Crock Pot Creamy Chicken with Black Beans

Found this easy and yummy recipe on Pinterest and tried it last night. Both David and I loved it. Check out the recipe on the cooking blog:

constantgrowingamazementcooks.blogspot.com

Randomness

This morning is full of totally random thoughts....
~I have been hauling tubs and trees up from the Christmas closet downstairs all morning. Half of them I have been carting out to the cabin. I'm hot in the house, then go outside in the cold. A storm is supposedly blowing in today so I thought I had better hustle. I have Girl's Night Out in December so I'm taking all my Santa decor out there. Nativities in the living room. Kid's Santa pictures overly covering the dining room table now (and I've received two already this year. I can't wait to share them (when I fix my scanner. Grrrr!) And snowmen in the kitchen. If I weren't having a party, I think I would put out the nativities and the kids pictures and call it good. (I don't know when my Christmas delight was replaced by Baa-Humbug. I think when the little kids moved out.)


~I went on Saturday to Valene's and spent the morning making Christmas yummies. It was fun and productive.


~And I've been cooking up a storm. My Monday meals keep expanding. I took a meal to a family yesterday that is moving. I really don't know them well, haven't had a lot of association but "moving" sets off memory bells for me. We moved once...and although we have a million friends and neighbors, for some reason, that time, no one showed up to help. I ran into an old friend, honestly someone I hadn't seen or talked to for over 10 years...and when she asked what was up and I told her we were moving, she said "Plan on dinner being delivered on Sunday." I told her she didn't have to do that...and she said, "Exactly."


~We've had a lot of people moving in and out of the neighborhood recently and it always grieves me. I'm not good with change and even though I don't have intimate interaction with all of them, I just like knowing that they are there.


~3 pans of yumminess done for my daughter. Sitting and waiting to be wrapped.



~Internet shopping rules! I love click, click, click (while in my fleecy pj's) and every day something fun shows up at the door!
If you love Internet shopping, clap your hands! Yeah!

~I love my kids giving me Christmas ideas. A-hem! JUST SAYING!



~can I just say that the Cherub tomatoes (like cherry) at Costco right now taste JUST like they came off the vine. They are THAT good


~next week I'm flying to Las Vegas for a couple of days with my hubby (and Lynn and Laurie Barnson.) It is that time of year again...National Rodeo Finals. David will drive down earlier but I'll fly down after Bucket on Tuesday. Always a fun trip. (Pam, are you going and when? It seems like you always go earlier than us.)




~Totally don't like Brussels Sprouts. Or liver. Just saying. When I had my neighbor and her daughter over for holiday cooking, I asked what their traditional Thanksgiving dinner consisted of. (This is the adult daughter of my neighbor who died and her 14 year old daughter.) She said her dad always fixed fried turnips! Now that's a new one! (they are missing Don so much, their hearts are breaking.)

~I think I'm growing my hair out. For having a short attention span, I seem to keep hair-do's for ten years before I'm ready to move on. This one has lasted 11 years. I'm beyond due. I don't think extensions would do since my hair is only about 3 inches long. I'll probably cave since I need to get a new driver's license next month.

~I had helpers come and rake up leaves. Over 40 bags and leaves are still falling, plus the dumpster is full. I see a trip to the dump in my/our future!



~Hallee Babe gets baptized this weekend. Have I mentioned (only a million times) how much I love her? Been trying to gather pictures (on the computer) for a slide show for Brandi to put together. I stopped when I had 100 Hallee Babe pictures....

~where in the heck does time GO????




~some people's lives are so hard.....my prayer list so long..... my heart gets so heavy. Doesn't it just seem everywhere? Or do I just know too many people. And love too many people?


~I love Christmas music so much and I'm afraid I'm getting so many "favorite" songs, I won't be able to listen to them all. It's funny how some songs come and go. I made the comment how years ago a writing friend said if she heard "Oh Holy Night" one more time, she was going to scream. I've noticed that this year, every time I turn something on, I hear Ave Maria. Andre Bocelli, then Celtic Men, then Barbra Streisand. I'm not ready to scream...it is just interesting. But I did hear one yesterday that I loved. Rachael Lampa. Itunes it. It really is beautiful.


