Navratil Family Blog

Making Syrup

2012-01-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

I found a post on yahoo about how to make your own pancake syrup.

Here are some recipes

Almost Maple Syrup

1 c Brown sugar
1/3 c Water
1/8 ts Salt
1/4 ts Vanilla extract

In saucepan dissolve sugar in water. Add salt and boil for 1 minute. Add
vanilla and mix well. Serve warm. Yield: 3/4 cup.

Aunt Jemima Maple Syrup

2 c Water
1 c Sugar
2 c Dark corn syrup
1/4 ts Salt
1 ts Maple flavoring

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir
occasionally, until the mixture comes to a full boil. Let it boil for 7
minutes. Turn the heat off and let the syrup cool for 15 minutes. Add the
maple flavoring and stir. When completely cool, transfer the syrup to a
covered plastic or glass container. Makes: 1 quart

Mock Maple Syrup

1 c Brown sugar
1 ts Butter
1 c Boiling water
1/2 ts Vanilla
1/2 c Sugar

1. Combine brown sugar and water and bring to a boil.
2. Caramelize whte sugar by heating it in a frying pan until sugar melts
and turns brown.
3. Add brown sugar syrup from step 1; simmer until smooth and thick.
4. Pour into a pitcher containing butter and vanilla.

Simple Syrup

3/4 cup water
1 c sugar
1/4 stick butter

Bring to a boil, and then let it simmer until it thickens.

HOMEMADE MAPLE PANCAKE SYRUP
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. water
1 tsp. maple flavoring

Mix sugar and water in saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil; simmer for 15 minutes. (Don't let it boil again, or overcook.) 3. Add maple flavoring; chill.

Homemade Pancake Syrup

3 cup Water
3 cup Granulated sugar
3 cup Brown sugar
1 cup Corn syrup
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1 tablespoon Vanilla
1 tablespoon Maple flavoring

Combine first 4 ingredients in large saucepan. Stir on medium high until it boils. Add lemon juice, vanilla and maple flavoring. Stir. Fill hot sterilized bottles to within 1/4 inch of top. Seal. Makes 3-1/2 pints. Origin: Jean Pare's Preserves Book

I've tried out the first one - haven't tasted it yet though.

Stepping Blindly with Faith

2011-04-13T10:00:00.000-06:00

So, I was watching a Mormon Messages video by nienie and she has inspired me to try to write my blog with more spiritual things by praying and writing what the Lord tells me to. Stephanie Nielson is her name and her story is amazing.

Even as I try to write, Dayvon is sitting on my lap trying to stick his fingers in my mouth. Every time he succeeds, he giggles and hugs me. I love times like these.... So, I have been called to teach the Sunbeams at Church (one of my least favorite callings). I got set apart last night and I always seem to cry when being set apart. I love hearing what my Father in Heaven would like to say to me. I have no clue what to do in this calling. It is completely out of my comfort zone. My first Sunday I sat in and watched the other Sunbeam teacher (she is amazing. So good with the kids and creative and patient). I hope I can be as good a teacher as she is.

I have always said that I would never turn down a calling. So, I accepted this and cried almost as soon as I left. Within a day or two, I was okay. I didn't dread it anymore and I look at it as a challenge and something for me to learn from. I am Stepping Blindly with Faith, not knowing how things will be or if I can even do it, but I know that the Lord will help me and that I can do anything with His help.

Dallin's 5th Birthday Party

2011-02-05T17:44:00.006-07:00

I know - Dallin's birthday isn't until the 9th but we wanted Darcy to be there so we did it today instead. We had a buzz lightyear party and it was lots of fun.

When the kids got there, they each got a laser wristband (I made them with matchboxes. I painted them green and put a red bead on the end for the "laser" and stapled elastic bands to the bottom so they could go on the wrist. They also had some toy story stickers decorating the top and some candies inside for them to eat if they needed an "energy boost") We started off with coloring pictures and we laminated them after so they could take them home as a place mat. Then we gathered all the kids together in the living room and told them that they were in training to become space rangers. Their first mission was to rescue the soldiers who were trapped in the laundry. They dove in with gusto! It was hilarious to see the clothes flying all over the place as they searched for every last soldier in there.

Next, we sent them to rescue Buzz from the mob of evil toys (we stuck buzz in a pile of toys in the corner of Katie's room). Adin found him and they came back to the living room for physical training. They did 5 push-ups, 5 sit-ups, 5 jumping jacks and 5 crossing and touching toes (not sure what this is really called).

We then had Darcy set up an obstacle course while I did a test for accuracy (I had the kids throw bean bags through a hula hoop). Then they went through the obstacle course with Darcy. As Darcy cleaned up, we did the claw game (I filled a bowl with some small plastic toys and each of the kids took some kitchen tongs to grab one out). Then we had to refuel so we sat down to eat some pizza.

While they were eating, Tracy and I hid "moon rocks" (candies wrapped in tin foil) in the living room. We then told them that we were going on a rocket to the moon and we had to get in so we gathered together and counted down from 5 to 1 and "blasted off" (lots of shaking and sound effects with this one :D). Then they each found 4 moon rocks and we had to take the rocket back to earth. I think the kids really liked the rocket! After we got back to earth they made Mr. Potato Head Balloons (I just gave them foam shape stickers so they could make faces on their balloons).

