Thanksgiving Recap...

I uploaded some more pics from my friend Kel...Thanks!

The weekend was really nice and fun to take a break with the kids and spend some "family" time with the ones I care for most! These pics are in no ramdom order..here is myself with my cutest niece Dani...she is so adorable!
Bella and Dani playing together...cute!

Ray is carving the turkey...go babe!!

Here are the boys in our ward playing the annual Turkey bowl...at 8 in the morning!!

Colton is making his mashed potatoes...they were soo yummy!Cambrie is setting up the table...later she helped make the whipping cream..R.J. is making the green bean casserole, notice NO SHIRT...GEESHH!Here is my sis Lisa and I! Don't we look alike?! Lots of people say we are twins, really though we are only 14 mos. apart..!!lol Kellee and I....oh good no dodgers...(I know you're laughin kel..!)

Here is a pic of Ray's traditional puddin'...it was so good!

Look at all the food...I was stuffed, and here it is Monday STILL stuffed!!

Here's a pic of my turkey...it was PERFECT!!

I decided the kid's table would be simple so the girls helped me put this together and the kids wrote what they were thankful for...really cute!

It was a fun time...we also did our traditional candle lighting, where everyone has a candle and someone starts off saying what they are thankful for they then light the next person's candle...it was super sweet and neat to hear the kids especially say what they were thankful for..!

GOOD TIMES!! Thanks everyone for coming over and having a wonderful time..love you all!!

Holiday Turkey Recipe...! part 2

Got the stuffing done and Turkey Tom stuffed to the max! It turned out good and it was nice to have Ray there to help me with everything....as tradition he ALWAYS eats the neck...funny huh..but no I didn't take a picture of that....it looks kinda gross! Also I had leftover gizzards and livers that I will add to my dog's dog food in the next couple of days...what a treat for them!

So my schedule is pretty easy for tomorrow I've got R.J. making the famous green bean casserole, Sabrina is making our "family" salad, Colton is making mashed potatoes and Cambrie will help me make the homemade whipped cream for the pies, and Ray is making his traditional Banana Nilla wafer vanilla pudding that has ran in his family for years....that's neat! So really along with the stuff everyone else is bringing,( corn, bread, candied yams and BBQ zucchini I am about done oh yeah I have to just put the Honeybaked Ham in the oven to heat through.....so my Thanksgiving will be easy peasy,....can't wait!! Everyone comes over at 2pm, it should be lots of fun..!

Holiday Turkey Recipe...!

This is a recipe that I got from my friend Jody and it's really yummy, so I thought I'd share as I was making it...!

Holiday Turkey Recipe:

1-25lb. Turkey thawed, washed

1c. lemon juice

1 gallon water

3/4 c. fresh orange juice

1c. kosher salt

1 c. packed brown sugar

1c. chopped yellow onion

2 oranges cut in half

3 cinnamon sticks

2 T. whole cloves or ground nutmeg

2 T. allspice berries

1c. apple juice

2 sticks blue bonnet butter

1 T. emerald essence (recipe following)

Emerald Essence Mixture:

5T. sweet paprika

1/4 c. salt

1/4 c. garlic powder

2 T. black pepper

2 T. onion powder

2 T. kayenne

2 T. dried oregano

2 T. thyme

To make the brine combine all ingredients except emerald essence and butter into a plastic sturdy garbage bag. Put the turkey into bag..I do this in my turkey pan in the sink like the following picture, then pour brine on top of turkey. Close top of bag into a good knot and set aside on top of stove or wherever for 12-24 hrs. Turn every couple of hours, you are marinating that turkey! (I put mine together when I get up around 5:30am and let sit all day until I put the turkey in the oven around midnight at 175 degrees and let cook until Thanksgiving day around 2 or 3 when we eat....Yummy!)
Ok so when you are ready to cook the turkey, remove from the brine and pat dry. Get 2 sticks of Blue Bonnet butter and rub that turkey all over. Sprinkle the Emerald Essence on top . Stuff the turkey with my own yummy stuffing...recipe as follows:

Homemade Turkey Stuffing:

4 Boxes Marie Cullumbers Stuffing (2 each of Herb and Cubed)

2 sticks of blue bonnet butter

a bundle of green onions

a bundle of fresh cilantro

2 cans of olives sliced

2 packages of gizzards cooked

2 tubs of livers cooked

2 cloves minced garlic

a couple of sprigs of fresh basil and parsley chopped

1/2 c. of purple onion chopped

a bundle of celery chopped

1 granny smith apple chopped

salt,pepper and garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in a huge bowl. This stuffing will be somewhat dry but not TOO dry, just crumbly and moist. Rub 2 sticks of butter all over the turkey. Stuff your turkey inside and out, cover with oven bag and put into pan at 175 degrees, cook for at least 10 hours. A couple of hours before serving reset stove to 350 degrees and watch carefully so the stuffing doesn't burn, you wil notice it start to darken after about an hour. Notice that pop up thing stickin out means the turkey is cooked all the way through! At this time put the rest of the stuffing into a large pan and cut the 3 rd. stick into slices on top of stuffing and cook covered with foil for about 45 min. along with the turkey at 350 degrees. Voila! you are done....ENJOY!! (Don't forget to do the gravy with the turkey drippings, add flour and whisk, bring to slight boil, season with salt and pepper..yum! If you don't want to use all the drippins add a can of chicken broth!)


