(the quote starts with “five of the sisters” and continues till the end.)
well here is an interesting story. steven and i were at our stake center the other day and while steven was talking to one of the stake presidency, i decided to look through the book about temples that was sitting on the table. the book goes through all of the different temples and shows a bunch of pictures and tells stories about them. i decided to of course read about LA first but then i moved on to the seattle temple. i was reading the comments and then at the very end and the quote was from steven’s grandma cook. from all the stories i have heard, she was an amazing and inspiring woman. it totally caught me off guard and made me cry. it also reaffirmed my testimony of the temple. his grandma was a temple worker in both the LA and Seattle Temples and had to travel long distances to do to work at each one. i am so grateful to have always lived so close to the temple. i am going to make a conscious effort to take advantage of that and go more often. thank you grandma cook for your example!
jana's journal
i can’t get the new mates of state song, get better, out of my head. here’s the video. enjoy.
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music of the week
well i know that this has already been mentioned on raisingheller.com but i wanted to have it in my journal as well. this week asher has started taking 8 or 9 steps. it is so amazing to see the progress he makes each day. it is funny because you would think that it wouldn’t be as exciting with each child but it really is. i love seeing the pure joy in their face when they finally realize that they can actually do it. well congratulations my little baby, i love you and i can’t wait for the many walks we will take as you get older.
jana's journal
asher made some big strides (pun intended) in his movement towards becoming a full fledged walker. he’s made several attempts over the past week or so, and has been able to take a couple steps here and there, but today he just seemed to go for it, as evidenced by the following photos.
and to really throw it into the way back machine, i’ve created an animated gif just for the occasion. i’ve taken great care to make sure that it’s as annoying as possible.
click here for animated goodness.
photos, words
asher had his first taste of enchiladas and i guess he likes them, well at least his face, hands, clothes, the table and his chair do.
jana's journal
so the other morning, jackson got up for the day and while steven was taking a shower asked, “can i go play in the garage?” well, steven finished getting ready for work and before he left he had to get something out of the garage and this was what he saw. it’s like he knew steven would eventually have to go out there and he was just waiting for him. this is steven’s freebording helmet and jackson has been obsessed with it since i cleared the garage out and have been letting him and lily play out there.
jana's journal
i cannot believe that ashy is one year old. it feels like just yesterday that kim called me from her hospital room and said that she had just had ben. after that i said to myself it is time for this little man to come into this world. the next day, i was having consistant but non painful contrations and said lets just go to the hospital and see what happens. four hours later this happy and sweet little boy came into our lives.there is something about boys that they are automatically mammas boys. they are just so cuddly and squishy. my little ash man fits the part perfectly. from the beginning i couldn’t stop kissing on him. of course he’s not quite as cuddly any more but i am still forcing my kisses on him. asher is loving, happy, always smiling, funny and also fiercly into EVERYTHING! thank you for joining our family!
weird picture of me but i liked the whole picture anyway.
jana's journal
last night i made the most amazing pasta dish. i thought that i would post the recipe for you all to try. i got the original recipe from marthastewart.com but then combined it with another that i found on some other website. well here it is…….
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup carrot grated then chopped in processor
1/2 cup zucchini grated then chopped in processor
1 onion chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 lb ground italian sausage
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup cooking wine
1/2 cup milk
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp nutmeg
sea salt & ground pepper
linguini (i used whole wheat)
parmesean cheese
1. heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. stir in carrot, zucchini, onion and garlic.
3. add meat and cook until it is no longer pink (about 5 minutes)
4. turn heat to medium high and add wine, cook until evaporated.
5. add tomatoes.
6. stir in milk, bay leaf, allspice, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper.
7. simmer for 1-2 hours.
8. cook pasta, drain and return to pot.
9. add half of the sauce and toss with pasta.
10. mix in parmesean.
if you decided to make this, let me know what you think. enjoy!
jana's journal
yesterday i had a random moment to cut off lily’s hair. we decided to grow her bangs out and i saw a picture of a little girl with short hair and i thought to myself, “it would be a lot easier to grow her bangs out if her hair was shorter.” well…10 minutes later we were in the kitchen and i was cutting off her ponytail. for those of you hair stylists reading this (ruth) i know it is shorter on one side but i didn’t want to try to even it and end up making the other side shorter than the first. i am going to take her to a hair place this weekend and get it cleaned up but…i think it looks pretty cute on her. i kept her ponytail and am mailing it to locks of love. her hair isn’t long enough to use for making a wig but they sell the shorter hair to make up for manufacturing costs. i hope they will be able to do that with hers.
jana's journal
we went over to spokane this weekend to celebrate steven’s & asher’s birthdays with steven’s family. because of the long memorial day weekend, we decided to celebrate early. we were able to relax and hang out with family and just have a good time. we miss being so close to his family because it is always a good time being with them. hellers and bowers, we love you! thanks for a good weekend.
auntie lisa and katie made these amazing panda bear cupcakes.
excited-
partaking-
enjoying!
everyone enjoyed the panda bears, especially the kids.
jana's journal
