Thanksgiving

Several of you out there have posted a grateful list and I thought that was a great idea - so here is mine.

1 - I am very grateful for my sweet husband. He is a wonderful father and my best friend!
2 - I am grateful for my children. Children are amazing - the love they give and the joy they bring to my life is indescribable! I am so grateful we have our 3 and cannot even imagine life without them.
3 - I am grateful for the gospel. I know there are those who believe differently, however even the knowledge that there is a God or a higher being brings great fulfillment to one's life. For me, it brings hope that there is a purpose for me here - and for that, I am grateful.
4 - I am grateful for family. The last few years have really brought to my mind the importance of being connected with family. I appreciate all the help and support we have received from our family - and without that, we would not be where we are today.
5 - I am grateful for my job. I hate working!! But, that being said, I know that the career I have has been a great blessing for our family and has helped me to grow personally as well.
6 - I am grateful for holidays. This time of year is really one of the only time that we are together as a family. Holidays are not about the presents but being able to spend time together and to just enjoy each others company.
7 - I am grateful for the house we live in. Andrew and I had a rough beginning in this area - however, despite our tiny quarters, we both feel this is where we need to be right now. We almost sold our house (believe me -it was a tempting situation because I am wanting a bigger place) but felt that there will be time for bigger places later and we should stay where we are.
8 - I am grateful for friends. To all of you who read this blog - thank you for your friendship! You are all important in my life and I appreciate your love and support of my family and of me.
9 - I am grateful for fun!! Life is so stressful so much of the time - that I am truly grateful for the chances to just take a brake!! Even if it is just to watch a movie, play pool, hang out our friends, etc.. Being able to relax is so important and I am one who enjoys taking full advantage of that!
10 - I am grateful for my health and the health of my family. This year -everyone is doing fairly well. Dad just had his surgery - but is recovering. His cancer is gone and he is doing so much better. We have had a couple of other hospitalizations this year for other sicknesses (pneumonia, kidney infection, etc)- and it is nice to know that everyone is finally getting better - and for that I couldn't be more grateful!

Update

For those who know my dad - just wanted to let you know that he had his knee surgery on Monday and everything went well. He is still recovering in the hospital and is in a lot of pain - but he is making progress. He is supposed to be released on Thursday just in time for a good Thanksgiving dinner!! - YEAH!! But, it will all depend on his progress today. If he is unable to meet certain markers - he will be sent to a rehab unit for a few days. So...I will keep you posted. Thanks to everyone who has been in contact with him -sending him well wishes. He truly appreciates it!!

Conversation with Thomas today...

Mom: Thomas, what do you want for Christmas?
Thomas; A DS (Nintendo - no way), Lego's Indian Jones WII Game, Batman WII game, Hulk WII game, Spiderman WII game (see a pattern) - and a Cow Pooper!!
Mom: WHAT??
Thomas: You know like dad has...
Mom: Dad has a cow pooper??
Thomas: You know, that thing he got that poops out candy..
Mom: Oh...I got it (stupid little toy he got from our friends) - too funny!

Like I always say - Kids are so awesome!!!

Eight is Great tag!!

My friend Megan sent me this fun tag, so I thought I would give it a try - and of course pass the fun along!

8 Shows I like to watch
1. House (Andrew's and my new favorite show)
2. Without a Trace (recently replaced as my new favorite show)
3. House (again - I know)
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Deal or no Deal
6. House (not even kidding)
7. Iron Chef America (stop laughing)
8. and you guessed it...House!

8 Restaurants I like to eat at:
1. Tepanyaki Steak House(by far my most favorite place to eat)
2. Market Street Grill
3. Cinnagrill
4. Litza Pizza (downtown location only)
5. Famous Daves
6. Olive Garden
7. Fortune Cookie (awesome chinese food by my house)
8. Jalisco's - Best mexican around!!

8 Things that happened today
1. I got up and got ready for work
2. Got all my kids up and got them ready
3. Helped Thomas with his homework
4. Sat in a meeting ALL DAY LONG!!!
5. Played Sudoku in the meeting - all day long - hehe!
6. Followed up on Mattie's Dr.'s appt.
7. Ate a really good dinner at my parent's
8. Wrote on my blog!

