What A Day!

Saturday was such a super productive day for us. Usually, Chris and I tend to get a little frustrated that we are not able to accomplish everything we had planned to get done on a Saturday (who ever really does?).

But check out what we got done today!!

The first thing the kids saw when they woke up this morning -- SNOW! So we couldn't let that go to waste!

Then it was in for some sweet bread and hot cocoa.

Then, with all this snow - I went right into "Winter Nesting Mode". On top of the normal Saturday cleaning, I got all of the laundry washed - And folded (quite a job)! I even washed all the bedding on all the kid's beds and put extra winter blankets on their beds. Chris did some shopping. We reorganized some cupboards in our basement to make more room for our food storage.

Chris learned how to make this FANTASTIC lentil soup while he was on his mission in Spain, which he made today. The house smelled wonderful all day! Esta Muy Bueno!

Chris is in the elder's quorum presidency, and this afternoon he got a call from the bishop letting him know that the elder's quorum was assigned to clean the church this week. Unable to find any other men in the ward who could help on such short notice - we packed up the family and the kids helped us clean the church. It was fun, and a good project for the kids to be involved in. I told Chris we should do this more often.

Finally, after we had enjoyed a deliciouse dinner prepared by Chris, it was time to watch one of the movies the kids had rented for the weekend, and then it was time for some exhausted children to go to bed.

What a good day!

Turning Mom's Lemons Into Delightful ... Cherry Ice Cream!

This morning, I had the absolutely amazing experience of getting all four of my wisdom teeth taken out!

Actually, it wasn't very bad. Although, the oral surgan used IV sedation, so one moment I was in the dental chair answering questions -- the next thing I knew I was in a totally different room (recovery), in a whole new chair, Chris beside me, and somehow the sweater the nurse had seemingly just asked me to take off so she could get an IV line started was oddly back on me once again. I have no recollection of how I got to the recovery room with my sweater back on - but I know I must have walked, there were no wheels on that chair, and I am pretty sure the women in that office could not have carried me there, I was larger in size just in height alone. I was super disoriented - a very weird feeling that I was not such a fan of. I kept trying to ask Chris questions about how I got where I was and what time it was, but my mouth was so packed with gauze I couldn't get any discerible words out. He finally laughed and told me to stop worring about it while we waited for the sedation to wear off a little.

The Chris and the kids have been wonderful all day, letting me sleep all day. Chris has been Mr. Mom and the resident soft food chef. The kids have totally been diggin' the idea that there is an abundant amount of yogurt and ice cream in the house, and tonight Chris took them to Great American Video (where kid movies are free rentals) and they all got to pick their own movie for the weekend. Maybe mom getting her wisdom teeth taken out was not such a bad thing after all... :)

He Thinks He Is SOO Funny!

Chris and I have a lot of fun in our marriage. We like to tease and play with each other. With all that life has bestowed apon us, we have learned to laugh about pretty much anything that happens - certainly makes life a lot more fun that way, and keeps us eager to see what else might be aroung the corner.

So it is actually quite normal for Chris to pull pranks on me - and he has come up with some pretty good ones in the past. One very recent prank now has me on the watch list of both Wal Mart and Home Depot (I have to admit, it was a pretty good one, that worked out even better than he anticipated).

The latest prank.... Let's just say, the stars were aligned for Chris on this one. It has by far taken the cake, and Chris had no idea how great of an opportunity he had before him until it all took place.

Okay, let me set the stage for you.

So for those who may not know, in the afternoons I work in the Pathology Lab in the hospital here in Pocatello. Joanna is generous enough to watch the children for a couple of hours, and then Chris has them for a couple hours in the evening while I finish up work and go to my classes. I generally get home in time to help get all the children to bed, and read a couple of bed time stories before they are off to bed. It keeps us pretty busy, but Chris and I have learned how to work very well as a team so we are both able to get everything we need to do done.

I love my job! I work in the grossing lab - which is where we take the tissue specimens that have been removed from patients, and then we dissect them down to much smaller portions to be put on slides for the pathologist to look at to make a diagnosis. (gallbladder, appendix, biopsies of all sorts, colons, bones... we even get amputation specimens. You name it, I have seen it.). This job is a great work experience builder, and great for school and my major as well.

One part of the pathology job not many consider, is that the pathologist is also responsible for doing autopsies. Now, it may be a little weird, and perhaps a bit morbid, but I have been interested in watching an autopsy since I have worked here - SPECIFICALLY FROM THE ANATOMY PERSPECTIVE. Definately a great way to learn - hence cadavers in most biology labs.
So yesterday, I was able to sit in on two oautopsies. All-in-all, it was quite interesting. I learned a lot. During the autopsies, I was totally fine - it was a little weird at first - but once I got over the weirdness, it wasn't too bad.

