Cousins!

Abby has some cute cousins. We're just sad they live so far away!

Christopher, born 18 January 2007 (John & Emma)

Carter, born 17 December 2007 (Mike & Shauna)

Meghan, born 18 January 2008 (Chris's first birthday!) (Jesse & Brenna)

Playing

We have a little neighborhood park just about a half mile up the street that we walk to sometimes. Abby seems to really like it most days (although sometimes she's just scared of everything there). A couple of weeks ago, when the weather was warm, Garrett and I took her there for a little while to play.

Before You Go

My dad sent me this story in an email last week and I wanted to share it. I am so thankful for brave men and women who have served and are currently serving our country. Specifically, I am so grateful for those who served in WW2. This greatest generation of men and women made this country proud, and we shouldn't forget that. Without them, it's scary to think of what kind of country we would be living in! Thanks Dad, for sharing this story with me.

The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!
Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach, Fla.,

eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after

appearing at an event.
He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak.

"I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.
At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."
Then the old soldier began to cry.
"That really got to me," Bierstock says.
Cut to today.
Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band,

Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a song inspired by that old soldier in

the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.
"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."
The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren.
"It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss "the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach. "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."
Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. Already they have been invited to perform it in Houston for a

Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web.

They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.
To hear the song, click here.

Poll

I just posted a little poll over on the sidebar of my blog. Please vote! Basically, one of us thinks that when the forecast says there is a 50% chance of rain, it means that there is a 50% chance it will rain. The other person thinks that a 50% chance of rain means that 50% of the city will get rain. I won't say which position Garrett takes and which one I think is right...

Thanks! When the poll closes I'll tell you all which is my opinion and which is his. Anyway, I thought of this just this morning, because it was raining cats and dogs!

Date Night!

On Saturday night we had a Stake Dinner & Dance for the adults. It was great! It was fun to get dressed up and go out for an evening together. The food was good, and the company was even better. It was especially fun watching some of the older folks from the stake dancing... I can't believe how much energy some of those people have! They were crazier than we were!

Our table with friends

Garrett and myself

The fancy dessert we brought

Special thanks to Abbie M. for doing my hair, and for babysitting our Abby! And for helping with the dessert!

Little Reader

Abby loves to look at books. She loves sitting down with me and reading, and she also looks at books on her own. It's hard to get a whole story in, though - she mostly likes to turn the pages, barely glancing at the pictures. But sometimes, when she's looking at a book on her own, she'll take some time to look at the pictures carefully, sometimes pointing to different characters or objects on the page, like I do when we read. When she points she also makes a little noise like she's trying to say what she's pointing to. It's so cute! These books in the pictures aren't hers, but she sure loves pulling them off the shelves!

Lunar Eclipse

Tonight there was a lunar eclipse! Garrett took some great pictures.

Does that Make Sense?

Take the Quiz here!

I am Elinor from Sense and Sensibility. I promise I didn't copy you, Abbie!

Success!

Garrett and some of his friends went fishing on Friday after their test, and Garrett caught two fish! Great job, Garrett! Unfortunately, they're not fishing in a place where anyone would actually want to eat the fish, so they just put them back in the water. Hopefully sometime they'll start fishing at a place where we can eat what they catch!

A Day of Rest

I know that the Sabbath is supposed to be the day of rest, but sometimes it feels like the busiest day of the week! Thankfully, it's usually a really good kind of busy - serving the Lord and doing the things we're supposed to be doing. Tonight Garrett was especially worn out - Church is always a little tough for him because he usually has Abby for all 3 hours, because I interpret (ASL) in Sacrament Meeting, then go to an ASL Sunday School class, and then I usually teach the Laurels during the third hour. But he and Abby both seem to love the "daddy/daughter time" since Garrett is at school all week, and he does a great job with her during Church. Anyway, then this afternoon right after we got home, Garrett went Home Teaching with a friend whose companion was unavailable to go. It's a busy day, but certainly rewarding!

Coupon Queen (part 2)

On Saturday my friend Abbie and I went to Food Lion, coupons in hand. We have been reading this blog about saving money, using coupons, and finding good deals, so we wanted to try it out for ourselves. In the end, it was successful! After ringing up my groceries, the bill was $75. However, after handing over my coupons and using my store discount card, my total bill came out to be $35! Can you believe that!? I saved more money than I spent! I was so proud of myself. Abbie was successful, too - she also saved more than 50% on her groceries. I think my favorite part was buying 2 boxes of Cheez-Nips (snack) and 5 boxes of KRAFT Mac-n-Cheese for $1 total. That was great! I love knowing how to use coupons! This is such a great way to build up my food storage.

