This Snow Storm Has Left Me Husband-Less

When I heard about this snowstorm about a week and a half ago I was excited about the chance to play in snow. We really looked forward to it and the first couple of days that it snowed we were so excited and loved every second of it.

The girls played with playdough and decided to make a nativity with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, A manger, A Star, Three Wise Men, Gifts and an Angel. They also played games and put together puzzles.

It is not so much fun now.

On Saturday night my lights started to flicker so I knew I was in for a cold night if my power went out. At that time I was on the phone with my sister and she told me that her husband will come to pick us up because if the power went out I would be warmer there and they had propane heaters for us to keep warm. Well, my nights stay became two nights stay and it would have been three nights, but Paul was able to drive me home because he just bought snow tires for his car. THANK YOU! We had a great time at Heathers house but I was really dumb before I left my home and did not turn on my heater for my pets. I had Teddy locked in the bathroom and our cat was left to roam the house. Once Mitchell heard that I did not leave the heater on he sent one of our neighbors to break into our house to turn it on and my house was 38 degrees!!!!!!!! OH MY! I could have done some major damage, but luckily my pets are still alive, including the fish (we were picturing a frozen fish like in Horton Hears A Who), and my pipes did not freeze. WHEW!

We have had so many things canceled due to this weeks storm including:

School for an entire week
The girls school parties (this made me happy because I was in charge of Lindsays and it is very stressful to do)
Ashley's Fieldtrip
The girls piano lessons
Our Work Party
Our Ward Christmas Party
Enrichment Night
Church
Christmas Ships (It was not canceled but I could not drive to them because it was so icy)
there may be more but the biggest one was my husbands flight home from California!!!!! All planes were canceled yesterday and mostly today. So, I get to trudge out in this snow and drive to California all by myself. Tomorrow looks like my best shot so we shall see what happens.


I know that these pictures are nothing like you get in Utah but this storm has shut down the city due to the ice that has formed becuase of the cold. I pray that I will be able to get to my sunny destination soon!

Now to go figure out how to put on snow tires. Oh how fun that one will be!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

My ANGELS want to show you something..........it SNOWED in Oregon! YIPPEE. I love the snow but only to a point. There is a huge difference between snow in Oregon and snow in Utah. We had about an inch and church was cancelled mainly due to very icy roads. We have a lot of the families in our ward live in the mountains and it would not be fun to drive in the bad weather.

We are bracing for a cold week. Last night the wind chill got down to 5 degrees which is not something that I am used to but it is fun to remind myself why I do not live in Utah anymore. :)

School was canceled today due to the icy road conditions so the girls had a blast sledding, having snow ball fights and just playing in the snow.

It is beginning to feel a little bit more like Christmas is right around the corner!

Gift to Jesus Tag - Thanks Tiffani

What gift can I give you for Christmas this year?

What gift can I give to bring love and good cheer?

What gift can I give you to tell you I care,

A gift you’ll remember, a gift we can share?

The gift that I’ll give can’t be bought in a store,

It doesn’t cost money—it’s worth much, much more!

The gift that I’ll give doesn’t come from a shelf.

The gift that I’ll give is a gift of myself!

The gift of charity, the pure love of Christ.

The best gift that we can give this holiday season.

Tag Rules:
1.) Post this tag on your blog.
2.) Between now and Christmas do a secret service for someone in need.
3.) Tag everyone!!

A Writer and a Performer

November is NaNoWriMo which means National Novel Writing Month. Lindsay's teacher challenged all of her students to write their own novel. Each of the students set a goal as to how many words their novel would be and Lindsay set the impressive goal of 7500 words which was the second highest for the whole school.

I am happy to say that she completed her novel, "The Haunted House" and passed her goal by 55 words!

(Lindsay's teacher, Mrs. Kinion is in pink alongside Mr. Corliss, the Principal and a lady from the School Board)

Last week the school had an awards assembly where they gave out pins and certificates for all of the participants. Great job Lindsay, we are so proud of your accomplishment. YOU DID IT!
Last night we had the honor of watching a performance at the girls school by the 1st and 2nd Graders. They learned songs about manners. Ashley was able to be one of the main parts where she had a couple of skits with her friends. She was pretty nervous, but did a great job.

Whenever my brother Jared is involved he is sure to do something silly. He stood up waving at Ashley for the first couple of minutes, just to embarrass her. I actually think she kinda liked it since she did not complain. Thanks for coming Jared, Danielle, Heather and Paul and Family! It truly meant a lot to her and it always makes things an adventure.
Below the kids learned sign language to one of their songs. I had Ashley sing it over and over until she got sick of it because I liked it so much.

Here Ashley is able to perform her skit with her friend.

I am so proud of my girls. They are growing up to become their own individuals with different likes and aspirations in life. I can not wait to see what the next 20 years hold in store for them.

The Countdown has Begun

December is my favorite time of the year. I love everything about it. I love the sights, smells, and the sounds and for this reason I get my Christmas Season started the day after Thanksgiving where bring out the Christmas music, put up the Christmas Tree and set out all of the decorations.

My girls had a great time putting up the tree.