Once the autopsies were done, I went back up to get my work done. It wasn't until I finally sat down and had the opportunity to reflect on what I had just seen that the real weirdness started to set in. All through my work and during my class that night, all I could think of were the autopsies. This definately caused me to seriously ponder the fragility of life, and that what we may think are small and insignificant decisions that we have made many times before, can sometimes turn out to be a really big deal, and yes, even life altering. I left my class with a huge desire to just go home and hug my little ones, and sit next to my dear husband and just take in the wonderful blessing to have them all around me.

After the kids were in bed, Chris stepped out to go do the grocery shopping that seriously needed to be done. While Chris was gone, the autopsies were still on my mind. I had told Chris that I had watched them, but I hadn't told him how much they had affected me. Then, about an hour and a half later, as I was finishing up in the bathroom - washing up and all - suddenly the door flew open and this is what I saw!!!







(Except, imagine this on a grown man, yelling in a low pitched sort of growl, looking like he is about to lunge at you. Oh ya, and my husband was not supposed to be home. I was supposed to be the only one there to protect myself and my children - not so harmless anymore!)



All I could do was stand there and scream. A part of me knew it was just Chris, and I should probably start laughing at any moment - but there was an even bigger part of me that saw the mask, and could only think of the autopsies and scream longer and louder as the seconds went by.... I was a total wimp about it. Finally Chris started laughing so hard he was crying - not only wiping tears, but practically bawling with laughter. I finally got a hold of myself and started laughing so hard I was crying - but I think my tears were not so much funny tears, which made Chris laugh even harder.

Yes, Chris certainly stepped in on a perfectly primed victim on this one. I was ripe for the picking, and he got me good!
The boy is in for it, I have to come up with a good one for this one. I have an idea, but I can't let anything slip. I will let you all know how it goes. He doesn't think I am capable of coming up with something very mean, but after this - I would say he has it comin', and I am pretty motivated.... ;)

Visiting Daddy At Work!

Sarah, Addison, and Ethan were the winners of the coveted prize in the Horton household! Yep, they got to go see Daddy at work! All the children love to go see Chris at his office, and he loves to have them all come. Chris keeps a little fish in a bowl at his office, and all the kids like to take a turn feeding the fish while they are there.

Chris is such a good dad. He is so sweet with the kids. He is such a good guy for Heavenly Father to have sent 5 young children in such rapid succession to. Chris handles it very well, and the children all adore him. Heavenly Father certainly knew what he was doing on that one - but then He always does, I don't know why

we are always so suprised when we finally figure things out. :)

And the highlight to the visit with Dad at his office - the candy dish in the reception area. Of course! Definately the way to a child's heart!

Cold On The Outside, Warm On The Inside...

Conference weekend was cold and rainy here. Which was fine with us. I love it when the weather begins to turn cold. I love the warm cozy feeling of the home. On Saturday morning I even broke out the hot cocoa for breakfast. I get excited for the change of seasons. I really like living in an area where the weather changes with the seasons. The change to cold weather right now is certainly welcome, but I know that when the cold drearyness of winter is getting old and I am ready for the fresh spring sunshine, along comes spring! It's wonderful!

The kids had a great time playing quietly inside the house. It was fun to watch them play with eachother. They are beginning to do more of the universal grown-up / brother-sister things that bring back a lot of memories from when Chris and I were growing up. It is fun to watch.

Playing "Go Fish" on the top bunk in the girl's room.

Making a fort in the living room.

Reading books to eachother.

Tagged By My Own Sista!

That is right, Joanna got me! That is okay, because this one is a pretty fun one, and I can support my sister when she calls on me!
I am supposed to let you all know about 6 quirks of mine, and then tag 3 others to do the same. Or as I like to call this - The Stocker Portion of The Blog World. My chosen victims have been listed below.