Good Eater

I am so lucky to have a baby who is not picky when it comes to eating. She loves everything from tuna fish, peas, beans, cheese, milk, apples, granola bars, lunch meat, and breads. In fact, I can't think of any one food that she has consistently refused to eat! Here she is snacking on an avacado.

Lobster Dinner!

Alive & kicking!

For our wedding anniversary in August, Garrett's parents gave us a gift certificate for a lobster dinner for two. And today, we finally got around to using it! It was GREAT!! We got FOUR 1-1/4 lb Maine lobsters, two bowls of clam chowder, and half a pound of jumbo shrimp, with cocktail sauce. The meal was just ordered yesterday, and overnighted to us. YUM!

Now, lobster was my favorite food from the time I was 4 years old until I was about 20 (sushi has taken first place, but lobster remains a close second). But I have never really cooked lobsters on my own. Most of the times I've had lobster has been at Newick's (or "Lewick's", if you prefer :)), but occasionally for my birthday my parents would cook a lobster or two. However, I don't think I have ever watched them actually cook it... I didn't anticipate that it would start thrashing around as soon as I held it over the boiling water (lobsters should always be alive when you cook them). It scared me! Thankfully Garrett was there to help me out, although he didn't really know what he was doing either. I didn't have a stock pot big enough for even two of them, so we cooked them two at a time, in two different pots. Eating them was fun, too - I got to teach Garrett how to rip them apart and take the meat out. Part of me wished we had done this meal in August, though - tonight the shells were really sharp and tough, but at the end of summer, they are usually soft enough that you don't even need the nutcrackers. But, I will admit - taking the lobster apart and digging the meat out is part of the fun!

In the end, the meal was fabulous! It was such a treat to have a real Maine lobster dinner delivered right to our door. Thank you, Mom and Dad Woodbury!

Dropping them into the pot

Our table

Garrett digs in

The aftermath

First Steps!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Generally, I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but this year was fun! Garrett has a test tomorrow, so we didn't do anything special together, but this morning I went to campus with my friend Abbie and we broke into our husbands' cars and filled them with pink and white balloons! Then I stopped in the library to say hi to Garrett and bring him some banana muffins that I made for him and his study buddies (I usually bring a treat to them the day before a test). Anyway, that's pretty much all I did for the holiday, but sadly it's more than I usually do. I was going to make a special dinner, but again - the test tomorrow. But he loved the surprise of the balloons in the car!! For V-Day, Garrett did give me a photoshop how-to book that I've been wanting for a long time, so I'm very excited about that. Tomorrow night we'll have a special dinner - when Garrett gets home from fishing. :)

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

(that's my friend's daughter in the pictures)

Coupon Queen

I'm usually no good at using coupons. Coupons are generally only for brand name products, and in my experience, the store brand is usually still the cheapest. However, I just found this neat website that shares good ideas on how to save money. Some of the ideas are just okay - not anything I would want to use my time doing. But SOME of them are fantastic! Today I went to Target and bought 32 string cheeses and I paid $0! Here's how it worked:

Target has an online printable coupon for $0.50 off any two packages of Market Pantry cheese. Market Pantry individually-packaged string cheese is regularly priced at $0.25 each, so use one coupon for each two packages purchased, and pay $0 for unlimited string cheese! There is no limit to how many coupons you can use in one transaction!

Click here for the coupon (scroll down a little bit). Print as many as you like and enjoy! The offer expires March 8. So here's the real question... does string cheese freeze? I really want to stock up!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Dumplings

Sesame Chicken

Garrett and I love Chinese food, so we didn't want to pass up the opportunity to make a special meal for the holiday! Usually we make sushi and fried rice (Garrett makes the BEST fried rice!) but this year we tried something a little different - Pork & Ginger Pot Stickers (dumplings) and Sesame Chicken and rice. We also made some steamed Chinese vegetables, but they were steaming when Garrett took the pictures. The Pot Stickers were GREAT! I was a little bit nervous making them, because I had to fry them with oil a little bit at first (I now try to avoid hot oil as much as possible) but it ended up being just fine. The Sesame Chicken wasn't as good... Garrett didn't particularly like the spiciness, and I wasn't a fan of the 5-Spice Chinese Seasoning that was in it (I didn't realize it had anise in it until after I put it in... Anise is a licorice-tasting spice, and I don't like licorice). But other than that, everything was great and we had fun making dinner together - it brought me back to the dating days! Ooh, and I got fortune cookies at the store for dessert, but I forgot to serve them! Oh well, we'll still eat them another time. I also forgot to have Garrett speak Chinese for me! Anyway, I really enjoy having Garrett help me in the kitchen, especially with the cleanup!

