Tip Off; 1st Group Date...

Friday night... Tip off... the teenagers first official group date!

The sweetest girl, with the cutest dimples, they are good friends at school, share seminary class, and she is in another ward in our Stake... so I know her from Young Women activities and camp!

The kids were so excited, but not more than me!

I wanted to go to the house they were all meeting at, to get the big group picture. There were like 5 couples going together. But the teenager forbid me to follow them around.

They went to dinner and a couple in our Stake made them Chinese food until they were stuffed! Then they landed at Boondocks to play miniature golf, go carts, batting cages, and games until way past my bedtime... they never even made it to the school dance.

From the report I got, they had a blast and everyone wants to go do it again sometime!

In the meantime, my strong silent mysterious man and I headed out for a date night... unfortunately we were both so tired, we ended up walking around in Costco, trying out the massage chairs...

and eating Grandma and Grandpa Dayleys famous $3 dinner out!

We tease them, for coming here for date night... I guess we have now turned the corner!

The good news, he got in the Christmas spirit and did some shopping for his family... which is HUGE I tell you! He doesn't shop, and if he happens to get bit by the Christmas spirit, it usually only happens late on Christmas Eve! So we got some things I can get it all in the mail before I leave town next week. Wow! HUGE!!! When they say it's the thought that counts, it really hits home with him... so much thought went into each purchase; I have not experienced this with him before... we discuss, and I carry out the mission. He isn't complicated, so when the gifts are received, it might not be too apparent. But I want his family to know, behind the scenes... lots of thoughtful love happened on this night!! And no you are not getting massage chairs!!!! (he's not that thoughtful).

Then we came home and he passed out... while I watched movies and waited up for the teenager to return home.

Welcome to the Blogosphere...

My newest Blogger Mom Friend!

(photo belongs to Snow Mom)

I have been so excited about bringing a really good friend into the blogosphere!

She is so witty, and has a sarcastic sense of humor that keeps me rolling continually, she is sensitive and has an eye for flair, but is always the utmost of class! She has the knack to find the lemonade in every sour lemon circumstance. She is strong in her faith, finds ways to teach gospel principles in most every situation. She has an amazing creative mind. Family means everything to her, and she is a wonderful example of what an exemplary woman should be to pattern after as a wife, mother, friend, leader, teacher, cook and partner in crime at girls camp!

She will have a knack for blogging all that life has to offer!

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She had a taste of reading blogs, and asked me to tell her about blogs... and I am sure she is wondering what hit her after that!

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I have shared all my feelings, experiences, my love, and all the ways it has changed my world... well shared would be saying it lightly, more like shoving it politely down her throat. But she has been a really good sport about it all.

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Now finally she has her own blog! I hope I haven't put too much pressure on her, but she has a son getting married and some wonderful blog worthy adventures and times happening in her life right now... and it would be such a blessing to her family, friends and herself if she gets it all on record, in her own words and photos.

I just know it!

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I am so pleased, that she is now entered the blogging world... It makes me want to do a little dance!

Welcome to blogging, and have a blast Snow Mom!!

Love and Hugs!(Snow Mom and Me)

2009~Word of the Year

My SIL inspired me by choosing a word for the year last year; and I really liked the concept. New Years resolutions were like dreaded "to do" lists... and I am a procrastinator; so they always spell failure to me. She even had her word printed on a necklace to wear for a constant reminder... I thought "PERFECT"! When someone sees my cute little necklace and asks me about what it means it adds to my commitment, and you can add your annual word to it each year! Love it!! And I fell in love with the hand made jewelry by this designer too!

One word, to help launch me into action, to BE better, to DO better, to accomplish things, to remember my strengths, to toss my weaknesses out of the way and never let them define "who I am"... all in a single word. I love this concept.

Last year I kind of half hearted picked a word... SIMPLIFY, I really needed to de-clutter and slow down and smell the roses. It was amazing how keeping it in my head kept me on track, it wasn't maybe the most perfect word for me, because it really only focused on one aspect of my life, and I had many areas I really needed to work on, but this helped with a few and it brought some great things to pass.