1. Well this may not be so much of a quirk, but it is something that I don't exactly broadcast - at least not until now. Here it is - My feet are a wopping size 11!! I know, you may now pick your chin up off the table. That is right. Proudly adding their names to the ever-increasing list of body parts that increased in size during pregnancy and have remained in that large state yet perhaps lacking the same "Vim and Vigor" they used to know, (ya'll feel me girls?) My feet have become quite a sight. Not like they were porcelain doll feet to begin with. I am a pretty tall girl, and I like to call myself a stong girl with a healthy build - that's all. But up next to Chris' feet, they don't look so bad. :)



2. I love, love, love nice fresh made beds with tight sheets and lots of warm cozy blankets. I love to feel the warm weight on me - ahhhh. Whenever I change the sheets on our bed, I totally look forward to when I can go to bed that night. Poor Chris is not such a fan. He would rather sleep with only a set of sheets, and loose-fit ones as that. Usually, Chris will fold his side of all the blankets onto my side so he is only under a sheet, and I am completely in heaven! Too bad that soon after I begin to enjoy the cozy bedding, there is usually a small child, or two, or three, or four, sometimes five, who is asking if they can share the warm bedding as well..... :)

3. I have a HARD time saying "No" to anybody, including myself. Ask Chris - it totally drives him nuts (but it also tends to work in his favor -- how else do you think we always seem to end up with another dog) :) This is also a sad contribution to the busy mess I tend to get myself worked into. But no worries - "To Do" lists and I are close friends.

4. I am a complete sugar addict. Love it! (really, who doesn't?)

5. When I think of an embarrassing moment I have had, which are many ( I am a classic "Foot in The Mouther"), I will suddenly begin to sing to myself. Totally weird I know. I think it is like a nervouse twitch kind of thing. I suppose I may be subconciously trying to distract my brain from the memory or something...

6. I love the smell of clean laundry. I almost do our laundry obsessivly(not that it always gets folded right away). I just love the way fresh laundry hanging to dry or fresh out of the dryer can make the home smell fresh and clean as well. I also love to hold my children close and smell their clean fresh clothes. In return, I am also a bit picky about the detergent and fabric softeners we use so I can acheive the above goal. I either send a very specific laundry list for Chris when he does the shopping, or I just make sure I am the one that picks up the laundry goods.

There you go. And now to pass on the gift from Jo, I tag Debbi because you an excuse to sit down and get your blog back up and running again chica! :) Meagan McBride, because you are pretty funny - I am interested to see what you will have to say, and finally Jen Wakely, because I am sure between you and your husband, you have some pretty funny things to say as well.
Good luck, and have fun you three!

A Conference Weekend Activity For The Family

I am excited for General Conference this weekend. It always makes a nice weekend at home, enjoying eachother on Sunday morning rather than the usual chaos of trying to get everybody dressed and off to church and the different meetings Chris and I have to attend, and all the other "Sunday Stuff" and such.
This general conference weekend we are going to be doing something new, and I thought it was such a great idea that I just have to share it with everyone.
My visiting teaching partner related this idea while we were out teaching a couple months ago, and I made a mental note right then that I was going to do this.
Anyhow, my VT partner served her mission in Florida, where they are right in the middle of all the action when it comes to hurricane season. So obviously, 72 hour kits are a pretty important deal down there. Well this family she knew would use every general conference weekend as a time to check all their 72 hour gear to make sure they were good to go when they needed them. They would make it really fun. Each member of the family was incharge of their own kit. They would make sure the clothing all fit and was appropriate for the coming season. They would make sure all the batteries in the flashlights were all good, and other necessary gear was working (pocket knives, lanterns, blankets, etc.) They would do by making games out of it, i.e. playing dress up in the old clothes, build tents out of the blankets and play with the flashlights... you get the idea.
While conference was on, they would sit and eat the old food and repack the kits with new goods, that way the food was always fresh and they knew the kids would actually like the food in the kits. And since we are supposed to update and check out 72 hour kits every 6 months - each general conference weekend is an automatic and perfect reminder to take the time to get that done. BRILLIANT - I KNOW!!
So we are starting that as a tradition in our family, and I thought many of you might like the idea as well. I know that we don't actually live in a hurricane zone, and there is not such a high likely hood that we will have to grab our kits and make due at least once a year - but preparation is always better.
I have included some links for anybody interested in a refresher of what to include in a 72 hour kit.


The link to go to if you are going total, all-out, gung-hoe, we can camp out till the world collapses around us.


http://www.avertdisasters.org/html/72_hour2.html


But if you are just getting started and a little on the more practical, just give me the basics, make sure we get through the 72 hours, I don't want to go broke making sure my family can get through 72 measly hours -- which is the side I tend to gravitate toward -- then here is your link. The list can look a little overwhemlming, but as long as we all get the essentials, the rest can be added in along the way. No biggie, right?

http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/72hour_kit.htm

Good Luck! This will be a fun activity!