Thanksgiving OH-IO style!

I haven't been home since my wedding, and quite frankly I forgot how much I missed my small town, Massillon, Ohio, until I was able to come home and visit again. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long for that day to arrive. When we got back from our summer vacation to England I found a job and started working again, which meant we had more money, and I was finally able to go home and see my family again. YAY! :)

The best part is my siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandmas were able to meet Rebekah for the first time (Mom and Dad saw her when she was first born). She loved the attention, cuddles and kisses she got from everyone. Here are a few pictures from our trip. 

 

Rebekah is going through a weird phase where she's scared of tall men, well really all men, unless it's her daddy. It took her a while to warm up with Uncle Larry, but by the end of the trip they were best buds.

 

Rebekah is a super happy baby and warms up to strangers instantly. This picture is from the first night she met my older sister Athena and her kids; just look how cozy she looks! 

 

She also has a weird thing with holding people's chins for some reason. Anyway, I think this picture of Rach, Declan and Rebekah is adorable. :) 

 

We were able to get a nice four generation picture while I was home. Things were a little busy this day so we took this in McDonalds after lunch. I got a Big Mac, yum!  

 

 Rebekah loved spending time with Grandpa & Grandma, and would often play pass-the-baby with them.

Rebekah enjoyed spending time with her family. I've shared a few of my favorite pictures if her getting to know everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

While we were in Ohio, Rebekah had the chance to visit with Santa. She was a little scared, but it all got better with mommy holding her. :) 

Daddy's Cheeseburger Soup

Winter is here, and we all know that means colder weather, slushy snow, freezing wind and frost-bit checks. But winter also means it's time for lots of tasty soup and warm home-cooked meals. So it's time to dust off the crockpot and put it to use! My father makes the most delicious cheeseburger soup; it's quick, easy and tastes fabulous. It's my go-to soup in the winter, and I mademy first batch this a past week. 

The recipe is really quite simple. Most of the ingredients are usually on hand, and the rest of the ingredients are pretty cheap. 

You'll need 2 14.5 ounce cans of Chicken broth, 1 12 ounce can of evaporated milk, Veelveta cheese, carrots, onions, and celery. If you're like my family and love mushrooms, they make a great addition to this soup. Begin by chopping up the carrots ( i use my little chopper), celery, onions and mushrooms. Next melt 2 TBS of butter in a sauce pan, add the vegetables and sauté for 10 minutes. While the vegetables sauté begin to brown the hamburger. 

Drain the hamburger after it's done browning, and add the hamburger and chicken broth to the pan with vegetables. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and let simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender. When the potatoes are tender start adding cubes of Velveeta. The cheese can sometimes clump together, so make sure you constantly stir the soup as the cheese melts. Once the cheese melts you're ready to enjoy your delicious cheeseburger soup. YUM!

Busy Bees.

It's been ages since I've last updated the blog, and I'm not really sure what to write. Andrew will be graduating from school in April, and I graduate in July. It will feel weird not calling Rexburg home anymore, but I'm excited to see where our graduations lead us next. Rebekah is going to be one in like two months, and I seriously can't believe it's almost been a year since she was born. 

 

It's crazy how quickly she's growing up, but it's exciting watching her develop and grow. We bought her a gigantic cow a couple months ago that she absolutely adores, but for some reason she's terrified of Andrew's one cow that moos. She cries whenever he makes a noise and comes in for instant cuddles.

She's such a wonderful baby girl! She's happy all the time even when she's feeling poorly. She's started doing a one-armed zombie crawl to get around, and I'm sure she'll be crawling around terrorizing everything before I know it. She also loves clapping, and will mimic you if you clap. 

 We're going to Ohio in a couple of days, Andrew can't come with us because he'll be in school, but I'm so excited to see my family. It's been far to long, and I know they're all going to love Rebekah so much. It will be nice to have a break from work, and just be able to focus on spending time with my family. 

It will also be nice having time to write. Like I said, Rebekah is a really good baby so I usually have time to write during the day, but sometimes life gets in the way: the house needs cleaned, I have to work, or I want to spend my time working on other things. 

I have about fifteen chapters of my book done and am hoping to have a completed draft by the end of the year, so we'll see how that goes.
So, here's a copy of the first chapter of my book. Enjoy!

Four Months!