So, Happy Chinese New Year! It's the year of the rat, which must be some sort of good luck for me, since I was born in the year of the rat.Half of this symbol means "happiness". This symbol is "double happiness", which frequently represents marriage. :)

Big Girl

We finally got a "high chair" for Abby so she can sit and eat on her own. I don't really like classic high chairs - they're big, take up lots of space, and are expensive! So I found this seat on Amazon and it's exactly what I wanted - she can sit at the table with us, it's very portable, it doesn't take up floor space, and it doesn't take up a chair like booster seats do. And, it was the fraction of the cost of a high chair! I love it and I think she does, too!

Play Time

Last Saturday afternoon we had our first Block Party at the park. It was the first time we got to meet a bunch of our neighbors, and it was really fun (most people around the neighborhood keep to themselves, but it turns out they are all very friendly!). We're planning to have a big neighborhood yard sale sometime in March. There is also a woman who is going to help me plan a garden! I'm so excited for fresh vegetables. I should probably start it soon, because the weather is starting to be perfect (it's going to be 75 degrees today).

Temper

I can't believe how fast Abby is growing up - it makes me sad! She's not a little baby anymore. Last night one of our friends commented that she is starting to look like a little girl instead of a baby. I am sad that she is growing up so fast, but I also feel blessed that I have been able to really enjoy every stage so far. So many times I hear people say that they "can't wait until the kids are crawling", then "can't wait until they are walking", then "talking", then "eating real food", and "in school". I am enjoying every stage of Abby, and I'm even a little sad when she graduates from her previous stage into a new accomplishment. Kinda makes me want another baby...

Anyway, Abby is also picking up on lots of things. The other day she crawled up to me in the kitchen and started to reach for the stove door, which was warm because I was baking something. I said "no" and gave the top of her hand a little slap. She looked at me, furrowed her brows, and slapped my hand right back. Quite the temper, it seems.

Continuing the Chain

I loved President Hinckley's funeral today. It was so touching, and I loved hearing the personal stories of the people he was close to. I was reminded again just how much I love President Hinckley and how much I will miss him.

One thing that really made me reflect was when his daughter Virginia shared some thoughts on her father. Quoting him, she said that he realized "the tremendous obligation that was mine to pass on all that I had received as an inheritance from my forbears to the generations who have now come after me." I think about this idea a lot, especially when I'm working on my family history. I have wonderful ancestors and I love learning all that I can about them. I feel honored to be a descendant of such great people, on both my parents' sides. But sometimes, it feels like a lot of pressure. I come from a long line of valiant people, but what am I? How tragic it would be if I decided to quit, and break the strong family chain that has been building and growing.

On the other hand, it reminds me of how lucky I am to be a part of this chain. I look forward to passing on my wisdom and faithfulness to my children, so that they can continue our family legacy. If I stay faithful to the Gospel and what I have been taught, I have such a wonderful opportunity to impact generations of people, just like President Hinckley and his wife have done in their own family. It's such a huge responsibility, which is scary sometimes, but I know that Garrett and I are up for the challenge, especially with such good examples within our families that we can follow.

Rabbits!

We have a tradition in my family that it's good luck to say "rabbits" on the first day of a new month before we said anything else that morning. I'm not sure if it's only good luck if you're the first person to say it, or if you should say it at midnight, or if you should just say it when you first wake up. I think we all have our own interpretations. I'll have to ask my Grandma S*, since I'm pretty sure she's the one who passed the tradition on to us. Anyway, Molly usually wins - she calls my mom at midnight and says it every month. Garrett's also pretty good at remembering - he said it last night as soon as the clock showed 12.

Did you remember to say "rabbits"?

Knock on Wood

I hope no one listened to my Google advice last week and went out and bought any shares. My apologies, if you did. Anyway, for what it's worth, now might be a good time to buy. (?) Clearly I know nothing about stocks and the market. But I'll always regret not buying in at $100.