10,000 things that make me happy

Leap Day

2012-02-29T12:22:00.001-06:00

Happy LEAP day! We're celebrating with some froggy cupcakes for after school snack and our Young Women treat tonight. It's 60º out and a beautiful day. Hard to believe it's still February!

I don't know about you, but I'm happy to see February go. Not my favorite month... Spring Break is in 10 days. Yippee!!!!! I hope life is good in your little corner of the world. :)

(Cupcake idea found here.)

Lockdown

2012-02-27T11:36:00.000-06:00

It all started with an anonymous call to 911 last Friday morning stating that someone might have a gun at the high school.

The school went into lockdown and the police were brought in. Some classes followed the specified protocol and the students spent the next two hours sitting against the wall, away from the door, in the dark. Sam, in P.E. at the time, was herded with the rest of his class into a remote corner of the girls' locker room. Other classes were a little more laid back, but no one was allowed to leave their classroom.

Some students passed the time by texting or updating their facebook pages. All lockers, students, and their belongings were searched. An automated phone message from the district office let parents know what was going on and asked us to please not call or go to the school.

Nothing suspicious was found and it was over. They sent students to their regularly scheduled class just like any other ordinary day -- if you can call armed policemen roaming the halls ordinary.

Then another anonymous call to 911, this time from within the school, said that someone had been seen with a gun. The hallways were again off limits. It was during lunch and Savannah had left campus with a friend and they couldn't get back in. I gladly called and officially checked her out for the rest of the day.

The person who made the phone call was found. They admitted to the earlier phone call as well. Another automated call to parents informed us that there was no threat.

I don't know why someone would do that, causing such inconvenience and fear among so many others. But I'm so thankful it ended the way it did. From what I'm seeing on the news this morning, some others aren't so lucky.

Before and After: The Music Chair

2012-02-18T18:08:00.000-06:00

Today we bought Sterling a desk. He's been begging for one, saying he needs his own place to do homework and write music. A new home furnishings consignment shop just opened up in my little town and they had a desk that was just right. Jeff and I picked it up today and put it in the perfect spot in our music room. Once the weather warms up, we'll paint it a glossy black and it will look great with the piano in there. (That before and after will come later.) For now, the blonde wood finish will do and Sterling is completely thrilled with his new desk.

But the desk needed a chair. I gladly gave up an old dining room chair that's been taking up space in my bedroom. The seat was recovered several years ago to match some throw pillows that we don't use anymore and I was pretty sure Sterling wouldn't be thrilled with the floral print. What to do? Well, with an old white sheet, a vinyl stencil, some black paint and about 2 hours, here's what we came up with...

Before and After:

Pretty cool, eh? I'm always happy with a quick fix and Sterling loves it! Yippee!!

Punctuation Saves Lives

2012-02-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

This sign hangs outside an office in Jeff's building -- A pretty clever and funny way to make a very good point! :)

Recipe: Peasant Bread

2012-02-16T12:30:00.000-06:00

We're loving this recipe I came across for peasant bread. It's pretty quick and easy to throw together and it doesn't matter how it looks. Just break off a chunk, dip in butter or oil or balsamic vinegar and enjoy. Or eat it plain like we do - there's plenty of flavor from the italian seasoning and salt.

Peasant Bread

2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) yeast

1 T. sugar

4 c. flour

2 c. warm water

2 tsp. salt

1 T. Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 425º.

Mix yeast, sugar, salt, and water until dissolved. Add flour and Italian seasoning. Mix with spoon.

Spray hands with non-stick cooking spray. Divide dough into 2 balls and put on oiled/sprayed cookie sheet. Cover with towel and let raise 20-30 minutes.

Pull in sides; brush top with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and Italian seasoning.

Bake at 425º for 10 min; then bake at 375º for 15 min.

Dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar garnished with grated Parmesan cheese.

(Recipe Source)

The Blank Page

2012-02-15T13:31:00.001-06:00

You know how sometimes a page in a manual or book will say, "This page has been intentionally left blank?" I think it's so that you won't worry your copy is missing important information or that something has indavertently been omitted. Apparently Sterling has his own reasons for the blank page. He has been compiling a collection of his music compositions and here is what I found the other night...

Front:

Back:

Yeah, we laughed about that. What a crazy kid!

Speaking of Authentic...

2012-02-09T12:45:00.000-06:00

"The problem with quotes on the internet is you can never be certain they're authentic."
--Abraham Lincoln

On My Fridge

2012-02-03T16:59:00.000-06:00

Do you see it? I know I shouldn't laugh, but I did. (It's better than crying, right?) I like how "they" at least tried to be sort of subtle about it. Good thing I'm not running for a popularity contest around here! :)

I Have a Joke For You

2012-02-02T08:25:00.000-06:00

What do you call a pig with no legs?

Give up?

A Ground Hog.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

Happy Groundhog Day!

Cilantro Ice

2012-02-01T13:37:00.000-06:00

We love cilantro around here. Unfortunately, whenever I buy it from the store, so much of it goes to waste! The recipe I buy it for usually calls for a small amount and then, despite my good intentions to use up the rest, all too often it ends up going bad and ending up in the trash.

The answer? Cilantro ice! I tried this as an experiment 2 or 3 years ago and it works like a charm.

Step one: Chop up a bunch or two of cilantro.

Step two: Place 1-2 Tablespoons of the chopped cilantro into each well of an ice cube tray and add just enough water to cover.

Step three: Freeze. When completely frozen, pop the ice cubes into a ziplock freezer bag and store in the freezer until you need them.

When you have a recipe that calls for cilantro, add a cube or two or three... The cubes will thaw as the other ingredients are added and stirred. As my kids would say, it's easy-peasy-rice-and-cheesy! Enjoy! :)

Where Can I Get Me One Of These?

2012-01-30T20:38:00.000-06:00

I saw this on a car window last week:

For some reason my teenagers didn't catch the humor... :)

To dad

2012-01-27T20:52:00.000-06:00

Sadie learned how to text on Savannah's cell phone and now she wants one of her own. (She's six. She won't be getting a phone anytime soon!) She thinks she's so sneaky when she steals Savannah's phone and sends texts to me or Jeff. We laughed at this one:

Well Said

2012-01-26T17:00:00.000-06:00

Sterling Plays the Cello...

2012-01-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

...or something like that.

His inspiration can be found here. (That's what he's listening to on his mp3.)

In the next photo, Sterling is listening to "Summer," by Vivaldi while conducting an imaginary orchestra from the sheet music. I'd say this boy has found his calling in life. :)

Seminary

2012-01-22T22:09:00.000-06:00

Tonight, my Seminary-aged kids attended a broadcast commemorating 100 years of Seminary. It started me thinking about my Seminary experience and how much it shaped me.

High School wasn't exactly the best four years of my life. I was shy and awkward and naive and pretty nerdy. But at the end of my junior year, I was called, along with 16 others, to serve on the Seminary Council the following year. It changed my life.

That year is still one of my favorite memories. It's been forever (1988), and I haven't seen most of the council for ages, but we formed the kind of friendships that can pass the test of time. I am confident that if I were to cross paths with any of them, we could pick up where we left off and have the years melt away.

I spent some time looking through photos and watching crazy video commercials we made together. I laughed and my kids kept saying, "Is that you?" and the memories came flooding back. That was a great year. I loved Seminary!

6-year old Artwork

2012-01-19T19:52:00.000-06:00

Just thought I'd showcase a couple of things Sadie has drawn recently. The snowman is from art class at school (I love the up-close perspective) and the lady with the lips and the huge part in her hair was a creation on daddy's iPad. Too cute!

I'm Sold

2012-01-14T20:09:00.001-06:00

We are huge fans of Jon Schmidt! As one of the Piano Guys, he's entertained us through his many YouTube videos and Savannah has learned several of his songs over the past few weeks. (She's almost mastered this and this!) When I was browsing his music site one day, I came across these piano method books (here and here) and decided to give them a try. Here's what I love:

1. I've been teaching Soren (age 8) piano lessons for about 9 months using a different method. He gets it and is excited to play, but the progress has been pretty slow. I've seen more progress in 2 weeks of "67 Fun Songs Primer" than I did in several months of the other method we were using.
2. Sadie (age 6) has been begging to play the piano, but the method we already had wasn't a very good fit for her. I started her on "67 Fun Songs Primer" and it's perfect! She loves it and frequently asks when it will be time for her lesson.
3. With the primer book, lessons are daily and take no more than 10 minutes. There is plenty of reinforcement with simple songs that go along with each lesson. My kids' confidence builds daily. The primer book boasts, "Now parents can teach piano without experience!" The daily lessons are simple and actually take less time than it took to monitor daily practice before we switched to this method.
4. My kids are learning to read music and it's sticking! This method is pure genius and has eliminated the confusion of too-many-things-to-remember-at-once found in other methods.
5. Each lesson in the primer spells out exactly what to do. It literally goes through the dialogue between teacher and student so that parents with no musical background can confidently teach each lesson. It even throws in a little game here and there. Soren loved the game in his lesson today where we pretended the piano would blow up if he missed any notes. He laughed and laughed when it blew up twice...
6. The price is right. Each book is $15.95 which is about what we have paid for one piano lesson in the past. I'm saving a lot of money by being able to teach them myself.

