When your dead...

I was using the new knives I recieved for my birthday to cut a bagel for breakfast. Jaden said, "Hey, I just washed that knife and put it away." I told him I'd wash it when I was done, but thanks for remembering they don't go in the dishwasher and taking care of them. He told me, "That's OK I'm going to take care of them so I can get them when your dead. Their really nice knives." I don't know if I should be worried or not. He really like knives.

Well it's 2 oclock in the morning, baby I just can't...

Sleep!!!! So much for my plan. I took melatonin at 7 so that I would be ready for bed by 8:30. Worked like a charm, until I had to pee at 10:30 and here we are now. Just counting down the hours till my alarm clock goes off at 5 AM. Audios for now, we'll see if I'm still awake in an hour.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Just wanted to remember my 34th birthday. Nobody else has to read this. Last week Jeanine called and said her tooth had broken and that she wanted to use one of her free tickets to come out here and get it fixed. Luckily for me the only time available was the 4th and 5th. Jeremy was a saint. He had already taken the day off, but said if I wanted him to fix her tooth for my birthday he would. What a guy! Even though the 4th was a cold, dreary and totally foggy day her plane only landed 10 min. late. Jeanine and I headed to Ashland to window shop and eat at Pasta Piazzi, while Jeremy had a game night at his office. Jeanine bought me a fantastic puzzle piece charm that read, "I am grateful". My wonderful magnetic coat shoplifted another one that read, "I am fierce". (My fierce self returned the stolen one). Jeanine was wearing her southern California coat under my long white trench because it was a whopping 24 degrees outside. Dinner was fantastic. This morning I woke up to my favorite breakfast , Pecan encrusted croissant french toast, reserved only for my birthday and mother's day. I received a beautiful birthday shirt, some amazing kitchen knives, and awesome dish towels. While Jeremy was fixing Jeanine I went to the gym. Afterwards Jeanine and I went shopping for some new cereal bowls (I was down to four, and with five in the family that's a problem). Came home and Jeremy had prepared my favorite almond cake topped with berries, which we ate at three so Jeanine could have some before her plane left. All this was interspersed with phone calls from friends and family. After dropping Jeanine off we went to dinner at Olive garden where Jaden gave me his Andes mint, because he knows there my favorite. LOVE HIM SO MUCH! Came home to a roaring fire and warm house. What a great way to get older. I don't know how Jeremy does it all, especially on 4 hours sleep. He always goes out of his way to make my birthday's amazing. Thanks.

Swim Free!

In November we became the proud parents of 250 salmon. We have watched them grow, and some of them die. Today we released our surviving babies into the Rogue River at Touvelle park. It was a blast watching them hatch from their tiny pink eggs (I missed it because I was in Georgia, but I got minute by minute calls from the kids telling me all about it). I let Jeremy pull the few dead from the filter, because that is gross. I was very nervous because our once active fish have taken to lying in a pile at the bottom of the tank the last few days. I knew they were dying! Jeremy reassured me, telling me that when it is 25 degrees outside that's what fish do. Most of them seem to revive when we set them free. I guess the river was warmer then our garage. We will miss you baby salmon, live long and prosper.

Mission Completed!

At the beginning of the year our family signed a pledge to read the Book of Mormon this year. Considering we have never been good at family scripture study Jeremy and I decided we needed a goal and a visual reminder of how we were doing. We printed this chart off the Internet and began our adventure. I was amazed. The kids rarely complained and were pretty good about following along. It was fun seeing how well Jaden and Kyla can read and having them take regular turns reading out loud. Ella was great at repeating the words for her turn. I am grateful for the spirit we felt in our home as we undertook this challenge. I think doing this in the year Kyla got baptized made it that much sweeter for her. The scriptures her Grandparents gave her have already been well used. We often would have to stop so she could underline something she thought was important. We didn't read every day, so sometimes we had to play catch-up. We finished on December 26th sitting in our trailer in Grandma and Grandpa King's driveway. We cheered! Tonight we are starting our new challenge, The New Testament. Bring it On.

Watching the Lunar Eclipse! Jeremy and Jaden are watching "Who Framed Roger Rabbit? " in between viewings.

Help Me

Baking Cookies for a Christmas cookie swap. Any ideas on what I should make? What are your favorite Christmas goody recipes?