Merry and Bright

Trevor was really ambitious and did put up all our lights on our house this year. I had absolutely nothing to do with it, and I didn't even have to twist his arm to get him to do all the work he did! He even went all the way down our fence, so you could see our circular driveway. Considering that it is about to be taken down, I thought it would be appropriate to show you his handy work with the few pictures I have of our first Christmas as a married couple in our own house!

Merry Christmas

I know that I haven't posted any pictures in a while, but I really haven't had any to post, but today I will show you a little piece of our Christmas holidays this year. There was a light parade one weekend and Trevor's work decorated one of their trucks. Well, that is, he and I decorated one of his trucks. It may not look like it but we spent HOURS working on this truck! We even spelled the company name "blue hills" in blue lights on either side of the truck. My camera didn't take the best pictures of the lights, but you get the general idea. There were quite a few good floats. One of the local power plants built this train that looked like it could be the polar express. There was smoke and everything coming out of it. My little sister's 5th grade class also put a couple floats in the parade and my step-dad pulled one of them with a red tractor that he decorated with red lights. He was so proud of his tractor, he was waving all big and smiling. We just loved it. You wouldn't know from the look on his face that he was freezing!

One of my fav' Xmas stories

In light of this time of year, I thought I would share one of my favorite stories. I hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!

A CHRISTMAS ORANGE

By Fred C. LeMon 1920-1973

However impossible and elusive the Christmas message may seem some years, I always take a great comfort in the story of a little orphan boy, whom we shall refer to as “Jake” for want of more variety in the matter.

Jake was a resident of an orphan’s home. One of ten children supported by what contributions the home could secure on a continuous struggle. There was very little to eat. It was seldom very warm in the wintertime, for fuel was expensive. But at Christmastime there always seemed to be a little more to eat and the home seemed a little warmer, and it was a time for more than the usual enjoyment. But more than this, there was an orange. The only time of the year that such a rare item was provided—and it was coveted by each child like no other thing they ever possessed. They would save it for several days. Admiring it, feeling it, loving it, and contemplating the moment when they would eat it. Truly it was the “piece de resistance” to the Christmastide, and the year, for many would wait until New Year’s Day or later to eat it. Oftentimes it would start to dry out and shrivel before they would eat it in order to salvage what they could.

This Christmas Day Jake had offended the rules or authority of the home in some manner and his punishment was loss of the orange privilege. After a year of waiting for this rare occasion, and this most desired of all rewards, it was denied. Plaintiff impleading was to no avail. Although the offence was rather minor, still it was an infraction of rules that must govern in regulated society. Jake spent Christmas Day empty and alone—it even seemed the other children didn’t want to associate with a person who didn’t have an orange.

Nighttime arrived and this was worse of all. Jake could not sleep. There was no love in the world. There was no forgiving. And certainly there could be no God that would permit a contrite little soul to suffer so much by himself. Silently he sobbed for the future of mankind; and the world perhaps, but mostly because he didn’t have an orange like the other kids had.

A soft hand placed on Jake’s shoulders startled him momentarily and an object was quickly shoved into his hands. The donor disappeared into the dark of the room leaving Jake with what he did not immediately identify as an orange. Not a regular run-of-the-orchard, but one fabricated from segments of nine other oranges. Nine other highly prized oranges that would of necessity be eaten this day instead of several days hence.

MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS AND PROSPER YOU THIS DAY AND ALWAYS!

Kids say the darnest things

One of the English teachers in our building is working on poetry with his class. He was once my teacher, and I remember when we had that section to do, and I HATED it. I have not one single creative bone in my body! Today he came in with a poem written by one of the seventh graders, and I felt that it should be shared.

The Perfect Man

The perfect man is someone who you know loves you.

That you will know your love is always true.

The perfect man is willing to do any thing for you.

The perfect man will:

Clean your house,

Vacuum,

Dust,

Clean your room,

Scrub the bathroom.

He will even clean your backyard.

