Just one more bite

Today at Church Annika was given some cookies and she decided that she was wanted to save one to give it to Bella. As she sat in class the one whole cookie turned into two halves, and as Bella has a smaller mouth she was to get the smaller one. That small half got nibbled on until just a small piece was left. She did indeed give the crumb to Bella, and Bella loved her for it. She was so thankful and happy for her little crumb. It is sweet how much Annika loves Bella and wants to do things for her.

To add in a more practical note, wouldn't it be great if we were all so appreciative of the crumbs that we are given instead of looking for more. I have so very much to be grateful for, and I need to be more appreciative of it.

I have shared a few of the things that I am grateful for, but her are more, and some repeats.

My family - they rock, need I say more. James is the best guy around. MacKayla is so smart and wants so much to please and do nice things. Annika is a funny, smart, witty little goofball, and I can't help but smile as she gives me her goofy grins. Arabella, the cutest baby around. I love when she gets up in the morning and smiles as she tells me "I love you momma." I also love that she has begun talking in full sentences, she can correctly articulate her needs much of the time now. I also have a wonderful and supportive extended family. What a wonderful group of people that I am privileged to know.

Friends - I am so grateful for the friends that I have. I look up to so many of you and have learned so much from you. Thanks!

Modern conveniences - as our new garbage disposal is still sitting in a box in the kitchen I have come to realize how much I miss having it. I am thankful for the many small things like it that I use every day - laundry facilities in my home, hot water, dishwasher, TV, computers, internet...

Idaho - who would have ever thought that the San Diego girl could love Idaho so much. I know it has much to do with the people that I am around, but it's also the feel of the town. I love going into any store and seeing someone that I know there. I love being able to trust that my kids can go to their friends houses. I love that the people here are kind. Heck I even like the weather most of the time, snow is fun, it's just the ice that I hate.

Last but not least, the Gospel - As a teenager I know that I could have gone in many different directions, but I know that it is because of the Gospel that I am where I am today. In 1995 President Hinckley gave a talk to the youth in San Diego and he gave us the "B's" I don't remember at the time if they were the same ones that he gave later, but I do know that it was at that meeting that I knew what choices I needed to make. I left there with the Spirit burning and I knew that the Church was true. I had many great leaders that helped my along the way and I am so grateful for them. I know that I was the ward project, but I am thankful that people cared enough to continue until they knew that I would make it.

That's enough heart on my sleeve for now...in short I have much to be grateful for, and I am!

As promised

I know I said that I would quickly get our family photos on here, well things came up, time got wasted and it didn't get done. But for being so patient and waiting nicely, here are the photos.

Weird maybe, but it's us

James and I have a habit of naming the things that we have. As I posted about my new computer I shared that I had named it Bob, and I have had some questions regarding the name. Each time we get a new computer, car, and some miscellaneous things we pick out new names for them. Here are some of the things that we have named:

Our first car, the Toyota Camry - Camy
Toyota Corolla - Cory
My first computer - My Friend Bob
James' first computer - Hal (from 2001 Space Odyssey)
Our next computer - Robby
My laptop - Bob
Toyota Sienna - Big Blue
My body pillow - George
James' body pillow - Suzy

Those are all that I can think of for now. I can't remember how the name came to be for my body pillow, but James named his to make me jealous :) We joke around about going to bed with our George/Suzy.

We might be weird, but it's still fun, and hey, it's just us.

No before, but here's an after

I forgot to take a before picture today but here's an after shot.

You get what you ask for

In the evening James and I usually sit in the office and talk, spend time together, or do our own things. James sits at the computer and I in the chair. James will usually do the things that he wants and I bug him with my comments about the day, things I want to talk about or whatever I am thinking. Well since I got the computer yesterday I was keeping myself busy with things that I wanted to do. At one point today James looked over at me and started talking and asking what I was doing, the poor guy was bored. It turns out, he actually liked being bugged by me. Oh well, you get what you ask for...

My new toy

My birthday came a month early this year. We have been saving to get me my own computer for a while. Today we decided to go ahead and get it.

This is my new friend Bob. He is a great friend and I am loving getting to know him more.

Up DVD coupon

Here is a link to get a $10 off coupon for the movie Up.

http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up/couponoffer/

you have to buy the blu-ray version of the movie, but it does come with the DVD and the digital copy.

There it goes...

Do you ever have one of those months where it seems that you can't catch a break. James has been working a lot of extra hours lately which means a little extra pay, so time to play right? Well first we had everyone get sick and had to pay a billion in doctors and prescription costs, not fun.

