Shadi, Tyson, and Leanne

Sydney

Sydney actually did work the haunted house. She wore a mask and laid in a coffin all night scaring people as they walked by. She wore a vampire cape. I told her she should wear some vampire teeth too, but she said that she was "not going to do the stereotypical vampire." Twilight has changed her forever.

Jack

Jack was supposed to work in our friend's haunted house this year. This was the mask he wore. He ended up feeling sick and went home. Bummer Halloween for him and Dad, who stayed home with him.

Halloween

Katie actually had 3 costumes this year. She was a cowgirl for the church party and a friend's halloween party and was Snow White for Halloween night. We never got around to the 3rd costume, which was a fairy.

The Jack-o-lantern Master

Jesse is the carver in our home. He also figured out a way to get some great special affects while photographing the finished product.

Things that make me happy!!!

6 Years

Today is Jesse and my 6th anniversary. Hard to believe it's been six years because so much has happened. Some of you might be wondering how such a perfectly matched pair of individuals crossed paths. Well, I'll tell you.
When Jesse was a baby, his family moved to Kermit. I was just a little bit older than that. (It's my story so I can tell it however I want). We grew up almost together but didn't really know each other. After I graduated I left home, married few years later, had a couple of wonderful children. In the mean time Jesse is still working his way through school and eventually goes on his mission. I moved back to Monahans while going through a divorce. Three weeks later Jesse came home from his mission.
Funny story. A few weeks after he got home my mom made the comment one day that she really liked Jesse Bell and sure wished he date one of her daughters, referring to my little sisters of course. I proceeded to tell her that she should not wish that upon her poor daughters because he was a big dork. Well, I started working for his dad as a secretary (hardest job I've ever had I might add). His office is in their family home. I started spending time with Jesse because he was always home and he helped with computer issues and such. About a month after making my "dork" comment I started rethinking what I had said and felt bad. I was actually kind of liking him. Well, I told my mom that I felt bad about what I had said about Jesse and that I actually really liked him. She tells me "Be careful, Leanne, or he'll get a crush on you and you could break his heart". I didn't tell her I already had a little crush on him. I was still a little hung up on the "slight" age difference.
So now to the important part- the sign. See, I believe in signs. Jesse thinks this is a little quirky. Sometimes I misinterpret the signs, like the night Jesse and I got married (six years ago today) and he put my cat outside because he doesn't like inside animals and then my cat came up missing for a week. Well, I thought this must be a sign that we weren't supposed to be married. She came back, lucky for my husband, but he hasn't really gotten over that misreading. I think I actually hurt his feelings. Anyway, back to the good signs. One day while I was working for his dad, I was going on my lunch break. I asked him if he wanted to run to DonBurrito with me. While we were sitting in the drive-up window line a song came on. The song was "The Sweetest Thing" by U2. Of course this song is about breaking up, but the part that stuck out was when it says "blue eyed boy meets a brown eyed girl". I suddenly looked at him and thought, "he has blue eyes and I have brown eyes; it must be a sign." My quirky signs paid off for him in this instance. Now this is "our song" and I say the reason we came together in the first place. About 8 months after this encounter we were married and here we are today with six years of marriage to look back on. It's been a wonderful six years and I am so glad that I was willing to see the signs.

Katie's Halloween Costume

Soccer games

The Secret Life of Bees

Just went and saw this movie with some friends and baby sister last night and I loved it. I loved the book and was a little leery at first about seeing the movie but I couldn't stand it. I was not disappointed. Definitely a chick flick and tear-jerker. But also a wonderful girlfriend and sister movie so I am so glad I was able to see it with friends/family. We also went to Chili's and had the new chocolate chip molten cake. Yum, yum. It was so sweet I couldn't even finish it. That's unheard of for me and my sweet tooth.

Dr. Jekyl and Sweet Little Miss Hyde

What sets off a 13 year old girl into a fit of anger that ends in screaming and slamming doors you ask? Ask her brother and dad. They can send a girl into a rage in 0-60 seconds. The other night they walk in the door behind Sydney and all I hear is yelling and slamming. Jesse walks in the room and tells me to ask Sydney if she's had enchiladas today. Or maybe chicken cordon blue. Strange thing to get whipped into a tizzy over, I agree. Until I quiz her about whether or not she ate enchiladas today. She glares at me. Hmmm, I think, it must have something to do with a boy. As it turns out she was in the car riding home from YW and something comes up about a singer named David Archuleta. Jack is in the back seat and says "Who? David Enchilada?". That's all it took. They thought it was hilarious and wouldn't quit teasing her about "Cordon Blue" (Corbin Bleu is also a singer) and "David Enchilada". The funny part is that I get a call from her YW leader telling me that she is just the sweetest thing and she wishes she could have taken a picture of her tonight because she was just so cute.

Katie the body artist

While I am being the bad mom and working away on my paper, Katie takes pink marker and colors all over her body. I decided we needed to stop and go to the park. Luckily, Jack's soccer practice is at a nice school and Katie gets to play while he's practicing. She needed the outlet for all her energy.

