Why clean the kitchen when you can make Brownies!!!

 Ultimate Brownies

Ultimate Brownies

1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix

1/3 cup Evaporated Milk

1 egg

3/4 c. Melted Margarine

1 C. Nuts

Mix together place 1/2 mixture in 9 x 13 pan. Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 min.

Melt 1/3 C Evaporated Milk and bag of Caramels   Pour over baked pan cover with 1 cup chocolate chips.  Place 2nd half mixture over top. Bake @ 350 degrees for 20 min,

I changed up the recipe to make it salted caramel brownies. 

I omitted the nuts and added sea salt after the caramel.

Day #3- Gratitude Challenge

Did you know that I have two of the best children ever?  Really.  I am so blessed with these two. Yea they have their moments but I am so grateful for them.    Madi is so pure and loving.  She has very high standards for herself and for those around her.  She does not like the things of the world.  She is so grounded in the gospel.  I am shocked sometimes at her choices and behavior.  She did not learn them because of me.  She is an example to me.  I am one lucky momma!!

Will has had his moments.  But I love him still the same.  He is our comic relief!  He can make any situation a blast!!!  He is really smart under all that goofiness. He has surprised me this last couple of years.  I was worried about how to teach him compassion.  But he knows, deep down he loves to serve people and help when he can.   I am two times lucky!!!

Day #2- Gratitude

This is one the I do not talk about often enough.   I am truly grateful to be married to a wonderful man. He is  an amazing father and loving husband.  I do not show him the appreciation that he deserves.  In fact this is sad that I could not find a better picture of him right now.  I do have several of him sleeping but thought against posting them.

He is a kind, gentle and caring father. He is there when his kids need him the most.  Madison was having a really hard time adjusting to school this year and he was there every morning helping her get ready and taking her to school and helping her with her feelings.  I think it is really good bonding time for them too.

For some reason Will listens to Mike more at home than me.  He has a firm voice when it comes to Will and he for the most part response to that.

Mike loved coming to the school to read to what ever class he could.  He loves just coming and helping with the kids.

So for all the crap I give him, he really is a great guy and I love him!!!!  Thank you Mike!!!

Day #1- Gratitude Challenge

First or foremost I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father.  I know all things are through him.  He knows me better than I know myself.  Sometimes I have a hard time excepting that but I know it is true. He has provided me with a savior and redeemer.  I love my older brother Jesus Christ.  I try to follow his example in my life.  Sometimes I am not to successful but tomorrow is always another day and I start again.  He provides me with the Holy Ghost to help me on this earthly journey.  Sometimes I walk away from him but he is by my side helping me guide my way back to where I belong.  I am truly thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am grateful that 22 years ago a friend introduced me to two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.  That meeting changed my life.  For some reason I have this feeling that I have always been aware of the truth of the gospel. That day, I remembered it and accepted it in my life.  The Church has helped me make decisions and giving the strength to do what is right.   I am truly grateful for a Loving Heavenly Father!

Gratitude Challenge

It has been so long since I wrote on the blog.  Sometimes living life is all you can do.  Talking about it just sometimes hurts to much or you just really can't not find the words to say.  I have felt somewhat empty in the last couple of months.  Somethings missing.  Still not sure what it is but I know that something is gone or just has not shown up yet.  So I am going to step out side my comfort zone and get back into the game (or blog)!

I am not one to be vocal about things that I am grateful for.  I am truly grateful for a lot of things, people, and what not.  I tell people all the time, Thank you, you are awesome, I am grateful for you but for some reason I have not had the words to say what or who I am grateful for.

So I am giving myself my own gratitude challenge. For the next 30 days I will write down the things I am grateful for.  But I will also try to update on things that have happened over the last couple of months (years) so that I can preserve those memories before it gets to late!!!  So I only have a few minutes for day one.

Trunk-R-Treat 2012

 Madi as Olympic Hero Missy Franklin.  Mr. Lanseer gave Madi this jacket.  It is a USA Olympic jacket.  Madi made the cap herself.  I ordered 5 medals for her and got her the bouquet of flowers.   She loved her idea!!!

 Will is the youngest recruit for the Cleveland Indians!!!!  I bet he would make the team better!!!

