Advent - Year 3 - Week 1

It's that time of year again! Yippee!

Our first week of Advent was at the McMurray home. Alex started the night off with a great lesson, helping us focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Then we got into the music. And when I say "got into the music" we REALLY got into it. Jingle Bells was the song that, I believe, got our blood flowing.
Brownie sundaes were the delicious treat we got to enjoy before the night ended.

To finish things off, we all enjoyed the infectious laughs coming from the babies. Claire certainly has a way with the little ones. She was making Laina giggle with delight, while The Lime was looking on from the stairs, laughing because they were laughing. So sweet.

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I'm thankful for Ziploc bags.

I've turned into a bag lady since The Lime's been born. I carry the diaper bag/purse, his "away" bag when he goes to my sister's, a bag with my pump in it, my lunch bag, a bag for the milk I've pumped, a bag for the dirty bottles...you get the idea.

Ziploc bags have come in so handy. I use the snack size for his spoons, the sandwich size for his snacks and rice/oatmeal, and the freezer size for his frozen baby food and clean bottles.

I know my carbon footprint has quadrupled in the last 10 months but the bags keep me nice and organized. Just the way I like it.

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I'm thankful for yogurt.

I get the light yogurt; less calories and I personally can't taste the difference.

You want to know what's good? The Key Lime flavored yogurt with graham cracker dippers. Yum!

My Doctor was concerned about my stats when I went to my yearly check-up this last week. She said I need more calcium since I'm still nursing. Lucky for me, there's calcium in yogurt.

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(Not my x-ray)

I'm grateful for x-rays.

I wish more words started with X so I wouldn't have to use the usual "x-ray" but I really AM grateful for x-rays.

I had a year where I couldn't stay on my feet. It was Fall and our stake had a youth choir for Stake Conference. I was excited to finally be old enough to join my brother and sister in YM/YW activities. We had to pick up another girl from our ward on this particular night and my brother sent me up to her door to get her. I had on a denim overall jumper that hardly had any room in the legs. I don't know why but I chose to run up to Jane's door that night and managed to trip and fall, landing on my wrist. It hurt but it wasn't horrible. I remember it hurting during the practice and letting my mom know what happened when we returned home. It didn't look bad so I went to school the next day and the next and it still wasn't getting better. My mom took me to the ER that night and the nurse that checked me in said it wasn't broken but would have a Doctor take a look at it. Several x-rays later and an exam and sure enough, it was fractured.

3 months later, I was roller-skating in front of my house. My brother had his F-150 truck out front and all the tires were flat. I was skating backwards, too close to the truck, and I tripped over one of the tires. My sister was standing in the front window, watching all of this, laughing at me. This fall hurt too. I skated up to the house and told my mom that I think I broke my other wrist. We headed over to the same ER, saw the same ER nurse, he said the same thing, "It's not broken." After x-rays and an exam, it was decided that I broke my wrist.

I'm glad we didn't base our trip on what the nurse said but what the x-rays told us.

Also, it's important to get dental x-rays. The Dentist and Hygienist can only see so much from a physical exam. :o)

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I'm thankful for Westfield Shopping Centers.

Normally, our annual "Day After Thanksgiving" shopping trip is in Palo Alto @ IKEA and the Stanford Shopping Center. But this year, we decided to switch it up a bit and go to San Francisco.

Only half of the clan was there this year, plus 1. Dieter joined my Mom and I as we inched our way through the swarm of shoppers. Old Navy was a zoo, the Mall wasn't that bad but still crazy, Macy's was worse than Disneyland but the Container Store was our sanctuary. So many cute things to see and hardly anyone there! Ahhhhhhh! Zen!

We're not out for the amazing sales on Black Friday, more for the "experience". A neat tradition that we hope to continue for many years and one day share with our girls (for me, when I have one) whether it be in Palo Alto or a Westfield Shopping Center.

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I'm thankful for Visiting Teachers and vanilla.

I'm a horrible Visiting Teacher, I'll admit it. I don't know if it stems from me being somewhat anti-social or what, but I'm a bad example. My Visiting Teacher, on the other hand, is amazing. Every month, she visits me, asks how I'm doing, gives me a great thought, we share our testimonies and have built a friendship. She's great!