I could go on, but you get the idea. I'm sold on this method and love sitting down with my kids and seeing their excitement about the rapid progress they are making.

By the way, I have no connection to Jon Schmidt and have not received any compensation or free product for this endorsement. This is straight from me because it makes me happy! :)

Friday Funny

2012-01-13T11:58:00.000-06:00

A man walks into the doctor’s office with a zucchini up hisnose, a cucumber in his right ear and a breadstick in his left ear.
He asks the doctor, “What’s wrong with me?”

The doctor replies, “You are not eating properly.”

L.O.V.E.

2012-01-12T09:55:00.000-06:00

This made me smile. What a great program!

Something You Don't See Everyday

2012-01-10T10:23:00.000-06:00

Yes, that is a unicycle in the high school bike rack. I saw it this morning when dropping my kids off at school. Another thing you don't see everyday, at least not in my little corner of the world, is green grass in January. It's been in the 50's when usually we are lucky to even hit double digits this time of year. My tulips are so confused and are trying to come up early.

Winter Sunset

2012-01-06T11:36:00.000-06:00

These pictures don't even do it justice, but here's a little glimpse into the progression of a beautiful sunset earlier this week. The clouds were spread out like this all across the sky and they were pink all the way. Hopefully you can see how the clouds keep getting brighter as the sky darkens. It was breathtaking!

Meet Steve and Larry

2012-01-05T11:57:00.000-06:00

"Ste-e-e-ve? Steve, where are you?"

That would be Sterling looking for his lucky pencil.
(I know. Who names their pencils?)

But Steve and Sterling have been together through the Violin I and II parts of his first composition and they are currently working together on the Viola part.

Last night I was practicing the guitar and I was making a note with a pencil I found near my chair. Sterling came downstairs and said, "Oh, I see you are using Larry. That's okay. You can."

Never a dull moment.

Steve, the lucky pencil, waiting for Sterling to come home.

This Year

2012-01-01T15:11:00.000-06:00

One of my goals this year is:

Never suppress a generous thought.

Camilla Kimball

Often I'll have a passing thought of some small thing I could do for someone else. Usually these things don't seem like a big deal, but acting on them might lift a burden or bring a smile. But little things are easy to dismiss and so too often I talk myself out of them and never realize the blessing I could be to another. This year I'm going to do my best to act on these thoughts. And because it's easy to give the least to those who matter most, I'm going to try to be especially diligent in acting on generous thoughts towards my family.

Now, I don't want to get to January 15 and kick myself for the times I didn't or couldn't act on an impression. I will do what I can with what I have while keeping this in mind:

My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

And I'm going to learn to play the guitar. ;)

It's going to be a good year!

Happy Events

2011-12-30T21:51:00.000-06:00

What a relaxing and enjoyable week! Here are a few highlights:

1. The MINI fix. At a recent oil change, we were told my MINI would need the head gasket replaced to stop a slow oil and coolant leak. Argh! That just sounds expensive. We called the MINI dealership in St. Louis to schedule the service. When I asked for an estimate on a head gasket, the attendant said he's never seen a head gasket go out on a MINI. Ever. Then he told us it was probably the seal around the thermostat, an easy fix. Sure enough, when Jeff removed the old one it was broken in two places. He installed the new part and we're good as new! Hooray for a $25 fix!!

2. Snow!! I'm not sure how many times I've heard "I wish it would snow," during this break, but Tuesday morning's winter wonderland was proof that wishes do come true. It didn't last very long, but the kids were satisfied.

3. Games. We got several new non-electronic games for Christmas. We've had a great time playing them together. I like the quick ones myself (Blink, Ruckus and Spot It) and Qwirkle is really fun, but the kids have enjoyed several rounds of Killer Bunnies which is their favorite. Sam and Savannah tried to pull an all nighter on Monday and played it until 3:00am.

4. BYU Won! We are so happy that BYU managed to pull off a win in their Bowl game today against Tulsa. True to form, they waited until the very end of the 4th quarter to wrap things up. I busied myself putting away Christmas decorations so I wouldn't go crazy with all the near misses, but I'm grateful for how things ended up. 24-21. Go Cougs!

Imagesource

Life is good!

Our Christmas Card - Better Late Than Never!

2011-12-27T22:55:00.000-06:00

I'm totally cheating. I didn't send out Christmas cards this year. I really meant to, but it just never came together. Besides, we haven't had a family picture taken since 2008 and I think Christmas cards need a family picture. (I'm on it for 2012!) I had Sadie draw this lovely rendition of us so at least you can get a pretty good idea of what we all look like right now:

Our most recent family picture - by Sadie, December 2011

Here are a few highlights of our year:

We drove to Idaho, Utah and Nevada and spent over two weeks visiting family and various landmarks. We were just shy of 5000 miles round trip, a new record for us.
Sam's voice dropped 3 octaves and he is now mistaken for Jeff instead of Missy when he answers the phone. He loves plants, especially cacti and carnivorous varieties. (Age 15)
Savannah got glasses and braces and started High School - welcome to the awkward teenage phase. She has graduated to contacts and looks forward to getting her braces off in a few weeks. Jeff and Missy are happy that she cannot date for two years. She has a beautiful voice and is amazing on the piano! (Age 14)
Spencer was ordained a Deacon at church and graduated to the Young Men program. He also quit 7th grade and now enjoys school from home. (Age 12)
Sterling composed his first orchestra piece, March of the Victorians, in about three days and is currently writing in the individual instrument parts. He also enjoys writing stories. Sterling still loves all things Lego and has an unstoppable imagination. (Age 10)
Soren was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while we were vacationing in Idaho. He is our resident Pokemon expert and has designed some original Pokemon of his own. (Age 8)
Sadie runs the house and keeps us all in line. She is a great reader and loves to help daddy with whatever he is doing. She is losing teeth left and right and loves first grade and elephants. (Age 6)
Jeff was promoted to Full Professor. He is currently rated 4.8 out of 5.0 on ratemyprofessors.com and has a chili pepper by his name because he's so hot! He enjoys working on projects to improve our home and recently turned an unfinished storage closet into a beautiful office/plant nursery for Sam.
Missy keeps herself busy doing the typical mom things - mostly cooking, cleaning, laundry, and forcing kids to practice instruments against their will - but is also enjoying a new adventure as the Young Women president at church. She has decided that homework should be abolished and makes it through the school year by looking forward to each day off.

We are looking forward to a great new year. We hope 2012 is your best year so far!

Cheers,

The Stowell Family

I am a Christian

2011-12-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Imagesource

I am a Christian. Ibelieve in and follow Jesus Christ. TheJesus Christ that I believe in was born to a mortal mother, Mary, and animmortal father, even God. He lived aperfect life and, therefore, was the only person who was able to sacrificehimself as a ransom for my sins and for yours. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for the sins of allmankind. He was falsely accused andultimately gave His life on the cross. He rose three days later and appeared to many before ascending to HisFather in Heaven.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way back to theFather. I believe that there is nothingthat I can do to save myself. If I wereto work my entire life doing my best to overcome the effects of sin and death,I would still fall short. Without JesusChrist and His ultimate sacrifice, I would not be able to obtain exaltation andeternal life. While I fully understandthat my works cannot and will not save me, I believe that my faith should beevident in my works. The way I live ismy testimony of Him, but it is only through Him that I can be saved.

I am a Christian. Iam also a Mormon – a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints. There are those who would tellme that these two statements are incompatible, that Mormons are notChristian. They might go on to give adefinition of Christianity that, for example, includes references to councilswhere men decided the nature of Christ and His relationship to God. Their statements do not prove that I am not aChristian, they simply prove that I am not a Catholic or a Baptist or a memberof numerous other Christian denominations. I submit that we actually believe in the same Jesus Christ, we simplyunderstand Him differently. Jesus Christis my Savior. I am a Mormon and I am aChristian.

On this Christmas day, the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth, Ijust wanted you to know.

Merry Christmas!