It was now time to open presents so they passed around a large moon rock to the music of "you've got a friend in me". When the music stopped, that child's present was opened. I found it less hectic doing it this way. After presents, we ate cake. I put a couple sparklers on it and one of the kids said. "Oh, pretty!" It was cute. They ate cake and then we let them do the claw game one more time and they played until their parents' came to pick them up. All in all, it was a fun time had by all (I think Darcy enjoyed training his space cadets! And they seemed to love him. They listened to him so well and did everything he said)

Here are some pictures:

The kids coloring their pictures
Dallin coloring his picture
Dallin making his Mr. Potato Head Balloon
The kids making their Mr. Potato Head Balloons
The cake I made. I did that transfer all by myself. I'm pretty impressed with it!
RC - the gift from Brett (it's remote controlled too!)
Puzzles from Kinlee
Tonka vehicles, a sticker book and a coloring book from us
Slinky-dog from Adin
And Buzz Lightyear Operation from Austin
He also got an evil Dr. Pork Chop flashlight from Brighton later. He wasn't able to make it to the party sadly.

Huge giveaway from TodaysMama and Gamestop

2010-12-09T09:48:00.002-07:00

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?
That Darcy finds a Job. Please, please, please....

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?
Open stockings and just sit around enjoying the kids joy and happiness

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?
A cruise with my hubby!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?
Giving service, ring and run people, sing carols...

5. What games did you play with your family growing up?
Atari and frogger, and later - super nintendo and Super Mario world

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?
Ring and run people, Gifts to jesus, looking at the lights, reading the nativity.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?
To Florida - to visit my mom and dad

8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
The xbox 360 kinect, and new nintendo dsi. (mine is older...) and zumba fitness: join the party for the kinect.

Martha's Giveaway

2010-10-21T13:18:00.002-06:00

Hey, my friend (and somewhat relative...) Martha is doing a giveaway on her blog. She made some really cute magnets.

Go HERE to check it out.

Katie's 6th Birthday

2010-10-12T20:26:00.003-06:00

Okay, this is a little late. About a month to be exact.

Katie is now 6! Can you believe it?!?

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

2010-05-03T18:16:00.000-06:00

This is such a great video. I hope you will watch it and listen to the message within it. I believe with all my heart that this is true.

Dayvon

2010-03-03T09:56:00.005-07:00

I realized that I don't have any recent pictures of Dayvon so I got the camera out yesterday. Here is his cuteness. I LOVE these pictures. It's just so him!
Wide Smile. This is the smile he just started doing recently. It is so cute. When I try it, it hurts my jaw so I don't see how he can do it so much....
Shy Smile
So not impressed!
Happy boy
Serious
Normal happy self
Regular face

Dallin's 4th birthday party

2010-03-02T15:27:00.003-07:00

Dallin had a superhero birthday Party on Feb 6th. I made capes for all the kids (and 1 extra that I wore) and the kids decorated their capes and ran around playing for a while. Here are a few pictures
Here is the cake. Sarah helped me make it. The transfer turned out pretty good. I did the writing (can't you tell?!) The tip was too big and I'm sticking with that story
Singing to Dallin
Dallin trying to blow the candles out. Apparently he's going to have 4 girlfriends. It ended up being Austin that blew out the candles. He just couldn't help himself. :)
Getting ready to eat the cake. The kids look so ready for it too.

Toothpick Art

2010-03-01T18:44:00.008-07:00

My parents sent me an email with this the other day. It is amazing.

Mr. Stan Munro
works with Toothpicks!
See below his amazing works.

A miniature city made out of millions of toothpicks
It took Stan Munro (38) 6 years to build this toothpick city. He used 6 million
toothpicks and 170 liters of glue. He can spend up to 6 months to create a
building and each of his creations is built to 1:164 scale. He works at the Museum
of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York ( USA ). Look at the
amazing works of one of the most patient men in the world.

And we were just picking our teeth

Amazing eh?

Valentine Craft

2010-02-01T09:09:00.003-07:00

Well, I was put in charge of a Valentine craft for our RS activity and it was pretty hard trying to find one. Anyway, this idea popped up in my head.

Apparently everyone else liked it too because I now have to get 18 sets ready for this Thursday night. Also, Sarah made one too and she put cinnamon hearts in hers. If it's not there yet, try again later because she's just posting it up.

Scripture Bag

2009-09-23T14:51:00.006-06:00

So, I found a blog that makes these cute little scripture bags out of placemats and decided to learn so I could teach people for an enrichment activity. They are so simple to make and here's a picture of my first one. I am not crafty at all but I'm learning and this took me about an hour to make (don't worry, they don't normally take that long.)

Isn't it cute? I kinda like this. So adorable.

Here's a link to the one Sarah made too. And the blocks we're doing as a halloween craft for enrichment as well.

Family Pictures

2009-09-23T14:28:00.004-06:00

Katie needed a family picture for her preschool class and we still haven't taken one with Dayvon in it yet so we got dressed up and had Sarah take some pictures for us. Here are a few for you to see.

