ideas. LOL! So so cute!!!

Off to finish dinner and then get ready for a busy night of preparing for the monthly craft night! Until next time....make today a GREAT one! (I apologize for any typos. I don't have time to proof my entry...will do that later tonight!)

{peaceful goodbye}

This past Monday, just one week after Dave's funeral, we attended the funeral of my mom's dear friend, Kuni. We attended the viewing prior to the funeral on Monday afternoon and Kuni looked absolutely beautiful. It was such a comfort to see her looking so at peace after seeing her suffer from illness for so long. Her casket was decorated with lavendar flowers and the casket itself was a beautiful shade of deep lavendar. Lavendar was Kuni's very favorite color. During the funeral, my Mom shared with the congregation that Kuni's husband had prepared a lobster dinner for her the night before she passed away (her favorite meal) and had purchased beautiful lavendar satin sheets for her to sleep in. When she passed away, she was sleeping on those beautiful lavendar sheets. His thoughtfulness and tender care in her last moments so touching.

 

This funeral was very unique in many ways. About 5 years ago, Kuni had prepared a professional video with the help of one of her girlfriends, in which she shared photos and told about her life, her family, her friends and her love of the Gospel and joy she found working in the temple for so many years. At the end of the video, she shared her testimony and then pleaded with her husband and her son (who are both currently inactive members) to embrace the Gospel. She tells them that if they want to feel of her spirit, that they should go to church and to the temple and she will always be there. It was the most beautiful video. After she prepared the video 5 years ago, she sealed it in an envelope, only to be shared at her funeral. The life she led and the message and testimony she shared, was a strength to all who were able to watch it. What a great blessing to us and to her husband and son, that she felt prompted by the Spirit to prepare such a touching video, not knowing when the time would come for her to return to her Heavenly Father.

Kuni's son Travis read her lifesketch and then the rest of the program was filled with talks by 5 of Kuni's dearest girlfriends, including my mom. These ladies, including Kuni, called themselves "The Lunch Bunch." So cute. Each of the ladies shared special memories of Kuni and spoke about her great example of a life of service and faith. I was so touched by all of their talks, that I wanted to share a few things that really stood out to me.....

"She who pushes you closer to God, she is your friend."

*******

THE MAKING OF FRIENDS

If nobody smiled and nobody cheered and nobody helped us along,
If each, every minute, looked after himself and good things all went to the strong,
If nobody cared just a little for you, and nobody thought about me,
And we all stood alone in the battle of life,
What a dreary old life this would be!

Life is sweet because of the friends we have made
And the things which in common we share;
We want to live on, not because of ourselves,
But because of the people who care.

It's giving and doing for somebody else --
On that, all life's splendor depends,
And the joy of this world , when you've summed it all up,
Is found in the making of friends.

-Edgar A. Guest-

*******

In between the five speakers, my sisters and I (and my little niece McKaylee) sang "When He Comes Again." We practiced once before the service and had such a difficult time making through the song. I had my arm around my sister Jill and as I stood there standing next to her and knowing how difficult it must be to be singing at a funeral just days after Dave's funeral, I was unable to even sing the last lines of the second verse. However, when it came time for us to sing, we were able to sing through the entire song and my mom said afterward that she has never heard us sound more beautiful. I have no doubts that we must have had a few angels singing with us to help us get through the beautiful lyrics. My mom spoke right after us and her talk was so wonderful and filled with such sweet memories of Kuni and details of her last moments before she passed away. After she spoke, Kuni's friend Diane was the last of the speakers. Here are a few things that really stuck out to me from Diane's talk....

"Kuni taught me the importance of quiet patience in the face of very deep suffering."

"For those who knew Kuni, you know that she always liked to have the last word whenever possible. And so now, if I may, I would like to share what I believe would have been Kuni's last word and advice to us all...
1. Fervently study the scriptures;
2. Attend the temple regularly;
3. Find joy in the "tiny beauties" of life;
4. Trust in the Lord, even when times are difficult;
5. Love your family unconditionally; and
6. Be a friend to everyone."

