A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

the other night, we were reading the Book of Mormon as a family in Alma Chapter 63.  At the end of the chapter, Moroni talks about how the wars have started to go away and the people are prospering greatly, "they began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong... and they began to grow exceedingly rich".  He goes on to mention, "Notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before Him." (emphasis added).

I thought about this a lot that night.  It reminded me to always give thanks to the Lord for His blessings; and our family has been exceedingly blessed this year.  So, in celebration of Thanksgiving this year, and this being my 100th blog post, I'm making a list of 100 things I am thankful for this year. (Plus it's good for my health!  Check out this article about how gratitude is good for the body and soul.)

1.My knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings me so much joy!
2. The Atonement of Jesus Christ.  His life, His sacrifice and death, and His resurrection gives my life meaning and purpose.  I am forgiven of my sins, strengthened in my weaknesses, and given strength for all my trials because of the Atonement.  I cannot express my gratitude for this blessing enough.
3. My family has been sealed in the temple of God for eternity.  My marriage will not end with "til death do you part" and our children will always be sealed to us despite any possible tragedy.
4. My husband is a worthy Priesthood holder who has authority and power to bless our family in the name of Christ when it is needed.  We are very blessed!
5. Naomi.  She is just the most wonderful child I have ever had the privilege of meeting and she is my daughter! She is always happy, forgiving, and loving.  I can't imagine life without her in our family!
6. Baby Neeley #2-- we don't know who this amazing spirit is yet, but we are so excited to meet him/her.  We feel so grateful to have children in our family!
7-10. The Scriptures-- including the Bible, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.  I'm so grateful for the truths in these books and the joy it brings to our family when we read them.
11. My parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  They all raised me in our "family village," many of them teaching me invaluable life lessons.  I"m so thankful to have the family I did growing up.

12. My in-laws, all of them!  They are incredible people who have made me part of their family since the moment Brad told them about me. I'm grateful to share the Neeley name.
13. Brad's job.  This has been a blessing we have desired since... ever, really.  It's wonderful to be putting Brad's education to work and having him support our family.
14. My education and degree from Brigham Young University.  This was a major life goal of mine, and I'm so grateful Heavenly Father helped me achieve it!
15. Pell Grants.  Those babies paid for my education; I could not have gone to college without these.
16. Tithe paying members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  These wonderful and faithful people subsidized my tuition at BYU (and that of all other BYU students) by up to 70%.
17.  People that donate to scholarship funds.  I received at least a half tuition scholarship to all but 1 semester at BYU-- those funds helped me to buy my books every semester.

18. Our time spent living in Utah.  I give Utah a hard time, and living there was a truggle for our family for many reasons.  But we became stronger while living there, made great friends, and learned valuable lessons.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.
19. Personal revelation.  We felt strongly guided by the Lord in our decision to leave Utah and move in with Brad's parents, even without any job offers.  We felt really crazy trying to explain it out loud (and still do), but everything has worked together for our good.
20. Our apartment in Alliance, Ohio. It's wonderful, warm, spacious and cozy, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms!  We love it.
21. Living closer to family-- Brad's family is only 1 hour away, and mine is 9 hours away instead of the 25 it was while we were in Utah.
22. Brad's supervisor.  There was a day a couple weeks back when he stayed late to work on some projects, but insisted that Brad come home and spend time with his family because he knew how important family is.  I'm so glad that Brad's boss, and the company, support families!
23. Food stamps.  This made a huge difference for our family on many occasions that last year.  We are thankfully making enough money now to not need them, but when we were not, I was very grateful our country had this program available.
24. Medicaid.  This program paid for my pregnancy and birth of Naomi, and he health care for the first year of her life.  It was a great blessing to us.  We are grateful to be able to afford our own insurance now through Brad's work, but are grateful that Medicaid was available when we needed it.
25. My membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It has blessed my life in more ways than I can count.  A few of the ways include-- teaching me the gospel of Jesus Christ, meeting wonderful people and friends, providing opportunities to serve others, teaching good values and preparing me to be a good wife/mother.  The list could go on...

26.  Being able to pay tithing-- or 10% of our income we give to the Lord, through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  this commandment is connected to a promise-- "that the windows of heaven shall pour out its blessings that we shall not have room to receive it."  This has been more true this year that I have recognized than ever before!
27. Webcams-- it's wonderful to see and communicate with family that is far away!
28. Facebook-- such an easy and convenient way to keep in touch with friends and family!
29. Nap time-- for Naomi and for me.  :-)
30. Crock pots-- the easiest dinners in the world!
31. Zumba-- it's a fun exercise that helped me learn that i really do love to move and workout.  I lost 45 lbs before getting pregnant, and that means this little bun gets a happier and healthy home to grow in for his/her first 9 months of life!