Dayvon looking oh-so-cute. I even love the little drool dot on his chin!

Dallin, my little handsome man.

Katie-bug. She is growing up so fast. I can't believe she's 5 already!

Me and Darcy. Isn't Darcy looking hot! Oh, how I love that man.

The Family

Fire Station

2009-05-27T13:54:00.004-06:00

Yes, I know, 3 blog posts in one day is almost unheard of for me. I just uploaded the pictures today and figured I better post about the older pictures before this one so here it is. As the last class of our Parent Preschool class, they take the kids to the fire station. They had a lot of fun exploring today. Here are a bunch of pictures. This is the second time Katie and Dallin have been there and they did much better this time that the last time. It was hardest to get the picture with the hats because they're really heavy!

Soccer

2009-05-27T13:16:00.002-06:00

The kids started soccer in April. Dallin is loving it. They both play Wednesday nights every week. We have to be at the field by 5:15 for Dallin and Katie plays at 6:00. It works out nice because Tilane gave us a pair of cleats and both the kids fit into them so they get to share. Dallin has 3 teammates and Katie has 6. Katie isn't as into it as Dallin but she still likes to go (probably just for the social aspect of it though :). Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

This is from the first week. It got so cold that I had to find mittens for her to wear. We didn't get many good pictures because everyone just wanted to be in the van.

This is from the second week. It was a little warmer and she played a little more.

Both of Dallin's are from the first week. He's just a natural at it. He scores almost every game and has a blast!

Dayvon's Baby Blessing

2009-05-27T12:59:00.002-06:00

Well, we blessed Dayvon on April 19th while my Mom was still up from Florida. My friend Sarah made his blessing outfit (along with a whole bunch of other stuff.) Thank you so much Sarah, without you, Dayvon wouldn't have had anything to wear and I would have to wash the few blankets I have everyday just to make sure he had clean ones if one got dirty. Anyway, back to the blessing. Everything went great. We had all of Darcy's family there and 2 of my brothers were able to make it as well as some friends and cousins. Thanks everyone for coming. It was great to see you. Here are a few pictures we took that day.

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz

2009-05-26T23:04:00.000-06:00

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz: "

Take the fun, Mom to Mom quiz and discover your parenting style.

Long time coming....

2009-05-26T08:25:00.002-06:00

Sorry everyone. I got near the end of my pregnancy and had such bad braxton-hicks and then I had him and I was too busy/tired/etc so here are some pictures for you of our new baby. Dayvon Allen Navratil was born March 27 at 12:19 am. I went into labour wed night and had him friday morning. You DO NOT want to hear the details. Let's just say that it was not fun! Anyway, here's the cuteness. The first one is from Easter Sunday and the other two are from the hospital. Enjoy!

Christmas Celebrations

2008-12-30T10:27:00.004-07:00

Well, we've had a busy Christmas this year and had lots of fun. On December 20th, we drove up to Calgary to have Christmas with my side of the family. Everyone but Tilane and her family were there (they live in Texas so it's a little far for them). It was great to have everyone together. Just imagine - 9 kids all 5 and under in one little house (not to mention 2 pregnant ladies as well!). It was hectic and noisy and great. I don't often get to see my nieces and nephews so I was loving it. It was also nice because I finally got to meet Micah (Ken and Heather's little 4 month old boy) and Elizabeth (James and Janae's brand new little one). I got to cuddle Elizabeth for a while when she was sleeping and I loved it! Can't wait to have another little one of my own. We had a wonderful late lunch/early dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes, salad, buns, juice, etc and I made some Jell-O Cheesecake for the dessert. After opening all the gifts, we went to a wedding reception of a girl I used to babysit (now I'm starting to feel old. :) Sarah Widdup got married and we came to the reception and the kids had a blast! There was a dance and as soon as the music started, Katie and Dallin did not stop until we left at 9:30. It was great to see everyone. Sarah, Melissa and Josh are growing up so much. I can't believe it! We stayed the night at Tracy and Aron's and talked until sometime around midnight with a lot of laughing in there. Poor Tracy is getting so big that the laughing was starting to hurt! Sunday morning, neither alarm clocks went off so all of us didn't wake up until 7:30ish and we had to get ready and go to the other side of the city to be at church at 9 am for Elizabeth's baby blessing. Needless to say, we didn't quite make it. We got there right after the blessing. It was a great Christmas program and we enjoyed ourselves. After sacrament meeting, we went over to Ken and Heather's with Mom and Dad and visited some more. James came over after a little while too. We had lots of fun. We ate, played Taboo, and sang some Karaoke. Katie loves to sing (especially if there's a microphone involved). We wanted to get home early so we left and stopped and Darrell and Dixie's to get adjusted and kept on traveling. We got to Dwaine and Janet's in time to eat some dinner and then went home and got the kids in bed. The picture is obviously an old one I had of Katie singing on Ken's Karaoke machine.