At the close of the funeral, Kuni's bishop shared some closing remarks. He and my Dad had given Kuni a blessing the night that she discontinued her dialysis. The specialists had told Kuni that it would be about 2 weeks before she would pass away. In the blessing, Kuni was promised that her time of passing would be short and that she would feel peace and no further suffering.  She was also told that as she returned to her Heavenly Father, she would be greeted with the word "Well done, thou good and faithful servant...". She was also promised that there would be many great reunions with loved ones and with those whose temple work she had completed, but that there would be much for her to do there as well. It was so neat that he shared a few of those precious promises from that blessing. And Kuni passed away only 3 days afterwards.

 

It was such a beautiful service and felt like the entire room was filled with our family. Kuni lived in the ward that I grew up in, so we knew everyone there. The room was filled with my friends, my former youth leaders and primary teachers, bishops, stake presidents, etc. The Spirit was so strong and there was such a wonderful feeling of peace. All of the pallbearers were former members of the ward, including my dad (all were the husbands of Kuni's dearest friends). At the end of gravesite service, each of the pallbearers removed their bouttenieres and placed them on the casket. Then, afterwards, they each removed their bouttenieres and gave them to their wives. It was so sweet. After the service, I was able to take a few pictures of the beautiful floral arrangement from 'The Lunch Bunch' (they had put a picture of them with Kuni in the flower bouquet) and a few of Kuni's son Travis in his uniform. He looked so sharp. I have already planned to have this framed for Kuni's husband. And then, I took a few pictures of Kuni's dear friends...."The Lunch Bunch."

Dear Kuni, Thank you for your testimony and your constant example of service and love for others. We love you so much and will miss you.

In addition to these wonderful thoughts shared at Kuni's funeral, I was excited to receive my brother-in-law's talk outline from Dave's funeral. I wish that I had his talk on tape to share with you. This is an outline and will give a wonderful idea of the message that he shared. However, many of the points are merely his "prompts" and don't have the detail and message he shared through the Spirit on each of those points. I wish that you could have been there to feel the Spirit and his strength and conviction as he gave his talk. Still, I am so pleased to be able to at least share these wonderful notes with you.

David R. Wright
Talk Given By Derek Wright

I. Introduction
a. Thank everyone on behalf of both families
b. Even with a firm knowledge of the life hereafter and the plan of salvation, the aguish of grief can be surprisingly intense.
c. Mosiah 18:9 “mourn with those that mourn” and “comfort those that stand in need of comfort.”
d. Elder Bednar stated: “We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live. When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are so totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Ne. 1:20).”
e. Our families have been recipients of many “tender mercies”
f. Nothing has mattered the last four days in our homes except the understanding of basic gospel principles such as:
i. Life doesn’t begin with birth, nor does it end with death
ii. The Atonement
iii. Elder Bruce C. Hafen wrote: “Our understanding of the Atonement is hardly a shield against sorrow; rather, it is a rich source of strength to deal productively with the disappointments and heartbreaks that form the deliberate fabric of mortal life.  The gospel was given to us to heal our pain, not to prevent it.”

II. Message……..”David loved life”
a. HF plan doesn’t often match what we have planned
i. David accomplished much
1. Baptized
2. Aaronic Priesthood member
3. He excelled in school w/ straight A’s
B. Pestered his teachers
4. He was an Eagle Scout
5. He worked hard cutting grass and carried on a successful business we started at a young age
6. He kept himself worthy to serve an honorable mission
B. We walked the streets of Santiago together
7. He developed an eternal relationship with his dear wife by marrying in the temple
8. He fathered a beautiful daughter
9. He gave his all as a business owner
10. He served in the church diligently
11. He was an honorable husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin and friend
b. WHY NOW???????????
i. President Monson: “My brothers and sisters, death eventually comes to all mankind. It comes to the aged as they walk on faltering feet.  Its summons is heard by those who have scarcely reached midway in life’s journey, and often it hushes the laughter of little children.  Death is one fact that no one can escape or deny.

