I have made it back from Disney World and Stuart, Florida. Disney World was so wonderful I cannot wait to return someday. I have learned a lot from my trip so that the next time I go, I will be able to visit rides that I wasn't able to see before. There were so many wonderful websites out there on planning your Disney trip. I don't want to be negative because with my experience, it did not always work out so beautifully. Just with that, when you plan your trip and go by what people post on their blogs, just have in mind that it may not work out for you and your family. If it does, that is great. Some sites talk about pre-decorating your autograph book. One person in my group did and the characters did not sign on the correct page. The handlers were very curt about time. Now, the handler for Mulan was not happy that my son was acting too shy. This caused Mulan to come over and spend extra time with my son. Not to mention he speaks Mandarin very well for his age since he is in dual immersion. So she sat over talking to Jonah for 10 minutes.
we were in Disney World for 4 days and we spent so much time in lines for autographs, Kidcot stations, stamps at Animal Kingdom that it got old quickly. Most characters you had to go stand in line for 30 minutes prior to the character coming out. The handlers would cut people off and say you were too late the line was closed 20 minutes prior to the character coming out. So it was time wasted running to that location.
I will post more on this subject later. It is not meant to down anyone's blog or be negative, it is just to say that don't expect it all to go the way you would want it. But it definitally is worth going to several times.

Pumpkin Alfredo

18 oz frozen cheese ravioli (I used 5 cheese frozen)
1/2 jar alfredo sauce
1/2 tbsp margarine
1/4 c finely minced onion
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp chicken or veggie broth
1/2 c canned pumpkin

Cook frozen pasta as directed on bag. Melt margarine on medium. Add onions and garlic when melted to saute.

Add chicken broth and herbs. Scrape off side of pan and add pumpkin. Stir together and add alfredo sauce. Stir until all mixed. Cook until heated all the way through and serve over cooked pasta.



This is a version of a recipe from "Our Best Bites" This is so worth buying!! This recipe was super quick. I changed it a little but not much.

Motherhood

Reading this article is a wonderful reminder that being a mother doesn't require perfection. It requires love and compassion and just making an effort.


http://powerofmoms.com/2012/04/your-children-want-you/

It is a very good article written by April Perry and on the Power of Moms blog.

Women in the Scriptures

I have been slow at working on the new Young Women's Medallion. I earned mine when I was 17 in 1995 I believe. It has been a very long time.
The church has re-designed the program and now any woman can obtain it. Which I want the new medallions.
Divine Nature is a wonderful value, especially when it comes to being a woman and a mother. In researching about motherhood and women I came across a wonderful website. I am not sure I can fully take on this assignment (please see Women in the Scripture challenge button at the bottom of the page)in a year alone. I plan on doing it spread out with the other things in life. It will be fun to learn more about the sacred and special women in the scriptures. Hopefully it will strengthen my appreciation for being a woman and a mother.
I have started a scripture journal on topics. Motherhood is, of course, my first topic. Although I think the women in the scriptures challenge needs its own journal. My niece had a great idea with passing the journal off to your children. I will pass the women in the scriptures off to Isabel and I will start a Men in the scriptures for my son.

SparkPeople

Sparkpeople.com is such a wonderful website for anyone who wants to have a healthier lifestyle. I currently have a little blog on there. I have made some goals to eat and cook healthier. I know I am a sugar and soda addict. It is part of my goal for eating healthier (despite food allergies that are real nasty) and getting more organized. I haven't written for a long time and have no excuse.
I am now a stay at home mother and had another baby about 18 months ago. Those 18 months have been a roller coaster ride but it has been fun and worth it.
Jonah is in dual immersion and learning Mandarin Chinese. He has proven that he is such an amazing child. He comes home every day singing songs in Chinese. I was even excited for him to read a book to me in Chinese. Of course I don't understand even though I took some watered down classes in Chinese. Maybe one day I will get Rosetta Stone and figure out what he is saying.
Isabel, who is the queen in the house (in her opinion) is such a little diva. Every day she demands to put on her princess crown and if she doesn't get her way she likes to come over and smack you on the leg. Yes, a habit I hope to rid her of one day.

Memphis

Jonah and I made it down to Memphis Friday! It is so nice to get to begin the move. It feels like it has taken a long time to get to this point. Jonah and I are hanging out with the family before we have to go out to Utah. Although Jonah made the comment that he didn't want to leave Nanny and Poppy's and was a little sad that we have to.

On our way down from Louisville we stopped off at the Casey Jones museum and home in Jackson, TN. It is a very cute place to visit. You can do a self guided tour of his home. You can also climb on a smaller replica engine that Casey Jones was driving on the fateful day. The resturant was very clean and the food was awesome. They had a soup bar that offered rolls and corn cakes.

It is worth visiting when passing through. Jonah loves trains...well, trains, planes and automobiles!

Life is fun!

Only a few more weeks until my big move. So much has happened since my last post. My son was admitted to the hospital for respiratory distress due to asthma. I have had surgery. Luckily we are doing fine now.

I also went to court to petition to move out of Kentucky so Joshua can finish BYU. We won the court case. So Jonah and I are packing up and moving.

I promise that packing by myself is so much worse than surgery. I am getting closer to being done. THANK GOODNESS! Once life settles down for me I should be able to start posting recipes again.

I am finally posting a couple of pictures of Joshua and I. My sister-in-law took the pictures. They are wonderful!