What A Night

The brief run-down of our night...

ice storm
power goes out (only for an hour or so)
Bret goes to the store to get batteries
3:00 a.m. Bret wakes up with the most server pain in his abdomen
3:45 a.m. we head to the ER
roads covered in ice
stopping 3 times for Bret to throw up
pain medicine, blood work and one cat scan later...
1 kidney stone 80% passed
2 kidney stones still in the kidney
Family trip in 2 days??
uncertain about terms of medical coverage

silver lining: the stones should be small enough to pass on their own without surgery

Gourmet Dinner

Our Heavenly Evening is now finished and complete and what a night it was! It was so much work, but I loved it. I've come to realize first hand that this is not just about cooking and learning new techniques, although that is a huge part of it. It really is about creating. Creating an atmosphere, a table, food, conversations, feelings, warmth and love. I loved the creating part of the whole experience. At the end of the night even though I was exhausted and my body hurt all over, I was literally on cloud 9, so happy with how everything turned out. Our theme for the evening was Heaven and we asked everyone to come dressed in white. The table was all done in white and we tied the food in by having a main ingredient of each course be white.

From the ceiling we had silver stars and white clouds (Chinese lanterns) hanging at different length and tons of candles on the table to provide all the lighting. It was beautiful and came together so well.

Individual place settings

Our menu consisted of:

Nectar of the Gods (a lemon/mint ice drink)

Sourdough Bread with Marinated Manchego Cheese and Sauteed Peppers

Peppery Beef Kebab's with Braised Pearl Onions

Classic Cheese Souffle (one of my favorite of the whole night)

Mixed Green and Baby Artichoke Salad

White Bean Soup (I even loved this and I don't like beans!)

Oven Roasted Lamb with Whipped Potatoes and Heavenly Sauces

Kiwi-Pomegranate Angel Pies (another favorite)

and French Hot Chocolate

Bret and Cameron were hard at work the entire night, peeling potatoes and doing TONS of dishes. They were AMAZING! (They did get some good food out of it!)

Bret was so supportive and so incredibly helpful! We couldn't have done it without them.

The highlight for me of the whole evening was at the end when we presented everyone with their party gift. We got everyone individual Willow Tree Angels that were unique to them and presented it to them in front of the whole group explaining why we choose the angel we did for them. Truly they are angels on earth.

My partner Anne and me. I learned so much from her and am grateful we were partners.

The entire group of wonderful ladies.

P.S. My hives did not flare up once all day on Saturday and did not bother me that night at all. By Sunday morning they were mostly gone! Another tender mercy! :)

Hives, Hives Go Away!

I don't even know how to begin! Sinse moving here to Texas I've joined this amazing group of women who love to cook. We partner up and cook a 8 course gourmet meal once a year for the other women in this group. Every month there is this fabulous evening to look forward too. My dinner happens to be tomorrow night, (pictures to come) and I'm so excited. I love the theme, the menu, the atmosphere we've created. It's wonderful. My wonderful partner Anne and I have been working on this sinse October. There is a lot that goes into it in the months beforehand as well as tons of things that are happening in the few days prior.

So what happens to me last night...I start breaking out in hives! Last night it was just behind my right ear and down my neck a little. This morning it is all over my face, behind both ears, down the back of my neck and on my left arm! They are itchy, hot and red. About two years ago I had a hive episode and ended up in the ER 3 days into it at 1:30 a.m. because my entire body was covered. I'm dying, that cannot happen again! Bret thinks I'm allergic to Gourmet Club.

What am I to do? Nothing. Put on some good music, start cooking, keep my hands busy so they don't itch my face, try to force a laugh about the whole thing, and pray that tomorrow night my face is no longer covered in red itchy bumps!

Happy Birthday Bret!

Mike, Brooke and Eden came over on Sunday to help celebrate Bret's birthday! I made his favorite chocolate mousse cake which is a special occasion desert and he doesn't get that often and then we played some games.



He's thinking hard about making sure he wishes for the perfect wish...the kids were dying, just wanting him to go on and blow the candles out!


The kids gave Bret the following poster:

33 Things we love about our Dad! (with a few in there from me)
1. You wrestle with us
2. You work hard for us
3. You love us
4. You are a man who honors the Priesthood
5. You take care of us
6. You help other people
7. You sing bed time songs
8. You prepare the way for the Savior to enter the lives of our children as did John the Baptist
9. You read the scriptures every morning
10. Daddy-daughter Dates
11. You make yummy breakfast food
12. You love the Lord first
13. You listen to General Conference
14. You read stories to us
15. Daddy Adventures
16. Crane Culture Days
17. You are a great Dad
18. You teach from the scriptures
19. You protect us
20. You always know what to do
21. Return missionary
22. You love Mommy
23. You fix things very well
24. You value family traditions
25. We have fun with you
26. You give us treats
27. You give us hugs and kisses
28. You drive us to Utah every summer
29. You say funny words
30. You jump on the trampoline with us
31. You make us laugh
32. You married Mommy in the Temple
33. You make us happy

Welcome Home Dad!