The perfect man is romantic

And buys you stuff

and does...

WELL FORGET the perfect man because he's gay.

Hahaha! Now how come it was so hard for me to think of stuff like this? We have had a good laugh all day long because of this seventh graders poem. Just thought I'd share some of the laughter!

No news is good news, right?

Nothing much is going on in our little world. Nothing exciting at least. We got a huge propane bill, but who really wants to know that? I went to Julie's baby shower on Saturday, and it was fun to see all the cute (or in some cases, not so cute) clothes she got for her little baby. Bailey came with me to the shower and I held her little Brody pretty much the whole time. It was really fun to see them. Babies are being born all around us these days! But today a lady told me, "Just don't drink the water." haha.......no babies for us yet!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

That's right! It snowed in St. Johns. Miracle right? I think last year we only had snow like 2 times. No joke. Normally St. Johns is known as the hole in the sky, because whenever there is any sort of moisture, whether it be snow or rain the whole surrounding area gets some, but we don't. We got snow this time though, maybe less than other places, but we still got some of it. Yay. I am not a big fan of snow usually, but there is always something so exciting about the first snow fall. We did get a few of the problems that come with snow though......slick roads, cars that don't want to start, and worse of all frozen pipes. I have never had that happen, but yesterday morning when I got up to take a shower, there was no hot water! It was such a mess. Luckily none of the pipes broke. All is well.

Congrats to my cousin, Jaymi on her new baby GIRL! Welcome to the world sweet girl. We thought she was a boy, but we are so happy she's here and well.

Black Friday

Scary day, right? I mean, I have never experienced the biggest shopping day of the year (aka the day after Thanksgiving) until this year. Talk about crazy. Being that I was down in Mesa where there are actually places to shop, and I didn't have Trevor around to see what I would be buying him for Christmas....I decided to get up at like 5:30 in the morning to go shopping. Some might think I'm mad for doing it, but it was really quite fun. To make it even better, I told Kade and Taylor that I was going and they decided that they wanted to come too! I couldn't believe that a 13 year old and a 10 year old would want to get up for that, but they did! You should have seen Taylor's hair, it looked like a rat's nest. We got to the Target on Southern and Alma School in Mesa at like 2 minutes to 6 (am) and there was not a parking space in site. We had to go over to another lot before we could park. The people were lined up all the way past the building and they had just opened the doors. We joined their ranks and it was a continuous line for about 15 minutes before everyone got in. We found some really good deals, but most of them were in the electronic department, and I didn't really have anything to buy in there. Some DVD's were being sold for 5 bucks, and they weren't old movies either. We also bought Kade, Taylor, and Spenser's (my other brother) xmas presents. It kinda takes the fun out of it when they know what they are getting, but it also insures that they get what they like.

About 50 minutes later, we left Target and traveled across the street to the Fiesta mall. There wasn't really anything we needed in there, but we went to see some of the sales, and then I bought us pretzels with cheese for breakfast. I know- really healthy right? Oh well, that is one of the perks of being the sister and not the mom.

We got back to my grandma's and hung out for a while. The two kids went with my grandpa because most of the cousins went to play basketball together. I just stayed home and wrapped Trevor's presents and then when they got back we went to lunch and then headed home.

The drive seemed long, but I was so glad to be home. I hid Trevor's wrapped gifts at my mom's house so that he can't look at them and guess what they are. It was a successful Black Friday, and I wouldn't mind doing that again. Happy shopping to the rest of you!