She's also great because she introduced me to the most amazing vanilla EVER! It's clear, from Mexico and heavenly. If I could get away with drinking it straight from the bottle, I would. Either that, or dab it behind my ears and on my pressure points so I can smell it all day. I'm down to just a few teaspoons and am using it sparingly.

I thought my magic milk was liquid gold. Oh no, this vanilla is liquid gold.

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(Clearly this is not a photo of me, but the scrubs are cute! I am due for some new ones.)

I'm thankful for uniforms.

We don't have to match at work but we do wear scrubs. Getting ready in the morning is a cinch, especially when you only have 5 outfits to choose from.

And I only have 1 pair that I have to iron. Have I mentioned how much I hate ironing?

Anything to make my life easier, I'm thankful for it!

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I'm thankful for toilet paper.

Is anyone else thinking of that Seinfeld episode?

I don't know if I've ever had to ask someone to spare a square but I have been stuck without any. You're sitting there, stuck, looking around for ANYTHING that you could use.

That reminds me of an ex-boyfriend of my sister's. He went on his mission to the Philippines and wrote home once about their toilet situation. Rather than a lovely piece of white cotton, they had a bucket filled with soapy water. Use your imagination. And I'm guessing the bucket water wasn't replaced after each use.

My dad always asked that we use just a few squares, to make the roll last longer. I never listened. I'd use as many as I needed to ensure my hand stayed dry.

My Grandma has joked (I think she's joking when she says it) that if you find yourself out in the wild and don't happen to have any toilet paper handy, find the flattest rock or a soft leaf.

Thank goodness I don't find myself in the wild EVER and won't ever have to worry about that. I'll just enjoy my Charmin.

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(My mom gave each of us this picture for Christmas one year)

I'm so grateful for my sisters.

Growing up, I was lucky enough to have Amy at each school for 2 years. There was a comfort knowing that I wasn't alone. Even though we never had lunch or recess together and only saw each other before and after school, I at least knew she was there. One time in particular while in high school, we were walking to the parking lot and I got myself in a "situation". There was a group of girls walking behind us, one of which was talking about her bra. I thought I said "nobody cares about your bra" softly but apparently I didn't. The girl INSTANTLY got an attitude and wanted to know what I said, why I said it, etc etc etc. I tried to ignore her but she kept on going. Amy finally turned around and yelled, "She didn't say anything!" Whew! Nothing like a bigger older sister, taking charge and covering your behind. The girl shut up after that.
One time, while my parents were away, my oldest sister, Kari, was in charge. I don't remember who I was fighting with (probably Amy) but my punishment was to go with Kari to the mall. She was in search of a headband and we drove out to Stoneridge to see if their Macy's had anything different from ours. I remember driving in our big van, coming down the hill, just the two of us. I had never been to Stoneridge before and thought it was the best punishment ever.We've had many differences over the years but having babies within a year of each other has made us closer. A few weeks after Amy had given birth, we were all at Kari's, talking about the trying times of being a mother. We all began to cry, as each of us knew how the other one was feeling. We were now connected physically, emotionally and mentally, more than we've ever been before.

My sisters are my best friends. What greater blessing than to be with your best friends forever.

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I'm thankful for rain gear.

We knew it was going to rain while we were at Disneyland but I don't think we knew how hard it was going to rain.

We were prepared with umbrellas but they were useless.

While getting soaked from the torrential downpour of water, we decided to buy some ponchos. LaVor put his on and we covered Dieter's stroller with his. He kept trying to peek out from underneath it.

Here's my dad, sporting his lovely plastic cover. Before I was able to snap the picture, he had the hood over his head, under his hat. It was a sight, let me tell you.

Thankfully we didn't need our rain gear all day but they were our lifesavers for several hours.

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I'm thankful for Queens.

Each night, before walking the 1/2 mile back to our hotel, I would stop at the Queen of Hearts restroom. It was always nice and warm, very clean and usually empty. There's nothing worse than having to really go and wait in line.

Not to mention, the inside is decorated with adorable red heart tiles.

