October Love #3

Homemade Donuts when it's chilly outside.

And better yet, giving the boys some baking lessons. I really love to bake, it's so relaxing for me, Justin can tell you that I bake WAY more than when we were first married. When Corbin was old enough to stand on a chair and watch me, he was old enough to help me. When we were bored during the day, we baked. (Which is not a good habit to get into, trust me.)

When this time of year rolls around, I find our oven is on quite a bit more than usual. We go through flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin, chocolate chips, apples, and nuts so much more. When we make these, oil seems to go fast. But it's ALL worth it!

(We don't have a donut cutter, but we get along just fine)

It's hard work, but in the end, it pays off.

Sinking our teeth into these is heavenly.
(Taylor did not want his picture taken while enjoying each and every bite)
(thanks Nicole and Abe for the recipe, we have had these every year since you gave it to us three years ago)

October Love #2

Football Game and Birthday Party with Cousins on a crisp, cool October Day.

Huddle Time

That birthday boy has got an arm. Impressive.

What a catch!

Get him Jords. (And that of course is our kiddo, just chillin.)

What a play, so close Corbin.

The only girl cousin was holding her own. Trying so hard to tackle the birthday boy.

After a great game of football,we had a treasure hunt that led to these cupcakes. It is tradition in the Morris Family to let all the kids have a candle to blow out. They LOVE it. (in case you were wondering, those are ghosts.)We love Cousins...and football...and cupcakes....and being together!! (they just moved back two months ago after being gone for three years. We LOVE it!)

October Love #1

My sister-in-law is taking this month to write the reasons why she loves October. I thought I would follow in her footsteps and do the same.

There are so many reasons why I love October and this year it started out so right. And this is why.

General Conference was so great this year. (but when isn't it?)

I really enjoyed sitting back and really paying attention to every talk. Of course every year there are some talks that stand out more to me than others, but all of them have such great things to say and are meant to be said at this time.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: I have loved every talk of his in the last couple of years. This year, I appreciate how humble he was and how grateful he was for every member of the church. And then how grateful he was to his sweet parents who sacrificed so much during his mission so that he would have all the money in his bank account when he got back. When I heard this, tears were rolling down my cheeks because this is exactly what Jusin's parents did for him. And he had no idea. This gave Justin such a great start to his life when he got back and especially when we got married. Ever since I heard that Justin's parents did that, I said that is exactly what I want for our children and now hearing Elder Hollands talk just renewed my excitement to do this. Especially since we have three future missionaries.

Elder Dieter F. Uchdorf: I love this man so much. He makes me smile every time I see him. And the amount of optimism he has, I want to be that way so much. His talk probably hit me the most this time. Ever. single. word. was perfect and just what I have longed to hear and just how I want my life to be. If you are feeling down or frustrated, read this. If priorities are not feeling right, read this. If you need to get away from worldly things, read this. One of my favorite lines that I will definatly print out is:

"In family relationship love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time."

President Thomas S. Monson: I am so grateful to know we have a prophet. I love our prophet. I love his words. I love this talk. It has taught me to be more thankful and not be so caught up in things that really don't matter (even if we can't sell our house, we have just what we need and that is what matters). There are so many great things taught to me in this talk. I love how President Monson ended:

"Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude."

There were so many other great talks (this one was quite good, thank you President Packer!) and I can't wait to listen to all of them over and over to remind me that we only have one chance at this life and I want to do it right and not look back with ANY regrets! These talks help get me there.

What a great start to a great month!

Wither Away

When I was little, I was the most awful eater.

I would never eat.

I would 'try' to be sneaky and hide food on the little shelf that was under our table. (I remember finding dried up peas and carrots weeks later)

I would push aside the ground beef from spaghetti because I felt so bad eating an animal.

I would fall asleep at the table and wake up when everyone was done and gone.

As a result my dad grabbed his belt and I got 'belted' to the chair until all my food was gone. But I had the advantage. After my parents left the dinner table, I had brothers who cared deeply and would eat the food for me.

I got away with it.

Now twenty years later, food is NOT an issue for me. I love food. There is nothing like a yummy home cooked meal to warm the soul. I appreciate it now and can't believe I was ever that way.

However, twenty years later I have some boys who can be the exact same way. I have yet to buckle them to their seat (if you don't count a high chair, which did work great), but that day may come. Sometimes getting them to eat their dinner is a struggle. However, sometimes they CAN hold their own, usually when meat is involved (they obviously don't care about the animals).

Last night was a night where Corbin claimed he was SO full after three bites. I told him if he stopped he would not get anything later. "Okay", he said and ran off to play.

We then got teeth brushed, jammies on, books read and boys tucked in. Corbin came out and said he was SO SO hungry and he needed to eat. I told him no.

"But mom, I need to!"