32. That our car works!  It's had it's more than fair share of troubles this year, but we have always been able to depend on it when we needed it.
33. Blogger-- so i can make and share this list with all of you!  Though I commend you if you're still reading this!
34. Indoor plumbing-- a modern convenience that i really could NOT live without!
35. clean drinking water
36. warm socks! :-)  especially the fuzzy ones, but all socks are great.  except maybe wool socks since I'm allergic to wool...
37. asthma inhalers-- they have helped me breath and saved my life on more than a few occasions.
38. nail clippers-- it's the simple things, really.
39. prayer-- i can speak with my Heavenly Father and He can communicate with me.
40. my calling to be a primary teacher-- i'm so excited to be able to teach!!! 
41. brad's calling in the Young Men's organization-- he's going to be such an incredible example to those young men!  and with our callings together, we get to serve all the children and youth of our ward.
42. my family's health-- we're all healthy and happy.  what more could we ask for?
43. The Snell family-- they befriended us the first week we were new in our ward and have become great friends!
44. the Wright family-- Tim helped us move in, they gave us a love seat, recliner, and bed frame when we moved in and had no furniture, and they are just awesome friends!
45. the Chicago Bears-- they are having a great season!
46. the Steelers-- are also having a great season.
47. our piano-- i'm learning to play and I'm so glad we have this instrument in our home to give me the opportunity to develop new talents.

48. rubber bands-- so i don't have to wear maternity pants yet! (any women who has been pregnant will understand this)
49. hulu.com-- so when we miss watching house or biggest loser, we can catch up.  :-)
50. myfitnesspal.com-- it helped me track my food intake and guide me to healthier choices to help me in my journey to being healthier!
51. books-- i love reading!
52. blenders-- i love to make smoothies!
53. toilet brush-- so i don't actually have to touch the inside of a toilet with my own hands to clean it.
54. e-mail-- so much faster than snail mail, and cheaper!
55. snail mail-- nothing can compare to the joy getting a snail mail letter can, except a snail mail package...
56. online shopping-- i hate shopping in stores, so being able to shop online, and get good deals- is awesome!
57. the internet-- it makes quite a few of the above possible, and my husband does web programming, so the existence of the internet and my husband's programming of it helps put food on our table.
58. pierogies-- with alfredo sauce, quite possibly to most delicious comfort food ever created. Mmmm!
59. central heating in the winter-- i love staying warm!
60. air conditioning in the summer-- i love to not be melting!
61. ice cream, and sherbet, and other frozen desserts-- yum yum yum-ness.
62. Thanksgiving (the holiday)-- family, food, a reminder to be thankful.
63. Christmas-- a time to remember the birth of our Savior and His love for us.
64. carpet-- it makes the floor soft and warmer to walk on!  my favorite flooring type. 
65. that Brad is willing to go out on Black Friday-- because I don't care how good the deals are, I will NEVER go out shopping in that kind of madness!
66. that we have a master bathroom-- it's so nice to have a bathroom that's ours and no one else uses it!
67. my sewing machine, and Natalie Gentry for giving it to me-- sewing is a new talent i learned after graduation and i love it!