Turkey day

Thanksgiving weekend was fun, but it seemed really long! I gotta admit, it's not my favorite holiday. Sometimes I think that I wouldn't mind skipping it, and going straight to Christmas, but at the same time, I think that I would truly miss Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving weekend began Wednesday afternoon. School got let out early, so I took my little brother and sister (kade and taylor) picked up their stuff, and began our trek to the "valley." Kade rode in the front seat and proceeded to tell Taylor to shut-up and go to sleep whenever she would start to talk. It was actually pretty funny. Had he not stopped Taylor, she probably would go on and on about anything just so she could talk (we love her despite this sometimes head-ache causing trait). Unfortunately for Trevor he didn't get out of work until late, and he was going to have travel back Thursday night for work at 5 am on Friday so it meant us taking two vehicles. The nice thing about living in St. Johns is that my mom and her family are here, and so is Trevor's so most of the time we will have all our holidays at home, and our time is split fairly evenly amongst the two families. This year however, my Garner family got together. It is the first time in my grandparents 52 years of marriage that they have had all their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids all together at one time. (minus Kellan who is serving his mission in Washington currently) It was really quite exciting, to know we were seeing everyone. Since my parents got divorced, two sets of aunts and uncles haven't even seen Kade and Taylor since we left Utah! That was nearly 9 years ago. Both of the kids were like toddlers then!

Before Thanksgiving dinner at 3, I happened to return a message to my friend Darla and found out that she was in the hospital! She had had a good cry because she was miserable and it was thanksgiving and her whole family was in St. Johns. I guess, she got really sick all of a sudden, and went to the emergency room only to have a million tests run. They weren't for sure it was her appendix, but they took it out to be safe, and it was good they did because it was pretty close to bursting! Poor girl was stuck in the hospital so we went to visit her before we had dinner, and then when I came home from the valley I brought her with me so she could have some recover time at home with her family.

Thanksgiving dinner ended up being really good. I felt that as my first Thanksgiving being married, I should contribute to the dinner, so I made pumpkin bread, fudge, mints, and a cheese ball. It was fun to do that, but not have to cook it all. There was turkey and ham and roast to choose from. I honestly couldn't believe how much food there was. The mashed potatoes and gravy were also some of the best I have ever had. Altogether I think there were about 30 people there and we still had plenty of food left over. A big thank you to my uncle todd and his wife Kim for putting up with all of us!

Shortly after dinner, pictures followed. A professional photographer came and took everyone's pictures. It took forever, but I think the end result was pretty good. (I'll post some of those pictures when I get my copies.) Sadly enough, we took forever with the pictures and because we had such a late dinner, Trevor didn't get out of there until like 6 and then he had to drive the 3-4 hours home in the dark, and then get up super early for work. I was a little blue when he left. Even with all those people there I kind of felt alone. It sounds lame, but here were all these family members that I don't know very well, none of them are really my age, my husband left me, and I don't care how old you are, but no holiday is the same without your MOM. I know I sound like a baby, but I don't know.....I guess it was just the culmination of all the stuff going on.

The two little kids went to the movies with their cousins, and I drove back to my grandparents house where I cleaned up my grandma's kitchen while I waited for them to get home. It was a long day, but it was good. I do feel though that I didn't quite get the whole turkey day experience though, because I forgot to eat pumpkin pie! (I guess I'll have to make Trevor make me a pie.....)

I forgot to mention....

In all my pumpkin pie talk, I forgot to tell you all what happened last Tuesday. It was a very momentous thing! I won the battle:MY CHRISTMAS TREE IS UP! Woot-woo! Trevor finally gave in to all my pleadings and let me put up the tree. He said he wanted nothing to do with it, but he put on the lights (my least favorite thing to do) and some ornaments, and the star on the top! It was great. I don't think I realized how tall a 7 and a half foot tree really was until we got it all put together. It doesn't look that big at the store. Of course, Trevor did put his foot down by telling me that none of the other Christmas decorations are allowed to be put up. It does look a little funny to have garland with fall leaves around a centerpiece, and then a Christmas tree up at the same time, but I don't really care. I have held to my promise, and no other decorations have been put up.

So far......

Primary Woes....

Since Trevor and I got married I have taught the 4 and 5 year old primary class. We even switched wards and I still got the same class. I love the kids so much, but they are slowly driving me NUTS! In the ward we are in now, I have the most wild class of them all. That is not an exaggeration by any means.

