Sprinkler Fun

Jane LOVES to be outside. We spend a lot of time on the swing, slide and going on walks. This little gal is an adventurer and loves to pick bouquets of dandelions, collect handfuls of sticks and rocks, find buuuugs, and get dirty. Today was the hottest day we've had this year and it was a blast to see Jane enjoy some sprinkler time. Usually she is not a fan of the water falling on her (showers kinda freak her out) but today she loved it. She walked back and forth, back and forth on our little walkway in the yard and giggled every time the water went over her. She is such a happy little spirit and she brings joy into my heart every day!!

New babies!!!

Today my amazing brother and incredible sister in law had their baby, Penelope May. She is so little, 5lbs 11 oz!! I can't wait to meet her in person and to kiss her cheeks and nose. New babies are so special. Each one is a miracle and a blessing! They are little pieces of heaven we get to hold in our arms.

Mister James and baby Jane accompanied me to Ashton to bring a surprise meal to welcome the new little family home when they are done at the hospital. We took a special drink and chicken pot pies, and a "happy birthday" cake for the little lady :). It was really special to go and clean up their kitchen and space for them so they could feel welcomed home after a long week. I know I so appreciated help that first week with Jane. Having meals and a little clean up help was such a blessing. Becoming a mother for the first time is overwhelming, physically, emotionally and spiritually. All in happy ways, but you definitely are exhausted and a little overwhelmed at first. How thankful I am for family and friends who helped my transition into motherhood be so wonderful. I am so proud of Matt and Paige and their new baby girly!

We hung a little welcome home sign for little Penny (jane even scribbled a little for her!) to feel the love. Sure is special bringing a new baby into the world and into your home!

Mmmmmmuffins

I have deemed these to be the honorary muffin that we freeze when little man arrives!! I would love to have a bunch of frozen muffins we can take out and thaw for a snack or breakfast! They are devine!

Nana-PB-Cookie Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

Cook time 20(ish) minutes

Bake at 350

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)

1 cup granulated sugar (or you can 1/2 cup brown + 1/2 cup white sugar)

1 Large Egg

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of salt

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup Peanut Butter

1/4 cup Cookie Butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips (more always seem to end up getting in ;), I like to sprinkle extra on top before they go in the oven to bake!)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix your butter, sugar and egg. Then add your mashed bananas, and then your Peanut Butter/Cookie Butter.

2. Add all your dry ingredients into the sugar/nana mix and mix well. 

3. Then add your milk and vanilla!! Fold in chocolate chips at the very end.

4. Get your muffin tins lined with cute liners or spray. And fill away! Place in oven and cook till slightly brown on top, roughly 20 minutes.

5. Break out a glass of milk and eat away as they pop out of the oven. Or make a big batch like I'm planning to ;) and let them cool and then freeze in gallon ziplock bags. Then whenever you reeeealy need a muffin pop it out of the freezer microwave a few seconds and enjoy.

This recipe was adapted from several I found online and then j just had to add a special ingredient: speculoos cookie butter. Mmmmm they are finger lickin good!!! Bake a batch up today before those bananas go out by way of the fruit fly!

Chicken Coop Stages 2-3ish

A welcome door to the chicken coop!!!! I have not updated about our chickens little roost progress in some time!! We have sloooooowwly but surely been making progress on their new little home. The little ladies have been sleeping in it for over two weeks now but just with a tarp and heat lamp.

We got the egg laying section attached and are working on its drop door and roof, the door into the coop looks awesome (I love the silver handle!), the roosting perches, and today the main roof was the big project. Mister James has done so incredible building this awesome coop! He just pressed forward confidently and courageously :) even though he's never done something like this. He's pretty much awesome!

As you can tell chickens make a large mess!! Wheew! They are pooping machines! So we attempted to do a little bath in Janes tiny kiddie pool and it was a bit too cold. Poor Colonel was shivering, so James snuggled her up nice and warm. Guess we'll need to wait for a bit warmer weather for that ;).

Sure is looking awesome. I'm just the aesthetic designer and tool holder, Mister James is the real master of the coop! It's getting there!!

