Tyler made Jaron a Sock Monkey for Christmas this year. I helped him cut the socks into the right pieces and sewed them with the sewing machine. Tyler helped stuff everything and then sew the pieces onto the Monkey. It turned out great!

I know this is late, but better late than never. This is the newest addition to the Marchant Family. We were able to go down to Las Vegas for Ashdon's baby blessing and meet this little one. It is so fun to have a new baby to hold and love. We were able to see Adam, Kollen and their family over the Christmas Holiday and spend a little more time with them.

One of our traditions we do in our family every year before Christmas is we have Shepherd's pie for dinner and we think of the Shepherd's that went and saw Baby Jesus. This recipe is one of our favorites. I'm not very good at writing recipes because I do this one so often I just kind of dump everything together and it always works, but I'll try my best.

2lbs Ground beef
2 cans Tomato soup
2 cans Green beans
1 T. Dried onions
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups instant potatoes (We think potato pearls are the best)
Grated cheddar cheese

• Brown and drain your groundbeef
• add tomatoe soup, beans and onion and stir together
• Pour in a 9x13 pan
• Prepare your potatoes as per instructions and smooth over the hamburger mixture.
• Sprinkle with grated cheese
• Bake or put in microwave until the cheese is melted
• ENJOY!
  

This year for one of our Family Home Evenings in December we made gingerbread houses. What a fun time we had. When I grew up we always made them for our school teacher for Christmas. After I married Kirk we did it several times with his family also. We haven't done it for quite a while until this year, and what a great time we had. We invited Grandma & Grandpa Marchant over to join in our fun.

Today my Mom and Dad received their mission call. This is how the plan was to let all of us know where they are going. Mom and Dad were of course going to open their call when they got it and then at 5:30 p.m when everyone was out of work and home we had a conference call number to call so that we would all find out at the same time. This is how it really went; Dad calls me a work and said they received their papers, I said " You're not going to tell me are you?" He said "Don't you want to know?" and then without any time for me to give him an answer, he blurts out..........Cleveland, Ohio.

I am so excited for them, this will be a first for both of them. They will be doing a 12 month Records Preservation mission, where they will go and take pictures and record genealogy records. They will leave for the MTC on January 19th.

Mom and Dad, I love you so much! You will be wonderful missionaries.

Derick is being quite the snuggly, cuddly, lovable boy lately with me. I quite enjoy it. It seems that the older they get the less they want to do with their parents, so I will enjoy this while it lasts. His new thing with me is when he leaves he'll say "I Love You", I say "I Love you back" and he says no, you have to say it more obnoxiously, so I come up with a silly way to say I love You. FUN.

We had a great time at the Men's SUU basketball game. We have season tickets this year through CBS so it will be some fun family time going to the games. Derick and Tyler are both playing Basketball this season maybe they'll get some pointers.

Derick thinks that since he is now 14 that it's time to SHAVE. What do you think? He thinks he's lookin mighty hairy.

http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/5555-heidiscreations/ KAITLIN
http://family.go.com/santas-list/video/5541-heidiscreations/ TYLER

The Elders Quorum in our ward have been going up the canyon to get wood for families in our ward to help them through the winter. They load the logs on the trailers, and then drop them off at the houses that need it. We went and helped a single sister in our ward for Family Home Evening the other night and helped her cut, split and stack her wood. What a good time we all had and it makes you feel so good inside to help others who are in need. We have such a wonder Family Oriented Ward, I love being a member of our Ward.

I just love this time of year, I wish it would last a bit longer. I has been just beautiful here in Cedar City. This is a card that I made for a card swap.

Tyler has been going through some anxiety lately. I was hoping my kids wouldn't inherit that flaw from me, but two of the three so far have problems with it. I have vowed that I won't let them go through it like I did for so long, without help. Tyler, bless his heart has been having quite a struggle with it, mainly at bed time, needless to say he hasn't been able to sleep in his room very well at all. We have tried everything, music, lighting, prayers, relaxation techniques, etc. The whole "Bloody Mary" thing is going on in the schools, which makes me so MAD! Tyler avoids listening to the stories because he doesn't like being scared, but what can he do when he's in the bathroom stall and the kids come in and turn off the lights and do it while he's in there and he can't leave. This picture is of him and Kaitlin who offered to sleep with him, a week or so ago, it lasted for three nights and we're back to upstairs on the couch. We'll keep trying!

Happy Birthday to you!

I just want my Mom to know how much I love and appreciate her.

Mom, you are such a giving person, I have learned so much from you and hope to be as giving as you are. Thank you so much for loving my children the way you do. They will always have such fond memories of their times with you. I am so excited for you and Dad to go on a mission what a wonderful and growing experience you will have. You are being an example to all of us.

I Love You!

