Pillowcase Project

I had an idea yesterday to make the boys pillowcases because the other day I was washing the ones they were using and I put a colorful blanket down over Jakes pillow while he took a nap. Ever since tehn, even once he had his pillowcase back he has wanted his blanket over his pillow. So I thought it might be fun to make a colorful pillow case for him. Here are pictures of what I came up with. Mom showed me a pillowcase pattern and helped me cut the flannel, then I sewed and ironed it into these! Jackson is the Cars one, of course! What do you think? I hope they love them! They get to use them tonight!

2 Great Recipes!

Caramel Apple Cookies

This recipe is a great alternative to traditional chocolate chip cookies, if you are ever not in the mood for those! They were very good. A word of advice... eat while warm. If you have leftover cookies, microwave them for about 15 seconds before you eat them again... or the caramel pieces will almost break your teeth! :)

Here is the link to the recipe. http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/09/caramel_apple_cookies.html





Tinga

This is Silvia's recipe and it is so good if you want to be brave and try something new. It's one of our favorite Mexican dishes and we introduced it to mom and dave and they like it a lot too!

1. Boil 1-2 lbs of chicken breast (add salt and chicken boullion to the water if desired)
2. Shred chicken. Blend 6 fresh tomatoes to liquid or use 2+ cans of tomato sauce.
3. In skillet, add oil and chicken, 4-5 thinly sliced onions, and blended fresh tomatoes. (There should be about equal amounts of chicken and onion.)
4. Add about 3 chipotle peppers (buy canned chipotle peppers from the mexican aisle).
Serve with rice and eat on a corn tostada!!! Optional- add sour cream and lime! Call me if you want to try it and have questions!

SOOOOOO YUMMY! I forgot to take a picture until I had already started eating... sorry!

Sneak Peek

So, I just can't help myself. I have to do a little sneak peek of Aubry's quilt. I didn't want to reveal anything until her bday, but I have to! I'm too excited. I just pieced the back together and I love it! So here is a snap shot of a part of the back! The front is still a secret though! Now that I have the front and the back finished I am taking a break to go back and finish Jackson's quilt. I have the front and back finished and we finally got more batting so I am going to pin and quilt Jackson's before I continue anything else. Then on to my throw! Then on to Silvia and Lew's quilt! Can you tell I'm in love with quilting?

Oh yeah, and during the after Christmas sales Luis went a little Candy cane crazy! He wanted to try as many flavors as possible... this is just a glimpse of his stash... there are more boxes downstairs. We both agree... Spree is simply the best candy cane :)

Quilting semi-success!

I am finished piecing together the top of Aubry's quilt. We had a few bumps in the road, but it is done! It was definitely a learning experience... except we don't know for sure what the cause of our stumbling block was... I just designed the back of the quilt and can't wait to get sewing! It is super cute and I hope Aubry will love the finished product! Sorry, still no pictures until I send it to her. Don't want to ruin the surprise.

Luis and I both started working. He started at the car dealership yesterday and had a lot of fun getting paid to test drive cars :) It's a pretty nice set up but long hours. He is still waiting to hear back from the other company. Keep us in your prayers. I started my training at the YMCA today as the Fitness Coordinator. I am really going to enjoy the job... It is still hard for me to be away from the kids. I feel guilty being there instead of with them... but I know we really need it. Thank you, Mom, for helping out with the boys and allowing us both to work. Within a few months they are probably going to send me to get my personal training certification so I can get a few more hours doing that. I will be working M-F 4-8pm. It does feel good to contribute though!

Hanson

Ethan and I had a good moment the other day. We were having one of our many discussions about music and I was showing him some bands I liked in High school and college. He really didn't like any of it. He is very into classic rock. Then Justin Bieber came up and I told him that the Justin Bieber of my generation was Hanson... as far a popularity with the girls! He had NEVER heard of them! That was shocking to me!!! Their posters used to COVER our walls! So Thanks to good old YouTube I was able to introduce him to Hanson... Mmbop, Where's the Love... It was hilarious to remember! Ethan's comment was "They are way better than Justin Bieber... but they are really ugly!!!"I was cracking up but poor Hanson. I don't agree, I personally think Justin Bieber is better than Hanson! Right, Bryan? :)

