Gingerbread Houses

This past Christmas season, Colton (my future architect?) designed a massive gingerbread house. Okay it was more like a mansion. (We are moving in tomorrow!!) Three batches of gingerbread dough and 2 batches of royal icing later we had it baked and built! We poured sugar windows and decorated with cereal and candies. We even lit it up with Christmas lights inside. The effect was beautiful. We made a smaller house for Kaden and he loved decorating it!

Two Years, Four Days, and Three Hours

He's home!! Two years, four days, and three hours after we left Devin at the MTC he is home! I cannot express the joy of seeing him, talking to him, and noticing the changes in him. It was truly like Christmas. The whole anticipation leading up to the day felt just like the anticipation you feel leading up to Christmas. I almost want to send him back to Pittsburgh just so I can have that whole feeling again--but only for a few hours!!

McKay was beside himself with excitement. He stood right at the escalators watching and waiting for Devin to come down. He was impatient---and there were a few times there that I thought he might just run right up the escalators to see if he could see him any sooner (wouldn't the TSA just love that!!). The wait was agonizing and I kept watching the Arrivals board as it updated his progress--2:01 pm ... Landed ... Arrived. But still it took forever for him to come down the escalator (do they put all the missionaries in the back of the plane?!). I knew he was traveling with 3 other elders from his mission. First one came down, then a few minutes later another. Still no Devin. A third missionary came down and after greeting his parents came over to me. "Did Elder Daniel get a chance to call you?" he asks. But I know my son to well and I said to him, "Don't even try that! I know he's here. There he is!" And there he was, coming down the escalator and looking great! He tried to disguise himself with a blue suit instead of the brown one he told me he would be wearing and his fake glasses, but a mother knows her son even when she hasn't seen him for 2 years, 4 days, and 3 hours. We hugged and laughed and hugged some more. He did a "football run" through the sign Michael, Mitch, and Colton were holding. We grabbed his luggage and stopped by President Miles' office in the Conference Center where Devin was released from his mission.

On the way home the Suburban started shaking a lot. It had been shaking some on the way up, but now it was really shaking. We thought it was the alignment and Bill decided he had better take it in to get it fixed in the morning. I was quite concerned and said a little silent prayer for our safety. As we passed the Alpine exit just after the point of the mountain there was a very loud noise and the suburban shook like crazy. Bill was able to get it over to the side of the road (in rush hour traffic) and we got out to see what had happened. The tread of the front driver's side tire was completely stripped off. The tire still had air, but the tread was gone. I have no doubt that we were protected from harm that day. If the front tire had blown we would have surely rolled. Bill was able to remain calm as he maneuvered the vehicle to the side of the road and it happened at a good spot in the road where we had wide shoulder to park on. I am so thankful for the protection of a loving Heavenly Father. The tire was changed quickly and we headed to Cafe Rio for dinner. Cafe Rio was one of the things that Devin really missed so we got his "Rio fix" on the way home! It has been so great to have Devin home. I love having my whole family under one roof and hope they feel like they want to stick around for at least a few months. After all, 2 years, 4 days, and 3 hours is a long time to go without having your whole family around you!

"I big!" "I can paint!"

Kaden came the weekend of September 4th and we were in the middle of a big painting project. When he came in the first thing he said was, "I big!". When he saw that we were painting he announced, "I can paint!". So we found him an old shirt of McKay's and a little roller and he helped paint the wall down the stairs and did a pretty fair job of it!!! He also loved the ladder and climbed up without fear. I wish I could say the same for me. I like my two feet planted firmly on the ground!

I Am Woman!

My busy Saturday started at 6 am. I got McKay out of bed to ice his shoulder and do his exercises before 7 o'clock football practice. While he practiced Amy, Raeann and I walked on the Junior High track fighting the hurricane force winds!! I was dreading going home because I knew what kind of a day I had in store: peaches, plums and green beans that needed to be canned, 6 doors that needed to be painted, bread to be baked and laundry to be washed and dried! Throughout the whole day the song "I Am Woman Hear Me Roar" kept going through my head and I kept singing to myself: "I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman!" and I knew I could get through it all. At the end of the day I took stock of my accomplishments--12 quarts of peaches canned, 10 quarts of beans canned, 12 pints of plum jam canned, 8 trays of peaches dried, and 3 trays of plum leather dried.

But that's not all. I also painted 6 doors twice (so that's really 12 doors-right?!), did 4 loads of laundry, and baked 2 loaves of sorry looking bread (I am not good at multi-tasking and let them raise to long!) So like the song says, "If I have to I can do anything, I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman"!!!!!!!!

Weekend at Grandma's

Every other weekend we get to have our grandson Kaden come and stay with us. What fun it is to be a grandparent!! We love having him come and stay with us and his uncles just think he is the bomb!! The last weekend he was with us (July 17-19) Michael set up a tent in the family room for him. He loved playing in it and watching movies while laying on blankets and pillows inside the tent.

We found one of McKay's old computer games--a Winnie the Pooh interactive story. Kaden discovered a tic-tac-toe game within the story and played it for hours. And can I just brag a bit and say that my three-year-old grandson not only played the game, but he won game after game after game!!





Notice his little tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrates on making his next move! What a cutie!!!!!!!! Can't wait until he's with us again--what fun we'll have!

8 Weeks and Counting Down!

Nearly two years have passed since Devin decided (two weeks prior to entering the MTC) that he would surprise me with a waterfall in our backyard. "I will get it done before I leave, mom." Yeah right! As you can see it looks the same as it did before he left--a hole, a mound of dirt, and a pile of rocks!! But, we have high hopes for a finished product when he returns in just 8 weeks (for those of you who are counting it down)!! We got his itinerary yesterday and he arrives in SLC at 2:04 in the afternoon on September 9th. I was so happy that I just sat at the computer reading the email and bawling!! Two years is a long time to go without seeing your son and only talking to him twice a year on the phone. A lot is asked of us moms in the church, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so proud of him and cannot wait to see the man he has become! As for the hole in the backyard, it's actually been a nice reminder of a son who has made good decisions and put away worldly things for two years to serve the Lord. What more can a mother ask for than that her children live a good life and serve others selflessly?

It's not easy eating a Big Judd Burger!

At the Daniel Family reunion last Friday, we had "Big Judd Burgers". The challenge was made to have at least one from each family eat a whole burger. If you don't know what a Big Judd burger is, just picture a burger as big around as a pie plate! McKay made a valiant effort, but in the end just couldn't quite put one away. Instead he ended up moaning and writhing on the floor!!