The Joy of Life

I love my children, always have and always will.  Well, ummmm, ok.   I admit there are moments when I'm not sure I'm happy to have children.... but I do always love them.  Having children and a family is what life is all about for me.

My children certainly keep us busy and keep life exciting, especially our youngest child, Tori.  You can probably tell from my blog that she seems to be involved with every school and community activity available to her.  She just finished participating in her school play.... even after breaking her arm.  She is such a great little actress and we loved every moment of her performance.

Here she is during one of the songs.  She's the second from the left, on the front row.  Cute little girl, right?

This play kept us all busy for almost three months.  Many mornings of early morning play practice and then late evenings for dress rehearsals.  I honestly don't know how she manages to do this and keep up with her school work AND spend time with all her friends.  This girl is a true extrovert.

And I realize I haven't posted much about Evan.  Our sweet middle child and amazing young man, Evan.  While Tori is an extrovert, Evan is the exact opposite as a true introvert... very much like his Mother.  He gets his energy and fulfillment from a quiet night at home. 

While Evan is a home-body, he still enjoys time with his friends and Evan's friends are lifetime friends because once you're a friend of Evan's you realize what a gem he is.  His quiet confidence of who he is and his caring for others is something that always amazes me.  He's an amazing student in school and a wonderful son. 

It's such a joy to be part of our children's lives and to witness their growth and see their unique personalities grow and progress over the years.  It's also been fun to watch our Spencer grow and progress in his married life.  Children are the joy of life.

Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken

I've got another great recipe for you.  This is great for a busy, working Mom like me... another great "throw-in-the-crockpot" recipe.  No picture for you to view but, trust me, this is good.

Creamy Black Bean and Salsa Chicken
4   boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup  chicken broth
1 cup  salsa
1 can (15 oz)  corn, drained
1 can (15 oz)  black beans, drained
1 pkg  taco seasoning
1/2 cup  sour cream

Place chicken in greased 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow cooker.  Pour broth, salsa, corn, beans, and taco seasoning over chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat 6 to 8 hours or on high heat 3 to 4 hours.  Remove chicken with slotted spoon and place on serving dish.  Stir sour cream into sauce in slow cooker, then pour over chicken.  Makes 3 to 4 services.  Serve with warm flour tortillas and Spanish rice.

NOTE:  This recipe comes from the cookbook 101 More Things To Do With a Slow Cooker.  If you don't have this recipe book, I would highly recommend purchasing it.  Click Here for the link to purchase the book.

Birthdays and Snowstorms

I'm a little behind in my posts.  First let's get updated on sweet Tori's birthday.  She turned 15 a few weeks ago.  Sweet baby girl is 15, hard to believe. 

Well, it's not hard to believe because her behavior is 15 going on 18.  Such a well-rounded, smart, amazing young woman.  We love her dearly.  This year she decided she didn't want to celebrate by having a large party but wanted cash to purchase herself an ipod touch.  The newest, latest gadget that's all the rage among teenagers.

So we celebrated her special day with a simple cake and a Happy Birthday from her family.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Just days before Tori's birthday.... look at our backyard view.

I thought we were done with the snowstorms but I should know better.... we live in Utah after all.  Although we had a foot of snow in the morning, by evening almost all of it was melted.  We're happy for the moisture. 

Things are never dull.... from birthdays to snowstorms.... we have a blessed and exciting life.

A Good Day

Coming Soon:  Our sweet Tori had her birthday last week and I've got some great pictures to share.  Just haven't had time to load them to the computer.  I'll share soon!

Until then, I want to share with you the good day I had with Todd.  We took the day off to go skiing, just the two of us.  It was a good day.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day (as you can see by the sun glaring on my goggles).

A good day with my honey.  That's all. 

A Valentine's to Remember

To celebrate Valentine's Day we decided to do something a little non-traditional by avoiding all the hype about flowers, balloons, and candy and focus on some family bonding.  To do that, we all took the day off from work and school and headed up to Sundance Resort for a beautiful day skiing and snowboarding.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day.  The snow wasn't really the best snow but it was all good 'cause we were having fun being together with our two youngest kids. 

Evan and Tori decided to be adventurous and try out the new rainbow rail with their snowboards.  Sundance has a terrain park for snowboarders to ride the rails, hop benches, and jump the jumps.  They included a new rail this year that was so much fun.... not for me... I just watched.

Such adventurous children.

It was so much fun to watch my athletic, well-coordinated children.  But, well, have you heard the saying "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt"?  Well..........

... for us it was all fun and games until someone broke an arm.  And that someone was our little Tori.  The photo above was taken just before she fell backward and broke her arm.

Our sweet little girl is doing just fine after spending many hours in the emergency room and then another day with a Orthopedic Specialist to get her arm set just right.  Her arm is now set and casted and will stay that way for five more weeks.  So, I guess that's what we get for being non-traditional with our Valentine's celebration... and... maybe we should have had the kids in school instead of on the slopes.  hmmmmmm

Valentine Cookies

Want a good sugar cookie recipe for your Valentine's Day cookies?  Give this recipe a try, and don't be afraid to frost with chocolate frosting.  Why stick with boring red or pink colored vanilla frosting?  Chocolate frosting makes everything better.

Mixies Sugar Cookies
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 lg. egg
2 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Makes approx. 24 cookies.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Gradually beat in flour and salt.  Roll out dough on a floured flat surface, may need to add extra flour if dough is too sticky.  Cut out shapes and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Or you can roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet.  Bake about 9 minutes.

Super easy and super yummy.

Happy Valentines from the Glassford Family.

Home Sweet Home

I just returned from a four day trip to Atlanta, GA for a work conference... I'm so happy to be home.  All I could think about while I was gone was my beautiful family.

I love my family and appreciate them all the more after being gone.  We are blessed and I'm so very thankful.