68. knowing how to crochet-- Sandy Matteson taught me when i was in Young Women's, and now I make warm scarves!
69. warm scarves-- a winter essential!
70. that we live close to our ward-- some members of our ward have to drive almost an hour just to come to church.  we're only 10 minutes away!
71. our freezer and refrigerator-- it keeps our food fresh longer!
72. that Brad is teaching me how to play the piano-- he's sharing one of his talents with me, what a sweetie!
73. Repentance-- that I can learn from my mistakes, correct them, and through the Atonement of Christ, be made perfect someday.
74. dishwasher-- i don't have to wash all our dishes by hand!!!  and it saves so much time!
75. exhaust vent and light above our stove-- i didn't realize how much this meant to me until our last apartment didn't have it.
76. our washer and dryer!!!
77. i get to be a stay-at-home mom!  i get to spend my days with naomi, teaching her, and watching her grow and learn.  I'm very blessed to get this opportunity!
78. we're not responsible for lawn care... seriously, brad and i have no idea what to do beyond raking leaves and shoveling snow, so i'm glad our apartment complex takes care of that!
79. for movements like Beauty Redefined.  they have a powerful and important message and are getting it out there. go check it out!
80. our new insurance company WILL cover my pregnancy!  we are so relieved, and thank you for your prayers and concern!
81. smoothies-- yum!
82. oxi-clean-- to save the new carpet from above mentioned smoothies.  :-)
83. diaper rash cream-- helps munchkin feel better!
84. hot showers-- so relaxing and refreshing!
85. spell check.
86. book shelves-- they help me and my house stay organized
87. potatoes-- the most delicious and versitle food on the planet.  i haven't found a potato that i don't like.
88. that my daughter loves books-- they are her favorite toys, right before balls, cars, a nerf gun, and coloring
89. razors-- clean shaven armpits, legs, and husband!
90. deodorant-- so we all smell good!
91. disposable diapers-- while expensive, i don't have the stomach to clean cloth diapers
92. pants with stretching waistbands to wear while pregnant
93. exfoliating facewash-- makes my face feel fresh and clean!
94. brad's smartphone-- his work pays for it, and it helps us find stuff while we're out of the house away from the computer.
95. pinterest-- so many recipe ideas that i can easily find!
96. see's candy! specifically the dark chocolate butters and chocolate caramel patties
97. contacts-- so brad can see clearly
98. toothbrush and toothpaste-- for fresh breath!
99. microwave-- for quick easy heating of food.  life is so convenient!
100. life!  i am so blessed to be here on this earth, alive, and to enjoy all the blessings associated with it.

Developing a New Talent!

I have always loved good music.  I have always wanted to be able to play an instrument, but didn't have much of a chance as a kid to learn.  Since I have an awesome husband who knows how to play the piano, and an awesome mother-in-law who gave us a piano for Christmas 2 years ago (and we are finally able to have it now that we live in the East and closer to them), I have started to learn how to play the piano.
Brad taught me the basics with some music flash cards and a keyboard that we could tape the letters of notes on the keys.

I've been practicing very hard the last 2 weeks-- everyday for 30 minutes to1 hour (though not always consecutively).  I thought I had learned "A Child's Prayer" and played it for Brad, to which he told me that I did a good job and it sounded like the song, but I wasn't playing what was on the music sheet.  Oops!  Apparently, I had accidentally "transposed the song into the key of C."  Now I'm not sure what that means, but the reality was that I forgot where middle C was (since we're not putting tape on the piano keys-- I thought F was middle C), and I though that middle C was the bottom line of the top staff (but it's really supposed to be one line below the top staff).  But with all of my confusion, I somehow did something magical and  transposed the song that was supposed to have sharps into a key that could be played perfectly with no sharps or flats.  Yeah... I'm that awesome!

I tried learning the same song the "proper" way, in the right key and playing the notes that were actually on the sheet and re-adjusting my brain to where middle C really should be.  And failed miserably.   Brad recommended that I get a song that is just in the key of C and practice something fitting for my very beginner level; so now I'm learning the melody line for "We'll Bring the World His Truth" (sometimes called "Army of Helaman"). Here's a video of my attempt... I know I screwed up in a few places, but I still feel really proud of what I've been able to learn in a few weeks!

 
I'm very excited and grateful to have this chance to learn something new and beautiful.  It's important to me to keep learning and developing new talents.  Musical abilities has always felt like a weakness to me, but I know that through diligent study and practice, prayer, and faith that my Heavenly Father can "make weak things become strong unto me." I want my children to know how much continuing to learn throughout your life means to me, so I am taking on a challenge to learn something new.  I also want my home to have beautiful music-- so I'm trying to help make that happen.

It has been a goal of mine this year to be able to perform something musical at the Neeley family Christmas Eve "talent show."  Every year the Neeleys all get together at Uncle Steve's house on Christmas Eve and play music and act out the First Christmas.  All the Neeley's have a musical talent that they share-- singing, piano, violin, flute, etc.  It's very beautiful and a tradition that I LOVE, and would like to incorporate into our family as we start to establish our own traditions for the holidays.

Pumpkin Cookies

I made these last week and they were a hit!  I've had some people ask for the recipe, so I figured I'd post it here.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil* (I used olive oil.)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)* I didn't use these-- I don't like nuts in my cookies.

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. 
3. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir into the pumpkin mixture.
4. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.

5. Add vanilla and chocolate chips (and nuts if you use those, too).
6. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

They are very cake-like and will stay soft and chewy, even if left out overnight. My favorite kind of cookie! A friend of mine suggested that you could also leave out the chocolate chips and then ice them with cream cheese frosting-- I'm going to have to try this because that sounds delicious, also!