I love my manger scene. My parents had this when I was growing up and I remember wanting to be the one to set it up on the piano. I am so glad that my Mom gave it to me because it brings back a lot of childhood memories.

Last year I made a Christmas Countdown for my girls. I thought it would be a lot of fun to put something other than candy on it so I decided to do something different this year. I attatched notes that say something like "Open one family gift from under the Christmas Tree" or "Tonight we will go as a family to The Forgotten Carols" or "Tonight we will go and see Christmas Lights as a Family". It has been so much fun. Today they were able to open a gift from under the tree.

We are really trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas this year. We want to teach our girls the importance of Christ's Birth and the importance of serving one another. Mitchell has such a big heart. He noticed that some people in our ward were struggling and would not have Christmas Trees this year so he thought that it would be a fun service project to pick up trees for those that might need them and have the Young Men in our ward deliver them.

I was able to go to a Christmas Tree farm and choose the trees.

(This was my favorite one. It was so full and beautiful.)

The guy who owned the farm was curious as to why we needed so many trees, 6 in all, so I told him what we were doing and he was really impressed. He wanted to help so he got out his chain saw and cut the trees down himself (usually you have to cut down your own and that would have taken forever so we were truly thankful). I am so glad that he was able to help the six families to feel a little bit of the Christmas Spirit this year and I know they were so grateful.

The words of Ralph Waldo Emerson seemed to acquire a new depth of meaning: “Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.”

I am Thankful

Last Sunday we had some really good talks about Gratitude. It was such a great way to start off my week because I have really been thinking about all of the wonderful things that I have in my life that I am thankful for.

I found this quote online from our dear Prophet, President Monson. “The United States Post Office dead-letter department receives annually thousands and thousands of children’s pre-Christmas letters addressed to Santa Claus asking for things. After it was all over one year, a single, solitary letter thanking Santa Claus was received. Could this be one of the problems of this troubled world; that people think only of getting—not giving? Of receiving—and not even expressing their gratitude for that which they do receive?”

As a mother, I have learned that it is so important to teach your children an Attitude of Gratitude. With the Christmas Season upon us I have heard more, "I wants" then I think I have ever heard from my children. I have to shut off the television during the day so that I do not hear the "I wants" due to every commercial that they watch. I want them to understand all of the wonderful things that they have in life, not all of the things that they may want.

Here are a couple of the things that I am so thankful for (in no particular order).

My Calling - I absolutely love working with the Primary Children in our ward. They teach me so much every day that I am with them. They are like little sponges so eager to learn. I love the wonderful women that I am able to serve with. They are women of compassion, charity and love. They are such wonderful examples to me.

My Ward - I do not think that I have ever loved a ward as much as I love the one that we live in right now. Yes, it may be the loudest ward, but everyone is so nice and I truly feel like they are all family. I think that a ward is made by the attitude of the Bishop and ours is so caring and loving.

My Parents - I can not even begin to list all of the reasons why I am thankful for my parents. They have taught me the fundamentals in life not by word, but by example. They taught me how to be a better Mother, Sister, Friend and Wife. I loved to walk by my parents room and see my Mother on her knees in prayer. I do not believe she has missed a day of praying to our Heavenly Father. My father is an excellent journal writer. I have no idea how many he has, but he has a TON. I am sad to say that I received my first journal when I was 8 and I still have that same journal that I am working on. I need to be better and follow my parents example. My Father honors his priesthood and has given me many wonderful and spiritual blessings which I am so thankful for. My parents have always been great examples of temple attendance. Growing up the closest temple was three hours away and they would faithfully go and not complain. They understood the importance of it and taught us as children. I am so thankful for great parents and for all of the things that they have done for me.

My Brothers and Sisters - These guys keep me on my toes. I can truly say that I talk to most of my brothers and sisters on a weekly basis. They are my best friends and I am so thankful for that. Each one of them have made me a better person.

My Friends - Where would I be without friends? I have friends that I have known since I was 8 and I have friends that I have not had very long, but I treasure the times that we share together whether it be on the phone, by catching up on blogs or in person. I think that the most important thing about a friend is the capability to listen. A true friend tries to bring you up at all times and I truly have some dear eternal friends.

Our Company - Mitchell has NEVER gone a day without work. He, at times, is so booked that he does not know what to do. I am thankful for the knowledge Mitchell has learned and the patience that I have had to learn. (I am still working on that though).

My Girls - My children are priceless. Each day brings a new adventure. As they each grow older their personalities are shining. On numerous occasions people tell me what great girls I have and I have to say that I do have a good group of girls. Don't get me wrong, there are times that I think that I will rip my hair out, but the good outweighs the bad. They are so much fun and I love each of them!

My Husband - Eleven years ago I found the love of my life. He is truly my best friend and has so many wonderful qualities. He is very handy. He can fix anything! He is always the first one to say, "I'm Sorry." He is an excellent father. My girls like to ask him homework questions because I get frustrated really easily. He is extremely smart and creative. He has a sensitive side and I absolutely love that. He reminds my family that we need to have scripture study. He honors his Priesthood. He is a great boss. His employees respect him and trust him. His clients also trust him and that is how we have been so successful. He knows how to talk to frustrated clients and calm them down. I think that my favorite thing about him is his wit. He is very funny and he is getting funnier. I am so thankful for a loving and caring husband that honors me and lets me stay home with my children. He works so hard to care for us and that makes me forever thankful.