Leading Up

2011-12-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

Here are some of the activities that have kept us busy in the days leading up to Christmas:

Gingerbread houses with our friends. Corn Pops and Candy Corn make great decor!

Sam's has more attention to the landscaping. You can tell he's our budding Botanist! I love the backyard pumpkin patch.

Soren went a little frosting crazy!

Sadie did a great job by herself!

I came up with this fun sign for Sadie's teacher. She loved it!

Another teacher gift.

We made miniature Santa's Underwear this year as a small favor to go with other gifts. I like them even better than the big ones. They are only about 5" tall. Cute!

My best attempt to make these cookies with this icing. Mine may not be as cute, but they were delish!

Last but not least, a visit to our friend, Rosie, on her 90th birthday which happens to be today.

Tonight we've already managed to lose a tooth (Sadie), practice our musical numbers for church tomorrow (Sam, Sterling and Savannah), and get ready for bed. It's time for our family read-through of the Christmas story from Luke 2, setting out cookies for Santa, and - if my kids are anything like I was when I was little - lying in bed wide awake wondering if they'll ever be able to fall asleep in anticipation of the long-awaited day!

Merry Christmas!

Friday Funny: Kid History Christmas

2011-12-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

Here's the lastest from Kid History - plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this one! Cheers.

Nobody Loves Me

2011-12-22T21:57:00.000-06:00

I found this on my pillow this afternoon. Someone is being sneaky. :)

Not A Moment Too Soon

2011-12-20T14:36:00.000-06:00

Dear Parent or Guardian:
You are receiving this letter because your child has been identified as a contact of someone who has a suspected case of pertussis (whooping cough)....

Dear Parent or Guardian:
This letter is to inform you that there have been a few confirmed cases of head lice in your child's classroom....

What do you do when these letters come home in your kids' backpacks on Monday? You scratch your head. You wonder if your cough is suddenly getting worse. You scratch your head again. Then you thank heaven that Christmas Break starts on Tuesday. At least that's what you do if you are me.

Two weeks off is not going to be long enough...!!

A Christmas Recital

2011-12-20T04:33:00.000-06:00

Another video. I know. Surprise.

Oh, but you're going to love this! Sterling had his violin recital on Friday. Sam, who still takes an occasional lesson, agreed to play a duet with Sterling as well. (Hooray!) So if you have a few minutes, enjoy Sam and Sterling playing "Good Christian Men Rejoice," and Sterling playing "Allegro," by Fiocco. (Sterling is accompanied by Savannah.)

Maybe next year we'll sit where we can see Sterling's hand finding all those fancy notes!! :)

Where Are You Christmas?

2011-12-16T10:34:00.002-06:00

I had a Friday Funny all set to post today and then I saw this. The instrumentals are amazing alone, but when the little girl started to sing, I cried. I know. Hard to believe from me, but still... And when she hugged her daddy at the end, I was a mess. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'm sure I'll be listening to this again and again.

Spencer Sings

2011-12-14T22:18:00.000-06:00

We loved Spencer's middle school chorus concert last night. Here's a little glimpse, featuring "The Twelve Days After Christmas." Enjoy! (Spencer is in the front row - white shirt, blue and white tie.)

Soren Says

2011-12-11T21:15:00.001-06:00

It was a Fast Sunday and Soren, as usual, was struggling with hunger pains. He was in a pretty sour mood, but when he came down the stairs all dressed up in his Sunday best, I blurted out,

"Oh Soren, you look so handsome! I just want to kiss you and eat you up!"

He immediately deadpanned,

"Well, you can't eat."

What a funny kid!

Contacting Santa Claus

2011-12-09T12:53:00.001-06:00

Have your kids started writing their letters to Santa? Here's an alternative - Let them call instead!

801-783-4210

Santa probably won't answer the phone - he's pretty busy this time of year - but it's fun for your kids to hear his voice on the answering machine and to leave him a message.

Or, send him an e-mail and he's sure to reply:

santa@claus.fami.ly

Note to parents: If you want an audio copy of your child's message (fun to listen to years later), send an e-mail to the address above with your child's name, age, and when the message was left and he'll do his best to e-mail it to you! Merry Christmas!

{Santa's website: claus.fami.ly}

Recipe: Graham Cracker Toffee

2011-12-08T16:30:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm not a huge fan (or even a little fan) of cold weather, but it does make me want to bake. This yummy confection is super easy to throw together and it makes a lot. I hope you love it as much as we do!

Graham Cracker Toffee
12 graham crackers, broken into quarters
Slivered almonds
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350º. Cover a cookie sheet (jelly roll pan) with graham cracker quarters and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Here's a little tip: If you have a silicone baking mat, use it. Otherwise, if you don't take your finished toffee off the cookie sheet early enough, it will be there permanently. I just got my mat and it has changed my life forever. :)

In a saucepan, combine butter, margarine and sugar. (No, I don't know why it calls for butter AND margarine. Would all butter work? I don't see why not, but I've never tried.) Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Drizzle over graham crackers. Bake at 350º for 7 minutes. (If you do not have a silicone baking mat, remove from cookie sheet as soon as they are cool enough to handle.) Separate the crackers, allow to cool completely and enjoy!

Toffee mixture drizzled over top, ready for oven.

All bubbly, just out of the oven.

The foam settles quickly. Waiting until they are cool enough is the hardest part!

Coming soon: Saltine Cracker Toffee!

One of the Great Ones

2011-12-07T22:30:00.000-06:00

Today we lost one of the greatest of the greatest generation. Don Sanders - age 90 and World War II veteran - passed away. Somehow it seems fitting that he died on Pearl Harbor day.

Don had some pretty incredible stories to tell about his years in the war. He had several near-death experiences. Once he was saved because he and his fellow soldiers boarded a ship in alphabetical order which put him near the front. When a Japanese sub literally cut the ship in half, most of the soldiers went down with it. Don and several others survived and were able to hang on to what was left of the ship until they were rescued the next morning.

Don was given several medals and awards including a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was shot in the leg during a bonsai attack in the Philippines. It took five days to evacuate him to a hospital ship and by then he had gangrene in his leg and it was swollen to twice its size. Amputation was put off only because of higher priority emergency gut wounds arriving at the hospital. By the time the doctor returned to Don the next morning, maggots had eaten away much of the poison in his leg, the swelling went down, and it was determined that his leg could be saved. Despite these and other horrific experiences, including severe dehydration and the perils of being surrounded by the enemy time and time again, Don served three years without a furlough.

A kinder, gentler man would be hard to find. We first met Don several years ago when he spent his days making furniture in his garage and we were in need of a couple of dressers. Over the years we purchased several things from him and even had him make some custom items like our piano bench and a dresser/armoire for our bedroom. We easily became friends and enjoyed visiting with him at his home on a few occasions or at community events. Don and his wife surprised us with a visit on Christmas morning one year which was a highlight of our day.

Don, you will be missed. Thanks for your example of strength through adversity and patience amidst affliction. Rest in peace.

Don in the Homecoming parade a few years ago.

Cello Wars

2011-12-05T09:06:00.001-06:00

Wow! This is amazing!! Thanks, Grandma, for the heads up. I wish you could have been here to see Sterling's face light up when the bows turned into light sabers. Priceless! {Find out more about The Piano Guys here.}

Holiday Concert

2011-12-04T22:41:00.001-06:00

Sam and Sterling had their Holiday Concert with the University orchestra tonight. It was amazing! The concert hall sold out. It completely cheered my heart to see my boys up there playing their hearts out. The High School choir was invited to participate in a couple of the choral numbers so Sam was able to sing with the choir for one number and play his violin in the orchestra for the rest.

It's such a blessing that the conductor of the orchestra provides outreach programs which allow the high school kids to have this experience to sing with the college choir as well as the Symphonic Honors Initiative Program (SHIP) which allows my kids to play violin with the orchestra.

Tonight's concert was awesome! I loved every minute of it!

Jefph

2011-12-03T12:50:00.001-06:00

Even though my kids are way past learning their letters, we still have our alphabet magnets on the fridge and they still end up spelling out whatever the kids can dream up on a regular basis. Somebody (Sterling, was that you?) was spelling Jeff - or trying to. What do you do when there's only one F? You get creative.

Pretty clever! :)

Marry Chrismas

2011-12-02T19:49:00.001-06:00

Sadie worked pretty hard to make this for Jeff for Christmas. She put it in a huge box ("I don't want it to rip") and set it under the tree. So cute! He's going to love it. :)

Personal Day

2011-12-01T13:28:00.001-06:00

Sterling forgot to bring home a worksheet yesterday. It was pretty late last night when he realized his mistake and there was nothing we could do about it. Because it was due first thing this morning, Sterling knew he'd have to work on it in Study Hall during recess. While this may not sound like a big deal to you and me, it was as good as a death sentence for Sterling. He fell apart and pleaded with me to keep him home from school.

