TEETH!

Serra finally cut a tooth- two, actually! We were sitting at the table eating dinner when she pulled herself up using my leg and gave me a huge open-mouth smile to show off her new milestone! I was so excited, I nearly spit out my food! One of her two bottom front teeth has broken all the way through and just needs to keep coming up- the other one is only peeking one tiny corner out. But, finally, our 9 1/2 month old has TEETH!

Modernizing

Ian and I finally took the plunge and decided to get matching cell phones! We've had enough troubles with land-line phones that we have cancelled our previous phone service and joined in a family plan with my sister at T-Mobile. We've had fun programming our phones and playing with them- Serra is getting jealous of our new toys! :) So... you're all probably asking, what's your new phone numbers? We will be sending out an email to those in our email lists with that information- if you did not receive an email and would like to know our phone numbers, send us an email! Also, we did not pay for texting services, so DO NOT text our phones [Ian says he'll send you a bill for the charges you incur by doing so!] We look forward to having our phones with us wherever we go, but we still reserve the right to ignore calls when attending to Serra, sleeping, driving, and using the facilities. :)

Birthday Dinners, Redbox Movies, and Keylime Cheesecake- Need I Say More?

It has been an eventful week! Today I turned 26. I'm glad I'm finally on an even year again, I feel so odd being odd... It was a fun day- we went to what used to be known as The Mayan, a restaurant featuring indoor cliff divers while you eat. It is now known as Mayan Adventure and is nowhere near the same experience. Needless to say, we shall not be returning! But it is okay because life is full of disappointments, and while you hope not to have any on your birthday sometimes it can't be helped. We then rented a movie from the Redbox- an ingenious invention by McDonald's where you can rent movies for $1 +tax per night. We, however, do not pay to rent their movies. If you go to www.insideredbox.com, they give you promotional Redbox codes for free movies. You can use each code once per each credit card. So Ian and I have kept up on our movies this year! Unfortunately, Pocatello does not have a Redbox yet, so we will no longer be the movie buffs we currently are whenever we move up there. And lastly, we enjoyed a slice of my favorite dessert: keylime cheesecake- which I had to search high and low for since everyone seemed to be out when I needed one! Cheesecake has to be the richest, most elegant dessert ever to grace the face of this earth- and to add the bold flavor of keylimes... need I say more?

Ahhh... the Temple!

Today I had the priviledge of escorting my younger sister through the temple to receive her own endowments. What a treasured moment in my memory! I love her dearly and am so excited that she was finally able to take that step, bringing her closer to God and His blessings. The temple is such a beautiful, wonderful, sacred place that I enjoy going to [less often now that I have Serra, but it will improve!] I love it because of what it means to me, what it symbolizes, the feelings surrounding it, and the presence of my Savior. I like to think that my parents are there with me, too, and I often feel that they are. I am so grateful that because of the temple and the blessings promised there, that my parents were able to keep their covenants so that we could be an eternal family. I miss them and long for the day to be with them again, but I know it will happen... it will happen!

*For more information about LDS temples, click on the heading to this post.

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday we went to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake- Serra's first zoo visit! She had more fun staring at other people and fence posts, but it was fun trying to get her to see the animals far away. Today I was pampered for my first "real" Mother's Day [as in, I'm actually a mother of a child, not just pregnant with one!] And it has made me realize just how important my job as a mother is- and how precious my little baby is! I have had a few friends and family who have had struggles with recent- and not so recent- additions to their family. With finances, health, and energy. We are so lucky to be able to provide for our family- and to have the physical and emotional means to do so! We are so lucky, as Ian once put it: "I can't tell you how much I love Serra too. I would be content spending the rest of my life just watching her play. She is the most beautiful baby ever. I was worried about her being born with physical deformities...and not only does she not have any, but everything about her is perfect, even her personality. I can't even imagine a more perfect child. I can't believe how insanely lucky we are to have her."

I Love Thunder!