So this year I have been contemplating words for a couple of months now... I really need to continue to stop and smell the roses, however, I want my word to really inspire and launch me! It needs to charge me into action a little more. Not just wait for the rose to come to me, but have confidence and desire to go after anything I want in life.
Now is the time for me to move forward and I feel like I am standing still... but don't know why? I think I have stopped dreaming and believing in myself somehow.

Here were some considerations..
Dream, Ambition, Persevere, Possible, Inspire, Believe

And while digging through some old movie clips... I found this of my grandmother, and really began to think of having two words...

"Trust and Obey"

I really need to have more faith at times, and this will always remind me of how steadfast she and my grandfather have been in their lives, full of integrity, and full of obedience. That might help me work on some of my health goals too, trust myself and know that the good habits will help me be a better me, be obedient to the guidelines that help me take better care of myself. And the old hymns also remind me of my mother in law and her story of conversion to the gospel, and the strength and endurance she has had to posses in her life.

Trust and Obey was definitely a consideration...

But I didn't want to leave out the fun and the confident me I want to be... so then I thought of Adventure. I want this year to be full of adventure, I want to be living an active life. Enjoy a healthy lifestyle, be adventurous and fun, laughing and not getting hung up on the details, but having fun no matter the situation.

Humility, or BE Humble... was also a consideration, if I humble myself I be less likely to be bossy and just ramrod through things doing it my way. Instead, be more teachable, and a better listener, and be still and hear what God has in store for me.

Then I was discussing it with my bff, and she loved the idea and immediately jumped on Rejoice.... hey thats a good one, if I am rejoiceful I am grateful, when I am grateful I am humble and that would also help me to be less bossy, a better listener, rejoice about the things that are really important to me. Rejoice in my venture for great health. "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad" (matthew 5:12). She is so kind and willing to share her word, but it came to her so immediately and it was so perfect for her... and I kind of want to have my own unique word. So the search continued....

This word search would be so much harder for me than I thought!

My sister, who knows me all too well, came up with

Opportunities (everyday find opportunities) and Attitude (Parachutes – Minds are like parachutes. They only function when they are open. If you have something on your mind you have Telling Tension. If you do not hear or retain information, you have closed your Reticular Activating System
Three levels of listening
1. Listening to you
2. Listening to them
3. Listening to them and intuition

Pretty deep Sis! Totally fit the theme I wanted for me... but what I am learning is this word has to mean something to me when I hear it. It has to resignate into my soul!

And then my Mom, who knows me inside and out too... gave some suggestions, through hours on the phone, and I liked the word

"CHERISH"

Cherish who I am. My beauty inside, cherish my individuality. Cherish a strong mind and the ability to accomplish anything I set my mind to. Cherish my faith. Cherish myself. Cherish my divine nature. Cherish my talents.

Cherish who I want to be... a healthy active me, cherish good health, cherish my body as a temple, cherish my dreams.

Cherish the moments... the moments with my son, that are so precious as we approach a shift or change in our relationship as he prepares to leave the nest. Cherish the moments with my husband, with my family. Cherish the moments with my pets... the wet puppy kisses, the puppy sighs, the little (or rather BIG) paws silently begging to climb in my lap. Cherish the moments... "be still and know that I am God". Cherish magical moments. Cherish my eternal family. Cherish each season.

Cherish life, dreams, ambitions. Love, Honor and Cherish.

After literally months of research and googling and pondering and trying to find MY word for the year... I have been trying on "Cherish" and finally decided it would be MY WORD!

So I jumped in with both feet ordered my necklace, and it arrived yesterday! I couldn't wait until January to put it on, I have already been living with "cherish" and now it fits so well, I thought it would be best to keep it close to my heart with "simplify" and hit the new year already on the ground running with new resolve !!!

It's a Girl!!!!

Lillian Florence Bennett

Arrived 12/02/08 5:29pm 6lbs. 15.9oz.

Congratulations to my nephew Robert and his wife Alisha my niece!

