Little Kids :)

Words of Seth Parl Johnson

"When Jesus tells you something, you gotta do it... PRONTO!!!"

Edna has been asked to play Marry tonight in a nativity skit and is freaking out a little bit (crying, screaming  crying, whining, and lots of I DO NOT AND WILL NOT DO THIS!!!). I was trying to explain to her that she was called to do this...maybe even by Heavenly Father! Its Christmas Eve and you have been called to play a very important character...Marry the mother of Jesus! And that's when Seth said, in the sweetest voice of a little boy

"When Jesus tells you something you gotta do it, pronto!"

I love little kids! and Christmas, but especially Christmas eve when I am reminded of the good ol days when i had to play Marry. Oh how I wish life were still that easy!

Merry Christmas!

Why the Empty Bookcase?

Some of you might be wondering; why did they call it The Empty Bookcase???

Well there are lots of reasons! :) 

#1-When we moved here we bought 2 bookcases and they were totally empty...it was our choice what we were going to put on them. Novels, histories, science, biographies, maps. We decided we wanted to fill these bookcases with classics! The books that the founding fathers read, the books that changed the world and mankind, the books that inspire the human soul to be something more than they are today! 

These are our empty bookcases.

Walter Mosley once said "A man's bookcase will tell you everything you'll ever need to know about him."

So, what do you you want people to know you by?

That leads us to reason #2-What and who are you molding yourself into? Who are you going to be?

Firbie at the moment is reading every Anita Stansfield's Romance she can get her hands on, and is convinced she now knows enough information from these books to be a psychologist!

Mom has been reading a lot on the first world war. (I'm a little jealous, because that's what i'm suppose to be reading)

On my bookcase I have a ton on the 21st century and every leadership classic I can get my hands on...sadly I think i'v only covered about 5 of them :P But at the moment i'm reading Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew...I adore this play and laugh out loud about every other sentence! And also Education of a Wandering Man. Also a very good book.

Edna is reading A Little Princes, and who knows about Turtle! Shes in her room most of the time minding her own business. Last I herd she finished Edenbrook in a few days and absolutely loved it! (That is on my reading list along with about 400 others). She reads a lot more than I think anybody even realizes!

Dad is still reading Jesus the Christ (I think its been a year, but at least he is making progress!) and always somewhere in some kind of computer programming book.

Dallin H. Oaks said "Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it. Some things are better, and others are best. When the Lord told us to seek learning, He said, 'Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom' (D&C 88:118).

What and who are you becoming? Because of even the littlest choices of what books you are reading change who you are.

And my favorite book quote by Classic writer himself Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”

#3-I believe our minds are also bookcases in a way...every second of every day we are choosing what we will fill our bookcases with. Every day the things we watch, read, listen to, and do are making us into something and someone. Who are you going to be, and what are you going to do about it?

That's what this blog is all about! The things we post here are the things my family and I are filling our bookcases with. Sometimes its a new recipe, other days it's the last movie we watched, and if its Firbie posting you might get a little gimps at psychology ;)!!! When we are feeling really adventurous you might hear about our field trips that we try going on once a month. Other days it might just be a new quote i'm obsessed with... actually that will happen a lot ;) 

The question is what are you filling your bookcase with???

-Houston

  

Guess what we got?!?!?

Tonight our secret Santa gave us this brownie skillet!!! Can't wait to try it out!

Plus some hot sauce that mom might try on her brownie...she is a hot sauce FREEK!!!

DECK THE STALLS and have a very merry Texas Christmas!

Secret Santa day 3!

Our last day of Secret Santa...and we gave one of our favorite books. I'm reading it now to Seth and Indy. "Mountain Born" is a sweet story written in 1943 about a 5 yr old boy who gets to take care of a little black lamb of his own. There are so many references to Christ throughout the book (since he refers to himself as the good shepherd and us his flock). I cant recommend it highly enough. We also gave it with some caramel popcorn (whipped up by Houston...the card made by her as well).

