Today I Am Thankful For...

2012

2012-01-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

Last year I tried to take a picture every day for this blog. Although I didn't achieve that goal, I did manage 313 posts, so I feel pretty good about that. I was surprised that after only a few weeks my first inclination was to grab the camera for almost anything that gave me pause, and I was also surprised that I managed to take pictures of most of the moments.

In reviewing my blog for the past few years, I have discovered I seem to be most grateful for friends, food and family. In an effort to branch out a bit, I am going to take an idea from The Choice to be Grateful by President Henry B Eyring and do 10 different things each month from this list. (Thanks to our Home Teacher Jake for giving me the idea!)

Take a Gratitude Challenge

By John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat
Let’s not just talk about counting our blessings—let’s do it! Write a list of 100 things you are thankful for. If that sounds like it is too many, try this:
Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for.
Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for.
Write 10 living people you are grateful for.
Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for.
Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for.
Write 10 things about today you are grateful for.
Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for.
Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for.
Write 10 foods you are grateful for.
Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for.
When we make a list like this, we discover that a list of 100 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the things God has given us.

Happy New Year!

Pride Before the Fall

2011-12-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

I took this picture about thirty seconds before she tipped that milkshake over and spilled it all over the table and her clothes. I would have taken a picture of that, but I was busy cleaning up sticky strawberry milkshake.

Painting Fun

2011-12-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

Building Hogwarts

2011-12-27T22:00:00.001-05:00

Helping Daddy build the Hogwarts board for the Lego Hogwarts game. It was actually a pretty fun game!

So close!

2011-12-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Making Christmas Memories

2011-12-25T22:00:00.001-05:00

She's only six, but this has become one of my favorite yearly traditions: waiting at the top of the stairs while her daddy starts a fire and gets the camera ready. It's the epitome of Christmas morning anticipation, complete with her trademark crazy morning hair.

Cookies

2011-12-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

The cookie Rachael made just for me.

Family Picture

2011-12-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

We took our own snapshot with the remote. Believe it or not, this is the picture we didn't use.

School Ornament

2011-12-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

Love love love homemade ornaments!

Cookies

2011-12-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

We all chose one treat we like for Christmas and Ryan chose sugar cookies. (Rachael picked cake pops, and I picked English Toffee.) Since those were his pick, I made a few Millennium Falcon cookies in addition to the Christmas ones!

Chinese Chocolate

2011-12-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

This is how Ryan and the team survive long days working in a factory!

Daddy's Home

2011-12-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

Ryan had some extra time in Hong Kong on this trip, and he managed to find this robe ("dressing gown" if you're a fancy girl) for Rachael. She loves it!

First Annivesary Cake

2011-12-17T22:00:00.001-05:00

Last year our friends Josh and Jessie were married in the Louisville Temple. As a wedding gift I made their wedding cake, my first ever four tier cake. Jessie had planned to keep the top layer of the cake to eat on their first anniversary, but somehow it got lost, no one knows what happened. So when their anniversary was coming up she messaged me and asked if I would mind making a new top tier. (It was much easier to make one six inch cake!) She was thrilled with the cake and I'm excited they were able to celebrate their anniversary without year-old frozen cake.

Sleepover

2011-12-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

Since Ryan is in China, we decided it would be fun to have Rachael's friend Madi over for a sleepover. This is Rachael's time to have a friend over at our house. The girls had a great time!

More Star Wars Fun

2011-12-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Han Solo Peppermint Bark

Laundry Helper

2011-12-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

She dragged this entire basket of clothes downstairs all by herself!

Paper Snowflakes

2011-12-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

The snowflake love continues...

Fancy Fingernails

2011-12-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

Holly painted fingernails!

Crooked

2011-12-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to think this tooth may actually fall out out at some point...

New Ornaments

2011-12-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Can't resist new snowflake ornaments... even though I don't need any more!

Lighted Snowflakes

2011-12-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

These are my lighted snowflakes (there are 10 total) that I hang on the front porch every year. They are one of my favorite Christmas decorations!

Uncle Wiggly

2011-12-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

We played the Uncle Wiggly board game for FHE. It's fun to have Rachael old enough to play!

A Cozy Fire

2011-12-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

Marching

2011-12-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

So much more fun to march down the street dressed like an elf and twirling a baton when there is someone else to do it with you!

Traditions

2011-12-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

I posted this on the family blog too, but I just love how ridiculously happy she gets over the train at Southern Lights. Every year.

Christmas Countdown

2011-12-01T22:00:00.000-05:00

Let the countdown begin!

Volunteer Lettuce

2011-11-30T22:00:00.001-05:00

We have some lettuce that grew all on its own in the garden this fall. (I suspect it's from the lettuce we planted this spring, that bolted and went to seed quickly in the unseasonably warm June we had.) I'll take yummy lettuce any way I can get it!

A New Ornament

2011-11-28T22:00:00.001-05:00

My Tree

2011-11-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

Leftovers

2011-11-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

I mostly followed this recipe for a Thanksgiving turkey panini. It has turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. I used the rest of Jenny's bread to make the sandwich. We loved this so much I think we will add it to our regular rotation of leftovers!

