The Zoo

Yesterday we went to take pictures of Jackie's family at Papago Park. The zoo is right over there so they invited us to join them. It was SO much fun!!! The kids loved it and enjoyed all the things to do there. Here are the pics from the trip.

Zoo

Jiciwhat?!!!

Jicima! Pronounced with a H (Hikima). It is a root veggie that takes like a very slightly sweet water chestnut. And it is my new favorite!!
I am having so much fun getting all this free produce. I'm trying so many new things. The garage is now my produce fridge with all my veggies & fruits on a large table out there. It's cool enough, but not too cold. What's out there now? 2 cases of Fuji apples, a box of zuchinni, half a box of bok choy, about 20 lemons, and a case of jicima. The lemons are pretty much done and the green beans are taken care of.
Do you wanna know what we had for dinner tonight? The yummiest stir fry I've ever had!! I started by cooking chicken breast in chopped fresh garlic. Then while that was cooking I cut up my veggies - fresh green beans, sliced onion, bok choy ( you have to diagonally cut off the leaves and chop the stems, but save the leaves to add near the end), I peeled and diced the jicima and sliced the zucchini. Then took the chicken out and added flour to the juices. I wisked that and added a little more water. Then I cut up the chicken while the veggies were cooking (all except the onions and bok choy leaves. I have some stir fry sauce and added that along with the onions, cut chicken, and a sprinkle of chicken boullion. Then lastly I added a bit of soy sauce and the bok choy leaves. I served all that over long grain white rice (bret had brown). It was SOOOOOO yummy!!! Bret's not a big stir-fry guy, but he enjoyed it too.
I know it's silly - but I enjoy getting things for free and USING it!!! Thank you Elise!!!!
Well, I need to go and make cookies now, burn CD's for the Primary kids, and plan Sharing Time!! Busy night for me!
By the way, does anyone have some canning stuff they wanna get ride of? :)

This Is Cute!! Click on it.

How To Get A Soccer Partner!!!

September 2002

Wow, really melts my heart, my sleeping sweeties!

Classroom Door

Ok, so I go to help in Elizabeth's class every Wednesday. I usually will grade papers, or anything else she needs me to do. The week before last Mrs. Isaac wanted her door decorated. She told me her idea and I went to work. Basically she wanted a blue hill, a white snowman and black sky. She'll be making snowflakes for the kids to write their favorite Holiday memory on. Then they'll glue them onto the black sky.

Well, this is my end result! I'm actually very proud of myself. It was my idea to tear the edging on the snowman and "poof" out his body and head. I also thought using the tissue paper as a 3D thing too. I even had a little bit of yellow paper at the bottom of the snowman. I showed it to Mrs. Isaac before the kids came back in, then took it down. :)

Oh, and of course - I had to have a little model!

Calling All Recipes!!

I was going to title this post - Using What You Got!
We have been blessed to receive 8 boxes of lemons, one box of bok choy, and a box of broccolli. I have a friend who has a friend who gets free produce (that's the quick story) and she has been giving me tons of food. I've gotten zucchini, sweet potatoes, cantalope, cucumbers, pumpkin, chocolate milk, and now the lemons, bok choy and broccolli. And we are talking about boxes of all this stuff! It has been so fun using the food. I just can't let anything go to waste. :) It's been a blessing too with my Sneaky Chef cooking.
Tonight I made chicken broth soup with noodles and dumplings. I put some chopped bok choy in the bottom of my soup and it was YUMMY!! I really like bok choy! :)
Soooo, I need some more recipes that have bok choy, or lemons in them. Mela, don't you have a really yummy lemon bar recipe? I'd LOVE that one.

On other news, we are sick! We had a real fun Christmas party planned for Friday and we couldn't go. Livvy did the winner of all barfs! She aimed for the toilet and missed completely! But she did manage to get the tub, the walls, and her hair. Yes, nasty!
She slept with me that night.
This afternoon Bret and Elizabeth went to church and came home early. She was sick. Fever and upset tummy. Within a couple of hours we had an almost repeat of Friday. Elizabeth actually made it into the puke bucket.
I sure hope it doesn't go through all of us. :)

When life gives you lemons.....

Make lemonade!!! That is exactly what I'm doing right now - making lemonade (literally). I got 3 cases of lemons on Wednesday night and today I am juicing them; making lemonade, lemon water and lemon Mt. Dew (yes, truly - and it's yummy). I am also drying lemon rinds with a little clove for potpourri, making lemon decorations, and going on the internet to find all lemon related recipes.
I'm doing all this today because tomorrow I'm getting 5 more boxes (at least, maybe more). :)

I LOVE lemons!!!

In other Little news, I have been BUSY (understatement)!!! This week I've been working the Holiday Store at the school. I did it last year, but this year I was in charge. So I was there the entire time. With and without kids. Do you know what it's like trying to keep 4 kids from destroying an entire school after it has closed? It's hard!!! On the evenings when we were doing the store, my kids (along with 4 others) broke a radio, shorted out a room (almost electocuting themselves), spilled apple juice on the carpet, and beat up Santa!
What a week (glad to be done)!!! I just have to go back on Monday to count up the money. We better have made a LOT!!!!

There is still so much to share with you all, but I have to get lemons done, 4 reports for school, laundry, and a house to clean. Besides, I have to hurry and get off the computer before Bret comes down the stairs and sees me goofing off. :)

Thoughts!

There is a family in our Church who recently had a son die a sudden, sad death. They weren't very active, but I have seen the growth they have made. They have started coming back to church and working on their testimonies. It is amazing to see how such a horrible tragedy can be used for good too.

It got me thinking - each of us needs to be closer to Christ. No matter where you are in your spiritual growth, you can still be closer. I need to be closer. Am I on the right track? Am I using experiences in my life to bring me closer? Or will He need to take some drastic measures to GET me on track? I hope that isn't the case. I hope that I can be meek and teachable. I really want to be the sort of person that when the Savior needs me, He can ask and I can hear.

There is a song that I love that talks about when others see me I want them to look THROUGH me and see Christ. I hope that at the end of my life I have reached that point.

I have people in my life that I admire and respect so much! I really wish I could just take bits and pieces of them and apply them to my personality. Just this weekend I was thinking about someone in particular who is SOOOO giving!!! I won't go into the specifics of her life, but she has been doing things that are difficult for her (and her family) because it will help bring others closer to Christ. She just keeps giving and giving and giving. I don't know how she does it! :) But I see that as she opens her arms wider to others, her heart is fuller and people are blessed. And her prayers are answered in amazing ways. I know that I feel closer to my Savior and Heavenly Father when I'm around her. She is an amazing example!! Thank You Rela (all names have been changed). :) LOL I love you!

Thank you all for touching me and teaching me! I really do see your hearts and try to be more like you all in different ways. I could go through my list of friends/family and pick out specific things that each of you are so amazing at. Thanks for being my examples! I love you all and as we go into such a wonderful loving season - I hope that we can all bring ourselves a little closer to Christ!
Hugs and Kisses!
and by the way - if I'm unreachable this week, please be understanding. my plate is overflowing!!! i'll be at the school all day, each day this week. my cell phone is over on minutes so don't call that unless it's an emergency or unless you have at&t. :) if you need a nonemergency issue, leave a message on my home phone. thx guys!

Christmas Beautifuls

I love this season for many different reasons! Livvy gave me just one more reason the other night. We were driving home from Judo and taking the scenic route. The kids LOVE looking at all the Christmas lights. Suddenly Livvy yells out, "Look, there's MORE Christmas Beautifuls!!!"
What a cute thing to say. We have now reverted to calling the lights Christmas Beautifuls!