Joy is very infectious; therefore, be always full of joy.

~ Mother Teresa

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Where am I... really?

I know. I know. My posts have been few and far between. I have tried to post those with photos as often as I can, but really there is much to say.

First off... have you seen Pintrest ?? Oh. My. I would say I am addicted... but that is a strong word. What I am is tickled, pleased, happy, entertained, and taught. It is a wonderful website where you can link to pictures from your favorite things, projects you wanna do, recipes you wanna try etc. It is basically a glorified "Favorites" button... but your friends can see what you like and learn from you too!

It is super fun... to see and know what my friends are interested in in living color... and see new things.

But the thing I like the very best?
It's not the projects I am dying to try.
It's the not the cute quotes or yummy recipes.

It is the revelations I have found.

I only click on things *I* really like. I don't *have* to like what others like and put them on my boards. It is like a living/changing collage of Me. Heather Dorius. These are things I like, love and am interested in. It is Heather Dorius beyond Mom, Homemaker & Wife. And it is fun. So... I have been there a lot... learning more and more about this person I am.

But! A shpeel on Pintrest is not why you are here... and so...

By way of an us update....

Emmalee turned 14 on the 10th. FOURTEEN!?!?! Can you believe it?? She wanted to go to lunch together (aka - checked out of school) just she and I. So... I checked her out and we went to the Pizza Factory. That evening we had all Jes' family over for cake and icecream. It was a quiet and simple day.

The next day, Vetran's Day, 11/11/11, I let my honor roll student (a.k.a. Emma) play hookie and we went shopping. She had $90 from all the family for her birthday to spend, after paying her tithing. We went to 7Circles - this amazing shop in Orem full of brand new brand name clothing for CHEAP (usually from stores when they only have one or two left of something, or the clothing got a little dirty, or the box is munched ,etc.) - Em got a brand new pair of Sketchers Shape-Ups she has wanted so much for only $28!! (they are $100 shoes!) Then we went to Saver's Vetrans Day sale - all clothing etc was 50% off regular prices. She spent $1-3 dollars on each piece of clothing! She got 3 really nice pairs of jeans, 5-6 shirts, some socks, and another pair of shoes - New Balance! (they don't even look like they have been worn but once - maybe! for only $7!) all for about $35! Then we hit JC Penny's for a real bra. She has been wearing sports bras because she grew so fast! We got her measured and found her a really nice soft fabric bra for only $19 - then the sales lady showed us the same bra in blue and purple for only $6.77 each on clearance - and gave us a discount on the total purchase because they measured her. She only spent $30 for 3 REALLY NICE bras!! It was AMAZING!! She went with a specific list, said a prayer, and we were able to get EVERYTHING she needed from her list!! With a little to spare for a photo shoot of us in the malls camera booth - something she has always wanted to do! :D I just love this kid! She is so much fun!!

Cam's chicken pox are over - if he will quit picking the one pox left on his cheek and in his nose! They are bleeding almost daily! Little pill is going to have a scar! :{ Oh well. He has always been a picker... he just can't stand it! LOL I am not sure if I should take him to church tomorrow if he keeps making it bleed! Do you think he is still contagious from it even though it is past the "scabbed over" stage? Ugh. Anywho... glad that is over! I met with his teacher last week for PT Conferences... Cam is an honor roll student as well. He is leaps and bounds ahead of everyone in his class and LOVES his teacher and has tons of friends. :D So happy for him! He is such a good kid!

Jestin's job is not making ends meet. He has been taking every little side job he can. I feel so sorrowful for him... not because we aren't grateful for the work... but because it irritates that part of his heart that feels like he fails his family as a provider. I wish he could understand that it is NOT him... that there are literally THOUSANDS struggling to make ends meet right now in this depression (sorry... but I don't buy the recession theory LOL) and just because Emma had to ask for $ for her birthday and then use it for her own clothing that she desperately needed, does not reflect on him as a person! She is learning VALUABLE life lessons at an early age... all the kids are... and I am not sure I would trade it for the life of them getting every little thing they want exactly when they need it... know what I mean? Money is NOT all it's cracked up to be!
Cody has had some amazing learning lessons lately. He is maturing and become quite the young man. He just melts my heart. He is loving school, and his interest in photography grows more each day. He is a lady magnet too... we were giggling at the girls fawning over him the other night at the school... especially since he seemed completely oblivious to it! Cracks us up! He is the responsible one in the mornings and makes sure everyone gets up on time. We sure appreciate him! LOL

Caleb is loving school... but he is struggling - hard core. Math? He is a whiz and could do math all day long. Science? Loves it and absorbs it like a sponge. Reading? Nope. He forgets letter sounds, gets frustrated in nano seconds. It is really sorrowful, since last year in the weeks before my stroke he was completely starting to read and doing really well. After the stroke he shut it all down. And he can't seem to access it in his little mind. He's half way through first grade and not reading more than 20-30 words - IF he sounds them out. :( It is really discouraging. They want to get him some extra help and I am considering finding him a child counselor to speak with... wondering if maybe he processes the scary events of that period of our lives he would be able to remember the letters and sounds. ??? Otherwise that little man is perfect! He loves to hang out with friends and build/tear apart anything around him - even the food on his plate! LOL he is a miniature Jestin and it cracks me up!

