The Key to My Heart

First of all, Hi! Blogging has been difficult lately and I miss it like I would miss peanut butter and chocolate ice cream if they took it off the market. So many sad happy moments have occurred in the Summers home that I have failed to blog, but I'm sure it's not the end of the world.

When my little sister Megan was 16 she had a tumor removed from her brain, it was a difficult time in our family. She now is healthy, married and expecting her first baby in March. Since the surgery she has experienced some side effects, one of them being the lack of remembering dreams. Weird huh? Although I would love to forget many a dream I have had, namely any involving snakes or the boogie man.

A few weeks ago Meg had a dream that she remembered, this dream has led to being the best present I could have received this Christmas. In her dream Duane came to her and handed her a huge wade of cash. He told her to go to James Avery(jewelry store) and buy the Key To My Heart. When she woke up the next morning she was 1. amazed that she had remembered a dream and 2. not quite sure what the Key To My Heart at James Avery was. That day she received her James Avery catalog, being an avid charm bracelet lover, flipped to the charm section first. And there in the catalog was a charm, this very charm at the top of the screen, and the one present this year that has made me cry tears of joy and sorrow.

The Key To My Heart! I held the key to Duane's heart, that was spoken to me loud and clear, thanks to my little sister's dream, not just any dream, a visit from my love. To solidify even more the reality of this present, that very day, according to my mom I was doubting(yes, I know, how could I) Duane's love for me. I was being a silly billy, worrying that when he had his eyes opened he would realize how one sided our marriage was, well at least that's what I worried. He did so much for me, more than I really thought, and now that he was gone I was so regretful of not thanking him more. I worried that he would think "Man was I duped by that woman.", so that night Megan had her dream, my mom bought the charm for Duane, and I now hold the key to Duane's heart.

This Christmas will be memorable for some good and sad reasons, and I have to admit the good were great! I love you Duane, I love you all!

Random Smiles With Miss Em

You know, I'm not EVEN going to pretend that smiling and having fun is at the top of my list lately, for some odd reason it's actually been an effort to squeeze a chuckle or crack a smile(that sounds a little like 12 year old boy humor, sorry). Emma has made made it a tad bit easier to smile that frown away.

Example number one, her strong desire as of late to go into the sanitation industry. She has a fascination for the trash, playing in it, eating from it(yes Emma adjacent to trash is still trash), and her new career choice, carting it around like the trash woman she longs to be. So proud Em, so proud!

Examples number two and three, Captain Underpants!

Sorry Danielle, I think Emma is now the new Fashionista. She loves to get dressed and undressed, well undressed definitely comes before dressed. The girl would be naked 24/7 if her mother would let her. Panties over her clothes is her new fashion statement, and she wears it like that often. Dear sweet Emma, thanks for the chuckles and smiles, it feels good.

To Be Or Not To Be.....Thankful That Is

Lately my youngest children have become the squishy tushy squad or other words a bunch of bum squeezing little preverts! At first is was funny, well actually really funny. They, and I guess I should clarify, they does include 5 children at one point or another that has squished a tush (my bookend children are completely Innocent), they are completely running ramped now. An intervention is now underway. But my point was that I told myself this was the one time in there life that they could pinch Mrs. Fell's bum and get away with it. They were grieving, acting strange, just not themselves. And yes, I have to say I still know that this is the main reason for the prevert flare-up.

So I was thinking about Thanksgiving. To be or not to be the old widow Summers, bitter to the world for the lot she had been given. Grouchy, crotchety, walking around with a cane whacking little children upside the head with it(hmmm, I do like that idea!). This was my one year that I could get away with having the widow Summers take over and no one would really even bat an eye lash, except my children who would be suffering from blunt force trauma. I could do it. I should do it. Well, no actually I couldn't, I won't, and the immortal words of Hannah "I shan't!" I love my family way to darn stinkin' much to do that to them.

I am so Thankful, yes, I am so Thankful for the so many little someones I have in my life. Each one of my babies have been a blessing from my Father in Heaven. They save me every single day, and I relish those moments that they need a little saving themselves.

I am so Thankful for the 15 years of marriage that Duane and I had, the love that we shared, the best friend that he was.

I am so Thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and the comfort and peace he has granted me these first few weeks of my new life without Duane.

I am so Thankful for my family for the support they have given me and the children, even though they are mourning just as much, they have been selfless, thank you!

I am so Thankful to all my friends and church family for tirelessly coming to our aid whenever we need help.