Thanks, Daylin, for sharing the recipe with me!

   

The Occupy Movement

I've noticed there is a lot of debate about the Occupy movements.  I didn't understand it very well, so I've been reading a bunch of articles on it lately.  I don't think I still understand it fully, but I think I support the movement as far as I understand it at this point.

This is what I support and do NOT support.

1. I do have a problem with a system that allows hard working Americans barely to earn a living wage and to be able to pay for all the expected needs, such adequate health care.   These people may be working 2 or more part-time jobs and their children still go to school hungry, relying on free lunch programs.

2. There is gross UNemployment and UNDERemployment.  This means that there are men and women who want to work, have personal dignity and pride and want to EARN their living, but are unable to do so right now. 

3.  Big businesses should not get bailouts when the execs are making huge bonuses. CEOS and other admins should take a break and use the company money ethically and responsibly to maintain their business, their employees' jobs.

4.  I do NOT support a redistribution of wealth as so many are accusing this movement of.  I don't think is a socialist movement.  In fact, I find this whole movement very democratic-- They are occupying wall street because they want our market system and those in power in our market system to act ethically-- not for the government to redistribute.

5. I do realize that there are people who abuse the system, who choose to stay home and collect unemployment and government assisted health care.  I think this is a product of a once-caring govenment that couldn't stand by and let it's people suffer at the unethical hands of big businesses who prospered while the everyday working man toiled during the Great Depression.  I think some people have chosen to stay at home and sit on their butts because any job they could get would be minimum wage-- they wouldn't make enough money to afford health insurance and support their family, but they'd make too much to receive government assistance, so they'd just have to go without.  Would you rather work your tail off everyday, and not be able to provide fully for your family; or would you rather sit at home while the government takes care of you and your family?  The government welfare system is flawed and needs some serious overhaul.

So, let the debate begin.  Where do you stand on the Occupy Movements?

Hear Me Roar!

I'm gonna be a mighty Queen, so enemies beware!

I'm gonna be the mane event, like no Queen was before.

I'm brushing up on looking down; I'm working on my roar!

Oh, I just can't wait to be Queen!

She's Definintly My Daughter!

We moved Naomi from the large bedroom at the end of the hall, to the slightly smaller but with a much bigger closet in the middle of the hall bedroom last night.  When we went to check on her this morning, it looked like she had run away...

...but then we found this.

18 months!

Yesterday was Naomi's 18 month birthday!!!  (Yay for going to nursery at church!!!)

She's growing up so fast!  Seriously, do you see all those teeth! We celebrated by making a big cookie pie (which she saw when she woke up this morning and wanted to eat for breakfast).  And she even blew out the candle herself! 

please ignore the "date stamp"... my camera is on crack or something and has no idea what the real date is.

She's talking more than ever.  Sometimes, we can even understand her!  Her favorite answer is "NO!", but she will correctly nod her head up and down if she really means 'yes' or shake it back and forth if she really means 'no.'

She has started to display nuturing habits!  We bought her a baby doll during our move East, and she didn't pay it much more attention than any other toy at the time, but the last month or so, she has started to show more concern for the baby.  She will hold the baby like I showed her, make sure she has her blanket and hat, gives lots of hugs and sometimes kisses, and usually (though not always) puts her down nice.  We've starting telling her that mommy has a baby in her tummy and that she will be a good big sister.  I think she will, as long as we can get past the stage where when she gets bored, she throws the baby...

If someone says it's time to pray or folds their arms, she will fold her arms and bow her head.  So precious!  We're working on teaching her to maintain folding her arms for the full duration of a prayer, but you can only expect so much out of an 18 month old's attention span. :-)

Her favorite foods are bananas, mandarin oranges, veggies straws, cookies, and any kind of "sauce."  If she eats bread or pasta-- she prefers it dipped in something, be it yogurt, BBQ sauce, spaghetti sauce, alfredo sauce, butter, chocolate, juice, Miracle Whip, cheese, or jam-- but she calls all of them "sauce."

She loves to be outside.  This is no surprise to me, since even as a newborn, the best way to help her calm down when she was crying was to go outside.  And it is still a cure-all.  She stares out the window much of the day asking to go out, even when it's cold and rainy.  We go on a walk almost everyday outside, but the past few days it's been raining and she's developed a bit of a cough, so we haven't been able to get out.  It's obviously making her a bit cranky.

