... an easy lesson.

Today in Relief Society we had the easiest lesson ever... we showed the video of President Uchtdorf's talk from the last General Relief Society Meeting. Some days I wish we could have every lesson on TV. It was nice.

We also had a little time for discussion, too, and I think that was good. And I love getting in front of a group of people and saying "what did you learn?" and getting 30 blank stares... good times. Fortunately the blank stares didn't last long!

... leftovers.

Ah, Thanksgiving leftovers. One of the best reasons to have a huge meal is so that you can eat it for days afterward. We have turkey sandwiches, stuffing, potatoes, and even cranberry relish. Yesterday I made turkey soup, so now we have that, too. I shouldn't have to cook for a week.

... blogging friends.

Because I kind of use this blog as a journal, and because someday I will go back and look at the list of all the blogs I read and not remember any of them, I wanted to write a post about all the bloggers on my page. (I have tried to use blogger's pseudonymns and not use last names where it applies.)

Perspicacious Words is Ryan's blog. He likes to document all his fishing trips. For the family he documents his trips to China. I format it with periods to keep it at the top of my list.

Applegators is David Applegate and Megean Boardman. They are getting married in less than 3 weeks! Meg used to live in our ward (her family is still here) and although I don't know her really well it's fun to keep up with her as she prepares to get married.

B&B Transplants is Ben and Breanne. Breanne used to be one my Young Women when I lived in Longmont, CO and was in the YW organization. She's all grown up and married and almost graduated from BYU-I. She and her husband live in Rexburg.

Be the Pigeon is my friend Chris from Firestone, CO. His wife also blogs on Only With the Heart. Chris has a great sense of humor.

Blog with the Stanworths is my good friend Erica and her husband Jamey in Firestone. When I lived in CO Erica was my favoritest hairdresser ever. We also served together in Primary. I love keeping up with her family on her blog.

Building on the (little) rock is my friend Rochelle. We used to live in the same ward together in Colorado, but now she and her husband live in Utah. She has four kids; her third is a daughter named Sadie that is about four weeks older than Rachael. She was a great mommy resource for me when I was a new mommy. Now she is a source of inspiration because I am serving in RS and she did that very well for a long time.

Family Doings is D'Ann and her family in Berea. Until very recently we lived in the same ward! Then our ward split. Now I love keeping up with her via her blog since we don't see each other nearly as often. She's also a reader and has great suggestions for books to read.

Gang of Seven is Amy's blog. Amy is my sister-in-law's sister-in-law. OK so I guess that makes us not really related but she's lots of fun and we run into each other once in awhile for family gatherings. She is the mom of five boys ages 8 to newborn and she is amazing.

Good Times is my sweet friend Ashly who used to live here in Richmond but moved to Louisville. We are the same age and even went to Ricks College the same year (although we didn't know each other then). She still comes out to Richmond to visit occasionally. She has also offered to watch Rachael so Ryan and I can go to the temple and I am seriously going to take her up on that. One day.

Haley & Doug are our friends from Firestone. Doug got made a High Priest while we lived there but is only a couple of months older than Ryan. He is affectionately referred to as Old Man Lindhardt.

Jamestown Holler is one my my newest friends, Stacy. She recently moved here from Texas and is building a new house here in Richmond. It's fun to see her new house pics - it reminds me of when we built a new house.

Jessie's Jabbers is my friend Jessie. She blogs about her family and especially her cute daughter Aiden who is a little older than Rachael. Jessie lived here in Richmond with her family when we first moved here, then she moved to Illinois but now she is back. She's also Megean's sister (from Applegators). She is amazing at crochet and has her own webstite, littlecrochic.com.

Just in case you wanted to know is my friend Jen from Frederick. She loves animals and gardening, and has three boys. She's the only one I know that loves it when a bat lands on the deck. And photographs it for her blog. Plus her youngest son makes up the cutest little song titles.

Kirynie is my friend Kelsey's baby girl. Kelsey and I were friends in high school. He now lives with his family in England. (This is a private blog).

Lauren and Matt is another couple that was recently married. Lauren was another of my Young Women from Colorado. They currently live in Utah. I'm so happy to see my former YW so blessed.

Little Town Adventures is my friend Karin from high school and from my ward growing up. She has two cute girls, one of whom is named Rachel. (This is also a private blog).

