BABY GIRL!!!!!

We are so EXCITED and words are not enough. We got a call on Saturday night from our Birth Mom. She is amazing. She told us the news and it was great. She asked the case workers not to say anything because she wanted to tell us herself. She was so excited and so are we. She is due March 8th and is having a baby girl. We talked for about an hour and half. We will be going to Utah to meet with her. We feel so blessed and are so thankful for the support, prayers and fasting in our behalf and now for our Birth Mom as well. Thank you so much.

Asher and Amy

Camp Crafts from Years Ago

I have been to YW Camp for a lot of years. One of my first years as a leader we made a doll. I think it was suppose to be an angle with wings. I never got that far with the craft. I painted the doll and put her together. I made the one on the left about 8 years ago. I remember they had extra dolls that the girls abandoned and so I took one that was half painted. I got my bin out of half finished crafts out last week and decided to finish this doll. She is the one on the right. I think they make a great pair of friends. They are going to go in the bedroom upstairs. It is a girls bedroom with the yellow beds and furniture. These two dolls will be perfect addition to the room.

Christmas Cards

In the past when we get Christmas cards I never know exactly where to put them. I have tried putting them on the mantle of the fireplace but we always run out of room. One of my students gave me a card holder but it only held 10 or so cards. Then I realized I could follow my in-laws and use their idea. They have a wall with mirrors on it in the living room. Well, we don't have a wall with mirrors but we do have a front door. So, for the last couple of years we have taped our cards on the back of our door. It stays shut because of the cold weather and so we get to enjoy a great view of cards from family and friends.

Tender Mercies

I sat down tonight after dinner and started reading the Ensign. The articles and stories are always great. Here is one of the quotes that stood out to me.

"When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding about the injustices and inequities of life, when mortal experience and evaluation are insufficient to produce a desired outcome, and when it seems that perhaps we are totally alone, truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance."(see 1 Nephi 1:20) Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord," Liahona and Ensign, May 2005, 100.

I think these tender mercies are acts of service from others. Sometimes the person does not even know they are delivering you. You never know when a smile or a note can make a difference in someone life. Just my wandering thoughts tonight. The last two months have been great. I have had so many blessing come into my life. Mostly by me serving others. Thanks for letting me serve and sharing your families with me.

Few of My Favorite Things during Christmas 2008

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! We spent it with family and friends. My Mom brought us these crazy head gear. You can not tell but Asher's hat lights up with lights.


These are Rudolph Really "Sucky" Reindeer pins that we got from my Mom as well. A lady makes them. If you want to purchase an one of a kind, unique gift for friends, co-workers and family, email: sue.leigh12@gmail.com It was fun to wear and I got a lot of comments regarding this fun festive pin.



We had the Smiths over and made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and lots of candy. Asher and my Dad juiced oranges so we could drink OJ while we built our houses or architectural feats!

We hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and made lots of great memories. We have had a great year. We celebrated the birth of Jesus and are so thankful for His life and Atonement. We enjoyed looking back over the year and counting our blessings. These are a few of my favorite things...

The Grey Griffins Series

I love to read. I enjoy reading children's literature. I just finished this series (well till the next book comes out).
The Grey Griffins Series by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis. It is a fun series so far. I like the good versus evil and then the adventure the books take me on. I think it is one way to escape to another place. It amazes me how authors can think of such places and write so that I can see them in my head. I wish I had that kind of talent.



I am now reading this:

Which one of these things is not like the other?

Okay, here are the Santa Clause cookies I made for this years cookie party. Way too many! Can you find the Santa Clause that is not like the others?

Just for information there are 32 cookies in a package of Nutter Butters.

I also made these yummy cookies. A friend of mine, Denise taught me how to make these. Ritz crackers (or generic), peanut butter and chocolate bark. I used ghirardelli chocolate and it makes a big difference. I also found piping the peanut butter with a zip lock baggie on to the crackers was easier than spreading it with a knife.

I have enjoyed baking this Christmas season. I am getting ready to make peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses in the middle. I also made Mexican Wedding cookies which is my mother-in-laws recipe and one of my favorites.

I still have one more gift to get and I am done with the shopping. It is really not a gift but more of a tradition with both families. Mixed NUTS with shells. I have fond memories of cracking nuts during Christmas. I have to get some nut crackers though!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season with some fun baking and enjoying the friends who eat the food.

