Wonderful Husband and Dad!

Marilyn

I never do these things, but since I have such a wonderful wife, I thought I would participate.

1. Where did you meet?
At BYU, through one of my high school friends. She was dating him, and I was dating someone else. We both broke up with the others, and I asked her out in the Cougareat on my way to find a SuzyQ.

2. How long did you date?
About 5 months - too long for me

3. How long have you been married?
14 years - not long enough :)

4. What does she say that surprises you?
Nothing that I can think of.

5. What is your favorite quality of hers?
She is perfect in everyway, and is very virtuous. Also, she is game for anything.

6. What is your favorite feature of hers?
Everything, but I expecially love her mouth/smile.

7. Does she have a nickname for you?
Honey, Sweetie

8. What's her favorite color?
No clue. It's not in my job description to know this.

9. What's her favorite sport?
Camping and hiking

10. What's her favorite food?
Dutch and Indonesian

11. When and where did you first kiss?
Bridal Veil Falls - right before we got engaged.

12. What's your favorite thing to do as a couple?
See answer to question #13. Other than that, we like to be in the outdoors together.

13. Do you have any children?
6.4

14. Does she have a hidden talent?
She makes furniture, and can use tools very well.

15. How old is she?
37

16. Who said "I love you" first?
Probably me, but I don't remember. Maybe she can clarify.

17. What's her favorite type of music?
Motab, LDS Contemporary, my singing :)

18. What do you admire most about her?
She is a worker, and is very low maintenance (that was a compliment, Mar). I can count on her for anything...very reliable.

19. Do you think she will read this?
Of course, it is her blog...well, it is our blog.

I love you Marilyn!

Canning

The other evening Emily (David's sister) called and we got to talking about food storage (what else do you talk to Emily about!?) and specifically canning and everything that we have canned this year. Well, I got thinking about the abundance of food that we have preserved this summer. I went out to the freezer, and the food storage room and this is what we have “put up” this summer, so that throughout the year we can “put it away”. I was impressed with my list—and it isn’t to brag, but to show you that if you really work at it—you can get a wonderful, healthy food storage without breaking the bank—just your back! Most of my supplies I’ve collected over the years from garage sales, want-ads, and friends giving me stuff. Believe me, if you get serious about canning, you’ll be able to get what you need. Just start asking around.

What you need for a successful canning season: Supply of veggies, fruit—especially anything that is “Free for the Picking”
Endless supply of jars, lids, bands.
A VERY high tolerance for a sticky kitchen floor and fruit flies (This is what caused my first “canning breakdown”). An outside set-up is ideal.
A big kitchen would be nice, but a small one will do. The only time I’ve wanted a bigger kitchen is when I can. You always need more counter space and another sink!
Lots of kids to pick apples, crank the strainer and sample end products. Grace is great at getting the skins off the tomatoes.
A patient husband. (One day David came home to 4 ladies, 13 kids, a BIG mess and nothing but 100 quarts of applesauce for dinner. Another time he called me while at work and asked what I was doing. I said, “canning”. Pause on his end. My reply, “It’s OK, I’m at April’s house and her husband is out of town for a few days.)
Don’t put any of your canning supplies away, because you will need them again in a few days.
A good apron—to constantly wipe your hands on.
The most important thing is to have friends who are as crazy as you and who can’t stand to see “fruit rot on the tree”. As long as there are empty jars, we need to fill them.
(As I was inventorying my food storage, I found about 15 empty quart jars, so I guess I am ready for another round.)



Applesauce 20+ quarts 5 pints
Apple Butter 18 pints (gave several to the couple who gave us their apples)
Apples Pie Filling 28 quarts (already eaten a few quarts—great on crepes and pancakes)
Apples Juice 16 quarts (Peter drank nearly a whole quart himself—natural enema!) My friend’s husband made a press—it is really neat. We spent the day making juice together.
Apple Pulp 8 quarts


Blackberry Jam 8 pints (This is what is left from last summer)
Strawberry Jam 9 pints (Tastes good—but I think freezer jam is better—and easier!)
Sour Cherry Syrup-Jam 12 quarts (Really good—the jam didn’t thicken, so it is syrup!)

Tomato Soup 15 quarts (From last year)
Tomato Base 9 quarts 6 pints (This was supposed to be salsa—but was very soupy—I use it as a base for chili and vegetable soup)
Spaghetti Sauce 10 quarts (This is what is left from last year)
Whole Tomatoes 39 quarts 10 pints
Salsa 9 quarts 9 pint

Dried Onions and Peppers 2 quarts
Dried Roma Tomatoes 7 quarts

Turkey Crawl Beans 35 quarts
White Half-Runner Beans 4 quarts (These are REALLY good—already eaten a few quarts)

Turkey/Chicken 4 quarts 3 pints (We’ve eaten lots of this—intimidating to do at first, but really very simple. I had my “expert” canning friend come and help me. Just get a Ball Book and follow the directions. I use the chicken and turkey (usually cheaper) interchangeably in recipes. It is so nice to open a can of chicken for soups, enchiladas, and casseroles or even sandwiches. It cuts the prep time way down. It’s good to do this when the craze of the “typical” canning season is over—turkey is really inexpensive in November and December). You do need a pressure cooker for this.

I did find one jar that was “unidentifiable”—I think it is chow-chow (explaining this could be a blog on its own!) that someone gave to us.