Lubin' Life is Denisha's blog. Denisha is Kristy's daughter; Kristy lives in my ward here in Richmond and we used to serve in RS together. Denisha has two darling daughters. I'm kind of a lurker on her blog.

Manly Musings is Shane's blog. Shane is married to Rochelle of Building on the (little) rock fame. Shane used to think blogging was cool but apparently has better things to do with his time.

My Life as a Big Brother is Evan's blog. Evan is Amy's (Gang of Seven) oldest son; he is eight years old and I think the youngest blogger I know.

My Miscellaneous Musings is my dear friend Carli's blog. This is the first blog I ever followed regularly. I still love to check on her and her husband and their three cute kids. She is a very passionate person in everything she does.

My Providential Existence is my wonderful sister-in-law Lorie's blog. She's the only other member of our families (besides Ryan) with her own blog. I really love keeping up with my nephews and their family, especially since they live all the way out in California.

Nikki's Party Time is my good friend Nikki who used to live here in KY but recently moved to Utah. We miss her dearly but enjoy keeping up with her.

Only With the Heart is Jolayne, married to Chris of Be the Pigeon. They have three girls, the youngest of whom is also three years old. Ryan and Chris were good friends before we left Colorado and I think we would have all been great friends if we were still there. I'm glad we can still keep in touch through blogging.

Orchard Family Blog is Jenny who used to live here for only a few months but has moved to Connecticut. She has four boys! She still visits here from time to time because her mother-in-law is a sweet lady in our ward.

Ordinary Adventures is another KY friend who has since moved, Courtney. She and her husband and daughter now live in Chicago. One of my all time favorite blogs was when Paige swallowed a button.

Professional Students is a cousin of mine who lives in Michigan. We actually haven't seen each other in years, but we are both married and each have one little girl. As you might have guessed, she and her husband are both students.

Snips, Snails and a Pinch of Sugar is another Colorado friend, Brandy. We never seemed to be in the same circles in the ward (if I was in Primary, she was in YW, etc) but we have managed run into each other off and on the last couple of years so it's been great to still check in on her family. She has four boys and one sweet girl.

So here we are is the blog of an old college friend of Ryan and I; actually it's his wife's blog. They recently moved from Denver to Evanston, WY. They have three darling kids. (This is a private blog).

So the journey begins is Carrie, my best friend from high school. She hasn't blogged in awhile.

Team Tippets is a new friend, Niki. She has three cute boys and we have playdates with her son Clark sometimes. Clark and Rachael will be Sunbeams together in January.

The Way I See the World is my sweet friend Becky. She has her own photography business in CO and sometimes she posts pics from her sessions, sometimes pics from her family. She's extremely talented!

Tirsa & Blaine live in CO and although we didn't get to know each other that well before we moved, they have two darling adopted children and it's always great to know another adoption advocate.

Vaulted Skies is a friend from CO who moved to Oregon, JoAnn. I just recently stumbled across her blog.

And of course there is our family blog, The Family Ricks, because I am just so cool that I need two blogs.

I'm grateful for all of you and I'm so thankful we live in an era where I can stalk people on the computer to keep up with them instead of doing something useful, like writing them letters.

... Thanksgiving.

What a great day to have gratitude journal!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love cooking all day, eating a big meal, and especially hanging around with the family. I enjoy having a day where we are really suppose to reflect on all the things we are thankful for and that make us happy.

In no particular order, here is a gigantic paragraph on some of the things I thought about today:

A warm and comfortable house ~ We always have enough food ~ We have lots of great friends ~ We have wonderful supportive families that love us ~ We have a really great ward here in Richmond ~ The gospel of Jesus Christ and that families are forever ~ Singing with the choir ~ Long distance phone calls ~ My beautiful charming 3 year old and all her 'why' questions ~ Rachael's birthmother and her family ~ Hot chocolate ~ Living in a free country ~ And all the veterans that have fought to keep it that way ~ Clothes that fit ~ My laptop computer ~ All my great camera gear ~ My wonderful husband ~ Christmas decorations ~ Facebook ~ Our family vacation to Disney World.

... my photography assistant.

A friend of mine asked me to come and take some family pictures for her. I'm not really much of a photographer, so I was flattered to be asked. We decided to go over to the lake at what I knew would be around sunset.