I survived

This was a rough week. I guess technically it's not a full week, but the rough part started last week. I had soooo much going on with the activity on Saturday, soccer games Saturday, quick trip to Mansfield Sunday to watch Lindsey do her first ever speaking part in the Primary program (yeah, Lindsey), two tests Monday, Jesse out of town Monday night and Tuesday, and an important paper due on Wednesday. I just got home from school and I am so exhausted from staying up till 2:30 am finishing my paper. I didn't put it off on purpose. It was done last week by Monday, but I didn't have time to go back and work on the works cited. I had to study, study, study when I had free time. So, I am beginning to feel like the greatest failure in school, home and life in general because it just doesn't feel like I can handle all of this anymore and I get a phone call. Someone from the Stake Presidency calls and asks me to speak at the adult session of Stake Conference. I laughed, out loud and asked if he was kidding. I am in my bed with my laptop trying to get through this paper. My house is falling apart, I mean bad, like the kind of falling apart where things are so messy you don't even stop to pick things up off the floor anymore because what's the point really, falling apart. And he wants me to talk about, and I quote "Finding Balance in the challenges we face living the gospel, raising a family, and providing for temporal needs". This only makes me laugh louder. He wasn't joking unfortunately. Jesse tells me that's what I get for being friendly to with the Stake Pres. I'm not amused.

Trunk or Treat

Saturday night was our ward trunk or treat. I am the activities chairperson for the ward so with the help of several other very wonderful people we put on a grand party. We had bounce houses, different booths, lots of contests, and chili cook-off and trunk or treat at the end. Jesse was one of the judges for the chili cook-off. I have also included some pictures of a couple of friends at the party. I was so busy I didn't get any pictures of my own kids. All the kids had a great time. I have to say I love my calling at church. I get to throw parties several times a year. It's the best.

Splish Splash

Sydney went in to check on Katie while she was taking a bath and found her donning Mom's shower cap. She kind of missed the point since she put it on after washing her hair. She is such a funny kid. I can't wait for the day when I get my bathtub back. Everytime I got to take a bath I have to empty it of horses and numerous other Katie items.

BYU Fans!!

Oh, my brother in law. He's those people you see on the t.v. at sporting events and you think, "Wow, do people like that really exist." Now I know they do. Hope they have fun tonight at the TCU vs. BYU game!! I'll just keep the kids.

Casserole Swap

Next Casserole swap is scheduled for Thursday, November 13th. If you are interested in participating then post what you will bring here. If you have questions about how this works, let me know. Thanks so much everyone who participated last time. I get so excited everytime I open my freezer and find 4 dinners already made. And FYI, we will not do more than 7 casseroles even if we get more than 7 participants.

I finally finished it!!

I finished Breaking Dawn yesterday. I know, I know, it's about darn time. There were various reasons it took me so long, beginning with a little thing called school. I have no business reading for pleasure right now but somehow I found time to get it done. But to be perfectly honest I was also not sure how I was feeling about the book. Part of me was not ready for it to be over and part of me was pretty sure I would be disappointed based on reviews and readers comments about the story line. Now that I am done I have to say, I don't know if I loved it. It was a little too convenient. I guess the reality of it is nothing will ever compare to the first one for me. Eclipse is my absolute favorite in the series. I think it's that whole "new love." Not necessarily the "new love" of Edward and Bella but my new love for these people and this story. By the fourth I am somewhat over that part. Everything has to change of course but I think I just prefer to stay in the beginning when it's mysterious and dangerous and NEW. This book was okay but at times a little too weird. With the other three it didn't seem strange to love these vampires. Breaking Dawn was just science fiction for me. I'm not a fan of science fiction. I didn't cry when it ended. I was never scared at any point. It didn't give me that dreamy feeling that I got with the others. It was just okay. Anway, I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on the subject.

What's on the Menu

This is one of my family's favorites so I decided to make it for the first swap.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

3-4 Large bell peppers (one per person)
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 clove chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (I chop the leftover bell pepper tops)
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup brown rice
1 tbls. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 cup shredded cheddar or mozarella, separated

Cut the tops off of the bell peppers. Remove seeds and membrane. Immerse bell peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes. Sprinkle inside with salt. Invert on paper towels to drain well.

In large skillet cook onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic in 2 tbls. olive oil. Add meat and brown. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, water, and uncooked rice. Add worcestershire, salt, pepper, basil, oregano. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat, simmer covered about 20 minutes, until rice is tender. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.

Fill peppers with meat mixture. Place in remaining mixture in the bottom of the pan. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese in the last few minutes of baking. Let stand for 2 minutes.