This Sunday was particularly frustrating. I think most teachers probably study there lessons throughout the week. Not me. I have discovered that the more I study the more frustrated I get when they don't listen. So, usually I don't even crack open my manual until Sunday morning or late Saturday night. This week I made some really cute handouts that the kids could color and then put together. One kid decorated it, and then crumpled it up and threw it in the trash! Another one stuck it in between the wall and the chair railing and ripped it in half. Those were made on my time and w/ my money! Normally I can take it, but I don't know I just was mad. To top it off, we have been gone a lot this month. Once we were in Mesa, then I had a cousin that returned from his mission, and next week we are going to Mesa again for Thanksgiving. I know that it can inconvenience the Primary, but I didn't like leave them high and dry. I have found substitutes. But the primary president asked me on Sunday if us being gone was going to be a constant problem! gggrrrrr......

Seriously, I know I may have been called to serve this calling, but are they sure? Can't some of the kids parents teach? As I looked at all the primary workers only like 2 of them actually had kids in primary. So for me, thank a primary teacher or nursery teacher next Sunday.

Third times a charm!

Let me tell you about Trevor's latest obsession. He cannot stop talking about pumpkin pie! He has asked his mom to make him one, he asked me too. I am sure I could figure it out, but I have never really made a pumpkin pie. My grandma was the pie maker always, and well, my mom would just buy frozen ones. I mean pumpkin pie has been the talk for a week or more!

(On a side note, I was on a pizza kick too. Almost dreaming about pizza from pizza hut. Trevor has made fun of me, because that is all I have wanted for dinner. Trevor is not even a fan of pizza, but moving along w/ my story.....)

Finally desperation sunk in I guess. I get home from my lunch break on Monday (that Trevor's day off) and our house smells so good like spices and stuff. I go in the kitchen and there are two pumpkin pies. That's right, Trevor made the pies himself! It was so funny. Later, he cut a huge piece for himself and he kept saying that it didn't taste right. Turns out he put in like 3 times too much cloves. haha! But instead of leaving it at that, he made ANOTHER pie! This one finally was just right. He was in heaven. I thought that it was so funny, but he also could no longer tease me about having pizza on my mind....because I didn't get nearly as desperate as he did. I think I took a picture of his pie. If I can find it, I'll post his masterpiece for you to see!

Yummy mint fudge

Here's the latest in my cooking endeavors....mint fudge. Super good, super easy!
What you will need:

1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk (about 11 0unces)
2 tbls. margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. peppermint flavoring

Melt all 6 ingredients in 2 quart pan on medium-low heat. Stir frequently. After mixture is all smooth pour into a greased 9x9 pan and cut into squares when cooled. OR drop onto wax paper to make individual candies.

*Feel free to add a few more drops of peppermint if it is not strong enough.
**Also, after making this recipe it was a really smooth and yummy fudge, but I think some sort of nuts in it would also make the recipe pretty good. Try it how you think would be best and ENJOY!

Kool-aid

Okay, for all you women who have experienced weird mood swings (which is every one of us whether you admit it or not) let me tell you about the latest. I honestly don't think I have ever had something like this happen. Trevor thinks it is hilarious. The other night we bought this two liter of soda. Well, of course with a big thing of soda like that you can't just put in the fridge and let it stand. You have to lay it on its side. So, I lay it on the top shelf, and go about fixing my bake potato and Trevor is fixing his how he likes his. The next time I open the fridge, the motion of the door made the soda roll over. Normally that would be fine.....Unfortunately though, I had a glass pitcher of blue kool-aid in there, and the soda knocked it completely over! It really was quite funny, but as I stand there looking at the huge mess this has created not only do I start to laugh hysterically, I begin to cry at the same time! Who does that? Trevor starts laughing even harder because I am crying. He couldn't believe it. He kept saying that only kids cry over stuff like that. I don't know what my problem was, I don't know if it was the mess it had made, or the fact that the rest of the house was cluttered, or that it had been a long day, but I just CRIED! Trevor made me get out of the kitchen and he cleaned it all up (bless him!). Of course, while he was in there he made up a little song about me crying like a baby. I threatened him that if he didn't stop the song that maybe I would cry some more. Luckily he stopped, but believe me, he hasn't refrained from sharing the story with EVERYONE! So, I figured I would tell a few more, what could it hurt?

p.s. Congrats to Bailey and Chris, and happy BIRTHday to their baby boy, Brody Keith!

