When there's Love at Home

This. Melts. My. Heart. I am going to treasure this image forevermore. I love seeing my Mister James playing the piano and love it even more when our kids are here with him. Each Monday we do Family Home Evening and James is our designated song player. He is so good at playing he hymns in the LDS Children's Songbook. I want him to make a cd someday with his music. It's so peaceful and perfect. I always look forward to hearing him on the piano.

I'm grateful that music is and always will be a big part of our family. James' brother is amazing at the piano, his grandfather played the trumpet, his great grandmother played the piano, he has an aunt who is amazing at music and then j have a grandma who is incredibly musical talented and tons of relatives that are amazing musicians as well. So, music runs deep in our blood I think. I hope that our children will discover an instrument they love and that our home will always be filled with uplifting music!

Gratitude #22

Gratitude #22. My Mister James was born!

I know I already listed him in my gratitude list but today I am again extremely grateful for James. He is the most compassionate, loving and funny guys around. My absolute favorite moments right now with him are when I hear him giggling with Jane and catch him holding William. He's a wonderful father to our beautiful children. Becoming a dad is a big deal and a lot of sacrifice and work! James may think he's not very good at the whole thing but I think he rocks!!!! How grateful I am for how supportive he was in helping me bring our babies into the world, how much he cares about their education, how much fun he creates for them with his goofy ways and how he provides for us. James you are an amazing father!!

As we celebrate his birth today I am thankful he chose to come to earth, stayed strong in difficult times, had courage to do hard things and made the choice to choose me. James, happy birthday!!! We are grateful for YOU!!!

Words that describe James:

Kindness

Courage

Forgiveness

Acceptance

Faithfilled

Totally silly

Brave

Caring

Adventurous

Learner

Father

Husband

Son

Creative

Thrifty

Techy

Knowledgable

Giving

Smart

Fun

And so much more!!

Gratitude #6

Gratitude #6. My Mister James.

James is the perfect mix of super goofy, ever forgiving, genius and techy, romantic and serious, faithful and understanding, courageous and loving and the best man I've ever known. Our dating days were brief and yet some of my most treasured moments. I'll never forget the sweet letters full of testimony and encouragement on my mission, I'll never forget the awkward first calls when I got home, I'll never forget the feeling I had seeing him for the first time off my mission (he was tanner than an Arabian from working in Moab), I'll never forget our swing ride when he asked to date me, I'll never forget our first hand hold (I asked ;) him), I'll never forget our morning talks on skype, I'll never forget our first kiss (quite the funny story!), I'll never forget our date to the fair, I'll never forget the moment he asked me to marry him. James is a man you don't forget.

When you get married you make the decision to walk hand in hand with a great person by your side, you stick together through thick and thin, you look past faults and love unconditionally, you lift one another and help each other become your better you. It's hard and it's the best thing ever!! I learn so much from James and I hope that goes visa-versa sometimes to. I believe that marriage should last forever, not till death do you part. It's a relationship that should have the utmost importance in ones life. Marriages and relationships are so easily tossed away in our era. That should not be. Things of great worth should and do take the most work because they bring the greatest joys. I am so grateful for my Mister James and that we get to walk hand in hand to eternity and beyond.

Frames of Purpose

The Gallery Wall is up and running! I have been wanting to get a wall of dedicated pieces up for over a year now. I had the two shelves just waiting to be put up, getting quite dusty in a corner. And I'd pinned so many examples and ideas of these walls on Pinterest.

This week my Mister James helped me get it all up. He was my awesome floating shelf master! I've never hung one of those and would've done it completely wrong had it not been for him. I'm so grateful for my dear husband who has so much on his plate with work, side jobs, school, being a dad and my companion. That he took the time to print and purchase photos and a few frames, help me arrange them, and then hang them up with me meant a great deal. We only have so much time in a day and it truly does show great love to give some of that time away to another. I love my mister and my new gallery wall! 

I can't wait to add and change it up over the years with new photos and decor. Having a wall to display family is so important to me. Showing love and dedication to each other is a strong part of being Tight like into a Dish (if you don't know where our family motto is from check out the side bar on the blog!). The things we hang up and focus on in our home should have meaning. Whether that's a fun family photo, or a painting you did, or a place you want to go, or a piece you bought on a family trip...it should serve a purpose. Hang things with a purpose!

Ionic

My wife is awesome. Tonight was the first Idaho Falls Ionic Meetup and she made sure it was a proper gathering. Despite having a very sick daughter and a quite fussy infant and a packed schedule, she prepped yummy vegatable delights and spoiled us with cheese cake! She came with me to setup and then whisked away to walk the kids and put them to bed. How wonderfully blessed I am to have Carolyn be my eternal companion!

About two months ago I got the crazy idea to start a meetup about web development. I was curious to see who would show up. To my surprise 18 people found it interesting enough to join the group and 7 actually made it to the first meeting.

 It was a refresher course in public speaking, something that I usually avoid. It was fun to talk shop with other developers in the area though.

Ionic is a web developers tool box for creating iPhone and Android apps. I have had the opportunity to work with it for almost a year now and love what it can do. 

Mountain Breakfast

Delicious, pure and simple. We love making Mountains at our house!! Breakfast is a favorite yum yum time!! 

All you need:

6 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

Pinch of salt

1/4 cube butter melted in pan

Cook at 375• for 30 min (or until browned on mountain caps)

Awesome Lemon-Almond Bread!!!

Carolyn made the most delicious lemon almond bread this week end. It's moist texture and vibrant flavor soars through the mouth with every bite. You must experience this bread for yourself. Visit two peas and their pod here for the skinny.

For the really quick skinny see below:

ingredients:

For the bread:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3/4 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

For the lemon glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, for garnishing the loaf

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. Whisk into the flour mixture. Set aside.

3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the almond milk, oil, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract.

4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

5. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Place the loaf on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove loaf from pan. Let cool completely on wire rack.

6. While the bread is cooling, make the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and almond extract. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze of the lemon almond bread. Sprinkle sliced almonds over the bread. Cut and serve.

blah blah blog!

I have an old apple shirt that says “Blah Blah Blog – iWeb part of the new iLife ’06″ . When I first read it I thought I would never run a blog. Now nearly 7 years later I am super excited to be sharing my love story with Carolyn through this blah blah blog. We have many plans and dreams that will be shared in this digital diary. Hope you enjoy taking part in some of our great memories.