On another trip to Disneyland with my Mom and Sister, I took advantage of the Queens restroom. I don't know if I ate something bad or what but I wasn't feeling good. Just like this trip, the restroom was empty and I was relieved since there's nothing worse than being sick in front of an audience. After many minutes and a text message to my Mom letting her know I was still alive, I finished my business and was walking out of my stall. I had picked the one at the very end, for some privacy. Just as I was walking out, a woman was walking in and picked MY stall to go into! Really!?! Out of all of these, you pick the one that I just got sick in?!?! Not to my surprise, she made a "disgusting" sound and went into another stall.

Served her right.

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I'm thankful for potatoes.

I've always said that water and potatoes were the best things Heavenly Father created.

Mashed potatoes, scalloped, roasted, french fries, tater tots, the list can go on and on...

If you're ever in San Francisco, you must try Frjtz. Delicious fries and yummy dipping sauces.
And if you're ever in Alameda, you must try Speisekammer. Delicious roasted and mashed potatoes!

I suppose I'm thankful for Idaho too?

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I'm thankful for originality.

I go through these spurts of wanting to grow my bangs out but it never lasts longer than a week.
This last time, I was determined, no matter WHAT, to be firm in my decision and resist the scissors.

Then LaVor had to chime in and say,
"Why haven't you been doing your bangs?"
Me: "Because I'm growing them out."
Him: "But I like your bangs. They make you different."

He's right.

And I like being different.

Tally Mark 10

-Taking more and more steps each day but crawling is still faster.
-Speaking of crawling, he practically runs when he crawls. So dang fast.
-Has a huge mouth, just like Mommy. A whole Ritz cracker fits inside.
-Has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom.
-Likes having his ears cleaned.
-Still hates having his diaper changed.
-Is starting to say "Dada" as much as he says "Mama".
-Loves to play catch! Daddy got him some wiffle balls to practice with.
-Lounges on the couch like he owns it.
-Seems to like football. Watches it with Daddy on the weekends.
-Still takes 2 naps during the day.
-Still nurses 3-4 times a day.
-Has started putting things up to his ear and pretends to talk on the phone.
-Isn't so sure about wearing shoes when walking.
-Will make-out with anything he can get his tongue on.
-Is keeping us plenty busy and it's oh so worth it.

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I'm thankful for nice words.

My co-worker has thyroid issues and hasn't been feeling so hot lately. A patient was in today and asked how she was doing. "Okay," she responded. The patient then said, "Yeah, you look really tired." Hmmm...even though it wasn't, "You have horrible dark circles under your eyes, you look like a zombie and you can tell you aren't getting any beauty sleep!" it probably wasn't the nicest thing she could have said.

On the other hand, last night before going to bed, LaVor and I were discussing some things. When times get tough, he's the calm one when I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I tend to overreact...like George Banks from Father of the Bride. Anyway, LaVor poked his head out of the bathroom and said, "[We'll] make it work."

The nicest words he could have said at that moment.

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I'm grateful for money.

And not because we're rolling in it because we're not. But because we've been blessed with sufficient funds for our needs.

The Lime always has diapers, we always have food in our cupboards, our bills are paid on time, we're able to afford a home to live in that provides us shelter, we have cars that take us to our jobs safely (for the most part), and we have clothes on our backs.

We are blessed.

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I'm extremely grateful for LaVor.

So many good qualities about him but one that stands out the most is how hard he works.

Shortly after The Lime was born, I began to freak out about finances since I'd be cutting back at my job. He assured me that everything would be fine and it wasn't something that I needed to worry about. If he needed to, he said he'd get another job so that I wouldn't have to work so much, if at all.

He would do anything for The Lime and I. Even go to Saudi Arabia for work. (We're still waiting to hear if this one is definite.)

Since his work schedule is earlier than mine, on the days that I work, he has dinner made and on the table by the time The Lime and I walk in the door.

He's such a handy fellow to have around. The cabinet locks were up within minutes after coming home from Target on Saturday. He saves us hundreds of dollars by doing our own auto repairs. He's a fabulous bath giver to The Lime.

I consider myself lucky that I've got him forever.

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I'm thankful for KitchenAid mixers.