Easy Recipe

I have been searching high and low for a cookie recipe that might be similar to the cookies that they used to serve in the cafeteria at Eastern Arizona College, and I think I have found it! I am super excited about it, and I tried it out yesterday. It was way easy and took a total of like 35 minutes from start to finish. Feel free to try it out!

What you will need:
1 box of chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup water
1 large egg
1 cup white chocolate chips

Mix first four ingredients well, and then add white chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. (do not overbake) Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing them from pan. Finish cooling on wire racks.

Like I said, way easy and really yum! They are my new favorite treat! ( they were even my lunch today! )

The Weekend

This last weekend was both fun, and a little disappointing. There is this gated community in Mesa that opens its gates one time a year and has a community yard sale. Last year, Trevor and I really lucked out. He had just proposed to me, and reality was starting to set in. Things that we hadn't thought of like where are we going to live, how can we afford a bed, we don't have tables or chairs, were all of a sudden problems that we needed to take care of, and FAST! Luckily we came across a solid oak table with four chairs and a matching hutch for only like $300 bucks! We also got a king size select comfort (where you can change the amount of air is on each side) and its frame for pretty cheap too.

We have most of the things that we need, but we thought that we would check it out again this year and get anything we might need or want. Unfortunately, instead of making positive that it was in fact the first weekend of November we forged ahead. We were so wrong. We drove around and found a few yard sales that are average one people have every weekend, but nothing all that great. Then we saw the sign. It was posted on the side of the road saying that community sale was in 2 weeks! I was a little ticked, I'm not going to lie. That meant time and money that we spent for nothing! I didn't want to go back in 2 weeks, when the week after that it's Thanksgiving.

To make up for the non-yard sales, Trevor took me to Target (which is my favorite store), and gave me kind of an "allowence." He said I could buy any holiday decor that I wanted! Talk about one of the best things ever! I always am talking about decorating for Halloween, or Thanksgiving, and mostly of Christmas. Most of the fall stuff was on sale, so I probably should have taken advantage of that, but I picked out all xmas stuff. Christmas is my favorite holiday. Truth be told.....I have turned on the Christmas tunes a few times already this year. I know, it's sick. We had talked about buying a new Christmas tree, since the one I have is like a ten dollar one from the dollar store so I banked on that fact and bought a ton of new ornaments for my tree. I also got a little crazy and got some lights and garland, and xmas cards. I was in 7th heaven, no joke. After we went to target, Trevor really put the icing on the cake and bought me a tree at Walmart. I can't tell you how thrilled I am!

When you read the poem the night before christmas and it talks about "visions of sugarplums" dancing in there heads.....that has been going on in my head since mid-October. I really think it could be a disease.....Christmas-itus. Fortunately, (or unfortunately depending on which view your looking at) I have been banned from putting up the tree by Trevor. Don't worry though, I go and look at my ornaments, and have them organized, and lists of friends I might send cards to have already been started.

Overall, I thought that the weekend was successful. We didn't get to go to the yard sales (boo), did xmas decoration shopping (yay), watched the girls soccer team lose the state championship game (boo) and bought xmas pinecones that smelled like cinammon and made the whole truck smell really strong on our 4 hour drive home (boo, until there was the dead skunk smell and then yay).

p.s. Random pictures may be posted like wedding ones and stuff, but its because I don't have any others!

Mormon Women

Anyone who is Mormon can appreciate this poem. There are probably a few of you who have heard it before. It was written by Vickie Gunther of Redlands, California.

