Easter at Grandma's...

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Metzger's house for Easter this year with Kimbie and Christian's family. It's fun to get the cousins together--and they all love to see Koda (some of you remember he used to be our dog--but we gave him to Grandma). He is alive and well, and spoiled rotten. They love that dog so much (more than they ever loved me J/K :-) ! Grandpa even shares his Oreos with him--now that's love! It was tons of fun--we played games, colored eggs, the kids made a bunny cake with Grandma, and hung out. I seriously ate way too much this weekend--about 4 pounds too much--ugh! Back on the yo yo!

We went to a wonderful Sacrament meeting with a beautiful talk about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It truly made me want to live better, and try to be a better person for His sake. I am so grateful for the knowledge of a Savior in my life, who loves me and wants to help me to make it back to my Father in Heaven. That is what life is all about. Thanks everyone for a wonderful Easter holiday!My sister Wendy's birthday was always around Easter time--so this was her birthday tradition. She wasn't here with us, but we thought of you as we ate it Wendy--happy birthday Sis! Love you!This is the coolest thing EVER for little kids. You just put the dye in there and put the egg in and they push the top thing to spin it around and get different colors on the egg. It looks so cool, and even the youngest kids can do it. Best of all--it's not as much MESS!Don't they look awesome! So easy and quick!The older kids did theirs the old fashioned way--and made a BIG MESS!But they still turned out great! Good job guys!

Walking the Dog...

Erin and Journey took Koda on a walk and came back with these pictures. I thought the sequence of events was too funny! Enjoy...Who takes a picture of the dog peeing? Yep--my Erin would! You go Koda--let those ants have it!

Happy Easter!

This was such a touching conference message by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, I wanted to share it in case there was anyone who hasn't seen it yet. I love the emotion in his voice as he talks about his Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope to have the faith and the devotion to the Savior that he talks about in this message. Easter Sunday is a wonderful time to rededicate our lives to Him, as His disciples. Because he is risen, each of us has hope in our lives. I love Him with all my heart, and am so grateful for his sacrifice on my behalf. I want to live so that He will be proud of me, and the person that I become. Happy Easter!

My BLOG BOOK is HERE!

YAY ME! I finally got my blog book done from all of last year's posts. It took me awhile to get all of the pictures back when my computer crashed. My friend Tawni makes these FOR you. It turned out SO stinkin' awesome--I absolutely LOVE it! She was nice enough to put together a slide show that I stole to put on here--take a look. If you want one, click on the link below to go to her website at:

Tomorrow's Memories Today

Thank you SO much Tawni for doing such a fabulous job--I can't say enough how cute it turned out--and these are only a few of the pages--there are over 250! LOVE IT! It was worth EVERY penny!

If you click on View All Images--it will open up a new window where you can see the pictures larger.

More Recipes...

Last week, Bashas had bone-in chicken on sale for .97 cents a pound, so I bought a bunch of chicken, and made some more freezer meals. This is another great way to stock the freezer is to just watch sales, and when you find a really good deal on something you can stock up on it and cook a few meals at a time. This way, your freezer will stay stocked, and you will also have a variety of protiens.
Here are some of the meals I put in the freezer last week (I made two of each in about 2 hours after cooking and dicing the chicken):

Country Chicken Pot Pie
(my kids LOVE this one--use whatever herbs you have on hand, it gives a great flavor)
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. evaporated milk
4 c. cooked, chopped chicken
1 c. frozen peas
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. sage
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp rosemary
Saute onions, celery, and carrots in butter in a large skillet over med. heat until tender. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and evap. milk. Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chicken, peas, and seasonings.
Cool, and divide filling in half (or keep together if you have a large family). Place in one gallon freezer bags. Keep frozen pie crusts on hand in their original packaging. Boxed pie crusts work great. Keep in mind that this recipie makes 2 pot pies.
To prepare: Thaw filling and pie crusts. Shape bottom pie crust, add filling, and top with the other pie crust. Pinch the edges of the two crusts together, and flute or crimp. Make a few slits in the top of the crust for steam to escape. Bake for 30 min. at 425. You may have to cover the outside crust with foil to prevent it from burning.

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
(this one is NOT healthy--buy SO yummy!)
4 c. cooked, chopped chicken
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 T. butter
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 c. hot water
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 c. half and half
2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can (15 oz.) creamed corn
1 can (4 oz.) green chiles
1/4 tsp. hot sauce (Tabasco)
1 bag tortilla chips
In large saucepan, combine chicken, onion, garlic, and butter. Dissolve bouillon in hot water and add to chicken. Then add cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cook until cheese is melted. Cool. Pour into a freezer bag and freeze.
To prepare: Thaw and heat. Serve with tortilla chips.