Will Turns 9!!

Since Will's birthday is on a Sunday this year we did not go all out on a party yet. We will do that later in the week. So after church we waited until after lunch and then Will got to open his gifts.

First gift was from Madi. A Cleveland Indians Blanket.
He loves it! We then told him that was it and he was looking quite sad!!
Well we grabbed more gifts to present to him. Next was a Harry Potter lego book, also from his sister.
Look I have proof they really do like eachother!!
More opening!!
Ah Pokemon cards
His BEAR book for scouts.
And to the favorites!!
BEY BLADES!!!
And then what we all have been waiting for!!!

Or Wii has been broken for I don't even know over a year. So finally we got a new one.

CFTV #8

Today Madi and I ran down to Findlay. We had to get a gift for Will for his birthday! So on the way home Madi see a sign for Napoleon, Ohio.

Madi: Napoleon?

Madi: Like Napoleon Dynamite.

Me: Sure.

Madi: Wasn't he like some famous French guy?

Me: While trying to hold back the tears from laughter and saying on the road, No that is Napoleon Bonaparte.

Madi: With a big ol grin, Oh yea! So who is Napoleon Dynamite?

Me: It was a movie.

Madi: Oh yea! She starts laughing at herself.

It was great!!!!

Will wants to give a talk

On our way home from Church on Sunday, Will informed me he wanted to give a talk in Primary next Sunday. No, not that he was asked to give a talk but he just wanted to.

He even came home and wrote it. All by himself. Got out the paper and pencil and wrote it. He didn't even want his normal chips and salsa after church meal. It was very unusual for him. I am really happy because this morning I did not want to even go to church. Actually had the perfect opportunity to stay home. We went to pick up someone for the missionaries and on the way Will informed me the pants he put on were the ones with a hole in them. So we got the lovely lady to church at 10:05 and then had to drive home to get Will some other pants (of course jeans) and get his shoes back on (always a chore!!) and then back to church. Really why not just stay home I didn't want to go so why go 25 min. late. Because of this:

My Talk on Jesus Christ

When I do something good, like cleaning my room, I look at the picture of Jesus and he smiles. When I do something bad, like not doing my chores when asked, I look at the picture of Jesus and He frowns. But you can always repent by praying for forgiveness on Sunday.

There really is something special in that kid. I love when he shines!!!

Madison's Birthday

Madi wanted to go to Olive Garden for her Birthday. We met Grandma Richter at the restaurant. Madi loves her Grandma's. She gets a little spoiled from them.


















Madison asked for chocolate covered strawberries for her birthday treat. The class loved them. They were double dipped with white and milk chocolate. Some in her class have allergies so I bring in just cut up berries and whip cream.

Playing Catch-up

So I totally neglected this blog for far to long. A post here and there for the last year. Sp today I am going to try to update from photos I have taken, both on my camera and on my phone. Life has happened even if I don't write about it! Hopefully I can keep up and write down my thoughts and feelings a little better in the future.


After a while I will put them in the date they need to go but for now just getting them down for posterity!!!!

F.H.E. WORK

So today was a good day. It took us until later in the day to start, but we got a lot of great work done today. The kids were great and worked really hard to get stuff done.

So, for Scouts/Faith in God, Will had to do a Family Home Evening. I have been really worried about him and his attitude lately. It seemed like any time I turned around he was throwing a fit and wanting something. So I helped him prepare a lesson on work. I found a great blog and they had a great lesson! Family Home Evenings to go!

It was a lot of fun. We talked about the chores we already had in place and talked about ways to help out and earn some extra money. I found a great way to keep track of their chores and how much to pay them with out having to give them money all the time. It also has a way to help them understand savings and tithing. I really am thinking this is going to be a good change!
Kids check book register

So here's to getting the house picked up and maybe someone others will help!!°Ü°

Today is a good day!
~~Tiffany~~

Memorial Day

Mike has a tradition on Memorial day to take the kids downtown to the courthouse. Today Madi was to tired so just Will and Mike road there bikes down. Little does Madi know that Mike took Will to Panera Bread to continue with the tradition.