Dave's retirement ceremony

Dave is finally retired!!! Mom can give you more info about the official details but all I know is he had a great ceremony! We are very proud of him. It was great to be there and hear about all of his accomplishments. It was like I was learning about a stranger! I didn't know any of it... that's how little Dave has talked about his work the entire time I've known him! He has definitely accomplished great things for our country, that's for sure. It was great to hear how much his team loves him. I saw several full grown men get teared up and emotional. It was very sweet. (So did Mom, but that's no surprise... the surprise is that she didn't start bawling!!!) We weren't allowed to bring in phones or cameras so they had a photographer and we will hopefully have pictures from the ceremony on Monday. I'm sure Mom will post those on her blog :) After the ceremony I picked up the kids from a friends house and we all went to Fazoli's. Dave and the boys shared a pizza, Ethan and I got subs and mom got a salad and pasta! It was great! Oh, and during the ceremony Dave gave Mom and I flowers... we had to get u in front of everyone to receive them. They smell so good and are beautiful! Anyway, it was a great experience and I was happy to be a part of it. The only bad thing is that Luis wasn't here with us!!

Jackson's Obedience Chart

I am once again in the behavior overhaul mode. It's sad that this mode repeats itself so often. I did a behavior chart in Texas but it was too complicated and I didn't stick with it. I am going to attempt the same thing, but a much simpler version. It is split up between morning and afternoon with the morning reward being able to watch a movie or play on his V-Reader during Jake's nap and in the evening it is a yummy treat. He needs to get 5 stickers to get the reward. He gets the reward by obeying!!! HE responds pretty well... but Mom is actually better at giving him the stickers than I am.... I really need to be more observant! I also get distracted by things we have going on and before I know it, it's naptime and there are no stickers!!! I am going to try harder. The 3 boxes are for big-time no-nos. If he gets 3 Xs he does not get his reward. We just started this, so I will let you know how it goes in a few days!

Thank You

I dropped Luis off at the airport yesterday morning at 5:30. He is in Wisconsin until Saturday for a health screening event. It was 16 degrees outside when I left the airport. As I was driving home I saw a homeless man walking down the street with a big garbage bag over his shoulder. Just walking... I just couldn't comprehend living outside in this kind of weather. It made me so sad for him. Since I saw him I have been thinking about that a lot. I am so grateful for all the support Luis and I have received the last year or so. We have been going through hard times financially, and I know that is how people end up on the street. If it wasn't for such supportive parents, who knows where Luis and I and our boys would be. I just want to say thank you to all our parents. You have provided so much for us and we are very grateful. Thank you for listening when I just needed to vent my frustrations about life. Thank you for helping me remain faithful and looking forward to better times. Thank you to our friends and cousins and sisters and brothers who also supported Luis and I in so many ways. We want you to know that we love you all very much!

Please pray for us this weekend. Luis has 2 job interviews on Monday and we are hoping they produce something... fast! If you would like to join us, we are having a family fast on Sunday for that reason! I know that God has a plan for us and that things will work out in His time. In the meantime, Luis and I often contemplate the lessons we have learned while going through our trials the past few years. We are excited about our future and hope it comes quickly :)

My quilting obsession

I think I'm addicted. Now if only I had more time to myself without kids wanting attention and more money to buy fabric! I really enjoy quilting but at the same time it is frustrating :) I wish I was learning faster but Certain parts of it are still difficult for me... however, I am proud to say that my stitches are pretty darn straight! The other day had a frustrating moment. I was working on Aubry's quilt and was so excited because I was finally going to sew all the rows together... the last step to finishing the quilt top. I stitched 3 whole panels and then realized the settings were off! So the stitches were really loose... some little fingers had been messing with Grandma's sewing machine! So I had to tear out the stitches on the entire length of the quilt for 3 whole rows!!!! (that's a lot!) Very frustrating. Anyway, I redid it all and now I am on my way to being finished again. Annoyed about the wasted time but hey, at least I got more practice right? I like that I will be able to make things for people... that I can give meaningful gifts! I am actually developing a useful talent! It's worth the frustration that is involved! So, unless otherwise stated... for my birthday this year all I want is JoAnn's Fabrics gift cards... because once my mom leaves town with her fabric stash I won't have any! :) And I'd like to keep up this wonderful, yet expensive, habit!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Jacob is 2 years old today!!! My Jacob baby isn't really a baby anymore. He is so cute and talking so much now! He will repeat almost anything we say and he uses many words in a sentence. He is supposed to choose dinner because it's his bday, but we pretty much just assumed what he'd want! We had hot dogs and french fries and soda! YUM! Then we opened presents! Jake got a dump truck and blocks, a "Don't Break the Ice" game, and Jackson got a Mr. Potato Head, just so he wouldn't be jealous! (Thanks Grandma and Grandpop!) We had cupcake ice cream cones... or ice cream cone cupcakes... whatever you want to call them! They were so fun to make and the boys LOVED them! Here are some pictures of our fun day!

