Thankful Sunday

OK Warning, this one May be long...
Last night was the Relief Society General broadcast. I went to church and stuffed myself full of chocolate, and then sat down for a lovely set of talks. I have to say that I am so thankful that the Lord knows us, that he has sent leaders who are loving and take time to teach us the things we need to know and need to hear. I can tell you he knows me, I have had some hard times the last little bit, nothing Huge but big to me. And I can tell you that I was amazed when President Uchtdorf said just the thing I have been bugged by and told me Not to let it get to me and to do my best. He said many things which I am sure touched many hearts, and said just the thing they needed to hear. And I am thankful that he said just the thing I needed to hear, he said "Don't let fear paralyze you." I kinda feel like I have been doing that, fear of just about everything it seems. But I will say that I have been trying harder to be fearless. I try to remember more often what it says in 2Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
He also talked a lot about Creating beauty all around us and within us. I love this thought, I love to create things and he again reminds us that what we create doesn't have to be perfect, he said to start small if we need to and that when we start feeling down and thinking we aren't good enough to Think Again! He said women tend to undervalue themselves and that is just not how it is. No we may not be perfect but that we have So many talents within ourselves that all of us have talents they may not be the best voice, or sewing amazing things, or crafting, scrapbooking, cooking, or anything like that it could be kindness, friendship, peacemaking, problem solving, but we all have them. I love the uplift I felt from his words, I feel renewed and able to work harder. I even offered to teach a class on making the little baby hats that I have been making for a long while now on the looms and 4-5 people signed up! I am so excited! Not that that is some Fabulous thing but Hey I can share that with others, and I am excited.
I have also realized this week a few other things that have bothered me for a long time are just not true and I have made goals to be a better person and mother and wife and daughter. I feel like I have more love in my heart and more room to grow and improve. I am excited and happy. I feel like I am full of the love of Christ. I am thankful for my many blessing and happy to be me!

The busy time of year is starting, I can feel it! October always bring on the Fall rush, and I blink and the next thing I know it is January and I have 4 months of waiting for spring! Sad I know... So I am going to try hard to enjoy each day and accomplish as much as I can, I have lots of work to do not only to be ready for the new baby but also for Christmas and birthdays and the other holidays coming up. Still looking for present ideas for the kids! Mostly Luke, Allie has a lovely list going! haha She sees anything on TV and she wants it for her birthday! I am looking for that Mega T Rex dinasour for Luke so if anyone sees that for cheap some place let me know...I think 50 bucks is a bit much! (garage sale friends if you see a good one cheap but that puppy for me... or call me with the price... haha)

Ok so Like I said I am long winded today! I am thankful that my kids love Books, tonight Luke and Allie and I read about 5 books, They just love it and before getting put in his crib Luke grabbed a book and stuck in in his crib to "read" before he falls asleep.. He is so cute! The picture below is Lucas reading to Allie it was very cute!

Baby Shower For Sarah Tanner

It's a Boy!
Amy made this super cute diaper cake! I love it! Talent I tell you!

The Amazing Amy Jones Hostess with the mostest, and Sarah the Momma with the mostest!
(I know this picture is too crooked but It was kinda an accident so hey whatever)

Momma and her Momma, I really like this picture.

The Crowd playing a fun Candy bar game, you can see the other host Eliza sitting in the middle with the blue shirt and tan pants on, I think she was hiding from the camera cause I really didn't get a good picture of her at all! Darn it!

I love this picture of Sarah, she probably won't but hey it is my blog!
And her joy is clear I love it! Something Blue!Ok so would it be a post with out this boy in it???

Even away from home he knows where they keep the milk!

ps Allie was there too but she disappeared upon arrival never to be seen again till I had stayed "too long Mommy" And she realized she not only missed the presents but the Food Too! Poor kid all play and no business! what a life!

Some Fall in our home....

Today we broke out FALL...
We changed the Stars in our window to Pumpkins...

I love decorating with Cookie cutters...

Ignore my dirty stove, and I will ignore the fact that,
that pumpkin towel doesn't absorb anything! It is just pretty. Pumpkins and BYU Football, It is fall that is for sure!

Here is the random story of the day...We went to Wegmans because my friend Alexis has these Glade Plug in things in her bathroom and they smell FAB. So I printed a buy one get one coupon and headed over to make my bathroom smell yummy too...Well Of course they didn't have any, duh why would they? And Luke was being fun as always at nap time when I drag him out. So this "very nice" (crazy) lady in front of us is being REALLY slow, and talking to me and the kids which is fine, but then the check out guy has finished with her and moves on to us, so she starts loading up OUR stuff in her cart. Hmm, Allie FLIPS out, Those are MY marshmallow maties! So Allie grabs that box, Haha funny right she is just teasing... No she grabs the Shredded wheat too... then my bag of air fresheners, then my other bag with the rest of my cereal etc. Well I keep grabbing my bags out of her cart, and Allie is getting ticked, the check out guy is asking How would you like to pay???? Lady won't move her cart, and is wondering why I am taking bags out of her cart..."Are we going to barter" she asks, Haha, yeah Um NO. I finally have to tell her He is all done with you and we need to pay now... OH ok well bye! Yup Bye! Thankfully she didn't make off with my stuff, but that was Odd to say the least.
On a good note my Sister Melissa Won a 2 night trip to San Diego from a radio station in Utah... Very cool cause if anyone needs a vacation besides me it is Melissa! Way to go!