Chicken Divan
(If you're Mormon, you've had it!)
6 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 pkg. (10 oz.) chopped broccoli
1 c. mayonaise
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. curry powder
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
2 T. melted butter
Cook broccoli as directed (steamers are great for this recipe). Drain. Mix all ingredients except cheese and bread crumbs. Put into a ziploc freezer bag. Put cheese in a seperate freezer bag. Put both bags into another freezer bag and freeze.
To prepare: Thaw. Put meat mixture into a 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with cheese. Mix bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Conference Tradition...

I love General Conference. I love to gather my family around and hear Prophets, seers, and revelators declare and testify the words of our Father in Heaven. I love to hear them bear testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love to listen to stories of faith, past and present. I love it because it makes me want to be better. A better mom, a better wife, a better person. It makes me want to be someone who my Heavenly Father would be proud of--the woman He wants me to be, the woman He knows I can be.

Another reason I love General Conference is because Todd's family has a great conference tradition. I'm not sure when this tradition started--but I know it was before I joined the family 15 years ago. Everyone in our family takes notes during conference, so that after conference we can gather together, and Grandma and Grandpa bring candy bars, and each member of the family, youngest to oldest, has the opportunity to tell the group something they learned that day. If they do, they get rewarded with a candy bar. Over the years, this has meant buying more and more candy bars--(over 40 this year!) but everyone loves it! My kids will make sure to listen and take notes so they can give a summary for their candy bar. Even the youngest children get up and say something that they learned. Ashlie said, "I love my family, and I love Jesus!" Everyone claps and cheers, and they feel so proud! The older children are more specific. Joshua said, "I learned that we should love the temple." This was the main focus in the afternoon session. I was proud of him for remembering. Many children remembered the phrase, "You are never lost if you can see the temple!" The older children bring their notes, and will sometimes give a full summary of a talk. It's great to hear the teenagers, and what they get out of the talks. I am surprised at how much they listen, and understand. The adults have their opportunity to do this as well. I love it because it gives us an opportunity to bear testimony to one another, and to talk about the messages that we heard that day. As our family has grown, we have decided that a park is the way to go. It is fun to see the looks you get from people when our huge group sits down, and we sing a primary song, and pray before we start. It's really a fun tradition.

We missed Grandma and Grandpa this time, but want to let you know that Chris did a great job of presiding over this years meeting! We had so much fun together--thanks everyone for your testimonies, and your experiences. Conference wouldn't be the same without all of you! I was able to get a few good pictures this year--enjoy!

The Hunt is ON...

It's ON--and may the best man--or bird win! Check it out--he's even got his hunting shirt on today! My hero... We'll keep you updated.Oh, and sorry Joshua, your 8th birthday present--well, it's gonna be used and abused by the time you get it probably! The boy has been asking for a bb gun for his birthday since he was 3!

To Kill a Mockingbird...

I remember reading this book in school...but don't really remember what the title has to do with the book. All I know is that it is 1:20 a.m. right now, and the stupid mockingbird in the tree in our backyard is driving me CRAZY. Jack keeps waking up at night, and none of us are sleeping as much as we should. Todd has one assignment this weekend, and one assignment only. The hunt for that freaking mockingbird is ON--I don't care how he does it--but that mockingbird must DIE. Todd will be happy--he will have to buy a new gun, I don't think the neighbors would appreciate his using a rifle for this problem. A new airsoft gun should do the trick. So if you hear gunshots coming from our house--don't be alarmed. Todd is just taking care of something in the back yard so that we can SLEEP IN on Sunday! If you are an animal lover, and feel sorry for this poor mockingbird--feel free to stop by anytime, climb our tree, and give this little bird (with a HUGE voice) a new home--at YOUR house! Sorry if you're offended by the picture--but I thought it was SO funny! (I haven't had much sleep lately...can you tell?)

Elk Hunting...