My sweet and wonderful husband set up all my gear, charged batteries for both the flash and the camera, put on the tripod quick release plate, and even wrote a cheat sheet of how to use the camera best in aperture priority and manual priority. Then he sent me on my way with a dose of confidence.

If I ever decide to become a professional photographer, I have a fantastic built-in assistant! Thanks handsome!

... and hot chocolate.

I'm pretty sure this picture says it all.
(That implement in the front is a Frother. It's awesome.)

... a good checkup.

A little over a year ago I had laser eye surgery done, which I love. I still can't believe I can just get up in the morning without chasing down my glasses.

Today I had an eye exam and my eyes are still great and still have 20/20 vision. Hooray!

... the dentist.

Actually I'm not crazy about visiting the dentist. But I am grateful for good dental care. I need some new sealant on a couple of teeth, and I was wondering what would happen to my teeth if sealant were not an option. The short answer is, it would be long and painful. I'm so glad we have such great advances that let me keep all my teeth!

Ryan also had an appointment today, and his teeth are in great shape.

Rachael had a visit with the pediatric dentist last week, and she did a great job! They even took x-rays (her back teeth are starting to touch) and she did really well. I'm glad we go to a pediatric dentist for her; they make it so much more fun to see the dentist.

... Stake Conference.

Today was Stake Conference! I sang with the choir - we have been rehearsing for about four weeks. It was amazing. We sang "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" which is awesome, and instead of being accompanied by the piano, we had a trio consisting of a cello, oboe, and clarinet. The musicians were all from our ward, too, so that's fun. I'm so glad I participated - I learned so much singing with a choir of 40 people. Our director was really great, too. He is in our ward also and leads our ward choir. He never criticizes; just works and works until you get it right.

As if that wasn't enough, our visiting General Authorities were Elder Richard G Scott from the Quorum of the 12 and Elder John J Chipman of the Seventy. They were both incredible speakers. We also had Mayor Jim Newberry, the mayor of Lexington. (Which is a little odd because most of our stake is not in Lexington but actually cities south and east.) He is not a member of the church, but gave a nice talk and welcomed Elder Scott. I've never been to a church conference before where one of the speakers was not a member, so that was a neat experience.

Another unique experince was Elder Scott calling on his authority as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve to invoke a special blessing on all of us in the Lexington Stake. The blessing included answers to prayers, protection of homes and lives, and peace of mind in a difficult world.

After conference was over I ended up in the crowd to shake hands with Elder Scott and Elder Chipman. Since it was impossible to get out anyway, I waited long enough to shake both their hands. In case you're wondering, Elder Scott is very gracious in person. He is also short - only about as tall as I am!

... a hamburger party.

Once in awhile - usually a Friday or Saturday night - we have a pizza party, and we all make our own pizzas. While we were at Disney we saw what they called a "toppings bar," for hamburgers. You can see where this is going... hamburger party! Why did it take us so long to come up with this idea?

Tonight Ryan made hamburgers and fixed bacon, onions, and cheese to go on top of them. We also got out the ketchup, Miracle Whip, fry sauce, and BBQ sauce. Rachael saw the pepperoni in the fridge and decided we needed to have that at our burger party, too.

It was a hit! Even Rachael, who doesn't ever eat the bun with the burger, threw her whole self into the party. Her burger has pepperoni and cheese on it. And ketchup.

... available tickets.

Last night after we got home from Florida I was suppose to go see Twilight with a group of friends. But, like and idiot, I forgot to buy my ticket ahead of time, and of course there were none left. So I went down to the theater anyway to see if one would become available and to hang out for a little while, but of course another ticket was out of the question, so I went home.

This afternoon, though, I found there were some available tickets for a show tonight, so I called my friend Cathy and we are off to see the 8:40 showing. It's not the midnight show from last night, but I think I'll survive. And I'll be home in bed at a decent hour!

... safe travels.

I'm always grateful when we land safely when we fly. Especially when we land in a snowstorm. In 30 degree weather. After a sunny vacation.

Seriously, we almost got back on the plane and went back to Florida.

At least Rachael loved the snow!

... we're flexible.