Happy Thanksgiving, I love you all!

Thanks Babe!

I was leafing through Duane's scripture case this afternoon, looking, hoping, wanting to find anything written in his hand, touched by him, you get the picture, pretty sappy huh. Anyway I came across his little black book. Funny isn't it, Duane had a little black book! Except of course his was not loaded with other women's numbers, or even anything less than upstanding, it was filled to the brim with quotes, thoughts, scripture versus, anything that would strike him at the time he was listening at church or during general conference. Honestly, I always poked fun of my dear sweet husband, going to hell moment, I thought he was such a goody-goody sometimes. Wow! How grateful I am to have such a treasure trove of his spiritual nuggets.

One of the quotes Duane jotted down was from Thomas S. Monson, and it struck me as a sweet message he saved just for me now. "God gave us memories that we might have June roses in the December of our lives." Thanks Babe! Thank you for the sweet smelling bouquet of roses you have left for me and the children. We will cherish them always.

'Til we meet again

He could flash a smile at me and my heart would melt into a puddle. Monday, November 10, 2008 my love and eternal companion returned to our Father in Heaven. I will miss his gentle touch, the kind sound of his voice when he would call me "beautiful", the infectious laughter when you would even attempt to tickle him. He wore a tutu for his girls, camped in the backyard with his boys, did dishes for his love.

The days before his passing, Duane would shake the hand of every friend and loved one that would visit. The words he would utter, " 'til we meet again". Amazing how 4 simple words can bring such comfort to my soul. 'Til we meet again my love, 'til we meet again.

My Joy Through Our Sorrow

"I have a family here on earth. They are so good to me. I want to share my life with them through all eternity.
Families can be together forever

Through Heavenly Fathers plan.

I always want to be with my own family,

And the Lord has shown me how I can. The Lord, has shown me how I can."

Children's Songbook, pg 188

Share the love

I feel so loved, thanks Stacey! So in return for receiving this, my first blogging recognition, I must share with you 6 things I love and then share the love with 6 blogs I love. Here goes.

6 things I love:

1. My family
2. Peanut butter and chocolate ice cream
3. Harry Potter
4. The smell of fresh cut grass
5. Listening to the owl outside my window at night
6. Pumpkin anything

6 Blogs I love:

1. Lindsay and Lisa(I know it's two, they are the friends who got me into blogging)
2. Mamarazzi at Dandelion Wishes
3. Katrina at Baking and Boys
4. Crystal at Everyday Food Storage
5. Sally at Sparkly Squares

Have a great day friends, voting, enjoying the fact that election season it almost over, spreading the love.

Chocoholics Anonymous-Halloween

Look at all my little chocoholics in training, a mother couldn't be more proud. Just one of many perks for having 7 children, 7 HUGE bags full of Halloween candy! Too bad dad isn't a dentist, I'm sure we'll be visiting our dentist in the near future.
I know I'm just a tad warped, but I love how this looks, oodles and oodles of candy scattered on the table. Brings those childhood memories rushing back. I vividly remember one Halloween when we lived in Wisconsin, right down the street from my grandparents. My Uncle Bob and Uncle Bill were trying to convince me that I really didn't want all my chocolate, yea right! They didn't know of my deep love forming for chocolate.

And this is what my little ladies dressed up as, Molly was a Twilight Vampire(haven't read the books, don't really know what she's talking about), Katie was Pocahontas, Miss Emma was Tinkerbell(all 5 of my ladies have worn that costume now), Grace was Shirley Temple(for the life of me we could not get her hair to stay in banana curls), and Hannah Nana was Super girl(she's still obsessed with superheros). I love having a teenager! Molly walked all the lady monkeys around the neighborhood, woo-hoo for Molly!

And the boys! Jack, the man, is obviously Superman and Ben went as a nerd, aka himself. Thank you Tingey family for walking my boy monkey's around the neighborhood, they had a blast!(minus Ben losing Jack)

No chocoholics recipe for this week, I'm swimming in chocolate, can't think of anything else. Hope everyone had a spooky Halloween!

Conservative Humor-Don't click if you're a Democrat

Too funny to pass up!

Chocoholics Anonymous-Coma Hot Chocolate and a Super Duper Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is my Katie, my genuine, 100% tween. She loves to dance, cheer, sing, talk about boys, giggle, drink Mountain Dew, and watch High School Musical! Everything about this child oozes airhead. I love her!