I wanted to. I really, really wanted to. I had visions of my 7th grade self when I forgot my English book which was a 50 point penalty. I was so worried about it that I got sick in my cooking class and had to go home before English. Except I wasn't really sick.

But somehow I kicked into mom mode and gave Sterling the "you can do hard things" lecture. He was still upset when he woke up and had a very rough morning. He worried about his teacher's reaction. I assured him that she would be understanding, but would have to follow through with the consequence. He worried that his classmates would make a big deal about it when he got called to Study Hall. They probably would, too. He's a really smart kid and so, naturally, they get some satisfaction at pointing out his imperfections. Despite his tears and his fears, I finally coaxed him out the door.

He walked in the house again a few minutes later. I helped him settle down and then drove him to school. By this time he was at least 20 minutes late which required that I sign him in at the office with a reason for his tardiness. I jotted down "crisis" and walked him to class at his request. He was unloading his backpack when he realized that his class was in music and he had left his recorder and sheet music at home. I could see him starting to fall apart again and so I did what I'd wanted to do all along. I took him home. I stopped in at the office, crossed his name off the late roster and told the ladies that he would be taking a personal day.

We all need a personal day once in a while. I think I did the right thing.

Dear Homework

2011-11-29T11:12:00.001-06:00

We had a lovely Thanksgiving break. The kids were happy, the weather was amazing, the food was great, we had a nice visit with friends, Jeff completed a big home improvement project (more on that later) and I finished my Christmas shopping! {Hooray for Amazon.com!!! By the way, this is by far the earliest I've ever been done shopping for my kids. I'm so excited to actually enjoy December without people breaking out in the gimme's all the time!}

One of the main reasons we enjoyed such a carefree long weekend was the lack of homework. Sure, the older kids had some projects to complete, but they've known about those for a while and were grateful for the days off to have extra time to focus on them. The younger ones just emptied the Thanksgiving themed artwork, word searches and empty lunchboxes from their backpacks and enjoyed their break. Ahh, bliss!

By Sunday evening, with the realization that their long awaited weekend of freedom was at an end, people started getting agitated around here. I was frustrated right along with them. All too often, moods are determined by the demands of school. It's been a hard year in that regard. My kids are pulled in so many different directions and school has been pulling the hardest. A couple of weeks ago I was particularly frustrated and so I wrote a letter to vent my feelings. I'm just not sure who to send it to. Here it is, for what it's worth....

Dear Homework,

I hate you. There, Isaid it. In fact, I hate you, I hateyou, I hate you!

I hate how you follow my kids home from school everyday. I hate how you stay way too longand suck the fun out of everything. Ihate how you make my kids feel guilty when they want to spend time with anyone(or anything) else while you’re still here. I will admit that there have been times I have felt your meaningfulcontribution to our lives. Sadly, thosetimes are rare. Mostly, I just hate youand the black cloud that hangs over my house when you are around.

When you tell my kids they have to read, then they get noenjoyment out of reading. When you tellthem to do math, they complain because they already did math at school. When you tell them to write, they disappearand try to hide from you and say their tummy hurts and sneak outside becausethey’d much rather run and play. Butwhen they come in, you’re still here! You never take the hint. I’vetried to help them get rid of you. Ican’t tell you how many times I’ve sat down right next to them to try to helpthem meet your daily demands. I’vecolored their maps for social studies. (Since when is Social Studies an artclass?) I’ve helped them brainstorm forpapers even when they tell me, “That’s not how my teacher does it!” If it’s always supposed to be how the teacherdoes it, then I say let them do it atschool where the teacher is! Actually,I say that even if it’s not always supposed to be how the teacher does it. So there.

The teacher has my kids for over 7 hours a day. You know what? I think that’s enough. If you always follow them home, when do I getthem? With you here, meal times arealways stressful. With you here, bedtimegets later and later. Sometimes you evenhave the nerve to still be here when they wake up in the morning! When do my kids get to be kids? When do they get to read for pleasure? When do they get to be excited about whatinterests them without having to write a report about it? An amazing thing happens when you leave themalone: My kids are curious. They use their imaginations. They read and play together and laugh andsing and joke together. But when you’rehere, they fight and cry and yell. Youare a bully.

I hate you.

Sincerely,

The Mom

(How many days until Christmas break?)

On Pioneer Speak and Alpha Males

2011-11-23T16:04:00.001-06:00

You just never know what you'll encounter in my little corner of the world.

This morning, my little Sadie climbed in bed with me and said, "Good morrow. How now?" She informed me that's how the pilgrims said, "Good morning. How are you?" Her 1st grade teacher told the kids to speak in pilgrim language until after Thanksgiving. After lunch she asked, "What's for sup?" What a nut!

I came home from running errands this afternoon to a very tearful Sterling. When I asked him what was wrong, his explanation started with, "When Spencer and I were fighting for Alpha Male..." Then Jeff chimes in from the kitchen, "I thought I was the Alpha Male." Apparently there's a little too much testosterone around here!

Welcome to my world. :)

Kid-Friendly Turkey

2011-11-22T16:50:00.001-06:00

Isn't this a cute little turkey? Soren's 3rd grade class made these with their 1st grade buddies this morning. Luckily it was my day to help in the classroom so I was working with some pretty happy kids. There were plenty of sticky fingers and smiling faces to go around. A fun morning!

Happiness Is...

2011-11-21T21:08:00.001-06:00

...Kermit the Frog!

Oh, how I love the Muppets! I was so excited when I heard that there is a new movie coming out this week. I downloaded the soundtrack this morning ($5 on Amazon.com. Hooray!) and have been dancing and smiling to the fresh, fun, silly songs for a good part of the day. There's nothing like Camilla the chicken "singing" Forget You. I can't wait to see how Are You a Man or a Muppet fits into the movie. Rainbow Connection is still a favorite. Fun stuff!

Admittedly, I'm a total cheapskate so it may be a while before we see the show. We'll either be going on $4 Tuesday (with free popcorn for everyone!) or - gasp! - we'll wait until it comes out on DVD. On second thought, $4 Tuesday is sounding pretty good! :)

I can't wait!!

(All photos: disney.go.com/muppets/)

On Service

2011-11-20T08:26:00.001-06:00

Serve others. Be happy. :)

Personal Progress Gum

2011-11-18T09:07:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to show off this cute gum wrapper that we gave out at our Young Women in Excellence. Designed by my friend, Jen, these are a cute reminder for the young women to work on their Personal Progress. The back of the wrapper says, "Chews to finish a goal this month." Too cute!

S.T.A.R.

2011-11-17T09:14:00.001-06:00

We had our Young Women in Excellence program last night. I was a little bit worried about it. Some of our girls haven't been very excited about Personal Progress. Since Young Women in Excellence is a "celebration of Personal Progress," I challenged each of them to do something that they could share last night. Well those amazing girls stepped right up to the plate and did a great job! I was so proud of them as they shared what they've learned, what they still hope to accomplish, and how setting goals has helped them. A member of our Bishopric is doing the program with the girls so he contributed his accomplishments last night as well.

Our theme was S.T.A.R. - Stand for Truth And Righteousness

There is a Primary song called I Am Like a Star which went along with our theme for the evening: S.T.A.R. - Stand for Truth And Righteousness. (No credit to myself for that one. The internet is full of good ideas!!) I wrote a second verse to the Primary song which went like this: I am like a star shining brightly, shining for the whole world to see. I can be a light, stand for truth and right, and be all that He wants me to be. The young women sang that as our special musical number for the evening. Simple and sweet.

Our Bishop challenged each young woman to: Seize the Day (Carpe Diem), live life more abundantly (see John 10:10), and be anxiously engaged in good causes (D&C 58:27). [Maybe he forgot he was speaking to the young women because I'm pretty sure that was all for me!!]

It was a great evening, complete with an impressive display of food at the end. From spiced cider, meatballs, little sausages wrapped in crescent rolls to a huge veggie tray and star shaped cupcakes, there was something for everyone. The young men and cub scouts who found us after their activities enjoyed the treats as well. :) (Hooray for a wonderful counselor who took on the food challenge and outdid herself. Otherwise, we would have had homemade cookies and water...)

Overall, a great evening! (I am SO glad that's over!!)

A Weekend With the Grands

2011-11-14T17:09:00.001-06:00

The kids knew someone was coming to see us last weekend. We didn't tell them who it was and their imaginations were pretty active in guessing who our special guests would be.