Today we planned to spend the entire day at Animal Kingdom. After a couple of hours, though, it was obvious that Rachael just wasn't enjoying herself as much as she had at the Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Ryan and I both got to go on the rides we really wanted to (K Safari for me, Expedition Everest for Ryan [which he had to ride alone - Rach is too short]). We also saw "It's Tough to be a Bug," and met some characters. After a quick lunch we decided to head back over to the Magic Kingdom so Rachael could have more fun.

I'm glad we planned our trip to be flexible and make changes like that. We all had a great time this afternoon, and Rachael got to see the Princesses again... her absolute favorite thing to do.

... good walking shoes.

We hiked all over the Magic Kingdom yesterday and all over Epcot today. Rachael was so worn out yesterday evening she crawled into the stroller and fell asleep. Tonight she made it until we got back to the hotel, but literally put herself to bed after I got her pajamas on.

My feet are sore but I'm glad I have comfortable shoes because I know it would be worse if I didn't!

... a magical family vacation.

With all the time Ryan has spent in China this year, we haven't done much for family vacation time. We finally put together a Disney vacation, and we are so excited to spend four days at Disney World, playing and having fun.

I'm so glad we get a chance to escape from the real world and to give our daughter one of those classic childhood experiences.

... lists.

I love having lists of all the things I need to do before I go, of all the things I need to pack and all the things I need buy.

Now if I would just write everything down, I would be in great shape!

Instead I'm sure I'll forget something for this trip.

... a makeshift date.

Ryan got signed up to help manage the parking lot at the Stake Center tonight. This is important because our stake has decided to use the parking lot as a fundraiser activity at UK home games. The stake center is but a stone's throw from the stadium; so they are charging to park in the parking lot, and using the money for youth activities. (How Ryan got nominated is a gigantic rant I will save for another blog. Or another time.)

To make lemonade out of lemons, we hired a babysitter and went as a date. We took the DVD player and watched a movie and had hot chocolate (OK that was just me) and movie candy. It was fun to spend a few hours with just the two of us, even if we did have to maintain the parking lot.

... a self esteem boost.

Today I was trying on clothes in a dressing room at a store. Which I hate. No one looks good in dressing rooms, I'm pretty sure. My sweet little angel turned to me and said, "Mommy, you are an astonishing beauty." I have no idea where she heard that phrase but she picked a great time to use it!

... the VT coordinator.

I'm pretty good to at least try and do my visiting teaching every month. At the very least I try to check in with all the sisters I visit. But I am horrible about reporting at the end of the month! I'm glad we have a diligent VT coordinator who calls me to get my report. You'd think I would be better since I'm a counselor in the RS presidency... I'm working on it!

... the Disney guidebook.

A few months ago I bought a 2008 Walt Disney World for Kids book at the Disney store. We were tenatively planning a trip for next year sometime when I ran across it on sale, so I picked it up. It's been lots of fun to look at the reviews and descrptions of all the parks, rides, and other attractions. It's got a lot of feedback from kids, so we know which rides are scary or dark.

It's also got a countdown for things to do in the 10 days leading up to your trip, so now we have something to check on every day.

I'm so glad I bought the book!

... Veteran's Day.

I'm grateful we have a day once a year to remember all those that have fought in wars on our behalf. They worked so hard for our freedom; I try not to take that for granted.

... the new TV.

OK, we watch way more TV in this house than we ought to. But I'm glad that we got a new one just the same!

We celebrated by having a movie night for Family Home Evening.

... the TV died.

Today our TV finally fried itself. In the 5 years we have owned it, we have made a lot of repairs, so this wasn't actually a big surprise. My extremely adept husband pulled it apart and replaced a couple of fuses - he even had the right fuses already! - but to no avail. It has gone the way of the Sony Betamax.

There are some good things about it, though. First, we had to spend the entire day Sunday without a television. This is typically a day where we watch a movie in the afternoon and random shows in the evening, and it was actually nice to take a break from it. Second, although the picture quality was great and the screen was great, the entire TV was huge because it's a rear-projection model. In our other house this wasn't a problem because there was a built-in spot for a large TV, but in this house it just sits on the floor and takes up space. Now we can finally justify a TV that will not take up so much room.

Merry Christmas to us...

A New Blog

When I started this blog, I had intended it to be a place just for me to write down something every day that I am thankful for or that makes me happy. Since then, it has kind of morphed into a combination of things I am thankful for and a regular journal, and I vacillate all the time between posting news and events or just things I am thankful for. A few days it occurred to me I could do both!