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Two weeks off over Christmas
3. Going to bed!!!
4. Mattie walking
5. Future family vacation
6. Kate's dance recital
7. Thomas' Christmas concert
8. Spending time with my family!

8 Things on my wish list:
1. NEW HOUSE!!! (Someday - this will happen)
2. Being out of debt
3. Vacation with kids to Disneyland
4. New (and bigger) car!
5. Losing weight!!!
6. I want new carpet in my current house (unless of course I get a new house)
7. Lots of new clothes!
8. More money... (I can't think of anything else)

8 People I Am Tagging
1. Misty
2. A'Lisha
3. Tahnie
4. Nikki
5. Angela
6. Aunt Veneta
7. Marcie
8. Myra

Soup Recipe #2

Sorry this is so late in coming -but I left my laptop at work this weekend so I couldn't post anything!

Anyway - this week's recipe is my own Chili recipe. The thing with this recipe is that it is so easy!! You can add whatever flavors you want to make it as mild or as hot as you want.

1lb Hamburger
1 onion
1 green pepper

Brown meat with onion and green pepper. Make sure to add salt and pepper and some season salt to the meat. (For those who don't like veggies - you can leave the pepper out and use onion salt - it just won't be quite as good! ;0)) Add to this mixture:

280z can diced tomatoes (you can half if you want)
1 large can diced chili peppers (optional but highly recommended)
1 14oz can tomato sauce
2 cans of beans of your choice (I prefer Kidney or black - or a combo!)
1 can condensed tomato soup (sounds weird - trust me!!)
2 Tbs Chili powder
2 Tbs Cumin

Mix all together and let simmer for 20+ min. Add additional salt and pepper and spicy seasonings to your taste. I have substituted 1 package of taco seasoning for the spice as an experiment and really liked the way it turned out -just another option! If you need more hot spice - add a jalapeno or use the rotel diced tomatoes - be careful though - those are REALLY spicy! Anyway, serve over rice (trust me on this one too - my favorite way to have chili!) with some nice shredded cheese. I also always buy the cheap Jiffy corn bread mix to have with it. This is one of my kids favorite things - but we do keep it more mild at our house - I am a bit of a weenie when it comes to spice. For all those frugal individuals out there - this meal will feed our family of 5 for two good meals and costs around $10.00 to make. Enjoy!

Interesting experiences...

Yesterday Helen, Andrew, and I went to see the Body Worlds exhibit in Salt Lake. Can I say - it was awesome! Any of you who feel a little squeamish about this - don't! You don't realize how amazing the human body is until you see something like this. Every thing in our body is so precise and needed to make our bodies work. You see these displays that show the inner workings of our bodies - with all of these blood vessels (millions and millions of blood vessels), muscles, bones, etc... - all there for a purpose! I am not sure how anyone can think we are all here by chance - not possible! Anyway - it was a great exhibit and I would definitely recommend it to everyone! About half-way through, Andrew and I thought that even Thomas might find this exhibit really cool - which means we may be going back. Thanks Helen for taking us - we really enjoyed it!

Andrew and I were walking around Costco yesterday waiting for his tire to be fixed when I got a call from Thom's teacher (never a good sign!). He informed me that Thomas had a really hard day - he was not able to sit in his seat, couldn't keep his hands to himself, and he was HANGING FROM THE COAT HANGERS (just to name a few things)!! Wow - I looked at Andrew (who was in charge of Kate and Thomas yesterday) and asked if he remembered to give Thom his pill. He went pail when he realized he had not - and we both started apologizing profusely to his teacher. That will not happen again! I was hoping to be able to start backing off on the medication a little, but I think that this may not be the right time. I am going to start looking into parenting classes that teach behavior modification types of things to help us help Thomas more - so maybe if it does happen again - it won't be such a bad thing. Anyone have any ideas of where I can find this stuff?? If you do - let me know!

Something tasty!

I love soup!! I don't know what it is - but it is probably one of my most favorite meals. Soup, in my opinion is the only good thing about winter (minus the holidays of course!!) That being said - I have decided to increase my stash of soup recipes and try a new one every week. If I like the recipe - I will post it - if not, I will still post it! Anyway - this first recipe is from my friend Nicole (with some of my own additions) - hope you like it!!