I got a call from my SIL yesterday as they were on the way to the hospital to meet Robert and Alisha. My brother being the proud Papa and a proficent "internet technology guru computer geek dude"; had set up a command post outside of the delivery room with 3 networked computers linked to his family message site! So no matter how close or how far, we could all get online to this message board and post back and forth and they could let us know the minute by minute from the command post. And we even got a few pictures!

Here are a few of the posts... there ended up being 124 posts between the time it started until now. So way too many to post. There were lots of questions into command central asking "IS SHE HERE YET?" "tapping fingers here... waiting, waiting" this gives you an idea of how much love and support this little girl had even before she ever arrived.... quite a cheering section!!

Papa 12:19pm: "OK, here we go... We are at St Francis Hospital in Federal Way. Alisha is doing fine and things seem to be very calm. They have a baby monitor hooked up and the staff seems very attentive. The hospital is very clean and I like the hard wood floors. According to Alisha, she is dialated to 3 cm. According to the monitor, the baby's heart beat is within the blue range. Because there is area above and below the blue range, I'm guessing that the heart beat range is pretty good. The other chart is contractions. It looks pretty flat so I told Alisha to stop lolly gaging. I'll update more in a few."

Papa 1:07pm: "Robert is fine. He is quite excited and is going 90 miles an hour. But if you ask him, he is quite calm. While the Dr was doing his exam, he broke Alisha's water. You would think he would have some experence and wouldnt be breaking stuff, but I guess stuff happens. He also mentioned that it looks like Lillian will be here early this evening. I'll fill in more as things happen."

Nana Panda 1:17pm: "Robert came out for a min. and he had NO news *giggle* what the heck!"

About now, we were all taking guesses on the time of arrival and the weight.

Papa: I'll take 10:45:17 PM

Nanna Panda: Hmmmmm well they said early evening so I think around 9:15pm,

Jeremy thinks 10:15pm

Granna: She is a Bennett Baby - knowing all Bennett Babies are spoiled rotten she will wait till after 12:00 a.m to arrive so she has her own birthday... it was her birthday, so we were hoping she would be born on her granna's birthday.

Aunt Beth: Hmmm they also said she was due in November right?... I'll say 11:55pm (sorry Alisha!)

Nanna Panda: Robert just stepped out again and when I asked him how things were progressing he said that Alisha just lost her lunch and he decided to go grab a soda but all is going good and her contractions are coming along nicely (according to him) Roberts guess is Lillian will be here at 4:30

Nanna Panda 02:30 pm: We sent Robert back into the room and told him we wanted information of how much she is dialated how fast the contractions and any other news he could give us.... He text me- she is dil 5 cm and a message that said- 1 min. 3o sec. so wondering if she is actually that close?? it's getting exciting!!!!!!

aunt Beth 02:44 pm: Jacob just got home, his guess is 3:30pm (cheater, cheater)

Melanie's guess: Melanie says 6:00 pm for her guess at time of arival!

Aunt Beth 03:08 pm: I'm also gonna make a guess on weight... I say 7lbs. 4oz.

Aunt Beth: Jacob guesses 6lbs. 12oz.

Nanna Panda 03:16 pm: guessing close to what you said but going for 7lb 2oz

roberts guess 03:18 pm: Robert said 9 pounds mannnnnnn is he going to get shot when Alisha reads this *giggle*

GGrama Della 03:20 pm: Lillian will arrive at 7:10 weighing 6lb 6oz.

Aunt Lynn 03:30 pm: I think 8:30pm PST and 6 lbs 5 oz

Lindy 04:14 pm: I am going to say 7:28 PM and 8 lbs 5 oz!

Nanna Panda 4:35 pm: starting to push!!!!

AuntyLeAnn 04:36 pm: I am going to say Lillian will come out to play at 5:40 and is going to be 7.02lbs!!!

Nanna Panda 05:50 pm: just got a message from Robert!!! it just said 5:29 6-15.9

It was a real nail biter, exciting and so fun to experience this with my brother! It felt like I was right there with him in the waiting room.