There is a saying that I read the other day that states, "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life." Isn't that true?!?

Mr. Nobody Did It

When I was younger my father was, and still is, a fanatic of the remote control. He has a special spot for the remote and that is where it always belongs. One day the remote was no where to be found. He kept saying, "Mr Nobody did it." He was sure that one of us took it and put it somewhere. One day, about a month later, he was looking through his briefcase and low and behold there was that coveted remote. Yeah, Mr Nobody did it huh?!? :)

Well, Mr Nobody certainly has taken all of the bowls out of our house. I do not mean the big salad bowls, I am talking cereal bowls. I used to have like 20 different ones ranging from pretty glass to ugly plastic to a Shrek bowl, which happens to be a favorite because it holds quite a lot of cereal. Well, they are no where to be found. I can not figure it out. It is like a bowl fairy came into our house during the night and made way with all of our cereal bowls.

So, if you see this bowl fairy, please ask him to bring them back!!! I will trade him for all of my miscellaneous cups I have lying around.

My Special Gift

My daughter Ashley was given the assignment in her class to write a speech. The topic is, "What gift could I give to someone else." She thought about this topic long and hard and then told me that she wants to give the gift of LOVE. I then helped her type out her speech, but she wrote it all by herself.

My Special Gift
My name is Ashley Couch and this Christmas I want to give the best gift in the world, a gift of love to my Uncle Adam who is on a mission in Portugal. I will send him a letter telling him all of the special things that he has done for me. I want to send this to him because this will be his second Christmas away from home and he might feel lonely. I wish this will be a special gift for him. I hope it will make him feel really good inside and that would make me happy.

I am so proud of her. She could have chosen a gift that is commercial that you can buy in the store, but she chose to give a gift dear to her heart. Since Christmas is right around the corner, I will take her advice and try to think of all of the LOVE that I can share, or the service that I can give instead of all of the presents. I want to make sure that my children understand the true meaning of Christmas. I think that Ashley is getting it and that makes me happy!

From Our Family to Yours

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Supernanny to the Rescue

I absolutely love the show Supernanny. It has taught me so many things over the years. At times, my children have acted in the same ways as many of the kids on that show. The other day I was watching and there were kids that always raise havoc at the grocery store. Jo, the Supernanny, taught the Mom to make shopping fun with the kids by giving them their own shopping lists. The Mom was so amazed how well it worked.

I thought I would try this little bit of advice. I had a large grocery list and broke down a couple of groceries that I strategically planned that were all over the store. She had her own list, and I had mine.

Hailey absolutely loved it because she was able to be a big girl and show me where things were in the store. She usually asks for everything in sight and this kept her so preoccupied that she did not ask for a single thing. BIG PLUS! I will remember to do this the next time I go shopping with her.

Here is a good link that I found on http://www.supernanny.com/ that has good homework websites for kids.

No School = Fun

(This is a random video, but it was so funny that I had to post. It is really dark, but Teddy is biting on the back of Lindsay's sweater and would not let go.)

Today the girls did not have school due to Veterans Day. It was so nice to just relax and have fun playing together.

I had to run to a craft store and while we were there we found these fun wood with bamboo handled purses for the girls to paint. They are really cute and it was so fun to see how each girl would decorate them.

The Finished Product

We then sat down for a fun game of Mille Bornes.

Mitchell took half of the day off so he was even able to join us. I grew up playing this game and had to buy it for myself. After going to about six different stores, with no luck, I found it on Amazon.com.

What kind of card or board games do you like to play with your family?

Taking A Weekend Break

Lately, I can truly say that I have become addicted to blogging and to the internet. I have pushed my sweet Hailey to the side during the school day so that I can check out blogs, look up stuff for Primary, check out my facebook account or to do whatever on the computer. This is not on purpose, it just happened. Well, I am turning off my computer and I am going to play with a very sweet little 4 year old who needs her mother's attention.

So, heres to playing with bubbles, playing silly games over and over, dancing around the house, playing preschool, playing with playdough and just having a great time with my little sweetheart!!! Till next time, blogging world!

Ooh, Ooh, I Like That One...No That One

We have not had our family portrait taken in years, 7 to be exact, due to the fact that I am so picky with my picture. Well, this was going to be the year that I was determined to take family pictures. My friend, Jen, is a photographer (a good one in fact) and we went to a beautiful park and she worked her magic. It was so much fun and the girls actually cooperated and so did the weather. I am SO excited that I received my family pictures back today and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE them. It is going to be so hard to choose what ones to frame, I might have to rotate them throughout the year.

Here are some of my absolutely favorite pics. (Believe me, there are 100 more to choose from that were just as good.) My new header picture was also taken that day and it has to be my all time favorite.

If any of you live in the Portland area and need a photographer, call Jen! She also took pictures of my brother, Jared's, family that are located on his blog. (The pictures are in the cube.)