On the 24th, Dwaine's 55th birthday, we went to Dwaine and Janet's for dinner and to open Christmas Eve gifts. We had planned to play games but that didn't happen. We left around 11:30 and got home, put the kids to bed, got stockings out, etc and went to sleep ourselves. Katie woke up at 7:30 Christmas morning and we all opened our stocking and then ate some waffles for breakfast. We read the nativity story out of the scriptures and then opened our gifts. We didn't want to take too long because Scott was calling between 8 and 10 am our time to talk to everyone. We finished opening gifts around 9:30 and headed over. Scott had just called when we arrived and Dwaine and Janet hadn't eaten breakfast or opened gifts yet so we got Scott all to ourselves when they ate. We stayed until around 10 pm and Dallin was so tired he fell asleep in the living room on the air mattress. It was so cute. We didn't want to get up early and do boxing day shopping so we had a lazy morning and went in in the afternoon to do some shopping after the craziness had died down a lot. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures, really, so I don't have any to add to the blog. Sorry.

2008-12-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

Family Pictures

2008-12-15T21:30:00.004-07:00

Hey, I know it's been a while so I thought I better update a little. Here are some of the pictures that Sarah took of us for our family pictures this year.

Hope you enjoyed them!

I've Been Tagged!

2008-10-14T19:07:00.003-06:00

Tilane tagged me in her blog. Here's her post. So here goes:

Seven Random Facts About Me:

1. I have green eyes - not blue like everyone seems to think
2. I've been induced both times with my kids. One early, one late.
3. I've stapled my own hand (when I was an infant) and got stitches because of it.
4. I love to learn. If I could be in school forever, I would be.
5. I am really shy - even though I try to hide it.
6. I never wanted to live in a small town. :)
7. I am the youngest of 6 kids.

Here are the people I will tag:

1. Amy
2. Melanie
3. Sarah
4. Sharon
5. Cassie
6. Jenn
7. Dawna

The Wooden Bowl

2008-10-07T11:28:00.002-06:00

I got an email from my parents with this message in it. It is really good:

The Wooden Bowl

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.
The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.

The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and
failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.

When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. 'We must do something about father,' said the son.

'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.' So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.

There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.

Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.
He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded,

'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up. ' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless.

Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.

Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason,
neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:
a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a 'life..'
I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back
I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you but, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back...
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I hope you've enjoyed this message. It's a good one.

Blog contest

2008-10-01T16:46:00.002-06:00

Ok, my friend Sarah is having a contest on her blog and she wants as many people to be in it as possible so she's asking everyone to put links on their blogs. You can go to my list of blogs and go to hers from there or just go to

http://callhermum.blogspot.com

I also get more entries if people go from my blog so go, you'll love the prizes too!

I'm Pregnant!

2008-09-07T15:46:00.002-06:00

Ok, ok, I know I've been neglecting my blog. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better. So, here's my first post back at it. I am now almost 11 weeks pregnant. I was throwing up all last month and Darcy left to go to Calgary last week to go to school for 8 weeks and I stopped being sick within a day of him leaving. It's amazing! Now he's getting teased that I'm allergic to him. Poor guy. Well, I'm doing good now and it's crazy for me because I'd normally be sick until my third trimester at least. Now I get to find out how it is for everyone else! Katie and Dallin are both really excited about the baby.

And the winners are.....

2008-05-26T09:50:00.002-06:00

It is so sad. There were only 4 comments.... so I've decided that everyone wins. I thought about just having the regular 3 winners but it didn't seem fair to leave 1 person out. Now I just have to decide what to give everyone....

I won

2008-05-18T19:57:00.002-06:00

We'll we've got a little group that's doing this.... It's called Pay It Forward. Anyway, I won. I have no idea what I'll be getting or what I'll be giving. What you've got to do is leave a comment on this post and then, on friday, I'll go to randomizer and put in all the names of people who commented. They'll pick 3 of them and those 3 people will get something made by me. I hope you'll like it. Then, if you won, you have to pay it forward by doing this contest on your blog. The person I won from asked us all about books for the comments. I liked that idea so I want you to tell me you favorite book and favorite movie in your comment. Hopefully I'll get more than 3 comments. Have fun thinking of those favorites. I know it's hard but you can do it!

Sunday's Spiritual Thoughts - nice weather, my hubby and a calling

2008-05-18T19:22:00.003-06:00

Ok, I haven't updated my blog since May 1 so I have a few weeks to catch up on.... so here goes:

The first thing I'll write about is nice weather. We have had some really hot days lately. It was up to 32 degrees yesterday. Luckily, to counter it, we've also had a good amount of rain. It rained on and off today which kept it cool enough and my flowers are just blooming. It has been great. The only thing is that I have to make sure I wear sunscreen now which I hate but we all have to make sacrifices :P

The next thing is my hubby. Darcy just turned 27 yesterday and you wouldn't believe what he decided to do for his birthday. He slept in until 9 am and then got up because I made him pancakes and eggs for breakfast. After that he got started. He set up our new lawnmower and mowed our lawn (which is very big), he set up the BBQ, and he got rid of all the old appliances we've had hanging around (we had a washer, dryer and stove in front of our house and another washer and dryer at his parents' house). Yay! they're finally in the dump. He also brought over our elliptical from his parents' house so I can use it again and numerous other things. I can tell you that I was shocked. I thought he'd want to sit at home and play on the Wii all day. He's so handy to have around. What a bonus that I love him too, eh?

