August

Hi all..Its August and that means back to school in Arkansas. School is tomorrow! As many of you know Im homeschooling Lydia this year. I hope we make it through the day. Someone may need to call me and check on us by 3pm tomorrow :)

Kate is going to a MDO program here @ the Methodist church, and she is loving it! She thinks she is so big, and loves that she has a teacher she can talk about too. Jacob is finally starting to walk, and likes to cruise around the living room at night after his bath. Both girls just had thier birthdays and we are celebrating by having a pool party at our city pool tomorrow night. Cant wait!

Lydia wants to do soccer this fall, and Dad has agreed to be her coach. Seems like the only thing she is really concerned about it making sure her cleats are pink..lol
So the hunt for pink cleats is on.

Derek is working and planning on going to his 20 year high-school reunion next month. 20 year goes by so fast. He's anxious to see his old soccer buddies, some of who went on to coach professional women teams.

I've just been busy switching rooms around. Lydia now has her own room. We painted Jacobs old room, went to Hancocks and picked out coordinating fabric and sewed some nice panels.
We also moved our high-top table into her room, and bought a comfy bar stool, and set up her computer, monitor and printer in her room(this is required for her homeschooling group ARVA)
She is really pleased to have her own space, However she is finding that she cant blame her messy room on her sister now..lol

Im still plugging away in Primary. Each sunday seems to brings a new obstacle to overcome. Ahh, the life of a Primary worker..lol

Happy back to school!

july

Hi everyone. Yep, it's been another month..where did the time go? We had visitors from Utah( Derek's parents) and the 2 weeks went by way too fast. We really didn't want to see them go. But unfortunately all good things come to an end.

It's starting to get uncomfortable now. Yesterday we reached 100 degrees finally, but the humidity what is killing us! Our branch had its annual Pioneer Day Celebration starting at 8am- it was already sweltering! I was praying for a breeze, but none came. Oh well. I hurt my back in the stick pull game. I had to redeem myself from my loss last year :) I actually beat a couple of people.

Jacob is growing like a weed. He has started walking some, but is lazy and likes to go back to crawling on his knees. His knees are so calloused! Two more months and he is in nursery. I know Derek is glad..lol.

Kate's birthday is this week. She will be 4. Lydia and Kate have decided that since their birhtdays are only 2 weeks apart that they are going to combine their parties into one- a pool party, so we are renting out the local pool and inviting a few people. Should be fun.

Lydia just finished swimming lessons, and has showed much improvement over last time. She is finally starting to overcome some of her fears( yea!) dogs, water etc...)
As a matter of fact, her and another neighbor girl are starting a business. They will be dog-walking small breed dogs. We will have to wait to see how successful it will be :) She is also going for braces this week- I don't remember getting ready for braces until I was 15! They start way early now.

Well for all of you reading this, we will be in Utah for Christmas, so hopefully we can see a lot of you then. I'm not sure how long the visit will be( you think I could ask Derek to just leave me there for several weeks? lol..)My parents will also be in Utah at Christmas, so it's a Christmas away from home.

I'm staying busy with Primary. My first counselor just had her baby and my 2ND counselor is getting married in September, so its been more stressful that usual, but I sure do love seeing those children each week. Today was especially nice, as the Branch President sat in on Sharing Time. Its nice to have a priesthood holder in Primary.

For my gluten free friends, Im going to start posting a recipe every other month. This will be a new recipe for me, that I have tested sing my flours. I thought this wa a good way to share some recipes. All you glutened people out thier can try them too if you like ;) This month it is Eclairs, yum!

ECLAIRS
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour, or 1 cup GF Potato Starch flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 1/2 cups cold milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons hot water


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition.
With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a No. 10, or larger, tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the filling, combine pudding mix and milk in medium bowl according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Cut tops off of cooled pastry shells with a sharp knife. Fill shells with pudding mixture and replace tops.
For the icing, melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until icing is smooth and has reached desired consistency. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and drizzle over filled eclairs. Refrigerate until serving.


Anyhoo, until next month...
oh yeah, I'll try to post some new pictures.

June

yes, yes, I know..it's been a while since my last post.

