A Sureal Experience

Every once in awhile I have this experience. Isn't too often, but often enough. I have a very clear reality check....I LIVE IN MEXICO! You know the country South of the United States? How exactly did I get here? And tell me again...why did I come here (aside from the fact that the sweetest man I know is from here, and loves it with all his heart) Anyway, I had the experience again yesterday. I needed to make a quick trip to El Paso (3 hours away) to pick up some essential items not found here. The trip requires crossing a border into the US and also when returning to Mexico. That alone is a unique experinece, but has become normal to us. So I am returning home and am driving on the Mexican highway when I noticed a mile marker that simply said "Mexico 6" that was it. For some reason it really hit me at that moment where I live. Funny how something so simple struck me so hard. That little sign provoked alot of thought on that 3 hour drive. Once I returned home, Jord had been riding his horse and was ready to return him to the pasture where he stays. He started walking down our street leading the horse while I went ahead of him in the truck to give him a ride back home. I had a moment to sit and watch him walk down the street, in my rear view mirror, leading the horse, with the lighting of the day just perfect. There was so much joy in his face, it was a beautiful picture, one that is engraved on my mind and heart. In those moments I remember why we have chosen this unconventional but very satisfying life.

I Love a Great Apron!

If you love a great apron...this is the site for you!

I came across this super cute site. I am all about a darling apron and this is place to find one! My sister-in-law Kim just celebrated her birthday with a group of friends and recieved some really cute aprons, her new aprons inspired my search. I usually cook with a towel on my shoulder so I am really loving the towel connected to the apron, like above. If you have any cute apron suggestions please let me know!

A Great Find!

A shout out to two new blogging friends. The cookies above are called "Holycraptheseareamazing" Cookies, if these cookies look as good to

as they do to me go here.
This has been a fun connection, we actually know people in common!

Who would have known, isn't blogging fun?! For super recipes

and cookbook reviews go here you won't be disappointed.

A Little More Healing

We have had so many wonderful "healing" moments over the past 10 days. The hand of Heavenly Father has been very present. In Mexico people often say "Gracias a Dios" when they comment on how they are doing or when something such as this accident happens and they want to show their gratitude. I have often thought that the term was used quite loosely, and maybe it is, BUT I have heard it very much in the last 10 days regarding Jordan's safety and healing and it has been the thought of my heart. Truly we are grateful to a Heavenly Father who knows more than we do, and who protected our Jord.

We had the opportunity to attend a special Mass for Alexis, the friend of Jordan's who was killed in the accident. Her family invited us to join them last night in her honor. It was the first Mass that Jordan has attended, not a first for me. It was a special experience to share such a tender moment with this great family. They have really surrounded Jordan with so much love and concern it amazes me. He has really grown to love them too. We felt blessed to be with them, and I found such respect for them in their worship. It was another healing moment, for which I am grateful.

Jordan got his stiches out this week and has a very little scar. He may have to have surgery at some point because of the break, for now he is fine. He looks and feels great!

Thanks Dr. Phil!

Did you happen to see Dr. Phil today? I did and I am very disappointed, in fact I think he owes every member of the LDS Church an apology! The group in TX is not a part or division of the Mormon church! DO YOUR RESEARCH, DR. PHIL!

A Must Read

Check out THIS SITE for the Big Daddy & Soul Mama series, it is great! Pedaling is a friend from "back in the day" and she is an awesome writer. This love story is the best, you won't be disappointed! (scroll down watch for the picture above)

We Scream for Ice Cream!!

I'm back! I'm happy to be back! Time Out was wonderful. I had some great ah! moments (of which I will share later) and I am ready to take life on again! Horray!

On a totally different note....the Scouts had a fundraiser last night, selling ice cream for Family Night treats. We have a $12,000 commercial ice cream machine (not really but the story is a good one) and we set it up, filled it up and began the sale. If you want to see something great, check out a bunch of folks who are ice cream deprived at a ice cream sale! That was us last night. We don't get good ice cream here on the "farm." We are not blessed with Dairy Queen or any of the other wonderful locations to get ice cream. We don't even have any sort of national chain that you would find in the US. So I am sure you are starting to get the picture. It was an evening of yummy ice cream, great friends and some good fun! The Scouts actually raised a little money too.