Where's the Beach... This way!

Why we always end up at the beach in the fall is beside me, probably because it is Free! But it was great just to get out there and let the kids run and not be worried about them at all, the water is shallow for Miles and there is no one really around so it is wonderful! Luke Loved it he chased seagulls, and dug in the sand played in the water, and passed out in the car 2 seconds after leaving the beach! Wonderful! Allie had a blast to and also is now sleeping soundly! We SO need a yard for these kids to run around in!

Maddie and Rylee were so cute in their matching suits!

Poor Rylee was working so hard to try to fill up that bucket and every time she went back for more water Luke dumped the bucket! It was funny and she never noticed!

What a cute bunch, Luke, Noah, Allie and Maddie (Rylee was on a potty run)

I love both of these of Luke, boy he is soooo cute and just the sweetest!This one is SO my kids, Allie skipping and Luke "exploring"

Noah LOVES Allie, Allie loves Noah too, and I just love this picture of them holding hands! And above Noah looks so proud he got Allie to go with him!

Butternut Squash Recipe... (christmas too..)

Keeping on keeping on with the Fall theme I have going on we are going to the beach today! haha
No we really are, but it is lovely out yesterday and today so why not!
But here it the Fall part I am sharing a Fabulous Butternut Squash Recipe...

1 Butternut Squash (very important!)
2tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp pepper
6 tsp brown Sugar

Cut squash in half, discard seeds and brush with butter. Combine spices and sprinkle over squash. 2tsp or so in each half. Cover it well! Put in baking dish sprayed with non stick stuff.
Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for about 40 min. uncover and bake 15-25 more, till it is nice and tender!
Then you just scoop it out and YUMMY!! Seriously Eat it while it is HOT cause it taste the best that way!

Butternut Squash with Brown Butter,
this one is faster and in the skillet and sound Yummy!

From: MARTHA!!

The easiest way to peel butternut squash is with a vegetable peeler; the harp-shaped variety works particularly well.

Prep: 8 minutes
Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 butternut squash (about 1 3/4 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon dark brown-sugar

Directions

1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown. Add squash; saute, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, about 16 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth, the water, and brown sugar; cook until liquid has evaporated and squash is nicely caramelized, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Serve. One more thing... Isn't this cool! It is totally on our Christmas list I emailed it to my mom this morning! we have 2 of them (Halloween and Christmas) on VHS but DVD with ALL of them! Just cool! My kids LOVE these shows!
   And if anyone has other great Christmas present ideas please share them with me, since I need to be prepared... Since our big present will be arriving at about that same time!
   

shamelessly stolen this tip....

I found a very cute Blog called It's a Wonderful Life... and I saw this tip on there and I think I may just have to try it! I love the smells of yummy apples and Adam is telling me something in the house stinks all the time, still can't locate whatever it is though... so cover it up I say! haha
I for sure added this ladies blog to my Google Reader! You have to love the reader save tons of time going to Everyone's blog (it tells you when someone has updated)
So on with the TIP!!

This is a tip from our Realtor: Cut up an apple, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar, put in a 180 degree oven, or you could simmer it in your crock pot, and in about an hour, your house will smell delicious. Or, you could bake an apple pie, but that's much too complicated for me. :) You can even eat the apple afterward.

Another day another lovely letter.....

Dear Applicant,

After reviewing your application, we are pleased to invite you to Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC for an interview. We are very impressed with your qualifications and would like to get to know you better. During your visit with us, you will have an opportunity to learn about our pediatric residency program, tour our facility, and have lunch with our residents.
Sincerely,
Hilary Sherman Weiss, DMD
Anupama Rao Tate, DMD

FALL and other things

FALL

Can I tell you how much I love LOVE fall! I feel like i can actually cook in the fall, I want pumpkins around and yummy smells in the air... Hopefully it will last a long time this year and No Snow till December! hehe here is to hoping!

Well yesterday was fun, poor Lukey was ill, he had a fever all day, thank heaven for Motrin and Tylenol, though we did have to run to Wegmans and get some more since I was almost out to start. But the trip out was nice too, and seemed to be good for Luke, he was happy to see something new and was VERY mellow since he was feeling crumby!
Today he is much cooler though so I am hoping he is going to recover today! Dance day today too! A trip to Walmart for some sugar which I am out of hence the Yuck Mom! Koolaide in my fridge. and some baby bottles for my friends baby shower this weekend.
I made the yummiest Chicken Enchilada's last night, strangely it is the same recipe I always use, but for some reason they were even Yummier than normal... maybe because it is Fall???