I have been very busy, especially with my church calling. We have also put in a garden this year. It's been fun watching things sprout from seeds, and then enjoying the stuff after all the hard work! So far we have enjoyed peas, and radishes.
We are still waiting on our corn, sweet potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, yellow and zucchini squash, and watermelons. I figured I better learn how to grow my own food, with the cost of gas at 4$ a gallon..lol

Summer is here and with it, the humidity. Oh yes, all of you that live in desert
( Utah, Arizona) I am definately jealous of you now. It just hits you in the face as soon as you are outside. I love Arkansas, but this is not one part I will miss.
No, we are not moving anywhere. (I heard some of you sigh, with relief, or some that said "Not again!")

I have discovered a new computer world- Facebook. I love it that some of my family is on there, and we can keep in touch. If you want to join Facebook, head on over and sign up and do a search for me, I would be glad to be your freind!

In a couple of weeks, I will turn 39! Where have the years gone? I hate getting closer to 40. I once said I would never ever consider Botox, but as things arent where they used to be 10 years ago, Im not so adverse to it anymore! Plus watching these makeover shows is not helping either!

The kids are doing well. Jacob has learned how to climg up onto things. He can get up in chairs on his own. It scares me, he hasnt learned how to get down yet, so I'm afraid he will fall. Kate is Kate, as funny as ever. Today she told me in Sacrament Meeting to draw a poo-poo flower. I told her I didnt know that flower, and we started to crack up! Lydia informed me it was supposed to be a poof-poof flower.
( She meant a dandelion or wish flower as kids call them.
Lydia continues to be my biggest help. She now takes out the trash, helps with the dishes, and helps me with Jacob while I am weeding in the garden among other things. I couldnt make it without her.

Derek continues to work, and bring home the bacon..lol

Until next time...

Spring is here!

It's been quite a month here in Arkansas with snow, tornadoes, and flooding! Just proves if you don't like the weather stick around, it will change! We are safe,and not much affected us except high winds, our gutters blew off the house, and Derek got our little Mazda hatchback stuck in the mud in our side yard. Had to call our friend Jack to come tow us out! It was quite amusing!

Anyhow, Jacob has his first birthday a couple of weekends ago! He's still not walking, but pulls up on everything and will walk if you hold his hands. He has starting stringing sounds together like yee-ya for Lydia and still days Mama and Dada, uh-oh and no. Can you tell what we say all the time???lol..
We just got back from visiting the Sonneborn family in Highland Village, TX. We had such an enjoyable time, we really didn't want to come home. It was a nice relaxing Easter weekend. Of course the Easter Bunny still found us, but we enjoyed some shopping and eating out, the go-kart tracks(that was fun!) and some late night games of Mexican Train. We always enjoy our visits with the Sonneborns.

On the home front here, Kate will probably be starting Pre-K next year, if a space opens up. We have her on 2 waiting lists, so we will see what happens there. We are considering Home-schooling Lydia next year( I can hear some of you gasping!) We thinks it's the best thing for her at this time. It will require me to be a bit more prepared, but there are so many curriculum options out there! At least we have the summer to get down the schedule and the curriculum together.

I have gone over to the dark-side. I am now digi scrapping. Wow, it's so much easier than dragging out all that stuff! I am sharing my very first page with you- it's very simple but to the point. See above :)

I hope this spring is finding you well and we miss you, as always! Come by and visit us sometime!

blog heaven

I'm so excited. I finally have a link on someone Else's blog(thanks Tiff) So glad I 'm just a click away from checking on my Friends too :)

Here it is February. There has been a lot of sickness in the house. Kate has been hit the hardest. It just kills me to see her laying around the house, so lethargic. Its so not like her. The doc says its just a virus going around.

Jacob will be one next month! Where is my little baby boy! He is pulling himself to standing in his crib and trying it on every piece of furniture in the house too. (by the way, things like chairs tend to move) I'm spending a lot of time doing damage control. Poor guy, has a new bump everyday.

Lydia is trudging along in school. She's coming to a realization that school is not all fun and games. 4th grade is serious business!!

I am staying busy with my Primary calling and still writing articles for the Scrapjazz website every once in a while. Ive been toying around with the idea of teaching a Cricut class at Hobby Lobby.The machines are getting more common place and the employees are constantly being asked what else can you do with the machines other than scrapbooking. Well let me just tell you, a bunch of home Dec projects! That's the hot new trend.

Derek is still just as busy as ever with work. He really loves his job and his co-workers so we will be here for a while.

We are planning a trip to Dallas for Spring break. We really need to get away. We really haven't been anywhere since Jacob was born, so this is a welcome retreat.

FYI my parents just celebrated thier 50th wedding anniversary, so we had a great dinner with all of the family on the 2nd. I got to see my brother Steve and his meet his girlfriend. It was so nice to have all of my siblings together. I wish we could have stayed together longer.