A Beautiful Memorial

Yesterday the high school that Jordan attends, held a wonderful memorial assembly for the young lady that died in the car accident Jordan was involved in. The students sang and prayed and watched a very special slide presentation about Alexis. The director of the school is also our Area Seventy, and he gave the most beautiful talk about death and resurrection. The family of Alexis were there and were very touched by the outpouring of love from the students. It was inspiring. Jordan has not wanted to go back to school, so Kelly and I took him to the assembly so that he could come home after. I was so touched to see how his friends welcomed him with hugs tears and words of encouragment. He decided to return back today, I have had a prayer in my heart all day for him and the other kids that have been so affected by this accident. How amazing is it for our kids to attend a church school where the Gospel is understood, taught and lived.

A Much Needed Break!

I am leaving in the early morning hours for a much needed break! I love Time Out! I have gone several times but have never attended in Albuquerque, and so off we go to be lifted and refueled. It is about a 6 hour drive, and one I do all to often. But this time I am quite excited. My sister-in-law Rachelle, (aka R2 and I am R1) and my mother-in-law, and myself will be making the trip together. I am so looking foreward to a mental and emotional rest, a little shopping and some good food. It will be a great trip.

Crazy Hair Day

Today was "Crazy Hair" Day at school for Rooster. He actually won second place for the piggys. He wanted me to be sure and put him on the blog.(hehe) We love our Roost!

Jordan's Birthday Tribute

Jordan's first deer at the Escondida Ranch.
Jordan and Rooster at a Tae Kwon Do belt change, Jordan is a black belt.
The Boy now!

Happy Birthday to our boy Jordan! The big 15! Just a little bit about Jord. Jordan is miracle boy for more than the reason of this past weekend. Kelly and I waited along time for him to arrive. And after a few surgeries, and other treatments, Jordan Max arrived on the scene. We had been told that we may not ever have children due to problems with the birth of Grace, who passed away. So you can imagine how thrilled we were to get our boy. He was a big kid, when he was 1 year old he weighed in at 30 lbs. At the moment he is just about 6 feet tall. He has been a joy. He is a wonderful son, very responsible and very connected to his Mom (she really likes that). He is an Eagle Scout, and as you can see above, a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He had the chance to train for national competitions with the possibility of trying out for the Mexican Olympic team, but because everything would be done in Sunday, HE made the choice to end his career. He is enjoying playing basketball at the high school and every spare moment he has, he spends on his horse Cabellero (Gentleman). He speaks Spanish beautifully and is a good friend to many. His parents are darn lucky to have him around! We love you Jordan! You are a blessing to our family.

Here is the Banged Up Boy

Our banged up boy! (notice the seatbelt...a lesson I don't think he'll ever forget.)

Jordan's Car Accident

Here are some pictures of Jordan's accident. He was in the front passenger seat. Where it seems there is the most damage. He was able to visit with the two girls that were injured in the accident, last night. He seemed alot better after seeing them and talking to them.
We took him back to the accident site, that was really hard for him. He remembers everything that happened. He was able to tell us exactly what went wrong.

We are so grateful for his life. Grateful that is injuries are minimal. This experience has taught us to not take for granted our lives and especially our relationships with our kids.

Happy Birthday to My Boy Jord!

I had thought that I would do a tribute to Jordan today, and I will, but he was in a terrible car accident yesterday on the way home from school. One of his friends was killed and you can imagine that we are full of emotion, gratitude and sorrow and celebration for his birth. We waited along time for our Jord. We went through alot to get him....anyway hopefully tomarrow I will be able to catch up here on the blog. Today is also the birthday of our Grace who would have been 19. She was stillborn and we miss her. So check back I will catch up. The red tulips are in honor of Gracie. While I was pregnant I planted a ton of red tulips in front of our house in Utah. When I came home from the hospital after her birth, the deer had come into the yard and eaten all the tulips. It broke my heart. Then a beautiful arrangment of flowers arrived from some friends and it was filled with red tulips. Interesting huh? Each year on her birthday I place red tulips on her headstone. Anyway...It has been an interesting couple of days.

I Got Tagged!