Mine has been my sidekick for 4 years and hasn't let me down once.

Numerous cakes, dozens of cookies, gallons of buttercream, several loaves of bread and hundreds of rolls.

I remember growing up and hating when my Mom used her mixer because I couldn't hear what was on the tv, it was so loud. Now, it's music to my ears because I know it's making something delicious.

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I'm thankful for Jesus Christ.

I'm thankful for the sacrifice he made for me.

I'm grateful that he's my brother, my Savior and my friend.

I'm thankful that we get to celebrate his birth next month.

I'm grateful for the example that he is to me.

I know that he lives.

I'm thankful for that knowledge.

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(Google provided the picture)

I'm thankful for ice cream.

Such a delicious treat that I can never seem to get enough of.

When I was younger, I'd come home from school and go straight to the kitchen for my snack. I was telling my sister about this a few weeks ago and she couldn't believe my mom allowed me to do the following:

I got one of our medium sized mixing bowls, one of our large mixing spoons, filled the bowl with ice cream, if we had cookies, I'd add about 4 or 5, maybe added some caramel or nuts, mixed it all together, went into my parents room and watched tv while enjoying every bite.

How I didn't end up being the fattest kid in the world, I don't know.

Do I have a favorite flavor? No. But I really don't like Rocky Road (did you just pretend to be Sloth from Goonies?! Me too!). It's the marshmallows.

And don't you love the picture I found? Thrifty ice cream is iconic. The square scoop! I'd always get the rainbow sherbet. Did you just pronounce that like "sherbeRt"? Me too!

I think I may just go get one of my mixing bowls and spoons...

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I'm grateful for heroes.

We went out to dinner last weekend and there happened to be some sort of Military get together at the restaurant.

I've made it a goal of mine to thank any man or woman I see in their uniform, for their sacrifice in serving our country.

Turns out we were seated right next to this party and I wanted to stand on my chair and shout out to everyone how blessed we were! But to save myself from embarrassment, I passed on that idea. I did, although, thank 3 of them individually for their service. One man almost brought me to tears.

My sister, her family, The Lime and I went to San Jose to celebrate Veterans Day. Every year, I wish to attend some sort of parade or celebration but have never gotten around to it. I text messaged my brother-in-law last night and asked if he knew of anything and my sister just so happened to be looking events up online. Turns out the San Francisco parade was last Sunday (what the heck?!?!) so we opted for San Jose.

I brought our little flag so The Lime could wave it proudly! He waved it for a second and chewed on it the rest of the time.


I hope all Veterans know that they're heroes. Whether they were sent abroad or served in the United States, whether it was 3 years or 30 years, service is service and I'm grateful.

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I'm thankful for gasoline.

And not just any gasoline but Safeway's gasoline. I secretly get excited when I know I have a 10 cent discount.

And don't be fooled. This picture was not taken at our local Safeway. I can't remember when I saw prices that low. Imagine the 10 cent discount on $2.52! I'd be in gasoline heaven!

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I'm grateful for friendship.

I like to believe that we were friends in the pre-existence. You know when an elderly couple has spent 60 years together and one of the two passes away? It doesn't seem long before the other one goes.

It seems as though Katie and I have done the opposite. We started out together, just 6 weeks apart. I think it was only 6 weeks because we couldn't stand to not be with one another.

We've literally grown up together.

From Kindergarten...

...to Weddings.

We were blessed to live just across a park from each other. Each grade in elementary school, we had the same teacher. Once we got to middle school, we only saw each other at break and lunch but that was OK. After our 6th grade year, she moved to Southern California and I thought my life was over. What would I do without my best friend?! My fear was that we'd not talk as much, rarely see each other and our 12 years of friendship would fizzle out.

Thank goodness, I was wrong!

After 14 years of not living across the park from each other, we're still best friends. A state or a country can't come between Katie May and I.

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I'm grateful for entertainment.

en·ter·tain·ment

2) something affording pleasure, diversion, or amusement, esp. a performance of some kind: The highlight of the ball was an elaborate entertainment.

