congratulations graduate!

Ella Bella graduated from Ginny's Little Geniuses Preschool this morning. Hooray! Kate and Madi joined us at the celebration.

Arriving at the Charleston.

The graduates put on a darling program for the parents.

The official certificate. What's with the cheesy grin I keep getting? Ella tells me, "This is my really, really happy smile!" And honestly, it makes me really, really happy that she'll finally look at the camera and smile! I've been showing her photos of little girls on photography websites or blogs and saying, "Look how that cute little girl looks at the camera and smiles!" I know...but it's working.

Bet you can't guess what color balloon Ella chose.

Ella's teacher wrote a note in her folder:

Dear Kim and Lynn,
I have really enjoyed Ella this year! She is a sweet girly, girl. That girl is always planning a party! :) Ella impressed me by knowing all of her letters and sound that they make. She recognizes many numbers also. Next year we will be busy learning to read sight words and beginner books. I am looking forward to having Ella come back in the fall! Thanks for sharing her with me.

Sincerely, Ginny

Yep, she even plans parties at preschool. And the girly, girl part--right on.

Congratulations, Cutie Girl. Momma and Daddy love you!

photo club: may

I finally made it to our photo club meeting. The assignment for May was cropping. I love cropping in close, especially when it's Ella's or Madi's little hands or feet--irresistable! I made a little collage with some photos from a visit to one of Ella's favorite places--Thanksgiving Point. We went to the Dinosaur museum several times during the fall and winter months. Now that it's getting warmer, Ella and Madi love the horse-drawn wagon ride, the pony ride and seeing all the animals at the farm. Here's my cropping submission:

Originally I had the word "cluck" on the rooster photo. Lynn told my roosters don't "cluck," they "cock-a-doodle-do." I said, "Is that a rooster?" I guess the comb thing gives it away. Okay, farm boy, I guess you're right. But roosters have to make some sound besides "cock-a-doodle."

Love the little hands full of chicken feed.

This was one of several rides. For the longest time Ella would just stand and watch the other kids on the ponies. Now we can't keep her out of the saddle.

Madi talks about riding the ponies every day.

Leave it to these two the break the rules. The sign Lynn is standing in front of reads, "PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB ON FENCES." I love it.

a perfect day

My Mother's Day was perfect. It's not often I can say I have a perfect day!

Ella gave me these beautiful flowers. She was so excited to surprise me. I love Gerbera daisies. She chose the bouquet because it had pink roses.

• Lynn and Ella took me to lunch at P.F. Changs on Saturday. So yummy!
• Lynn stayed home from his responsibilities at BYU and got Ella dressed and ready for church. It was great to be there together.
• Ella sang with the Primary for the first time! She's been waiting for that moment forever (I have too!). I was so disappointed when Lynn took her up and I thought he left her standing on the floor where I couldn't see her. Brinley Dayton picked her up and took her to the back row and held her the entire time. I had a perfect view. Love you, Brinley!
• Patrick came to church with us instead of going to the single's ward. I think it was really to see Ella sing. He so loves and adores her. (It's definitely a mutual thing.)
• I cleaned up on gifts: flowers from Ella, tickets to see Broadway's Lion King, this book I've been wanting and hinting about (I left a link on my desktop that said, "This is what I want for Mother's Day!"), a Target gift card and built-in shelving for my garage. (The shelving is a combination gift to Lynn and I from Patrick and covers multiple holidays. I'm super excited about it.) Funny thing, of all the hundreds of cards for Mother's Day, both Ella and Patrick bought me the exact same one! What are the chances?
• The best part: my family was all here and Sean called me from Montana.
• I didn't have to cook and dinner turned out fantastic!

Patrick grabbed the salt just as I went to take this photo so it would look like he was helping. :) He did actually help.

I really wanted glazed salmon sublime for dinner (a recipe I got from Steph and Dave Decker that is fabulous!), but Costco ran out of fresh salmon. How strange is that? So my second choice was Monterey Chicken, Butter-Pecan Sweet Potatoes and broccoli. (I'll share the recipes at the end of this post.)

Ella sitting on her usual "perch" helping mix ingredients. Notice my Family Favorites recipe book is open on the counter. My family even knows where to look for recipes now.

I have to admit it was a little difficult to just sit and watch (actually read my new book) while my family worked in the kitchen. I did give some general direction and know the sweet potato recipe was started twice. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mommas out there. I hope your day was perfect too.