Today my love goes above and beyond, I promised this perky little cheerleader that we would go see High School Musical 3-Senior Year. Yes, those crazy Wildcats are at it again. Now before you think I absolutely despise the HSM movies, I do admit to joining in on a good round of "We're All in This Together". I'm a sucker for a musical, do you remember Newsies, Loved It, have the movie and CD! I just cringe at the thought of screaming teenie boppers, mine included(man she can scream high and loud).

To prepare myself for this huge event I shall consume a large amount of Glenn Beck's Coma Hot Chocolate. Yes, I'm a sick twisted freak, I know it, I love Glenn Beck(my boyfriend Duane calls him)! Even if you have no earthly idea or your despise him this hot chocolate just reduces you to a puddle of chocolate bliss! Coma in a cup my friend, coma in a cup. And that's why I will enjoy.....

Glenn's Coma Hot Chocolate

5 pints of LIGHT CREAM, 1/2 & 1/2 or Whole Milk

12 Hershey candy bars

Slowly heat cream on stove, break candy bars in small pieces and slowly add to warm cream. Stir until melted candy is fully mixed.Serve ASAP and try not to go into a coma.

WARNING: DO

NOT EAT WITH TURKEY OR YOU MAY NEVER WAKE UP.

As an added reward for my superior mothering I whipped up a batch of these cookies from Baking with Boys . Now don't be afraid, it took me at least 2 weeks to muster up the courage to make cookies with hard boiled eggs. They are moist and yummy, and HUGE!

Enjoy your weekend.

I'm running all over the playground!!

Tag, I'm it, 3 times in a row! Man, I need to run faster. No, just joking, this is fun, hope you find it fun too. I'm going to combine the three tags from Lindsay, Bobbi Jo, and Mamarazzi, the 8 things, to know about me, that make me happy so here goes...

Places I like to eat:

1. Outback



2. Carabba's



3. Pei Wei



4. Ted's



5. Hideaway Pizza



6. Olive Garden



7. Panera



8. Chick Fil a

Shows I watch

1. Lost



2. Heroes



3. Dr. Who



4. Medium, is that still on?



5. AFV



6. Wizzards of Waverly Place, the kids sucked me in



7. Jimmy Neutron, secretly love this show, no sucking needed



8. Jon and Kate plus 8

What makes me Happy

1. Food, I have issues with chocolate, Sonic's diet Cole w/ lemon, and peanut butter.



2. Watching my girls dance(shhh, even my boys), recital and Nutcracker time just make this mama want to bust some buttons. They look so confident, something I always struggled with as a kid.



3. Family vacations, spending time with my kiddos and husband, minus the asthma attacks, crying babies and out of this world costs, Silver Dollar City and Colorado have been the happiest I have felt in a long time.



4. Holding a newborn baby, oh it makes my heart just go pitter patter, and this is why I have 7 monkeys in this jungle.



5. Harry Potter!!! I'm in stinkin' love with this whole phenomenon, movies, books, muggles, Hogwarts, Griffydor, Doby, and could go on and on.



6. Fall weather, 50-60 degree temperatures, sun shining, leaves falling off the trees, perfect!



7. My children, Molly, Ben, Katie, Jack, Grace, Hannah, and Emma. I love every little piece of their stinky, dirty, cuddly, soft, and amazingly cute bodies. OOHHHH they can drive me insane, but when the dust settles most of what they do is just so silly and laughable.



8. My love and eternal companion Duane. He is the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think of at night. Even before cancer he was the light in my life, I didn't need cancer to remind me how incredible he was, I always knew. No one could ever make me more happier, no one.

That in a nutshell are three tags summed up into one. I'm tired of running, I won't tag anyone else, time for a kool-aid.

Muffin Tin Monday-A Ghostly Tale

I love the fall. Just look at all the orange! This weekend we did our traditional pilgrimage(15 miles) to our favorite pumpkin patch, and it's an actuall pick your own pumpkin, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" pumpkin patch. We love it!
We had a great time, can't you tell, Emma's modeling the back of her head just like Charlie Brown, and Hannah just wants to let it all loose, oh baby! But seriously I was so much fun and the kiddos worked up a big appetite. Just perfect for this weeks Muffin Tin Monday challenge- Halloween over at Sycamore Stirrings.
Looks a little ghoulish, this mad scientist did a little digging and created a ghostly tale to scare my little goblins. As the tin was passed around the Tale of John was recited and each child touched and even tasted a piece of my dear departed friend.

Here lies John, my dear late lamented friend. I know he wished he could be here before the end. John was a fun man, a giving man too. He wanted to share his body parts with you.

