Good stuff

Yesterday I made this wicked awesome dish that everyone LOVED! We cleaned up the whole pot, not a single morsel remained for leftovers. I found the recipe over at Allrecipes.com. It is one I have tried before and I put a five star label on it so I figured it must have been good the first time. Good is not the word for it. It was so very very delicious!!!!

Turkey Bow Tie Skillet

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (optional)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, brown turkey in oil.
2. Add celery, onion, green pepper and garlic; cook until vegetables are tender. Remove the turkey and vegetables with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
3. Add broth to the pan; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook for 10 minutes or until tender.
4. Reduce heat; stir in the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, chili powder, garlic salt if desired and turkey mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley.

I made only two slight changes. First I used a 28oz can of tomatoes instead of only a 14.5oz and secondly I used rotini noodles instead of bow tie pasta because that is what I had. I didn't think to take a picture so you'll just have to believe me that it look nearly as good as it tasted.

Paul Brandt and our Small Town Hero

Paul Brandt came to little ol' Milk River and put on a concert. But it wouldn't have happened if it had not been for Dr. Liesl Lewke-Bogle. She was nominated for the Small Town Hero's contest that the UFA and Paul Brandt put together. You can read more about it here. Through the summer, our community pulled together and voted over and over again. Believing that our Doctor was indeed deserving of the win. And win she did, but then when you read her story(click on her name in the previous link) you'll see why, to all of us, it was an obvious choice. As a result of her win Paul Brandt came here and put on an amazing concert.

Initially, I didn't think I would be able to go. Tickets sold out within the first day, and I wasn't even aware of what day they were being sold, some time in December. My brain was obviously somewhere else. I was pretty bummed. But then the day before the concert my husband, with out my knowing, started hunting for tickets, and he found two!!! The plan was that he would stay home with the kids and Kathryn and I would go to the concert. Tansley was devastated that she would not be able to go with us. 

I took all the kids down to the UFA Thursday afternoon, because Paul Brandt was going to be there signing autographs. So we took some of my CD's for him to sign and we crowded into the tiny UFA and had our turn at getting our pictures taken with him and getting his autograph.

Funny story. As I was lifting Kymberly up to sit on the counter so that she could be in the picture, I totally bonked her head on the corner. And if you know Kymberly you know that she can be a bit loud when she cries. Paul tried to cheer her up by asking her to share her popcorn...she said no. He then asked her about the pretty blue braid in her hair. Finally that worked and we were able to get a picture. you can see more photos here.

Thursday afternoon(the day of the concert), I got a call from a friend asking if I had found a ticket. I told her I had but that I would be interested in another one. Long story short. I found one more which meant that I could take Tansley too. When she got home from school I told her the news and she was ECSTATIC! The entire time at the concert Tansley had the biggest grin on her face. She declared her self Paul Brandt's biggest fan. I had no idea that she would love it so much and I was so thrilled that I was able to get a ticket for her. 

Here are a couple of video's I took

Add a caption

Ok, so funny story. As I was lifting Kymberly up to sit on the counter I totally bonked her head on the corner. And if you know Kymberly you know that she can be a bit loud. So here in this picture Paul is trying to cheer her up by asking her to share her popcorn...she said no.

This was definitely the best $60($20/ticket) that I have spent in a long time. I have been a fan of his from the very beginning. When he hits those really deep low notes, I melt...and live in concert, 10 rows from the front, was exhilarating. My children now LOVE Paul Brandt. He's been the talk of the town for months now, and he will be for months to come.

Sweetness

I love this little boy. He is my best baby EVER. I have always thought that my kids have been pretty good babies. But this boy takes the cake....by a long shot! I think he has "spit up" maybe 5 times in his entire life. When I introduced solids, he just loved them. When he's sick, you wouldn't know it except for the fact that he just puked on you and wants you to hold him a little more. When he's teething he is a bit more needy, but if you didn't know any better you wouldn't notice. He loves to just sit on the floor and play. He LOVES toys that light up and make noise(together). Just this week when I introduced a bottle, after only three tries he willingly drank it. He always has a smile on his face, and if he doesn't all you have to do is look at him and he grins.

Recently he has insisted that I simply wrap him in his blanket, give him his soother and put him in his bed when he is ready to go to sleep. Before all I did was wrap him in his blanket, give him his soother and pat(with great emphasis) his bum, and he would be out in a matter of seconds. This is no longer acceptable. He wants to be left alone. No problem. Done deal. Except it is very difficult to get him to go to sleep at church...We'll have to figure that one out.