Sam knew our mystery guests would be attending the Symphony Orchestra concert to hear him and Sterling play and, boy howdy, did they ever practice hard! (It was awesome, by the way!!)

Everyone was pretty excited when Grandma and Grandpa Stowell showed up late Thursday night!

Together we enjoyed beautiful warm (but windy!!) weather, several fun activities associated with 11-11-11 on Friday, celebrated Sterling's birthday on Saturday and soaked up the amazing music at the symphony on Sunday. It was a great weekend! We were sad to see them go this morning.

Thanks for coming, Grandma and Grandpa! Hurry back!! :)

Double Digits

2011-11-12T17:23:00.001-06:00

A big, enthusiastic Happy Birthday to my lego loving, picture drawing, battle planning, secret spying, story writing, heart melting, fiddle playing cowboy!

Ten years already! I love you, Sterling. (You'll always be my Boogie!)

Could you get any cuter?

Eleven Eleven Eleven

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-06:00

During Middle School, Savannah and her friends would always make a wish at 11:11. Apparently it's pretty lucky. So I guess that today, right now, must be just about as lucky as one can get!

11:11 on 11-11-11

{I'll never see that again!}

Thank A Soldier

2011-11-11T09:15:00.000-06:00

"Dear Soldier, Thank you for serving our country, saving my freedom, keeping us safe, and last, being my hero. Your friend, Soren"

My sentiments exactly. Put your flag up. It's Veteran's Day!

Thank You Notes

2011-11-10T18:19:00.001-06:00

That's some good advice! I made up some cute little note cards so I can jot down a quick thank you when the thought crosses my mind. I'm going to try to send them off more often. Who doesn't like happy mail? :)

Who Are These People?

2011-11-08T21:39:00.000-06:00

My iPod has obviously been abducted by aliens. I have no idea who any of these people are.

Wak Upe and Tim To Go To Scooll

2011-11-07T09:52:00.000-06:00

Sadie is an author. She found this blank "Little Golden Book" sitting in our cupboard and she went right to work. I'm pretty sure the little girl in the book is fictional. At least I hope she is! (To get the story 'Sadie style,' read everything in blue. See below each for the translation.)

Wak Upe and Tim To Go To Scooll
Wake Up and Time To Go To School
by Sadie Stowell

Wans there was a girl ho lovd to sleep and she only likte to sleep wenevr it was tiem to go to scooll. (yon)
Once there was a girl who loved to sleep and she only liked to sleep whenever it was time to go to school. (Yawn.)
She nevr liket to go to scooll ethr. (I dont wonto go to scooll.)
She never liked to go to school either. (I don't want to go to school.)

She didint like to do her wrek befor scooll. (No.)
She didn't like to do her work before school. (No.)
At scooll she was rele bord.
At school she was really bored.
But at reeses she was not bord.
But at recess she was not bored.
She hadid math. (I hat math.)
She hated math. (I hate math.)
She never likt to do homewrke. (I hat homwrke.)
She never liked to do homework. (I hate homework.)
She never likt to do rednig ethr. (I hate rednig.)
She never liked to do reading either. (I hate reading.)
But thar was u problum and the problum was evre time she wus dun with hr homewrke she had nuthig to do so she just wokt unrond the hase. (I hav nuthig to do.)
But there was a problem and the problem was every time she was done with her homework she had nothing to do so she just walked around the house. (I have nothing to do.)

But wen dad was hame she wus not bord ene more.
But when dad was home she was not bored any more.
She lovd to sit necst to him drig dinr.
She loved to sit next to him during dinner.

She wontid to play a game wath him but he was to bisy.
She wanted to play a game with him but he was too busy.
She wantid to play oteside with him but he wus to bisy.
She wanted to play outside with him but he was too busy.
And so she was bord agane.
And so she was bored again.
She askt hr dad to tuc hr in and so he did.
She asked her dad to tuck her in and so he did.

She never had a drem onle sumtims.
She never had a dream, only sometimes.
Wen she wok up she wod allwase wok to hr moms and dad room.
When she woke up she would always walk to her mom and dad's room.
Then hr dad wod aske if she wontid brekfest and she sad yes. (yes.)
Then her dad would ask if she wanted breakfast and she said yes. (Yes.)
Then she wod lay arownd doig nothig.
Then she would lay around doing nothing.
An then she wod hav lotse of fun.
Then she would have lots of fun.
Then she was bord agene.
Then she was bored again.

The end
(What a sad story!)

Friday Funny

2011-11-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

If only it were this easy. :)

SPYderz (Top Secret Agency)

2011-11-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

Sterling cracks me up. That boy has the most active imagination. I found these in my room one night after he'd gone to bed. I'm pretty sure they were left there by accident and were never meant for me (or anyone else) to see.

This photo (right) gives you an idea just how small those last two books are:

Inside the books are detailed rules for this elite organization:

1. Don't tell anyone about this secret agency.
2. Always wear your spy suit to meetings unless you can't.
3. Say the SPYderz promise at the beginning of every meeting.
4. Never take the weapons out of the base unless you're on a mission.
5. Obey all SPYderz rules and the SPYderz promise.
6. Never say SPYderz in public.
7. Use the MP9 properly at all times. (The MP9 is the pen shown in the top photo. The little pinhole above the clip is a spy camera with a 16GB hard drive to store the footage. For real.)
8. Don't let anyone else join this agency. (Sorry to those of you who had high hopes after reading this!)
9. Leave the candles in the base unless it's very urgent.
10. Don't sing Justin Bieber during SPYderz meetings. (Well, that excludes Savannah. And Rob.)

OUR SUPPLIES
Pistol, Rifle, MP9, SPYderz suits, Rule book, 2 pairs of sunglasses, Battle Plans.

Schedule
Thursdays - Meetings
Fridays - Planning/Mission
Thursdays - 4:00-4:20
Fridays - 4:00-4:10

Notice!
SPYderz is a top secret agency. Just follow all the rules, and you won't get fired!

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone! ;)

One Nation Under God

2011-11-02T21:05:00.000-05:00

imagesource

I help during Math Centers every Tuesday morning in Soren's classroom. Yesterday I happened to get there earlier than usual which meant that I was there when the class recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Imagine my surprise when they completely skipped over the words "under God" and said instead "one nation indivisible...." I thought I heard wrong. I quickly pulled Soren out of class and asked him to recite the pledge for me. He said, "Well, we say it a little bit different now." What? When was God removed from the Pledge of Allegiance? After a couple of inquiries, I am happy to report that He has been put back in. Whew! That was a close one! (The results of my own little informal survey show that Soren's is the only class where God was missing.)

It's a Costume, Not an Announcement

2011-10-31T08:30:00.000-05:00

I don't usually dress up for Halloween, but when I saw this, I couldn't resist. So I sketched everything out, scanned it, cut it out in vinyl and stuck it to my shirt. A little pillow underneath added to the effect. It was just right for the Trunk-or-Treat at church. I got a few laughs and plenty of inquiries.

Happy Halloween.

Enough To Go Around

2011-10-30T16:01:00.000-05:00

"[Mother] knows the love she feels for you and your brother or sister is complete. She knows her love can't be divided up like a pie,

with everybody getting a piece exactly the same size.

Every child gets the whole pie."

--Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard

I love that quote. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a former coworker after Sam was born. He had several children and he was telling me what a miracle it is when each child is born. You may think that you won't be able to show enough love to your 2nd or 3rd child, etc., but then you find that you don't have to divide your love because with each child, your capacity to love is increased. It's been true for me.

Against All Odds

2011-10-28T23:05:00.000-05:00

I love a good underdog story, especially when my team is the underdog that comes out on top. Go Cards! From a rough season to World Series champs, you've shown us that anything is possible. :)

St. Louis Cardinals - 2011 World Series Champs! (Wahoo!)

Without David Freese, there may not have been a Game 7.

We love our Cardinals. What a great Series!

images: espn.go.com

A Package for Grandma

2011-10-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

Grandma is in for a surprise when this precious cargo arrives on her doorstep! Where can I get me one of these? :)

Worth Staying Up For

2011-10-27T23:54:00.000-05:00

We were not supposed to win this game. The Rangers were projected to win and the series would be over. But we WON in eleven innings and it was awesome and we are SO HAPPY! Game seven -- bring it on!! Go Cards!

{And I thought BYU Football was bad for my heart.}

Sadie's List

2011-10-27T09:10:00.000-05:00

I wasn't going to be home one evening so Sadie made a list of all the things she wanted to do (and eat) with daddy that night. Too cute!