LaVor didn't find the following news clip very entertaining but I did. I'm not quite sure what it is about "Janice" that I find so entertaining. Is it her accent? Is it her enthusiasm for baseball? Is it the quick "Go Giants!" that she threw in at the very end? I don't know but it sure kept me amused.

I also think this little dude is quite the entertainer.

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I'm thankful for dogs.

It's expected that in the next few weeks or even days, my family will have to put down our dog that we've had for almost 14 years. I've mentioned him before.

Indy Doo no longer looks this young and handsome. He's now an old man with a white beard, is on the verge of being completely blind and is having a hard time roaming the backyard. It's difficult to see him like that.

I'm especially grateful for the companionship, protection and love that he's provided over his lifetime. Do I dare mention that I used to sleep on the kitchen floor with him, while he was recovering from being hit by a car?

He bit people, even snapped at LaVor once. Do I also dare mention that I took the dog's side and LaVor and I got in a huge fight about it? To make a long story short, Indy had bit people in the past, I warned LaVor not to try and pet him, he tried, Indy snapped at him, LaVor got mad, I defended the dog because I had warned him, we didn't talk for a couple days, now we're married.

So thank you, Indiana, for being the best Christmas present ever. I cried when I got you and I'll cry when I have to let you go.

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I'm grateful for cake.

Some people work with clay, others chalk, some even cameras. I've never considered myself artistic but I suppose cake is my medium.

Cakes was my favorite class in school, as I think I've mentioned before. Being able to take flour, sugar, eggs and butter and make it look like this → is pretty amazing.

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I'm thankful for banners and balloons.

LaVor was gone all week on a business trip and it sucked. We missed him so much!

But when the banner and balloons went up, we knew it was almost time for him to come home. And home, he is.

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I'm grateful for America.

The Government may not always make decisions that I agree with, we may be the most overweight country and everyone else in the world may hate us but I'm proud to be an American.

I'd take the issues in our country over any other countries, in a heartbeat. We're still the land of the free and home of the brave.

Now let's play ball.

Perhaps A Piece Of Heaven

I think I've had a churro once or twice in my lifetime. And I'm not sure why that number isn't higher. How can you go wrong with fried dough, drenched in cinnamon and sugar?

For some reason, we're getting a free viewing of the Cooking Channel right now. Saturday morning, they had a show on that featured Rick Bayless and one of his restaurants, XOCO. They shared one of his Tortas that instantly got my mouth watering (the Ahogada to be exact). As if the Torta didn't look good enough, they had to feature his homemade churros and hot chocolate. Rick explained that they make their hot chocolate with ganache and we all know how I feel about ganache! If that's not heavenly, I'm not sure what is.


These two items alone, I believe, are worth a trip to Chicago. Even perhaps a layover.

Trick or Treat

We waited 31 days to celebrate and now it has come and gone.

Everyone came over last night to enjoy some dinner and Halloween festivities. Before you could enter, you needed to guess the number of "seeds" in the "pumpkin" (white chocolate chips in an orange balloon). Once in, we gobbled up some Cincinnati chili and chicken tortilla soup. After dinner, the winner of the guessing game was revealed...HC with a guess of 26! Total number of seeds was 27.

The kids played for a bit and orange rice crispy treats were eaten. Before we headed to the neighbors for a quick candy consumption, the brave guests dipped their hands into a mysterious bowl of goop.

Growing up, a Sunday activity we would play was "Haunted House". Now that I think of it, it wasn't the best way to keep the Sabbath day holy but we weren't fighting so that was good. We would put a blanket over the end of the hallway so it was dark and turned that 20 feet into a Haunted House. One thing we always did was make a bowl of goop that we had to put our hands in. The goop from last night consisted of grapes, maraschino cherries & juice, cheese, flour, spaghetti, ketchup and mayonnaise. Amy won that game too, guessing 4 of the correct items.

I originally wanted to dress The Lime up as a Lion but that fell through last week. The next costume idea was a Garden Gnome.

At one point last night, he did have red suspenders on. And surprisingly, he didn't rip the beard to shreds.

I'm sad it's time to take the decorations down, especially because I don't have any Thanksgiving ones to put up. But in just 3 short weeks, Christmas decorations will be coming out of the wazoo!