Frequently death comes as an intruder. It is an enemy that suddenly appears in the midst of life’s feast, putting out its lights and gaiety.  Death lays its heavy hand upon those dear to us and at times leaves us baffled and wondering.  In certain situations, as in great suffering and illness, death comes as an angel of mercy. But for the most part, we think of it as the enemy of human happiness.

The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth. “I am the resurrection, and the life,” spoke the Master. “He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

This reassurance—yes, even holy confirmation—of life beyond the grave could well provide the peace promised by the Savior when He assured His disciples: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

c. D&C 101:14-16 “all flesh is in my hands”
d. Prophet Joseph Smith we also learn that “God has … a time … appointed … when He will bring all His subjects, who have obeyed His voice and kept His commandments, into His celestial rest.

III. Conclusion
a. May we love life and not fear death…………….
b. Hopefully Dave’s passing will provoke profound changes in our lives, Dave would want nothing more.
c. President Monson: “How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?” If we live only for tomorrow, we’ll have a lot of empty yesterdays today. Have we been guilty of declaring, “I’ve been thinking about making some course corrections in my life.  I plan to take the first step—tomorrow”? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today.
d. In D&C 84 it talks about the “elect of God”
e. Closing Poem: “Touching Shoulders”
i. There’s a comforting thought at the close of the day,
when I’m weary and lonely and sad.
That sort of grips hold of my crusty old heart
And bids it be merry and glad.
It gets in my soul and it drives out the blues.
And finally thrills through and through.
It is just a sweet memory that chants the refrain:
“I’m glad I touch shoulders with you!”

Did you know you were brave, did you know you were strong?
Did you know there was one leaning hard?
Did you know that I waited and listened and prayed,
And was cheered by your simplest word?
Did you know that I longed for that smile on your face,
For the sound of your voice ringing true?
Did you know I grew stronger and better because
“I had merely touched shoulders with you?”

I am glad that I live, that I battle and strive
For the place that I know I must fill;
I am thankful for sorrows, I’ll meet with a grin
What fortune may send, good or ill.
I may not have wealth, I may not be great,
But I know I shall always be true,
For I have in my life that courage you gave
“When once I rubbed shoulders with you.”

{two and two}

I absolutely love to read. I have loved to read for as long as I can remember, and before that, I loved to be read to. I have been into so many various genres during different stages of my life...I love them all. I often have random thoughts and wonder about things that to many, seem silly. I have always had an incredible imagination and ability to create a very detailed picture in my head of every story I have ever read. I attribute my occasional odd wonderings and vivid imagination partly to my love of reading and the ability it has had to really stretch my imagination beyond the average borders. It was not uncommon for me to read a book in a day. In fact, just a few years ago, I read all 7 books in The Chronicles of Narnia in 7 straight days. When I was young, my parents used to give us a little spending money for each book we read. I'm not quite sure how we managed to get them to do that, but I always remembering smiling to myself a few times when I thought of how wonderful it was to get play money just to do something that I already loved so much! ;-)  My ABSOLUTE favorite class in college was Juvenile Literature, in which we were asked to read at least 15 Juvenile Fiction novels within the semester and even had to do an old school book report on one of them. LOVED IT!!!!!! When I have the time, it is very easy for me to get lost in a good novel.

That's the kicker though...time. And I don't ever really have a lot of "free time." When I do have free time, I generally tend to fill it up quickly with fun projects. However, even when I am so outrageously busy, my desire for reading still lingers and I can't resist reading a page or two in between paint coats, while clothes are fluffing up in the laundry and waiting to be hung up, while I'm waiting for Kaden to get out of school and yes, occasionally even at a stoplight or two. The best example of this "here and there reading" was reading "The Star Garden," an absolutely fabulous book by Nancy E. Turner. Many of you have already read me blog about on of my favorite books of all time, "These Is My Words." (And, by the way, it STILL STANDS as my favorite book EVER! My mom raved about this book YEARS AND YEARS AGO...no idea why I waited so long to read it. My copy of the book has passed through so many hands now that I don't even know where it is. LOL!) "These Is My Words" began a fabulous series. I read the second book in the series, "Sarah's Quilt" a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Not the same level as the first book, but wonderful and inspirational in its own way. Since Jewels (my "book group"...LOL!) and I had read the first two books of the series together, I surprised her with a copy of "The Star Garden" before I left for Europe. Believe it or not, I actually STARTED reading this book on the plane over to Germany. I just FINISHED the book LAST WEEK. Can you believe it? Sad. Despite how long it took me to read the book, it was fantastic. Nancy Turner has been a complete success at maintaining the same quality of writing and interesting stories that she presented to the world with "These Is My Words." FANTASTIC!!