~so, in a humorous vein, my friend Sophia recently posted about her husband's pathetic belt. It is duct taped together and she can't believe he wears it out in public. Then he declared it is his secret weapon....in a flash he can take it off and swing it around his head! She just rolled her eyes and asked him how old her was...and truly, how many villains had he seen that he had to swing his belt at. He replied, "that's because they see my belt!" Since "pepper spray" has been in the news (shoppers spraying other shoppers to be first to get a Black Friday deal...and police spraying college students in the "Occupy" sit-ins.)....I thought about what secret weapons I have. I used to sleep with a cactus plant by my bed when David was out of town....but I've given up the cactus for a pair or scissors. (That way I can wake up safe WITH a new hair cut!) And when Mallory lives here or Brooke comes, and they go for a run or walk in the gully, if they are alone I made them take a corn on the cob pick. Now THAT is a weapon!

~my niece Mallory, who lives in I-Dee-Ho, but occasionally lives with us and visits often bringing all her besties and boyfriends, has a pinterest board called "Thing That Remind Me of Auntie M." That makes me feel so loved! So I found a pin for Mallory. When I saw this, I immediately thought her her! (and thanks, Mal, for making me feel so special!)

One Reason Why I Love

Yesterday I taught the Sunday School lesson on 1 and 2nd Peter. (as I mentioned in the previous post.) I asked the class what they knew of Peter ( alot since we are nearing the end of the New Testament) and what he meant to them, then and now.
I shared about recently being in Rome and at St.Peter's Basilica Square. Many think that this is the burial spot of Peter...and this shrine/then later church was built over the spot. What I had forgotten was that many years later, when the Basilica was falling apart, is when the Catholic church started selling "indulgences" to pay for the restoration....which caused an uproar within the church...and eventually a German priest, by the name of Martin Luther....wrote a letter of outrage .... and that became the beginning of the Reformation and the beginning in the Protestant movement. So Peter not only had power in his life, but also in his death.

I shared a personal story that I shared here about 4 years ago but want to repeat again since it goes along with one reason why I love Peter in the scriptures. Here it is:

"Sending a child on a mission is a little scary. When our first son, Ryan, received his call to Guatemala, I was concerned about his safety because on the Internet I learned the country was still in a civil war. And just before he was getting ready to leave, a well-meaning friend called to tell me that since her daughter was also being sent to Guatemala, she had been doing some research and found that a large number of missionaries were getting malaria in Guatemala and that the Church wasn’t giving them the necessary medication to prevent infection. If I was stirred up before, I REALLY was concerned about my son’s safety then! I called all over Salt Lake to see if I could find some pills to send with Ryan before he left. They don’t have malaria in Salt Lake so I was out of luck. Finally I found a source in Florida. I had really worked myself into a tizzy until David said, "Marilyn, you need to stop this and turn our son over to the Lord in faith." Of course. Why hadn’t I thought of that! So I did. I sent him in faith. About a year into his mission, he contacted not just malaria but den gay also and was deathly sick in the hospital for a couple of weeks. When I found out, I was angry. Heavenly Father knew that I was worried about that and I turned him over in faith and He hadn’t taken care of him at all! I really felt like Heavenly Father had let me down. Luckily, although I was mad at God, I continued to read my scriptures.
(that's an important key here.)

One night as I was reading, I just opened the book and a verse jumped out at me while the scripture taught me verbally in my heart and mind, truth. The scripture, as it came to mind was, "Why do you weep because you suffer for my sake? How much better it is that you suffer for my sake than you suffer for your sins." ( like I said, the Spirit spoke it to my mind. What the scripture really said was 1 Peter 3:17) What an incredible thought. Bad things happen to good people all the time and there is much suffering in the world but there is a difference between "righteous" and "unrighteous" suffering. How much better it is that if we suffer, it isn't through our wrong doing. (I later learned the Church doesn’t give the missionaries malaria medication is because the government has asked them not to. If the missionary was to get malaria, then there would be nothing to treat it with.) What an important lesson the Lord taught me. How thankful I am that even though I wasn’t happy with the Lord, I continued to read my scriptures so I could received his comfort, personal revelation...and forgiveness."

Quotes from Lesson

Yesterday I talk on 1 and 2nd Peter in the New Testament. I have grown to love Peter so much in the past few years as I've read and re-read the New Testament. In Peter, he tries to buoy the members of the church up, reminding them of who they are and of Christ's atonement for them. Then he tells them that hard times are coming. (This is during King Nero's time in Rome and thousands of Christians were killed, including Peter who was crucified upside down...at his request, because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same manner as Christ.) He said that you can hold your head up in the middle of the storm basically because of your faith and hope in Christ. Several people in the class asked for additional quotes or thoughts I shared in the lesson. If you read here, here they are. If I left out ones you wanted, let me know. (these are thoughts about having hope and patience and learning through our sorrows.)