Translation: Play; Junior Pictionary; Sponge-Bob crackers; milk; Go Fish; snack crackers; milk; milk; Old Maid; cheese; popcorn; milk (this girl loves her milk!); bath or shower, comb hair; movie choices: Sleeping Beauty, Heffalump; brush teeth; get bed ready; play Mario Kart; get pajamas on; read to you; get in bed; say prayers; read scriptures; snuggle; fall asleep.

Halloween Challenge

2011-10-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Jeff and I received this in the mail:

Front

Back

Our picture clue for the meeting place

It took some serious shifting to manipulate our calendar enough so that we could attend, but quite a few of our friends had also been invited and the word on the street was that it was going to be really fun. The fact that the hosts were a mystery just added to the adventure. So I submitted our RSVP and then got an e-mail or two with some instructions for the evening. One contained a picture clue of the meeting place (we figured out it was the train station). If we couldn't figure it out from the clue, we could ask for more information, but it would cost us points that night.

Jeff and I were asked to be team captains - we were the Marauding Monsters. On the morning of the big event, we found this on our porch:

The Book of Secrets

We dutifully informed the rest of our team of some additional instructions we received with the locked Book of Secrets and we all promptly met at the train station that night with the other teams. We opened our envelopes at the same time and each one contained several puzzle pieces. When all teams combined the pieces, it was a poster with a riddle telling us how to open the locks on each book which would contain the rest of the instructions. It was a mad dash around the train station to count various items, add 100, then subtract something-or-other to get the three digit number which would free the lock. And then we were off.

The object of the evening was to find 19 apothecary vials, hidden all over town, and write down the ingredient listed on each which, when listed all together, would ultimately reveal the final meeting place. The ingredients were things like Rat Tail, Blind Worm Sting, Tar, and Skin of Wild Monster. In the Book of Secrets, there were 19 pictures giving clues to the location of each vial.

Some of the picture clues telling us where the vials were hidden around town.

Add all of this to three special challenges throughout the evening (like a roller skating race and popping balloons with a bow and arrow) and it was a well planned, crazy, super fun evening. Our hosts ended up being a couple who just moved to the area. They go to church with us and have a darling family. It was fun to get to know them a little better and to be a part of their Halloween Challenge. There is already talk about next year. I can't wait!

Fright Night

2011-10-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

The cutest little grandpa ever!

Tonight was Fright Night, which is the annual Halloween concert put on by our university's symphony orchestra. Oh, it was so good! The audience is always full of little kids in costume who wouldn't want to miss the costume contest where they march across the stage with the orchestra playing in the background. Genius, really, to expose these kids to great classical pieces in such a fun setting.

The entire orchestra is also in full costume which adds to the fun. Sterling and Sam, who both play violin in the orchestra, were a grandpa and scientist respectively. Don't you just love Sterling's cute face in the above photo? I know I'm his mom, but man this kid is so cute! (Sorry Sterling. Handsome. The word is handsome!) We sprayed tons of gray and white into his hair, but his hair is so thick that it soaked it all up so you can't really tell.

Sam the scientist with the really big brain!

I love hearing these boys play the violin! They practiced harder than usual for this concert and it really paid off. You should have seen how fast their bows were moving during the 4th movement of the Peer Gynt suite. Amazing! Sadie and Soren were with us. They scavenged the costume bucket for something to wear - Sadie was Belle and Soren wore his knight's armor - and they both loved seeing Sterling and Sam up on stage. It was a great evening!

Hansel and Gretel

2011-10-21T23:02:00.002-05:00

I love living in a university town. My kids have had some cool opportunities as a result. Tonight Spencer was in a small production of "Hansel and Gretel," which was put on by an opera workshop class at the university. Spencer's choir director from school last year was asked to gather a group of young kids to participate in the final number of the show. These kids had several rehearsals over the past three weeks to learn their music and be ready for two performances this weekend.

After Hansel and Gretel pushed the witch into the oven, the kids (Spencer's group), who we learn had previously been captured by the witch, came out wearing drab gray clothing with their eyes closed. They sang a song that said, "We are saved, we are free eternally. One touch from you our eyes will open, too." So Hansel and Gretel touched them and they came back to life and continued with their happy song. It was really cute and Spencer loved being a part of it.

And now please excuse the terrible pictures I took with my phone. I've decided they are better than nothing. It was a fun night.

Hansel and Gretel. Both parts were played by girls. (I should have gotten a photo of the female witch who was played by a boy. Funny!)

Spencer (center) and two friends from the play. A great experience for these kids!

Interruptions

2011-10-20T21:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks. I needed that!

{I found this quote ages ago here: www.71toes.com. I was lucky enough to remember it tonight.}

Go Cards!

2011-10-19T22:22:00.004-05:00

Game one of the World Series: Rangers 2, Cardinals 3. Wahoo!! :)

image source

All the Right Notes

2011-10-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

Sam and Savannah had a choir concert tonight. Here's just a little clip which contains a small solo by Savannah. The lighting is terrible (Savannah's the one standing in the dark) and the sound system is not great either, but Savannah's voice is angelic!

Sam did a great job as well. He is in the advanced choir and they sang some fun songs. We've got a great music program in our little town with a lot of talent.

Worth It

2011-10-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a long day! Jeff and I had leadership training in St. Louis with Sister Elaine S. Dalton. She is the General Young Women President - basically over all the young women in the whole world - and she was so inspiring. Her concern and love for all young women was so evident in her manner and her words. All of the counsel given was calculated to help us gear our efforts to lift and strengthen them. I was impressed by her examples (i.e., likening repentance to running a marathon), and her clarity.

That evening, she spoke to the young women at a fireside. Savannah and two other young women from our ward were there. Unable to find a separate ride to bring them down later, they willingly gave up their Saturday and rode with us, which meant they arrived four hours before their meeting and hung out in a classroom at the church during ours.

If Jeff and I had given Sister Dalton a list of things to talk about that would help Savannah, she couldn't have come any closer to speaking right to her! It was as if her talk was tailor made for Savannah. Savannah was sitting on the 2nd row and Sister Dalton made eye contact with her several times and then spoke encouraging words to her after the meeting as she held her hand and told her how special she is. It was perfect!

It was worth the 6.5 hours in the car to get there and back. It was worth the 30 minutes of practically-standing-still-traffic we endured on the way down. It was worth listening to three giddy girls laughing hysterically all the way home as they texted boys. It was worth finding someone to watch our other kids pretty much all day. It was worth any inconvenience to be lifted and taught and inspired for 4 hours by a woman called of God. Yesterday was a long day, but it was worth it!

Wannabe

2011-10-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

This little leaf, apparently feeling left out of all the color changes going on around here, fell into our open bucket of deck paint to try on some color of its own. It made me smile. :)

No Points

2011-10-14T22:15:00.000-05:00

Sterling's school has an incentive program called a "No Points Party" to reward the kids who are well behaved throughout each quarter. First quarter ended today so the school bused these kids to a nearby state park for the morning. Jeff was off work for the day and Sterling begged him to come along. He did and they had a fun morning together. We had quite a bit of rain midweek, but this morning was dry and crisp with the leaves still in color-changing mode. A beautiful day!

Everything You Need To Know...

2011-10-13T05:45:00.000-05:00

...about tying a scarf. Entertaining and educational. Enjoy!

(I stumbled upon this video, quite by accident, here. Fun stuff!)

Out With the Old

2011-10-12T06:30:00.000-05:00

Finally!! I've wanted to update my blog look for quite a while now, but I wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. Yesterday I forced myself to sit down and figure it out. I'm still deciding if I'm completely happy with the new look, but now that I know what I'm doing, I can change the header whenever I want. Don't be too surprised if I try on new looks now and then. What do you think? Better? Worse? I'd love to hear your feedback.

Welcome, Sawyer!

2011-10-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

Isn't this little guy completely adorable? My newest nephew was born Sunday morning. Welcome, little Sawyer. Don't grow up too fast!

Sawyer looks pretty content with Grandpa Stowell. :)

Sin Here

2011-10-10T05:49:00.000-05:00

Sadie started a little gymnastics class last week. She was pretty excited about it and so, naturally, she came home and wanted to teach her family what she'd learned. Here is the sign up sheet she posted on the refrigerator door:

Just "sin here" and you're in! :)

Old

2011-10-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

I just received this from a well-meaning friend. Thanks ~~a lot,~~ Mike! :)

Jeff and I are off to a concert tonight which will certainly transport me to my younger years!

Happy Birthday to me! :)

Loretta's Wedding

2011-10-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

This morning a friend and I went shopping in Amish country. I smiled when I saw this notice up in the windows of each store:

It's as if the whole world knows Loretta and we're all invited to the happy event. If only all communities could be so eager and willing to share the big moments in the lives of each member. Congratulations, Loretta, whoever you are. I wish you the best!

