Return with Honor

Ok, cheesy title but so true. Troy's niece Stephanie returned home last night after serving as a missionary on Temple Square for the past 18 months. She is such a wonderful person- we are all so thrilled to have her back home.

Here are the signs we made. Yes, we know they aren't in order. Everyone is holding their own sign and all the little kids happened to have made the welcome part. Plus, it isn't an easy task to get 23 people turned around at the last minute. We took up most of the walkway and attracted a lot of attention. One person even wondered if a nun was coming home.

It was a joyous reunion with lots of happy tears.

Even Genna burst into tears after giving Stephanie a hug. She didn't quite know why she was crying, but that was ok, we understood.

Merry Christmas to All and To All a Good Night

What a hectic, but wonderful day. Here's some pictures of the highlights...




1. Broken Glass- a traditional family favorite. I seriously spent the whole day in the kitchen. We had roast beef, pototoes & gravy, and carrots, green bean casserole, homemade rolls and salad. After dinner we had homemade rice pudding and lots of other goodies that Troy's parents and sister brought over. I forgot to put out the broken glass. We'll have that tomorrow.

2.Decorating Cookies for Santa. Look on Santa's plate for Elvis, a missionary and a very dapper Snowman.

3. Elder Olsen and Elder Alder with their gifts. I forgot to take a picture of the stocking I stamped on for them.

4.Day 12- oops, I jumped the gun with yesterday's post. Here are the jammies I made. Except for the crooked "J", I was really happy with how they turned out.

5.Cute little Caleb getting ready to do the nativity.

6. The whole ensemble sans baby Jesus. Anna decided to help me take pictures instead of acting. Acting out the nativity is one of my most favorite parts of Christmas.

7. Hopefully Santa doesn't mind skim milk.

8. Alright Santa, we're all ready...

9. Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

12 Days of Christmas Wrap Up

It's late, I've been busy preparing food and getting a few other things ready for tomorrow night. So, I apologize, the condensed version of the past few days is all you get. But hey, that's better than nothing, right?

Here it is...



1.Gorgeous sunset from Friday morning.

2.A wonderful get together with Tami & Cheryl. I am so blessed to have such dear friends!

3.Shopping for Christmas dinners & get togethers and since Troy's sister Lisa and her family of 6 will be staying with us later this week.

4.A very homemade Nebraska ornament for the missionaries who will be spending Christmas Eve with us.

5.Days 9 & 10. These were sort of lame, but we will use them. It's just been busy we haven't had time yet. We are going to do the almond pretzels and then decorate sugar cookies for Santa.

6.Just had to take a family shot of us all dressed up today after church.

7. Day 11 presents- snowmen ties for the boys.

8. Day 11 present for Genna- candy cane tights.

9. Peppermint Eggnog malts after watching the Muppet Christmas Carol- yum!

Stuff to Smile About

It was a great weekend and here are some of the things that made me happy:

*our tax return

*2 boys who did their chores without nagging or grumbling

*getting out of the house after being cooped up for a few days

*watching a very cool lunar eclipse



*having enough kleenex with me when we went and saw Bridge to Terabithia

*Having a shirtsleeve to use when I watched Click. I could have never guessed an Adam Sandler movie would have me in tears the way this one did. I am not necessarily recommending this b/c it was full of Adam Sandler humor- but it did have a very touching message

*Getting to go to church on Sunday. Even though it was nice to sleep in last week, I sure miss being there, it makes me whole week go better

*Finishing up Mansfield Park- realizing that even though it isn't my favorite- it isn't as awful as the movie

*Seeing all of the wind's handiwork in the snowdrifts on the way to and from church, it was just beautiful



*Enjoying a yummy lasagna dinner with the missionaries last night

*Getting back to our regular routine today!

*Finding out I won something really cool! I never win anything, so I am so excited!

Missionaries

We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight. We had my favorite marinated chicken, twice baked potatoes, green beans with cheese and bacon, homemade rolls and then ice cream sundaes with homemade hot fudge. It was really yummy, especially after fasting. We love having the missionaries in our home. We have awesome Elders serving in our ward right now. We have really grown to love them. Elder Barfield is being transfered this week. We wish him the best.

One of the reasons I love to have the missionaries in our home is because I think it is such a good influence for my own boys. We talk a lot about when they get older what it will be like for them to go on a mission. Troy has lots of great stories about when he served in the Texas Houston East mission and he shares those often with the boys. Troy and I both hope that the boys decide to serve a full time mission. Troy agrees with those who have said it was 2 of the best years.

Just in case anyone would like the recipe for marinated chicken- it is super easy. Marinate chicken breasts in 1 part oil, 2 parts soy sauce and 3 parts 7up or Sprite. Grill. The longer you marinate the chicken, the better it tastes. I always let it sit at least overnight. The last several times I made the marinade when I got home from the grocery store with the chicken. Just throw it in a ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. A day before you are ready to eat it, let it thaw in the fridge.