And now for the third and finally topic. I got a calling today. Woo hoo. I was asked to come see the Bishop before church this morning and I am now in the enrichment committee in my ward relief society. I am so happy. It's about time. I feel so weird when I don't have a calling. It's crazy. I'm one of those people that go to my Bishop and bug him about it. It doesn't really help though. I still end up waiting a while. I'm excited to start actually. It should be lots of fun and I've never done this calling before so it's something new for me.

Anyway, that's it for today. I think I'll probably turn this post into a Thursday's blessings post because I'm not always on the computer on Sundays so we'll see how it goes. Maybe it'll switch back and forth and I'll do one or the other. Who knows...

Being A Mother

2008-05-01T09:04:00.002-06:00

This is an email I got from my sister-in-law Camille. It has a really nice message so I thought I'd post it for the blogger-world:

BEING A MOTHER

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would Love to spend some time with you.' The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my Mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie.

'What's wrong, are you well,' she asked?

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. 'I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,' I responded 'just the two of us.' She thought about it for a moment, and then said, 'I would like that very much.'

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.

'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into the car. 'They can't wait to hear about our meeting.' We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half-way through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw Mother sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. 'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' she said.

'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,' I responded.

During the dinner , we had an agreeable conversation nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed.

'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home.

'Very nice, much more so than I could have imagined,' I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined. An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. 'I love you, son'

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: 'I love YOU' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till some other time.

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby... somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, 'normal' is history.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first... somebody doesn't have two or more children.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery....somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten... or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.'

Somebody said a Mother can stop worrying after her child gets married... somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home... somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her... somebody isn't a mother.

This is for all the GREAT 'mothers' in your life and for everyone who ever had a mother. This isn't just about being a mother; it's about appreciating the people in your lives while you have them... no matter who that person is!

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes...your destiny.

'Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle'.

Cute Nails

2008-04-30T10:41:00.003-06:00

My friend Tamara does nails and she does really cute creative things with them. Katie and I got our nails done yesterday. Here's the end result.

These are Katie's. She got blue nails with white flowers and pink centers. She loves them!

Here are mine. Sorry, I really don't have cute feet. But mine were black with blue and pink flowers and white dots diagonally across. I originally had blue flowers but you could barely see them so we did pink over top and they look pretty cool. She also did ladybugs another time she did my nails. They were so cute.

Sunday's Spiritual Thoughts - The funny things kids do

2008-04-27T20:18:00.003-06:00

Today's post is just for the funny things kids do. We had a great time tonight. Scott did his farewell talk today and we had a big get-together at Dwaine and Janet's afterward. Everyone always comments about our kids and something they do so here are a couple videos we've gotten recently that make us laugh.

We were shopping at Superstore Saturday night and Dallin was soooo tired that he started falling asleep while sitting up. So funny!

And for further enjoyment, here is a video we got the other day of Katie dancing. Gotta love watching her shake her booty!

Hope you enjoyed this as much as we have. And the FYI about Scott is that he's leaving on Saturday and reports to the MTC on May 7. He's going to the Jacksonville, FL mission. Good luck Scott!

SPT

2008-04-26T10:55:00.004-06:00

I've decided to start doing SPT. This week's post is to say what we would do if we could spend our gas money on something for ourselves.

The last time we filled up was on Thursday and it equaled to approximately $75. Yikes! If I were to spend that on something for me I would buy a Ryobi 18V circular saw with laser.

Yes, that's right. Tools. I've always wanted them but can never justify buying them. Of couse, I would prefer a DeWalt but if I have to have the $75 price range, I'll have to stick with Ryobi.

Sunday's Spiritual Thoughts - Children and The Priesthood

2008-04-20T13:38:00.002-06:00

I have to catch up on my posts again. So here are the Sunday posts for last sunday and today. Last Sunday is for children. We went to a homecoming talk in another ward and then to our ward for the rest of our classes. Dallin chose this day to be very clingy (he has decided that he doesn't like nursery again). I ended up spending most of time with him in nursery. He just cuddles and won't even play with toys because he knows I'll leave. I can honestly say that I don't really mind. He hardly ever cuddles with me at home so it's nice when he does.

Today's post is about the Priesthood of our church. We seemed to talk about it alot today. Sunday school in our family relations class was about fathers. Almost everything said revolved around the Priesthood in some way. Like being able to give father's blessings and baptizing your children and how important these little things become to your children. Then, in RS, we talked about where we would be without the Melchizedek Priesthood here on the earth. It's a scary thought for most of us. I can't imagine where I would be. I know I wouldn't be sealed to my family forever and I'm pretty sure that my family wouldn't be as close as we are. We wouldn't have had the wonderful examples that we were raised with. I'm am very glad to know that I will never have to experience life without the priesthood in my home.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-04-08T12:52:00.009-06:00

My sister Tilane tagged me with this so here goes.... I like seeing pictures so I'm going to add some with it!

A- Attached or Single: Definitely attached and very happy about it too!