The School Library

2011-10-03T06:23:00.000-05:00

Mr. Taylor, a favorite teacher of ours who has taught four of my kids, was asked at the end of last school year if he would consider taking on the role of school librarian. Realizing this was an opportunity for a new challenge and a way to influence many more children, he accepted and got to work. He spent many, many hours over the summer sorting books and decorating the library in his own style. Because he has been teaching for 10 years, he has accumulated a lot of books. The library has had a policy in the past that if a child forgets to return their library books, they cannot check out another. Not ever wanting to deprive a child of reading, Mr. Taylor has placed his own books on a large cart so that children who forget to return their library books can choose one of his. That's just the way he is.

This summer he approached me with a page full of quotes by authors or about books/reading. He asked if I'd be willing to do vinyl lettering for them so he could hang them on the walls of the library. I had fun working up each quote just the way I pictured it. Mr. T framed them in paint splattered frames and they look great up on the walls.
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Blurry with a glare, but you get the idea.

I did the lettering on this bulletin board for Mr. T's classroom last year. He saved it and has it up in the library as well.

The Elementary School Library is a cheerful place! It was fun to have a part in that. :)

BYU Football is Bad For My Heart

2011-09-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

If I end up with heart problems, I'm blaming BYU. I don't know why the football team insists on waiting until the very end of the game to squeak out a win, but I'm sure glad they pulled through tonight.

imagesource

I was more than a bit worried when Utah State, on the very first play of the game, ran 80 yards for a touchdown. And I was more than a little thrilled when BYU, with 11 seconds left, caught it in the end zone and walked away with the victory. I felt bad for Utah State as the cameras showed the look of defeat and disbelief on their faces. But only for a minute. Then I just felt relief that we managed to pull off a much needed win.

Go Cougars!! If it's not too much to ask, could you please go a little easier on my heart?

10/1: This just in -- a photo from my brother who was at the game with Jeff and the boys. Looks like a great time to me!

To read Savannah's thoughts on the game, check out her blog.

Rice 'n' Black Bean Bake

2011-09-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a quick and easy recipe for a hearty snack or lunch, perfect for General Conference weekend. I needed something in a pinch for one of Jeff's holiday work parties last year. I rediscovered this recipe in the nick of time, quickly threw it together, and had people asking for the recipe. The recipe comes from Quick Cooking Magazine (Jan/Feb 2000). I've included my own minor modifications in italics. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Rice 'n' Black Bean Bake
{Ready in 30 minutes or less}
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained (I use 2 cans)
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 jar (8 oz.) picante sauce (I use 1 c. salsa)
2 cups cooked rice (I use 3 cups)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Corn or tortilla chips

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Stir in the rice, sour cream, and 1 cup of cheese. Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350º for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with corn or tortilla chips. (It's also good wrapped up in a tortilla.)

Enjoy!

Big Weekend Plans

2011-09-29T19:38:00.000-05:00

Jeff, Sam and Spencer took off this afternoon for an adventure. For Spencer's birthday last month, he was sent on a treasure hunt that ended with plane tickets to Utah, as well as tickets to the BYU/Utah State game and the Priesthood Session of General Conference with Jeff and Sam.

Jeff has mentioned several times over the years that he would like to take each of the boys to Priesthood Session like his dad did for him when he was young. With Spencer turning 12 this year, he decided to take Sam and Spencer. He'll do the same with Sterling and Soren in a few years. It worked out well that BYU has a home game this weekend. They were pretty excited as they headed to the airport this afternoon.

Do you like the homemade tickets (left) that I made for the treasure hunt? Spencer was actually quite nervous for the trip at first, especially flying. He's warmed up to the idea over the past several weeks and I'm excited for him and the others. This has been one of our more difficult school years so far and Spencer really needed the break. I hope it's a great weekend for them. This is a splurge for us, but I have a feeling it'll be worth it!

Sunday Sugar Cookies

2011-09-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

The chill in the air made yesterday feel like the perfect day for our once-a-year sugar cookies. The combination of this frosting with candy corn is oh so good! A fun Sunday afternoon activity.

Forget-Me-Not

2011-09-25T17:12:00.000-05:00

Did you see the General Relief Society Meeting broadcast on Saturday evening? I loved President Uchtdorf's talk. So, so good! I'm listening to it for the third time right now. It's a little longish, but if you can spare a few minutes, you won't regret it.

Praying Mantis

2011-09-24T23:10:00.000-05:00

We've been seeing quite a few of these curious looking creatures around.

I'm always amazed (amused?) by the variety in nature.

Friday Funny

2011-09-23T07:40:00.000-05:00

A young man was walking through a supermarket to pick up a few things when he noticed an old lady following him around. Thinking nothing of it, he ignored her and continued on. Finally he went to the checkout line, but she got in front of him.

"Pardon me," she said, "I'm sorry if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you look just like my son, who just died recently."

"I'm very sorry," replied the young man, "is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes," she said, "As I'm leaving, can you say 'Good bye, Mother'? It would make me feel so much better."

"Sure," answered the young man.

As the old woman was leaving, he called out, "Goodbye, Mother!" As he stepped up to the checkout counter, he saw that his total was $127.50. "How can that be?" He asked, "I only purchased a few things!"

"Your mother said that you would pay for her," said the clerk.

I Believe

2011-09-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

Real Time Pricing

2011-09-20T11:08:00.000-05:00

It's been two or three years now since we switched. Our electric company made us aware of an option to pay actual prices for electricity used instead of the set rate we were paying. This meant our rate would change every hour of the day, but most of the time we would end up paying less than everyone else. It required a one year commitment (because they had to come and change the meter on our home) and a $3/month charge to participate. We decided to give it a try.

We can find out what the rates will be for the next day after 4:30pm. The only times we pay more per KWH than everyone else is when it's really hot or really cold - basically when overall usage is high. The peak times change from summer to winter so we modify our usage (when we run the dishwasher or do laundry, for example) to take advantage of off-peak hours.

Overall, we are using more electricity now than we used to, but we are paying less money. One reason for the increase in our usage is that during the summer, and just since we started on this plan, we run our air conditioner all night. The rates are very low in the middle of the night and so we're not paying much at all. I love sleeping in a cold room and then we shut it down in the morning and keep it off during the peak hours of the day. Our house stays cool most of the day and we are able to turn it on again in the evening when the rates go down. This time of year is just the icing on the cake when rates are low all day long.

Of course I'm looking forward to the day we can generate our own electricity, but until then we love Real Time Pricing (also called PowerSmart Pricing) and wouldn't go back. See below for today's rates. (I believe the set rate for those not on this plan is between .06 and .07/KWH.)

A Talented Photographer

2011-09-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

We had a talent show at church on Friday night. I was in charge and I was so impressed by the amount of participation and support we had. It was a great evening with 19 traditional song-and-dance kind of talents, about 10 displays of arts and crafts and other handiwork, and oodles of desserts which consisted of family favorite and prize-winning recipes.

The missionaries had transfers the week before and our newest Elder, Elder Adam, asked if he could participate in the talent show. It turns out he is a gifted photographer. We set up my laptop with a slideshow from his flickr account as a display. One of my favorite photos is shown below (with permission). It was taken during his vacation to Iceland. If you get a chance, check out some of his other photos and prepare to be impressed!

Tackling - Do Not Try This at Home

2011-09-17T23:38:00.000-05:00

The BYU vs. Utah game is making some people pretty grumpy around here. It's very late in my little corner of the world so I'm going to skip the 4th quarter and leave you with something to smile about. Go Cougars! You're still my team. :)

A Lego Gift

2011-09-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

Soren has a birthday party today. The party has a Lego theme because the birthday boy loves legos. Sure, I could do the easy (and expensive) thing and go buy Collin a lego set. But what if he already has the one we choose? Would he like one of the new Hero Factory figures? Does he like the themed sets or the bucket of bricks?

Our usual birthday gift is a personalized sign. It's what I do. I enjoy giving things that people couldn't buy for themselves. I called Collin's mom and asked for his bedroom color (blue) and I initially planned to make him a basic sign that said "Collin's Room." But then I had an idea. After an hour or two of meticulously altering a vectorized image then cutting the vinyl, choosing just the right blue for the board and painting, here's what I came up with:

If the reactions from my own resident lego fans are any indication of how it will be received by the birthday boy, I think we have a winner. I hope he likes it. :)

Sugar Free

2011-09-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

I ate a piece of Savannah’s birthday cake last night. Oh, it was so good! Brownies with a cream cheesy mixture layeredwith chocolate pudding and cool whip on top. Yum! Eating birthday cake on a birthday may notseem like anything out of the ordinary, but the day before was the first time I’deaten sugary treats in a month. Whenthe kids went back to school, I went off of sugar. I love candy and cookies and dessert. It’s hard for me to stop eating them once Istart. I’d tried going off sugar oncebefore and made it less than 24 hours before I gave in. I had a few reasons for my self-imposed sugarfast, the biggest being my desire to see if I had the willpower to followthrough. Turns out, I do.

