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!

Jesus is Watching You!

While on our way home from Moab, we went through Farmington NM. and found this. It is totallly real and I loved it so much we turned around and went back to take pictures. I hope that it made a few folks stop and think.

Yummy!

My sister-in-law Rachelle introduced me to this recipe today, she told me it was good, she wasn't kidding! It is amazing. I took some liberty with the recipe and added our wonderful roasted green chile instead of regular green chile and for me it was the icing on the cake. Enjoy!

Amazing Green Chile Enchildads

2 T. butter

2/3 c. onion, chopped

2 T. flour

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1 c. roasted diced green chile

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 t. salt

dash of cumin

12 corn tortillas

1 c. cheddar cheese

1 c. montery jack cheese

2 c. shredded chicken

1 c. cream

salt and pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large skillet melt butter. Saute onion until transparent. Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add broth, then chile, garlic, salt and cumin. Simmer for 15 minutes. Lightly fry tortillas in oil, not too crisp as they will need to be rolled. Fill each tortilla with mixture of cheeses and the shredded chicken. Roll and then place in casserole dish seam side down. Pour green salsa over tortillas, then pour cream over green chile. Top with 1/2 c. cheese. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Top with lettuce, tomato, olives and sour cream.

You know us...we love green chile, and this recipe is a tribute to roasted green chile!

Do They Look Alike To You???

Many people have told Jordan that he looks alot like Jason on American Idol. Hummmmmmmmmm, not sure I see it. How about you?

Reflections of Christ

http://www.reflectionsofchrist.org/

Please take a moment to visit this website, and watch the video.

I have heard so much about this exhibit, but have not been able to visit it. I hope that you are inspired, as I have been. Happy Easter!

A Day At the Ranch

Riley and cousin David preparing to fish
Kelly with a mouth full of nuts!

Today it was such a beautiful day, that we along with other family members went to the Escondida Ranch. We took some steaks with all the fixins' and set out for some good fun. Trips to the ranch are always great. Kelly shares memories from his childhood of times at the ranch with his Dad and the kids hang on every word. The food is always extra good, today it was steaks cooked over the fire with onions, avacado and some roasted jalapenos. We also had some great quesidillas, also cooked over the fire. The kids played in the water and fished with the hopes of catching the "big one." We came home tired and very stinkey! A perfect day at the ranch!

Victoria the Photographer

Victoria is becoming quite the photographer. She seem to have the artistic eye of her father. Her are a few of her pictures.

The Savior

These are just a couple of pictures of the Savior that I love!

Semana Santa

In Mexico we celebrate "Holy Week." It is the week before Easter and would be like Spring Break in the States. I love that it is called "Holy Week" because it helps us stay focused on Easter. Anyway, we don't usually leave for vacation at this time of year because our Dad needs to be close to the orchards to make sure they are protected from the cold nights. So for a little fun we left for El Paso at 6am for some good fun with the "primos" (cousins). My sister in law took her kids and I took mine and we started the day at the movie Horton Hears a Who, which I highly recommend! Then we all went to lunch and went shopping. This is when the real fun began....

Since we don't go shopping real often, I had a list a mile long and the kids had their own agendas too. We went to Ross which is always a favorite, and in the middle of shopping I received a very important business call, that I new would take a few minutes and so I found a place in the store that I could talk. Well the kids got a little restless and to kill the time they came across some boxing gloves...you do see where this is going right?? First Jordan got his pair, then Victoria showed up with pink gloves and finally Riley found himself a pair. They then proceeded to arrange the tie racks into a boxing ring and started boxing. All the time laughing so hard they couldn't stand up. Well many folks walked by and wondered "where is the mother of those children?" and well I was watching too, while on the phone, and frankly I was laughing pretty hard too!

My Mom named them the "three little foxes" when they were younger because they have away of interacting that is both amazing in a good way and sometimes overwhelming. They have the most incredible energy with each other. They are so close in age they really don't know life without each other. They are connected in an amazing way. I love how they love each other. I hope that they stay connected even when they are adults...I am sure they will. I think that Kelly and I are pretty blessed to be along for the ride.

Cupcakes!!

We're all friends here...right?!? Well today was a good day in my kitchen and I thought I would share why. Every Saturday I spend the day cooking, baking, preparing for Sunday. And while I cook I watch the Food Network. It is a bit of a ritual. The children and the Dad know that this is sacred time for the Mom. Anyway, I loved all my shows today, they were all great as usual. But one caught my undivided attention..a segment about cupcakes! Horray! I am having a little obsession with cupcakes lately, I have recently bought some beautiful books all about cupcakes. So this was extra fun today. My favorite recipe shown was, Tres Leches Coconut Cupcakes with Dulce De Leche Buttercream. Do you see what I mean???? Can't wait to try it. The best ever is the Barefoot Contessa's Coconut Cupcake recipe, it is amazing. Happy cupcakes!

Sheila...You are a Grandma!!

