Gratitude

Today I'm grateful for my family and to be exactly where I am in life right at this moment. Ideally, that is the way to live life, right? And I've tried to do that, but I know I'm not very good at it sometimes. And yes, sometimes I daydream about my kids being older, not having dirty fingerprints all over my clothes, actually having 15 minutes to get ready in the morning and grocery shop without 2 or 3 kids in tow. What a luxury!

But I would miss the spontaneous bear hugs, snuggling to sleep, reading of books over and over (okay, maybe I won't miss reading "Brown Bear" 10 times a day), funny little things they do and the fleeting preciousness of having them little. The excitement of discovering something new each day--Garrett just learning how to skip and thinks it is the coolest thing. My kids still think I'm the ultimate expert on everything (I wonder how much longer that will last...it's starting to wear off with Ty), and beg me to come to lunch with them at school. For today, I'm just so happy to have my little buddies keeping me company, helping me put the groceries in the cart, and making me laugh everyday.

I just tucked Grant and Garrett in for naps and it is blissfully quiet. And I'm grateful for nap time, too.

Power Bars

This is a great recipe for power bars that are edible, nutritious and taste really good (I promise, they DO NOT taste like cardboard--I can barely choke down a real store-bought power bar).

POWER BARS

1 c. oats
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1 1/2 c. dried apricots, chopped
1 1/2 c. craisins
1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. chopped almonds
1/2 c. nonfat powdered milk
1/2 c. toasted wheat germ
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. apple sauce
2 T. butter
1 1/4 c. peanut butter (chunky)
1 t. vanilla
1 package chocolate chips (or less/omit if you want healthier)

*toast oats, sesame seeds and wheat germ (I heat a dry frying pan and stir everything in it until lightly browned, or you can put it all on a cookie sheet in a 300 over for 15 minutes or so). Combine all ingredients through the wheat germ in a large bowl. Mix the brown sugar through the peanut butter in a sauce pan, heat to a rolling boil (stirring often), add vanilla and then pour liquid mixture over dry ingredients. Mixed until well combined, then spread on a cookie sheet. Cover your hand with waxed paper and press the mixture out until it is the thickness you want (I usually leave a 3" strip bare on the end of the pan so the bars can be a bit thicker). Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, put in a 300 oven for 15 minutes or so until the chocolate chips are spreadable. Spread the chocolate evenly over the bars, then chill until solid. Cut the bars into granola bar size, wrap individually with foil, then throw in a freezer bag and freeze. They take only 5 minutes or so to thaw so it is the perfect snack to grab on the go. Enjoy!!!

Gratitude

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful,
but gratefulness that makes us happy." --David Steindl Rast

I'm going to shamelessly copy some I know who do a weekly gratitude post. I have so much to be thankful for. I truly believe that what we focus on becomes who we are, so as we focus on the beautiful and positive in our lives, we become just that. The same goes for the negative.

Today I'm thankful for good friends who brought us dinner yesterday when I had a round with a 24-hr flu bug. And other friends who brought brownies just to say hi and let us know they were thinking about us. I feel 100% better today, and am hoping the bug stops with me.

Missionaries

A few weeks ago I traveled out to Utah with Grant for my brother Jacob's mission farewell. He will be attending the MTC in England (Preston, I believe) and then serve in the England Manchester Mission.

I got to see all of my siblings, Mom, Grandparents Johnson and lots of extended family, and send Jacob off in style. He gave a great talk about faith and goal setting, and I was so proud of him. I remember when we were kids how he would recap every detail of what we read about after family scripture study. He really knows the scriptures and that knowledge will serve him well on his mission. He knows that all things are possible with faith in Jesus Christ, and he will work hard and give it his all. He will be a great missionary.

We had fun reminiscing, playing Scum and other games, storming the Nickelcade, and even tried to pull an all-nighter. (I suffered a week of brain-deadness for that one). The highlight was going to the temple together and doing work for our ancestors on the Wagner side. It was a surreal experience, and made me so grateful for the gospel, eternal families and what will come after this life. It was a wonderful trip and I'm so grateful to Tyler for making it possible.

Nickelcade--arcade that takes nickels.
We traded in all of our tickets for fruity tooties--Sweet!

Grant walking to church with Uncle Ricky.

The adorable Magleby family walking to church

Grant and I had a lot of together time--a fun treat

Grant adores his Uncle Jacob--this was them doing "air running", invented by Felicity

Jacob,
we love you, we'll miss you, we couldn't be prouder!

Now for the second set of missionaries in the family: J. Grant and Annette Hacking will begin their mission to the Columbia Bogota North Mission in July 2009 as the new Mission President and Hermana Patrona. They are excited and soaking up enough sun in the Dominican Republic and family time to last them for three years. They have prepared all of their lives for this mission and are so well-suited to serve the people in Columbia. Their love for the Latin people and culture runs deep and they have many eternal friends in Santiago, Chile, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic (and Argentina, I'm sure).


We plan to be faithful letter writers and make good use of our webcam. We love you, we will miss you, and we couldn't be prouder of you. The example you set for us and for your grandkids is immeasureable.

Oh, where to begin...

I'll start with Garrett's birthday. He is officially 4 now! Okay, he's been 4 for a month, but man it's hard to keep up.
He loved his cinnamon roll breakfast in bed, and teenage mutant ninja turtle party with his best friends. Here are a few photos...

Cinnamon rolls and grapefruit, some of his favorites.

It's all about the superheroes, TMNT's, and monster trucks.

Pinata time! Tyler had the great idea to let the kids do ninja moves to break the pinata instead of the traditional beat it with a stick. They loved it!

Trying to get them to hold still for a group shot--not easy :)

Make a wish, Garrett!

Garrett putting the moves on the pinata, followed by Grant. Ever since this pinata kick, Grant walks up to cars in the parking lot and kicks the tires. It is a bit embarrassing but so funny. Luckily he hasn't set off any car alarms. ..yet...

Garrett took karate for a month and loved it. Look at that mad face--he's a natural.
Now he is doing gymnastics.
Here's to a great year, Garrett!