Christmas Helper

2011-11-25T22:00:00.000-05:00

Guess who loves decorating just as much as I do!

A Project

2011-11-24T22:00:00.000-05:00

I picked up this weaving craft project at the store for $5. It was totally worth the price for Rachael to have a project to work on at home for a few days!

Family Time

2011-11-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

Rachael had the day off from school so Ryan took a vacation day and we went to breakfast and then to see the Muppets. It was a fun family day!

Thankful Turkey

2011-11-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

Our annual family home evening tradition for the Monday before Thanksgiving. We all write things we are thankful for on the turkey's feathers.

Home Teachers

2011-11-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

Awesome cookies from our awesome home teachers!

Louisville Temple

2011-11-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

We loved spending some time at the temple tonight. A big thanks to our friends the Jasinskis who watched Rachael so we could go.

Silicone Spatulas

2011-11-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

These are some of my favorite kitchen tools!

Thanksgiving Countdown

2011-11-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

We made this countdown tree last year for Thanksgiving. Since it's my favorite holiday, I thought we should have a fun way to celebrate it just as well as Christmas!

Applesauce

2011-11-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

Finally made applesauce with the apples we got in Pennsylvania!

Croc Slippers

2011-11-10T22:00:00.001-05:00

These are my Croc slippers I got at Disney World a couple of years ago. They are so cozy I spend most of the winter wearing them. And I smile every time I look at the cute Mickey Mouse shaped holes. (Because there is nothing else cute about Crocs!)

Moonrise

2011-11-09T22:00:00.001-05:00

Fall Color

2011-11-08T22:00:00.002-05:00

Fall color at Lake Reba.

Upside Down

2011-11-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Roses

2011-11-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Still blooming. In November.

Girls

2011-11-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

Love Rachael's cute friends Madi & Mikayla.

Bach

2011-11-04T23:08:00.001-04:00

Thanks to our friend Nathan for the tickets to the Back concert at the Presbyterian Church. The concert was wonderful. (The hard wooden pews, slightly less so.)
[I did not take this picture during the concert. This is during the intermission; Nathan happened to be practicing for a few minutes.]

Weeble Castle

2011-11-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

Probably one of the favorite toys of all the kids that have ever played at our house.

Wildlife

2011-11-02T22:00:00.001-04:00

We love finding "wildlife" around the yard. This is the second praying mantis this fall! We also get ladybugs, cicadas, all kinds of other bugs, toads and even an occasional turtle.

Antibiotics

2011-11-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

Second ear infection this year...

Bubbles

2011-10-31T22:00:00.000-04:00

How to entertain yourself while waiting for trick-or-treating.

Bunny Ears

2011-10-30T22:00:00.002-04:00

Some gags never get old...

Saturday Mornings

2011-10-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

Casually reading books and watching TV. From on top of the table.

Friends

2011-10-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

Caught this cute picture of Luigi (Alex) giving a spontaneous hug to Hermione (Rachael).

Frog and Toad

2011-10-27T22:00:00.001-04:00

Frog and Toad. Rachael's pumpkins for the school library painted pumpkin contest.

Rain on the Roses

2011-10-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

Sidewalk Chalk

2011-10-25T22:00:00.000-04:00

Fun with sidewalk chalk. In October.

The Giant Slide

2011-10-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

One of the favorite attractions at the farm - on this particular day these kids were going down the slide in groups of 10 to 12. I'm not sure it was safe... but no one got hurt, and they had a lot of fun!

Poses

2011-10-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon Rachael and I went to the park to take some fall color pictures. I like to take pictures of Rachael, too, just for fun. She comes up with her own poses a lot; usually they are rather goofy. But this was one of hers and I thought it was cute.

And a shot of the aforementioned fall color...

Good Friends

2011-10-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

Today our good friends the Tippets family moved to Indiana. They had a party at the Bounce House so they could have one more last hurrah with their friends. It was a fun party, and a great way to say goodbye. We will miss them dearly but we look forward to visiting them once in awhile in Indiana.

Cookies

2011-10-21T22:00:00.000-04:00

Rachael's friend Andrew came over and brought a cookie decorating kit. The kids had a great time decorating! Thanks for sharing Andrew!

Sunrise

2011-10-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2011-10-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

This is the first time I have made this soup - and it was so yummy! I also made croutons out of a french baguette and they gave a nice touch to the meal.

For those that think I shouldn't post food without a recipe (love you Louan!) I mostly followed this recipe from the Food Network.

Playing Outside

2011-10-15T22:00:00.001-04:00

We went to a birthday party for one of Rachael's friends. The weather was perfect so the party was outside. There were lots of fun things for the kids to do - including pushing each other all over in a wagon. They had a great time!

