County Fair

When we were newlyweds we knew some guys that were building demolition derby cars and racing them, so we went to watch at the County Fair. We had a great time and ended up with 13 gold fish (keep as many as you can catch for $.50). I think it has become a family tradition. Last year we went on Family Night when all the rides are $1 and Ionut, Gary & Sara all went on their first rides on the merry-go-round.
This year we went twice; once on family night, (this year for the ferris wheel)and once with the cubscouts. We had a great time! Gary loved it, he keeps asking if we can go see the animals on the farm, and can't understand why the "farm" is there but no more animals.

They had a tent of activities--one was a competition who could build the tallest tower with 100 blocks--mine is on the left!!!!

There were dress-up pictures

Turtles & Snakes with the other farm animals
On the way out we had to stop and use the port-a-potty, but it was muddy from the rain. This is what we found when we got home. Gary had unloaded the mud off his shoes and fingerpainted on the window, then flung the rest all over the car--he was probably wise to fall asleep at that point...

Daddy & Gary on the ferris wheel

Cow roping try-outs (key word being TRY)


They all got a chance to drive a lego Wall-e robot

achaeologist dig for toys

We braved the rain & beat the crowds.

Gary also loved watching the Jr. Rodeo, the bull-riding machine, motorcycle stunts, and the local bands.

Oh, and can't forget, the best corn dogs we have ever tasted!!
We can't wait til next year!

Ratatouille

With work being slow, and food/gas prices going up, we have been trying to watch our spending and use our garden and food storage as much as possible. I was trying to figure out what I could make with our eggplant and found this recipe for Ratatouille. It turned into a fun night. I put on the movie for the kids to watch while I cooked it, and then we served it over mashed potatoes (fake potatoes from food storage) I actually had everything in our garden except the Garlic & olive oil.
Sara has incredibly adult tastes (she ate only the raw onions and mushrooms off of the hamburger I fixed her the other night) so she was , but Gary liked eating it because it was like the movie. Too bad I didn't take a picture--I guess you'll just have to make it yourself to find out what it is like!
Ratatouille
4 Tbs olive oil
1 large clove garlic chopped
1 large onion sliced
1 medium (about 1 ½ lbs) eggplant cut in half lengthwise and then in 1/4 inch thick half moons
2 medium green peppers cut in thin strips
3 small zucchini (about 1 lb) cut in rounds
4 medium tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced thin
1 tsp. Salt
pepper
Heat 3 Tb oil in a skillet and saute garlic for 1 minute to soften. Layer vegetables in the order listed, sprinkling the layers with salt and a generous amount of pepper. Drizzle remaining 1 Tb oil on top. Cover pan and cook over low heat for 35 to 40 min. until tender. Uncover and cook 10 min longer to evaporate some of the liquid. Serve warm, or cold. This dish reheats well and improves with time.

Milk jugs in the cupboard

It's 3:46 a.m. and I am up. I slept hard and like a baby until just about 20 minutes ago when I woke from a stressful dream in which I was screaming at everyone- including distant relatives and others who I normally wouldn't about picking up toys, and turning off lights, locking doors, etc....So I decided after it became clear that sleep wouldn't be happening anytime soon to write about my day--Maybe--I hear Sara now in the other room calling for me...(3:53 drink of milk, blankie, and back in bed, we'll see. Today's agenda included an 11:30 a.m. home visit from the person who comes twice a month to help us with Sara's development. I have been canning peaches and pickles all week and so my sticky kitchen needed to be mopped and wiped down good before then. After breakfast and after daddy went to work the kids asked to play on the spinning chair, (See video) an old barber chair my mom has kept for 15 years for her grandkids to play on since my brothers loved it so much--and now, so do the grandkids. (4:06 a.m.-- Sara's crying again--maybe I'll finish tomorrow)...... Now it is a few days later, Gary is napping, and I have a minute to finish.

Then they played the drums....