The Shadow

I love being in Janes room in the evening hours when the sun shines through her window and puts a glow in the air. It's beautiful. But I mostly love it because of her sweet shadow. Shadows always make me think of Peter Pan and the magical thought of your shadow having a personality of its own. When I was a little girl pretending was my world. The neighborhood kids, my brother and sister and I had the greatest adventures all over our little neighborhood. Building "hot tubs" under the front porch, putting on plays in our garages, playing make-believe all day, digging up clay to make "Indian pots"....fun memories and times. 

As I look at Janes shadow and profile I see a world of imagination. She is going to love that world. It is really like being in "Neverland" when you can pretend as a child. I've already noticed little moments of pretend in her, and it makes me so excited. That adorable unkempt hair, that dainty nose, those long lashes and sweet lips all bring such a deep love to my heart. I can't wait to encourage her imagination and watch her discover the magic of that world. "Let them be little, cause their only that way for a while..." Is so true, especially today I feel. There is so much in our society pushing children to grow up quickly and learn too much too early in my opinion. They need to not skip the world of imagination and innocence, it's so healthy and important. They'll learn the important lessons of life with life, and should be taught by responsible loving parents, not the world. I love my little growing family and pray that I can teach them of things of most importance in life: God, love, faith, forgiveness, true happiness, kindness and family (among many!). There is true joy in knowing who you really are, why you're here on earth and helping others on their way. I love  being a family with Mister James and striving to raise children who know these things and will help society be a better place.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!!!!!!!! I have come to really enjoy and look forward to this fun holiday. It is so important to appreciate this good earth we live on. We are so blessed to have such beauties around us daily and to be reminded of a Heavenly Fathers love, and creativity I might add ;), with all the many animals, plants, people, landscapes and places on this earth. 

Jane and I took a trip to the zoo today to celebrate. It was so special and fun to see how much she loved watching the monkeys swinging and eating, the otters (she thought they were giant squirrels, and made her hilarious squirrel noise to them), the funny stinky flamingos and the duck/swan area. She is so observant and sweet with everyone and everything she meets. It was a very fun afternoon, but would've been more fun with Mister James with us.

Earth Day dinner :) hurray for dyed potatoes!

Check out my latest Cook'n Article for some traditions you can begin this year for Earth Day:

http://www.dvo.com/newsletter/monthly/2015/april/tabletalk3.html

Aebelskivers Delight!

This sick house is finally on the mend (crossing my fingers). It's been a whallop of a week and I am ready for all of us to feel ship shape. This morning was beautiful and sunshiney and called for that kind of breakfast. So I whipped up some Aebelskivers!! These are a favorite breakfast of my childhood and such a fun special treat for starting your day. 

I love to break them open and fill them with delights. Things like; jam, powdered sugar, maple syrup, Nutella, and a new favorite Coconut & Slivered Almonds!! The possibilities are endless. I've been wanting to try different batters like mixing in bacon and sage or Nutella or spices. A savory one I am sure would Mr James' favorite!

I followed a new recipe but tweaked it by adding some cinnamon and sugar to. It turned out delicious! There still is a special touch my moms recipe has though so I may have to combine the two and have my own magic recipe for these delightful breakfast balls. I love having special recipe traditions in a family!!!

Aebelskivers Delight

2.5 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 and 1/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs separated

3 TBSP oil

Pinch of Cinnamon&Sugar mix (or more!)

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Whip egg whites together till fluffy in a separate bowl and set aside egg yolks.  Fold whipped egg whites into dry ingredients.  Add egg yolks and milk to dry ingredients and mix together.  Add in oil, and sprinkle in some cinnamon/sugar and mix together. 

Heat your awesome Abelskiever pan to medium heat (or med/low, as mine cooks way hot). Fill each hole with a tiny dab of butter and then promptly fill half full with the batter. Let cook. Poke with a toothpick or skewer on the edge and lift to flip each over. If it doesn't slide over easily let it cook a bit more. Then let them cook in the opposite side till complete. Toss them into a fun bowl and begin eating away!

Yellowstone

Happy 3rd Anniversary in Yellowstone! The "traditional" gift for this anniversary is leather...so Yellowstone works, right :). We sure had an adventure. Jane threw up on he way there and was pretty much sick the whole time, poor girl. It made for a long night at the hotel, as she would not sleep in her crib but had to be with us and that meant for a sleepless night for all. But she really was a trooper for all the car rides and not being home.

