Cell Phone Saturday

Better late than never, right?

The 2011 babies...side by side by side!

Neil, September 2011; Grady, December 2011; Langston, December 2011.

When they're all together, the dilemma is, which one do I pick up first?

Healthy Habits Competition

My daughter encouraged me to join a Healthy Habits Competition that a woman in her neighborhood started up.  It began January 9th and goes for 8 weeks. There are 8 things we need to do each day and we get a point for each one we accomplish.


1. Get 7 hours sleep.
2.  Eat at least 4 servings of fruits and vegetables. (at least one serving of each)
3.  Stop eating by 8:00 p.m.
4.  No sweets or soda.
5.  Brush teeth twice a day, floss once a day.
6.  Exercise 30 minutes. (Sunday off)
7.  Drink 50 oz. water.
8.  Personal Choice (I chose to read scriptures)


If we did everything, every day we'd have 56 points a week. A full week is considered 50 points so we can "cheat" a bit.  We each paid $10.00. Half of the money is used as drawings each week, for those who have a full week, and the other half is put in a pot at the end of the 8 weeks to be divided evenly among those who have 8 full weeks. 


We're finishing up our 5th week.  These have been my points for the past 5 weeks:
56, 56, 55, 56, 56.  I didn't realize that I was such an over-achiever.  You know what this means? I haven't had chocolate in 5 weeks!! I NEVER thought I could do it, especially when this bag of goodness has been in my pantry since day 1!  Looks like the hubs has been enjoying his AND my share of the bag!

I've lost 8 pounds and am feeling good!

There are three weeks left! I have to stay focused and determined, just like C8!

(Wish I looked that good while exercising)

Cell Phone Saturday

Aly is our connoisseur.

Has been since she first started to eat solid food!

She has learned to eat without wearing it, mostly!

Sweetheart Special - Story@Home

Do you have your ticket for the Story@Home Conference? You'd be wise to get it by the 14th of this month.
Story@Home is offering a Sweetheart Special. Everyone who resisters by February 14th will be entered in to a drawing. The winner will receive a free ticket that can be used for someone she loves. Just think, you could take your mother, sister, daughter, or best friend with you! 


 That's not all! If you register before February 25th, you'll receive a swag bag filled with goodies that is worth more than the price of your ticket. I call that a win-win situation! 
So head on over to Cherish Bound and register. 


Hope to see you there! 


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Do You Feel Lucky?

 If your answer is "yes" (or even if it's "No," "Maybe," or "What?"), then you should hop on over and enter yourself to win this fantastic Sweet Valentine Giveaway going on this month.

The prizes include a year supply of cakebites from the Sweet Tooth Fairy, Amano artisan chocolates, couples cooking set from Orson Gygi, jewelry, clothing from DownEast Basics, a trip to NYC, an iPhone4S, and more!

So, go enter! I'll enter once I decide to break down and create a Facebook page for myself.

The Grandkids' Favorite Toy...

...may be one they should now avoid! 

Keiti's got talent!

(A little cleaning with a Clorox wipe and it's good as new)

Daily Journey

At the beginning of the year, I joined a group of people on a journey.  


The journey involves reading the Standard Works in a year.  For those who are members of the LDS church, the Standard Works include; The Bible, (New and Old Testament), the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price.  There are 2468 pages in all, which averages to about 7 pages of scripture reading a day.  Easy, peasy, right?

  I must admit, I have NEVER read the Old Testament word for word.  I've read some scriptures here and there but have never delved in to it as I am now.  It's refreshing and an eye opener!


Emily Freeman, an author and frequent speaker at Time Out for Women, has made this journey her brain child.  
She has a "Journal/blog" "Daily Closer to Christ" where she writes her insights of the passages of scripture that we read that day. 
 Her thoughts are poignant.  Her pictures are beautiful.   
She likens the scriptures to us; you and me. 
 She helps shed light on those things that may be confusing. (Let's face it, much of the Old Testament can be confusing)


I would like to share part of her first journal entry that she wrote to invite us to join her.


She tells of seeing a hopscotch, drawn with chalk, on a street by her home.  Usually a hopscotch has 10 spaces. This one had 110!  The words, written in chalk, at the beginning of the "course" reads, "For those 10 and under. Enter If You Dare!" 

These are Emily's words:


"As the enthusiasm of the designer captured my imagination I couldn’t hold back the happy giggle.  She had spent the good part of an afternoon setting up a challenging course.  I wondered how many of her friends dared join her adventure…and how many finished?


In the spirit of this enthusiastic hopscotch designer I am about to invite you on a journey.  I have spent the good part of a month exploring this idea, and I should probably warn you ––this isn’t your average journey.

The masthead for this adventure reads:

FOR THE WILLING ADVENTURER…

Enter if you are weary and in need of a rest
   Enter if you are looking for hope, or peace  
       Enter if you seek answers to questions of the heart  
           Enter if you shoulder a burden heavier than you can bear on your own
                  Enter if you long for the companionship of the Lord

"Maybe sometime during the next few weeks you might decide that this adventure is for you.  If so, perhaps you could spend some time thinking about just what your heart needs from this journey.  What would you like to gain from this experience?  You might consider reading Elder Bednar’s talk, A Reservoir of Living Water, as you prepare.  As always, this is an open ended invitation, which means you can invite anyone you want to join us on this journey.