The Girl in a Whirl
By: 'Dr. Sue' (aka Vickie Gunther)

Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
you could do what I do
If you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake,
I upholster,
I scrub,
and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.
I help in their classrooms!
I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice!
I cut all their hair!
I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.
I play the piano!
I bless with my talents!
My toilets all sparkle!
My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! Never late!)
I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all.
I track my bad habits 'til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed!
My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully too.
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children!
I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.
I exercise and I cook menus gormet;
My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It's the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each "lost lamb" on my Primary roll.
I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all.
I write in my journal!
I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write "thank you's" to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
My kids get straight A's!
And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires!
I fix the sink's leak!
I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
I make sure I rotate our two-years' supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!

These things are not hard;
'tis good if you do them;
You can if you try!
Just set goals and pursue them!
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!
"It's easy!" she said
and then she dropped dead.

Boys will be boys

Have you ever noticed that no matter the age, you can't take the boy out of a man? When Trevor and I went to Utah for conference with his parents, we decided to take a much more scenic route. We went to the famous Lee's Ferry crossing where many many pioneers crossed. It was also known as the honeymoon trail. So I was taking pictures when I turned around and saw Trevor leaning way over the edge. I asked him what he was doing, and he was trying to spit and make it land in the water. That is right, SPIT! I would expect that from a boy, but not my husband! I'm sure many of you can appreciate the humor in this! No wonder Trevor gets along so well with his nephews, Grant (age 3) and Preston (age 1)!

Homemaking

Normally it is assumed that the wife has the homemaking responsibilities, but bless my husband's soul for sharing that responsibility!

Since being married I have done a lot of things that I've never done before, because well, I didn't have to. Never have I painted a wall, or really nailed things into the wall. But now I have a whole house that is a blank canvas. I am so lucky that I had a supporting husband that helped carry out my ideas, that at times, may seem crazy to him. He let me paint a kitchen red, and when I wanted waynscoting to go around the bottom half of the wall, I had no idea how to do it, but he figured it out, and he really did most of the labor.

Another thing I am slowly learning is how to cook. I mean, I know how to cook, but there are so many things I have never made before. We didn't ever really have homemade bread and that is one of mine and Trevor's favorite things (I know: carbs, carbs, carbs), so I have tried a few recipes and I can make some pretty darn good white bread, crescent rolls, and my new one is pumpkin bread. Rolls, however, are a constant battle for me. Last night was my latest challenge: salsa. I could eat chips and salsa for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I don't have a clue how to make it, so last night I asked my cousin Julie how she makes hers and she roughly explained and it turned out not too bad! YAY! (thank you Julie)

I try out all these "adventures" on Trevor, but he seems to enjoy most of the things I have made minus the pumpkin bread. Of course, he is less picky than the cook, and she never thinks her food is all that great.

Trevor has been the best though. I am so crazy about my cleaning. If you have ever watched the t.v. show friends I am the equivelant of Monica. Bless Trevor's little soul, because he has every Monday off and he does all the house cleaning! He mops and dusts and sweeps and everything else. However, I drive him nuts because the Monica in me comes out and I re-clean some of the stuff he has cleaned. I am truly grateful though because it makes my job so much easier.

Thank heavens for husbands that share the homemakers job!

Welcome to Trevor and Taytum's site

I have a few friends who are on here, and I thought that it would be good for my husband, Trevor, and I to also start a blog of our own. I have one on another site, but this will be nice for our families and friends I think.

Trevor and I were married on January 6th, 2006, and it has been a pretty good 9 months so far. Married life continues to be great, but has also presented challenges that I don't think you ever know until you get married. I didn't bargain for picking up Dr. Pepper cans all the time, but on the flipside I don't think Trevor knew how bad of a clean freak I can be! Overall the little quirks we each have seem to be something to joke about, and we learn to love those things about one another.

There's not much more to say now. I will work on getting some pictures up. Or for that matter, taking some pictures. I don't think we've taken any since we got married! Photograph overload I guess!