So every year the time comes around to put in for hunts, and every year my husband gets his hopes up for the hunt of his dreams--a rifle bull elk hunt. Then, every year, his hopes and dreams are shattered and left in ruins when he doesn't get drawn out. A few years ago, he got lucky and drew out for an archery elk tag--man did that kill him when he couldn't get close enough to kill one with his bow--but if he'd had a rifle tag he swears he would've got a trophy. I never really worry--because the chances of him getting drawn for a hunt are pretty nill. We usually just get the money back. Well, not this year. This year my husband was drawn for not only one--but TWO elk hunts. If you know Todd, you know that this was the proudest moment in his life, second only to maybe when his 6 children were born. Todd, my dad, and my brother in law were drawn for a rifle bull elk hunt, and Emie and her cousins were drawn for another elk hunt as well! Todd was like giddy the other day when he found out!

So, now to the poor me part--I hate hunting. You can read more on that HERE--but what I really hate, is when the hunt gets in the way of a good family vacation! So, we usually go to Rocky Point for fall break--but not this year! Yep--Todd will be hunting with Emie during fall break! And when, do you think the other hunt is? You got it--on another school holiday, Thanksgiving--which also happens to fall on the week of our ANNIVERSARY! Ugh. So I am going to suck it up--since this is his dream hunt, and I will really try not to complain as long as: 1. I am not FORCED to keep any of the elk meat or eat it. (I am a meat snob--I stick to the 4 meat groups--chicken, cow, turkey, pig) 2. The hunting beard comes off as soon as you get home. 3. You actually KILL the big elk when you see one, and not think that you will get something later in the week, and then tell me the story about how it got away. 4. You quit saying that you NEVER get to go hunting--because we both know you go whenever you want--two words...elk farm. (that's a long story). And 5. This one is the kicker--under NO circumstances do I want a stuffed elk head hanging anywhere where I will see it and shudder on a daily basis. It must be relegated to a secluded spot, somewhere where I only have to look at the hideous thing every once in awhile. Those things gross me out. Why do men think they have to stuff dead animals and hang them on the wall. Yuck!

Really-- congratulations honey! I know you are excited--and even though I don't share your passion for hunting--if it makes you happy, it makes me happy for you! I wish you felt the same way about my shopping! Oh well. I love you!

Josh the Cheetah...

If you know Joshua, you would know that his part in the Kindergarten play this year is not far off! Before he learned to ride a two wheeler, he used to run along side his little friends in our neighborhood, on their two wheelers--and he kept pace with them! In his first baseball game the other night, he hit a little tiny like 2 foot hit toward the first base line, and took off running. He got to first base, which Todd was coaching by the way, and not only did that kid not stop--but he didn't even think about stopping! He ran right around ALL of those bases, almost lapping the poor little boy who happened to be in front of him, and had a homerun! We were dying laughing! That kid is as fast as a cheetah for sure! Isn't he cute? Love this boy!

We are Nomads...

So, it is official--and what better way to get the word out, than to use this blog. We are moving...again. I know some of the people who read this will shake their heads and say we are crazy--(most of them are in my family) after all, everytime we have moved I have said that this is "definitely" my last house! I have decided that you never know what is going to happen--and I need to just shut my mouth. We put an offer on a short sale in Gilbert way back in September of last year. We put in a lowball offer, and really didn't even expect the bank to take us seriously. October, November, December, and January went by without even so much as a word from the bank. I'm not sure if all short sales are that way, but we pretty much thought the deal was dead. Finally, at the end of February, the bank accepted our offer. We were surprised, but thrilled--it is truly a smokin' deal on a great house. The only thing left was the appraisal, and we could have a done deal. To our surprise and delight--the appraisal came in lower than our already low offer. This meant it had to go back to the bank for another approval. Finally, 6 months after the initial offer, we were able to close the loan. We are going to finish out the school year, and move in the end of May.
For me, this move will be bittersweet--as I'm sure it will be for my kids. I am excited about the new home, my new larger pantry, a whole ROOM in the basement for my food storage (that was a HUGE selling point for me)--but at the same time, I have a real emotional time when I talk about leaving this house, and especially this neighborhood, and my ward. I cherish the friendships that I have with people in this ward, and with my neighbors, who I have come to depend on and love. We are excited to be nearer to our family, and for our kids to be around their cousins more--but feel like we are also leaving a family behind. New friendships take time, and effort. I am really dreading that--it really takes me a long time to feel like I fit in, and I will be right there with my kids while they go through the same thing. As for this house--we need a nice family, with awesome kids (who are better behaved than mine are), to move in here and take our place! The neighbors will sure welcome you--even if you're a little crazy like my family. We have grown on them...like a fungus.
The one good thing, for me is that blogging has been a way to make my world a little smaller. I have been able to find so many people from old wards, so many old friends that I am able to keep in touch with, and keep tabs on. I am so grateful for my bloggy friends--who will make it a little easier to keep in touch, even when I'm not going to be right across the street. I am grateful to have this new tool so that my old friends will only be a click away. Isn't technology awesome! Love it.

