News

Yes, I know....I haven't posted in a long time. A LOT has gone on since last I posted. The big news is that we're expecting again. If you scroll down almost to the bottom of the page, there is a baby countdown widget that gives details and such. I'm 18 weeks along today, and the tentative due date is June 3rd. We have our big ultrasound scheduled for a week from today...yeah, I'll only be 19 weeks along, but that was when our schedule allowed it, and they should be able to tell the gender, unless he/she is excessively modest. However, I believe I had my big ultrasound with Katie at 19 weeks also, and that's when we found out she was a girl. No fears about modesty there!

I'm enjoying a raucous, fun-filled New Years Eve with the girls in bed, Braden at work and just good old me typing on the computer. WOOHOO, WORLD!!!! :) Haha, New Years Eve was never really that big of a deal to me, and I find that now with kids, it's even less so. Add to that Braden working, and I'm just chillaxing, about to settle down with a nice ebook of The Stand. Now you may ask yourself, is Stephen King the smartest choice of reading material when you're by yourself? Probably not. But I haven't got to the super scary parts yet...so I should be able to fall asleep...I hope... :)

Conversations with Jenna

I had to write this down for posterity.

Earlier tonight, in the midst of changing Jenna's diaper, she burst forth with the following gems: "I'm pregnant! And then I go to the temple. (suddenly very serious) But I don't wanna poop in the temple. In my diaper." Me (laughing): "Yes, that would be unadvisable. But there are bathrooms in the temple." Jenna: "Oh, I could go poop in there? And wash my hands? And you could go pee pee, in ANOTHER bathroom?" Me: "...Yes." You know, Jenna's in the middle of her independent stage, and it's rough sometimes with the battle of wills, but then she comes out with this stuff that just makes me laugh and laugh. If she's still wearing a diaper when she's getting married, I think I will have failed as a mother! Not to mention that hopefully the pregnancy comes AFTER the wedding... :)

Trials

"Sometime in the eternities to come, we will see that our trials were calculated to cause us to turn to our Heavenly Father for strength and support. Any affliction or suffering we are called upon to bear may be directed to give us experience, refinement, and perfection."
--Delbert L. Stapley, "The Blessings of Righteous Obedience", Ensign, Nov. 1977

Hope

"The things we hope in sustain us during our daily walk. They uphold us through trials, temptations, and sorrow. Everyone has experienced discouragement and difficulty. Indeed, there are times when the darkness may seem unbearable. It is in these times that the divine principles of the restored gospel we hope in can uphold us and carry us until, once again, we walk in the light."
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Infinite Power of Hope", Ensign, Nov 2008, 21–24

Khao Soy

We had the following at a Thai restaurant recently, and the recipe looks pretty easy:

"Khao Soy" (Chiang Mai Noodles)

This is the fettuccine Alfredo of Thailand!
It consists of a creamy curry sauce that is served over egg noodles. This particular dish is named after the Northern Thai city from which it was created: Chiang Mai.

Ingredients:
4 ounces fresh egg noodle
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1/2 cup of coconut milk
4 ounces of ground pork
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 pinch of turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1 teaspoon lime juice

Note:
The egg noodles should be fresh. If you cannot find fresh egg noodles, you may substitute almost any other noodle you desire. However if you intend to use dried noodles, remember to soak them first for 20 minutes.

Directions:
Here is the two step plan. You should be doing these simultaneously.

Step 1
Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil.
Cook the noodles for roughly 20 seconds.
Strain the noodles, and put them on your plate

Step 2
In a medium sized saucepan, heat the coconut milk on low heat, and slowly stir in the curry paste. When it begins to simmer, add in the remaining items, except for the pork. Wait about 1 minute, then add in the pork, and cook until the pork is done (not pink in the middle)
Pour the sauce over the noodles, and voila!

Love it

It's late, and I'm tired. I just wanted to say that I love it here. The weather is hot, but it's great, and the evenings are even better. I was just out at 11pm, and it was still very warm out. LOVES IT!! We are lounging by the pool every couple of days, and it's gorgeous. We are all--except for Katie--getting nice tans. Jenna loves going to the pool...only there is really nothing to do with poor Katie, so she sits in the stroller. I do feel badly about that; the water is usually so cold that I'm nervous to take her in the water.

