Woooo!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving.... with mashed potatoes and gravy, and cranberry sauce. Wooooo!

A Special Thank You!

Quick Update

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. Things have been sort of crazy, i.e. hosting a small dinner party tomorrow, planning a program/dinner for 120 people on December 2nd (R.S. Enrichment Christmas Dinner... just got called to be the leader and it's less than 2 weeks away), putting together a musical performance in a couple of weeks (I have a small performing group for kids), Christmas shopping (yes, I like to be done before Thanksgiving), singing in church Sunday (a solo with the ward choir), various birthday/family parties, pulling off a successful garage sale last Saturday, and teaching music classes, besides my kids' stuff....carpools, homework, book reports, piano and cello lessons, gymnastics, Cub Scouts, dentist appointments..... you know.

It's bitter sweet to have Christian and Stephanie gone to Utah; we will miss having them close, but it's so wonderful that Steph has progressed enough to be moving on to the next phase, and that she can be close to her family for the kind of support that Christian has had.

And just in case you missed the latest news article about C & S, here it is.

No News is Good News

I know many of you are wondering about Stephanie's status. There won't be much to report for a while, and she needs her privacy. She is making steady progress, though she still has a very long road ahead of her. But she is doing miraculously well under the circumstances. Truly a miracle. Thanks for all your prayers!

Christian continues to get stronger. He was even wearing jeans today! He still wears a brace for his broken back, but hopefully he will be done with that soon.

Meanwhile, Jack is enjoying as much time as possible with Ollie, before the inevitable day when he goes to back to Utah.

Have you made your appointment?

I think I love a bunch of strangers!

Have I told you all lately how wonderful you are? Well you are! Thank you for all your kind words of love and encouragement and support. I can't tell you how much it means to me. It warms my heart to read nice comments. I don't even know most of you, but I can tell you are GOOD PEOPLE!

THANK YOU!

Some random stuff, and a recipe

It was a busy weekend. Friday was Halloween (see previous post). Saturday was our school Fall Festival fundraiser (which I was partly in charge of), which kept me busy all day. Sunday was stake conference, and our ward boundaries were realigned.

Oliver is still in town, and he and Jack have been enjoying playing together every day. We had Jack's neighbor friends over yesterday too, and I made potato pancakes for lunch. These were a favorite of mine as a kid. Some of the boys had never had them, but everyone loved them. This is a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes. (I usually make extra on purpose.)

Here is what I do (approximate... I just eyeball it):

POTATO PANCAKES
3-4 c. mashed potatoes (whatever was leftover)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. flour
1-2 c. grated cheese (whatever you have)
garlic salt, seasoned salt, Mrs. Dash (whatever you like)
Ketchup (apparently, this is a must for kids)

Stir together to combine. Heat a skillet on medium heat; add a tablespoon or 2 of canola oil. Drop small scoops (about 2 T.) of potato mixture into skillet, cook about 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Serve with ketchup.

*If you want to get fancy, you can coat them in breadcrumbs before frying, but that's how Martha would do it, and I'm no Martha.

Halloween 2008

Finally! Here are some photos from Halloween. It was a fun night.

In past years, we have enjoyed having the kids dress up with a theme in mind. Last year it was "Super Friends." The year before was "The Wizard of Oz," and before that was "Peter Pan," and "Star Wars" before that. This year I was too busy to think of a theme, or even buy/make them costumes.

But before you think I'm a terrible mom, just see how cute they look.
Jack wore Collin's Janga Fett costume from 5 Halloweens ago, Collin wore a "Top Gun" costume that Jay bought at the post-Halloween clearance at Party City last year, and Mary wore her costume from her last dance recital, with a tiara and wand added to be a fairy princess.

We threw together a Luke Skywalker costume for Oliver... here they are ready to GET CANDY!
There was a special appearance by Darth Vader, who even went trick-or-treating to a few houses before he got too tired... and sweaty. (Want to know who is in the costume? I'll never tell. But I WILL give you a hint.... Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father.)

Need a new haircut?

If you live in the Mesa/Phoenix area, here is your chance to get a new "do" and benefit a good cause.