Valentine Flowers!

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  We had a really nice Valentine's Day around here, with lots of valentines, candy and as you can see, beautful flowers.  I love Valentine's Day!  I love flowers.  I love the colors.  I love chocolate.  I love good food.  I love expressing my love to all the valentines in my life.  I'm so grateful to have so many people in my life that I love and who love me.  I'm especially thankful for the most important valentine I have and that is my sweet husband, Mr. Schwendiman, who brought me roses and expressed his feeling in a beautiful card.  We both feel blessed to have each other to go through this sometimes bumpy life together, and not a day goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for giving me such a good man. I know it takes work to make a marriage succeed and I hope I am always willing to make the effort it takes to have an eternal marriage.  Hope you all had a Happy Valentines Day with your honey! 

The Latest Addition to my Cookbook Collection

Yeah, I know what you're thinking, because I thought it, too- Why would a mother of 5 daughters buy a cookbook about cooking for men and boys? Well, of course, Amazon knows a lot about me, but they don't know I only have girls, so when they recommended it to me, I was intrigued. I figured it was worth a look , so I read several reviews and ordered it. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. The Schwendiwomen are NOT wimpy eaters! We feed hungry missionaries. We have started feeding boyfriends . One day I will feed sons-in-law. Scott prefers meat and potatoes over quiche any day. We generally don't eat froufrou food. Yep, I think I'm gonna like this book! Follow up will be forthcoming!

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Yesterday was one of THOSE days ...

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     With two sick kids at home and not feeling so well myself, I knew dinner was not going to get made by anyone in THIS house, so I knew I needed a Plan.  After a day of Netflix, (thank heavens for Netflix), I started to review my options.  There was always mac and cheese, cereal or sandwiches, but that just wasn't gonna cut it for the big girls or Scott.  The usual fast food or pizza wasn't quite right either.  We were in need of comfort food that would fill up the healthy people in the house, too.  Like lightening it hit me!  BOB EVANS!  Yes! And they have carry out now!  Woo Hoo!  So, with a few clicks, I was able to order a down home cooked meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and hot rolls and to top it all off a WHOLE French.Silk.Pie. 
Ahh,
 comfort food!

It's Official, I'm addicted......

....to scarves. This is my collection. Well, most of it. And I think it would be normal if it was collected over a few years, but this number of scarves, which will remain unknown, even to me, was accumulated in about 8 weeks. I went nuts! I love scarves! I can't pass them up!  I walk into a store and I immediately head for the scarves.  I checked ebay, amazon, etsy, even Walmart!  In fact, some of my prettiest scarves have come from Walmart....for $5!  I love it!  I've never really had a collection before.  And one that is so fun to use and share!  I love it when the girls ask, "Mom, can I borrow this scarf?"  I wear a different one everyday.  And they dress up a boring sweater and skirt wonderfully for church!  Do you have something that you love that you've started to collect or would like to?  I'd love to hear about it!

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Are-n't they lov-lee?

I've been playing with PhotoShop on my phone while waiting at the doctor's, and didn't this come out pretty?
I think it is pretty fun that I can do that on a cell phone.  Obviously I am impressed with technology.  Just ignore me if that bores you!  I'm from the old school and I'm easily dazzled by new gadgets and stuff!

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The Zen of Washing Dishes

     Our dishwasher has been out of commission. For. Three. Months. So, we've had to use our back up dishwasher in the meantime. That would be me. The first time the d/w sprung a leak I sprung into action and let Scott know in no uncertain terms I would not be washing dishes by hand, and that the dishwasher needed to be fixed ASAP!   I then proceeded to spend a small fortune ( much to his chagrin) on paper goods . Needless to say the dishwasher got fixed rather quickly.  This second time, however, I didn't respond that way.  Still not sure why, but I didn't.  Instead, I calmly did the dinner dishes that night, and to my surprise, I found it strangely relaxing.  I found the hot water soothing, the bubbles washing away concerns and it gave me quiet time to think.  Ever since then, I haven't minded washing the dishes by hand , and to Scott's delight, I am not buying paper goods, nor am I nagging him to fix the dishwasher!  Will the dishwasher ever get fixed?  I don't know, but in the meantime, I'll enjoy the bubbles!

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Easy Life Tips

  I came across a strange picture on my phone today.  It was a screen shot that said "Easy Life Tips".  I have no idea how it got there, but the idea intrigued me and inspired me to begin my own list of  tips.  I thought this picture of our yard taken in the spring is a good depiction of the "easy life", with the hammock and all, and so, enjoy the green grass and sunshine for awhile, while purusing my list.  If you're out there, I'd like to hear your tips for the easy life, or easy tips for life, or however you interpret it! 