Pictures

Just a few random pictures to share!
This is how we found the boys before we went to bed. Very cute.


He is stuck in the bucket, wearing my shoes :)
My Christmas present that I picked out myself... cutest boots ever!
This is the third day of snow since we've been here. I love it!

Genealogy work paying off!

There was a youth temple trip tonight and Dave and Ethan were able to take 10 of the family names I have been working on to the temple for baptisms and confirmations! It was very exciting! Dave was also able to take about 15 names of his own! It is so awesome to be involved with this work and I love it! I can't wait to take even more names myself!!!

A calling For Luis

We were officially read in as members of the Shiloh Ward today. How long that will last depends on where Luis finds a job. His interview went very well on Friday so hopefully next week he will get a second interview with a different department. Luis also got a calling today. He will be the teachers quorum adviser and assistant scout master. Thankfully he got all his scout training done in TX. He is excited to help with the scouts! I am still waiting for a calling but I feel one might be on it's way shortly!!!

Nerf Wars and an injury

The Gibson house is a Nerf house. Plain and simple. Ethans favorite pass time, besides guitars of course, is nerf wars. I am not very good at playing with him but since Luis has come, he gets more playtime. For Christmas we got the boys (Luis included :) a big automatic nerf gun that shoots 20 darts. The missionaries introduced everyone to pvc pipe wars :) Those little darts shoot so fast out of the pipe by just blowing on it! It was hilarious... the guys said it hurt like paintballs! They had a lot of fun and Jake and Jax sure loved to try it as well! The picture of Jacob's owie is when Jackson hit him over the head with a nerf gun... It was pretty bad, and bled a lot. But he's ok and he forgave his bully of a brother!

New project and new room!!!

This is my next project! I am going to make a throw quilt for our couch... if we ever get our couch out of storage :) The picture in the magazine is the design, but it is a king size pattern so I am taking off the outside zig-zag borders to make it a throw size. I am really excited to do this... it is a little more challenging than the pot holders, and even Jackson's quilt. I am using the fabrics in my picture, so the color scheme will match my brown and tan couch :) I have all the fabric cut so pretty soon I will start piecing it together!



The missionaries moved out yesterday and we moved right into the basement where they were living! It is wonderful and there is so much space. We had been staying in one of the bedrooms upstairs, but it was very cramped. We can hear Ethan getting ready for school at 7am... which is the only downside... I think it woke the boys up this morning and definitely Luis. (I sleep through anything except a crying baby.) Hopefully soon Luis will have a job that has him up earlier than Ethan anyways! We haven't moved everything downstairs yet, but this is the basic layout!

New Job and Family History!

So....... I have a job! Surprise! Las week Luis and I went to the YMCA to get a guest membership. I asked, kind of randomly, if they were hiring and they told me one position that was very interesting to me! I worked with the Y in college so I figured it would be an easy in... especially since I have about 6 years of health/fitness work experience. I had my interview this morning... it lasted less than 5 minutes and he offered me the job :) I am excited because I will be the Fitness Center Coordinator, which is similar to what I have done in the past, but with a little more responsibility... I will be supervising the fitness staff! That's new for me :) I will be working 4-8pm Mon-Friday. I can add hours to my schedule if I want, so they are pretty flexible with me. I love it. It also takes of a little stress while we wait for Luis to find a job. He has an interview on Friday that he is pretty excited about. We will let you know any news on his end.

Another exciting thing that happened- I have been working on the Paulos family history and I am loving it. It is so interesting to learn names and places and all that. (I have also been working on Dave's family history as of yesterday and he already has tons of names ready to take to the temple and has even linked into a family tree back to the 1400s!!!) So, in my search for Jeannette Ella Stene, Grandpa Paulos' mother, I found a post on ancestry.com from someone also searching for relatives of Jeannette. I replied and just got a response!!! She has TONS of information, even records going back to Norway!!! She is so nice and totally willing to give me anything I want to know! I have heard stories of people finding relatives and how it helped move the geneology work along! I never thought it would happen to me! I can't wait to get all the info from her! What a blessing! If any of you want to start an account at new.familysearch.org you can link in with me and have all this info! Wish me luck in my search!