Th picture is from our dinner at OG>

Until next month...

Amy

new year, new goals

Ahh, here it is again that time of year, when we all have well intentioned goals, that remained unattained by the end of the month! lol...

No, really, I have a few this year too. I just completed reading the book of Mormon-took me 4 months, but I did it. I learned so much more this time around! It made me start thinking of other goals I have been meaning to reach, so here's a list of a few. Hope you don't mind me sharing

1. Lose 20 pounds. I'm close to my goal weight, having Jacob nursing always helps me lose, but he is slowly weaning himself. So i will have to be extra careful and pay attention to what I put in my mouth! lol...and start exercising and lifting again. My goal is to get in size 12 again.

2. Be more kind and lose the negativity. I have a tendency to look at life cynically, so I am going to do my best to look at things positively. No more half-glass empty mentality for me! I also want to be kinder in my thoughts of others. My natural reaction is to "get back" at someone if they wrong me, but his year I am going to try my best to just "walk away" and not worry about it. Now from this confession, some of you might think I have been out , street fighting with people..lol..but I am just talking about my everyday life.

Not yelling at the do-do who pulls out in front of me(by the way the kids are listening...lol),

or the person who is taking up the whole aisle with her cart at the grocery store, or the lovely neighbor who says one things to your face, but tells all the other neighbors what she really thinks about you!

3. Spend more quality time with my children and take advantage of those teaching moments when they come.

I'm hoping that you too, will take some time, and think of a few areas that could be improved in your life. I hope that your "your weak things may become strong" as it states in the Book of Mormon, with this coming year.

Amy

Are you ready???

Are you ready for Christmas? I cant believe its in 4 days. My presents are bought and some are handmade, but not wrapped yet, but that's okay. I've been working hard to complete all my assignments at church, and now I am starting to enjoy the season, instead of all the stress that goes along with it.

The children are anxiously waiting for the big day. We are heading to Mom and Dad Harrison's for Christmas Day. We have a big Christmas Diner planned. Mom is making Ham, Bread and green beans, Debbie is bringing a salad, Kathy is doing the potatoes( you know it will be good) I am making dessert and have decided on a cheesecake. It will travel well and I think my dad really likes them :)

I thought I would include a copy of our Christmas card, for those that may be lost in the mail somewhere. About half of them have been received already.

I don't know whats up with the US Mail.

Anyhow, hope you are having a great Holiday! We love you, and look forward to the New Year which will bring Derek's parents home from thier mission in Mongolia, Jacob's first birthday, and Kate starting Pre-school next Fall, and many other firsts for the Thueson family.

Amy

tis the season!

Here it is again Christmastime. The other night we just finished taking our picture in the front yard for our Christmas cards, while simultaneously bagging millions of

Pin Oak leaves from the tree in the front. Got this cute one of Jacob in his shear ling vest.

Was able to hang a few decorations outside the house(minus Derek) he's still holding fast to his no lights on the house rule. (Really, I just think he doesn't want to climb up there)

The Christmas tree is out of the shed, but not out of the box, or fluffed or decorated. It's the 5th already people!!!! I am so behind! My shopping is done however, just a few more handmade gifts to finish up before mailing. Half of my Christmas cards are addressed, but need postage.

I just need to complete one thing.

On top of all that I am making our costumes for the Christmas program(a walk in Bethlehem), for the whole family, and a special costume for the "Ten Virgins" readers theater I am in at church. Go figure I am one of the foolish virgins..lol

On the children front:

Jacob is scooting everywhere and has 3 teeth now. The top one was really painful, because he sure was a fussy booger! He loves to eat "real" food, and is growing tired of baby food. He loves his sisters though. He is always quick with a grin when they come near him.

Kate is still in the throws of potty training. Some days are great, others not. I keep trying to convince her that she cant go to pre-K next year unless she is fully trained, which is the truth.

Lydia is in 4th grade and got on the Honor Roll for the first time. I'm very proud of her accomplishment. She worked really hard to get an "A" in math.

Derek renewed his contract with Saint Anthony's Hospital, so we will be her contractually for the next 2 years. So starting early 2008, the house hunting will begin again. I'm so ready to have our own space, and to plant garden. We actually have a couple of good leads on houses, so were pretty excited!