Cheesy Potato Soup
2 carrots, grated
1 medium chopped onion
3 medium potatoes, peeled and shredded
5 C chicken stock/ broth
½ t salt
½ t pepper
¼ t garlic powder
1 Stick butter
8 T flour
4 C Monterey jack cheese, grated
4 C milk, enough for thick sauce

Cook vegetables and seasonings in broth 40 minutes, until tender. In a separate pan, melt butter, whisk in flour and add milk. Bring just to a boil, remove from heat and add cheese. Add this cream mixture to your vegetables and enjoy!

Ok - "souper easy and souper tastey!!" (I know bad joke - haha!) This makes a ton of soup - which is good if you want some left overs for lunches etc... For those who don't like onions, I have a family friend who used to put a whole onion in the soup while cooking for the flavor and than take it our for her very picky kids!! That would definitely work here. Also, if you want a really smooth texture - you could always blend it in your blender and know one would even know there were onions or carrots in it. My kids loved this soup! Thomas, who usually doesn't eat, ate 3 bowls! This is definitely a keeper for our house. FYI - for extra flavor -Andy added a spoon full of sour cream - which was pretty tasty too!

Random thoughts... and some cute pictures

Here are some of the photos from Halloween. This first one is of Thomas' class during their party. I was a "room-mom" for his class and got to help in the classroom. It was a lot of fun!!



This couple are parents of one of Thomas' friends. Talk about crazy.. This man is 6ft 4 and last year he was an Umpa Lumpa (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) - Pretty funny!!

Thomas was Darth Vador!! If you look closely, he is wearing a ribbon from the Costume Contest we had at the ward the previous night. He was very proud - (it was actually his dad's - but he felt he contributed so he could have the ribbon!)

The Chicken - yeah, that is Thom's teacher!

Mattie - who was a beautiful cow!! We kept trying to teach her to Moo -but instead learned to say "Hi" That works...

My nasty pirate- I am so proud!!

Princess Kate - If you ask her who she is - she is Princess Erica from the Prince and the Pauper - yeah - a Barbie Movie. I had no idea that is what I was getting her - but she couldn't have been happier.

I am sitting her tonight - really wanting to write something but not really sure what to write. Things have been rather calm here the last several days - thank goodness! I was getting tired of all the craziness the last few weeks. I guess just some things that I want to mention...

The kids had a great time on Halloween. First we stopped by my work and did a little "Trick-or-Treating" - in fact the kids filled two buckets with candy. We than traveled all over the valley to show the kids off in their cute costumes. We ended the evening at my parents house. We enjoyed soup and Andrew and I took Thomas out for even more candy. Katie had decided that she had had enough and wasn't about to go out again. So we went for about an hour and than Mom and Dad had had enough. It was a great night - kids had fun and so did mom and dad. After we got home, we promptly put the kids to bed and I threw away about 3/4's of the candy. I know my kids and I know they definitely won't miss it.

We experienced our first snowfall yesterday and I was horribly unprepared. My kids wanted to play in the snow and we didn't even have any gloves. So...after obtaining all necessary winter wear - the weather turned warm. Oh well, at least we are now prepared (thanks grandma!!)

Work... what can I say about work?? Hmmm - BORING! Now that my conference is over, things have gotten really slow. I hate slow - I would rather have things be busy than feel like I am wasting my time. I have been working on a training about our fee schedule. I have been studying RBRVS values, CPT codes, Medicare Modifiers - confused? So am I... Anyway, putting this training together has been very taxing and frankly more boring than doing nothing. However, I can tell you anything you need to know about our policy in using our medical based fee schedule. I will definitely be glad when this is all over!

Last thing - can I tell you how glad I am that this election is over. We have a new president and we are about to start a new venture. I am not sure how it will all turn out but I will support him as our new president and hope that he will lead this country in the direction we need to go.

So sad!! These are the only two pictures I can get off my camera from Halloween! I need my honey's help!! Oh well, when I can ever figure out how to get the pictures off the nice camera - I will be sure to post them. Below is our fun pumpkin carving night. My old camera has seemed to "eat" the rest of the pictures - so this is what we have for now.