Parker's Scratchboard

Merry Christmas!

We want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We probably won't be able to update this again until after we return back from Utah, but we want you all to know that we love you and are always thinking of you. We hope that your Christmas is wonderful and that you feel the spirit of love and peace and that you always remember the true meaning of Christmas and keep Christ a part of the holiday.

Big Belly

So, I have had requests to put a picture of my big belly on my blog so here it is.



I don't like feeling fat and not be able to move around like before I was pregnant, but I love to feel our little baby moving around. It is such a wonderful feeling and I am so excited to have the little boy come to our home. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father trusted us enough to send us one of his children and I pray I can be the mother that this child deserves. Michael is going to be such a good dad and I am so excited to share this journey with him and have his support. He is such a wonderful husband. I have really been blessed to have him in my life.

Test Results

I got a message today from the doctor's office that said my tests came back normal, so I am not developing gestational diabetes! Yea!!! Just thought I would let you all know. :)

Sweet Potatoes and Apples

This is a recipe that I got from the Lazo's. We ate this when we went over to their house on Thanksgiving. Now, I am not a sweet potato fan, but these were the best sweet potatoes I have ever eaten so I am going to share the recipe with you all.

Ingredients:

6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 medium, tart apples, peeled, cored and cut into rings
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened apple juice
2/3 cup finely crushed gingersnap cookies (about 10 cookies)

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a Dutch oven; cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 30 minutes or just until tender. Drain; cool slightly. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Arrange half of the slices in a greased
13"x9"x2" baking dish. Top with the aplles and remaining sweet potato slices.

2. In a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter and apple juice to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour over potatoes and apples. Bake, uncovred, at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until apples are tender. Sprinkle with gingersnap crumbs. Bake 15 minutes longer.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

I hope you enjoy!!

Our New Room

Over the Thanksgiving weekend Michael and I went shopping for a new comforter because ours is ripping and doesn't look very nice any more. We also rearranged the furniture in our room, so we have a whole new look. Next step is to get a bedroom set :)

Thanksgiving

A couple in our ward invited us to come over to their house for Thanksgiving with them and their 5 kids. Their oldest is 16 years old and their youngest is 3 I believe. Dinner was really good. We had turkey and mashed potatoes of course, along with cranberries served with mandarin oranges, rolls, green beans, stuffing, and the most delicious sweet potatoes I have ever tasted. I don't like sweet potatoes very much but these were amazing. I will give you all the recipe so you can try them. For dessert they had a spice cake with pumpkin pudding in the middle and cream cheese icing. That was amazing as well! I baked 2 pumpkin pies to take over to their house as well. Delicious! After dinner we stayed a little while and chatted with the Lazo's. They are good people. We had a lot of fun!

We have so much to be thankful for! We are thankful for the opportunity that we have to live here in Derby, Kansas. It is far away from friends and family but we have good neighbors and a great ward family! We are thankful for Michael's job which provides for our family and allows me the option of staying home and raising our family. We are thankful for my job and the opportunity that I have to work with the kids and learn from them. They are adorable and I have a lof of fun with them. We are thankful for the opportunity that we have to become parents of a son of God. We look forward to March when we get to welcome him into our family! We are thankful that we are able to have Parker come and live with us. He is a good person and a lot of fun. We are thankful for our friends and family and for all of their love and support. We are thankful for the gospel in our lives which allows us the opportunity to live with our Father in Heaven again. We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice for us. We are thankful for his great love for us and we are eternally in his debt. We hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and we love you all!

Diabetes Test

So a couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor's office and I had my diabetes test done. They called me a couple of days later nd told me that my test was a little high and that they wanted to do a more extensive test. So I scheduled to go in the day before Thanksgiving to have my test done. I had to get my blood taken and then I drank the fruit punch. After that I had to have my blood taken every hour for three hours. My arms were sore by the time I was done. I hate having my blood taken. I still haven't heard back about the results from that test. I hope that it was better than the last one. I will keep you updated.