Hallelujah!

I have to write this down so I can reread it when I have a tough day (like tomorrow or later tonight). I'm not sure where my actual journal is, but tonight this is it. So, I've been going to the gym for about a year now off and on. Lani has a really hard time and cries for most of my workout. (The church nursery ends up about the same.) Today the most amazing thing happened. We got there, she knew where we were and she did not start sniffling as usual. She walked right inside of the baby gate and picked up a baby doll to play with. I almost cried because she did not. When I picked her up an hour later the lady (we know so well now) said Lani did not cry until about 10 min. before I got there. This is miracle number one.
Miracle number two happened later tonight. Lani has a fascination with the toilet already so I've put her on a few times not expecting anything. Well, tonight before bedtime she wanted to sit on the potty after Ian and Aaron did their business, and wonder of all wonders, she squeezed some pee out.
Now, most of you know that my kids are not sleepers, they wake up in the middle of the night and they do not go down well. In fact, Ian and Aaron have already been separated for the night because they won't stop yelling and playing around. (And Brad just put them to bed like 20 minutes ago.) Anyway, I put Lani to bed at the same time. I sang her a song, gave her her baby dolls and closed the door. Guess what? She stayed in there. I have not heard a peep. Sigh. My little girl is growing up so fast!
Okay, still bragging...Aaron. We've been trying to read the Book of Mormon every night (we are bribing our children with a wii that we will get after we finish the Book of Mormon). So amid Ian jumping off the couch and Lani asking for other books to be read to her, Aaron reads verse after verse and I am amazed at how good he is getting. Not only that, but he asks about what he is reading. The other day he asked why did Nephi's dad murmur-I thought he was a good guy. We had to explain that none of us are perfect. On a bad note, we are teaching him to read words like, whore and ass. The last one he was trying to sound out and I told him donkey-he said mom, that doesn't look like donkey.
Okay, so anyway, today I have hope. I have hope that what I do actually will make a difference if only in the lives of my children. And, I love my kids and I'm sorry I haven't taken pictures of them lately because they are cute:)

Weekly Post

I am at a loss for things to post lately. I think it's because it's cold outside so we basically hibernate and I don't have any new pictures to show you guys. So...I will finally post my recipe. I was waiting for us to eat something really great and take a pretty pic of it, but...that never happened.

Crockpot Kalua Pork:

3 cups of apple juice
1 pork roast
rock salt
liquid smoke
rice
cabbage (optional)

Rub pork roast with rock salt and 1 tsp of liquid smoke. Place in crockpot with apple juice for 8-10 hrs (depending on how big a roast). Shred cooked pork (keep some juice) and serve over rice. Boil cut up cabbage and serve with pork.

Leftovers are great for sandwiches, or with BBQ sauce on a bun, or with green enchilada sauce on a tortilla.

Oh, my favorite cleaning product, Jess, is Walmart's brand of all-purpose cleaning wipes: Disinfecting Redi Wipes. I just like to throw yucky stuff away (that's not very green of me, but it's true).

44th US President

Obama's inaugural speech today really inspired me. I loved the message of hope and the emphasis on service. I was very moved and I am excited for the next few years. I am excited to see the changes that inevitably will come. My two favorite lines were:
of our nation "...we are ready to lead..." and to those who threaten our nation, "...you will be defeated." If you missed it, go read it!

Back up...to December

Okay, now that I've found the camera again, I'm ready to play catchup...
In December, we did a lot of Christmas crafts:





We played in the snow:


Aaron had a Christmas concert:


And we hit the road for a Christmas in Rexburg:




It was a great trip and a great Christmas, which is why it is taking me this long to recover!