***I forgot to take a photo and we gobbled up both dishes too fast! I'll take one next time we make them and add later.

MONTEREY CHICKEN

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c. bar-b-que sauce ( I use Bull's Eye)
1/4 c. real bacon bits
1 c. colby and jack cheese, shredded
1 14 oz. can Rotel tomatoes, drained (canned with green chilies added)
sliced green onions
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pound out chicken breasts to flatten. Season with pepper. Grill chicken until no long pink (we used our George Foreman grill) and place on baking sheet covered with foil. Top each chicken breast with one tablespoon bar-b-que sauce, 1/4 c. cheese, 1/4 c. tomatoes, green onions and one tablespoon of bacon bits. Place in oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

***This is the first time we marinated the chicken breasts before cooking and they were great. You don't have to though. Marinade: 1/4 c. olive oil, 2 T. soy sauce, 2 tsp. McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. (We only marinade about a half hour or the meat gets too salty for us.)

BUTTER-PECAN SWEET POTATOES

8 medium sweet potatoes (5 lbs.), or one per person
olive oil
course salt
2 T. butter, cut into small pieces
2 T. light brown sugar
1/3 c. pecan pieces
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and halve lengthwise; slice crosswise 1/2 inch thick. On a baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil (we brush it on both sides); season with salt.

Transfer half the potatoes to a second baking sheet; cook both sheets until potatoes are tender, tossing occasionally, 25-30 minutes.

Sprinkle with butter, brown sugar, pecan pieces and cayenne pepper, dividing evenly. Bake until sugar is carmelized and hard, about 10 minutes. Toss gently; serve immediately. Serves 8.

***I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart website. I used to only make it for holidays, but we love it so much we make it more often. I double the topping ingredients when I make it.

Enjoy!

sanks, mom!

Ella handed me this paper the other day.

Ella: Here's a letter for you Momma.
Me: Thanks, Ella. What does it say?
Ella: Read it! (Well, duh.)
Me: How about if you read it for me?
Ella: Okay. It says: Dear Momma. I love you. Sanks for my treats and my presents at my party. I love you, Momma. Ella.

So sweet. Ella is always so grateful for every little thing. It's one of the things I love so much about her. Love you too, Ella Bella.

hip, hip, hooray, look who's four today!

Our Ella-bella-tu-tu was born four years ago today.

One hour old. Who would have guessed back then, she'd bless our lives in such a big way?

(photo by Tracie Ruffner)

All day, Ella has been telling everyone she sees, "Today's my birthday and I'm four!" She even called Lynn to tell him. I almost didn't tell her it was today, because our family party is Saturday and her friends party isn't until next Friday (due to spring break). I couldn't stand it though. She's been great. Grandpa McMurphy is in town, so we went to Toys R Us and he bought her the Precious Places Swan Palace she's been begging for since Christmas. After lunch, I told her she could have a treat. She chose Red Mango (we love Red Mango!). Of course she ordered the pink (pomegranate) yogurt with white chocolate chips and ate just about the entire thing! We went for a walk (she rode her bike) and we stopped at the park. The entire time she kept telling me as she climbed up and down everything, "It's okay Momma, I'm old enough now!" Last week she informed Lynn and me, "One more growing and I'll be really big. See look!" She stands stiff as a board with her hands on her head. She's growing up way too fast for me.

Happy birthday, sweet girl. We love you.

lovin' the green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I saw these glasses at Target a few weeks ago. The combination of two of my favorite things--the color spring green and the dots--made them irresistable! Dots are so vintage and classic. They also remind me of Lynn's mom whose name was Dorothy.

So you know if I bought the glasses, I had to have the plate sets to go with them! Lynn didn't say a word. He just gets it. He's been shopping with me when I've purchased a cute dress, shoes or an outfit for Ella that I can't resist and is pricier than what I'd normally pay. He just says, "We're paying for the cute factor on this one, aren't we?" Yep, he gets it. Love you, hon. He knows I shop well the rest of the time, so my splurges are just that. Kate bought me a second set of the dishes for my birthday. Thanks, Kate! Love you. Lovin' the green today.

life is one big celebration

We're still making Valentine cards around here and it's well into March. Ella loves to drag out life's celebrations and her life revolves around the next holiday or birthday party. As soon as Christmas was over she asked, "What's next?" I knew exactly what she meant. We went down the list--Kate's birthday, then Dad's birthday, Valentine's Day, Mom's birthday, Easter, then your birthday (followed by a big "woo, hoo!" from her). When one of the dates passes, we go through the calendar again.