Dearest Rebekah,

At four months old you love to slobber all over your tiny little fists as you shove them in your month. You love laughing and will smile at almost anything. You love cuddling with mommy and daddy (we love it too!) You love playing with your elephant play mat. You flail your arms and kick your legs whenever the elephant plays music. You love your dummy very much and have started cuddling with your blankets. You've starting sleeping in your own room. You love riding in your stroller and like go bye byes. You love talking to mommy and daddy, your eyes light up whenever you speak to us. We love hearing your little coos.

Little bean, I can't believe you're already four months old! You're growing up way to fast kid, but mommy loves watching you learn and explore the world around you.

Mommy and daddy love you SO much Rebekah and we're so happy you're a part of our lives.

Love Mommy and Daddy

Creamy Crockpot Tomato Garlic Soup

Friday I made the most delicious Creamy Tomato Garlic Soup, I got my inspiration from Leigh Anne's recipe at http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/crock-pot-tomato-basil-soup/ and adjusted the recipe to fit my needs and the ingredients I had on hand. 

Here's what I came up with: 

Saturday General Conference.

In 2 Corinthians 4:18 Paul teaches the importance for modern revelation and modern day prophets. "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." Because the things of the world are temporal we must focus our eyes on the Lord's teachings, which are eternal and never changing.
 This weekend I had the opportunity to be edified and uplifted by the words of the Lord through his prophets and apostles. Here's what I learned.
*Elder Jeffery R. Holland taught, "Christlike love is the greatest need we have on this planet." He talked about the importance of standing firm and strong in our faith, even if the world doesn't believe in what we stand for.
*Elder Ronald R. Rasband taught the importance of following the Savior's perfect example of service by being sincere in our service towards our fellow men. He explained that, "reaching out to each other under any circumstance is an act of love."
While listening to Elder Rasband speak I pondered this question: In our moments of suffering are we wallowing in self-pity or seeking opportunities to serve those around us?

 I've learned that great joy comes when we take the time to serve those around us, especially when going through trails and tribulations of our own.
*Sister Linda S. Reeves taught about the importance of protecting our children in a world that continutes to grow increasingly dark.
She explained that we can do this by filtering what our chldren are exposed too.
But the best way we can help our children in this dark, dreary world is to have a strong testimony of our Savior's love for all of His children.
She emphasized that parents should "talk of Christ, rejoice of Christ, preach of Christ, prophecy of Christ...that our children may to what source they may look for a remission of their sins"  (2 Nephi 25:26).
*Elder Neil L. Anderson taught that, "challenges will come but as we trust in God our faith will be strengthen." Sometimes it's hard to put our trust in the Lord when our world seems to shatter right before our eyes, but I know that putting our trust in the Lord will carry us through our trials and help us to better understand ourselves and the circumstances around us.
*Elder Henry B. Eyring taught that, "happiness in life comes through family bonds, which continue through eternity." Our happiness in this life can continue if we strive to live the Lord's commandments and do what is right.
He also taught that we shouldn't get discouraged with sharing the gospel because the results aren't always immediate. The people we care about may resist the gospel, but we should endure with patience like the savior.

*Russell M. Nelson taught our "faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can be bolstered as we learn of him and his teachings. Are we tied to God or something else? Are we tied to God or man? Where is our faith? Is it tied to a team, brand or celebrity? There is only one in which our faith won't fade. We need to let our faith shine in the Lord Jesus Christ."
Elder Nelson also taught about the importance of upholding God's standards as our own. He explained that in dealing with controversial issues we must look for God's answers, for his standards. "Although evil, error and darkness are popular they will never be true."
*Elder Robert D. Hales warned us to be careful of who we obey. Are we following the Lord's commandments or are we following Satan? Do we participate in selected obedience? Are we selecting certain commandments and teachings to follow? Elder Hales explained, "When we obey the Lord we accept His sacrifice because we believe that through his atonement all mankind will be saved."
*Claudio D. Zivic asked, "Are we letting ourselves be led by the trends of the world or are we doers of the words of Christ?"
*W. Craig Zwick stressed the importance of using kind words when we speak to others. Do we speak to those around us in a language of contention or compassion? He explained, "The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to speak kind and civilly to others even when they disagree with us."
*Elder Quentin L. Cook stressed the importance of doing family history work because "it's not only about us, but those on the other side waiting to receive the blessings of salvation."

Listening to the words of the Lord's prophets and apostles strengthens my testimony of His gospel and draws me closer to my Savior. I encourage all who haven't heard the words of the prophets and apostles today to tune in tomorrow and listen to the Lord's guidance for us through His servants.

Utah, Brian Regan & Boise!