Biscuits and Gravy

2011-10-14T22:00:00.001-04:00

I taught a group of second graders today that drove all the way up from Pike County - three hours on the bus one way! They were headed out to Chuck E Cheese after their time at the Maze, so I hope they thought the trip was worth it. A highlight from the lesson: we were discussing the uses of cornstarch, and I asked if anyone liked biscuits and gravy. Nearly every hand shot in the air! I love Kentucky.

Star Wars fun

2011-10-13T22:00:00.000-04:00

Drinks with Han Solo floating in them are so much fun! (The picture didn't work out so well... turns out ice is kind of difficult to photograph!)

Missing Daddy

2011-10-12T22:00:00.000-04:00

Reading

2011-10-11T22:00:00.000-04:00

Rachael was playing with her friend Mikayla today. I could hear them on the stairs, when I went to see what they were doing, Rachael was reading her library book to Mikayla. Share the love!

Fall Color

2011-10-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

It's beginning to look a lot like autumn around here!

Teaching Field Trips

2011-10-07T22:00:00.001-04:00

(The faces are intentionally blurred here - I know as a parent I wouldn't want a random stranger posting a picture of my daughter!)

For the month of October I will be teaching field trips a few days a week at the Lexington Corn Maze at Kelley Farms. Playing all day with kids on the farm? This could be my favorite job ever!

Free Kids Meal

2011-10-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

Love getting a free kids meal at Chick-fil-A!

Halloween Fingernails

2011-10-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

Rescue

2011-10-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

I was mowing the backyard today when I noticed something moving through the grass. After a couple of passes of the mower I stopped to see what it was... it is an 8 inch female praying mantis. She crawled across the lawn for a few more passes before I finally just moved her out of the way.

I hope next spring I find it was worth the effort!

Sprawling

2011-10-03T22:00:00.001-04:00

Apparently all these late nights and early mornings are catching up with her.

Crazy Hair

2011-10-02T22:00:00.002-04:00

No one does crazy hair quite as well as Rachael.

Anika

2011-09-30T22:00:00.001-04:00

We were blessed to be able to attend my niece Anika's baptism today. We are so proud of what a wonderful young lady she is!

Here is the bracelet I made for her for the occasion.

Another Secret Spot

2011-09-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

She found another little Rachael spot. I won't be teaching her how to read silently to her herself anytime soon - right now reading aloud is the easiest way to find her!

Color

2011-09-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

Love the way the morning sky looks like it was painted with watercolors.

Outtakes

2011-09-25T23:10:00.001-04:00

I usually get a few "outtake" pictures when we do photo sessions. This was a fun one.

I also got a bouquet of dandelions!

Marzipan Cherry

2011-09-22T22:00:00.000-04:00

Finally figured out how to make the perfect cherry for the top of a cupcake... out of marzipan!

New Skills

2011-09-21T22:00:00.000-04:00

Guess who is big enough to push the vacuum??

Budding Engineer

2011-09-19T22:00:00.000-04:00

Spent the morning losing my marbles with another one of my favorite engineers-in-training, Blake.

Sidewalk Chalk

2011-09-17T22:00:00.000-04:00

Chicken Pot Pie

2011-09-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

Still loving the pie maker!!

Zoku Pop Maker

2011-09-15T22:00:00.000-04:00

We had lots of fun with this all summer.

Sweet Baby

2011-09-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

Fun to take pictures of baby Jaron!

Food Pictures

2011-09-12T22:00:00.001-04:00

I'm working on an updated family cookbook, which is giving me an excuse not only to photograph more treats but to make them too. Yummy!

10 years

2011-09-11T10:00:00.001-04:00

Roots

2011-09-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

Carrots from our garden. They are close friends!

Pizza Pie

2011-09-09T22:00:00.000-04:00

More fun with the mini pie maker!

Roses

2011-09-07T22:00:00.000-04:00

craigstlist

2011-09-06T22:00:00.001-04:00

I'm cleaning out the basement and selling some items on craigslist. I'm kind of glad I have to take a picture to post with the listing... that way I have a record of what we used to have in the basement, with out having to hold on to anything!

Cherry Pie

2011-09-05T22:00:00.000-04:00

More fun with the pie maker!

Sweet Girl

2011-09-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

The jewelry that my sweet girl picked out just for me.

Last Day at the Pool

2011-09-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

Fireworks

2011-09-02T22:00:00.000-04:00

Friends

2011-08-31T22:00:00.001-04:00

Popcorn with Prizes

2011-08-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

We love the way the M&Ms get all melty in a hot bowl of popcorn!

Sunrise

2011-08-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

A Secret Spot

2011-08-28T22:00:00.009-04:00

Every kid needs their "secret spot" and this is Rachael's. It's between the loveseat and the DVD bookcase in the family room; you can't really see very well in there unless you are directly upon it. She loves it. Here she is playing Guess Who with her friend Alex. (Are you worried about having a boy in her hiding place? We couldn't see them very well, but we could certainly hear them!)

Posing

2011-08-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

This picture was harder to get that you might think... that big bucket only dumps out every five minutes! Rachael was a great sport about holding still to get the shot.