This past week I finally got out the high chair and he LOVES to sit in it while I work in the kitchen. He just sits there and plays and talks to me. He is the sweetest little boy. I just want to smother him with kisses all day long.

Satan Bees

While my little brother was on his mission not too long ago, he wrote home about Satan Bees. I don't remember the actual story very well, but here is the guts of it. They were teaching a lesson to a family. Just as they were getting to the meat of the lesson and they could feel the Spirit testifying, the little boy got stung by a bee and there was weeping and wailing. Needless to say the Spirit of the lesson was interrupted. He then talked about how Satan will do just about anything to interrupt the Spirit from testifying of Christ or keep you from doing what he knows the Lord wants you to do.

For Christmas, we decided to pixie an inactive family with the 12 days of Christmas. The plan was that on the 12th day(Christmas Eve) we would round up 12 Christmas carolers(which wasn't hard since we were hosting Christmas Eve dinner for the Court family) and go sing to them. We would then introduce ourselves and invite them to come to church with us, or something like that. Well, our plan was ruined by the fact that there was nobody at home on Christmas Eve.

Fast forward to last week. Life got busy and we haven't yet finished off the 12th Day of Christmas. last Wednesday I decided that coming Monday would be the perfect day to finish it off. My plan was to bake cookies with the girls and then for Family Home Evening we would all go over and introduce ourselves as their Christmas Pixies. Friday morning we had the missionaries at our house and they shared a lesson and invited us to think of someone that we could have in our home to meet with the missionaries. I immediately thought of this family. At first I tried to push it out of my mind, with the excuse that we really didn't know the family yet. But then I stopped. I ever since this post, I have really been trying to listen to those little promptings and to act on all good thoughts. I decided that this must be what the Lord wanted me to do. So I began praying that the Lord would give me courage and help me know what to say and that they would be receptive and that if they didn't accept right away, that it wouldn't hinder our efforts to get them to church. Every time I thought about it(which was a lot) I would stopped and say a little prayer. I was starting to get excited and feeling more confident.

Monday morning came along, while I sat eating breakfast, suddenly I felt very sick. Which altogether wasn't surprising since Tansley had been sick for the past 3 days. As the day went on I got sicker and sicker. Cookies didn't get baked, and I certainly wasn't up to walking the 1/2 block to go visit with this family. How very frustrating. No worries, this little Satan Bee won't stop us, just delay us for a bit. We'll get it done next Monday at the latest.

some interesting numbers

Kathryn,
Birth - 8lbs 2oz(75th), 21.5" tall(95th) (growth chart for girls)
12 months - 20lbs 15oz(50th percentile), 31" tall(98th percentile)

Tansley,
Birth - 8lbs 10oz(90th), 20.5" tall(above  75th)
12 months - 23lbs 1oz(80th percentile), 30.5" tall(90th percentile)

Kymberly
Birth - 10lbs 13oz(well above 95th), 21.25" tall(95th)
12 months - 22lbs 10oz(75th percentile), 30.5" tall(90th percentile)

James
Birth - 9lbs 9oz(95th), 22" tall(above 95th) (growth chart for boys)
8 months(less one week) - 21lbs 8oz(90th percentile), 30"(well above 98th percentile)


When I look at my boy, it is hard to believe that my girls were about this size when they were1yr. I know he's  a big boy, but he doesn't really seam that big...unless I have to carry him around for awhile. It's hard to picture something this size walking around...maybe that's just because he isn't anywhere close to walking. He simply refuses to put any weight on his feet. He doesn't even crawl yet. I LOVE it. I can just sit him down on the ground and he just stays there. He's so much like Kymberly that way.....which might mean that he won't walk until he is 15months....How big do you think he will be then? I remember carrying Kymberly around...she was a solid kid at 15months....she was heavier than she looked.

Shoe love

I have totally fallen in LOVE with these York shoes.
Here they are in nude. But the also come in grey and burgundy.

They are only $39.95 plus $9.00 shipping to Canada. A sweet deal. But there are a few problems.

1) I don't have $50 to spend on shoes.

2)If I did have $50 to spend on shoes...this would end up being a disaster. Let me tell you why...

The shoes are available to me for this great price because a while back I clicked on an add on facebook for Shoe Dazzle because the picture happened to have a different shoe that I also loved. According to their website "ShoeDazzle is a monthly style service. Every month, for just $39.95, you receive a personalized selection and one gorgeous pair of shoes or item of your choice. The styles are selected just for you by our fashion experts. There is no obligation to purchase once you register, and you are charged only after you place your first order. In any month, you may select the Skip This Month button in your account section between the 1st and the 5th of the month and you will not be charged."