I love my munchkin!!!
Happy 18 month Birthday, Naomi!

Home Sweet Home

We're all moved into our new apartment, and it's starting to feel like home!  We moved in Saturday afternoon with the help of Brad's parents and some awesome members of our new ward, who all laughed maniacally when they found out we have a piano and that Brad plays.  Should we  be worried?  Here's a mini-tour!

This is the door to our apartment from the outside.  Come on in!

We have been very blessed to receive a small loveseat and recliner as temporary seating until we can afford a couch; and the previous tenants left a big screen HD tv.  We haven't found time to enjoy it yet, but I'm sure we will.  :-)

The dining room is funtioning as an office for now since our desk can't fit through the door to the office.  And until we can get a kitchen table, we're using a card table and some borrowed folding chairs.

And we had a cute little deck outside of the dining area.

The kitchen is a bit haphazard, but slowly improving as we get organized and figure out the most efficient way to do things.  And it comes with all the luxuries of a modern home-- fridge, stove/oven, dishwasher, AND a garbage disposal! 

And then there's bedroom #3, which is a limbo room for the moment.  We thought it would be an office, but the desk doesn't fit.  We're hoping it can be a nursery for baby #2 when he/she arrives, but that's still 7 months away.  And since we're trying to save for getting a house in the next year or so, we don't know if that room will ever be needed for that, and we're still debating whether or not to have Naomi and baby #2 share a room or have their own rooms right away.

I feel like this room could qualify us for the TV show Hoarders... I promise, this is temporary!

We got Naomi's bed set up, converted her crib into a toddler bed (basically leaving off the side rail) and set up her room to sleep in, though all of her clothes are still in boxes in her closet waiting to be hung up and for us to get a dresser for them to get folded up in.   Needless to say, this will be a big adjustment, since she can now get out of her bed!  Last night she fell asleep at the door of her room crying.  :'-( sad munchkin!  Any ideas how to help her go to sleep peacefully when she can run after us as we leave the room now?  I stayed with her in her room singing and trying to sooth her for over an hour last night, and she still cried herself to sleep at the bedroom door!

And this is the "main bathroom" that Naomi and guests use-- still has a lot of unpacking and organizing to do.

Brad and I's room is still under construction.  We got all of our clothes either hung up or folded and put away.  We have a mattress and a bed frame (with much thanks to the Wright family) but are still looking for a box spring so we can put it all together.  Blankets are all over the place since we haven't found where to put them yet. 

There's a walk-in closet!!!

The master bath still needs to be organized, but is mostly functional-- except for the toilet being slightly more than an long arm's length away from the toilet paper roll.

The toilet paper roll is under the counter-- quite a stretch!

We'll have more pictures after we finish getting organized and put pictures on the wall.  Until then... have a wonderful day!

The door going outside of our building. See ya later!

Bed Hog

So we found a new apartment, but we can't move in until Saturday even though Brad's first day of work is Wednesday.  We worked stuff out with the property manager and Brad can sleep at the apartment by Wednesday night, but Naomi and I are staying with Brad's parents in Beaver until Saturday when we can move in fully.

That means-- my first nights away from Brad :-(.  And because I was feeling all sad and loney in the bed all by myself at night and really cold, and Naomi was having nightmares and crying all night-- I decided to let her sleep with me at around 2am.

Worst night of sleep EVER.

My munchkin likes to sleep curled up on top of the pillow with her little baby butt in my face.  if I moved away, she scooted closer.  Until my head is hanging off the side of the KING SIZE bed!  I get up and move to the other side of the bed, and she moves too.  Snuggles up on top of the pillow and sticks her bum in my face!  This continues for a couple hours, every hour or so, i have to get up and go to the other side of the bed because I'm now falling off the edge.  Around 5:30am, she starts sleep crawling all around the bed, laying in random places and waking back up and moving to another place on the bed every 20 minutes or so.  At about 6:30-ish, she crawls on top of me, tucks her little feet under her, lays her head down on my stomach, and--yep-- her butt is in my face again.  I roll to the side, she is cuddled upside down against my side and I get to sleep til about 7:45am before she wakes up, crawls out of bed and then goes upstairs.

This is why I will NEVER let my kids sleep in my bed again.  So tired!
But her cuteness makes up for it :-).

6 Weeks Down, 34 to Go

Baby Neeley #2,

I really don't want to make a habit of comparing you to your big sister, but she NEVER made me feel this sick.  Mommy would love it if you could stop making her want to vomit every hour of the day.  Thanks!

Love, Mommy