I think she gets that from me. I love (and need) something to look forward to. Whether it's a small thing-- lunch with a friend or date night with Lynn--or big things like seeing Broadway's Lion King in August. (Lynn got us tickets for our anniversary--so excited!)

I love kid's artwork and when they start writing their names. We went to the Primary activity the week of Valentine's and one of the things they did was make cards for the Charleston Care Center down the street. Ella didn't want to give hers up when she finished. Here are her latest Valentine creations:

I love that Ella loves to be creative. We go through several rolls of scotch tape and glue sticks every week.

I used to do little goodie bags for Patrick, Sean and Kate's birthdays when they were younger. Corny tags like "Thanks for helping Sean 'reel' in a great birthday!" He loved fishing at the time so we filled the bags with Swedish Fish. The kids loved it. Now I'm starting over and finding I still enjoy creating little memories for Ella. It's so much easier with a scanner and computer though! I scanned in Ella's artwork and created these tags:

Then we put together these goodie bags:

So...what's next?

birthday blessings

I had a great birthday. These cutie girlfriends took me to lunch at P.F. Changs. It was delightful. Ella saw these photos and asked, "Why are there no kids there?" Like I said, it was delightful. Delayne worked her stuff and got us a free dessert--banana egg rolls with coconut pineapple ice cream. The ice cream isn't something I would normally order, but it was amazing. Apparently you can't get it anywhere else. It was Tracie's birthday too, which made it even more fun to celebrate.

Love these girls and feel so blessed to have such fun and supportive friends. We all need that. They are amazing. Mykel was there too, but she had to leave early to deliver Krispy Kreme donuts to Haley's class for her birthday.

Loved these flowers from my Dad. So simple and beautiful. Thanks, Dad. Love you.

I had been looking for a new brown purse forever and finally found one I liked at Nordstrom Rack last month. I told Lynn it's what I wanted for my birthday. Great deal too. It was originally $250, marked down to $65, so I bought the same one in black too. Lynn also gave me (don't laugh!) snowshoes. Lynn and Patrick go snowshoeing a lot. I read an article in Country Living magazine written by a woman who really enjoyed the experience, so I thought I might want to give it a try. I know it's surprising for someone who hates the cold as much as I do, but the snow in Utah isn't going away and I thought it would be a great family activity. Ella even has a pair. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

My sweet friends delivered little gifts throughout the day. Loved seeing each of them and it made my birthday extra special that they remembered. Ruth Ann brought me a cupcake from Dear Lizzie. I shared, but wished I hadn't. It was so yummy! Best cupcake I've had in forever.

photo shoot and digi freebies!

While my Dad was visiting from California, I asked my dear friend, Tracie Ruffner if she would do a photo shoot with my family. We went to Star Mill in American Fork. Not only do we have great memories, but we have amazing photos. (I promise I'll share more later!) She brought us a CD before my Dad left so we could see a sampling and we all "ooohed and awwwed" over every photo. Tracie captured so many sweet moments and her skills and creativity are stellar. She's so passionate about photography and I want to learn from her. Not only that, she's a blast to be around and she's beautiful. I can't thank her enough and I can't wait to see the rest of the photos.

I was plunking around the internet yesterday and found this site that has some delightful free digital elements. I love how simple they are. She adds a new one each week. I added the "loved and cherished overlay" to the photo of Ella.

a thousand small moments

One of the many resources we have available to us because we adopted Ella through the State of Utah, is access to the Family Support and Treatment Center in Orem. The staff is amazing and has helped Ella tremendously. They have a parenting program called Love, Limits and Latitude which was developed by some professors at BYU. The instructor comes to our home each week (how great is that?) and goes through the cirriculum with us and then we have an assignment. The basis for the program is that parenting is done in "a thousand small moments." I love, love, love that concept.

The first week we discussed love through play. Each day Lynn and I have "special play time" with Ella. The first words out of her mouth each morning are, "When are we having special play time?" We set aside 15-20 minutes to be one-on-one with her. Ella leads (she's all over that!), which means we don't teach and we track her emotions and what she's doing. We also do that in filial therapy with her, so it wasn't new to us.

Ever since she danced at the Covey Arts Center with TDC, she always wants to play "stage". She asks me every day when she gets to go on the stage again. During the practice run before her last performance, she came running back to me in the green room and was so exasperated that no one clapped for her! I had to explain that there wasn't anyone in the audience this time and that next time they would.

She's come so far from her first performance when she wrapped her arms around her teacher's (Miss Stephanie, Director of TDC) leg and wouldn't let go. Stephanie coaxed her out from behind the curtain and she was fine. Fast forward to her last performance--she's running out on stage, has a huge smile the entire performance and waves at the audience as she walks off the stage! She knew all the steps to the dance and did awesome! She's in love with performing.