We may not be able to fix the whole world, but we can strive to fix what may be amiss in our own families. Tolkien reminds us:


"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule" (The Return of the King [1965], 190).





The following story was told by Bishop Vaughn J. Featherstone:"Many years ago I heard the story of the son of King Louis XVI of France. King Louis had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young son, the prince, was taken by those who dethroned the king. They thought that inasmuch as the king’s son was heir to the throne, if they could destroy him morally, he would never realize the great and grand destiny that life had bestowed upon him.
"They took him to a community far away, and there they exposed the lad to every filthy and vile thing that life could offer. … For over six months he had this treatment—but not once did the young lad buckle under pressure. Finally, after intensive temptation, they questioned him. Why had he not submitted himself to these things—why had he not partaken? These things would provide pleasure, satisfy his lusts, and were desirable; they were all his. The boy said, ‘I cannot do what you ask for I was born to be a king’" ("The King’s Son," New Era, Nov. 1975, 35).Bishop Featherstone goes on to remind us that we are sons and daughters of a King, children of God and that knowledge can help us shun the vile things of the world.


One night, late at night, Kent Richards, a member of the Seventy and a former surgeon by profession, was lying in a hosital bed, this time as a patient and not as a physician and over again he tried to understand the pain and adversity he was going through. As he pondered, he came to understand that during His mortal life Christ chose to experience pains and afflictions in order to understand us. Perhaps we also need to experience the depths of mortality in order to understand Him and our eternal purposes.

　
President Henry B. Eyring taught: "It will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior’s promised relief that He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us. … And faith in that power will give us patience as we pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience."



Continue in Patience by Pres. Uchtdorf
　
When I was 10 years old, my family became refugees in a new land. I had always been a good student in school—that is, until we arrived in West Germany. There, my educational experience was a significantly different one. The geography we studied in my school was new to me. The history we studied was also very different. Before, I had been learning Russian as a second language; now, it was English. This was hard for me. Indeed, there were moments when I truly believed my tongue simply was not made to speak English.
Because so much of the curriculum was new and strange to me, I fell behind. For the first time in my life, I began to wonder if I was simply not smart enough for school.
Fortunately I had a teacher who taught me to be patient. He taught me that steady and consistent work—patient persistence—would help me to learn.
Over time, difficult subjects became clearer—even English. Slowly I began to see that if I applied myself consistently, I could learn. It didn’t come quickly, but with patience, it did come.
From that experience, I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort.
There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving this year was one of our best. (I had kiddos 3 days this week and I put them to work. Thanks Addi, age 5 for helping me shop and make the Indian headbands and Rylee for painting the clothes pins and helping make the mashed potatoes! I had Nash and Boston help me clear the pumpkins out of the cabin- think basketball into the garbage can- so all was fun. Tenille worked on the games.) Everyone was here except for Ben's Susie who was working Ski Patrol at Alta Ski Resort. Thanks to Pinterest, Tenille made the cutest vegetable tray. All the food was wonderful (and I kept jumping up and down that everything was ready with hours to spare and dishes done.) Loved being with everyone. The kiddos loved the games. Well, Parker (age almost 13) and Josh 11 weren't interested in donning their Indian headbands for some reason but did get involved in the games when candy was involved. This is the cute Thanksgiving game I told you about a few days ago but that I couldn't get the picture to upload. Keep it in your Thanksgiving idea book- I loved it.

We also did a Turkey Walk. Tenille had numbered pumpkins taped on the floor, music was played and when the music stopped, a number was drawn from a bowl and the person standing on the number got a prize (I don't know who in the world I am explaining this to since EVERYONE knows how to do a cake walk!)

Just a wonderful family time together. I didn't get to talk to my folks since they went with my brother to their cabin (house) for a week. We had some moments of terror at our house. We were sitting around visiting when my MIL, who was sitting on a bar stool, just keeled over backwards and hit the floor, her head hitting the corner of a wall. We were terrified and she was so totally out of it that we were all getting ready to take her to the emergency room. Brandi was here monitoring her vitals and it was DARN SCARY! But before we got her out the door, she perked up and has been fine every since. I was scared when she was sleeping so late this morning but she feels fine, can't remember any of the incident...and her head doesn't even hurt. It is unbelievable since she really took a fall. So thankful she's okay.