Julie's Easy Life Tips

1.  Be Nice.

2.  Take Naps.

3. See the glass as half full.

4.  Let the little stuff slide.

5. Be the first one to say "Hi".

So there are my first 5 tips.  I'm sure there will be more to follow, so stay tuned!  Be sure to leave me a couple of your own tips if you're out there!!

Blessings

     Last night the missionaries from our church came over for dinner and we had a really nice visit with them.  They are both top-notch Elders.  I'd like to have both of them as sons-in-laws someday if that were possible! Anyway, as always, they leave with a message, and the message last night was gratitude.  That's been coming up a lot lately around me.  I think I need to be more grateful for the things that Ihave been given.  I am going to start my gratitude journal again and I think I'll do mini blog entries with my phone so I can snap a quick picture and jot down a few words and document a blessing in my life every day.  I know they are all around me.  I just need to wake up and see them.  Elder Brown had us go around the table and just say something we were grateful for.  He was grateful to be a missionary.  Natalie was grateful for her family.  Scott was grateful for me and that we were married in the temple.  Kellie was grateful that she was brought to us from the hospital.  Annie was grateful for the scriptures.  Emily was grateful for the gospel.  I was grateful that Scott had made it home in time to share the meal with us because it meant a lot to me that he was there.  And Elder Pirir was grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Just saying one blessing really brought the spirit into our home.  Imagine if we all made it a daily habit to remember our blessings on a larger scale?  I feel as we strive to bring the spirit more fully in our lives, it will help us in other areas we might be struggling in.  I know I need its influence as I raise my children and try to improve my marriage.  I am going to try to invite the spirit to be more a part of my life each day by counting my blessings.

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My Title of Liberty

     Untill school starts,  I have no idea which direction I want this blog to go in, so I am just going to write from my heart and write about what is on my mind.  Today, I am pondering a quote I heard on Sunday which came from, of all places, Alice in Wonderland.  It's where Alice is at the fork in the road and she is not sure which way to go. She asks the Cheshire Cat and he says, "Well, it depends on where you want to end up.  If you don't know that, then it doesn't matter which way you go."   I have really been pondering that these past few days.  I've been thinking about it and how it concerns Lindsay and college.  I've been thinking about it and how it concerns our family.  We have been through a rough 4-5 years and we have let a lot slide.  We are actually doing pretty well considering.  But we have let some of the most important things fall to the bottom of our to do list....and I never reach the bottom of my to do list, do you?  Back when the older girls were little we lived our Stake Title of Liberty close to perfect.  The Stake Title of Liberty states, "Families Pray Together Daily.  Husbands and Wives Pray Together Daily.  Families Read the Scriptures Together Daily.  Have Family Home Evening Weekly.  Attend Church as a Family Weekly.  Fast with a Purpose Monthly.  Fathers Interview each Child Monthly.  Husbands and Wives go on a Date Weekly."  I made this quilt at that time and our life was one of peace.  We did very well for several years.  Then all heck broke loose (ie: Scott got sick) and slowly we stopped having family scriptures, and family prayer and family home evening became a once a month thing and now its something we do so rarely Annie has to ask what it is. Scott and I stopped praying together.  Why?  We still believe all of these things are important.  We still have testimonies of the gospel.  We still go to church every week as a family (although Scott had a hard time coming).  I taught seminary all through this time, and we would go to the temple when we could.  What happened to the little things?  We would start and stop, start and stop.  It has been such a struggle.  But where do we want to end up?   I know we want to end up in the celestial kingdom together as a family.  When Scott got sick he lost his ability to lead our family and it was all I could do to keep our family together. Now that things are better, we have to start again.  I have to have a different game plan.  So here's my plan.  Since we are all never together anymore, I had 3 family prayers today!  I'll have 2 scripture studies a day and we'll shoot for 2 FHE's a month, probably on Sunday.  I'll try to have mom/daughter dates with each girl once every 6 weeks.  Date nights usually happen, so that's good.  We need to work on fasting, but I should probably work on that myself first.  Lastly we always go to church, so at least we are doing that one!   I know my efforts will be blessed and our family will be stronger for us trying to be obedient.  Satan will be trying to tear me down every step of the way, but I know I can do this.  These are simple things.  They don't take much time and yet the dividends will be great.  I feel very strongly that I have to do this and that I can do this.  My girls need to know my testimony is real and that these things are important.

Hello, Mr. Snowman!

For the second year in a row, Nat, Em and Annie have built a HUGE snowman after a big snowfall. It amazes me how such short people can build an almost 7 ft snowman! They do use the ladder, but, still! I think this years is great. Annie was in charge of design and she did a fabulous job! Way to go!

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Peace

Snow is so beautiful after it falls and before the world wakes up.