What am I doing?working, celebrating a friends b-day
What am I proud of today?my Kell
What am I thinking about?why do we plan church b-ball??
Who is home?Kell, and kids
Plans tonight?chruch b-ball
My weekend was;wonderful and uplifting
What's for dinner?taco salad
Thoughts about love;I am lucky in love
Feelings about my life;blessed
What I want?to get our house built
What I need?nothing
What I have?everything
My pet peeve?intolerance
My guilty pleasure?PW apple dumplings
What you don't know about me?hummmm if I tell then you'll know
What I can smell?taco salad
What I can hear?nothing, (they all left)
My style?simple classic
My hairdo?curly (not by choice)
My outfit?jeans and polo
My mood?happy
Weather today?windy
Thoughts on parenting;it's passing too fast
Thoughts on marriage;he's my soul mate
Thoughts on politics;nothing good to say
Thoughts celebrity gossip;not interested
Thoughts on Beauty;I love all things beautiful
Thoughts on sleep;I love it
Thoughts on writing;not too good at it
My favorite appliance;Bosch
My favorite car;mine
My favorite splurge;beautiful religious art
My favorite beauty-secret;water, water, water
My favorite treat?chewy sweethearts
My favorite pleasure;cooking, and gardening
Ten years ago?Rooster was one and Kelly was in the hospital in Mexico City
Five years ago?we started roasting chile
One year ago?our peaches froze
One year from now?our house will be done!(hopefully)
Five years from now?Kids in college and Rooste dating
Ten years from now?hopefully some grandbabies
I'm famous for?my zennias, or meatballs (a toss up)
I' ll never be famous for?my basketball skills (sorry Dad)
Who I am?a farmer;s wife
Who I hope to be?a better farmers wife
What I am thankful for?my life


I now tag Kim, my sister-in-law

Garden Anticipation

We have been working on the garden for the last several weeks...preparing the soil and scouring through the seed catalogs, looking for seeds that we must have. We are finally ready to plant. That's was makes farming great, it is the hope and the anticipation and the faith that you live on. Our community if filled with hope at this time of year. The weeds haven't arrived yet, the soil is beautiful and some seeds have been planted. It is a great time of year. We love our family garden and look toward the "fruits" of our labors. We have asparagas, artichokes, lots of green beans, squash (of course), okra, strawberries and raspberries. We also have several types of tomatoes and way too many flowers. (that is not my garden above....I wish it was!)
I love heirloom tomatoes. Kelly told me a couple of years ago, that a yellow tomato is just wrong. I can't say that I agree, I love all different colors! I even love a good fried green tomato.

and the above picture is what I am patiently waiting for~ Lots of yummy vegtables to enjoy.

99 Balloons

A good friend thought I would enjoy this video...well that was an understatement. Something I can relate to, a little too well. When I was six months pregnant with Riley the Dr. told us that he would possibly be born with Trisomy 18 and thankfully he was born healthy. Our youngest son, Colton only lived for 3 days, but like the couple that you will see in this video, we thanked Heavenly Father for every moment he was with us. Not a day passes that we don't think of him and miss him. We miss all of the firsts he would have had. We miss knowing him and loving him. But we are eternally grateful that he came....even if it was only for 3 days. Please take a minute and watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

I Love General Conference

What an amazing experience to participate in the Solemn Assembly that was held this morning, sustaining our new prophet. I cannot remember participating when Pres. Hinckley was the prophet, my hope is that my children will remember this sacred moment. They all gathered around the TV and participated in sustaining Pres. Monson. This was a truly inspiring and spiritual experience for me. Elder Christophersen our new apostle, has become a favorite of mine...he wrote an article called "A Sense of the Sacred" which is amazing. I will look forward to his counsel. I am sure the sessions to come will be equally filled with the spirit.

Little Rooster and the "Pack"

Rooster and the "pack" for cubs today. We studied about Geology at the river bottom. Could you ever imagine loving rocks as much as these little men? Their shirts are full of rocks.
They each made a little collection of special unique rocks to display at the next pack meeting.
Rocks, Rocks, Rocks!

Rooster...King of the Rocks! I am sure all the mom's are thrilled with the new collections that entered their homes this eveing! (hehe) Give little Rooster some dirt and some rocks and he is complete.

The Pioneer Woman Really Cooks!

So...dinner at my house last night was a tribute to the Pioneer Woman, whom I love! We had a Mexican version of chicken fried steak (my addition), topped with PW Onion Straws (which are better than awesome!) We had all the necessary sides and then ended with the PW Chocolate Cake, the best I have ever had....really!

Rather than be tempted by that wonderful cake, I quickly sent most of it to the neighbors for a Family Night Treat. Thank goodness for the neighbors. The kids quite enjoyed a remnant of the cake in their lunches today. If you are needing a new recipe or just a little inspiration, check out www.thepioneerwomancooks.com. Be careful....you may become a PW addict like me!