In our wards here in Texas, they have a tradition of Secret Santa 3 days during the week leading up to our ward Christmas party. It is meant to develop Christmas cheer and warm feelings of service toward one another. Those who wish to participate are assigned a family to give gifts to. The first 2 nights it is supposed to be secret and the last night you reveal who you are. We decided to sing "Silent Night" in harmony with a descant (yes...we're that cool). I'm sure it was a little uncomfortable for Secret Santa family, but that is how caroling goes...no way around it. 'Tis the season to be jolly you know. ;)

Christene

Another Crazy but Yummy Day

We had another HUGE order today for Yummies! We woke up at 7 and started baking pies and cookies. It was so much fun and we enjoyed making yummy holiday treats and making people happy!

If your in a crunch for time around Thanksgiving and didn't quite finnish that apple pie, oh and if you live in Texas, e-mail us! We would love to be a part of your holidays!!!

Secret Santa Day 2!

Tonight we delivered our second secret Santa gift!!! It was a cozy warm blanket...that's it :P but tomorrow is going to be the bomb digity!!! Well...when we decide what it is. But be assured It will tie everything together!

Because they ran after us yesterday, and we were afraid they figured out who we were, we dressed up... Really dressed up! But sadly that's our dads normal! Hahahaha

We decided to wear all of big cheif's wigs... That he wears to work on a regular basis...and yes I have a mustache! I think it's pretty awesome!!!

Until tomorrow, over and out!

-Houston

Secret Santa

Tonight we delivered our first out of three "secret santa" gifts. Tonight was a jar of hot chocolate with a bag of marshmallows and a PERFECT batch of cinnamon rolls... They were perfect in every way! Probably because Firbie made them ;) (she's our best baker), and they had our famous salted caramel cream cheese frosting! It makes me want some SOOOO bad... Oh wait there is some in the kitchen just waiting for me :D!!!! We all dressed up in black. As we were running for our life they saw us and started yelling at us! Thank goodness they probably have no idea who we are :) It was very intense!!! I'm going to go eat a cinnamon roll!

Goodnight world!

-Houston

‎"One of the best mental skills you can develop is the ability to be still in the midst of chaos." 
~Justin Su'a

-Houston

Today is Monday

Mondays...aren't they great?! I'm kinda in love with them! It's the beginning of the week and i'm still so happy from church. Its not Thursday...when you just can't wait for the week to end :P

Today was an amazing day! I got my braces tightened and they are now blue instead of pink because blue reminds me of winter and especially snow...don't ask me why...but today I was a little home-sick so instead of going with the red and green idea it took Seth and I an hour to come up with for Christmas, I went with Blue! It makes me so happy!!! and it reminds me of Utah's snowy mountains!
Today I did math and lets just say, I rock! It's supposedly Thanksgiving brake and I did math. That's pretty awesome right?! Oh the joys of a home-school! I also read ALL of George Washington's rules of civility. Here are a few of my faves:

*Keep your nails clean and short, also your hands and teeth clean, yet without showing any great concern for them.

* Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy.

*Do not express joy before one sick in pain, for that contrary passion will aggravate his misery.

*Gaze not on the marks or blemishes of others and ask not how they came. What you may speak in secret to your friend, deliver not before others.

*THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, pronounce not imperfectly, nor bring out your words too hastily, but orderly and distinctly.

*Undertake not what you cannot preform but be careful to keep your promise.

*Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.

*Be not angry at the table whatever happens and if you have reason to be so, show it not but on a cheerful countenance especially if there be strangers, for good humor makes one dish of meat and whey.

If only teenagers these days could even live ONE of these rules, this world would be a better place!

I made dinner tonight...it took me three hours! Thank goodness I like cooking. I tried making chicken soup...it didn't work as well as I had hoped. Sorry Boby Fley or whatever your name is, that recipe is not going on my keeper list! I also made bread. That recipe will be on here once we get a decent picture of a loaf of bread. Tonight's bread didn't rise quite perfectly and Fierb wouldn't let me take a picture with in-door lighting anyway! With the bread I made our favorite tuna melts. They are amazing!!!

I'm tired and tomorrow we have a full day of baking ahead of us! It's pretty exciting!!!

