Birthday Pictures

Here are some random pictures of Jeremy's 30th birthday party. We invited some people over Sunday night after church...of which there ended up being standing room only. No kidding!! We loved it. Not only that, Jeremy deserves it. Noah loved it too. He had a blast being the center of attention at his daddy's party. Mom Wilbanks made her famous Santa Fe soup, the Koehoorns brought over cheesy nachos. There were Snicker Doodle cookies, birthday cake, pina colada punch with ice cream, Harry and David's Sweet Onion Pepper Relish cream cheese dip, and lots of gummy worms scattered around to go along with the "Older Than Dirt" theme. I decorated with black balloons and had a picture collage on the cake/punch table. Bro. and Sis. Bittler brought their kids' Wii game for us to set up in the guest bedroom. Some of our friends' older kids claimed this room while the smaller children and older girls claimed Noah's room. The adults "stood" in 3 rooms. lol I say this because we didn't have enough seating in our house even though the entire perimeter of our living room and kitchen were lined with chairs.

Once people started arriving, the flow didn't stop. I got nervous and just started pulling people into the kitchen with me. Thank God for Sis.Bridget, Sis.Bittler, Sis.Kimi, Sis.Mary, Sis.Cheryll, Mom Wilbanks, and Sis.Natalie. These ladies just came in and knew exactly what to do. Also, thank you Bro.Bittler for asking me about pictures. I had gotten so carried away with the busyness of the party and had forgotten to have someone taking pictures. Luckily it wasn't too long into the party that he said something. lol I am grateful. Thank you Aunt Judy for taking pictures for me.

Once everyone had eaten, we lit the candles on the cake and sang while people pulled the party poppers and confetti went everywhere (I'm still finding it behind, around and inside my furniture... lol). It was great. After Sis.Mary helped me serve the cake, the crowd started dwindling down... many people had to get up early Monday morning. However, we had some PARTY ANIMALS stick around and drink coffee and play games and chat until 2am. As those of you who know my husband, he's the biggest PARTY ANIMAL -- always telling people to just stay the night since we have a spare bedroom and we'll stay up all night. HAHA You guys know its true!HAHA so much for getting up early (poor Jeremy had to). It was such a fun party and maybe next year we'll consider our new Fellowship Hall at church.

To my sweet husband of 7 and a half years, I am so blessed to have married you... that you chose to marry me. I thank God for you as often as I think about it. You are a treasure that I prayed for all throughout my single adulthood. Everything I prayed for: that you would love God more than me, that you would be a good example as a Father and a husband in our home, and that you would not waiver in your character, convictions, and in Truth; you are all that and more. God blessed me exceeding abundantly beyond what I asked or thought. You have a love for Truth and what is right. You have strong loyalties to what you believe in. I LOVE that about you... and that you don't hesitate to inspire others to do the same. I love your gentleness with me and our son. I am so thankful that our son has a wonderful example as a Father to look up to as he grows up. Thanks for being who you are. I love you with all my heart... forever. Love, Von de Leigh

Bake a Turkey: "Just Put it in the Sink"

I found this cute article about kids instructing how to bake a turkey for Thanksgiving. You never know what kids are going to say. My days are numbered. Just this evening Noah began experimenting with the refrigerator's water dispenser. I was sitting in the next room and I knew what he was doing because every time I could hear the "click" noise, I would hear this little gasp of air as the frigid cold water would hit him. After a while I decided I should try to prevent any water damage to my floors so I went in and with hands on hips asked, "How did you get so wet?" He looked around the room momentarily and then looked back up at me and said, "A mouse?" I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. As I began thinking about kids and the funny things they say, I came across this article to share with you. What will your kids say when asked how you cook/bake their fave foods?

"To Bake a Turkey just put it in the sink"
Take a group of 4- and 5-year-olds. Add a Thanksgiving theme, and talk about pilgrims and Thanksgiving Day meals.
Then ask what's their favorite thing about Thanksgiving dinner. Some have to think it's been a while since their last Turkey Day meal. But, with a little prompting from friends and teachers, they come up with some of the traditional vegetables, desserts and turkey.
But, the fun part comes when you ask those children how their moms prepare their favorite foods.
Elizabeth Smith, the preschool teacher at Draper Elementary School, asked her 4-year-old students Thursday how to cook a turkey.
"Big turkey, like this," said Parker Setliff, stretching his arms to indicate the size of the bird. "Mama crush it and then cut it. Mama cut it again."
Gabriel Huffman: "It's already melted. You put it in the oven and you bake it and you bake it and you bake it! You cut it with a knife. Then you put in on a plate. Then you blow it cause it was in the oven. Then you eat it!"
Blake Pulliam: "You cook it in the oven. You put it in a pan, then put it in the microwave. I don't know after that."
David Vasquez Soto: "Eat him and squeeze him. You put it in the sink under the water. When you finish under the water, eat him!"
Megan Powell: "You put it in the oven, then bake it. Bake it and then take it out of the oven, then you eat it."
Sarah Pendleton: "My mama ... we don't eat turkey. We do eat turkey but we don't eat the bones! You stir it. You cook it. You put it in the oven. You cut it and bake it."
The 5-year-olds in Sandra Greeson's kindergarten class got into the Thanksgiving dinner mood, too. They created Pilgrim hats and wore them all day.
Lucas Durham said his favorite holiday food is apple pie. His mom uses apples "that you cook in the oven. She puts them in the pie tin and puts them into the oven for a few minutes. When it's time, she opens it up and gets it out, and we have apple pie."
Baked potatoes are a favorite with Samuel Johnson. "All she does is put the butter in and then she cooks them, and she lets me eat it," he said.
Kenyon Allen prefers his potatoes "smashed." His mother peels the potatoes and puts them a pan. "She smashes them with a hammer," Kenyon said with a big grin. "She puts milk in and then we eat it!"
Pumpkin pie had to be on somebody's list, but Hannah Vernon said she doesn't know how her mother cooks it. "I don't stay long enough to watch her fix it. I don't know how she fixes it!"
Alli Willoughby said her mother's homemade biscuits are her favorite for Thanksgiving.
"She puts a little sugar in a bowl and puts a little flour and then she puts water and we roll it in a ball and puts them in the oven and lets them set in the oven for a few minutes," Alli said, her hands busy and her face expressive as she described her mother's cooking. "(Then she) takes it out of the oven, and it's time to eat. They're very, very, very good!"