Check out these kids from Fall's past... SO Cute!! I can't believe they were that small! Luke looks HUGE compared to that kid! haha And Allie well what a ham not much has changed there! (Look for that costume in a few weeks on the boy!)Two crafts we will be doing soon... at least as soon as we actually get some fall leaves!

Autumn Trees Craft

Click here for instructions... she says to use ink but I think probably just
paint would work fine too...

This one is from Full Circle I love that my littlest can do this and I can too! I am a total sucker for Fall!

The Second is Martha!

1. Fold Papers
For each decoration, you'll need to accordion-fold 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheets of colored paper, making 1/2- or 3/4-inch folds. For small faces, accordion-fold 3 sheets of paper vertically, then bend each in half to make a fan. For medium, accordion-fold 6 sheets horizontally. For large, accordion-fold 11 sheets vertically.

2. Form Circles
For small faces, cut 6 strips of paper equal to length of fan's fold and twice its width; fold in half lengthwise. Use a glue stick to attach strips to fans (see below), and fans to one another, forming a circle. For larger faces, glue 1 edge of folded paper to next until you form a circle. Hot-glue center to secure.

3. Add Features
Print templates (get the pumpkin, cat, and owl templates), enlarging by 200 percent for small, 275 for medium, and 325 for large; cut out. Trace shapes onto colored paper twice; cut out. Attach shapes to each side of decoration with hot glue. Hole-punch top; hang using ribbon.

And one more just for fun, this looks super easy and cute! What house doesn't need a little Bat Garland?!!? It says to use tissue paper but I think probably any thing would work!

Directions: Trace or draw desired design across full width of a package of folded tissue paper; we used a cookie cutter as our guide. Cut along the outline, leaving a bit of uncut fold at both sides so figures connect to one another. You'll end up with several strings of five or six shapes each; tape together for a garland.

Thankful Sunday

* Nothing new... Thankful for My kids! They love each other so much! They were sitting like this for like 10 minutes tonight! So cute!
*I am thankful for a great family, it was so cute at church today Lucas passed out (finally) and Adam was just looking at him and it was the sweetest thing ever!
* I am thankful to have a teaching companion for my class at church it was so nice just to show up today and not have to think of ways to keep those kids entertained!
*I am thankful for Fall to be coming, I am ready! I have printed pumpkin pictures for Allie to color and we will hang them up! Yeah! I love Fall! I guess I can get out my scarecrow sometime soon too! hehe!
*I am thankful for a good friend, Thanks Heather for coming over Saturday and keeping me from going nuts while Adam took that fake test that took all day! It was fun!
* I am thankful for the Lord and for the blessing and comfort He gives me... It amazes me to think of how blessed I am, I am totally overwhelmed by the love Heavenly Father has for me and amazed at the fact that He knows me so personally and that He cares so deeply about My little issues! I am glad to know Him.

Saturday....

Well we won a giveaway a little while ago and today we got what we won! It is a handmade outfit just for Allie and it is DANG cute! I love the top I want one!

She is thrilled with it and is so excited to wear it!

We also had a BYU game today, another total Blow out! Amazing! We made cookies I love this picture of Luke and ALL those cookies!!

The kids bagged a bunch up and we gave them to the neighbors, it was fun! Don't you love that Luke has chocolate all over his face? They were dang good cookies! Yummy!

Congratulations to Sabrina, Adam's cousin she got married on Friday....

photo thanks to Melissa...

Just for fun....

Chantel Shepherd

* There are 2 people in the U.S. named Chantel Shepherd. (Strange enough I know who the other Chantel Shepherd is, not in person but she lives, strange enough in Lehi, Utah! Now that is just weird!)

Adam Shepherd

• There are 83 people in the U.S. named Adam Shepherd.

Allison Shepherd

• There are 29 people in the U.S. named Allison Shepherd.

Lucas Shepherd

• There are 10 people in the U.S. named Lucas Shepherd.

You can find out how many of You's there are too by clicking here!!!

Dr in the house?

I don't care what kind of day my hubby is having today when he gets home and sees this letter it is bound to make him smile! Congratulations Dr. Shepherd, another interview!
We love you so much!
(and not just because you are our Pimp daddy to be!)

The good news!

Well last night and this morning brought two fabulous phone calls, one from Baylor in Dallas TX and one from Uof Toledo, in Toledo, Ohio.... Adam has been offered two interviews! YEAH!! Way to go Adam, you are such a smarty pants! I am sure at this point we will be just waiting for the next call to come in...So that is VERY cool! I am so excited for him!

My Girls...

After Reading this post..... I just wanted to have a bit of Thankful Monday...

I am thankful for the Sisters I married into! These girls are funny, talented, loving, sweet, sometimes annoying(like when you don't call me back!), great, Amazing and my best friends! So hey Just wanted to say how lucky I am to have such great sisters! Jenn isn't in the picture above but she is my great sister too...She was just very pregnant with that naked baby when the rest of them came out here and since we haven't all been in the same place at the same time! Thanks ladies for loving me!
(since we all know I am a bit crazy!)