One last rule for ya before I hit the hay

*When you speak of God or his Attributes, let it be seriously; reverence, honer and obey your natural parents although they be poor.'

Just some things to think about this week ;) I'm out!

Houston

Gratitude

Hello!

I have been deathly ill this last week and I will admit, in a very poor mood. Sorry to anybody that had to talk to me! But, it being the week of Thanksgiving thought tonight...WOW i'm a pretty blessed person!!!

Last week in seminary my seminary teachers brought waffles, but I had a sore throat and hadn't eaten anything for 48 hours. One because it hurt to bad, and two i'v found that fasting helps you get better faster! (i'll fill you in on this amazing piece of information i'v been reading about in another post). Let me just say I have the best seminary teachers in the whole world!!! Sis. M and Sis. J will be another post ;) Back to waffles...so I hadn't eaten in a long time and I still had a sore throat. What person eats waffles, whipped cream, berries, and syrup after that experience...oh and there was hot chocolate and pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting!?!?!? Actually I know A LOT of people that would to that :P haha...but me NEVER!!! So I sat there...and watched EVERYONE eat waffles and ask me if I was sure I didn't a waffle?...for the fifth time... Are you crazy? I would think, of coarse I wan't a waffle, I just know that I will be screeching in pain if I try to swallow one!!! Thank goodness my seminary teachers are angels! Sis. M, knowing I was sick had made me miracle chicken soup. And I kid you not when I say it's a miracle. I ate it for lunch and my sore was totally gone!!! Thank goodness I forced my lazy and very sick body out of bed because even though I had to endure waffle Friday I was reminded again that I have people that care very deeply about me and I will be forever grateful for them! I love seminary so much and let me just tell you it takes a lot of Satan's minions to keep me from going ;)

Houston

CHRISTMAS!

Yesterday we set up our Christmas tree!!!!!!!! I could use 1000 exclamation points on that sentence. There is nothing better than setting up Christmas stuff, listening to Christmas music, and being with family on a Saturday morning. It just makes me so happy! Normally we would do it the day after thanksgiving but we were a little homesick and we knew it would make us feel better ;)

After we set up the tree we went and saw Reck it Ralph...it was WAY better than I was expecting!!! I'll tell you about that later though ;)

Halloween

So I realize that Halloween was almost three weeks ago but I want to post about it anyway...and I'm on my moms I-phone where all of our Halloween pictures are and...well...I'll just say it! It's pretty awesome to use an I-phone!!!

Anyway...halloween! It was pretty fun. Evidently I am to old to trick-or-treat so I decided to take the littles as an excuse to get some candy ;) I'm pretty smart that way! Whats awesome though is it actually worked! Some very kind people had some compassion for me and gave me a few handfuls...I love Texans!

GBTV Tour

We are Glenn Beck fans. Not even ashamed to admit it. My husband and I have been listening to his radio program for a few years now. We feel he is usually right on with his prognosis of the future. I must admit, he is a little dramatic, but that's what makes him a great story teller. I appreciate how he doesn't try to hide his flaws from his audience...it makes him human and more enjoyable to listen to. I appreciate his insight into history, his love of freedom, and his humor.

Imagine how surprised we were when Glenn moved his studio to Dallas, TX and shortly after Big Chief was offered a job in Texas. We hoped for a possibility to meet GB someday, or be able to participate in some of his GBTV (now The Blaze) shows. We were very excited to hear that Restoring Love would be happening in Dallas, TX after we had moved to TX so we could attend. Restoring Love was pretty awesome! I'll let someone else write a post about that.

In August we had an opportunity to be a part of the GBTV studio audience. Richard Paul Evans was releasing Michael Vey 2 and our girls and I had already read the first book. They were looking for audience members who had already read Book 1 and could read Book 2 before they recorded the show. Since I still had a nursing baby and littles, Big Chief was going to attend with the girls.