A week and a half ago, my mom casually mentioned to me that she had heard good things about "Princess Academy" a Newbery Honor Book by Shannon Hale, who is actually a local author. I ended up ordering a copy for myself and  for my mom off my FAVE new and used book site (www.half.com) and ended up receiving my copy the first part of last week. I decided that I would take it with me on our trip last week and DEVOURED it.....just like I used to do. I started and finished this book over the weekend. It was definitely a fun story. There were some interesting and perhaps even slightly "odd" aspects of the story...which, for someone who personally wonders about odd things every now and again, was very entertaining. :-)  Add added bonus, however, it was very well written. I love that. I have a hard time reading a good story if it's not written well. Two GREAT books that you definitely should add to your reading list, if you haven't read them already.

In addition to reading, I LOVE to cook. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Every now again, I get the "I want to try out a few new recipes" bug. Today was one of those days...and OOOOOOOOOH we hit the jackpot!! I tried out two new recipes for dinner tonight and BOTH were a hit. Since you've already read about my absolute LOVE for breakfast, it won't surprise you that I decided to start by trying out two new breakfast recipes. First, I decided to try a simple egg recipe....Scrambled Egg Muffins. Oooh delish. And the bonus is...BOTH OF MY KIDS DEVOURED THEM!!!! They were so so easy and so so yummy. The original recipe calls for pork sausage, but since I had bacon that needed to be used, I used that instead...and it was tasty! Will have to try it with the sausage next time. I also left out the green pepper, since we're not really green pepper fans. Other than that, I think the only thing I might do differently is to actually pour them into muffin cups and not directly into the tin. Despite greasing the tin, they still stuck a titch. Just an idea. SO SO YUMMY! These would be really yummy paired with biscuits and gravy with the gravy drizzled over them...or just plain. YUM! (Ooh....you know what would be yummy in these? MUSHROOMS. Mmmm. Actually it would be fun to have each member of the family add their own "add-ins" to their muffins. You could really add just about anything. You could add peppers, olives, mushrooms, tomatoes...ooh..and at the last minute in the oven you could even top it with a few chopped avocado slices. YUMM!)

SCRAMBLED EGG MUFFINS

1/2 lb. bulk pork sausage (or bacon or ham)
12 eggs
1/2 C. chopped yellow onion
1/4 C. chopped green pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.  Beat eggs in a bowl ad then add onion, green pepper, salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Stir in sausage and cheese. Spoon by 1/3 cupfuls into greased muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

As for the second recipe, I had saved this one for last, because it is simply a piece of HEAVEN!!!!!!! Oh...my......goodness. YUM-O-RAMA!!!!!! It is called Blueberry Kuchen ("Kuchen" is "Cake" in German, for those who weren't aware) and it is TO DIE FOR!!!! I just used frozen (thawed) blueberries and they were perfect. At first, it looked like it was WAY too many blueberries....but I still put the right amount in....and it was PERFECT! PERFECT! PERFECT. YUMM! So make SURE you add as many as it says. And the blueberries mixed with the tangy taste of lemon and nutmeg is DIVINE!! Well, I guess that's pretty much all the intro that this dish needs. LOL! You have to try it!! It's so GOOOOD!