Pat and Casey came at the end of dinner and visited for hours. Love them too. Casey and Marci treated us to some fun singing.

So, today is Black Friday. It would have been bleak indeed if something happened to my MIL but instead it is a rejoicing day. I'm not a Black Friday shopper....just an Internet shopper and I feel on top of the game with what needs to be done. December is already filling in and I want it to be calm. Love the season. Love the reason.

I teach tomorrow on Peter in the New Testament so it has been awesome reviewing these scriptures since we were just in Israel and Rome and at St. Peter's Basilica (where many claim that Peter is buried.)

Love the scriptures and the peace they bring me.

To December I say, bring it on! (and today begins "gingerbread caramel making...")

"It is impossible to feel depressed and grateful at the same moment." Naomi Williams

No, Martha Cancelled

Maybe you've seen this traveling email (thanks Laraine for sending it to me!) but I thought it was perfect to share today!


Dear Family & Friends,
I know that you were eager to accept our family's invitation to Thanksgiving dinner when you found out that the famous Martha Stewart would be joining us. However, due to scheduling conflicts beyond her control, Ms. Stewart finds that she is unable to grace our table this year. With that in mind, there will be a few minor changes regarding the meal and decor, as outlined below. Please be aware of them, and adjust your appetite and dress appropriately.
Thank you
1) Our driveway will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminarias. After several trial runs and two visits from the fire department, it was decided that, no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect.
2) Once inside, please note that the entry space will not be decorated with swags of Indian corn and fall foliage. Instead, we included our dog in decorating by having him track in colorful autumn leaves from the back yard. The mud was his idea.
3) The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this is Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the paper SpongeBob dinner plates, the leftover Halloween napkins, and our plastic cup collection.
4) Our centerpiece will not be a tower of fresh fruit and flowers. Instead we will be proudly displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper and pine cones. The artist assures me it is a turkey, albeit one without wings, legs, or a beak.
5) We will be dining somewhat later than planned. However, our daughter will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure she will be happy to share every choice comment her mother made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims, stuffing choices, the turkey hotline, and, especially, her husband. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 7:00AM upon discovering that said husband had only remembered to pull the turkey from the freezer at 6:00 AM, and that the thing was still hard enough to cut diamonds.
6) As an accompaniment to our daughter's recital of these events, I will play a recording of Native American tribal drumming. Curiously, the tribal drumming sounds a great deal like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, but that only enhances the holiday appropriateness. If our daughter should mention that we don't own a recording of Native American tribal drumming, ignore her. She's only nine; what does she know?
7) A dainty silver bell will not be rung to announce the start of our feast. We have chosen to keep our traditional method of assembling when the smoke alarm goes off.
8) There will be no formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask all the children to sit at a separate table. In a separate room. Next door. And I would like to take this opportunity to remind our younger diners that "passing the rolls" is neither a football play nor an excuse to bean your cousin in the head with bread.
9) The turkey will not be carved at the table. I know you have seen the Norman Rockwell image of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. Such a scene may occur somewhere in America , but it won't be happening at our dinner table. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in the kitchen at a private ceremony. I stress "private", meaning: Do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children, or older, helpful grandparents into the kitchen to check on my progress. I have a very large, very sharp knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win the battle. When I do, we will eat.
10) For the duration of the meal, we will refer to the gravy by its lesser-known name: Kraft Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you regarding the origins or makeup of the Kraft Cheese Sauce, smile kindly and say that you know the answer, but it's a secret that can't be revealed to them until they are 18.
11) Instead of offering a choice among 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and dog tongue marks. You still have a choice: take it or leave it.
That concludes our list of alterations. Again, I apologize that Martha will not be joining us this year. Come to think of it, she probably won't come next year, either.
In case you wanted to change your plans I am sending this now to give you plenty of time to make other arrangements.


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Menu

This is our menu this year-

Appetizers-

Date Bites (dates stuffed with a bit of feta cheese, wrapped in bacon and broiled)

Berry Pepper Jelly over cream cheese with Wheat Thins

(plus one that Brandi is bringing)

Turkey (I cook it all night in an oven bag, upside down. Perfect!)

(the last two years I cooked a prime rib as well but not this year. It is my attempt at simplification....)

Mashed potatoes and Gravy

Dressing (I don't bake in the bird anymore)

I like to make Aunt Jan's Sweet Potatoes but David prefers ones with just marshmallows on top

(Aunt Jan's recipe is on this blog, not the cooking blog.)