That brought Bryce downstairs and left the kids an escape route upstairs. (10 a.m.)Gary wanted to watch a movie upstairs. I told him no, but that he could watch one downstairs while I cleaned the kitchen. That wasn't what he wanted and he started a "meltdown" (Now I realize it may have been intensified by the excessive spinning vestibular stimulation followed by the loud drums) At 11:44 a.m. (Yes--nearly two hours later) He was still going strong and Sara and I were exhausted when our friend showed up for Sara's visit. Since it didn't seem a good time for a visit, information was handed to me, and we rescheduled.

However, the visitor was enough of an interruption, and Gary was tired enough, that I was able to get him calmed down. We talked about it and then had some fun fingerpainting with pudding with Sara. To sum up, it was a "Bitter-Sweet" morning.

Honestly, now I cannot remember what else went on, but I know it was a bit stressful....Oh yeah, Scouts. I had to hurry and get dinner ready before Scouts, which included a stressful grocery shopping trip (The kind where I am seen more than once calling for Gary, wandering through the store, while he is tucked away between clearance bins or running 3 aisles away. I wish they would keep the seat belt buckles working on those car carts! Next time any of you see a mother in a public place, with kids that seem out of control--please be kind! (I had a harsh encounter this week). Anyway, I got dinner done, peach cobbler cooked, (No time for eating)hurried and got the kids ready and over to pack meeting just a couple of minutes late. By the time we got home from Pack meeting it was bedtime. We ate our cold dinner & warm cobbler and then Sara was more than ready for bed. I looked for the milk she was crying for, and couldn't find it. I hurried and got out the powdered milk, made some, put her to bed, and came back to clean up some of the mess from the rushed dinner. When I went to put the flour bin away--there was my milk, in the cupboard (too high to blame the kids). It is days like this that give mom's a bad rep for doing things like losing keys, purses, leaving for church in their slip or curlers, or putting milk in the cupboard!

Hymns that speak to our Souls

The Relief Society that I visited last week spent the whole lesson time going around the room asking people to share hymns that they loved and tell why, and then we sang them. It was a great experience. I noticed that there have been many hymns that have meant different things to me at different times in my life, but here are some whose lyrics stand out to me now for comfort, and I thought I would pass them on as a refresher to all of those who seek comfort too.
"...The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, Lord abide with me. Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away. Change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changest not, abide with me. I need thy presence every passing hour. What, but thy grace can foil the tempter's power? Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be? Thru cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me."
"...Within my heart a welcome guest, within my home abide, O Savior stay this night with me; Behold 'tis eventide. Thy walk today with me, made my heart within me burn, as I communed with thee. Thy earnest words have filled my soul and kept me near thy side. O Savior stay this night with me, behold tis eventide-- and lone will be the night if I cannot commune with thee nor find in thee my light. The darkness of the world, I fear, would in my home abide. O Savior stay this night with me."
"I need thee every hour. Stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh."
"Be still my soul: the Lord is on thy side. With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. Be still my Soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end. Thy God doth undertake to guide the future as he has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake; All, now mysterious shall be bright at last. Be still my soul: The waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below."
"God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform...Ye fearful Saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. "

"Fear not I am with thee O be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand, upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand. The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I cannot desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never forsake." ( I found myself humming this tune every time we went tracking--without ever knowing the words)

Which hymns have spoken to your soul, and why?

The Last Lecture:Celebration of Life

I just watched a cool thing on abc.com I thought worth sharing.
http://abc.go.com/player/ It is called The Last Lecture: A Celebration of Life. I think the full lecture is on youtube too. It is just a good reminder about how precious our time on earth is, and how we choose how our lives will be--regardless of the things that happen to us that we cannot control.

The atonement through the eyes of a parent

I found this entry I wrote over a year ago and thought since I have a blog now I would post it.