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Show Choir Beauties 2010-2011!

     I took these pictures on my phone and tranfered them with the Blogger app. Technology is so cool! I'll finish this on my laptop..
     Wow!  It really works...immediately, too.  Amazing!  Now I can add to this whenever I want. 
Show Choir this year is going to be amazing.  They have aleady placed 1st runner up and 2nd runner up and won Best Show once and Best Choreography twice!  The girls are having a great time and working so hard.  It's been fun watching them improve so much over last year.  In the picture above they are wearing their second costume...isn't it fabulous?  When they come out in them it is really something!
     Kellie and Annie are getting into the Red Hot spirit of things, too in their "Red Hot Sista" shirts!  I made big red bows for them (with the help of my friend, Andrea!) , and Kellie had to go the extra mile with the face paint!  Love it!  We heart competition weekends!  Check them out at http://www.redhotshowchoir.com/  and on youtube under hurricane red hot show choir!

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post from my phone....will it work?

I took this picture of the present Scott gave me for Christmas. Isn't it sweet?

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Let's Try This Again......

It has been embarrassingly long since I last wrote in here, but I have set a new goal to begin again. It seems I skipped all of 2010, which was spent taking a Medical Assisting program which I really enjoyed and learned a lot. It prepared me to finally get the courage up to finish my bachelor's degree through BYU, which I have applied to do and am awaiting the go ahead from BYU. I plan to chronicle my progress on this blog. In the meantime, I am going to try to catch up a bit on the girls. They have grown into beautiful young women . I  love and admire them for who the are and for the good girls they are. They continue to be the lights in my life and I cherish the time I have with them, for it is passing all too quickly. Lindsay is a Senior this year and is applying to colleges. She will be gone before I know it and that is just going to kill me. She has always been such a fun person to have around. We are really going to miss her..

Well, untill I find 5 more cents, then! Julz

Apple Heaven!

Ok, so last night Scott and I made the Apple Upside Down Cake and in two words....Apple Heaven. It was so good and it didn't fall apart when I fliped it out of the pan...perfection. The girls are being good sports...willing to try it, but "Apple Stuff" is the preferred apple dessert. Although Kellie again, raved. Love her. And Nat had two slices...love her! Scott and I were like, "Score!"...it's a keeper! I am so glad I am trying these recipes. I don't think I would have made any of them...I would have said, "Mmmm, that looks good!", but that would be the end of it. Actually trying out the recipes have been fun. I think Skillet Lemon Souffle is next!!

The best he's ever had.....

Ok! So, my plan didn't quite go the way I wanted! My family is so busy that on most nights 1/2 of us are gone.....so I waited til yesterday to do the potato salad, but it was just for me and Scott. The big girls were gone and the little girls wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole, but Scott said, and I quote, "THIS IS THE BEST POTATO SALAD I HAVE EVER HAD!!!" Wow. I asked him if he was just saying that and he said no and proceeded to tell me why it was so good. Cook's Illustrated recipes really are awesome. Next up, the Apple Upside-Down Cake! Yum!

Me and Cook's Illustrated

Last weekend, Scott and I saw "Julie and Julia" and I just loved it! The idea of cooking your way through a cookbook sounded so cool to me! So, I started looking for a book to do just that. I picked Cook's Illustrated Best 30 minute Recipe book, but it's huge....great, but huge, so I settled on something a lot smaller, but just as good, Cook's Illustrated Magazine. I figured if I could work my way through their magazine every other month I would learn a lot and Scott would get some great, out of the ordinary dishes! So, last night I made the first recipe, "Steak Tips with Mushroom Gravy" and it was a hit! Kellie even discovered she LOVES mushrooms! Who knew? Anyway, tonight the plan is to make the Austrian Potato Salad and Mexican Grilled Corn with my awesome BBQ chicken! Sounds good, huh? Well, come on over!

Happy 43rd Scott!

Happy Birthday, Babe! Last week on Thursday, we had a nice little party starting with dinner at Taste of Asia which was fantastic! And then, after we opened gifts, we played a round of Imaginiff and in the middle of it, Grandma and Grandpa arrived! We had cake and ice cream and over all, you said it was a great day! Your folks stayed until the following Tuesday and had a nice visit.

Lindsay demonstated one of the many fashionable things you can do with party hats!

Man that's a LOT of candles!!!

We love you!

Hi Dr. Cullen!

On Saturday, Natalie, Emily and I went to our very own Charleston Town Center Mall and anxiously awaited the arrival of Dr. Cullen! It was SO exciting! Here's a pic or two!

July Photo Shoot!

Yesterday we did another photo shoot. Here are a couple of my faves!

Aren't they beautiful?