"No Corbin, go to bed."

"Fine, do you just want me to wither away?"

And now he got away with it.
(I figured he could use the calories.)

Taylor Lately

I have been thinking

lately,

how big this boy has gotten. Is he really just a few months from turning five.

Unbelieveable.

Lately,

we have been having such a good time with mommy school.

It is so fun to be the one to teach him the very basics. He is getting to be so grown up and I love the time spent with him.

I have been impressed by his artistic ability. Last night he drew a great picture of R2D2. Adorable.

Lately,

he has been building lots of these lego guys. I love when he makes one just for me and then asks me to sit down and play heroes with him.

Simple.

I have loved hearing about his nightly dreams

lately.

My favorite has been,

"Mom, you know when you cover up your eyes with your hands and then a movie comes on. Last night my hands played spiderman!!"

Cuteness.

I have always enjoyed hearing this guy laugh, but

lately

it has been music to my ears.

Happy.

Lately

the two older boys have been thinking they are hilarious. They come up with silling games and jokes and get a big laugh from themselves.

Last night this was what happened between the three of us.

Taylor asked me to close my eyes.

I did.

He came up and spanked me (softly) and runs off laughing

I teasingly told him,

"okay, I am never closing my eyes again!"

Corbin said,

"Yes you have to when you go to sleep"

I told them,

"nope, I'm not going to sleep."

Corbin said,

"OH, you have to or you'll be so so onery!"

Then they go away laughing.

Yes, they do think they are so

funny.

Small town Peach Days

I loved growing up in a small town and I love everytime I get to go back.

One of the times that we were up there this past summer Justin and Corbin were driving down town and there were tons of flags out on the streets. Corbin said to Justin,

"is this why mom is so proud of Brigham City?"

Ya, I love this town!

The calmness of it, the genuine people, the fresh air, the great neighbors, and once a year Peach Days came around!

I remember from a very early age the excitement of Peach Days. It was the greatest day for me next to Christmas and 4th of July. The reason for that is the same as the other two days, the traditions that it brought.

• Sitting across from Peach City with my Family, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins to watch the parade. (and every year I had to hide behind the chairs when the clowns came by)
• Playing in the ditch that ran right behind us when the parade got boring.
• Walking right around the corner, after the parade, to Grandpa's house for Hamburgers fresh from the grill and homemade rootbeer.
• Grandpa giving each of us money to spend at the carnival.
• Walking down the street to ride the merry-go-round and get some cotton candy.
• Noticing the poor cow that was up for auction and didn't know what his fate was. (I was sad about that)
• Going to the art show and remembering how boring it was, but, it was tradition. (I would enjoy it now)

As the years went by and I got older, that day was not the same. It changed. But I will always remember Peach Days as I was a little girl and the excitement it would bring to me.

This was painted by my incredibly talented mom.

And speaking of my mom, she was a contestant in the Peach Queen Pageant, back when it was classy and a big deal. My dad sent this in an e-mail just a few days before Peach Days.

"Then another packer-to-be showed up on the chamber of commerce float in 1967. Jill Holmgren (to the left) was first attendant and Miss talent. We started dating two weeks later. A stunner for over 42 years."

Isn't he sweet!

And that's MY mom.

This year I wanted the boys to get a little taste of Peach Days. Even though it's not nearly the same as it was for me, they still thought it was extremly fun!

I don't think they expected this slide to be faster than the ones at the park.

Especially Taylor!

We chose to go to the Jr. Parade rather than the big one. And I do not remember EVER getting as much candy as they did!

We can't forget the peaches, it's what this day is all about. Thanks to my great parents, they gave us a big box of delicious, home-grown peaches. You can't ever go wrong. Justin and I can't hardy wait for the day we get our very own peach tree!

I turned a couple of those peaches into this yummy pie! Happy Peach Days!

Sad Hand

Yesterday morning we were making yummy popcorn on our stovetop. I just finished popping it, turned off the burner, and ran to answer the phone. While I was just hanging up the phone, (we now had a showing on our home in one hour!) Levi found the empty box of fruit snacks on the counter, climbed up the chair, and put his hand right on the burner that was still way too hot.

As a result:

two + hours of tears,

an attempt to keep his hands cool,

lots of cuddle time,

swinging at the park with Daddy to distract from the pain,

and then a hand that looked like this that night -

And now in the morning, his poor little hand looks like this.

It makes me hurt whenever I see that sad hand. He has been such a tough, sweet little guy through it all. And has been so patient using his left hand for everything. He can hold up to three superheroes in one hand now, color pictures, drag his me-me around, eat his dinner, push the chair to the sink to wash his hands, but then any time his sad hand touches something, the tears come again.

Poor guy.

Luckily, he has an older brother to help him out and give him lots of kisses and attention.

And Levi has loved that!