Abundant Recompense Copy

We have pretty much been eating or making goodies nonstop around our house lately. It's been fun to play in the kitchen with the kids. Nate's mom got us a gingerbread house kit. I'd never done one before, but it was actually really fun. Nate and I put the frosting on and the kids went wild with the candy. The outcome was quite beautiful and it's been a cute little decoration. We'll have to do this one again, for sure.   Leah was in charge of eating nerds the whole time. She was very good at her job.    After she'd eaten enough nerds, we moved on to a chocolate chip cookie to keep Leah occupied.  The finished product! I absolutely hate making anything with almond bark. It is such a mess. But we can't have Christmas without horse plops and chocolate covered pretzels, so in the name of holiday cheer, I  have to do it. Luckily, my sister Shauna is a genius, and came up with the idea of using a cooling rack to make the pretzels. You just put wax paper underneath ...

One thing we wanted to make happen this Christmas season was a trip down to see the lights at Temple Square with the kids. We picked a day, had an early dinner, hopped on the train, and rode down. It was a fun trip. We were all excited to be on the train, especially Leah, who is very into trains right now. We discuss each day that Daddy's at work and she's always quick to remind me that he took the train there, by making choo choo noises. The kids were pretty much awe-struck when we arrived and caught the first glimpse of the lights. We took turns picking where to go, and then had fun doing a little exploring at City Creek Center once we got through all the lights. City Creek is a great compliment to temple square. We stayed until we were all cold and starving and hopped back on the train to head home. We had fun looking out the train windows for Christmas lights, and Bryn finally sacked out on Nate's lap.We got home late and headed straight to bed, all tired out from our a...

Yep. Another broken arm. If I'm not mistaken, the third in six months. But who's really counting anymore?  On Wednesday, the kids were all coming down the stairs from Addison and Bryn's room to have lunch, when Bryn tripped or slipped or who really knows what, and started to tumble. I was right at the bottom of the stairs and watched it all happen. She fell probably about six stairs, face-first, and then caught herself with her hands. And then she started to cry. Our Bryn is a pretty tough cookie, and she doesn't whine-cry. If she's crying, it hurts. So I ran over to her to check things out and saw that her arm looked just slightly crooked. My heart sank, but I tried to be brave for her, so I hugged her for a few minutes and then said we'd just go to the doctor to have them check it out and make sure everything was okay. And it just so happens that Grandma was at our house at the time! She'd been planning to leave about three minutes after it happened, but w...

Addison had a birthday on the first of December! It's the first time in my recollection that it's been the weekend right after Thanksgiving, so it fell amidst a decent amount of chaos with house guests and decorating for Christmas, but he was as excited as could be. He got sung to in Primary, and got his special journal from them, which he's been looking forward to since Bryn got hers in July. After church (which we have at 1:00) and a short snooze for Leah (who was beside herself as a result of no nap) we came home and made pepperoni pizza and the festivities began. We're lucky to have Addison as our boy. He's cute, sweet, and very smart, and such a good big brother to his sisters. I tried to make the pizza look like the red angry bird. It was way cuter before I baked it. And Addison had no idea what it was until I finally told him. But he was very polite about it. We let the kids choose whether they want presents or cake first. Usually presents win.  A new hat! Th...

This year is the first year that our family has hosted Thanksgiving at our home. I was a little overwhelmed at the prospect, but made list after list until I could finally sleep at night instead of panic, and it turned out great. We were blessed to be surrounded by family. Megan and Sam and little Natalie came and spent the weekend, and Aaron and Amber and their kids came on Thanksgiving Day. We divided up the sizeable menu, and between the three families, I'd say we knocked it out of the park. We cooked and cooked and ate and ate and hardly put a dent in the food. It was wonderful to be with people we love on such a special day. We have so much to be grateful for. And despite the chaos that comes with a day like that, our home somehow felt peaceful through it all. (To me, at least.) Megan is the pie queen of the planet. Here she and Bryn are making apple pie. Note to Megan: Your hair looks extremely long and luscious in this picture. Are you sure you're ready to cut it?! Rolls...