Are you in a jam?

We are in a jam at our house...well, we are up to our eyeballs in jam....
Do you ever find yourself just totally grateful for things your mom has taught you.
I remember learning to make freezer jam as a teen and again when I was pregnant with Caitlyn. We made A LOT of freezer jam when I was pregnant, or maybe it just seemed that way because I was as big as a house, with swollen feet and 2 small kids running around. At any rate, I put off making freezer jam for a long time because I remembered it taking so long that I just never really wanted to dive back into it again. Thinking back on that now, I think it took so long because we made so much, probably around 4 full flats of berries. Well a few years ago, I was asked to demo freezer jam making in our ward. I panicked and then called my mom. She assured me that is was an easy process and she walked me through the steps. Now making jam is so easy and so satisfying. I love creating new combos and just having something in my house I made that my kids love too. This is the fruits of my latest batches. Thanks MOM!
Strawberry, Strawberry/blueberry and Strawberry/Mango
fresh strawberries, frozen blueberries and i also used frozen mango chunks from Costco.
my advice is to thaw the frozen fruit before pureeing it

Easy Freezer Jam
4 cups pureed fruit
1 1/2 -2 C sugar
pectin
containers to put jam in
puree washed fruit and measure out 4 cups. Place into big mixing bowl. Add sugar and pectin and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Pour into freezer containers and make sure lids are on tight. I let mine sit on the counter for a about 30 min before placing into the freezer.
enjoy

Now thats what I call perfect

Having written my previous post on the "dreaded" Mother's Day , I have to eat my words and say that this was one of the nicest Mother's Days I have ever had. It all started Saturday. We hit some yard sales, the Farmers Market and then home. Then I was taken out of the house very quickly again to go spend the entire afternoon with my husband. When we got back nick and caitlyn had cleaned the living room, dining room and kitchen and it sparkled and shined. There were even fresh cut roses on the table in a cute vase caitlyn decorated with ribbon. Brittany, if you read this, she reminds me so much of you :). Then I showered and we all got cleaned up and went out to dinner. It was so relaxing and so nice. On sunday we got up and were just lazy as church doesnt start until 1. Nick and Caitlyn both had speaking assignments in church so they were finishing up their talks and Kris was getting dinner ready. Again, so nice to not have to even cook or think about dinner. The phone rang as we were getting ready for Church and it was Nate calling to tell me Happy Mother's Day. That was awesome!!
I got to hear Nick and Caitlyn speak and share their testimonies then all the YM/YW sang and it was fabulous! We have around 30 youth in our ward.
Kris and I are attending another family history sunday school class and so we went to that and enjoyed and then went to RS. We had a shortened lesson because the men and youth made desserts for the moms. We got out about 20 min early and were served yummy things like cherry cheesecake and brownies. YUM!
Back home we had dinner which was fabulous and full of all my favorites. Then I got to put my feet up while Kris gave me a lovely foot massage! :)
All in all it was a splendid weekend and I was very spoiled. The nice this was just not having to worry about any chores and being a bit pampered. I loved it
THANKS FAMILY!!!! I LOVE EACH OF YOU VERY MUCH!

Mothers Day

I was just reading my friends post about mothers day. I know this is supposed to be a holiday that "honors" mothers...blah blah blah. But I have never really loved mother's day. My favorite part of Mother's Day is seeing MY mom. But this year I do not have that luxury. I will think about her and know she will be with the rest of my siblings, grandkids etc, having a nice picnic in the park. (I hope they do this) It is always nice to take the pressure of and just visit as a family.
I know in my mind, I always want one really nice thing that I can just enjoy. When that doesn't happen then I am grumpy and feel like having a pity party. When I tell my family what I really would like is for THEM to clean the house, do the dishes, pick up their crap so I don't have to, they don't believe me. They don't understand THAT THAT WOULD BE AN AMAZING DAY for me!
In tribute to my mom, however, let me just say that she is one of the most remarkable, amazing women that I know. She is hip, stylish, cool, funny and sweet all at the same time. She has words of wisdom gleaned from her life to impart to her kids. She wants to be appreciated and loved and needed and wanted.
Mom, If you take time to read this blog, I hope you will know how very much I love you. I am blessed to share the same birthday as you. We have always had a special bond and I am grateful for your example of a woman of service and Christ like example. You are amazing and needed and loved! I am so grateful to at least be closer to Utah this year. Only a long day drive away or a quicky flight! :)
LOVE YOU MOM!