Already I feel my heart preparing for the New Year.  I feel the reaching, the yearning for growth, the desire for 2012 to be a different year than 2011 was.  I ponder opening my heart wider to allow Him more room for molding me, shaping me, leading me.  What better way to be led than through His word daily?  What better way to be molded and shaped than by learning from those He has molded and shaped before.  Holy words on gilded pages.  This year my soul longs to know more of those words.

Will you join us?"

It's not too late to join.  You can jump right in with both feet.  After all, we've been reading for only 28 days!  You haven't missed much, only the creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Joseph being sold into Egypt, the plagues, the Israelites leaving Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the building of the tabernacle.  But you already know those stories,  You can go on Emily's blog and read her insight and then continue on the journey with us.  Click here for a reading schedule.

It's a good way to start a new year. 

Simple Treasures Are The Best and Story@Home Giveaway!! Winner!

Many years ago, when I was feeling like I could conquer the world, I announced that I was going to make a history book of my Grandpa and Grandma Hansen's family.  

Mae and Arthur Hansen

I contacted all 10 of their children (my uncles and aunts) and 60+ cousins and asked them to submit a family history and a recent family photo.  Reality hit about two months in to the project when only a third of the family had submitted histories and I was already overwhelmed with the daunting task.   Although the history book was a futile attempt, I acquired a great treasure from my 95 year old Grandmother.  She sent to me her life history, hand-written on notebook paper and "bound" with two pieces of brown yarn.  That was so much like Grandma!

How I love these 10 pages filled with snippets of her life and presented in her own special way.

We all have stories to tell.  How do you present your story?  No matter how you tell your stories, someone is going to want to hear them. 

I'm so excited for the Story@Home that is being held March 9th and 10th.  This conference will be filled with workshops, performances, and presenters that will help us explore ways to use the power of story in our home! It all takes place in beautiful Salt Lake City.

This conference is sponsored by Cherish Bound and Family Search.  It will be the "In" place to be this March.  You'll be Informed, Inspired, Intrigued and Involved!

Grab a friend, a sister, a mother, a daughter and come, participate and enjoy!

For more information go here.

Now for the exciting part!  I have a full conference ticket to give away to one lucky reader!           If you aren't able to go, perhaps you know of someone who would love to attend and you could be totally awesome and gift this ticket to them! 

To enter this giveaway, just leave a comment. Giveaway is now closed.  

The Winner is Natalie!!!

For extra entries:

"Like" the Story@Home Facebook page

Tweet or blog about this giveaway and Story@Home. 

Send me some Peanut M&Ms!

Giveaway will end Monday, January 23, at Midnight.  

If you want more chances to win a ticket, go to Camille's blog.  She's giving away a Full Conference Ticket too!  

Good luck and hope to see you there!

A Little of This and A Little of That!

HAPPY 85th BIRTHDAY, DAD!

We celebrated my Dad's 85th birthday last Saturday.  He and Mom are both going strong and are still great examples to all of us.  My brother, Gerald, and his wife, Cherrie, were there.  My sis wasn't able to make it but we still had fun!  Just in case you're wondering, NO, I am not my Mother's sister!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AD!

Two days later, Miss Ad had her 7th birthday.  Since they moved far, far, away, I wasn't able to be there to ...er...help with the cake! This was taken BEFORE the cake was sliced.  I think there was an earthquake in the kingdom!

STILL TRYING TO HEAL!

Do you remember the blister on my husband's foot after our 15 mile walk in September? Well, instead of healing, it just became a nice deep hole in the bottom of his foot.  He finally went to a wound clinic and has had a couple different treatments to get it to heal.  The latest is this fashionable boot.  We're hoping this will do the trick. He's anxious to get back on the basketball court.  Then we'll have more injuries!

THE BIG AND THE SMALL!

You ought to know that I couldn't do a post without including my latest babies! They're two weeks old now and absolutely adorable!  Grady, on the right, was 11 lbs 7 oz when he was born.  Langston, on the left, was 7 lbs 14 oz.  Can  you see the difference 4 lbs and an inch makes in a newborn?  I bet by the time they're a year old, they'll be the same size. 

Babies do NOT like being undressed.  Just ask Langston!

(Makes me want to swaddle both of them and rock in the rocking chair.)

I have a 4 day weekend!  Woo Hoo!

Proper Terminology

I have thought of doing this post for the past several months but didn't want to risk offending anyone.  After my daughter told me the story of Keiti, I decided to combine both stories. 
Experts have said that when we talk to our children about "delicate" subjects, we need to use the proper terminology.  We've had 2 beautiful baby boys born this past week.  Both boys were circumcised.  Each time a diaper is changed, Vaseline is put on a gauze and placed over the circumcision to prevent sticking and promote healing.  
Four-year-old Keiti watched Mom change baby brother's diaper. 

 Mom asked Keiti to get the Vaseline and gauze.  Keiti asked why and Mom told her it was to put on his penis.  Keiti looked confused and asked, "What is a penis?"  Mom told her it was what they call his "potty".  Keiti furrowed her brow then said, with a smile, "That's such a cute name for it!"


Hang on while we go back in time over 30 years.  My 80 year old grandfather went to his doctor.  The doctor, during examination, asked my Grandpa a question about his penis.  Without missing a beat, Grandpa looked the doc in the eye and said, "Doctor, I'm just a common, ordinary man, you DON'T have to use your medical words with me!"


Now we know WHY it's important to use the proper terminology.