B- Best friend: Well, that would have to be my hubby Darcy. Other than that my best friend is Amanda who has been my friend since grade 7. Amanda is the one right next to me in the picture.

C- Cake or Pie: Cake unless it's apple pie. Because apple pie is my favorite dessert ever. Other than that I'm not a big fan of pies.

D- Day of Choice: Saturdays. I get help with the kids and time with my family. That's also my shopping day :P

E- Essential Item: Clothing. I don't know where I'd be without it (kidding :) I just had to say it!) There are too many essential items for me to be able to pick just one.....Food, Water, The Gospel, etc, etc.

F- Favorite color: Royal blue (yes, Tilane, the same answer again! ;)

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: None. They hurt my teeth

H- Hometown: Calgary (born and raised)

I- Indulgence(s): Books. I love to read

J- January or July: July because I just hate January

K-Kids: Two of them. Kaitlyn and Dallin. They are so much fun and so much work!

L- Life is Incomplete Without: My Faith and what it has taught me. Without it I would be lost.

M-Marriage Date: May 31, 2003

N- Number of Siblings: 4 brothers, 1 sister. 9 sister-in-laws, 6 brother-in-lawsO- Oranges or apples: Apples unless it's mandarin orange (that's the only type of orange I like)

P- Phobias or Fears: Sad to say but.... The dark. I'm still frightened of the dark to an extent.

Q- Quotes: I don't really have a favorite because I like lots of them.

R- Reason to Smile: Katie's finally potty trained. Yay, my in-law will stop bugging me about it now :)

S- Season: Spring. I love to see all the flowers blooming and it's perfect weather up here then, not too hot and not freezing!

T- Tag Seven: I don't think I know seven people who have blogs.... Sarah C, Mandy, Amelia, Brad... (sorry, only know of 4)

U- Unknown Fact about Me: Everyone knows everything about me! No, seriously I can't think of one...

V- Vegetarian or Meat Lover: Like, on a pizza? If so, neither. I eat meat for the protein but don't really like it that much.

W- Worst Habit: My temper. But, I guess that's not really a habit...

X- X Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds are fun when you get to see the baby but I hate being pregnant and X Rays are fairly harmless so far for me. Here are a couple Ultrasound pics from when I was pregnant with Katie. The top one is her hand pushing back.

Y- Your Favorite Food: As I said earlier...apple pie

Z-Zodiac: Libra

Sunday's Spiritual Thoughts - General Conference

2008-04-07T11:05:00.003-06:00

As many people who read this blog know, we had General Conference this weekend. I think I loved this one so much because we watched it over the internet at home. We didn't go to any family's house or to the church and have to try to keep the kids quiet and entertained. The kids napped during the second session each day so that was the easiest one to watch. They had so many good messages and a lot of them gave us something to think about and others answered some questions that we have had lately. I will let you know more about that later because it is not something we want to share at this time (and I love keeping people hanging. It is so fun :P) I can't wait until the Ensign comes out so I can read the messages I missed and study the ones that I listened to even more.

Easter

2008-04-07T10:43:00.009-06:00

It took a while for me to get this post up because my digital camera batteries died and we had to make do with a disposable camera so I had to wait to get the pictures developed. Well, here they are:

Here are some pictures of the cookies and things I made for Easter to give away. The first is Bird's Nest cookies, Then there are the bumble bees and then the flowes drawn on a marshmallow egg.

Sunday's Spiritual Thoughts - Young Children and Healthy Marriages

2008-03-30T19:50:00.002-06:00

Well, I missed last week. It was really hard to think of anything spiritual after teaching the Sunbeam class (and potty training Katie who is VERY strong-willed!)...anyway, I finally decided on young children. They are so fun to be around and speak their minds so easily. In some ways you wonder how that can be good (like when they insult you or tell everyone that their mom's farts stink (which happened to someone I know! :P)) but other times it's great. When they have that innate wisdom that just amazes you or just say something totally sweet (like when they notice that you're dressed up and say you look pretty).

The other is Health Marriages. We just finished the last class of the marriage portion of our Marriage and Family relations class. It's nice to be reminded of things that we need to improve and see how much better we are doing in some ways. It's great to hear how certain lessons have helped people in our class and see the healthy marriages people have. I have noticed that, in some cases, a good argument/disagreement is very healthy to a marriage. I have seen too many people that seemed like they had the perfect marriage end up divorced and everyone around them was shocked. I have also seem some of the other extreme as well. I am so happy to be able to say we have a healthy marriage. We don't agree a lot of the time and both of us have have tempers but we have succeeded in working through all our problems and are very happy together!

Sunday's Spiritual Thoughts - Missions

2008-03-16T18:09:00.000-06:00

We went to a mission farewell today. Our cousin Isaac Allred got set apart, gave his farewell talk, and left to travel down to Utah today. It was lots of fun. He is sooo excited to go and you could tell when you listened to him. He said "awesome" and "amazing" alot as he talked about Personal Revelation. It was great to see the testimony that he has. He could teach us all a little something. He talked about the grass and how that was revelation. To know that God loves us so much that he put that grass on the earth for us to enjoy (and that we could look at anything and get some revelation from it.) Another great part of his talk was at the end when he had us all close our eyes and forget what was on our minds and to picture Jesus Christ standing in front of us. What would he say to us? It was so simple. He would say that he loves us and that he is proud of us and what we are doing. I started to cry thinking about that. It is so wonderful to just take a moment and think about it and to Know. After church we went over to his house to have lunch and celebrate his little sister's birthday (Olivia - who just turned eight). It was fun and we are excited for him. He is going to Anaheim, California (Spanish speaking). Good luck Isaac. We know you are ready for this.