Thought for a Monday...

This was from a talk by Emily Watts a few years ago at Women's Conference, and I stumbled upon it while I was reading my notes in my journal last night. I thought it was appropriate for a Monday...enjoy! (If you're sitting there with your child on your lap screaming--like me--sing it out loud!)

"I've had some requests to publish my "altered lyrics" to the beloved hymn "Today, While the Sun Shines." I thought hard about this, because I didn't want to seem irreverent in print, but since the original still stands without any statement, and since this is not a protest against that hymn but merely a blatant misappropriation of its rhyme scheme, I thought I'd go ahead. Here they are:"

Today While the Kids Scream

Today, while the kids scream, plaster on a smile!
Today, with the laundry stacking up in a pile.

Today, today, do the best you can.
Today, today, it's part of the plan,
Today, today, don't forget to pray
That heaven will show you the joys of today.

Today, with the deadlines breathing down your neck,
Bills to be paid, and body gone to heck . . .

Today, today, do the best you can.
Today, today, it's part of the plan,
Today, today, don't forget to pray
That heaven will show you the joys of today.

Family Scripture Study...

This is what Todd was doing last night...diligently teaching our children from the scriptures. What a model family right?
Ummm...yeah, this is what our children were doing last night as Todd was diligently teaching them from the scriptures. I couldn't help but grab my camera that was sitting on the couch and snap a few pictures of what scripture study can look like at our house...
Can you tell we're muddling through the Isaiah chapters of the Book of Mormon? You can tell it was capturing my full attention as well! There's always tomorrow--we'll try again!

Groundhog Day...

No, today is not Groundhog day--but did you ever feel like your life was just like this movie? I repeat the same things day after day, and never seem to get them right? Just wondering if any other mothers out there feel like they are just spinning their wheels day after day, and getting nowhere. Just venting...it's one of those days...just like yesterday, and the day before. You get my point.

Torture by Treadmill...

Remember my Torture by swimsuit post a few weeks back (see my post earlier today for more on that adventure)--well while we were in Mexico, I found something even WORSE! Todd and I went to work out in the gym at the resort a few days last week, trying to burn off at least part of the 20 homemade tortillas we were downing on a daily basis. I mean it has to help a little, right? Well, we found a treadmill and started working out, and my treadmill was going all wacky on me--I tried to put it on manual, but it kept going faster and faster on me, and I couldn't get it to stop, and I really couldn't keep up. I tried resetting it, but it wouldn't work, so I had to switch treadmills. I ended up on the only one that worked, across the room from Todd. The minute I stepped on it, I thought, "What the crap??" The treadmill was in front of a full length mirror. Not only that, but there was a full length mirror on the side of me, and full length mirrors on the wall in the back as well. Can you imagine anything worse than watching yourself workout, from every possible angle? Maybe someone who has a super lean, fabulous body would love to watch their muscles working as they run on the treadmill. Maybe there are super vain people out there who can't get enough of admiring themselves as they run effortlessly. Maybe if I looked like the woman in the picture, I would feel comfortable working out in front of a mirror. Uuugh...not this housewife and mother of six! I kept thinking, "Just don't look at yourself, just look away, look at anything else...anything..." , but it was like watching a train wreck, I couldn't look away. My cheeks bounced--and not just the ones on my face. My face was red, and sweaty, it felt like it was 1,000 degrees in there. My feet looked awkward as I tried to keep up with the pace I had set. My head bobs in a weird way when I run, which I totally knew from watching tapes of myself running track meets back in the day, but I remembered why I hated to watch myself run--because I look like a total doofus. The time seemed to crawl along in slow motion--like a slow, painful torture. Yes, if you ever need the motivation to get your fat butt off the couch, and into the gym--just try working out on a treadmill in front of a mirror. Then again, after that experience, I went back to the room and ate a few Oreos--just to make myself feel better. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Swimsuit update...