I am doing well. My emotions have all come back and I feel more like ME than I have in almost a year! Very few residuals show up from my stroke and it is amazing to think where I have been and come from. I have learned how valuable emotions really are. And I also have realized that the thought process of "I have to be strong" or "Have it all together" and never just bursting into tears and FEELING the emotions around us is a ploy of Satans. He doesn't want us to feel the sorrow, frustration, hurt etc. because then we would turn to our Father in Heaven, as we are SUPPOSE to, and be given the light, comfort, love and support He intends for us.

So... here is a little piece of advice from me...

CRY.

Let it out.

FEEL.

It's ok!

You can't have the good without the bad! It's TRUE!!!

And God has SOOO much to offer you when you allow yourself to experience the rollercoaster of emotions that are ours to enjoy.

Now... if you're cryin' because the elastic is shot in your pantyhose... well then... maybe you are following my advice a little too closely (bwahahahahaha) but for heaven sakes! Life is HARD right now! Many of us are struggling harder than we ever have before.... it's ok to let a few tears go! It's ok to sob! It's even ok to Ugly-Cry!! Have you ever NOT felt better after a good long cry?

That's my 2 cents for today. Please stay tuned for further instructions...

*grin*

Monday, November 7, 2011

Cody's Order of the Arrow

Here is my cute Boy Scout,
ready to go to the special event he has been invited to be a part of.
His mom thought he looked SO handsome!
He is wearing Dad's boots and the bolo Dad made when he was a Scout.
(sorry Mom didn't know the neckercheif was the weblows one... and un-cool! LOL I am still trying to keep all this boy/cub scout stuff straight you know!)
He still looks mighty handsome though!
(and tall!) don't you think??
A couple of weeks ago Cody was part of the Order of the Arrow ordeal.
He went to Camp Maple Dell.
He took a vow of silence for the 2 full days he was up there.
He camped all alone in a field... with no shelter.
He ate very little.
He worked really hard.
And he is exicted to continue on this journey of the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow Brotherhood, honoring camping and serving others for over 80 years.
I forgot to get a picture of him with the Indian necklace he made himself.
UBER cool!
So proud of you Cody and your love of the scouting program!
:)

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Chicken Pox :(

So... the day after Halloween Cam woke up not feeling so hot.
Mild fever, mild sore throat, headache.
We figured it was a cold of some sort.
He missed Tuesday and Wednesday of school.
Thursday he was feeling a little better, so he went for a couple of hours before calling me and asking to come home.
He slept the rest of that day.
That evening he had a few spots on his face.
I teased him he was getting zits already!
Friday morning he was feeling great!
I barely looked at his face.
(dang it)
He came home from school and I almost died!!
His "zits" had multiplied on his face, some broken open and gotten crusty, and he had two on his tooshie.
ACK!
POOR SCHOOL!!
We totally exposed them!
He has had the vaccine... so it is a mild case... but he has some great poultry grafiti.
Poor boy!
He stayed home from church today... but his last pox - on the inside of his nose - crusted over this morning.
We are praying for no more spots!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Carving Pumpkins!!

Time to get slimy!
Ewwwww

Caleb drawing his idea for Daddy
Cam chose to just go for it!
Poor Cody's pumpkin was THE thickest topped pumpkin I have EVER seen! We all kept teasing him it was taking forever to cut open his lid! LOL Mom couldn't do it either! Dad had to... wowza!
YEA!! He can finally gut this baby!
Cam was done first... so cute!
Caleb second
Cody's still going...
Peace baby!
Ta-da! Cody's Finally done!!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Dinner Success

I really wasn't going to post this on all my other blogs, but it turned out fantastic, so I am sharing sharing sharing! LOL
Dinner at our house has become difficult lately.
Jes, who usually will eat anything, is starting to get picky in his old age (dang it!) and the kids are just... well... kids! They are suppose to be picky right?
So to find a recipe that EVERYONE likes... needs celebrated!! :)
I found this recipe in an old recipe-swap email and since all the the ingredients were on hand I gave it a whirl! SOO glad I did! YUM!
CHEEZIT CHICKEN
BLSL Chicken breasts
Sour Cream
Cheezit Crackers, crushed
1/4 c. melted butter
garlic powder
(yep...really...5 ingredients!)
"Frost" chicken with sour cream. Roll in crackers. Put in a 9x13 baking dishes that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic powder.
Bake at 350 for about 50-60 min. or until juice runs clear.
Moist, tender, flavorful... everyone loved it here! :D 
Served with steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes... this mommy is reveling in the joy of a dinner appreciated by all... *grin*