BLUEBERRY KUCHEN

1 1/2 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2  tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 C. milk
1/4 C. butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C. frozen or fresh blueberries

TOPPING:
3/4 C. sugar
1/2 C. flour
1/4 C. butter

Combine first 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add milk, butter, egg & vanilla and beat for 2 minutes or until well blended. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle with blueberries. Combine sugar, flour and butter in a small mixing bowl and toss with a fork until crumbly; sprinkle over blueberries. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

Both of these dishes were SO SUPER easy to prepare and were EXCELLENT together. I prepared and baked the Blueberry Kuchen first in a glass pan. After it was done baking, I already had the Egg Muffins ready to go and immediately put them in the oven. It was GREAT that both baked at the same temperature so that the oven was ready to go. After about 25 minutes, the Egg Muffins were hot and fresh and the Blueberry Kuchen was still warm....PERFECT! Then, I topped it all off with the delicious Homemade Orange Julius. It was a YUMMY YUMMY dinner. I am sure that the Blueberry Kuchen is still tasty cooled, but it was HEAVENLY warm. I would highly recommend serving it right out of the oven or no more than 25 minutes after it comes out of the oven. It was PERFECT (have I said that already? LOL!). YUMMY!

So there you have it....TWO fantastic books and TWO fantastic recipes. Run on out and pick up one or BOTH of these books, prepare yourself a divine breakfast of Scrambled Egg Muffins, Blueberry Kuchen and Orange Julius and you are GOOD TO GO!!! Good READS and good EATS! ENJOY!

(P.S. I found this plate in my cupboard and the yellow and blue flowers looked perfect with the yellow and blue in the egg muffins and kuchen....so I just had to use it for the pic. :-) If this is your plate, let me know. LOL! I have no idea where it came from!)

FYI...For those that pre-ordered my upcoming cookbook, please stay tuned for an update and official ordering information to come...VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (If you did not "pre-order" any cookbooks when I initially blogged about my cookbook, you can STILL order when I post about the official ordering. The "pre-order" was just to get an estimated number of copies that people were interested in purchasing.)

A conversation I had with Kaden tonight as I was tucking him into bed (so I won't forget).....

MAMA: "Guess what Kaden?"

KADEN: "You love me to the Moon and around and around and around and around and back again."

MAMA: "Well that too (That is what I always say to him...LOL), but do you know that I love you so much that there is so much love in my heart that sometimes I think my heart will explode?"

KADEN: "When will it explode?"

MAMA: "Well, it won't really explode, but there is so much love in it, that it FEELS like it will explode."

KADEN: "So when will it explode? Will it explode tonight? Or will it explode while me and Baby are sleeping?"

MAMA: "No bud. It won't REALLY explode. I was just saying that I love you so much that it feels like my heart will explode. But it won't REALLY explode."

KADEN: (silence.........)

KADEN: "So it won't really explode?'

MAMA: "No. Guess what bud?"

KADEN: "What Mama?"

MAMA: "I love you to the Moon and around and around and around and around and back again!!!"

KADEN: "I love you too Mama."

{a visit to jerome, peace & memory monday}

Yesterday afternoon, we arrived home from a little family trip to Jerome & Twin Falls, Idaho for a family reunion on my Dad's side. Our family reunion was actually in Twin Falls this weekend, but since Chas' grandpa and grandma and aunt & uncle live in Jerome (just 5 miles out of Twin), we decided to head up a day early to spend time with them. Just a few years ago, Ken & Tara (Chas' aunt and uncle) built a home that is split in two inside. They live in one half and Grandma and Grandpa live in the other half. It is a beautiful beautiful home. As soon as we got there, we went in and visited with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa has been held up after a knee surgery and infection, so it was nice to see him doing so well and in good spirits. Seneca took to them immediately and began serving them "tea," which both of them readily drank. LOL! I love these two pictures of Seneca snuggling up to both of her great grandparents, even though she doesn't know them very well. It was so nice to sit and visit with them....we don't see them as often as we would like to.

We got to Jerome on Thursday evening, and the kids were immediately excited to play with Chas' cousins. At first, I told Kaden that Ken & Tara's kids were his cousins and then realized they are actually CHAS' cousins....just younger. LOL! Kaden got along so well with Ken & Tara's little Chad, that when it came time to leave, he started crying, saying how much he would miss Chad and that he wanted to stay there forever. LOL! Seneca just kinda did her own thing...like always. When we got there, she sat up to the bar in the kitchen and everything Tara offered her to eat, she took and devoured. Guess we kinda forgot to feed them lunch. LOL! We had an awesome BBQ and then just sat and visited while the kids played. I've never had much chance to sit and really visit with Ken and Tara...and they are seriously just about two of the nicest people you will ever meet.