Here’s what I did: Iwent off of obvious sugar - cookies, candy, cake, sugary cereal, hot chocolate,etc. I didn’t go off of all sugar (I atepeanut butter), but I generally avoided things where sugar was listed as one ofthe first few ingredients. To ease mycravings, I ate nuts, apples, and lots of watermelon.

Here’s what I learned:

I have more willpower than I thought.
I can make a batch of cookies and not eat any of them oreven sample the dough.
I can open a bag of m&m’s and divide them up for thekids’ lunches and not even eat one.
I can eat watermelon while the rest of the family is eatingice cream and be happy about it.
Avoiding sugar did not give me more energy or make me loseweight.
It was easier than I expected, though week three was the hardest.
I learned that I canavoid sugar, but that I don’t really want to. I got tired of being the party pooper, alwaysturning down dessert and never being able to taste or enjoy the things I love. The kids would try to share their chocolateor other goodies and I always had to refuse.

My epiphany:

I planned on keeping this up until my birthday in aboutthree weeks, but then one day I had a realization. I have enough willpower to give something upand follow through so why not pick something that will make a bigger impact onme and my family? The sugar fast felt more like a chore by thispoint and I’d already decided I wasn’t going to continue once I reached mygoal. So I switched goals. I’m doing well so far on my new “fast.” I’ll elaborate more at another time, but Ican already see that it’s making a difference!

*Click on the photo above which links to the recipe for Brownie Delight. I've made a few minor changes to the recipe over the years (i.e., we usually put sprinkles or grated chocolate on top and skip the nuts. I also use less milk when I make the pudding so it's not so thin,) but this is our preferred birthday "cake." Always a hit!

14 Years Ago

2011-09-15T17:40:00.000-05:00

Dear Savannah,
     Fourteen years ago today, terrified, I walked into a hospital in Columbus, Ohio to give birth. I'd gotten it into my head several months before that I was going to die during childbirth. That is a long story for another day, but I was scared. I had my final meltdown the night before with instructions to your dad that if anything happened and there was a choice to save me or the baby, please save me. Sam needed a mom.
     It was easy to make that decision then because I didn't know you. I didn't know you would be a perfect baby girl, let alone grow up to be a beautiful and accomplished young woman. I didn't know what a good friend you would be or how crazy and silly you would sometimes act. I didn't know your little fingers would become so skilled at the piano or that your voice would sound like an angel. I didn't know the friends that would pass through our door because they were drawn to your goodness or the boys you would talk about nonstop. I didn't know that you would never be happy with age 13 and look forward for an entire year to your 14th birthday. I didn't know that you'd come into my room at night and sit on the end of my bed and talk and laugh and refuse to leave even when your dad and I threatened to make-out if you didn't. I didn't know that you'd be so grossed out when your dad and I hugged or kissed or otherwise acted like we like each other. I didn't know that you'd work so hard to meet your goals or that you'd make such an impression on so many people. I didn't know what a difference you would make in my life.
     I am so glad I didn't have to miss any of that. I'm happy that I know you and that you are mine. I can't imagine how different our lives would be without you. I hope I never have to find out what that would be like.
     Happy Birthday, Savannah. I hope 14 is your best year so far!

Love, Mom

Let Me Serve You

2011-09-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

Sterling is running for Student Council this week. As a fourth grader, it's pretty low key. He told me he needed a poster and a speech. He wrote the entire speech himself and we worked together on the poster. I'll post the text of the speech later if Sterling will let me, but here's the poster. I like how it turned out. Sterling is happy with it and that's the important thing!

9/15: Here is Sterling's speech. He will give it to his class tomorrow. Good luck, Sterling!!

Hey,everyone. As you can see, I want to be in Student Council. But, Student Councildoesn’t mean “I am King.” It means “I stand out and serve others.” If Irepresent the class, I need to be responsible. I go out of my way to serveothers. I am very kind, responsible, and just a good friend. There are lots ofways I can serve others: if someone drops their books, I could go over, put mybooks down, and help. If someone drops their colored pencils or crayons (whichhappens), I could—and would—help pick them up. And if someone’s just having anoff day, I would go and comfort them. I think I would be good for Student Councilbecause I serve others and am responsible. I hope you will go out of your way to serve others and vote forme. Thank you.

9/20: Sterling won the election. He is one happy kid! Way to go, Sterling!!

Sun Streams

2011-09-13T14:12:00.000-05:00

I know, the picture is grainy, but all I had was my iPod. If you can forgive that, maybe you can get some idea of our view as we drove to the church on Sunday evening. The sun rays were streaming through the clouds and the whole display was amazing! Just humor me and picture this ten times more spectacular than what you see. I'm sorry you missed the real thing! ;)

HR (Handsome Rob)

2011-09-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sure there must be quite a collection of thoughtful blog posts today about 9/11 and the impact it has had on individuals, our country and the world over the past decade. I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when that first tower fell. But I had another thought that fateful day. I thought of my brother, Rob. No, Rob wasn't anywhere near New York on 9/11/2001. In fact, he had recently graduated from high school and was celebrating his 18th birthday. A pretty ominous entry into adulthood, wouldn't you say?

And so, on this 10th anniversary of 9/11, along with the memories and tributes that have been paid, I wanted to wish a Happy Birthday to Rob (a.k.a., HR or Handsome Rob). I will admit I am cheating just a little. I originally wrote this blog post for a blog that I abandoned a couple of years ago, but why reinvent the wheel? I think you'll enjoy getting to know my "little" brother. He's a pretty great guy...

Rob is significantly younger than I. In fact, Rob turned 5 right after I started my first year of college. I recently came across this note that he sent me at school:

“Hi Missy How ya doin I miss ya Love Robby”

Awww. Isn’t that so cute? He must have forgiven me for the haircut I gave him only weeks before school started. Mom was in the hospital having baby Jeffrey so I thought I’d help her out by cutting Rob’s hair. I’d never given a haircut before, but how hard could it be with clippers? Did you know that you are supposed to attach an extension on the clippers before you begin? Did you know that your subject will be bald if you don’t? Um, yeah. Rob was bald. But hey, that much longer before he needed another haircut, right? Sadly, I have no photos of that event. Fortunately, he’s had great hair ever since. As if great hair wasn’t enough, Rob is very stylish as is demonstrated in this never-before-seen photo:

Is that classy or what? Even from a young age he has demonstrated an impeccable fashion sense. Today you’re more likely to see him in a cardigan sweater or a frightening clever t-shirt.

Another great quality is that he loves loved cats. We had a cat which was the runt of the litter and rather ugly and so we named him Yoda. Rob loved Yoda! And from the photo, it looks like feelings were mutual. This is how they slept pretty much every night:

I’m wondering if Rob’s love for cats ended when Yoda ran away one year on his birthday.

Oh, and Rob is very talented/clever. That can be aptly demonstrated by this amazing hat he created. Again, his sense of style leaves me speechless.

Rob is the self-proclaimed “favorite uncle” to my kids.

It’s obvious they love him!

Rob is also an ultimate frisbee pro, killer bunnies champion, and amazing family historian. It’s no wonder we put up with him love him as much as we do!

Happy Birthday, Rob. We love you and hope this is your best year so far!!

Grandpa

2011-09-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

My dad was supposed to arrive at our house tonight. He's been on his Midwestern trade show tour and we were planning on having him here for a quick weekend stay. But when he found out about the Grandparents' Breakfast with Soren's class, he adjusted his schedule to arrive a day early. That means he was there when Soren shared a poem and Grandpa was able to share some memories of his own. They enjoyed juice and muffins together and Soren felt pretty important. I stole Sadie out of her class so she could spend some extra time with Grandpa as well. It was a great morning. Grandpa rearranged his schedule to be here last year when Sterling's class hosted a Grandparents' Breakfast as well. I'd say we're pretty lucky considering Grandpa lives over 1,700 miles away. Thanks, dad, for taking extra time out of your busy travel schedule for us. We love spending time with you!

Dancing in Circles

2011-09-07T21:58:00.000-05:00

This has long been a favorite song of mine. Good lyrics, great message!