The parks are almost brand new, and Jenna also loves to go play on the swings and the play equipment. We met a young mom with a 2-year-old yesterday, and he (the 2-year-old, of course) was so enamored of Jenna! He wanted to do everything she was doing. It was way cute.

Katie is officially crawling and sitting as of a couple weeks ago. She would have been sitting earlier, I think, if we had given her more practice. She loves oatmeal and has tried green beans and sweet potatoes. She turned 8 months on Tuesday...I can't believe it! She loves to be wherever she determines the action is. If I'm in the kitchen, I have to put her in the exersaucer, or here she comes to see me! Yesterday, I came out of our bedroom after getting dressed, and both Katie and Jenna were crying for me right at the baby gate. Screaming in stereo; nice.

Anyway, church is tomorrow (thank goodness it's not at 9am), and I need to get some sleep. I keep meaning to write about our drive down here, but never get around to it. I'll keep trying!

Katie at the pool, eating her foot (probably out of boredom)


Jenna got her first haircut and now has bangs instead of a hairy mess!

Agency

"To fully understand this gift of agency and its inestimable worth, it is imperative that we understand that God's chief way of acting is by persuasion and patience and long-suffering, not by coercion and stark confrontation. He acts by gentle solicitation and by sweet enticement. He always acts with unfailing respect for the freedom and independence that we possess. He wants to help us and pleads for the chance to assist us, but he will not do so in violation of our agency. He loves us too much to do that, and doing so would run counter to his divine character."
--Howard W. Hunter, "The Golden Thread of Choice", Ensign, Nov. 1989, 17

Mothers

"President David O. McKay put it beautifully when he said, speaking of mothers, 'This ability and willingness properly to rear children, the gift to love, and eagerness, yes, longing to express it in soul development, make motherhood the noblest office or calling in the world. . .' (Gospel Ideals, Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1953, pp. 453-54)."
--H. Burke Peterson, "Mother, Catch the Vision of Your Call," Ensign, May 1974, 31-32

New Everything

Wow, it has been a long time since we posted. Never fear! We finally got internet about an hour and a half ago, so I want to catch up with blogging and everything. We are here in our new place (obviously), and it's starting to look and feel more and more like our home. It has its quirks, mainly that it's very open, but it is a very nice place, and I think we lucked out since we essentially moved in blind. The area that we chose is a very planned community, and a lot of stuff is either brand new or only a few years old, so everything looks well-maintained. I've been informed that no matter where you live in this area, you are within 788 feet of a park, and we are actually within very easy walking distance of three nice parks with play areas. Oh, and did I mention that there are sidewalks??!! What a novel concept. I'm thrilled to be able to walk around the neighborhood and not have to fear for my kids' lives. :) All in all, we are very pleased with the area.

Today was my first Sunday in our new ward, and Braden's second. My mom, myself and the girls were still en route to Sacramento on Sunday since we had to resign ourselves to the fact that we just weren't going to get there on Saturday night, so we got a hotel room in Redding instead of getting into an accident. So Braden went to church last Sunday in a plaid shirt, no belt, no tie, and crocs (his Sunday shoes were in the trunk of the Honda, which I was driving), but he DID have dress pants. He went up and bore his testimony, and let me tell you, EVERYONE remembered him this Sunday. Every time I introduced myself, people were like, "Oh, her husband bore his testimony last Sunday...bzzzzz, bzzzzz..." I guess he was especially memorable.

So far, I really like what I've seen of our ward. It's full of very friendly people and lots of young couples with kids. The Gospel Doctrine teacher is funny but gives great spiritual lessons, and both Sunday School and Relief Society had a lot of interesting comments. I like wards where people feel free to make a lot of intelligent comments. No offense to our previous ward, but this ward put it to SHAME in terms of friendliness. I didn't make friends really until I was called to the Primary Presidency, and Braden never felt welcome, and not for lack of trying! It's nice to have a ward where a lot of people introduce themselves to us. Anyway, we're looking forward to making friends, and I'm trying to be more proactive about finding moms with similar-aged kids to hang out with.

Well, it is soooooo nice to type on an actual keyboard after using nothing but my iPhone for a week, but Braden wants to set up the router so that he can use the internet, too. I will save more posts for later. The story of our long, laborious road trip here shall have to wait...

Question of the Day

What goes: "Cough Cough Cough Cough Splash" and costs 25 dollars every time we go to the doctor and get no real answers?