Special play time often involves "the stage". The entire family comes to watch the performance. Ella tries to prolong play time by insisting that everyone gets a chance to perform. When the timer goes off, she innocently asks, "What's that noise and what does it mean?" So funny.

Her other favorite play time scenerio is the "Grand Ball". Today the celebration was a Valentine's Ball. (Notice the decor in the background.) Everyone loads into the carriage to attend the celebration that's very far away. Before we go, everyone lines up to watch the carriage goes through the car wash. Then we always forget the treasure chest back at the castle and have to return many times. When the timer goes off, she asks, "But what about the Ball? We haven't gone to the Grand Ball yet!"

Ella repeats these same themes over and over. Both performing and car washes have been fearful experiences for her. It's absolutely fascinating to me to see her overcome obstacles and celebrate her victories through her play. Children's little minds are amazing. They can't always speak what they're feeling, but they can share and show through their play. I've seen Ella grieve, let go of anger and sadness, experience joy and happiness and so many other emotions all through her play. I get to help her identify those emotions and show her that I'm there for her by tracking what she's doing. It has been very difficult at times, but I also can't express how blessed I feel to be a part of her healing and growth. She's amazing and brave and filled with so much wisdom. She's such an example to me. I just keep thinking, it's all part of those thousand small moments.

happy February!

I love February. It's the last month before spring, it's my birthday month (and I love celebrating my birthday!) and then there's Valentine's Day which makes me think about all the people and things I love.

And I love, love, love this photo of Ella. Can't take credit for the idea, that goes to Becky Higgins. Saw it on her blog here. Scott Hancock--a wonderful photographer in Pleasant Grove, Utah--helped me recreate it in his studio with Ella wearing her temple sealing dress. She is not an easy subject to photograph! We bribed her with "Boo" cereal (Fruit Loops like in Monsters Inc.) between shots. I love how her little toes are curled up. Scott added the letters. He's such a patient man. We tried almost all the fonts in his font list. Not what I was looking for. He didn't have this one--Century Gothic--which is my favorite. I use if for everything. He searched the web and added it to his list. Then I kept asking him to try a million different font sizes. I kept insisting I wanted the letters smaller and he kept saying if I wanted to make a statement I needed to go larger. He was right. I wanted this to be exactly what I envisioned and he did it. Now I'm wishing I'd gotten my 8x10 in this photo. Guess I'll have to order another. Would this not be darling with newborn feet (see Becky's) or a baptism photo? I think it would be just as fun of a little girl in a sassy little spring dress too. I love babies and toddlers chunky little feet and hands. It's the simple ideas that are always my favorite.

fhe with byu

One of the wonderful blessings of Lynn serving on the High Council at BYU is that we get to have a group of students come to our home for Family Night once a month. They take care of the songs, lesson and game and we provide the refreshments. Each time, Ella watches out the front window for her "friends" to arrive and gets so sad when they have to leave. They involve her in the activities and play with her. She got to take her turn in the Skittles game (it's played by sucking Skittles through a straw--from a bowl onto a paper plate--until the next person in the circle rolls doubles on the dice). Very fun game. About half way through I noticed a bit of orange backwash on the side of the bowl. I'm pretty sure it was Ella's doing. The girls just asked for a paper towel and wiped it off.

(left to right) Courtney, Alicia, Allison, Rachel, Joran, Aaron, Nik and Chuck.

The highlight of the evening for Ella was playing with her new friends. Jaron played dollhouse with her. He was the daddy and she was the mommy. Then Jaron and Chuck helped her make cupcakes with her kitchen set.

I'm always so impressed by these young men and young women and the spirit they bring into our home. And I love that Ella has them as such wonderful examples in her life.

For refreshments I made Mountain Bars. They are so yummy! It's my go-to recipe for whenever I'm asked to bring a treat to an occasion and it's been a family favorite for years. It makes a large batch so it's great for groups. I was always asked to bring a couple of pans to Girls' Camp when I served in the Young Women's program. Last night, Courtney asked for the recipe, so here it is:

MOUNTAIN BARS

Mix together:
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Add:
2 1/2 cups flour (I use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat sometimes)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 cups oatmeal

Press 2/3 of dough into bottom of a large jelly roll pan. Save the rest for topping.

Melt over medium heat:
2 T. butter
1 bag milk chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Add:
1 tsp. vanilla

Spread chocolate "goo" over mix in pan and crumble remainder of dough on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. (I always bake for 20 minutes, it makes a softer bar.)