This past week was a busy one! On Friday Andrew, Rebekah & I headed to Utah to spend some time with Nanny. We were all sad that Grandad couldn't be there because he was away, but we mamaged to have a good time.

Rebekah was such an angel on our drive down and slept most of the way! She only started to get fussy when we were about 40 minutes away. 

On Saturday we headed out to SLC with Andrew's mum. We stopped at the Aisian market, an organic market place in Trolley Square and went to Hires Big H for lunch.

If you haven't experienced the deliciousness of the Big H burger you need to try it soon! It's possibly the best burger I've ever had. :) 

Later that evening Nanny watched Rebekah so Andrew and I could go see Brian Regan!

We got really awesome seats and we're only five rows away from the stage! 

I don't think I laughed that hard in a while, Brian Regan was

H-I-L-A-R-O-U-S! My favorite story he told was about his experience trying to juice bananas. We got some great pictures of him too! 

We left Utah pretty early on Sunday & then before we knew it Wednesday was here and we were off to Boise!

Andrew got his interview notice for his green card and that's why we were heading down. 

Rebekah wasn't as happy about this drive down. She sleep for two hours and then we had to pull off and feed her. 

She kicked us out of our bed as soon as we got checked into our hotel.

Andrew and I always book dodgy hotels, I was worried someone was going to go all Normsn Bates on us, but we survived the night! 

We started to get nervous the closer the interview got, but it wasn't as bad as we thought. The guy interviewing us seemed  nice. Things went smoothly until he told us we forgot a form.

Yikes! We were both nervous that we'd have to start the application process again. But he gave us a month to get the form back to him and it's on the way now. So now it's just a matter of waiting for Andrew's green card to arrive. 

Two months!

Rebekah

I can't believe how quickly you're growing  up, today you turned two months. 

You're a tiny, sweet little thing and are still weighing under your birth weight at 5 pounds 9 ounces and are 20 inches long. We see the dr on Tuesday so we can see how much you've grown! You can't hold your head up on your own yet, but you've gotten pretty good at holding it up for a few seconds. You love looking around and following our voices. You smile lots, we've even heard a few laughs! You love snuggling up to mommy and daddy, we love it too! You're still a very peaceful, happy baby who's survived to long drives to Utah and Boise. 

I'm excited to watch you grow, see you develop your personality and learn how to use your body. You're already a beautiful little girl and you're only going to become more gorgeous as you grow. You have your amazingly attractive parents to thank for that! :P We love you very much Rebekah Kathleen! 

Rebekah's first month!

Rebekah

You're such a sweet little girl, I can't believe you're already a month old! It feels like we were just bringing you home from the hospital. It's been so exciting adjusting to being your mommy! I feel truly blessed because you're such a happy baby, you hardly ever get fussy. Right now you love stretching (you stretch your neck a lot & it reminds daddy and me of a turtle), you love your dummy and growl at it when it falls out, you love your bouncer, you love mommy & daddy cuddles, you love moving, especially your hands and you love smiling. You get the hiccups a lot and don't like them, but who can blame you. I'm so glad Heavenly Father sent you down to us Rebekah. You're a little angel and mommy loves you so much! 

Baby Shower!

I was planning on having my baby shower the Saturday after I got discharged from the hospital, I quickly learned that this wasn't a good idea. I was still and still am recovering from major surgery and learning how to be a mother. So I pushed my baby shower back a week, which made a huge difference. I'm feeling more confident as a mother now and I feel a lot better from my surgery. :) 

 Amber and Elizabeth came over early to help me decorate and get things ready for the baby shower. Then the party began! We played the ice cube game to see who's water broke first. Then we decided to play Ticket to Ride, not a typical baby shower game but what the heck. :) We had lots of fun!

 Rebekah was an angel and slept during most of the baby shower, she only woke up once to eat.

Home Sweet Home!

 Thursday evening I was discharged from the hospital and we brought Rebekah home! Amber stayed the night to help me out since Andrew had to work that night. We still have a lot of settling in to do but I'm glad we're home now. :) Andrew's lovely mother came down on Friday to help us get settled in and adjusted to being parents. It was so nice having her here to help out with things, I really appreciate all that she did/does for our family. :)

 We came home to these gorgeous flowers from daddy and these lovely flowers from nanny and grandad. :)

I had my first week alone with Rebekah at night while Andrew was working and I think I'm getting the hang of things. She's such a calm and happy baby, which makes learning how to become a mother so much easier. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone since we've brought Rebekah home! It's crazy to think  she'll be two weeks old on Tuesday!