My favorite part of the two days was SWIMMING!!! I have been wanting to go swimming forever! And it was a blast to see how much Jane enjoyed the water to. She loved her floaty and kicking her feet in the water. It was so relaxing to finally be in water again. I loved every second!

We saw lots of buffalo and an elk and got to enjoy the main beautiful sites of Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic, and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Lots of sites and areas were closed since we were there on opening day, so we'll have to visit again sometime to discover more.

Breakfast was at the Running Bear, super old cafe feel and yum yum food for these 3 Little Bears. Except that poor sick Jane wouldn't eat a bite.

In West Yellowstone there is a really neat Bear and Wolf area where you can be close and learn about them. We really enjoyed it!! It was so neat to see the Bears wrestle with each other and the wolves tracking for their food. It was definitely worth stopping in!

Absolute FAVORITE sign in the park!!!! Watch out for exploding grounds! We really enjoyed the board walks and the great stinky mists of the pits (well not me as much, eeeewy sulfur). Jane will blow on things that are hot and so when I told her the cloud puffs were hot the blowing began :). So funny and cute! The colors are incredible!

Quite the fun filled two days. But we were all pretty capooped after, Janes face here really sums it up. We met Paige in Ashton at Big Juds to eat dinner and then James was awesome and tried to help her change out the old rusted sink in their kitchen. It was a beast! We all sacked it when we stepped into home!

We'll be back Yelowstone!!!!!

Womanhood

Today I watched all of the LDS Priesthood session of Conference and enjoyed every word! Elder Ballard, an apostle of the Lord, shared this thought, "Do not think you are too busy to study the gospel." This advice hit me hard. Lately I have not kept up on my studies of the most important subject in this life; the Gospel. I love the scriptures, I love modern inspiration from prophets, I love gospel centered literature...so why am I not reading/studying it as I should? I desperately need to get back in a regular habit. However, there is a certain subject I have been focusing on though; the joy of womanhood. Which has also strengthened my testimony in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today I went Visiting Teaching and brought some blossoms from our yard to the sweet woman we saw. Being a woman and enjoying feminine and beautiful things is something I take great joy and delight in. I love the simple and lovely things, like blossoms on a tree, the feel of clean laundry, the satisfaction of a piece of chocolate :). In the calling of Visiting Teaching you have the opprtunity to share your favorite things and learn from the women you serve. I have come to appreciate so much about womanhood through visiting and serving other woman of all ages, backgrounds and interests.

I also have thoroughly enjoyed watching my little woman grow. There are innate qualities within men and women! It is testified in the little babes of his world. Now I'm not saying boys can't play with dolls or that girls can't enjoy a good mud fight, but there are certain qualities that do seem quite inherent to a woman/girl. I have seen tenderness, nurturing and a love of babies within my little Jane. Noticing her desire to give hugs and kisses to her baby doll, Mister James  and I is so sweet. She is a beautiful little girl and I pray that I can instill in her the great importance of womanhood and the joys and honor it holds. Helping her strengthen her gospel knowledge is my biggest responsibility and so I must also strengthen mine. So, here's to feasting on my scriptures a little more!!

3rd Anniversary!

Each year on our Anniversary I make (or buy :) on lazy years like this one, at least I added M&Ms) a cake and put our wedding cake topper on it. This little birdie has great meaning for me. It was a sweet find in Lititz PA when my mother went back to my mission with me for a visit. We were in a little antique shop and discovered this love bird and it was perfect. We had a love bird growing up named Melanie, and I have always loved the phrase "Love Birds," and enjoy the good old fashioned style. It was a special piece to adorn the top of our wedding cake, and it is fun to bring it out each year to re-celebrate that special day. Jane kept pointing at it and saying "brrrr" and "mmmm".

This year I made a quick lemon chicken dish for dinner. As we ate I showed Jane a painting of the SLC Temple where we were married and a photo of Mister James and I in our wedding attire. I have heard the sweet tradition of having your anniversary also be your "Family Birthday" and I love that idea. So each year we will celebrate with our children on our anniversary the birth/start of our family. Talking about the importance of the temple and the covenants we made there and how happy we are to be a family. I am so excited to do this each year and to teach our children the importance of marriage.