This is where I am at with my Turkey, I will post pics when I cook it...I am so excited I love the Holidays!! OOHHH and I love the aroma too..mmmm!!

Our family Thanksgiving Tree...

I have seen this idea around on other blogs like skiptomylou.blogspot.com. She actually has a cute printout of her own you could do for a FHE lesson also. I liked the butcher paper that I saw at my kid's school and thought I would try to do something similar....and I think it is really cute.
The leaves are just a punch I got at a scrap store a couple of years ago and though it is a little small I like that I can use my own cute paper to give a more scrappy feel to it instead of using plastic leaves..(however those are re usable if you use tape to write down what you are thankful for...?!) Here is a leaf that Sabrina wrote...shoes...cute, I am thankful for that too! The tradition is every time you walk by this "Thanksgiving Tree" you are to write down on a leaf what you are thankful for, this goes for guests as well. On Thanksgiving day I will have one of the kids take the leaves down and read them aloud before we eat our Thanksgiving meal....anyhow I really love any tradition that I feel I can keep going throughout the years with simplicity...!

Colton wrote down food....of course..heehee! He is my biggest turkey of all...LOL!

I am thankful for....

I wanted to put down 10 things that I am grateful for since I have thought alot about them in the past few days, but have been so busy with life and hadn't had a chance to finish this post, I would add and save it until I was done..heehee

1. First and far most.(sounds like a speech...!) I am grateful so very much for my Heavenly Father and Saviour Jesus Christ, for his amazing gospel, his love he shows me everyday when I get up in the morning and look around me....
2. MY FAMILY, my beautiful, healthy children, my bestfriend and husband and my two dogs Baby and Dulche'.
3. MY CALLING...in church. I love the ladies I work with and I adore the girls I teach..thier strong testimonies and thier confidence that I didn't have when I was thier age..astounds me! They are truly amazing! I love to give to them and to let them know that they are loved and that they are special..I feel so good when I see them know this and also to see them be touched by the spirit...I just love them all!
4. MY HUSBANDS WORK...we have a family tire business (Ray's New and Used Tires) and even through this tough economy we are pulling strong...I am grateful for what we have and grateful that we don't have space cars and people need used tires now more than ever...(hehehe)
5. MY TRIALS. It is strange that I would say that, but I had a really hard childhood, alot of people don't even know half of what I have gone through nor do they need to know, but those trials are what have shaped me into who I am and has made me see what is really important to me in my life.
6. FORGIVENESS. Without this I would be lost! People who have seriously betrayed the core of my spirit used to have the power of destroying my spirit........no more through this wonderful commandment of forgiving those who hurt you. I have been free for a long time since I have been able to forgive those few who have hurt me tremendously, I have been able to grow spiritually as well...
7. MY FREEDOM..to think, feel, believe, live the way I want to! I am grateful for all the people who have helped to give and keep this wonderful thing we have that is called freedom!
8. FRIENDS. You know who you are and what a big part you all are in my life...I have learned and grown from your examples and your love that you show me everyday..thank you so much for that!
9. BEING A MOTHER. What else can I say! I love my kids so much! I would do anything and everything for them, they keep me grounded, happy and full of life even when times can be tough, my kids are turning out to be wonderful children! To be a stay at home mom, to be with them every moment of every day ( well when they are not at school!) to fill my home with love, with Heavenly Father and to create a "Heaven On Earth" is about the best thing I enjoy doing! Everything that comes with being a mother is and has been the best thing that has ever happened to me! SOSO grateful for that!
10. LIFE! I almost feel as if I have the same excitement on life on earth as I must of had in the pre existence because every day I look forward to my trials, my kids growing and learning, thier graduations, weddings and thier children....my gosh..being a grandmother! Phases that will come later in my life like geneology(which I have no desire right now to do..!) being old and working at the temple, seeing my kid's families all together for the holidays and then eventually passing away having relatives wait for me on the other side and then waiting for mine.....OH its just wonderful and I look forward to it with happiness,humility, love and excitement...giddygiddy sniff sniff!

Some Fall Decor.......

Here are some of my little decorations for fall....I really like the straw stick idea I got from Kimba over at asoftplacetoland.blogspot.com.....if you get a chance she has such amazing fun cute SIMPLE deco ideas.....! The topiary I made at a SSaturday a few years back and I love it!
of course gotta add my stuff in my jars, I actually have since added to it after I took this pict.

I always have to add a little sheer to whatever I am doing, bling, sheer tulle...you get me, the pebbles add extra touch....and some sparkle...

I am Lovin these Thanksgiving Decor Ideas...!!