Fireman James

Lately James has been wearing this outfit everywhere--the store, the library, around the house...Love it! He gets a lot of smiles and comments when we're out and about.

Kitchen Remodel

Crazy House

The past coupld of weeks have been kind of crazy. Against the advice of our realtor but with the advice of Adam's dad, we decided to do a complete kitchen overhaul. We (ok, Adam) ripped out our old cabinets and we have been living in a mess and without a kitchen sink or dishwasher for two weeks now. Adam has been working for a man in our ward for the past month and so work on the kitchen as been sporadic at best. Thankfully, his work is done with our ward member and he has been concentrating on our kitchen for the last couple of days. A couple of years ago, we got a steal of a deal on some granite tiles from Home Depot that came out to be only a buck a tile. We couldn't resist so we bought enough to do our bathroom and kitchen. Adam finished the bathroom almost immediately but we haven't done the kitchen yet due to a lack of funds. That and we hated to put beautiful black granite on top of old, crappy 70's cabinets. At any rate, the kitchen finally feels like it's coming back together. The counters look awesome and I'm really excited to see it completed. We know it was crazy to replace the cabinets but I guess our rationale is that even if we don't sell the house at least we will be able to enjoy a new kitchen. Adam's skills amaze me. He can do just about anything around the house and knows how to operate every power tool known to man. If he doesn't know, he just gets on-line and figures it out. And it turns out looking great. He is a very handy man to have around. That was one of the things that attracted me to Adam, that he knows how to fix things and do things for himself without having to hire out for every little thing.
Of course, in life everything always has to happen at the same time. First, Adam had a vicious stomach bug that lasted for four days. Last week, I think I got the same stomach bug. Now this week I'm battling Strep Throat. It's hard for Adam to get anything done when he has to help take care of the kids. Now Ruby's nose is running live a sieve and is insanely cranky. Such is life.
All in all, things are going well. We are really, really (did I mention really?) looking forward to March/April when we will finally know about a job Adam has been waiting on. In the meantime, the Lord is taking care of us by helping me place exchange students and sending extra work Adam's way. We also found out that Adam's unemployment won't end until the end of March. Woo!
The kids are doing well. Ruby ALWAYS wants to read books and James is very into the classic Disney cartoons from the 40's and 50's. He just laughs and laughs at Chip n' Dale and Donald Duck. Why don't they make cartoons like they used to? Cartoons today are so lame. Which brings me to some things I've been thinking about: Why don't all of the animals in the Disney cartoons talk? ie: Pluto. Mickey's a talking mouse yet he has a non-talking dog for a pet. Why is this?
Also, does Home Depot pipe the scent from the hot dog stand into the store? Because I can walk into that store just having eaten and I will get one whiff from the greasy stand out front and my mouth immediately starts to water. It's a genious marketing tool. I love that smell.

Enchiladas Recipe

1	can (19 oz) Old El Paso® enchilada sauce (any variety)
2	cups diced cooked chicken
1 1/2	cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz)
1	cup sour cream
1	can (4.5 oz) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles
1	package (11 oz) Old El Paso® flour tortillas for burritos (8 tortillas; 8 inch)
1	cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
	Chopped avocado or green onions, if desired

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Serve with...
Corn and Black Bean Salad
Total Time: 1 hour 15 min

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in bottom of baking dish. In medium bowl, stir together chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream and chiles.
2.	Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; arrange, seam sides down, in baking dish. Top enchiladas with remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down.
3.	Bake 35 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 to 10 minutes longer or until hot and cheese is melted. Top with avocado or green onions. If desired, serve with lettuce, chopped tomato and additional sour cream. I actually substituted diced chicken with a large can of all-white chicken breast. It turned out really good. In some recipes, I can tell that it's canned chicken but I couldn't tell in this one. Plus, it made it super quick and easy. It only took me about 10 minutes to prepare and put in the oven.

However Long and Hard

I checked out this book from our church library on Sunday and finished it today. Each chapter was a different talk he had given while he was the president of BYU. I think. At any rate, it made the book a really quick read. I love Elder Holland. I know we're not supposed to have a favorite church leader or whatever but Elder Holland is definitely one of my faves. I love him. He mentioned in this book that he has spent most of his professional and academic life surrounded by young people and has tender feelings for young married and single adults. I guess I still consider myself a young adult. As a family we are at a very pivotal and volatile time--Adam is almost done with school, we're struggling financially, and we find ourselves at a huge crossroads. I found this passage from Elder Holland very comforting:

And so I ask us to be patient in things of the spirit. Perhaps your life has been different from mine, but I doubt it. I have had to struggle to know my standing before God. As a teenager I found it hard to pray and harder to fast. My mission was not easy. I struggled as a student only to find that I had to struggle afterwards, too. In my church and professional assignments, I have wept and ached for guidance. It seems that no worthy accomplishment has ever come easily for me, and maybe it won't for you-- but I'm living long enough to be grateful for that.

It made me think about a conversation Adam and I had several weeks ago where he was venting his frustration that things seem to come easily for a lot of people (re: employment). But things are never as easy or simple as they may appear, even for an apostle.

Do Your Face

A few weeks ago as we were driving home, James kept scrunching up his face and saying, "Mom, look at my face." We were laughing and then noticed that Ruby was trying to mimic James. Now, all we have to say to her is, "Do your face!" and she squeezes her eyes and shows her teeth. It is the cutest thing ever! I love it!

Christmas 2009

I finally got a new USB cable for our camera! Check that one off my New Year's resolution list. Check. These pictures are a little late but here they are nonetheless. It was a fireman Christmas for James--new fireman boots, coat, and Little People fire station. He was especially excited about his coat and boots since he'd been talking about them for months and hoping Santa would bring them for him. Thanks, Santa! (aka: grandma!)
Ruby was so excited for her new stroller. She pushes it all over the house and loves to take her baby for walks. She will have me wrap her baby in a blanket and then she cradles her and kisses her. It is so stinking cute.