Marci is bringing a green salad

Tenille is bringing kid friendly veggies for dipping

I'm debating on whether I'll make a raspberry/cream cheese jello salad. Bought the ingredients just in case.

Jellied cranberries (really for my favorite sandwich later in the day. I use cranberries, cream cheese and turkey on wonderful bread.)

Brandi is bringing Pumpkin Pie Squares

Brooke is bringing Carmelita bars (chocolate and caramel)

I'm making a Pumpkin Roll-Up

This afternoon I'm having someone that needs a friend to come over and make most of our dinners together. I'm thankful I can be here for her. She cried and cried and hugged me when I got home from our trip....it was nice to be missed. I'm thankful for my husband and family. Thankful for a normal life. Thankful for a Christ-centered life. Thankful for wonderful friends.

I loved the opening prayer in church on Sunday. A woman I adore from Brazil gave the prayer in her beautiful broken English and said, "Our hearts are full of thankful." I loved that. They are. I am.

Rome

After touring in Italy for a few days, we met up with our travel group in Rome...where we had a meet and greet dinner, then spent the next two days touring Rome. (The sign on the dining room said "Welcome to the Bountiful Travel Beffet." Beffet was their attempt at translation of buffet! We had a good laugh over that. One of the restaurant managers actually came up to us before we were leaving and asked us to correctly translate some of the items on their menu. I shouldn't have told him the correct term of buffet since "beffet" brought us such great pleasure.)



I've tried to remember my favorite Rome experiences and will share just a few.




The first might seem odd when compared to the others. More exciting than hearing about the gladiators and chariots and seeing the cathedrals....and on and on....



1. was the DRIVING in Rome! CRAZY!!! I was pinned to my seat on the bus, shrieking with all the enthusiasm of a terror ride at Lagoon (our local amusement park.) It is a total free-for-all with buses and taxis vying for position (not in any kind of lanes) with motorcyclers darting in and out. The roads are NARROW and filled with pedestrians and everyone is driving FAST! It was exhaustingly fun! (I was excited to see a bus named after our daughter. ) Pedestrians truly take their life into their own hands.

2. The Colosseum. I have dreamt of the Colosseum since I was young....not from gladiator movies....but from a short story I read when I was a young teenager. If you have never read Roman Fever by Edith Wharton....you might. It was sensuous reading for that time....and I've never forgotten it. It is the story of two best friends and one love interest. A major part of the story is a clandestine meeting in the Colosseum, late at night

Below are two pictures of the Colosseum. It was the largest amphitheatre in Rome. It could hold 50,000-87,000 people (depending on who you are talking to) but what I thought was fascinating is how it was designed that in the case of an emergency, the people could exit in a matter of minutes. (okay, here is a little trivia I can't resist sharing. Lately I have been interested into the meaning of words and names....and the passageways that allowed this quick exit is called vomitoria- which is Latin for rapid discharge. Guess what English comes from that same word....) During it's heyday, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles, animals hunts (the inaugural celebration killed 9,000 exotic animals in just a few day period) and executions. The huge productions were usually put on by politicians as a way to sway votes (they would entertain and feed people for free.) The basement layers are visible where they housed the animals and gladiators. All that very interesting but I was still caught up remembering the forbidden couple meeting in its corridors....sigh.

3- one of the next highlights had to do with the Spanish stairs. Not because I cared a bit about the Spanish stairs (but our guide thought we needed to see them.) The Spanish stairs were actually built and designed by the French to a French cathedral...but the Spanish embassy to the Vatican is next to it so people always refer to it as the Spanish stairs. (They are about 135 steps. Seemed like what we walked in Todi to find pizza.)

The reason why the Spanish stairs was a highlight is because of the older man below. His name is Gene, from Oregon and he was on the tour alone. He latched onto us the first day...and was constantly asking us to take his picture. At first we thought it was funny...then we became very attached to him and protective. He was quite delightful but hard of hearing....so he was constantly missing directions or instruction (and actually missed some of the tours because of it.) After a day of touring in Rome, he asked our local bus driver/tour guide why we hadn't been to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. (Apparently Gene didn't hear we would be touring St. Peter's and the Vatican all the next day.) He said to the bus driver, "I think people would rather see St. Peter's than a bunch of old stairs!" David and I thought that was so funny. (I've been sad thinking of all the pictures and video he took without someone at home to look at all his adventures. I asked him once what was waiting for him at home ...and he said "lonliness.")