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Trick-or-Treat Planning

In the car the other day I overheard my kiddos planning for Halloween. Since Jes wants to do scones for the neighbors and family again this year, Emma has offered to take Caleb out Trick or Treating. She and Caleb have been noticing the awesome Halloween decorations throughout the neighborhood and always mention they want to "for sure go to THAT house" when they see them. Cam asked Caleb why he wants to visit the decorated ones...?

Caleb replied: Cause da ones that decorate like Halloween love Halloween, so they will have lots of good candy.

Cam replied: I am going to go to the ones that HAVEN'T deocrated because THAT is where the good candy is! They haven't blown all their money on stupid decorations so they have more to spend on candy!

Bwahahahaha!!

Ok! There you have it... so how do YOU decided whether or not to Trick-or-Treat certain houses?

(and btw - stop on by if you live close for a hot scone... we live just one street to the west now ;) and a few houses south)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Donuts

So... here is a confession.
Raised donuts are a favorite.
And I have never been brave enough to try to make them!
This week that all changed!

Thanks to this recipe here I braved it! 
Even some donut holes!
My kids were thrilled!! The perfect Family Home Evening Treat for a cool October evening..
YUM!

Note to self:
Allow glaze to melt on stove long enough for the powdered sugar to melt - otherwise the glaze is "crispy" and also a little less vanilla is required than called for.
Otherwise... these compete with Krispie Kreme!!
Delish!

Monday, October 17, 2011

A little tired...?

I came in the other day and found Jes sitting like this in the computer chair! 
He was SOUND asleep! LOL 
Even his littlest baby girl could jump up on him and pose for a photo and it didn't wake him!
My cute hubby needs somemore ZZZ's!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Kisses??

All my boys got "kissed" by a girl!!!!

Good thing it was their Aunt Jenny!! LOL

IT'S BACON!!!

My homeschool support group sent out information about a company that does bulk food orders similar to the Bountiful Baskets that I love so much.

is the name of it... and they are nation wide!
I ordered 15 lbs of bacon a couple weeks ago and picked up my box at the designated drop off yesterday. It was AWESOME! 
It was $2.47/lb
Nice thick slices of nice fresh deli bacon!!
I pulled out my freezer wrap and broke it into stacks with enough for everyone in our family to have 3 slices! YUM!
Now we have 12 beautiful packages of bacon in our freezer/food storage!!
YEA!!!
I ordered me some boneless skinless chicken breasts and will be able to pick up my 40 lbs in a week or so!
It was $ 1.49/lb!!
Sa-Weet!!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Trip to Roosevelt...

I'nt he so cute???

It was my cousin Nikki's baby Kayden's Blessing today!

We drove out and attended the meeting with them and had a wonderful luncheon with my family.
I can't believe how much I miss them all!
We just don't get together often enough!
Nikki made these divine homemade pizza rolls!
And this slush drink that I cannot stop craving... I drank 3 glasses of it! LOL

What a huge blessing for Jes to have a job so that we can afford to attend special events like this! I was so very happy!! :) We really have come a long way....

Thanks for a wonderful afternoon Nikki and family!!
WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Friday, October 7, 2011

'80's Day

'80's Day - Spirit Week

Emma was the only one that dressed up for this day... mostly because we had nothing we could think of to use for the boys! :P Oh well... she looked cute anyway!
Although... looking back we should have pulled the tounges out of her shoes!
Bwahahaha

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Rock N Roll Day

Spirit Day - Rock & Roll Day

DUDE!!!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Duct Tape Day

Spirit Day - Duct Tape Day!!
The kids had a BLAST making duct tape decor on their clothing!
Caleb decorated his jeans and wore a duct tape bracelet 
Cam made his own T-shirt designs of duct tape 
Cody didn't want to ruin any of his clothing, so he made jewlery! 
Emma made decor pants, a bracelet and a headband 
Purple pockets, "Peace" on one leg, "Emma" on the other! 
She is so creative! :D

It made for a very sticky and full of fun Family Home Evening!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Conference Weekend Fall 2011

This last weekend we had a wonderful time!

We had our first house guests since we "officially" moved in.

We had had our good friends Edison and Gwenna stay the night with us a week or two after we moved in, but they had to tip toe over boxes and since they had moved out of this house only weeks before, well, it didn't quite feel like house guests! LOL

The Sorensen Family came to stay with us.
We just love sharing good times, great food and our children's childhoods with each other!