So cool! Mom and baby are doing well. I haven't gotten an update on Robert... he may have been knocked out by the 9lb. guess by now. *giggle*

Happy Birthday Lillian Florence!!

Family Night...

After our family devotional this week, we decided for our activity we would have a Wii tournament.

My boys are so competitive... it turns into "2's company, 3's a crowd" at my house sometimes. But I am a really bad sport when I lose... so it's probably all for good anyway.

We are all working on our weaknesses, but I am not sure if the Wii brings out the best in us yet?

I love how interactive the games are!

(you can see the intensity in the room, everyone stay clear... all those warnings on the game to use wrist straps and safety harnesses are meant for us!)
Bowling is hilarious at our house... it's all about form.
And sadly the teenager has none!

Perfect form....

No form... (what was that?)

The dogs are not impressed, it definitely takes away from all their lovin' time.

I won't even comment... the video says it all about the competitive nature of my boys; with all the gloating and rubbin it in the face winning!

I am just happy; there was no name calling! (this time)

A good time was had by all!

SPT ~ Love

The SPT's for this month tells us to,

"Find those moments throughout the season and choose to be still. remember to care for ourselves while we are busy creating amazing holiday memories for all.

Take deep breaths. channel our chi. don't sacrifice the small, still moments. enjoy them! and photograph them!"

Tuesday, December 2nd : Love

Tuesday, December 9th : Joy

Tuesday, December 16th : Comfort

Tuesday, December 23rd : Joy

Tuesday, December 30th : Hope

LOVE!

Hershel ~ the deer...

---The boy's name Hershel \he(r)-shel\ is pronounced HER-schul. ---
---It is of Yiddish origin, and its meaning is "deer". ---

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Well I am pretty sure I shouldn't name the deer. They say never name the cow or the pig you are about to butcher. But it seemed okay since I never knew him when he was bounding in the brush, and frolicking with the doe! And I thought it might help in my attempts to overcome my very very squeamish tendencies.

So Hershel it is!

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Determined to learn the skill of cutting up our own meat ~ (hey you never know when you might need these things, times could get hard... this is the advice shoved down my throat by my strong silent mysterious man) we invite our expert buddy to come school us up. Everyone needs a deer expert buddy like this, this guy needs a metal badge to wear on his chest, in my opinion, he's tops. He has mentored my strong silent mysterious man through every step of this deer hunter adventure. And I am so grateful for him sharing his knowledge, so that we didn't have to do EVERYTHING the hard way. Because in the deer hunting world, most men keep everything a secret and to themselves. They are afraid if you know too much, you might get their big one that got away or something. Maybe I am exaggerating, but it's definitely not like swapping recipes! I am convinced this guy would give the shirt right off his back, he is a great friend to have!!

And my Mom reminded me for sure if anything will cure me of shuttering when I have to move raw turkey meat into a pan, this will do er'!

This is not butchering... there is some really precise cutting going on here...
I am so glad we are making this a family affair... nothing like togetherness...

I should have taken notes... between the 7th and 11th vertebrae... it's like the prime rib from your beef cow! Sounds like good stuff to me (maybe, just maybe if I keep telling myself... it will be love at first bite)

Now to the cutting of the steaks...

That's a perfect butterfly cut... looks just like a fillet to me!

Nice try, but he isn't going to do it ALL for us; now were on our own. He looks like he knows what he is doing so far...

I still can't believe this is on my kitchen counter... I will be a cowgirl, hunting, country chick yet!

Always the critics nearby...

And look at me, touching raw deer meat with my bare hands!

That looks like some professional jerky in the makings!

I was really pleased with myself!

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We are learning allot together; and personally I am growing leaps and bounds, getting way out of my "box"!!! But like anything we do to push ourselves to grow, I am so amazed at the feeling of accomplishment and joy! I am bursting at the seems with joy right now!!!

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I NEVER thought... but like they say, never say never!!!

It's so true!

Happy Birthday ~ Dad aka Grandpa!!!

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY!!