Let the Giveaways Begin!

Click on the 'GIVEAWAY' tab above to check out my giveaway! Leave a comment and we will decide the winners on Sunday, November 1st!

PS. Be sure to share with your friends!

Giveaway

So I have been playing around with my blog again (surprise surprise). After the little guy is down for the night I always find myself looking up ways to change/improve our blog. Call it what you will, I just enjoy it. Recently I have been sewing a lot - that too has become one of my favorite pass times. A couple of months ago I took advantage of a fabric sale at Joann's and LOADED up on fabric - to which I have been frantically making blankets. Needless to say I have them coming out of my ears! So I thought...mmm it would be fun to give some away over the blog (and maybe other occasional goodies)! To friends, or friends of friends -whoever may want them. It will only be an occasional thing and I will be sure to keep you all posted. If no one responds then I will just keep them all for myself...don't ever say I didn't offer! Until then- stay tuned!

Charlie Brown

For Halloween this year we decided to dress Noah up as Charlie Brown (Andy's idea). I wish I could have gotten more pictures of Noah at our church 'Trunk or Treat' but these were the best I could do. He was VERY tired and it was all I could do to get him there and back in time for bed. Needless to say he fell asleep while we were trunk or treating. So here are a few pictures I took of him before we went.  We ended up having to dye the shirt yellow because we couldn't find one! I think it worked out perfectly. He sure makes a cute Charlie. PS. Yes I drew a curly-q on his forehead with a marker. So what.

Wedding Bells

This weekend we took a short, but oh so very sweet trip to Utah. My cousin Bryce, and his fiancee Katie tied the knot - and we felt so lucky to be there to witness it. It ended up being the perfect weekend to make a trip. Andy's brother Corey and his wife Jenessa were in SLC for a wedding as well, and my BFF Chels and her husband Sean and baby Nash were also in town. I haven't seen Chels and Sean for over a year - and Jenessa had never seen Noah in person. So we had a lot of catching up to do, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Friday, I met up with Chelsea and Sean just to hang out and chat. It was the first time I had seen Nash, and the first time Chels and Sean had seen Noah. Even though they are about 6 months apart Nash and Noah instantly connected (I think)...and I am sure they will be the best of buddies. Nash is a cutie and we loved spending time with them.

Saturday morning, before getting ready for the wedding, Noah and I drove up to Salt Lake to catch a little breakfast with Corey and Jenessa. Noah loved staring at his Aunt Jenessa (almost as much as he loves his mom) hehe and we had really yummy food - along with a nice walk around Temple square. I was really so excited that we were going to be in Utah at the same time - and it worked out perfectly.

I love the Salt Lake Temple- partially because I always have, and partially because Andy and I were married there. Isn't it gorgeous?

Lastly, the reason we made the trip to Utah in the first place - Bryce and Katie's wedding. I apologize for the photo overload. My dad had my camera for part of the time - but we got some GREAT pics.

There you have it folks. Aside from having an extremely over tired baby (who wouldn't take a nap) - we had a blast. Andy can't wait until our next little trip. Noah has become quite travel savvy and is almost considered a pro. I love it!

A Little Cookie Makin Fun

Today is Sunday which also means it's our weekly cookie making day. Well, maybe not EVERY Sunday...but today we decided to make some of my Mom's delicious chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies. YUM. These cookies have been a part of our family since before I can remember...and I have to say, if you enjoy eating your cookie dough before you eat your cookies - this dough is probably the best I've had! So here is the special recipe AND some pics to show how much we love them.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

From: Colette Jorgensen

1 cup Shortening

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tea. hot water

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tea. soda

1 tea. salt

1 cup nuts (optional)

2 pkgs Chocolate chips

2 cups oatmeal

1 tea. vanilla

Mix the shortening and sugars together until smooth. Add eggs and water and mix. Stir in dry ingredients, nuts, chocolate chips, oatmeal and vanilla.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

(*Note: My mom uses a good old fashioned wooden spoon to mix, no electric mixer needed!)

If anyone decides to make them, leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Hopefully you love them as much as we do! We gave Noah a tiny taste...well grandma snuck him a taste behind my back...and he seemed to enjoy it. He is always so cute and is getting really close to crawling. Up to this point he has been really happy with just rolling around on the floor, but recently he figured out how to scoot his way around and is starting to figure out he doesn't have to stay in one place all the time. Until he actually starts crawling, I am going to enjoy his immobility (don't think I am horrible for that).

As a side note, I have been a sewing fool the last couple weeks and am so excited to finally learn! Once I get more time I will be sure to share some of my recent projects...until then, happy cookie baking to you!!

5 1/2 Months Down

This week marks 5 1/2 months since Andy has been in Afghanistan. I am sure to most of you who are reading this blog, that time has flown by. Even for me there are moments that fly, but when I think about all that has happened in those five months it seems like it has been forever. We are finally making progress though and are almost half way through the deployment, which is very exciting.

It has been a while since I have updated on Andy, and I apologize for that. I don't have any recent pictures, because I am not even sure if he is taking any :) I will be sure to remind him to send more. Recently Andy got an internet and phone hook up in his room...which has made our communication so much easier (and cheaper too)! The phone hook ups are linked through Virginia, which means I can call him and he can call me as if he were in the US. That part has been such a blessing, and I am so grateful that we are able to talk so often.

I told Andy the other day that he wouldn't know what to do with himself when he comes home and actually has weekends off! But we will be sure to keep him occupied...and I know he looks forward to 'catching up' with Noah. He has been working on several projects and they have been keeping him very busy. He really enjoys what he is doing there and it helps to make the days go by more quickly. Noah and I make sure to send him a couple care packages every month...so he knows how much we love him.