Sunday's spiritual thoughts - Friends

2008-03-09T12:55:00.000-06:00

Well, there was a farewell in our ward today and lots of people came to show their support. Among those people were a few that I grew up with in Calgary. I saw Delphine, Sophie and Ben Nzojibwami and Luke Sinclair. It was great to see these people that I haven't seen in a really long time.

I also have Amy Johansen in my ward now and it's good to see her and get reaquainted with her. Then there are my new friends. I've been taking a class on "Parenting the strong-willed child" and have met 2 great women that have become friends very quickly - Erin Smith and Colby Fletcher. It's amazing how quickly we've become friends and how much we have in common.

I'm so glad that I have been able to find old and new friends everywhere I go. It feels like I went so long without having anyone close to me that I could talk to like a real friend does....

Sunday's spiritual thoughts - families

2008-03-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well, lately in our church there seems to be a lot being said about families. My sunday school class is also the marriage and family relations class so I am getting it even more than others. It's nice to hear what the general authorities have to say on this matter. I love hearing what I already know and seeing if there are ways I can do better. This week's lesson was on "Responding to challenges in Marriage" by Lynn G. Robbins. It was surprising to see that the majority of his talk is about anger. I guess we don't realize that at the bottom of every problem and challenge in our relationships is anger.

My dad taught me a really good lesson when I was a teenager that I will never forget. He taught me that "You love the people you do things for". NOT doing things for the people we love. We need to try harder to love everyone. At that point in my life, I was having a hard time with another girl my age and I was hating her at that moment. My dad made me make cookies for her and things got better. I'm sorry to say that I didn't do more. Maybe if I had, we would have become friends. I have tried to keep this in mind when people do things that may hurt or offend me.

I'm not saying that you need to bake something for your spouse every time you have a disagreement. They might catch on and just keep annoying you. :)

This is what I want everyone to do.... I want you to give everyone in your family a hug or kiss and tell them that you love them. People don't say it often enough and everyone loves and needs to hear it. I hope you all take a moment to think about your family and how much they mean to you...

I love you all!

House Virtual Tour

2008-03-01T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the virtual tour of our new house. I was unable to add commentary to the video because it makes sound go later (so when I'm describing Katie's room, the video is in Dallin's room...)

Anyway - it starts out at the front of the house, then I walk up to the door and go into the laundry room, then through the hallway into the bathroom, around the kitchen, to Katie's room. From there I go into Dallin's room and back through the kitchen to the living room. Then into our bedroom and back outside. Around the side of the house to the back and into the shed (it's very dark in there so you don't see much). Then around the shed to the back and around the other side of the house back up to the front.

"I Hurt My Feelings"

2008-02-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just had to write this because it is too cute! Katie comes up to me today and says, "Mommy, I hurt my feelings" (with a sad look and rubbing her shoulder).

I say, "Katie, that's your shoulder"

"Oh, well, where are my feelings?" she asks.

(Wow, what a question. That's one of those that just comes out of nowhere and you now have to try to think of an answer to that that will not confuse her....)

"Well, your feelings are inside you" (oh yeah, good one. Now she's going to point into her mouth when she says it). Here goes nothing.... "It's like when you feel sad - that's a feeling" (ok, that's a little better. At least she would understand that one!)

"Oh, ok" she says. (Yay! It worked!)

A few minutes later...

"Mommy, my feelings are all better," she says excitedly while rubbing her stomach (I obviously didn't do as good a job as I thought. Oh well. Better luck next time I guess)

Valentine's Day

2008-02-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well, this year's valentine's day wasn't much but I guess that's mainly because we're living with extended family and don't really have a lot of privacy.... The kids and I went to Katie's preschool class and the kids got to make Valentine bags and exchange valentine's with all the other kids. They were pretty happy about this because they got some candy in with it. Here's a picture of the bags they made:

After Darcy got home we exchanged gifts. We got the kids a large sucker with a toy truck for Dallin and Sunglasses for Katie. They loved it. I got Darcy a DVD with the best of Mr. Bean because he loves Mr. Bean and I don't like him so he doesn't get to watch him much anymore and a $20 gift card to EB Games so he can pick a game he really wants. Darcy got me Footloose on DVD and She's the Man (this movie is sooo funny. You just can't stop laughing even though it's in embarassment most of the time...) and Hairspray soundtrack. I was so happy. I really wanted all of these. Yay! Here's some pics of the gifts:

After Dinner, we decided to decorate the cookies we got for Valentine's day. We got a package that came with 4 large heart-shaped cookies, red and white icing, cinnamon hearts, and conversation hearts. Here are a few pics because I just cannot describe the fun of letting your kids decorate their own cookies (sarcasm intended):

You can probably guess that we just tossed them into the tub after this, then they went to bed and Darcy and I watched She's the Man. Whew! That made it seem like a long day...