So I signed up and took their "style" quiz because I was interested to see what kind of shoes they would suggest were my style. And I'll simply admit, I LOVE shoes. Each month in my show room are their top 5 picks for me, plus top 5 pick of handbags and accessories.

In the past I have simply admired the shoes, thought they were interesting, and often thought they were hideous. But then January came around. Oh my, I was in trouble. I LOVED these shoes at first sight.
One of the things I love about these shoes is that the heel isn't totally ridiculous in height. Most of the shoes have a heel that is 4+" and frequently they are also platforms, just not my thing. But oh how I love these boots, especially in the burgundy....or the nude...or the grey. Here is where the disaster starts. Once I place my first order...it will be so easy to just say yes to the shoes every month...if there is a pair that I like. There is almost always at least one pair that I like, not love, just like. And if there wasn't even a pair that I liked...I could get a great handbag or accessory set for the same great price. And I know myself well enough to know how easily I can be succored into buying a pair of shoes. All I have to do is think back to the days that I worked in the mall. I have gotten better over the years....forced into it really. Now that I am a stay at home mom, I'm not often in the Mall, and I have such big feet that I am usually hesitant to buy shoes online. I was never one to spend a lot of money on any one pair of shoes and I pride myself on being able to find great shoe deals. Which brings us back to these shoes.

I want these shoe so bad. I have dreamed about them...literally. I think of them often. It is a really good thing that my husband keeps our one and only credit card in his wallet. Because even though I know we don't have $50 to spend on these shoes...if I had that credit card...they would SO BE MINE!

Reunited at last

This reunion has been a little over 9 years in the making, and was much anticipated.

About a month before Daniel and I were married his Grandma Court passed away. I had only met Doris a handful of times, But I was always impressed by her faith and her humor. But then she would have to have a good sense of humor to have lived with David Court for as long as she did. She was a English woman, and I loved her accent. Grandpa Court was a funny little man. In his not so aged years he could be seen riding around Raymond on his adult sized tricycle. Doris was the love of his life. He doted on her until the day she passed. He would ride his tricycle back and forth between home and the hospital where Doris resided. He lived for her.

After Doris passed, Grandpa would say that he wished the Lord would just take him so that he could be with his sweetheart. Every time we would go to visit him, he'd say the same thing. When we told Grandpa that I was pregnant that first time he said "I hope to live to see the day that baby is born. But I just don't know, I'm so tired."

Grandpa with Kathryn

Well that day came, and he loved our little girl, and she loved him. They always had a special bond. When we came to visit, he always perked right up. He loved to make her giggle. He loved to push her around on his walker. He loved to spoil her.

 One time when Kathryn was just a few months old, I was home visiting without Daniel and I decided that I should go out to visit Grandpa. He was so excited to see us. At this time he was living at the Lodge in Raymond. He asked me if I had a high chair for Kathryn. I told him that I hadn't yet purchased one. His eyes lit up and he said "take me to my house". So we drove down the street to the old house. He took me inside and up the steep stairs to the upper floor, and there was this old beautiful wooden high chair. He told me to take it, but then said "let me take it down the stairs for you. I don't want you to fall." Grandpa would have been 89 years old at the time. I have cherished that high chair every day since, and it will be cherished for many more.

Kathryn in the high chair Grandpa gave us.

With every pregnancy, Grandpa would same the same thing, " I hope to live to see the day that baby is born". And he has every time. But through the years, grandpa has got older, and slower, and weaker, and more forgetful. But every time we would visit, he would get a little faster, a little stronger(if only for the time we where their), and he always remembered Kathryn's name.

Tansley and Kathryn with Grandpa

Grandpa admiring Kymberly's feet.

James with Grandpa

The last time we went to visit, to show him his newest great grandson, I sat across the table from him, when he looked up and saw me he smiled and said "now there's a beautiful site". Grandpa was always such a flirt. It's a shame that it has been so long since we went and visited him. We usually make sure we go at Christmas, but we didn't get there this year. I am told he wouldn't have know we were there anyways...but that doesn't make me feel any better. We should have visited him one last time.

  This afternoon, at the age of 97 years, Grandpa David Court passed from this life, to be reunited with his beloved Doris. Something he has been aching to do for just over 9 years. And though I sit here typing this through my tears, I am so very happy that they are finally reunited.