Recently Andy had a pretty interesting experience. Thankfully, because of the nature of Andy's job in Afghanistan, he spends most of his time doing Post expansion projects and working with contractors. And although no job is completely safe, there are many who are on post with him who are exposed more to the local situations and dangers that arise. A week ago or so, Andy received a call asking for a representative from the LDS church to come see a soldier who had been wounded. Since Andy is the representative for his post he was the one who responded. The soldier, who was also a member of the LDS church, had been wounded in an incident with an Afghan policeman. Thankfully he will be ok and from what I understand, is recovering. Unfortunately there were a couple of men who were with him who were killed. You can read more about the story here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-10-03-afgahanistan-ustroop-attack_N.htm
My prayers go out to their families.

I had a lady tell me the other day that I was 'lucky' that my husband was only gone for 12 months and not 15. "12 Months isn't that long" she said...not affiliated with the military in any way herself. Forgive me for feeling like that was a completely insensitive remark to make. 12 months is a really long time! It's longer than anyone would choose (or at least longer than I would ever choose) to be away from their spouse. Aside from the distance, and how difficult some days can be, Andy and I are very aware of how blessed we have been. I am grateful that he is being watched over, I know he is. I am grateful that we have this experience to share with our children, and I know that we are better and closer because of it. Regardless of how long you have to be away from a loved one, it's hard...one day or 365. It's comforting to know that I am not the only one who is experiencing this same situation...some who have done it numerous times. So here is to 5 1/2 months down. Soon we will be heading into a down hill and I can't wait until we get to see him at Christmas. We love and miss you very much Andy. Be safe.

Salsa, Bargains and other Random Things

Yes, I know what you are all thinking...ANOTHER new blog header?? Yes, well..I like to change it often-or perhaps when I was editing my blog, I accidentally erased it. Usually I would just upload it again, but since I recently moved all my pictures onto a USB...it seems I must have deleted it. ARGGGH! So, instead of taking the time to re-leaf the tree...I decided to do something simple. Trust me, it will be a while before I am making anymore changes. Sheesh!

ps. If you can't tell, the silhouettes don't actually belong to us, well aside from Noah's...the other two I 'borrowed' from a digi download. haha


Anyway, onto more important things! We had a wonderful weekend. We really didn't do a whole lot (besides freeze)...but we had fun none the less. My mom and I decided to make a couple of batches of homemade salsa for my slow-growing food storage. Thanks to her it was a success...and I know Andy will especially appreciate it...since we love chips and salsa in our home.

Now doesn't that just look delightful? mmm hmmm. Aside from our salsa making, we decided to hit up the 'Mall Wide Sale' and see what deals we could find. I actually hadn't planned on spending any money, and only made it to two stores....but boy did I get a bargain. I am a love of serving platters and bowls, and I found these stylish ones at Dillard's on a super discount. How much you ask? Let me just break it down for you....

Divided Rectangle Serving platter: Regular Price $30 / Bargain Price: $4.50

Pasta Serving Bowl: Regular Price $35 / Bargain Price $5.25

Round Serving Bowl: Regular Price $30 / Bargain Price: $4.50

Total Savings: About $80. Yeah, who doesn't love a good sale??

How could I write a post without putting up some pictures of Noah...I know IMPOSSIBLE! So here are some randoms. Lately, twice a week, I have been watching my cousins little boy 'E' while she works. Noah and E get along great, except for the fact that E is a lot more mobile than Noah is...so if E feels like taking a crawl over Noah..Noah just grins and bears it. You can tell from the pics that Noah isn't quite sure what is going on...but he is a good sport.

Lastly, these pictures need no explanation. They're just cute...

8 Months Old

Today Noah officially hit the 8 month mark. I can't believe how quickly time is going with him, and what a little man he is turning into. I am so grateful to be able to spend my day's with this little guy. He is always happy, and even on my bad days I can't help but smile at his sweet face.

I love his laid back personality. He is perfectly content rolling around on the floor and takes things at his own pace. He loves fruit and rice but hates his veggies. He also loves Frozen Yogurt like his Ma (I am so proud) and will put anything and everything in his mouth. He has two teeth and is working on his third (at least I think so)...and loves to chew his toes. He is obsessed with lights and ceiling fans and eeks with excitement anytime he sees them. He loves hearing his daddy's voice on the phone and I think Andy loves hearing Noah's just as much. Noah loves computers and occasionally I will let him 'type' a note to Andy. We have so much fun together and I am so glad he is ours.

Noah is so sweet that we can't just call him by his name...here are some of the ways we refer to him...

Daddy says: "What a sweet boy"
Mommy says: " You are so handsome Noah"
Grandma J says: " Hey gorgeous"
Grandpa J says: "Hey little Man"
Aunt Megan says: "OH Noah!"

Along with many others of course. Megan recently told me that I should also tell Noah how smart he is, so he doesn't get a complex about just being handsome...so I have changed mine to:
"You are so handsome, and smart and witty." I think it's really sinking in! He really is a sweet boy.

I'll take one of those please...

Yes, I am really going to blog about this. It is getting cold here and although I am rather excited for the change in weather...I can honestly say I have the coldest room in the house. This has never been too much of a problem for me in the past...ever since I was young I had a solution to this problem. What would that solution be you ask? My hot water bottle of course. Some may think me crazy, or may be asking "what exactly is a hot water bottle?" Its just that, a rubber like bottle that you fill with hot water and put between your toes when your bed sheets are cold. I even got a hot water bottle in my stocking one year...and I was excited about it. So since I already have my hot water bottle...this year I am asking for one of these....could it be more perfect?? I think not!