May 23, 2007
If I had a blog, here would be my entry for last week:

Some memories of some things that happened shortly after I was baptized have been haunting me for the past several months. I have felt several times that I needed to talk to my dad about it. Because he is the bishop, I was afraid that meant that I had not fully repented. It took me a long time to finally talk to him, but when I did I had a sweet experience. I got a confirmation that I was on good terms with my Heavenly Father, that I had been forgiven, and I got some good advice and a father's blessing. I went away feeling relieved and lightened. But that evening after my dad got home, I watched him. He was exhausted. I have seen him spiritually drained, or burdened by problems in the ward many times, but this time I knew that I had a part in that. It seemed unfair--I go away feeling so much better, and he feels the weight. It made the role of my Savior taking upon him my sins so much more real to me. Do we realize when we feel better it is because He is carrying the burden? I felt so sorrowful.

Then I had the following experience:
A few months ago my two year old found a pen and scribbled in all the white squares of my mom's patchwork quilt on the spare bed. When I first noticed it I thought--the blanket is ruined--yet another thing we are going to have to replace! (my mom's glasses, a portable dvd player, blinds, and several others have already been replaced). When we removed the bedding, I decided to try and wash the blanket and maybe we could get out some of the ink and save the blanket. So I got some spray and wash and a tooth brush and started scrubbing the first square that had just a few lines. After some good scrubbing, it lightened and eventually disappeared. I was thrilled! Maybe I wouldn't have to replace it after all.
But as I kept scrubbing the squares, I thought about the atonement--it occurred to me that the Savior could have felt like I did. Because of my love for my son, I gladly "suffered" (scrubbing) that his mistakes would be erased and we could all forget what he had done.
I have also been noticing lately how often I have been taught by the withdrawal of the Spirit. For instance, I was teaching the youth Sunday School class, feeling the Spirit and the lesson was going well, then I mentioned a movie I had seen about an atheist who nearly died on a mountain--even when he thought he was going to die he still said he didn't believe in God. He survived, but gave God no credit--even though to me it seemed obvious how many times God had saved him.
As I told the story, I felt the Spirit withdraw. My first thought was--Oh, I deviated from the lesson material--oops. Then later realized--the spirit would not remain and confirm what I was saying (as I quoted the atheist's view)-- it could not. I have noticed several similar experiences where I have felt the Spirit withdraw and then as I evaluate the situation, I am taught where I went wrong. I have also learned a lot from hind sight where I now see I was being prompted to do something and didn't follow. Example, I bought groceries at Smiths and had a 5 cents off coupon for gas and thought, "I should fill up here now." After debating the idea in my head, I decided to go to Costco and fill up. Later, I found out that Costco was the same price, so I went back to fill up at Smiths--only to find that gas prices had raised 10-15 cents a gallon all over town including Smiths (which is significant when filling a large tank like we have).
In all of these experiences, I have felt a strong feeling of love from my Heavenly Father. How can we be chastised and feel loved at the same time? Then I thought of my son. Most of the time I tell him "no," I am training him. I know that he doesn't know, or that he is learning and so I feel no anger as I direct his paths--often by telling him what he shouldn't do. When he was younger he would look at me as he put his hand on something-- asking for my approval. If I said no sometimes he would do it anyway, but most of the time he would leave it and go for something else. Now when I tell him no, often he will stop or not repeat it. But it is not unusual that he has to be reminded many times before he learns what he should not do. Only when he KNOWS something is wrong and does it intentionally, do I feel any anger or disappointment.
The subject of excommunication came up in my sunday school class recently, and I realized that I have a strong testimony of the love of the Lord for the person who is brought before a disciplinary council. The reason that those councils exist is for the good of that person. It breaks those covenants to save them from further damning themselves and allows them a chance to start afresh. Then he still isn't left alone, there is one who is assigned to watch over him (the one) and bring him safely back to the fold.

The writing on the wall

Yesterday while using a public restroom my 3 year old noticed the writing on the wall and called me to come see.

"See mommy--heart!" Then he began to read the writing, "It says I love mommy", and then pointed to another line of writing scratched into the paint, "I love daddy, and this one says, 'I love Sara!'"

Wouldn't the world be a different place if we all read the vulgur writing on the bathroom walls that way?