4-One of my VERY favorite sites was the Pantheon (meaning to every God.) It really was built to honor all Gods (saints and mythological gods as well.) It was built over 2,000 years ago and the dome is breathtaking. It is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome (142 ft. high) and it has a hole, called an oculos in the top. That hole is the only source of light in the building and creates kind of a backwards sundial. When it rains, it rains down through the hole and drains in the floor of the building which has a gentle slope with drain holes. The cathedral is actually dedicated to St.Mary and many martyrs are buried there. The painter Raphael (of Ninja Turtle fame) is buried there as well. Absolutely beautiful.

floor drain in the middle of the beautiful marble floor

(I didn't take pictures of the artwork since I am a little skiddish about picture taking in museums. Remember how I was snapping pictures right and left in Paris....in the Van Gogh exhibit...oblivious to the "no picture taking" signs. There is a funny story about Gene snapping pictures in Egypt but I can't tell that now since I'm talking about Rome.)

and finally, 5- St.Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. The Sicilian Chapel was over the top, the artwork unbelievable, the crowds suffocating (and we were there "off season").....but the icing on the cake was this. It was on my bucket list. Something I never thought I would ever see.


Pietà- by Michelangelo. Years ago I used to be in a small poetry writing group with fabulous women. One, Nancy Hanks Baird- wrote a poem about this statue and the passion and love between a mother and her son. (the statue is of Mary holding Christ after the crucifixition.) Standing before the statue...remembering the emotion of Nancy's poem....was just surreal. (When Michelangelo finished the sculpture, he overheard someone giving credit to another sculptor....which made Michelangelo promptly carve his name across Mary's sash on her robe. It is Michelangelo's only signed sculpture.)

I would tell you more but already the tour guide is saying, "Hurray up. We have to hurry. There isn't time to see everything. There isn't time to dally."

Rome in two days is a whirlwind. No time to dawdle! (I DID love Rome but you know me and cattle. I'm a "non-herd" person. I wanted to "moo" a couple of times.)

Thanksgiving Game

For some reason, I can't get the picture to come up for this darling turkey feather game for Thanksgiving. You can print off the colored pilgrim turkeys, laminate (heart be still....you know I love laminating) (actually the designer put in on chipboard and modpodged it. Modpodging doesn't give me the same thrill as laminating...) You have clothespins, painted, for the tail feathers and when you roll dice, you put the clothespin on that number that you rolled. The first person to fill their turkey's tails wins. Have treats or coins (my kiddos like) for winners.



http://www.theidearoom.net/2011/11/thanksgiving-gameturkey-feathers.html

Todi, Italy

We began our trip, flying to Rome....first class. I can't complain. It was marvelous. Very spoiled.





When in Rome, we found our rental car, crammed in our luggage (always a trick) and headed to Umbria, a province of Italy. Why Umbria? My sweet neighbor, Arlene, gave me all her travel books when she heard last year we were going. At the time it was going to be exclusively an Italy trip. One of the beautiful books she gave me was a book entitled One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy. We picked one.





Todi, Italy. Todi is a wonderfully preserved (one of the best according to the book) medieval villages on the top of a hill. It is completely walled and we felt, as we walked around the cobble- stoned town- like we were on a movie set. It was quiet and peaceful. We stayed in a quaint hotel-the Fonte Cesia (built in the 1600's.) After we figured out how to keep the lights on in our room (if you've been in Europe, you'll understand)...and David figured out how to not pull the emergency cord (that we didn't know was an emergency cord) ( the front desk frequently called to see if we were okay)in the bathroom....and we finally found an open restaurant for dinner (they close after lunch until later for dinner)(we walked for hours)- we all would have been happy to stay there. Forever.





The roads in the villages are narrow and steep and winding (as are the roads in the valley.) Moving the car from "here to there" was always an adventure. We're talking narrow! We traveled to the accompanying village of Orvieto and we thought for a minute we were dead. (Think narrow enough street the doors of the car can't open on both sides at the same time. Faced straight downhill. Car stalls. Big time.) The book should have been warning enough: "At one time, the path to Todi was a perilous one. Arriving from Orvieto it was necessary to cross the Pontacuto Bridge, so steeply arched that it posed a threat to every carriage and cart. The bridge no longer exits, but legend has it that it was presided over by the devil himself, who stole the souls of passersby. It is said that the Archangel Michael destroyed the bridge, once again securing the journey." Well, THAT explains a lot!