Love,
Heidi

14 things about Derick

1. Derick is a great teenager. You hear all of the horror stories about teenagers, but if this is what it is like raising a teenager I'll enjoy every minute of it.
2. He honors his priesthood
3. He loves music
4. He is a great friend
5. He is smart
6. He never complains when asked to do something
   
7. He isn't afraid to tell me he loves me
8. He gives me hugs
9. He's taller than me
10. He doesn't like cleaning his room
11. He likes being in plays (right now he is in the play Christmas Carol)
12. He like to longboard with his friends
13. He's a good brother
14. He doesn't like steak.
    

We have decided to go private, If you would like to be invited to view my blog, please email me at heidiscreations@gmail.com. We will be going private on Monday, November 17.

I got tagged by my Sister Lori, so here goes......Tagged Lucky 7's and Crazy 8's

7 Things I Can Do...

1. Draw, I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil.
2. Digital Scrapbooking, I have been digital scrapbooking for probably 5 years. It's the only way that I can afford to do scrapbooking.
3. Interior Design, I like to decorate and make my house look nice
4. Be Spontanious, I like to be spontanious, I don't do it as often as I would like but I love it.
5. Read, I didn't like reading until I was in High School but I love a good book now, I just wish that I had more time to read whenever I wanted, usually it is saved for traveling or just before bed.
6. I can curl my tounge
7. Cook, I may not be as good as my Mom, but I learned from the best. My kids and their friends think I'm amazing and that's all that matters.

Things I Cannot Do...

1. I can't play a musical instrument
2. I can't ever have all the laundry caught up on.
3. I can't ride on scary rides at theme parks without paniking
4. I can't make fried chicken like my Mom
5. I can't do a summersault
6. I can't remember my cell phone number
7. I can't give a talk in church without boobing

7 Things That Attracted me to Kirk

1. His Smile
2. His Eyes
3. That he was big
4. He is a hard worker
5. He was worthy to take me to the Temple
6. He was a strong member of the church
7. He respected me

7Things I say Most Often...

1. I Love you
2. Make good choices
3. You're a Dork
4. Brush you teeth and comb your hair
5. Do I have to check and see if it's done?
6. How was your day
7. Do you have any homework?

7 Favorite Foods...

1. Mexican Food
2. Fresh chips and Salsa
3. Hamburgers and Fries
4. Chocolate with nuts
5. Pringles
6. Cucumbers
7. Home grown tomatoes

CRAZY 8'S

8 TV Shows I Like To Watch...

1. Survivor
2. Amazing Race
3. Extreme Home Make-over
4. Criminal Minds
5. Eleventh Hour
6. House

8Things That Happened Yesterday...

1. Had homecooked breakfast at my Mom's
2. Got to hold my nephew Jaron
3. Went to Delta w/ my sister-in-law
4. Started a Blog for my Mom and Dad so that they could keep up with everyong when they go on their mission
5. Planned what were going to do for our Family Chistmas Party a little
6. Had a birthday dinner for Derick
7. Watched some of Journey to the center of the Earth
8. Made fresh Salsa

8 Favorite Places To Eat...

1. Panda Express
2. Johny Corino's
3. Olive Garden
4. Golden Corral

8Things I'm Looking Forward To...

1. Not being in debt
2. Not worrying about money
3. Finishing all of our house projects
4. Some day taking the kids to California, and all of the fun things you can do there
5. Christmas morning
6. Having a weekend that I don't have to do anything
7. Seeing all my kids get married in the temple
8. Going on a mission with Kirk

8 Things On My Wish List...

1. to get my house paid off
2. Go to Disneyland
3. Go on a trip out of the United States
4. To be my perfect size, whatever I decide that may be
5. To be the best Mom and wife
6. To be fun and to do all of the things that I wish I would do with my family
7. to like excercising
8. that my kids are all happy and safe.

Kaitlin was a pretty Witch.
Tyler was Joe Dirt, check out his chest hair.
Derick, as a Rubic Cube, won most educational at our Ward Party.
I had to dress up for my job so this is what I came up with! I even had crows on my shoulder and hat.
What a scary looking bunch!

For Family Home Evening we did the traditional "Carving Pumpkins" I did though, try a couple new things.

• Instead of cutting off the top of the pumpkin and having to reach your hand in to light the candles, we cut a hole in the bottom so that you just have to put the candles on the ground, light them, and then cover them with the pumpkin. Worked great!
• I also heard that if you put Vaseline on the cut parts of the pumpkin that it won't dry out as quickly and therefore not mold or shrivel up. Worked great!
• This is the first year that I roasted the seeds! I didn't use any recipe, I just washed them and then soaked them overnight in water and salt. I then drained them off and sprayed them with olive oil and roasted them in the oven. They turned out pretty good for the first time, next time I won't put as much salt, and also might try flavoring them.