He had an "in" with Joe Kerry (through Mercury One) and was offered a studio tour of GB's new studio before the show. I was so disappointed I wasn't going! But those who know Big Chief know that he never thinks it a bad idea to give other people an opportunity to do something nice for him. He asked Joe if our whole family could attend the tour. Then he and the girls could join the studio audience while I stayed outside the studio with the littles and Joe was happy to oblige! To make a long story shorter...we went. We made it through security, loved seeing the studio in person (after seeing so much of it on TV), and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Joe Kerry. As we quietly wandered through the studio, Glenn was busy recording something. Unfortunately we didn't get to personally meet him then, but it was pretty cool to see him recording.

Our family in "The Oval Office"

We ended our tour in Glenn's office! So cool! His desk was made out of an airplane wing. For those that know Glenn, he loves historical items and antiques, things with a story attached. His office was so cool! Oh wait, I already said that.

As we were leaving, Joe pointed out that Stu was in the other room. Joe went and asked Stu to come meet us. Miah almost fainted when Stu hugged her and was a little dazed for this picture. :) Pretty cool, huh? We like Stu too! Such an awesome day! We hope to go back sometime.

The Lake

Some friends of ours invited us to join them at the lake. It was only an hour drive, 45 minutes if you don't wander around trying to find the right entrance. Of course we showed up late, but at least we made it before the sun went down. The kids went straight to the lake which was warmer then we expected. Eventually they made it up to the beach. They separated into teams and raced to see who could dig the biggest hole and fill it with water.

Then of course someone had to get buried in the sand.

And before we knew it, the sun was starting to set and we were already dreading leaving.

Can't wait to go back.

Christene

These next 4 years

Now I know i'm right when I say this is what your brain was doing last night if you were watching the election

You weren't the only ones thinking this. I don't know about you but this is still what is occupying my brain. I can't even believe that this terrible thing has happened (if your'e wondering who won the election i'm going to have to be mean and tell you to go find out for yourself it will help your brain grow) But over the next 4 years we need to remember some key things which are ....

Have a good night

Ferbie

Yummies

I love baking and cooking and frosting things that are delicious! The only other person on this earth that loves it more than me, is my sister Ferbie. She is a true Sugar freak, through and through. She could eat breath and live sugar if that was an option...but sadly, mom shoves salad down her throat instead. I'm sure you will hear about her hatred of salad some day ;)

Lets not make this a post about salad though...that would be kind of depressing. I want to talk about cupcakes...and muffins...and cookies. Oh how I LOVE cookies! Us 4 girls quite enjoy a good ol' HOMEMADE chocolate chip cookie. It must be homemade though ;) We love them so much we decided to sell them. Yep, we started our own business! It's pretty exciting!

There is nothing worse than a store bought cookie...from a STORE! Talk about disgusting!!! and to think people actually do this. They walk into a store and waist money on a terribly disgusting cupcake, or cookie, or muffin. This is a disgrace! If you believe as strongly as I do about this topic, call us and order a homemade one instead...or if you don't agree, you can still call and order one. You wont regret it ;)

We make Yummies... There are 4 of us and we believe that a homemade cookie is still the best! Come check us out on Facebook

Swimming

This past summer it was pretty hot, although not as hot as we expected. Either way, we swam about 3 times per week. We would head out shortly after breakfast and swim for about 2 hours.

At first the kids were somewhat timid, especially the littles. But after a few weeks, the fun began. First it was just taking cool pictures with a vintage camera app on my iPhone ...

Then the girls got more creative. Of course their games were inspired by the Summer Olympic Games. I observed some pretty great synchronized swimming routines ...

The littles became very comfortable in the water as well. The girls would take them one at a time, without their floaties, and let them dive for rings. They started swimming underwater more and spent more time under water than above. Indy would go underwater and pretend she was a mermaid or dolphin and forget to get the diving ring. Seth would swim quite a distance, picking up two or three rings at a time. Brig would let me put him on his back and float around with his eyes closed.

Our last day of swimming the girls were busy with other things, Brig was napping, so I just took the other two. It was a perfect day. We had the pool to ourselves. The pool was the perfect temperature and we all had the perfect temperament. I took each one separately and let them swim to their hearts content. Aaahhh, it was hard to see the pool close for the season. Good times!

The End ....

Christene