Brilliance

I was thinking about my crazy life the other night. Of course it was while I was trying to fall asleep but I couldn't because I couldn't stop thinking about all that I had to get done the next day, causing me to feel more frustrated that I couldn't fall asleep knowing I would be even more tired because I didn't go to sleep for hours. Why, why, why do I always do that? Anyway, not the point. As I was lying there trying to think of ways to make my life easier I had a moment of pure brilliance. Casserole swap. Yes, this would be awesome. Of course this is not my original idea. I'm sure moms have been doing this since casseroles and disposable pans were invented. But it's the first time in my life I find that even cooking dinner is almost impossible with running to all the soccer practices, drama rehearsals, church functions, studying, and many, many other things. So this it what we are doing. I found other busy moms and we are all making one casserole per participant that can be frozen. We are meeting up at my house tonight to make the exchange and voila! I have dinner for five busy nights. Rosa's is going to miss our business but I won't miss feeding my kids fast food and cereal for dinner. Ugh.

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by Andrea!!

10 years ago I...
1-I was huge pregnant with my little Jack
2-I was living in Dallas
3-I drove my favorite car ever, my army green Jeep Cherokee
4-I had time for things like scrapbooking and mani-pedis with friends
5-I still didn't even own a computer or cell phone
5 things on today's "to do" list...
1-Study
2-Make five casseroles for a casserole swap at my house
3-Go to the store to get stuff to make casseroles and a much needed diet coke
4-Practice reading with Katie (just figured out she's reading last night!)
5-Jack's soccer practice

5 snacks I enjoy...
1-Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Brownies
2-Fudge Brownie sundaes from Braum's
3-Chips and salsa
4-Hot Tamales
5-Chocolate chip cookies (could this list explain why I never lose weight?)

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1-pay my tithing
2-pay off student loans
3-buy a bigger house
4-Put part in college funds and 401K
5-I would shop, shop, shop, for clothes, furniture, art

5 places I have lived...
1-Monahans, TX
2- Denton, TX
3-Midland, TX
4-Dallas, TX
5-Burleson, TX (Do we see a pattern here)

5 jobs that I have had...
1-Accounts Payable/Receivable for a crane company
2-Hostess/Bartender in a restaurant
3-Front Desk Clerk in a hotel
4-Secretary for my father in law
5-Bookstore owner

Rules:
Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Hmmm.......I will now tag.....(drum roll).....Ashley, Barbie, Laura, Kisha, and Kacey

Run for the Rings

Jack's school does a "run for the rings" ceremony every year. They do it to help earn money for the track they want to build around their new school. Check out these action shots of Jack running for all he's worth.









Friends from class

Katie's First Day of School

Katie is going to school at St. Matthew's Christian School this year. She was really excited about being at a "real school" with a playground, but she thought Ms. Teresa (her old teacher) would come with her to this school. It's been a little bit of a transition but she's doing well. She has not had her bear moved off of green yet. And the girl takes a nap everyday at school. I haven't been able to get her down for a nap since she was 2!

Welcome Newest Baby Nephew

Recipe of the Month

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I had a dream a couple of month's ago about a lemon cupcake and ever since I have been on a quest to find the best lemon cake recipes. I took this one to a potluck and got a lot of compliments so I thought I'd pass it along. It's not the "dream cupcake" but it's good. If you have a really good lemon cake recipe please send it to me so I can let go of this ridiculous obsession. I don't even like lemon cake that much. Weird!




Lemon Cake

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
1 3/4 cups water
3 egg whites
3/4 cup nonfat milk
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1 (1 ounce) package instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen light whipped topping, thawed


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 10x15 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together cake mix and pudding mix. Pour in water and egg whites. Beat on low speed for 1 minute. Increase speed to high and beat for 4 minutes. Pour batter into prepared 10x15 inch pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
In a large bowl, combine milk, lemon extract and vanilla pudding mix. Beat on low for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cake. Store cake in refrigerator.

Happy Happy Birthday Sydney dear!
September 18 was Sydney's big day. For her 13th birthday (Yes, I know I'm getting OLD) we all woke up at 6:00 am and went to IHOP for a birthday breakfast. We had a lot of fun. I think my favorite part was the sunrise. I forget that those really happen sometimes because I'm never awake to see them.

It turns out that Katie is actually a pretty good little soccer player. She kicks many goals every game she plays. It's been a lot of fun watching her. A lot of the little girls on her team are just too sweet to take the ball away from the other team. But not our Katie. Sweet she is not!!

Katie is playing her first season of soccer this year. Her team is called Pink Lightening. This is a picture of her with two of her closest buds on their first day of soccer games. Katie is on the left, Emma in the middle and MiKinlee is on the right. Go Pink Lightening!!

Welcome to our Blogspot

I hope that I will be able to keep up with this better than I have been keeping up with our webpage. We have been very busy since I started back to school almost 2 years ago. You would think it would start to level off or slow down eventually but it just gets busier. In fact, poor Jack was supposed to take a sack lunch for his field trip today and Mom forgot. He had no lunch. Luckily his good friend Rodrigo shared some of his lunch. BAD BAD MOM!!