While we were chatting after dinner, Seneca walked up to us and Chas noticed before I did, that she had a deep cut in her forehead and blood was dripping down it! It looked like she had crashed into the corner of something. She hadn't even cried when it happened!!! We don't know how she bumped it or how long it was bleeding. She had just been in the next room playing and suddenly it was bleeding. Good gracious....she's such a tough kid. Unless we see an "owie," we never know if she got hurt. So we sat her down, cleaned it up, rubbed in some Melagel (LOVE THIS STUFF....always have it with me) to help it heal and reduce risks of scarring and put on a bandaid. Tough little girl, that's for sure! I am SO HOPING that it doesn't scar. Kaden fell when he was little and bumped his head in the same spot and still has a scar...but for boys it's different. Oh well, really in the end, how big of a deal is a scar? Not very big. So get over it Heather. LOL!

Friday morning, Chas let me sleep in. SO nice. Even though I don't really SLEEP past 7, it was nice to just lay there and drift in and out. At about 9:30ish, the door opened and Seneca jumped on the bed, put her face right by mine and said, "HI MAMA!!! IT'S ME!!!!!" LOL! We lounged around for most of the morning and watched the kiddies while they played inside and out in the back yard and then we went out to lunch with Uncle Ken, Grandma, Preston (Ken & Tara's oldest) and Chas' Uncle John and Aunt Annette (who flew up first thing Friday morning from SLC to visit for the weekend). We love John and Annette, so it was fun to have them there as well. Ken took us out to Smokin' Cowboys Authentic Slow Smoked BBQ (Chas and his Uncle John posed for me in front of the sign :-) ). It was DELISH! I had slow smoked pulled pork and it was heavenly. After lunch, Kaden went with Aunt Tara and their kids to see "Eragon" (it was the first summer kids movie at the movie theater) while Chas and Seneca had a rest time back at the house. While everyone was resting, I headed to Walmart. Yep...Jerome has a Walmart! :-) LOVE Walmart. After I got back, we hung out and visited with Grandma, Annette, John, Tara and Ken for a while and then headed out to the hotel in Twin Falls where my family was staying for the rest of the weekend. Here are a few pics of Grandma and Aunt Annette and Ken & Tara with their cute little Chelsea (who was terrified of my flash. I scared her half to death more than once on our trip. Poor thing!!).

Thank you, Ken & Tara, for your hospitality!!! We had SUCH a great time at your home and look forward to our next visit to Jerome!!

The day we left for Jerome, my Dad shared with us that one of my mom's closest friends, Kuni Jackson, had passed away that morning. You may remember me talking about Kuni and how we planted her flowers this year for our Mother's Day service project just over a month ago. Kuni has been very sick for so long. Finally, a week ago today, they stopped her dialysis. She was given a blessing of comfort that her body would be able to feel peace and that she may return home to her Heavenly Father. Only three days after that blessing, Kuni passed away peacefully. As I write this, I am a little teary, but in contrast to the great grieving that I felt at Dave's passing, I feel such comfort knowing that after so many years of pain and illness, Kuni is finally feeling peace. And what a happy feeling it is for us to know that just a month before her passing, we were able to serve her in such a small way, in planting all of her flowers just before her passing. Kuni lived a life of service...even as she suffered from her illness. I remember all growing up, having cute little Kuni show up in her socks and flip flops, with Japanese candies and homemade dishes "just for love." Some we loved and some were a little "interesting," (LOL!) but all were made with love. She and my mom were so very close. When they were out together, they would often tell people they were sisters. :-) You could see the questioning looks when they told people that, since they obviously look nothing alike. LOL! I have watched my mom for the many many years that Kuni has been sick and have watched as she has tirelessly loved and served Kuni. She has taken many meals, taken her on errands and driven her to the temple countless times so that Kuni could serve as a temple worker until it was physically impossible for her to continue (which was very literally past the point that most people would have continued). Both women, Kuni and my mom, have been such incredible examples of service in my life. We will all miss Kuni, but feel such happiness that she is now free of pain and illness and has returned to her loving Heavenly Father, knowing how proud He must be of her and the life that she lived. Today is Kuni's funeral and I am looking forward to hearing my mom speak and also being able to sing a musical number with my sisters. Before Kuni passed away, she prepared a video presentation of her life, without anyone knowing about it. That video will be presented at her funeral. It has been a difficult few weeks, but what a comfort it is to know of our Heavenly Father's eternal plan, that we can be together for eternity. Kuni, we love you and miss you and will forever be grateful for your love and example. Here is Kuni's obituary, a wonderful tribute to a wonderful woman, written by my Mom:

KUNI HARADA JACKSON

Kuni Harada Jackson 1944 ~ 2008 Kuni passed away peacefully at her home, Thursday, June 19th, 2008, after a long but courageous struggle with illness.She was born, Nov. 4th, 1944, in Hiroshima, Japan, the daughter of Heiichi and Masa Harada. She grew up in Japan loving the beaches, oceans and mountain climbing. She won prizes in intellectual competitions. Kuni had teaching certificates in Japanese tea ceremony and flower arranging. She has had Haiku poetry published in a Japanese language newspaper in the United States. As a young woman, she loved working as a tour guide, sharing the beauty of her native Japan with others. In 1971, she met and married Brian Charles Jackson, who was serving in the armed forces there in Japan. They moved back to the Salt Lake area, where their son, Travis was born. Kuni had a deep love for her family, friends and neighbors, the Temple and the gospel of Jesus Christ. She served everyone-children, the sick, the lonely, the needy and the aged. She knew and lived the meaning of "Love One Another." In turn, her family would like to thank the many friends, neighbors, doctors and nurses who assisted her during her illness. Kuni is survived by the family that she treasured- her husband, Brian and son, Travis. She was preceded in death by parents, her sister, Nichiko and brother, Rikuich, all of Japan.

And now, after a few skipped weeks, our MEMORY MONDAY......

SHARE ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE SUMMER MEMORIES

Every year growing up, we had a block party on our street. We put up barricades at our house and the end of the street and had a huge BBQ with all of the neighbors. It was a tradition to have our neighbor Doug's FABULOUS BBQ ribs, with his incredible Old Indian BBQ Sauce. DELISH! To this day, I just cannot appreciate ANY other ribs than Doug's. So glad that Dad has taken over since Doug moved and still makes the INCREDIBLE sauce for all of our Rib BBQs. We now have large cups that we put out on the table when we eat ribs for you to put your bones in....that way, no one knows how many you have eaten! ;-) LOL!

DOUG'S OLD INDIAN BBQ SAUCE

10 oz. grape jelly
1 C. ketchup
1 T. vinegar
2 T. water
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. curry
2 tsp. salt

Boil rack of baby back ribs in water for about 20 minutes. Take directly out and place on BBQ grill. Grill, browning both sides, turn and baste both sides liberally with sauce. ENJOY!!!!!

Then, my friends Heather and Angie and I were always in charge of the carnival for all of the kids on the street. We had tons of games and prizes for everyone. One year, my sister Julie and her friend Cherise even dressed up as clowns and came and did face painting at the carnival. I have a picture of that somewhere. If I can track it down, I will post it here. We looked forward to the block party all year long. And that night, my friends Tony, Angie and Shelby and I would all sleep over on Tony & Angie's trampoline in their back yard. I'm not sure how that ever came to be, since Mom & Dad didn't let us have sleepovers...but I guess that was the one exception. We would stay up all night playing games under the stars. It was a blast. I have so many fun fun memories of the block parties on our street. Mom and Dad still have the block party, but have widened the number of people invited. There aren't many kids left on the street, so it's mainly an adult affair without all of the whistles and bells that we used to do. But still, they continue to get together. Such a fun tradition and a MAJOR part of my childhood memories. It was such a happy memory, that I have decided to start the same tradition here in our circle this summer!