Then today I was all set to wash the dishes and get dinner going. I had to put some food down the sink and wouldn't you know, the disposal is dead. Not just dead where the reset button will fix it, oh no, dead like weird burning smells coming from it. Can I just say that having to hand scrape oatmeal out of the disposal is GROSS. So off to Ace hardware for a new one. The fun question will be how long will it sit in the box on the counter!?! I am hoping it gets installed tomorrow, but I guess time will tell.

Isn't he cute

I have the cutest husband ever!
Our good friend Mary took our photos this weekend and I will be putting more up soon, but for now, here is my hot guy.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I went to a girls night last night and had to pick and bring three of my favorite things. I had a hard time at first coming up with three that I could take. Once I came up with the three though, I had a hard time stopping. I wanted to bring a ton of different things. In the end this is what I came up with...

1. The book Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. This is a modern day telling of Sleeping Beauty. I loved the story and find it to be better each time that I read it.
2. Fresh baked bread. I love the smell, flavor, texture and taste of fresh baked bread. It has been said that man cannot live on bread alone, well I could.
3. Root beer floats. I love to sit down with a good root beer float. The ice cream is the real clincher, but it has to be good ice cream. I think Bryer's French Vanilla is the best for making one. The root beet is also A&W, the smoothest and best blending root beer.
So yeah, those are a few of my favorite things, what are yours?

Grateful

A friend has been posting on the things that she is grateful for and I have enjoyed reading about them. I also read an article today that said that if you are consistent about thinking and being grateful for the things that you have you will be a happier person. I decided to share a few things that I am grateful for.

#1 my family - I know it's cliche, but I am. I have a great family! My husband works hard for us and is a wonderful man to be with. I also have the best kids! My extended family ROCKS as well!

#2 the Gospel - I am grateful to know my Savior and to know that I can return again to my Heavenly Father.

#3 my health - This is one that I often take for granted, even when I know I shouldn't. I was sick a lot as a kid, but it's easy to forget what that was like. After feeling awful for so long with the flu, it's amazing to feel good again. I am grateful that I can know what it feels like to feel good.

#4 this country - I know how lucky we are to be in this great nation. I am grateful for the many opportunities that are afforded to us here.

#5 good books - I love to read and I love to have good books. There are few things as wonderful as sitting down with a good book and disappearing into a new world.

That's all for today, but I will continue to look for the things that I am grateful for.

Dia de lor Muertos

Last year we began the tradition of celebrating Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. In Mexico this is one of the biggest holidays and James fondly remembers the food and the fun. We were again able to celebrate with some friends last night. Had I been smart I would have gotten some pictures of the food and friends, but alas I am not. We did enjoy some great food and fun with one another.

This picture is actually of the bread that we made last year, but this years was the same. I think this bread is one of the hits of the night. It is called pan de muerto, or bread of the dead. I like the soft texture but rich flavor that it has. It also helps that is has a wonderful orange glaze on it that makes it taste awesome.

National Blogging Month

It's that time again - National Blogging Month. I was already a slacker and missed yesterday, but this is the third post for the day, so hopefully that will make up for it. So here's the challenge - blog everyday this month. Think of something small, something great, something sad, or whatever you are thinking of for the day and share it with us. I am going to try to keep it up, I really enjoyed it last year. Let's get blogging...

October books read

October was a good month for reading.

The Lost Symbol - 528
Dan Brown
I think Dan Brown is a good writer and this book did not disappoint. I thought the story was intriguing and I enjoyed learning more about the Mason's. I did think the references to Mormon's were pointless, and not just because I am a member, but they were extraneous and did not add to the story.

The Protector - 350
Dee Henderson
The Healer - 336
Dee Henderson
The Rescuer - 352
Dee Henderson
I enjoyed finishing out the O'Malley series. The stories were fun and I enjoyed being a part of their lives.

Dracula - 382
Bram Stoker
This was an interesting read. We read this for our book club this month, but I had a very hard time getting interested in it. I did manage to finish it, but it was hard. The story is overall interesting, but it is a slow read. The middle third or so of the book drove me nuts as well, I felt like it went nowhere slow.

Found - 320
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Sent - 320
Margaret Peterson Haddix
I read the first book of The Missing series Found after last Christmas and really liked it. This month the second came out and I had to reread the first one and then get to the second, and they were great. The first holds up well to a second reading and the second was very well written as well. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and seeing where the author takes the stories.

Total for October: 2588
Total for 2009 thus far: 28856

Halloween

This is the first year that we went for a theme for our family and I thought it went quite well. Here is our family.

James - Obi-Wan Kenobi
La Tisha - Jedi knight
MacKayla - Ahsoka Tano (from the Clone Wars cartoon)
Annika - Padme
Arabella - Princess Leia