Speaking of Torture by swimsuit--and treadmill. I wanted to update on what I found in the way of swimsuits for the trip. I finally ended up at Lands End, where they have every color and style of swimsuit you could imagine--and bought myself a few suits. They are super modest, and fit a woman's body (I'm not talking about you super fit and trim ladies--I'm talking about women who have fat, and rolls, and look like we have a few children, and we need to work out on a treadmill). I paid top dollar for them, and had them rushed to me for the trip. I justified it, because I figured it saved me the time, embarrassment, and humiliation of trying on multiple swimsuits in the dressing room. Turns out, I was 1 for 2 on the suits I picked out. I got a cute green suit to go with my super awesome Hurley board shorts that I got on altrec.com for $10. Everyone liked that one. Then I saw this one, and thought it was cute--so I bought it as well:

When I came out in it--Emie says, "Mom, you look like someone threw up on you." Ouch. So I ask Todd, "Do you like my new swimsuit?" He says, "Yeah, you look like a nice...Easter egg." Just what you want your husband to think when you come out in a new swimsuit--he swears my body shape is not like an Easter egg, that's really not what he meant (yeah, right)--but an egg shape is exactly what I am. I know--I worked out in front of the mirror on a treadmill the other day! What do you think? Super cute? Or super SCARY? (Keep in mind that I don't look as cute in it as this model does...I am eggshell white, and a little plumper--okay, a lot plumper--think "egg shape").

Family Prayer...

When our children were small, they would always, without fail, fight over who got to say the prayers. Not only mealtime prayers, but who got to say the family prayer at night as well. We stopped the tears by just letting all of them pray, whenever they wanted. Sometimes this meant 3 prayers before we got to eat, but it was worth it to stop a meltdown at dinnertime or bedtime. As our family grew and grew, this little tradition has grown along with it. They don't all fight at dinnertime anymore, just the little ones say an extra blessing on the food once in awhile, but we have continued having all of them pray before we go to bed. You would think the older ones would be tired of praying out loud every night, but they are surprisingly willing. We have 6 prayers--all of the children who can talk, and me and Todd rotate. I love this tradition because I love hearing my children each pray for each other, and for our family. It helps them to know that we are all in this thing together. I love listening to them pour out their hearts to Heavenly Father, and how their prayers change as they get older, and their testimonies grow. I am so grateful for such beautiful, valiant children, and I know that prayer is the way to keep them strong in the faith, and get them through rough spots that surely lie ahead of them.

Tonight, Todd happened to call on them in order, from youngest to oldest, (most of the time it's random), and I loved hearing them all pray in their different ways. I wanted to write it down so I would remember. As the children leave the house, we will have fewer and fewer prayers each night, but I hope this tradition will help them to always remember to pray, no matter where they happen to be.

Ashlie is so sweet, and tries to remember to bless all of her siblings. In her efforts to mention them all, she usually says each persons name at least 4 or 5 times. Also, she can say like a 5 minute prayer, which I think is so super cute for a barely 4 year old. She gets the gift of gab from her mother I'm afraid.

Joshua usually tries to rush through his prayers, that is when he makes it through scripture study without falling asleep. He plays so hard during the day that once we sit down for scripture study at bedtime, he is usually OUT! He is so sweet, and always blesses that we can be good, be safe and most importantly that we will have fun. This boy is all about having fun right now--not a care in the world.

Abby is so conscientious, and always thinking of others. She always blesses her siblings, and her mom and dad. She, and the other children bless us that we won't think bad thoughts or say bad words, which are great things--I don't know where they picked that up, but I'm glad they did. A cute story about Abby, a few years ago she used to bless us in her prayer that "no harm or ax would come upon us". It took us awhile to figure out that she was really thinking an ax would harm her, and we had to explain that we were saying "accidents" in our prayer. So cute.

Erin is very matter of fact in her prayers, always has been. She talks to Heavenly Father like he is a friend, her friend. I love that she doesn't try to use fancy words or phrases, she just prays. Prayer should be just that, a conversation with our Father. He knows us, knows what we need, we need only talk with him and ask. He doesn't need us to use fancy language to hear our prayers. I love to hear her pray, especially now that she is getting older. I know that she will be okay if she will stay close to Him through prayer.

Emie has always touched me with her prayers. She is always conscious of things that we need to pray for as a family, like if someone is sick, or has a test, or struggling, or if there are decisions that need to be made. When I was a teenager, I remember hating when my Dad would call on me to say prayers out loud, but Emie has always been willing to pray. She amazes me every day with her testimony, and her obedience. I know that Heavenly Father is so proud of the choices she is making, and the young woman she is becoming.

I can't wait for those first little prayers that little Jack will say. Those first prayers are always my favorite--so sweet and innocent. Sometimes I feel like the littlest children actually know who they are talking to better than we do. The faith of a little child is so amazing to me. Soon there will be 7 prayers before bedtime in the Allen house--and I can't wait!