You might wonder why I am now showing two pictures of the same narrow walkway. There is a reason. One is up. The other is down. It looks like a flat path but nothing is flat in Italy. There are probably 100 stairs that we walked down, looking for a restaurant. When we got down at the end...nothing. There was no where else to go but up. Up the 100 stairs. The restaurant was at the top, where we began. No worries. It wasn't open which is why we just passed it by. Either that or we're total idiots!

The artwork of this artist (I'll have to go look at my notes) was throughout the Forte. David thought it was crazy but of course, I was drawn to its funkiness. I especially liked this picture since we played hand and foot the entire trip.

Dov'è il bagno

I could do an entire post on "the bathrooms of Italy, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt." I will spare you the gory details. One picture will suffice. At least this one was clean. Maybe. Hope so. Can I just say it is a man's world.....

Post Halloween Mummy

I received this darling sarcophagus mummy (can you tell I just got back from Egypt) filled with treats just before leaving for our trip. It was so over the top....





because it was delivered by this designer-dressed-mummy. (OOMS- Our Own Martha Stewart) (I wish you could have seen how fabulous this costume was...)

She had an important announcement to make!

Thanks, OOMS! You are amazing as always and totally made my day. (night.) (and excited for A. and N.!)

And since we are talking about mummies, one little party game that we've played is called "Unwrap the mummy." You take a small figure (like a plastic doll or Spiderman figure) and start wrapping it in toilet paper. Keep wrapping. Occasionally I would put a piece of paper that said, "Get a candy" or "Tell a joke" or "Sing Jingle Bells like a pig.." (I'm writing this at 5 am. What do you expect! lol. My time clock isn't ticking right yet!) Then continue to wrap, inserting papers along the way. When the mummy is as big as you want it, it is ready for play. Have the people in the game take turns rolling dice. Maybe two and when that person gets a double, they can unwrap the mummy until they find a treasure note. They either get a treat or have to do something. The last one to unwrap the mummy gets a big prize. Like a cruise somewhere. Kidding.

You might wonder why I'm telling about the mummy game AFTER Halloween. Well, it is part of my travelogue. We learned quite a bit about mummies in Egypt... all fascinating but what I was surprised to learn was that when they wrapped mummies, occasionally in the wrapping they would put tokens or amulets as charms of good luck or protection. So my mummy game isn't off the mark too much! And also, just so you know, King Tut is really pronounced King Toot. Your kiddos will love to know that!

Home Again. Home Again.

(note: fun Thanksgiving idea that I am NOT going to do. It makes me happy enough to know that someone else did it.)

Home Again. Home Again. Jigglie Jig. That would be what happens after an 11-day cruise PLUS many other days of touring. Enough said about THAT!

I love coming home. Our time clocks are totally out of wack and the sleep patterns nuts. I went to bed at 7 o'clock last night and then was ready to be up at 2. Crazy! Crazy!

I'm anxious to journal our trip but wanted to say I'M HAPPY TO BE HOME! Oh, did I say that? I missed the kids and kiddos terribly and just want normal. That being said, the trip was full of amazing sights and thoughts and cultures. I should have started the journaling process this morning when I was up at 5:30 but instead I've been working on Thanksgiving. Yesterday I thought I'd sleep all day (since we got to bed at 2 without real sleeping on the plane) but I wanted to get a few errands done. Travis called in the morning saying he was doing a bagel run for us since he knew we wouldn't have any food in the house. That was so sweet. He's an awesome kid. We came home to snow but we love that, so that's great. I ran to Hobby Lobby to get paper goods for Thanksgiving, picked up TWO postal boxes of mail from the post office. The postmaster said, "Welcome home." I even did a grocery shop (including turkey....a HUGE Butterball for almost nothing with a promotion Smith's was having). What I WASN'T expecting was to hear Christmas music playing when I was getting my nails done. WOW!!! Now, I'm totally one for early Christmas music but this shook me. We left at Halloween (which I didn't really get to do either) and come home to Christmas. Talk about a mind set change! Probably one of the the biggest delights is that Tenille did my Christmas books for the kiddos while I was gone. They are DARLING! And Christmas jammies are all bought....just need to make jams for baby Peyton. (If any of the kids are reading this, I need Christmas ideas now. Yesterday. Tomorrow for sure. Links for the computer are especially nice. (love that about you Ben and Susie!) I have Girls Night Out in December so that means I WILL have to decorate. Need to get in gear.