John was a jolly man with a great big gut. Let’s pass around his intestines, just your luck! Fresh from the grave, wet and cold Just a little slimy, just a little old. Twisted and shriveled in a bunch Just like they were after his lunch. (cold cooked spaghetti)

His skin was fair, almost pure white Let’s pass around a piece, no need to fright. Fresh from the grave, wet and cold. Just a little slimy, just a little old. Pretty greasy and dirty, he lived in a cave. Never really had time to ever bathe. (shredded tortilla)

One eyeball went left, the other went right. See poor John had very bad sight. Fresh from the grave, wet and cold. Just a little slimy, just a little old. Handle them gently as they roll John wouldn't like it if they fell from the bowl. (peeled grapes)

Now John wasn't a very smart man. We found his brains stuffed in a can. Fresh from the grave, wet and cold. Just a little slimy, just a little old. You'll feel there isn't much to them Shows the kind of man he'd been. (cold cooked cauliflower)

One thing John was proud of was his pearly whites A good set of choppers kept him fed right. Fresh from the grave, wet and cold. Just a little slimy, just a little old. See his teeth were strong unlike his sight Just be careful when you touch that they don't bite(white cooked corn)

With all his pieces back safe and sound. Time to put him back into the ground. So now you've met my dear lamented friend That brings this haunting to an end.

To round out the muffin tin and complete the Tale of John I added a little liver(spam), maggots(rice), heart(peeled tomato), vomit(bean and corn salsa), finger tips(hot dog tips) and broken bones(shaped bread sticks).

Are you still with me? I know a little gross for the younger crowd but my older monkeys loved it, Jack was enthused about eating all the "body parts", Grace was a tad spooked and Hannah was clueless. The rest were impartial. I had fun!

Chocoholics Anonymous-Sipping Chocolate

Mr. Mustache seems overflowing with enthusiasm for this over the top chocolate concoction. Guess who didn't get a big mug full? Hannah on the other hand, ah, a girl after my own heart. She loved the chocit-a-milk, as she calls it.

It was a tad bit nippy this morning, my family would say it was down right freezing. Is 66 in the house cold? I don't know, nothing beats bundling up, cozy warm with a blanket, breathing in that cold morning air and hearing everyone go "brrrr, brrr, mom it's cold!" That's a debate we have every fall/winter, guess who wins! Darn tootin' I win. Especially when I offer a truce with a mug of yummy hot chocolate. Over the next few Chocoholic Fridays I will offer up some different variations on Hot Chocolate and maybe a few cookie companions to dunk.

Today's version I just recently came across, thanks to Chemo Wednesday. I needed to distract my woe's so I scooted down to the closest store and found Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies edition magazine. So many delights, so many calories. And this lovely Sipping Chocolate which they paired with a peanutty biscotti, I prefer pumpkin biscotti myself.

I hope you try this, dunk something in this, or use this as a truce, but mostly I hope you enjoy a great big mug of...

Sipping Chocolate

4 c half and half or whole milk

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 T dark-color corn syrup

whipped cream, optional

In a heavy saucepan, combine half and half, semisweet chocolate, and the chopped bittersweet chocolate. Stir in corn syrup. Cook over medium heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Serve in warm mugs with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Makes 4 one cup servings.

Ben-isms

Did you know that if you have just one pantyhose it's a pantyhoe? Just thought you would like to know. I'm not going to say what vile thoughts trickled through my head when Ben asked for a pantyhoe today, father forgive me for I have sinned.

The Secrets in the Sauce-Blogathon

Have you seen this button on the side of my blog? If you haven't guessed yet, I love blogging, and the SITS network is awesome! I have found some blogs that would have probably never come onto my radar. Where are my Angels just today won my heart with this funny post about giving Richard Simmons the old one two. Give it a click if you loathed Sweating with the oldies as much as I do. The Peterson's Go Public today posted a brutal confession of eating circus peanuts(you know the orange marshmallow thingies)for breakfast. Love that lady. Last but not least are the three blogs that sparked my creative bug, the three blogs that I look at every day Skip to my Lou, Make and Takes and Today's Creative Blog. All three are a treasure trove of useful, creative and sometimes yummy information.

Head on over today they are having a huge giveaway, one prize every hour, and yes I already have won a fabulous prize from the SITS gals, a gift certificate, from Sweet Funky Vintage, which I ordered the cutest outfit for Grace. Anyway give it a whirl today friends, good luck!