I'm No Green Thumb... But I CANCAN

...OF WHICH I AM NOT A MEMBER

As all of you know who read my posts, I planted a garden of tomatoes, cherry peppers, cayenne peppers, jalapeno peppers, green beans, cucumbers, and red and green Bel peppers. I was hoping to show off my green thumb and domestic skills... but pride comes before a fall. However, don't be too disappointed in me yet. Although I didn't master the art and knowledge of gardening, I did learn to can.

I will say this: before I learned "the art" of canning, I blanched some of my green beans and put them in the freezer and every time we eat them they are wonderful. Aside from that, I probably had 4 edible summer squashes that came from 3 squash plants total. They were awful. The seeds were as big as pumpkin seeds. I also worried and fretted, watered and weeded, over my Bel peppers and tomatoes all summer who failed to produce any fruit. I finally gave up around early September and stopped fussing over them PERIOD. Who would have thought that dehydrated tomato and Bel pepper plants could produce so well? Then there's my cayenne's... I don't even want to talk about them. I have 3 cayenne plants of whose fruit I have done absolutely NOTHING with. They need to be pruned or cut down; they have overtaken my garden, Yes, I had good intentions... I was going to make homemade salsa using them. I was going to dry them and grind them up to use for cooking later. But have I done that? HA! The only positive thing they've done this summer is added a beautiful red splash of color 3 places in my otherwise greenish-brown garden. I won't be planting them next year. Now there's the beloved jalapenos (sigh). I love these little peppers. I have used them all summer to make tacos, spaghetti, fajitas, to add in a steak marinade, poppers with cream cheese and much more. There is no limit with what you can do with them. And guess what? They are still producing like crazy. I'm loving it. (In case the economy completely crashes, I won't have to buy jalapenos and cayenne's... or tomatoes and Bel peppers at this point).

As I stated before that pride comes before a fall, I hate to admit this but my tomatoes never really put out like I had hoped they would. Even now, although they are producing I still don't have enough except to put on a salad every day or so. I had 7 plants and 3 decided early on they were going to check out. So there went my canned tomatoes and salsa... or so I thought. I happened to be mentioning it to Sis.Angela Miller, a dear sweet lady at our church that my "tomato hopes" had been crushed and wouldn't be able to can the goodies I had intended. She didn't hesitate to tell me that she had access to an individual who could get us boxes of tomatoes for $8 whereas they were selling locally from between $12-$20. She also told me she cans tomatoes and everything else all the time and she would love to get together and do some tomato canning. Since I hadn't had any lessons in canning, I gladly welcomed the suggestion and company. We planned the party. The day arrived and Sis.Angela, her daughter Whitney, her son Colton (Noah's age), Sis.Bridget and myself had a blast at my house canning 4 boxes of tomatoes. So after much laughter, learning, tomato skins and stains all over my stove, kitchen floor, and our clothes, we put up 22 12oz. jars and 3 pint jars of salsa; and 12 quarts of canned tomatoes apiece. So although I may not know what I'm doing in the garden yet, I do know how to can thanks to these two instructors: Instructor Miller and Instructor Koehoorn.

Rebekah came by later on her way to a youth activity.

Here's the finished product.

A little bit of heaven on earth... and a BIG HAIRCUT

Stories, laughter, memories, songs around the bonfire, sandcastles at the beach, family, friends, good food, good church, shopping, San Diego... and I quote, "It just doesn't get any better than this" (Paul Bertram). We had the distinct privilege and honor of reliving some old memories and making some new ones while visiting in Lakeside (San Diego), CA.