The Cali house

Finally a few pictures of the house. Sorry these have taken so long. I promised Leona I would do it and this was the soonest I could...
This is the cute front of the house. I love the pale yellow of the front

This is the quiet street we live on. It is a dead end and we are the last house. I LOVE LOVE the mature trees. It is shady and that will be very nice in the hot hot summer

This is my cute cute kitchen. granite countertops, and I think the stove may be original to the house but it is completely refurbished.
messy, I know and of course, the dogs are in the shot, but this is part of the living room.

And below....boxes and oh, there is the dining room table...lol.....lots of room and lots of storage as well. And now, thanks to the cable guys, I know where the crawl space is too!
So that is part of it. It is a work in progress right now as we will be painting and such and I can't wait to finish getting all of the cardboard OUT of the house!!! :)
Til then...have a great day!

Getting Settled

I just wanted to post a quick post that we have arrived safely in Tracy, CA. We are getting unpacked and are enjoying the area. It is cool today under blue blue skies. This weekend however, we should be in the mid 80's. Break out the sunscreen!! We are about half way unpacked. We need to finish Caitlyn's room and the Parent bedroom :) The dogs learned how to break out of the back yard today, thanks to the wind and the gate not being locked, but they came right back as we pulled in which is good for them.
I will post house pics soon
Love to all!

and the decision is.............

So many of you have been wondering what our final decision is on our move. Is it Kentucky? Is it California? I will tell you that this has been such a huge process for us and in some ways it has been made so clear which way we should go and in others we have doubted, questioned and have had to learn to really tune into and figure out the very quiet whisperings of the spirit.
Having said all that....the decision is
WE ARE MOVING TO CALIFORNIA
Now some of you will be thinking "holy cow, what are they thinking" We understand that because we have said the same things, asked the same things and logically thought through all of that. The Sunday before conference, Kris and I both fasted and prayed and asked for blessings to help us in our decision. In the blessing i received, the man, Brother Cantin, said "I feel inspired to tell you that you need to follow your heart and to do what makes your heart feel excited". So after trying to logically think things through I remember thinking "well, california is what makes my heart feel excited, but that can't be the answer, because it is what I really want" so I told Kris and he had told me that in his blessing that he was told that when he made the right decision, he would feel peace. We both were told that there was a specific place the Lord wanted us right now and that he would help us get there.
So by sunday night we talked and we both sortof talked ourselves into Kentucky and we went to bed. Well monday I woke up and I was so sad. I felt overwhelming sadness. I felt like I had just lost the best thing ever. I felt a hopeless kind of sad. I don't think I had felt sadness like that in a very very long time. I called Kris and asked him how he was and he said "i just feel kindof sad today"....whoa, what? I told him I felt the same and I said "honey, Kentucky is not the right decision" So by that night he was back on the phone with the company in cali and they came back with the offer we wanted plus a bonus to move with and some other perks as well. And all in all we will actually come out with a considerable amount more per month in our savings that we would have in Kentucky, as they upped the offer. We are truly blessed and I pray that as we journey to california it will be for many many years. We are looking to stay in Tracy, CA where the company is. There is lots of rural farmland around, almond trees, walnut groves, strawberry fields etc. As soon as we both decided to go for it, we both felt such peace and such excitement. We did have to stop often and be still and listen carefully and follow how the spirit made us feel. But all in all, don't doubt our decision and we will be closer to home and family and friends.
Our tentative move date is in about a week and a half, so wish us luck!
I will blog more as we get settled