It was a fun evening, and the kids did a great job carving their pumpkins.

The other night we made my Great Grandma Bebensee's Spudnuts. They were delicious!

The picture above is of my Great Grandma Evers and Great Grandma Bebensee, I never did know my Great Grandma Evers, but I remember my Great Grandma Bebensee, she was a soft and cuddly grandma.
This is a picture of Kaitlin and my Mom making Grandma BB's doughnuts when Kaitlin was three.

Kaitlin is in a singing group at school this year, she meets every Wednesday on short day, after school to practice. They all did such a great job! We look forward to more of her concerts this year.

I love fall and everything about it! The colors, sweaters, smells, soups, pumpkins, etc. The kids and I drove up the canyon the other day (and that is where I got my very first ever in my whole life, ticket) and took pictures with all of the fall colors. Anyway, it was beautiful! It's always quite the adventure trying to get good pictures, between funny faces, sibling doing silly things behind your back, and getting impatient, it's a wonder that you get any good ones.

Don't blink or you might miss Derick on his long board.

Derick decided that with the money that he earned helping me with my vinyl order, that he wanted a long board. So he found one online that he liked and ordered it, he would check every day with his friends to see where the long boards journey was and how soon it would be here in Cedar City. On the day it arrived he wasn't home until the evening so I thought I would have a little fun with him. I opened it up and found one of my blank signs and put it and a photo copy of the board he ordered back into the box and taped it back up. When he came home he opened up the box with anticipation.

• Derick, "What the heck!"
• Mom and Dad, "What?"
• Derick, "All there is is a piece of wood and a picture"
• Dad, "You paid how much for that?, they didn't even give you wheels?"
• Mom, "Did they put any instructions in there?"
• Derick, "No, I'm going to go show this to Kyle" (Kyle is Derick's friend across the street who had just received his long board a few days earlier.)

Needless to say Derick ended up with his "Long Board" after a few laughs.

His "Long board" will be forgotten about some day, but he will always remember the story about the long board.

I always enjoy this time of year when we get to listen to General Conference. This session was wonderful. There were many great talks given, one of my favorites was Robert D. Hales talk on "Christian Courage". He talked about how Abinadi stood up for what he believed in even though it cost him his life, and then how through his example Alma was converted to the Gospel and then also showed Christian Courage. Another talk I enjoyed was Elaine Dalton who talked about Temple Ordinances and "Returning to Virtue". Then I loved our Prophet's talk on CHANGE. Here are some of the quote that he stated that I wrote down.

• Nothing is as constant as change
• Find joy in the journey NOW!
• There are no tomorrows to remember if we don't do anything today.
• The circus will come back again, childhood doesn't
• Be greatful for the abundance that is present.

How grateful I am for the Gospel in my life DAILY, and that we have a living Prophet on the earth today to lead and guide us.

Thanks to Tyler, we were able to watch Conference in our living room as a family instead of in our bedroom on the bed and floor.Since Tyler is the smallest and the bravest, he got to go up into our attic and help feed the wires through holes in the living room ceiling. He came down covered in the insulation up there.

Getting in the spirit for Halloween? Here are a few pictures from 2003. I love the looks on Tyler's face during Pumpkin Carving. We also had the tradition while we lived up North to go to "The Halloween House" every year at least once. Thanks to Aunt June and Uncle Den who introduced us to this fun experience.

When Kaitlin was going to turn one, we taught her to hold one finger up. So whenever we would ask her how old she was she would do this...
We use to roll her hair in curlers, she always looked so cute with them in. Such fun memories!

Kirk hates to have his picture taken. About the only pictures you can get of him is with something held in front of his face. A good trick I've come up with is to make him think he's not getting his picture taken, but I am taking a picture of the cute kids he's holding. Or else like in the other picture, which really isn't Kirk, it's a picture of a redneck with a shirt on that belongs to some other guy named Kirk. SHH he's incognito.

Tyler comes home from school on Friday, this is our conversation.

Tyler: "Mom, can I have a shower every night"

Mom: "Yes, you can have a shower every night" Mom is wondering how she got so lucky

Tyler: "Mrs. Payne says that she likes Mondays because when she bends over to help us she can smell our clean hair. She says that by the end of the week we start to smell."

Tyler who likes to impress his teacher will do anything, even take a shower/bath every day!!!

Tyler: "Mom, do we have any coconut shampoo?"

I am trying to catch up on my old photos that I haven't finished. I thought that it would be fun to put some of them on my blog to remember fun times. This is one of Tyler, when he came home from primary he had this HUGE crown, not just a simple basic one. I thought that it was great, He is really making the statement "I am of Royal Birth!!!!!". How appropriate.