I forget how much I miss thunderstorms until we finally have one here! Living in the Mid-West, I grew up with thunderstorms as a normal occurrence. Serra has never seen rain or heard thunder, so I wasn't sure how she would handle it. But when I was walking her over to the neighbor's house in the rain, she was loving it! I had a blanket over her head, but she just kept staring out at it with a twinkle in her eyes- I just know she'll be the type to jump in puddles! While we were at our neighbor's house, we heard an incredibly long and loud thunderbolt- Serra hardly even noticed it! I don't know what I was so worried about- apparently she's just like me and calms to the storm.

Basic Dinner Rolls

I made my famous rolls for a family event tonight- and they were, of course, a hit. I've had so many people ask me for my recipe that I thought I'd just post it here! It is the most forgiving recipe I have ever dealt with- the flour can be bread flour or regular, the milk can be scalded or right out of the fridge, the sugar and shortening can be done in any combination [most sugarand least shortening, most sugar and most shortening, etc.] When I make them, I just roll them into long strips and tie the strips into a knot- with one end sticking out on top. People think they are elegant looking, but they're so easy to shape! If you click on the heading to this post, you'll find it is a link to my recipe website [which has this roll recipe and hundreds of others]

Basic Dinner Rolls

1/2 c warm water
2 T yeast
2 c scalded milk- cooled 5 minutes
1/4 - 1/2 c sugar
1/4 - 1/2 c shortening
2 t salt
2 eggs
5-6 c bread flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside. Combine scalded milk, sugar, shortening and salt with 3 c flour. Beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and dissolved yeast, then add additional flour to make a soft dough. Knead well. Let rise until double (30-45 mintues). Shape as desired. Let rise again. Bake dinner rolls at 400F for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

May 2008

I can't believe how quickly the year is going! Serra will be 9 months old in about a week. It's crazy to think that just 9 months ago she was in my belly... strange stuff! Things have been going well for us. Our garage sale has been postponed time and again because we didn't want to have it during poor weather [I know there are a few crazies who will shop garage sales rain or shine, but I figure our chances are better in shine]. So the next tentative date is the 10th of this month- hopefully we'll be able to have it and make some money to help out this month. It will be a busy month with another trip to Pocatello, ID on the 9th for Ian's work, my 26th birthday, Mother's Day, our garage sale, my sister getting her endowments, and several other little events. I'm sure this month will fly by too! This last month has treated us well- Ian enjoyed his birthday and gifts. I surprised him by asking his boss for the day off- so he woke up for work and I told him to go back to bed! We took Serra swimming for the first time- and she LOVED it! She kicks all the time just when we're holding her, so it happened naturally in the pool and she was thoroughly pleased at the response of the water. It's a little expensive for us to go though- $5 each [Serra being free, of course]. So we won't get to do it often. But my sister has a pool at her apartments that will be open this summer and we can go there with her for free- so we're looking forward to that. Also this last month, we've gained a little more insight to why we aren't able to move yet. Apparently Ian's position, salary, and moving expenses have been approved by his boss and his boss' boss.. but it has to be cleared by the "top" boss [the boss of all bosses] in order for us to get clearance to move right now before the shareholders have their meeting about the budget changes sometime in the next 3-4 months. However, the "top" boss is hemming and hawing about approving it- so it's looking like we'll have to wait until the shareholders' meeting [or until Ian's boss pesters the "top" boss enough to give his approval]. So we are officially in the waiting game. It kind of stinks because we're ready to move- we've told everyone that we're moving and everyone keeps asking why we haven't moved yet. :) But it's nice because it's giving us more time to get ready, strategize the sale of our current home, deeply investigate the homes in Pocatello, and save money for the move and down payments. I think in the long run it will be worthwhile, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating now! Anyway, that is what's going on with us- hopefully each of you have a funfilled month coming up too!


Love,
Ian, Kristen & Serra

P.S. For those of you asking, my wishlist is still up-to-date at http://www.kristenspoetry.com/ [Login, and there is a link for "Wishlists" on the right].