So today a tv station aired a story about some family of mine. My step cousin (My grandma married her grandpa, but we have known each other since we were like 5 or something) is in the military. Her husband also is in the military. They are both deployed right now. Her aunt has taken in her kids and they did a great story on them.



There is an article from Military.com about her husband and some of the things he has been doing.


http://www.military.com/news/article/despite-doubts-troops-save-afghan-boy.html?wh=wh

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

Madi at the Talent Show

Madi tried out for the Talent Show and made it! She was so excited! Her Piano teacher came and they played together. She did a really good job.

A New Excercise Adventure

So March is my birthday month. And this year I knew I was ready for a change. I want to improve my life and I know that it won't happen over night (no matter how much I would like for that to happen)! So I made a commitment to myself that March was the month to make the resolutions to take the time for ME and try to improve those things that I feel need improvement. So I was looking a book I bought a while back and realized that it has 31 chapters and at the end of each chapter is a exercise to work on.

I was like oh I can do that through the month of March!! Yea. So upon reading the introduction, sure enough that is exactly what she suggests!! And as some of you may know I love Emily Watts!! She is and has been such an inspiration to me.

So today I started my journey this month. You can read about it here if you would like. Now to be fair to the author I will only have the chapter title. I will work on the suggested exercise at the end of the chapter and writing my thoughts. I suggest you go and get this book! Or any of the many Emily Watts books! Really go get one they are that good!!

Look who is being all crafty!!

So it is valentines day! Happy Valentines Day to you!! Over the last couple of days we have been in full valentines day mode. Madi had found these cute crafts to make at Michael's Crafts and Gifts. She was really excited about making them for her class mates. She also wanted to do regular valentines day cards as well. Good thing we had two days off of school so she could get them all done!!




For the kids teachers I found this idea from Martha Stewart. It was for Christmas cards so I just adapted it for Valentines Day. The Teachers loved them. There are 24 kids in each of their classes so I put 24 clothes pins on.

Two years ago we made Paint can Valentine holders and Madi loved hers. It was getting to be all beat up and she wanted a new one. So Here is Madi's!And Here is Will's
I was at Will's party so I walked down to see Madi and her teacher had already hung her wreath. I guess the kids were really excited to place there card on the wreath. Doesn't it look great!!

On Saturday the kids have basketball games. We were in charge of Will's treat. So I found this
project. We made them for Will's teammates and Madi's. I had so much fun making them we decided to make them for their Sunday primary classmates too. It was fun watching all the kids "rock" out to them!!
Breakfast was fun today. Mike made Pink milk! (can't rellay tell but it is pink and strawberry! YUM!)

I made Toast and eggs. It was fun! I thought it was a cute idea!
I even had fun with the sausage! At church today we had a speaker talk about love and how appropriate it was that the theme this week was love. He told the story of St. Valentine. I think I found the story that he read.

St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

BEEP!

Last night I went upstairs to go up to bed. I checked in Will's room but he was not there. So I went into my room and there he was in the middle of the bed. Well, I come over and rip off the sheets. Will sits up and looks around startled. Then looks right at me with the biggest cheesy grin and eyes squinting and says "BEEP" Looks around again eyes closed this time and says "BEEP". Then he lays down and pulls the cover over him. I was so shocked and then I started to laugh. Then I just decided to leave him there and go to sleep. Well after a few minutes Mike starts it. "Beep" Then for the next few minutes all we could do is laugh and Beep! So Beep!!!!

Conversations from the Van #7

So we were on our way to dinner and the kids were talking to each other about their old principal, Mr. Keller and their new principal, Dr. Fether. Then Madi says, "Did you know Sister Keller is a Dr. now?" (in our church we call each other brother and sister. In our ward there is a wonderful lady, Sister Keller, and the kids love her!) I said: "Well she has been a Dr. for a long time now." And this is the following conversation!

Will: Is Dr. Keller married to Mr. Keller?
Me: No Dr. Keller is not married, she has never been married.
Will: Why has she never been married?
Me: She never found Mr. Right.
Will: Well that's Daddy!!!!
As we pull into a parking space and the laughter dies down.

Will: And in a few years, I will be Mr. Right!