Today is Halle Babe's birthday. It's a big one- she turns eight and will be baptized in December. This little girl has always held my heart (Brandi reminds me that she screamed constantly as a baby...and that I had to drive up to the University Hospital where Brandi worked, for Halle to nurse. I don't remember much of that. I just adore this little sweetie. (I came home so anxious to see them and they are off in Boise at friends- playing for the girl's birthdays. Gracie's birthday was a few days ago (and SHE is a darling-darling as well!) Can't wait for them to come home today.

Found a darling favor for Thanksgiving to make plus a fun kiddo Thanksgiving game I'll post tomorrow. Anxious to go to church this morning (I'm on empty)- glad all the folks were healthy when we got home (we're picking up David's mom in Layton today. She's been gallivanting in Idaho while we've been gone.) I've already got dinner ready for today (amazing what you can do when you get up at 5-ish)....hamburger soup and the rolls are raising. The fire is going. It is good to be home.

Thanksgiving is Almost Here

Short Update

Just a little hi and bye. So far we've done Rome, Turkey and Cyprus.

Then two days in Israel and yesterday in Eygpt. I couldn't put Israel and Eygpt in the same paragraph as Turkey and Cyprus because there is no comparison. It was a heart-be-still the whole time in Israel...the garden of Gethsesame, the garden tomb, Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee (boat ride), Nazareth , the Jerusalem center and on and on. Can't wait to share thoughts and stories. Our guide in Israel was amazing in addition to our personal guides. Yesterday we landed in Port Said and drove to Cairo. 22 million people. The crazy driving has been almost worth the price of the cruise! But the pyramids, the camel rides, the street vendors, the Sphinx. Our guide was Islamic and it was so fascinating to hear "the other side of the coin" and the heartache yet hope he feels about his country. More about this man later. Learned so much about Islam (Islam and our LDS faith are very close in tenants.) and was impressed by the goodness of this man. Today we are in Alexandria and made the decision to not do the tours today. Five straight days has been wonderfully exhausting and we wanted to just lay back one day. Actually we have two straight days at sea beginning tomorrow but between the touring, all the thoughts and information in our hearts and heads, all the EATING, all the games playing with Kirk and Cathy.....we could be done. But then we would miss Venice at the end.

This little post isn't so interesting but mostly a note to our family that we are alive and having an amazing time. xoxo Your mummy from Eypt (and grandmummy.)

Almost Turkey

Not only is it almost Thanksgiving but tomorrow we reach Turkey! Our time in Italy was marvelous. I'll tell about it when we get home. Computer time is .75 a minute! Our first two days at sea were ROUGH. 12 foot waves. Have I mentioned how I get carsick on the way to the store sometimes? But life is great. Tomorrow we visit Turkey. I can't wait to see what trouble I can get into there. But I WILL leave you with this tidbit. I DID get my leg hung up on the metal turnstile at the entrance of the Collisium in Rome. The attendant was QUITE impressed and I don't think he had ever see someone do that before. It is so interesting being me.

To my family- LOVE you all! Ryan, David Hadlock is fabulous, as of course, and is Donald Parry. David's behaving himself quite well. We've only gained a few pounds. (ha!)

Annee's Horse Show

Last Saturday was Annee's Halloween horse show. This girl loves to ride (hard to tell since she won't smile for pictures!) The horse show was a costume party besides the drills. Annee wore her witchie costume (the hat looks hilarious sitting on top of her riding helmet) and her horse was a cat (her other grandma made the horses cat ears.)

David was so excited when he saw this zorse. (cross between a zebra and a horse.) He totally forgot it was a costume party. (I wonder if the paint is permanent.)

I loved this unicorn. I especially loved the wild look in the unicorn's eyes. It was like, "What'chu talking about, Willis?"

But, of course, our favorite is our Annee Witchie...next to one of her best buds who was a bee while her horse was a flower.

Annee took home a couple of ribbons, we got to see her first horse show (and the weather has definitely turned cold!) Fun!

Kiddos Halloween

Wanted to share some of the kiddos and fam Halloween pictures.

This is Chubba Wubba....just want to eat him up!


Gracie! What?

Rapunzel.

Rapunzel and the Bride of Dracula.

Brandi the Witch stirring her wicked pot of cotton candy.

Tenille's family has a wild costume party each year. This year T and T and the girls were all from Alice in Wonderland. The boys didn't want anything to do with it...Boston is a Motor Cross racer and Nash is Batman.

Didn't get to see my kids that live down south. Send me some pictures!