Hint: One Santa does not have a red nose!

The Raleigh Ringers

My friend, Debbie told me about the Raleigh Ringers. She is a handbell ringer at her church. I have heard her group and it is so beautiful. I looked up the Raleigh Ringers on Google and found where and when they were playing here in TN. Debbie told me that they were the best and that I should go hear them. So, Asher and I went and heard them play. Wow, they were awesome. I love listening to great music. If you go to the website and look in the Gallery you can listen to some samples from their albums.

Birthday Month-November

Asher and I are a year older. We both have November birthdays! I decided to celebrate separately this year. We usually do it together. Less cake, same amount of presents. I made Asher's cake. I think it turned out. It was a chocolate cake with caramel, toffee, and whip cream. I layered everything and put it in the fridge. Tasted Great! I also made dinner and made his favorites, Moroccan Shrimp with rice. I am still working on that recipe but it was all gone at the end of the meal.

I did not want to make my own cake and so I had a friend make my cake. I had a coupon from her for a free cake. Lydia Spencer is so awesome. She made my wedding cake for the reception here in TN. I remember she gave me a magazine with cakes in it and I just picked one. It was just like the picture and tasted great! Her cakes always taste so good. I think that is hard to do as well as look good. I have a problem with that area at least. I called her up and asked if she had time to make my birthday cake. She asked what I wanted and I had no idea but I did want chocolate! I told her things I like to do and sewing was on the list.

She made my cake in the shape of a sewing basket. It had everything. She also made me a Pooh Bear! Asher calls me his Pooh Bear. I know it is silly but it was fun that she made one.

We had a great birthdays! It was a fun time. The cake is gone and everything tasted great. I can say that we had a great birthday.

Thanksgiving and Family

We had a great Thanksgiving. The Rose family had 7 of the children home. We missed having Alicia and Mimi's families with us. Lots of family and friends. Mike, Melinda and Ethan and Derek stayed at our house. It was fun to have a baby in the house. It was relaxing. Nothing was rushed or hurried. I miss everyone.
Here are some pictures in random order and I will try and explain what was going on:
Asher is kissing me...no pictures please!
I am laughing here after the previous picture!
Pop took us all out to eat. We went to Pancho Villa. Yummy! I think the waiters were confused. Half spoke Spanish and the rest of us English. Our order was a large one but they did a great job! They brought the hats out for us and we took lots of pictures. I think they had a lot of fun watching us act silly in the hats and we devoured all the food. They kept bring out more chips and salsa!
This is Aunt Annie with Ethan. He is in all the pictures! Everyone had to hold him and play with him. He is six months old. I love Annie's hat!
Aunt Lin with Ethan. He is good with everyone. He has a cute pout but it is not quite there yet.
Uncle Josh trying to get Ethan to sleep. He did not want to miss anything! He was definitely the center of a lot of attention.
Uncle Asher got him all tired and he fell asleep.
Uncle Derek can make him laugh. He has a very unique laugh. I got a video of his laugh but I will post that later.
We crammed in the van to go to Opry Mills. Momma and Pop drove John and Cristy to the airport and met us there. They had an empty van so we squished into our van. Anyway, you get the idea. Ethan was in the car seat and had the most room. Tuni sat on the floor. Derek is peeking up from the back of the van. No seat for him. On the way home it was just right.
A group picture of all the boys. They are handsome boys!
Uncle John and Aunt Cristy holding Ethan.
Aunt Amy(me) playing with Ethan after his bath. He was so happy and I got him to laugh. I had a good time playing with him and I even got to babysit for a couple of hours late on.
Aunt Tuni and Ethan. I had a hard time choosing which picture to post. She had so many cute ones. Tuni is so good with him. I think that is his tongue!
Grandma playing the piano with Ethan. He loves music and enjoys you singing to him. He likes a fast rhythm.
Mike and Asher went to the Beech High School vs. Hillsboro quarterfinal football game. They dressed up in the Beech colors. I took a normal one of them but this one is my favorite. They were going to paint their chests orange and blue but it was too cold outside. They have a lot of layers on to keep warm. Pop joined them later on to watch the game. Coincidentally, Hillsboro won and went on to win the state title.
Mike and Melinda without Ethan. I think we finaly took a picture with the three of them. That was the joke of the week. Pictures without Ethan and they are the parents!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are very thankful for family and friends. Hope you had a good one!