Cinnamon Twists

First warm your oven for dough to rise. While dough is rising make sure oven is off.

Divide the dough into half and refrigerate leftover dough.
Roll out dough and spread with butter.
Dump cinnamon on the butter.
Fold and cut in to strips.
Drench strip in butter and cover in cinnamon while twisting.
Place on the pan leaving a bit of space for dough to rise.
Place pan in the warm oven for about 45 minutes.

After dough has risen. Turn oven on to 325 and bake the cinnamon twists for 10-12 minutes. Watch them closely so that you do not over cook. Meanwhile make your glaze for the Cinnamon rolls. Let Cinnamon rolls cool a bit and then gently glaze.

GLAZE FOR CINNAMON ROLLS
1 1/2 c. butter 1 1/2 c. brown sugar 3 tbsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt Powdered sugar Melt butter, add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Take off the stove and add enough powdered sugar to bring it to the consistency that you wish. Beat with electric mixer. Pour over warm rolls.

With the remaining dough you can make delicious dinner rolls. Roll two small balls and place into cupcake pan glaze with butter and bake.

New life in SLC, Utah

Life in SLC has been fun!
Travler's creation. He begged to keep it in the freezer.

Halloween 2008

We had a blast this year this Halloween.
Our neighborhood really gets into the holiday so it was really fun!
Jabez had a such a great time going on his walk at night and was trying to figure out what the heck everyone was up too. Trav had a birthday party to go to so after the party we took him trick or treating.
Of course Gentry was M.I.A with his buddy's.
I can't believe it's already November.
Where does the time go?

Carving pumpkins the night before Halloween...it's quite the process!

Carvers in action

Jabez reading Halloween stories while we carve

Travler's Halloween parade

Getting ready for the parade

Jabez in his costume...Happy Halloweeeen!

Me and Ty

Trick or treat!

This guy scared Trav, he thought he was a dummy...lol!

Travler didn't think this was the best idea...too scary!

The end.

Jabez and Halloween

Here is the monster that scared the pants of little Jabez.

Jabez is still not knowing what to think....SCARY MONKEY!

Halloween is right around the corner and this monster figurine made me realize that it is and can be a frightful event especially for babies.

Funny story for you...Gram sent Travler and Gentry a Halloween gift in the mail and in it was this monster that growls. Jabez heard it growl so I thought nothing of it when he demanded he play with it...that was until it went off while he was peacefully crawling around with it. Ty and I have never seen Jabez with such fear!

The next morning Jabez loves getting into mischief and headed off to find something fun to do. I watched him happily crawl down the hall ready to explore Travler's room until he paused and sat in front of the doorway looking into the room and back at me three or four times. I walked towards him thinking he would bolt into Trav's room...still nothing. When I peaked around the doorway, there on Travler's nightstand stood the scary monster.

He is traumatized by it!


Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I am looking forward to all of the cute kids and handing out candy...I will definitely keep my eye out for Jabez and keep him away from anything too freaky.

Happy Halloween everyone!

My birthday

So another year has passed by
and I still feel and act like I'm 20. I now prefer to say I am 20 with 11 years extra experience.

Ty is known for always doing something special so now I'm like a big kid and can't wait to open my present. This year I got a really cool purse and some cute earrings. The boys made me cards with aliens on them due to all of the hype and people saying the aliens were suppose to come the October 14th....were still waiting.


I have to admit I was actually bummed they didn't come...lol!

Ty and I made an attempt at a fancy dinner but little Jabez who now thinks that the food and dishes are toys, couldn't keep still nor quiet. It was quite a show watching Ty and I attempt to eat our dinner with a squirming 10 month old. We decided to get some to go boxes after Jabez spotted the bright red sweet and sour sauce in the white dish...he couldn't resist it.


Thanks to all of my loved ones for the birthday wishes.
Oh and Christa your present rocks, I get to think of you daily while I am beautifying my skin!

This blog is for Christa!

I have been swamped this week and have been promising my sister that I would be a faithful blogger so here's a blog regarding my adventurous week.

This is an action shot....boys doing flips in the backyard!

Latest hairdo and yes, my hair keeps changing and it will continue to change...thanks to Ty.

This is one of my favorite photos of the week. Ty is such an amazing father to all of the boys.

Most of our haircuts are at home believe it or not.

Gentry cut his hair!
I was completely shocked and amazed.
Having 3 hairdresser's in the family and one being my husband...Oh the pressure of having perfect hair =]

Jabez and his new Halloween costume. Check out those muscles!

OH THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD

I know all mothers can relate to the non stop messes, laundry and picking cheerios out of the carpet. How my front room has turned into a brightly colored toy room with lively cartoons blaring. I'm astounded when I find myself singing along to the children's shows and I know all the words!

It is a non stop process of giving and giving and giving.

I am so much more appreciative of my parents who happened to have seven children right in a row. I am constantly asking my dear mother how she managed all of us but what it all comes down to is mothers just do, it's in our nature and we get good at it too!

At the end of the day I am beat but I know that I have one of the most important roles on Earth and that is to be a mother. I thank God daily for my three little blessings and it is a joy to have the opportunity of motherhood!

Jabez and his blueberry hand print on the back of his head...gotta love it!

Classic bath in the sink photo.

Getting into mischief...I am considering purchasing random household items for Jabez first birthday, he seems to like them much more!

Such a goofball!


A story about mothers

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands,
nothing more:

Can you fix this?

Can you tie this?

Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being.

I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?"

I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?"

I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England.

Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

"To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving , "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.

"That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home and then if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!