Age of Innocence

Since some of my family might have missed seeing these on Michelle's blog, I thought I would post a few of my favorites. She took these of Miss Kate on her birthday. They are precious. They capture her innocence at the tender age of 12. And don't you just love those freckles?

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A couple of years ago I went to visit my neighbor and iMac guru, Munn for help on uploading a music video of the kids and burning it onto a disc. Watching him do his magic on his handy Mac turned me into a believer. "In the next life I want to be a Mac girl," I sighed.

"You don't have to wait that long, " he insisted. "Once your PC dies out you can convert."  

And so a dream began. 

You can imagine our great astonishment and excitement when handsome hubby walked in the door with a large white box with a picture of a grey bitten apple on the front. He cashed in his acting loot for daddy of the year. And we are in computer heaven. He even bought me classes so I can learn how how to work this bad boy we have affectionately  named Betsy.




The kids have had a blast playing with the photo booth feature.

While they do fight over computer time, most are content to just sit close and watch.



 And happy are we.

Tribute to Kate

I believe we are all born here with a mission in life. We all have gifts and talents that Heavenly Father wants us to use to benefit all his children. For most, (I'm mainly referring to myself) we discover our missions a little at a time through trial and error with a little inspiration here and there.

On Katherine's blessing day, her father and a group of worthy priesthood men gathered in a circle and held my little Katherine in their arms. We listened intently and were given some insight on her specific purpose here on earth. We were told that her special mission would be that of a healer and comforter. The words imprinted deep in my heart and what I already knew as her mother was verified in that blessing. This sweet spirit sent to our home was truly someone special. As I've watched her grow I have seen those words come to fruition.

I mentioned a few blog posts ago that for about half an hour we had a child go missing. Last Monday as we rounded up the herd for a quick family night, we noticed Miss Kate was missing. We searched every room in the house. No Katherine. Since time is of the essence around these parts, Brett proceeded with FHE while I called around. No luck. It was getting dark and I was really starting to get worried. I picked up the phone to look at the caller ID to see if someone had called her over. Sure enough the first name I saw was David Nielson. I remembered that she had planned the day before to go to the care center with them. Since it wasn't on the calender and I wasn't home when they picked her up, I completely forgot that's where she'd gone.

As she strolled in an hour later with a big smile on her face she said, "Oh mom, I love that place. I met the nicest people. I met a lady with your maiden name Zarate. I can't wait for you to meet her. And I saw Melba and held hands with Marjorie and ..."

Our princess at the 6th grade Medieval Banquet.

More pictures coming soon.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I love any and all holidays; Birthday's- mine or anyone else I love, are my favorite. I love how everyone wears green or red or whatever the holiday demands as a way of uniting.

Twelve years ago on a blustery Chicago St. Paddy's day I anxiously awaited the birth of my very own good luck charm ~Miss Katherine. It was her due date after all! My previous two baby girls made their appearance into the world 10-14 days prior to their due date. Surely, the third would follow suit. Not so in her case. Papi came from Houston to help with the girls and get a peak of his 5th grandchild. We visited museums. We paced the aisles of Home Depot buying lumber to build bookcases, anything to pass the time and help things along. Nothing. It felt like an eternity and I honestly felt like she'd never come.

Two short days later she came and we have been celebrating ever since. I will write more about this sweet girl Thursday.

For now, I leave you with a special green recipe that we affectionately call our Cafe Rio dressing. It's yummy on salmon, salads and taquitos. With the help of my fabulous sister Crystal (Thank, thank you, Crystal for coming and helping me. Nobody except for Mom cooks as good as you!!!) I will be demonstrating this and other Mexican favorites at a cooking group tonight. Wish us luck.

Creamy Green Dressing: (compliments of Crystal)

1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
1 1/3 C sour cream (light)
3/4 C mayo (light)
4 Tbls Herdes green salsa (mild or hot)
juice of 1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro (stems removed)
dash of Tabasco sauce

Blend until smooth.

Ditto, what she said!

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

I thought I'd share this wonderful clip I came across today. It is an LDS girl on a religious panel at Harvard being asked questions concerning Mormonism. Wow, I wish I could have spoken like that at age 20. Wish I could share my religious thoughts so eloquently today!

Who done it?

Well, it was another CRAZY week at comfy chaos headquarters. The busy week before was dance concert week. I am happy to report all three girls performed beautifully and we can all live to tell about it. Video clips for those interested coming soon.

Since I could easily write a blog post about each of the following events (and probably will) I thought I' d play a game instead and see in anyone out there could correctly match the following events to the corresponding person in my family. The first person to do this correctly wins a 10$ gift certificate to my FAVORITE March pick: RED MANGO. Since Grandma J and Katherine know all of the answers, I will have them wait to submit their guesses til after Monday evening when this little contest comes to a close. You can type in the number with the corresponding initials of the person who it's about in the comment section below. Sarah's initials will be SJ which stands for Sarah Jane. Her made up middle name, in case you didn't know. Every person in the family is represented twice except for Brett and Samuel who are only featured once. Good luck and Happy Guessing!

THE FOLLOWING TOOK PLACE
BETWEEN 6:00 P.M. (FRIDAY FEBRUARY 27) AND 8:00 P.M. (FRIDAY MARCH 6)

1. This person went missing for half an hour during family night. Nobody seemed to be in a panic except for a person named MOM.

2. Performed a gorgeous cello piece titled Ariosa by Bach at the SLC Quaker House and as of tomorrow will officially join the ranks of licensed drivers. (Heaven help us, EVERYONE!)

3. Rocked at a piano recital Friday night.

4. A different person who also rocked at a piano recital the following Friday night. HINT: This person occasionally chews his or her tongue when engaged in deep concentration.

5. Attended Parent/Teacher conference at the local Junior and Senior High. (Fifteen teachers visited in all)

6. Played in a wrestling tournament on Tuesday night. Lost one match and tied another but declared himself a winner nonetheless.

7. Was nominated the lady in waiting at a full fledged Medieval Banquet.

8. Is currently eating his family out of house and home. Must be a growth spurt!?

9. Went on a 3 day hiking trip to Moab.

10. Clocked in some hours at his or her part time job.

11. Spent 4 of the last 7 days in warm and sunny Arizona.

12. Applied for a new job.

13. Just passed off his 9th Suzuki song on the guitar.

14. This crazy haired person spent an hour every evening in a nice warm bubble bath playing with dinosaurs while the rest of us hammered away at homework, music and dinner prep. (How I wish I could claim that one.)