The day started out sunny and ended with a snow storm. A true Idaho Spring. It's backwards of our wedding day. It snowed the night before and then was beautiful and spring blossomy the day of our wedding. Marriage is a splendid institution and there really is no other way to learn true love in this world than a marriage that is lasting and founded on eternity. Happy anniversaries to all. Love, James & Carolyn

"Mmmmm" Moments

There is no one I'd rather stand beside through the journey of life and eternity than my Mister James! As I reflect on the night before we were married, three years ago (woah), I think about the anticipation of the day that was to follow. James was taking his last final at BYU and the family was busily running around preparing things, and I was just waiting for my mister to get done so I could see him. When he got to my Aunts home (where we were all staging) he texted me to come outside. He had bought a bag of m&m's and said we needed some "mmmm" time. Then we would give each other an m&m and tell each other things we were grateful for in each other, things we were looking forward to and what not. It's a sweet tender moment I'll never forget.

As we have journeyed through the first three years of marriage it has been a roller coaster ride through joys, sorrows, beautiful moments, welcoming Jane and soon William, buying our first home and car and learning so much together. Mr James is a man of great character and charisma. He opens the door for me, watches musicals and Anne of Green Gables with me and loves them (honestly, no arm pulling for him), he desires our families happiness above all else, he teaches me daily, he encourages and helps me live my dreams, and he makes me feel beautiful. He IS the love of my life and I'm so thankful to be able to be his partner for eternity. I'm grateful for all our "mmmmm" moments and am thrilled to think of the many more to come. Love you Mister James Spencer!! Now I think I need to go buy a bag of m&m's ;).

Date Night

Today was one wild and busy Saturday. We worked on the chicken coop all morning in the cold Idaho wind and after Miss Janes nap headed up to Ashton. We went to help my sweet sister in law, Paige with painting projects before their baby arrives. It was fun to help her out and hang out for a bit. Before we left the iconic little Ashton we made a decade old dream/goal happen: a root beer float from the Frostop!!!! I have wanted to get one of these since my first year in college! We also got a huckleberry shake that was incredible!!! So fun!

Then we met Matt in Rexburg and he and Paige watched Jane while Mister James and I had a long awaited date night. We ate at Gringos which was a favorite spot while I was in college. We even got the strawberry daiquiri traditional drink we'd order ;), virgin of course. It was such a great evening being with my mister. Upon leaving town we went to drive past the cute little house I lived in my last two years of college...and it was GONE. A piece of my heart broke. There is a huge castle of an apartment in its place. Crazy to see how much my little Rexburg has changed! Life is full of changes, that's for sure. The memories of that little town will surely last forever. It was fun remeniscing on our date!

The Chicks

Our Hennery:

In honor of Colonol Saunders, James enjoyed this name a great deal. She is the leader of the roost.

LP is the biggest of the flock. She is beautiful and loves to be held.

In honor of the noise Jane makes for chicken Bach is the loudest of all the hens. She would sing and sing as a chick.

One of Carolyn's favorite birds of the Northwest and a family favorite name, chicka-dee-dee-dee. She is the smallest and most timid little lady.

The feistiest of the bunch! This little Priscilla is fast and spunky. Named after our spunky 91 old Grandma!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!!!! This week has been a wonderful one, reflecting on the most important event in history: the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ. All week we have been reading about the last week of the Saviors life and I have been so touched by the importance of this great holiday we celebrate. It's not just a day of chocolate and eggs, bunnies and chicks, or another event to just eat lots of food. 

Easter is the most important and joyful holidays of the year (in my opinion). It is a day to be reminded of the great sacrifice and commitment the Lord made for each and every one of us to live again and be blessed to repent of our failings.

We filled the weekend to the brim with watching General Conference, visiting our Ashton Family (where Jane had so much fun with Chevy, 'napping' and drinking with him!), building our conference tent with the door open to the temple, dying eggs, making braided lemon bread and mountains (of the Lord :) ), hiding Easter baskets, enjoying family time and wearing bunny ears.

 And a silly Easter tradition I've started is watching "The Easter Parade." It's quite a funny little show. I love this little family of mine SO much! Little William has moved a lot today to, which has been really special. New life is coming to our home so soon and it makes me appreciate even more the greatness of Easter!! We are all so blessed because of the Saviors dedication to the Fathers plan for us. How joyful we all can be for the Atonement of Jesus Christ! 

We also did a photo shoot with our chicks! They are getting sooo big! I'll post their glamor shots in the next post :).