A very dear friend, from "back in the day" just became a Grandma...congratulations Sheila! I am sure that was an amazing moment for you. Thanks for sharing a little of your life with me, I am so glad that we were able to reconnect after all these years. Hugs to you, Ted and the little grandbaby Sid. Funny how a great friendship picks up right where you left off...even if it has been 20 years.

A Very Eventful Weekend!

This past weekend was very eventful, not just for me but for some very dear friends as well. Sheila became a grandma for the first time Sunday, Shelly's oldest son was married, Maria's oldest daughter announced her engagement and well.....I finished the 1/2 marathon! I guess I am a little behind schedule with my friends. It is one of those times I am glad I am! Not sure I am ready to enter that time of life yet! Anyway I am thrilled for them.

The marathon was incredible! I loved every minute of it, even the painful minutes. The run was so beautiful, along the Colorado River, who could ask for a better location?! Moab is a great town and we had a fun time together (all the cousins). Kelly noticed that the only Jones' that actually ran were the women that the Jones men married! They should really get some representation don't ya think! I posted a few pictures don't judge...I did just run 13.1 miles!

"Gratitude Sunday"

I saw this idea on another blog and thought it was great! Here are the things I am very grateful for tonight:

1. I finished the 1/2 marathon! yea!
2. I wasn't last (hehe) not by a long shot.
3. I can still walk, even though my knee is pretty sore.
4. The beauties of nature that made the run extra special
5. Great friends to share the experience with!
6. An amazingly supportative husband and kids through the whole journey.

I am still traveling so I can't post pictures of the race but I will in the next couple of days. It was an amazing experience, one I hope to have many more times. Thanks for all the support!

"Beautiful Boy"

I always hesitate to recommend a book for many reasons....I have read books that have been raved about by others and haven't always found the same excitment..but then again other times I have. I think that when a book really impresses me it is because I am at a place that I need it or can related to it. Having said that Kelly picked up a book this past weekend while we were Albuquerque that he thought looked good, actually he thought my parents would like it. I began to read it and cannot put it down! It is called "Beautiful Boy" it is the story of a father's journey through his sons addiction to Meth. It is amazing! And something our family can relate to. It has taught me that we are not alone in this experience as a family as well as many other insights. Okay...here is the warning.....the language is not so good in a few parts. He repeats only conversations but nonetheless it isn't so great. So if you choose the read please consider this....it is a great book!

Marathon Madness!!!!!

One week from today I leave for the Moab 1/2 Marathon.....WHAT WAS I THINKING????!!!! I ran 10 miles last week on the wonderful hills of Mata Ortiz and actually felt pretty great. But I do have to admit that the closer it gets to the actual event the more anxiety I feel. Kelly says that I am already commited and can do nothing about it sooooooooooooo settle in. Easy for him to say don't ya think! One of the friends I am running with came up with the best phrase for our husbands/bystanders to wear on their t-shirts while we are running..."I am living my dream through my wife" Pretty good huh?! With the exception of some sore knees I am sure I will survive. The book Marathoning for Mortals has been a great guide for training, don't think I could have done it without the book!

How Do I Love Thee???

Okay...yes, I do realize that Valentines Day has passed, but I am still in the moment! Daily I have little reminders (sometimes big ones!) of how very blessed I am to be married to Kell. What a great husband, great father, and most of all great friend. A day doesn't pass that we don't laugh (sometimes to avoid insanity) but sometimes just because! I love that man! Thanks for loving me for me and making life an adventure! I love you Kell!

Cub Scouts Rock!

Need I say more??

Cowboys!

I just read a quote that I really thought was great "Courage is being scared to death, and saddling up anyway." By John Wayne. The kids got horses for Christmas and we have all been enjoying them. Grandpa Skinner has helped the kids learn to care for the horses and has even ridden a few times with Jordan. These horses have become dear members of our family!

What have you done with our son???

Well the high school here is a church school and therefore the dances are treated as chruch dances and if you are 14 you an attend. Last night was the Jr. Prom and Jordan decided that he wanted to go with a group of friends and cousins. The group ended up being 4 boys and one darling girl (who is like a sister to Jordan.) They got all decked out for a night on the town. They went and had a "fancy" dinner and then to the dance. Another great thing about the school...the parents go the the big dances too! mostly to watch their kids. So you know that Kelly and I couldn't pass this one up! We drove to the school (in the snow) and really enjoyed watching Jordan have such a great time with his friends. It was a wonderful evening but a huge reminder that time is passing too fast, and the kids are really growing up. Oh....Victoria even told Jordan that he looked hot! That in alone was worth the price of the tux!!!

"Life is to be enjoyed"

Oh how we will miss our beloved Pres. Hinckley! What an amazing blessing he has been to us all. When he came to the colonies he made us feel like we were the most special and blessed members of the church (as I am sure he did in every location he visited). We learned so much from him and love him! "We thank thee O God for a prophet" He has so many wonderful quotes but this one is mu current favorite and is on the wall of our family room "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."