In Freezer:
Applesauce 30 quarts
Peaches Slices 10 quarts
Peach Jam 10 quarts 10 pints
Zucinnhi 12 quarts (I shredded it and froze it to use in bread, muffins—hope it works)

Corn on the Cob 5 bags with 8 ears each
Corn off the cob 8 quarts (Really good and sweet—very EASY—I’m going to do WAY more of this next year!)

We’ve already enjoyed eating many things. Usually, I like to wait until harvest season is over, but if we continually eat things I’ve canned, then my supply of empty jars is stable.

The apples were from the orchard. Tomatoes, peppers, and zucinnhi from our garden. My friend April has a HUGE garden and when you go help, she gives you plenty of produce (beans, tomatoes)! Apples from neighbors, I even made some new friends in our neighborhood when I asked if I could have their peaches that were falling to the ground. They were more than willing to share. I also got two bushels of peaches from a fruit stand—they were on the verge of going bad, so they gave them to me! (I guess they feel bad when you show up with a carload of grubby kids---we had been camping at Roan Mountain—we must have looked pretty hard-up.) I bought the corn from a local farm and also some blackberries from a fruit stand, and of course the turkey and chicken. Everything else was just “sweat of the brow”. I love to can and am thankful to have friends who are as equally crazy as I am!

General Conference Bloopers

Carthage Jail - Summer 2008

David here again. I am on a roll.

Our kids love to watch conference because of the conference activities that they get to do, and for all of the junk food. Over the years our kids always come up with something funny during the sessions, such as:

1. Michael drawing a beard on a picture of a primary child, and then saying that the child had reached purity (puberty).
2. One of the speakers referred to "Angry Mobs" but the kids thought he said "Angry Moms" (Freudian slip? I doubt it).
3. Another speaker saying that marriage is a commandment, and Michael said, "Oh man, that means I have to get married!"
4. I always seem to take a nap during one conference talk (usually a seventy), except this time. One time when I was asleep, Marilyn and the kids sewed me to the couch, tied my shoes together, and painted my fingernails pink. No respect.
5. Kids throwing up during sessions, sometimes due to too much junk food? (it's funny now).
6. Getting beaned by a flying Reeses peanut butter cup and it hurt really bad.
7. Having to spend three hours helping the kids clean up the "reverence" forts that took the kids only about 30 minutes to set up. They sure can work fast when they want to.

We love conference and enjoy hearing from the leaders of the church. It is very uplifting.

A Million Dollars

What would you do with a million dollars? I was at the school today for a parent/teacher conference with Grace's teacher and came across a hall full of dreams. Michael's class had written essays on what they would do if they had a million dollars. It is always fun to dream, and to dream big. I was laughing in the hall as I read his big dreams. It was funny to see the progression of very practical to letting loose. I guess our (me and David) discussions about saving and getting our of debt have rubbed off a little.

"If I Had a Million" by Michael DeBry age 8

First, I will put some in the bank. Then I will pay off our house. Then I'll go to the store to buy toys, games, and movies. Then I'll take my family to the movies. Then I'll get a maid. Then I'll get a hot tub that only I can get in. Last I'll buy a jet with 2 levels. It will have a couch and 8 beds. It would be fun to make a million.

You might be a Dad if...

David here. I thought I would contribute to the blog.

You know the saying, "You might be a redneck if...?" Well, I am in the heart of the South, so I thought I would play on this and dedicate a post to "You might be a Dad if...." Feel free to add in the comments.

You might be a Dad if...

1. Your clothes, especially your Sunday suit coats, always have dried crackers, dried snot, or dried saliva on the shoulder (where's the lipstick?)

2. You can't go the bathroom in peace without some kid pounding on the door, or sticking their little fingers under the door, and asking, "Dad, are you in there? Can I come in?"

3. You slip and slide down the hall, through throw-up, trying to hurdle the mess, in the middle of the night, while trying to get one of the kids to the toilet.

4. You have no energy when you get home, so your idea of playing with the kids involves laying on the floor, taking a power nap, while they all climb on you (periodically you have to groan, or tickle them, to make them think you are awake)

5. You get hit in the groin area at least once a day because little kids are the perfect height that when they are trying to get your attention, they hit you there

6. Your kids can't wait until Saturday because that is when you get to stay home with them

7. Your child sniffs you and says you smell like Opa (your Dad, their Grandpa)

8. You average 3.765 minutes of free time at night, before you collapse from exhaustion into bed, even though you try to get the kids to go to bed 2 hours before you do.

9. Everyone wants to snuggle you at night

10. Your kids think you can fix everything

11. Your kids think you can buy anything

12. You sleep out on the trampoline after weeks of begging, only to be up all night with one kid throwing up (I actually had a good system going...their head fits perfectly between the springs and they can lay there), and one kid with his feet in your head, no matter how far around the trampoline you move.

13. Your kids still love you even if you have just gotten after them

New addition from my Dad, but it applies to me:

14. Every time you tell your wife you got a raise, she tells you she is pregnant.

New addition from me:

15. You lift weights to stay in shape, and instead of Metallica playing in your head, you have the theme song from "Little Mermaid" or any other Disney classic going through your head.

In the end, I love being a Dad. It is the best!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Peter is always saying funny things.

The other day he wanted to go run errands. He likes to get out. I told him that we were going to take Dad to the doctor. David has a follow-up appointment for his eyes from his lasik last year. Anyway, Peter said, “We taking Dad to the doctor to get fixed.” (Not such a bad idea.)

Last night he wanted a “sharp spoon” (A fork) to eat his dinner.