First let me say, I can never say enough about this family... set aside the fact that they are kin. These are genuine Christians. They don't just read the Word and watch out for themselves alone, but they have a huge burden as big as the sky for others. My cousin Paul is an incredible Pastor (in blue). I got to watch his devotion and commitment to God for the year Jeremy and I lived there. He was early to the church every day to pray. The fruit of that commitment is evident in the saints at Faith Mountain. They are some of the most dedicated, passionate, and committed Christians you will ever meet. We were so blessed to learn and grow with them that year.

In addition, his wife is also a Godly beautiful woman with strong conviction. She is a miner. She goes digging for things in people who don't know what they have yet. She did this for me. She pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to play the piano and sing after Jeremy would preach. This frightened me to death because I only knew a few altar call songs that I was coordinated enough to sing and play at the same time. At our Ladies Prayer meetings, she began putting me on the schedule and having me teach every other week. I began studying and digging into God's Word like I never had before. She is an awesome woman. Now as we revisited the church I saw others she's mined something precious out of and I became so overwhelmed with emotion. For you Bri... you too Amanda... Christina... don't close up the mine... always keep it open. She is always the same. She is a nurturer in the truest sense of the word. She took care of me when I left my "home" for the first time. I called her my 2nd Mom. She fills every bit of that definition. "Her children rise up and call her blessed." I bless you today "Mom."

Also, their biological children, Johnny, David, and Chantal, are some of the best examples of Godly young people you'll ever find. When we lived there, I remember going into the church in the middle of the day and Johnny would be bent over the altar praying and seeking God (I am upset I didn't get a picture of him. I'll have to steal one from his mom's blog) . He is transparent and pure through and through. I also remember Chantal and David in youth prayer meetings, and Chantal specifically one time right before we moved, as she prayed with power and conviction. Her praying that night lead the group into another level of intercessory prayer(the beautiful blonde). God used her in a mighty way. Then my heart was bursting within me again this trip when I walked into the house one day and heard that familiar beautiful sound of praying coming out of David's room. These young people know who they are... they are HIS. And it is obvious that's all that matters. Oh how beautiful and refreshing it was to see this.

It wasn't all serious... we had some down to earth times like when I beat everyone in Big Boggle haha (we won't discuss those other two games); or I got to go to my fave Mexican restaurant: Rodeo's; or when Paul and my Dad came in from Walmart looking like two escapees from the asylum (loved the cap's green light attachment) and Chantal says, "You went to the store like that?"; or the day at the beach building a sand castle and trying to keep Noah from eating too much sand (ahhhh); or getting to teach the youth choir again; getting to see and be with all my old Faith Mountain friends; or spending too much money shopping (my excuse is that its for a good cause... our upcoming Harvest Festival)... on and on I can go.

Yes, you read right, I did mention my Dad earlier. My Mom and Dad also got to come down for the week we were here. I was so glad too. I couldn't have picked a better set of parents than these two. They helped me through a very traumatic experience while we were in SD... the BIG FIRST HAIRCUT. Yes, we finally did it. I wanted it to be special so Lorraine helped me find a salon that was not only kid friendly but they also had a special first haircut package. Noah got to sit in a sports car with Winnie the Pooh. The saved his hair and put it on a cute certificate. Well things started out okay with the cool sports car and as his hair "began" to be cut. After this strange lady started playing with his hair, he started freaking out. I ended up sitting in a chair with him in my lap because things got ugly really fast. Noah was not considering forgiving this lady for cutting his precious hair. So, we just decided to go for a trim and maybe wait a little longer for the BIG BOY styling haircut. All in all we enjoyed a little bit of heaven in SD... revisiting memories and definitely making new ones.

Hair Before:

Hair After:

More pictures:

Mom and BriSis.Hoffer and meSis.Casias and meMe, Noah, and CynthiaMe and Bri

Away to California we flew

Just an update on our trip to California and Oregon. We had such a good time camping with Mimi and Papa. The deer literally walked up to us. They were very tame. Noah had a ball. He still talks about the "deer" and how he got to feed them "bapples" with Mimi. There was an apple tree not too far away that the deer would feed from. Momma and Mimi helped Noah give the fruit to the deer. Their fawns were running everywhere. It was so precious to see Noah have such a good time in the wild.
On our way to the campground and on our way back we had to stop at a casino's buffet. It was fabulous. Noah enjoyed the soft serve ice cream and cookies for dessert. Most of all he loved being up on Papa's or Daddy's shoulders. Thanks to Bro.Ken Artis, this is his new favorite perch. His sign language is to hit his chest with his right hand and turn his back toward you so you can pick him more easily and place him on the shoulders. Noah with Daddy...his favorite person in the whole world.

Music Lessons Tomorrow

I just looked at the date and... yes, it really has been a whole month since I last posted. Well, tomorrow is the big kick-off day. I am so excited to be teaching piano and voice again. For those of you who have asked about it...

There are many things in store. I've written out a Fall Quarter schedule. We are going to have 1 recital this winter and another one in late Spring. We will have group classes at the end of some months to get us ready for the big recital. You can invite as many people as you'd like to your recital... you've earned it and its definitely praise worthy. For those of you who don't attend our church please email me and I can email you my Music Lesson Handbook which contains the schedule, payment info, attendance info. If you have further questions, you can either post on this blog, see me at church, or email me.