They arrived on Thursday night, which was actually Friday morning! LOL Lots of hugs, some PJ's and un-loading the car later, everyone was tucked into bed, looking forward to the weekend ahead of us.

Friday Jes had to work half a day. Emma and Cody couldn't miss school, but Caleb and Cameron were in full play mode and we let them play Hooky! It was lovely outside and our "new" fully fenced backyard, complete with grass to play on, was a huge hit!! Amy and I went to SLC this day. Their friends from Ely were here for a mission reunion (same reason as Amy & Austin's visit) and wanted to attend the temple, but couldn't with no where to leave their kids. We met up with them and took their 3 darling children and wandered through IKEA while they went to the temple. It was fun to dream about all the fun things one can do their home, and eat some meatballs for lunch!! LOL

We made it home that evening just in time for Amy & Austin to leave for her mission reunion in Provo (whew! with I-15 construction traffic we were cutting it close!) Jes and I ordered pizza for us and all the kids and put in "The Santa Clause 2" to watch. It was a lot of fun! The kids were super good... all 9 of them in this little house! LOL What is it about a Christmas movie that holds *everyone's* attention, regardless of age, the entire time? Priceless.

Saturday morning Amy and I got up early and picked up our Bountiful Baskets at 7 am. We then went to a few yard sales and were pleased with our finds! Mine included the exact sheet set, pillow shams, etc. I have been secretely eyeing at IKEA for over 3 years! They were on clearance the day before, and deep down inside I was sad I had not started buying a piece at a time to get them! But they were $19 a sham and I could not ever justify it! The lady at the yard sale sold me the sheets, with the pillow cases, plus 4 shams for $15 total!!!!! SCORE! While we were at IKEA I saw the exact comforter that I want to pair them up with... and now I can hint at it for Jes for Christmas... LOL It will complete my set! *grin* It was awesome! I also found the CD copy of Harry Potter 7, in mint condition for $10 for Jes! He can now know how it ends without taking a year to read it! (he only reads a few pages a night as he falls asleep so quickly!) He was happy.

We also hit the farmers market here in town. We loaded up on green beans, cucumbers, peaches, apples, and other misc goodies for the weekend. We met the NICEST old farmer there! When he found out we were wanting to try bottling pickles for the first time he was FULL of fantastic advice! He told us to go get this:

No fail way to make pickles for your first time! LOL We ran with it! It was SUPER easy!

There was a bread and butter pickle variety and dill variety. We got both! (yum!) We also got brave and did some "Dilly Beans"... super excited to try them out! But we have to wait until Thanksgiving to open our bottles! LOL
We were so busy with all our projects I only snapped a photo or two and then couldn't find my camera again, so this is all I have! :( I even missed some cute photo op's with the kids - dern! 
Here is a pic of our labors. Dill Pickles, Dilly Beans and Bread and Butter Pickles.

We also dried all the apples and pears from Jes' trees we left at our old house. They were awesome fruit! (dang it) It is sad to think of what next year's crop would have been for us! *pout*

We canned and labored while listening to General Conference. The kids continued to play and play, while dear Austin spent the afternoon in the garage with Jes building shelves
(whew! so grateful he had a helper!)

That evening Jes, along with Austin, took our Cody to his first Priesthood Session. It was a tender moment for this mommy! My boy is growing up SO fast! :') A rite of passage...

That night I made chili and scones and it really felt like the first kiss of fall this year...
SOOO excited for fall!!!!!!
It's my favorite! :D

Sunday was a very quiet morning. We listened to the Sunday sessions all together in the living room, the kids floating in and out from the bedroom full of toys. When the Prophet spoke, we all gathered. And each time he spoke we did not regret it!

The most exciting moment for us was the announcement of the Temple they will be building out of the burned down Provo Tabernacle!! Jes' grandparents were missionaries at the Tabernacle at the time of the tragedy, and we have all held our breath waiting to hear what they planned to do with the shell that remains.
SOOO EXCITING!!!
Won't it just be beautiful???

We were sad to have our weekend come to an end following the last session of Conference, and a quick early supper... but we are so glad they came to share this weekend with us!! It was perfect!

And I don't know what it is about having house guests...
but this little house finally feels a little more like home!
:)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Fall Sing 2011

Emma had her first choir concert last night...

She is in Concert Choir 
They sang "Old Dan Tucker" with all the choirs in the school 
As just their group they sang:
"Homeward Bound"
&
"See the Light"
(from Disney's Tangled)
She looked beautiful and sang even more so! 
Emma with her friends Olivia & Kaitlyn, they did a personal rendition of the program in the foyer... 
Gram had been detained and was so sad to have missed her songs!
It was really sweet to hear their clear & beautiful voices echoing in the foyer...
They did an amazing job!!

Congrat Em on a great performance!!