2010 Summary

Does a tree make a sound in the woods when it falls

even if nobody is there to hear it?? Yes!

Does life go on if nobody blogs it? Yes!!

Here is a quick summary of our lives since last May 2010...it has been almost a year since my last post!! Many things have occurred, some of which I posted on Facebook.

In July 2010 we moved to beautiful green, hot, humid Kentucky, lived in an RV for three weeks, while waiting for our house to be ready.

Dan started his Fellowship at UK in Vitreal Retina Surgery

(2 years and then Dan gets his first job at age 35!)

Kids went to school for the first time at V.P.E. School. This is an amazing school and pushes the kids really hard. The kids are lovin' it (not the homework though)

Started the new year in January with the birth of our fourth girl Makinley Grace.

Makinley went into the hospital for three days with RSV (thanks to sisters sharing bug)

Emma turned 6!! Morgan Turned 8!!

Morgan Got Baptized!!!!

Makinley will be blessed this Sunday.

Florida Trip

Our trip to Florida was a refreshing break from the usual. Even though we totaled our car on the way to Lexington, we still came back relaxed. Dan had an Ophthalmology conference to present some research at in Fort Lauderdale...so I of course had to come along as his assistant. My mom was kind enough to watch the kids. I was expecting her to have a few more gray hairs when we got back...but she actually had the home running better than I did when I left. What an awesome woman! Thanks mom.

Merry “Quiche”mas

· 1/4 pound ham

· 1/2 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed or (I use fresh)

· 1/2 (8 ounce) container sour cream

· salt and pepper to taste

· 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

· 1 tablespoon olive oil

· 1/2 onion, finely diced

· 1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, finely diced

· 1/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

· 1/4 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded

· 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

· 4 eggs

· 3/4 cup half-and-half cream

· 1-1/2 teaspoons dried parsley

• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place ham in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Cook spinach according to package instructions. Allow to cool, then squeeze dry. (I chopped up fresh spinach and sautéed it at the end with the veggies, it seems easier, better??)

2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Sauté onions until soft and translucent. Stir in mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes, or until soft. Stir in ham. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, combine spinach, sour cream, salt and pepper. Divide, and spread into pie crusts. Layer with ham mixture. Mix together Monterey Jack, Cheddar and Parmesan, and sprinkle over pies. Whisk together eggs, half-and-half and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over pies.

Place pies on baking sheet (it makes two), and bake on middle shelf in preheated oven for 40 minutes. The top will be puffed and golden brown. If you shake it, the middle shouldn't move. Remove from oven, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Morgan had a friend recently that dropped the bomb, so to speak, on the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and even Santa Claus. Sooo....she cornered me one day and said,

"Mom, tell me the truth" with a very serious tone...

"is the Tooth Fairy real?" I had to tell her the truth...it was me.

Later, she tried the same thing on me about Santa, so I turned the question around on her."What's your theory on Santa?" The result's in the video. Although I know Santa is still under investigation, and her theories are still formulating, we will have fun with it while it lasts!! The real test will be Santa's lap.

It didn't help that last year we caught Santa speeding off after a Christmas party in a little beat up sedan. Not quiet the eloquent exit with Sleigh Bells and Reindeer with a robust "Ho Ho Ho" we all envision. But, at least he didn't have a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, and his suit was still intact!

Today, I read Morgan and Emma a story from the "Friend" magazine, which is put out by our church. It was about a four year old boy who gave his old toys as a gift to another little boy who's family wasn't going be able to have Christmas due to finances. Afterwards we had the idea that our family could donate some of our toys too. We had a great time, and it was nice to get this done (something we needed to do for a long time).

It seems as Christmas approaches, it is a constant battle to keep the feeling of "giving" and blessing the lives of others stronger than that of "I want, I want, I want". This little activity, was something that helped our family keep perspective and I think the girls really understood the meaning as we connected it to our own lives.

The story is in the friend magazine @ friend.lds.org Click on the "Christmas Basket" story in the 2009 Christmas issue. Have Fun!

Match Day Results

MATCH DAY was yesterday...

Can you guess where we are off

to next for fellowship???

KENTUCKY!!!!!

Yes, it is a little late...but better late than never. Halloween was fun as usual. Morgan wanted to be a Pilgrim and Emma was an Egyptian princess. They LOVE to dress up. And thanks to Nana, I hardly had to sew anything! And of course Daddy's favorite thing about Halloween is playing with knives. Carving pumpkins and digging out slime is Dad's job. I take the pictures.

We have been a bit busy lately. We were out of town for a month...more to come about that. I hope all are doing well, we will be better about posting our life. I know Nana, you especially are anxious to see pictures.