So, without further adieu, I announce our Family Blog, at http://family-ricks.blogspot.com. Both Ryan and I will contribute, and we will try to post fun family activities and vacations as well as day to day randomness.

We will both still maintain our personal blogs, and now I feel like I can go back to posting things that inspire me without documenting my entire life. Ryan will still be posting plenty of fishing logs on his blog, too.

Update your bookmarks! :)

... craft time.

Yesterday morning out of the clear blue Rachael announced she would like to do a craft. I didn't have any great ideas, but we headed upstairs to where my craft stuff is at. After reviewing the choices, she decided beaded necklaces would be fun. We got the craft beads and some ribbon and got to work. She's pretty adept at stringing the beads herself. This project also had another benefit - she spent all day working on it at random intervals. It was a fun project and we will certainly do it again sometime!

... and autumn.

The weather has been just unbelievably beautiful the last couple of days, so yesterday Rachael and I loaded up the camera gear and went to a local park with lots of different trees. We had a wonderful time!






My favorite girl to photograph had a great time playing in the leaves and the trees.

... and 5 years.

Happy 5 years of good health, guys!
We sent you a couple of porterhouse steaks, Declan. We hope you enjoy them!

... sisters-in-law.

When I married my husband, I also got his parents and his two sisters. I already have three sisters, so that brought the total to five. (Ryan gained one brother-in-law, my brother. So not fair to him. Too bad.) But I quickly grew to love them both and we are all one big happy family.

The first time I met Lorie she was 15 years old and we met at Ryan's band concert. (He played trombone in high school and in college; this was a college concert.) She was so cute - we were both wearing purple shirts in the same shade of purple and black pants. (No picture - sorry.) Fast forward a few years - she gave birth to her first son, Braden, just three weeks after Rachael was born. We enjoyed sharing the joys and sleeplessness of our first kids with each other.

It's her 30th birthday today, so in honor of having known her for half her life, I dug up a couple of pictures. I really should drag out the one from my wedding, but it's not digital. Yet...

Happy Birthday Lorie!

... and a Rachael moment.

This morning when we went to vote, Rachael was pretty sure I said "boat" instead of "vote." Other parents were explaining the election process, the long lines, and so forth; I was explaining the difference between "boat" (lots of fun) and "vote," which doesn't even involve a boat. Major disappointment on her end. We did get cool "I Voted" stickers, though, which helped.

Later in the day we ran into a friend at the grocery store who was wearing her "I Voted" sticker, too. Rachael asked her, "Jana, did you get to go in the boating machine too?"

... the democratic process.

Every four years we get to vote on a new president, and nearly every year we vote on changes to our system of government in one way or another. I'll admit I'm not particularly politically active, and I dislike that it seems to be so much of a popularity contest, but I think we are incredibly blessed to live in a democracy. I did my part, researched the options, and cast my vote today.

It's exciting, too, to be a part of an historic vote. Whatever the outcome, history will be made today.

... the Sharpie marker.

Rachael has just lately gotten into playing with her My Little Ponies all the time. Each of those ponies has a name, like Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash. Her favorites I can usually remember, but now her favorite thing to do is pull different ones out of the box and ask me what their names are. I knew this was coming - awhile ago I took a Sharpie marker to each of the ponies and wrote their name on the bottom of one foot. Now I can always remember what the names are!

... nap time.

Rachael has long since passed the time when she will reliably take an afternoon nap. I don't even try anymore to get her to sleep. She does still have what we call 'rest time,' though, which is time alone in her room most days. This helps me preserve my sanity.

Ryan and I, on the other hand, are developing a need for naptime in the afternoon, especially on Sundays. We sacked out together today for a little while on the sofa. Wonderful.

... Halloween again.

Our ward split recently, and tonight we had a combined Halloween party. It was fun to see friends that are in the other branch, as well as all the kids that were dressed up.

The highlight of the party (for us!) was Ryan dressed as a Jedi, and all the other boys dressed as Star Wars characters had a serious battle on the lawn outside. It was pretty fun to watch.


Rachael made a serious haul on candy the past two days... I'm grateful she's not a big sugar fiend or this would all be gone by tomorrow.