Thursday was Bret's last day working for Centex Homes. The kids wanted to do something nice for him and thought of covering the door to the house from the garage with pictures so he would see them when he first came home. I love one of Abby's that reads, "Daddy, we love you. I am so happy that you get to stay home with us!"

My Systematic Helper

Love this kid. He is such a good helper and in such a systematic way. Everything always has its place with him and an order in which it's done. This is a great example of that. He empties the silverware by putting each different utensil into a separate pocket. Apparently this is a much faster way of doing this...so I'm told.

Bowling

Playing catch-up for a little bit here. One of our Christmas traditions is going bowling sometime over Christmas break. This year was a little different because we usually go with family in Utah and then enjoy some nice BBQ at Lons. While we missed all the cousins and competition, we still had a fun time. Because of my and Bret's competitive nature there is plenty of motivation to perform at our best. This has always been one of the two things that I am better then Bret...but sadly the last two times we've gone bowling Bret has won. I need to be more on my game! Maybe I should take bowling lessons.

Abby really got the form down this time and she did really well.

Gavin has started making this funny face lately accompanied with some type of grunting/moaning sound. He moves his lower jaw to one side and lets us know he's not completely happy. Funny kid.

Zachary loved it! He got several strikes and spares. Here he is giving hugs after a great bowl.

Fort Worth Zoo

Over Christmas break we had a great day at the Fort Worth Zoo. We've heard great things about this zoo since moving here and it did not disappoint. From swinging monkeys, roaring lions, and up close bird encounters it was a such a fun day. While at lunch before we hit the zoo we asked the kids what animal they would be if they could be any animal. The answers might surprise you a little...Abby said she would be a elephant because she could step on her prey. McKenna would be a giraffe because they have long necks. Zachary wanted to be a bird so he could fly high in the sky. And Bret would be an Ape because they are the most like humans and live in family units.

The kids loved seeing how the giraffe had to spread the front two legs apart to bend down to eat some grass.

This is the Sandhill Crane, one of the most ancient birds and native to Texas. Did you know that cranes mate for life, have 2 eggs a year and care for their young until they are 10 months old?

Zachary trying to hold back the white tiger before it eats McKenna!

Check out the wingspan of these Cranes!

You know it's been a good day when everyone crashes hard in the car...I don't know how she can sleep in this position!

Tender Mercies

Over the weekend I felt inspired to start keeping a personal record of tender mercies our family experiences during this time. It was so humbling to see the multiple ways the Lord is blessing our little family through SO many good people in just a few short days. From wonderful supportive parents, sisters who want to make sure I have "Happy Feet", our dentist doing some work for no out of pocket patient fee, friends who love us and follow the inspiration of the spirit (there is just no other way to describe their goodness), and tender sweet promptings. We are so blessed. I could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of love as I reviewed these things. I know I am to keep a record of these for a reason. When doubt and fear try to push their way into my heart I know that my family and I will be able to draw strength and comfort from recognizing and remembering the abundance of tender mercies. So this morning I feel loved, blessed, humbled, known and grateful. What a great way to start my day and week!

Back To It

Well it's arrived...no matter how strongly I tired to ignore it or wish this day wouldn't come. The kids are back in school. And I am a sad mother. I loved the break. I love sleeping in (which my kids are very good at doing), I love being on our own schedule, if we want to watch a movie we do, I love the games, I love the pure imaginative creative play time, I love eating breakfast at 10:30 instead of 6:30, I love not rushing our evenings to get them in bed by 8:00, I love taking time, I love having my children home and around.

I hate the alarm clocks, the "hurry and get dressed...have you made your bed yet...don't forget to brush your teeth...have you said your prayers...come on, lets make your lunch." And then they're gone but as soon as they return it's "what do you want for snack...OK, homework time...have you done your reading...come on Abby, lets do some math flashcards...you still have a couple more chore sticks left"...dinner...clean up...showers...and before I know it they're in bed.

But don't get me wrong, my house has definitely been needing this day to come with messes to clean, laundry to be done, papers to go through, organization to be made. Back to the swing of things. I just needed my few moments of morning before I move on and enjoy the journey of each day weather it is vacation or not.