I'm just staying busy with the kids and my Relief Society calling at church. So many of my close Friends are pregnant now. I'm so glad they are going through all that this year, and not me...lol

Im not doing much scrap booking anymore, just the occasional page, or card. I submit ideas every once in a while to the Hobby Lobby magazine(had 2 layouts in there this year), and only did a few articles this year for Scrapjazz. I am just too busy to do more. My family is keeping me hopping, but that's just fine. I can't think of anything else that I'd rather do.

Well, I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season, and not getting too stressed out.

Love to all, and look for those Christmas cards in the mail...

1 whole year!

okay what has happened? I lost my blogger password, so no posts. I also had a baby, moved, and did a million things in between!
Where to start? Jacob was born on March 15th this year. He is an excellent baby, and is now 7 months olf. He has three teeth, and is working on 2 more on the top. He loves baby food, but still likes mom too :) Im glad , I really enjoy him.
Lydia is in 4th grade this year and enjoying it. Kate is a bundle of energy, and is still sitting on the fence with the potty training issue. Some days she is just great, and others, well you know. Kate will start pre-K next year, if I can get her trained by then. If not she will spend another year at hom with mom :)

Derek is still at Saint Anthonys, even though he was offered a better job at a nearby hospital. Money if not always the most important thing when looking at a job. He would have commuted about 2 hours a day total, cutting into our family time. Im so glad he didnt take the job.

I am still at home with the kids, although, I actually got a call back for an interview with the local library. At least it made me feel good tht someone thought I was qualified for something other than changing diapers...lol I am still writing every once in a while for a scrapbooking website and just had another page published in the Hobby Lobby scrapbook circular. You can pick it up at any hobby lobby store for 1.99

Halloween is around the corner and the girls have thier costumes all ready. Lydia is going as Hannah Montana(isnt everyone!) and Kate is going as a Pixie Fairy. I actually made her costume! Jacob is going as hiself, and of course Dad does not dress up, and Im a little old for that.
Between school parties, church parties, and Halloween night, they will get to dress up 3 times!
anhow, thats enough of our boring life for now. Write more later.
Amy

October

Can you beleive it! October is here already! I love to walk down the candy isle at the grocery store and look at all the Halloween goodies. Lydia hates it because of the scary masks and decorations, and those automated candy machines that talk to you. Kate just take it all in stride, and loves anything new. She's very curious.

Well, things have been pretty difficult this month. Between morning sickness, and getting a horrid sinus infection, I havent felt too well. One good thing is we get our ultrasound at the end of this month. Im really looking forward to that! We are still trying to find a place to move to before the baby comes in March. There wont be too may people moving around, since the holidays are right around the corner. Something will come up though.

I guess my theme for this month is pay it forward. Yesterday I had one of the rudest hings happen to me. With out going into terrific detail, I had 3 people do 3 rude things to me in a five minute period! What is wrong with this world??? Everyone is so self-absorbed. It's all about me. Makes it really difficult to teach my children to be Christ-like, when we are constantly being abused. I wanted to rip someones head off and blame them, but I guess I can do is blame myself because I chose to get upset. The girls saw me crying once I got home, and they both came and gave me big hugs and kisses. Lydia is very sensetive and cant stand to see someone hurting.
Im glad yesterday is over. I guess the only thing we can do(since those type of people will never change) is just teach our children to do good deeds. To pay something good- forward.

Anyhow, thanks for the entrys you left in my blog. Glad to see someone is reading them..lol


Amy

Another one???

Yes, I know, in this never ending stream of technology, I have ventured thru another rite of passage. A blog spot. Not that my life is any more important than anyones elses, but I thought it was a good idea for friends and family to be able to keep up with our ever-changing lives.

I just had a few thoughts about age. I guess being pregnant is a constant reminder of how old I am getting. I feel young inside, so when my body dosent cooperate, I just cant stand it!! Im convinced that pregnancy is for twenty-somethings. It seems ours Moms actually had the right idea, get married young, have children early, then boot them out the door, and your still young enough to enjoy your husband ...lol I calculated that by the time my youngest is out of the house I will be almost 60 years old! Yikes!

I know I have a lot of goals still unattained, finishing college, becoming a realtor, etc...its seems like that saying "it will all come in due time", well, that time is slowly diminishing for me. Now i dont want my first entry to be "woe is me" so now for some good news.

The baby is progressing well. Im 11 weeks, and have an appointmetn next week. I feel like this willbe my last pregnancy.Dont know if this will be my last child, as Derek and I have talked about adopting.


The girls are doing well, enjoying school and keep me very busy.I'm not sure how I'll hadle the 3rd one...lol

Amy