New pics of Katie

2008-02-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems like Katie is just so photogenic that Malissa loves to take pictures of her. Here are some of the latest. They are adorable...

This one is her puppy dog face. It melts Darcy every time...

That's the last one I'm going to add. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Dallin's birthday pics

2008-02-11T20:17:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture on the dinosaur cake I made for Dallin. It's just a 9x13 cake that I cut and put together, then decorated with frosting and M&Ms. I found the recipe on brightideas.com

Here's a picture of Katie and Dallin playing with the decorations. They loved the dinosaurs and balloons (like most kids do) ;)

Here's one of the adults playing with Dallin's birthday gift. He got a Mr. Potato head and Darcy started playing with it before Dallin could.

Here's one of Dallin's face after eating cake - he's still clean. We were shocked. He ate the cake but not the icing or candy on top of it. So, then we cake him a chocolate cupcake...

Yay! He got messy. He wasn't too happy about being messy though and didn't eat the rest of his cake. It was a fun birthday with family and a few friends. He got some dinosaurs that grow when you put them in water and the Mr. Potato head, a foam counting book, a large dino magnet, and a drawing tablet.

Dallin's Birthday

2008-02-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Dallin is turning 2 on Feb 9. We're going to have a big party with a dinosaur theme. It'll be lots of fun (as long as I can get everything done on time). We were really hoping we could be in our new house by then but that didn't work out so we'll be having it at Darcy's parents. There are so many ideas running through my head and I just need to sort them out so I can figure it all out. I have 2 ideas for invitations (depending on whether I want to make my own or just photocopy something I printed off the internet). So, many cute ideas for food and I have the perfect cake that I got off brightideas.com (the M&M website that has tons of good stuff on it). Then there are the favors and how to do it, what to put in it etc... Anyway, I'll update after his birthday and let everyone know how it went. Wish me luck!

House updated

2008-02-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we have just removed the last condition on the offer for the house. The sold sign has been put up and we get to move in in less than 3 weeks. Yay! The home inspection went really well too. It looks like this house is perfect to renovate and Darcy has so many plans....

27 Dresses

2008-02-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

Well, Darcy and I went to see 27 Dresses in the theater Friday night. It is such a cute movie. The only bad thing I would have to say is that it has a little too much swearing in it. Other than that, it was a cute story, had some really fun parts to it (even Darcy had to laugh at least a few times). Overall, I would rate it an 8/10. I hope everybody who watches it enjoys it too.

Spiritual Enlightenment

2008-01-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I was talking to my Dad yesterday about what the talks were about in church. In our ward it was all about the Book of Mormon. One guy talked about the scripture that says "And my father dwelt in a tent." He mentioned that every single scripture is in there for a reason and through some personal experiences of his that scripture came to mean something to him and his family. I thought that it was very interesting to see what certain scriptures mean to others. Another guy spoke about the fact that it was "Another testament of Jesus Christ". We have all had many people say that we are not Christian's and that we don't believe in the Bible. Yet we know just from this sentence that we are. Another testament signifies that it is not the only scripture we read and it mention's Christ's name. They both gave great talks and I was glad I went even though I had a migraine at the time

As I went to Relief Society I really liked the lesson that was given. It was on "Good, Better, and Best". Our teached referred to the story of Mary and Martha. She had to admit that she was more of a "Martha" in the fact that when she would have people coming over she would clean, and tidy up even after they had arrived whereas a "Mary" would have sat down regardless of the mess and listened the message that the visitor had brought. I am grateful that I am able to sit down and listen to the messages that are given without being to hard on myself for the things I am not able to get done.

House

2008-01-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we've gotten some really exciting news recently. We're buying our first house. If you want to check it out the MLS # is 20074343. It's a 3 bedroom little house that's just 1 floor but they accepted $90,000 for it and our possession date is Feb 25.We're all really excited. It'll be wonderful to be on our own again and I know Janet will be a little less stressed after we're gone. Katie is so excited too. Every time she sees the house she wants to just go in and stay there but we have to keep telling her to wait.
*Update: Well - the financing has gone through and the condition has been removed. Home Insurance is almost set up and the home inspection will be done on Monday. Lawyer has been contacted and we're almost done with the lovely little details that go with buying a home...Yay!
**New Update: The home inspection was done today because there was a death in his family and he couldn't do it on Monday. Everything went really well and it looks like it'll be a good house to flip too, if we want to try it. So, that's the last condition that we have to deal with. I'm getting so anxious to move in...

Kaitlyn's newest pics

2008-01-20T10:52:00.001-07:00

Well, my sister-in-law Malissa decided to take some pictures with Katie. Here are the highlights. The one of Malissa was taken by Katie. Pretty good for a 3-yr-old.

The start of the blog....

2008-01-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I was checking out Tilane's blog and I figured if she can do it, so can I. Plus, I'm awful at writing in a journal. I'm excited though - this should be lots of fun