{gems & father's day}

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to do another fun circle journal entry. As you can see in the picture above, the theme for my friend Laurie's circle journal was "GEMS." The idea for this journal was for each member of our group to share their own personal "GEMS," whether it be ACTUAL gemstones, favorite quotes, something you like about yourself, a personal hero or anything in our lives that is our own "personal GEM." Such a great theme. This group really has been simply exceptional as far as not only the albums and the designs go, but also the actual themes chosen. Each one has required a lot of thought and has made us really dig deep into ourselves to create our entries. I love that. Laurie chose an 8" x 8" album for her circle journal and with her permission, I am going to share her intro pages to the circle journal to give you a better idea of what she asked us to do in her journal and to also give you ideas if you are thinking of starting a circle journal group yourself. (Click on each individual picture to enlarge and view pictures at true quality, instead of Typepad Pixelated Quality. LOL!)

Laurie's "Sign-In Page" was so fun and unique. In fact, it wasn't really a page at all. Instead of having us decorate tags to sign in to her book, she actually had HUGE chipboard hearts for each of us to decorate that were tied together and attached to the inside of the album. With all of the hearts decorated, her "Sign-In Pages" actually ended up looking like a book themselves. LOL! She asked that we decorate the hearts according to our personality. All of the heart cards turned out so fun!!

Since we were supposed to design the sign-in card according to our own personalities, I decided to have mine really bright and fun. I chose to embellish with a bright orange gerber daisy (since I love gerbers!!!) with a "100% Original" chipboard circle in the center. For my name, I used alphabet stickers and cutouts from a sheet of alphabet patterned paper to create a fun and slightly whimsical feel.  Love it! And since the theme was "GEMS," I couldn't resist the fun gemstone crown! ;-) On the reverse side of the heart, I descorated it with coordinating papers and little journaling circles with my personal info. This sign-in heart was so much fun. It was almost like designing a whole other page, instead of just a sign in tag. LOL! SUCH a fun idea!!!

And now, on to my entry into Laurie's circle journal. Originally, I was wanting to think of something really original and perhaps different than what most would consider "GEMS" but was still priceless to me personally. However, after everything that has happened this week, I couldn't do these pages focusing on anything other than my family. Save my testimony of the Gospel alone, my family is without a doubt, my most precious and priceless GEM. Though a few others had focused on the same thing for their pages, I simply had to do the same.

I used the same bright fun paper for my two-page layout that I used for my sign-in heart. I wasn't sure that it would match my vintage-edited pics, but I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. This was a two-page layout that I had a really hard time sending away.

As I did on my sign-in heart, I cut out individual letters from one of the alphabet patterned papers for my title and embellished with LOTS of gems, including a little daisy that I made out of two different sizes of gems (that's really not an original idea..LOL...but fun nonetheless). I thought it was a fun combination to use these fun bright colored papers with the black ornate die cut paper and I used another large orange gerber with a big 'Everyday Moments" chipboard circle in the center. I used a conversation bubble, that runs onto the first page, for my journaling which very simply reads: "Other than my testimony of the Gospel, my husband and sweet children, and the "everyday moments" that I share with them, are above and beyond my most precious and priceless gems!!" After not liking my handwriting on my layouts for so long, I am really starting to dig the personal touch it adds to my layouts. :-) I also love these fun turquoise vinyl letter stickers that I used for the first time to spell out "priceless" on my second page. So many fun fun products out there!!

Some may ask why my testimony stands above my sweet family. The Gospel is the foundation of my life and what makes it possible for me to BE with my family for time and all eternity. So in a sense, they both go hand in hand. My love for my family is so great, that I can't even fathom for a second what it would be like to have our family end with this life. If we live worthy, our family is sealed together for eternity, forever, because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So yes, my testimony of the Gospel stands as my most priceless gem...the greatest reason being, that it binds 3 of my most priceless and precious gems to me for all eternity. What a wonderful theme for this circle journal and I am so happy with how these pages turned out. Only one more journal left and our rotation is complete. I can't WAIT to see my own circle journal complete with the entries from every member of our group!!! This has been SUCH a fun project and I am always so excited to share each one with you!