The 14 Days of Valentines

Starting February1, each day, a new heart was added to Megan's wall of love.

Ron and I wrote things we love about Megan on hearts and added them to the wall each day.

She passes this wall any time she goes up or down the stairs to her room.

I have loved doing this so much that I want to continue for the entire month.

We don't spend enough time telling the people we love what we actually love about them.

Having it in writing and posted where it will be seen every day is good for any one of any age.

 I thought about putting the hearts on her bedroom door but I wanted them 

in a more prominent location. 

We have enjoyed this happy wall of love.

I love you, Meggie!

Farkle

Our family loves to play games when we are together. It would be safe to say that Phase 10 has been our running favorite over the years. We play a few other games but we generally return to Phase 10 and stay stuck there. We don't adjust to a new games very well.

That all changed when Santa brought us a new game along with a large tin of popcorn.

Introducing... Farkle (I  Santa purchased ours from Amazon)
As the box says, it is a Dice-Rolling, Risk-Taking game. I might add...lively, fast paced, and great for those who like numbers.
Andrew uses the phrase, "Risk it for the biscuit" as he is rolling the dice.
It worked for him as he was the reigning champion for almost a week.
This week, our game was much quieter without Andrew, but we still loved it.

I highly recommend FARKLE!
Do you already love FARKLE?

Happy New Year

Happy Farkle-ing!

Dinner In A Pumpkin- Revisited

It's that time of year!
Family traditions, holidays, decorations, food, and ALLERGIES.
With the recent diagnosis of my husband's soy allergy,
I have been adapting many of our family favorites to make them soy-free.

Dinner In A Pumpkin? Soy? Yes.
Just omit the Soy Sauce? Right? No....Not so easy as that!

How about leave out the canned Cream of Chicken Soup? (which is not the healthiest choice, any how) Yep-no canned soups! If you are a soy-detective, you already know this.

HERE is the original recipe for Dinner in a Pumpkin

HERE is the link for DIY Cream of Chicken Soup- even if you don't have a soy allergy, this is a much healthier option than the old stand-by canned Cream of Chicken Soup.

As for the rice...yes, he is allergic to rice, also.
There are many options, diced potatoes, pasta, quinoa, orzo, etc.
We've got this!
Bring on the holidays, traditions, family, food, etc.

A Tradition Grows Up

Our Favorite Part of Stake Conference Is...

The Picnic Afterwards

(No disrespect meant to the many wonderful

messages and musical numbers enjoyed this weekend)

 We have been enjoying this park after Stake Conference for the past 15+years. One day, Chris Rhinehart decided that there had to be a better place than the Church Parking Lot for a Family-After-Stake-Conference-Picnic. He asked a few locals and voila...a tradition was born.

 The picnic started with The Rhineharts, Smarinskys, and Hostetlers. Soon after, the Lance family joined us. Today, many other families joined our tradition. I must say...I miss the Smarinskys and Rhineharts (both empty-nesters now) and today...for the first time, I missed the Lance Family. They are ALWAYS at the park for the picnic after Stake Conference.

 We drive SO FAR to our Stake Center in Stuart, that this tradition has become one of those things that actually makes the long drive and the 2 hour meeting bearable for the kiddies. They anticipate what we will pack for food and enjoy planing with their friends after sitting for so long. It definitely makes the car ride home easier.

 Hanging with friends who are still dressed in Church Clothes and who just came from the same Church meeting you attended is a big bonus for the kids of every age.

 One of my children was discussing the kind of picnic lunch SHE was going to pack for HER children after Stake Conference when she becomes a mother....I think we are on to a tradition here.

 It's a great tradition...and you know I have pictures of picnics from many years ago...now I just need the time to scan them. They are pics from when we were a family of just 3 sons. Who would have ever guessed that someday, Ron would be sitting at this park with his DAUGHTER.

This is a tradition I am thankful we have continued.

Interesting, though,when it started,

it just seemed like a nice thing to do.

I did not even think about it becoming part of our family tradtions.

What are some of your family traditions?