*When you spread the remainder of the dough on top of the "goo" mixture, crumble it between your fingers. It's a bit sticky, but the bars turn out better when there's a nice even layer of topping instead of a bunch of big globs. Enjoy!

a sweet memory {Christmas}

Sometimes it takes just a simple reminder--something we see, hear or smell--to bring back memories from the past. These candy canes sitting on our counter reminded me of a comical incident from years ago when Kate was an infant.

My first year as a single mom, we decorated our Christmas tree with simple ornaments and candy canes. Knowing what a temptation they would be for almost two-year-old Kate, I hung the candy canes at the top of the tree where she couldn't reach them. I was in my bedroom of our little apartment one late afternoon, when I heard a huge crash and then complete silence. I ran to the family room to find our tree on it's side and two little hands and two little feet sticking out from between the branches of the tree. One hand still grasped a candy cane! Kate had climbed to the top of the Christmas tree, grabbed ahold of one sweet treat and held on for dear life as the tree toppled on top of her. I asked Kate if she was okay and all I heard was a triumphant, "Canny cane...canny cane!" Yes, I did let her eat it and promptly removed the rest of the candy canes from the tree.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam...

Ella graduated from the church nursery to the 3-year-old Sunbeams class in Primary today. I can't believe how quickly she's growing! She was a little nervous, but also excited (or maybe that was me). She asked me last night to tell me about her teachers. I didn't know who they were, but assured her they would be very nice. I was excited when we walked into Primary to see Kara and Randy Thompson sitting with the other Sunbeams. They live right across the street from us and were also her nursery leaders this past year. She walked right up and sat with the other kids.

After church I asked Ella how she liked Primary. She said, "The talking was kind of long and they only sang 'I am a Child of God.'" They do have to sit much longer and listen to talks and a lesson, so it'll be an adjustment. I'm sure her reference to only singing one song was that it was the only one she knew. (She loved singing time in nursery and knew all the songs.) Ella loves music and when she isn't talking, she's singing. There's no downtime for this girl. And she can pick up the words to songs so quickly!

When Ella was much younger, we were in the car and she kept asking me to put "You Raisin Nuts" in the CD player. I couldn't figure out what she was saying and she was becoming more frustrated by the minute. Finally she started singing it to me and I laughed out loud when I recognized Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up."

healing hearts

A few weeks ago I mentioned to Lynn that my birth father had been on my mind a lot and that I was thinking about contacting him. He and my mother were divorced when I was just a toddler, so I don't remember him. We did meet once when I was in high school, but the circumstances were awkward because so many people were involved.

My brother Mike, who lives in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, called a few days before Christmas to wish us happy holidays and get caught up on life. We don't talk often, so it was a very unexpected and pleasant surprise. It was good to hear his voice. He does a lot of service work with the youth and disabled veterans. I'm proud of him. During our conversation I asked him if he had our birth father's contact information, which he did. I wrote it down and put it in a safe place.

Over the next day or two I kept thinking more about my birth father and contacting him. On Christmas Eve I decided I'd call the next day or even the next week when things settled down. As I finished wrapping the last of the gifts, I had a very strong impression to call that night. What do you say to someone you haven't spoken to in 30 years? How do you even start a conversation like that? I wasn't even sure what my reception would be, but inspiration is inspiration and I've learned to move forward when impressions come.

I dialed the number and when someone answered I asked for my father by name. It was him I was speaking to. All I could think to say is "Hi, this is Kim...your daughter." I was so relieved to hear the excitement and joy in his voice. He just kept saying, "Wow! Are you kidding? This is wonderful! This is great!" He told me as a child I was his pride and joy and that I was a very happy and laughed all the time. He said we were always together, playing and going places. And that when my mother took us away, it broke his heart. He mentioned he still has a photo of the two of us together on his fireplace mantle. We talked for quite awhile and then he cried as he told me no one had ever given him a better Christmas gift in his life. And you know I cried. In fact, I continued to cry after I hung up because I had longed for so many years to hear how much I was loved. Lynn gave me a priesthood blessing that night and I'll never forget the words the Spirit spoke so truthfully through him, "There is no more appropriate time to begin the healing of two hearts than on the eve of the Savior's birth whose atonement makes it possible."

A few days later this beautiful arrangement--a dozen red roses and two white lilies--was delivered from The Garden Path. There's no way my dad could have known how much I love that flower shop. In fact, it's quite a distance from our home. And the message--so sweet and simple--touched my heart.