Quote of the Day:

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made; I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear. -Henry B. Eyring

Christmas Pictures

The other day we had a blast taking our Christmas pictures with Janea Greene. She is such a talented photographer and also a great friend. If anyone is looking for a photographer I highly recommend her... you can check out her blog here. We went to Old Sacramento and just went wild and crazy. Jeff sure made us laugh being his goofy self. Janea- you're awesome and very talented, thanks for everything.

Apple Time

The other day we ordered 160 pounds of apples from an orchard in Auburn (thanks Melanie). Jeff and his mom turned almost all of those apples into delicious apple pies with soft flaky golden crusts. They spent all day yesterday making 20 pies and still have more to make. The warm apple pie smell reminded me of the holidays and it made me excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas to be so close. What a great Saturday!

Most of you may not know this, because I don't openly admit it, but here I go... I am Celine Dion's #1 fan. Call me a cheeseball but I went to Vegas twice to see her at Caesar's Palace last year. And on Tuesday I went and saw her at Arco Arena with three very important people- my mom, my Grandma Carol and my Grandma Ranae. We had a lot of fun and the opening act was hilarious (Gordie Brown). Hopefully you can enjoy the pics even though you may not enjoy Celine!

Jeff and I took a roadtrip to Utah for the first weekend of October to attend General Conference for our church. We had such a fun time. I love visiting Utah (but let's not talk about living there). I love going to Temple Square and I absolutely love all the craft stores they have and it is so much easier to find appropriate clothes that are cute.

Jeff had a mission reunion on Friday night so we left at 9:30am California time on Friday and Jeff wanted to get to his reunion by 7pm. We ended up rolling into Salt Lake at 6:30pm and we made it to the reunion by 7:45. Woo hoo how is that for good timing, and no speeding tickets either.

Some of the highlights of the trip were:

• Eating at "The Roof"- it is a restaraunt on the top floor of the Joseph Smith building and it has windows surrounding it that overlook Salt Lake and the gorgeous temple and not to mention a fab buffet
• Watching General Conference at the Conference Center while being in the same room with President Monson and the apostles (ok so it's kind of a BIG room...)
• Going to Park City and shopping at the outlets
• Going to the Salt Lake Temple and being sealed for my great great grandparents
• Getting to stay and spend time with Phill, Jeannine and Isaiah (thanks guys, we already miss ya!)
• Seeing Jeff's mission friends and President and Sister Ririe
• Going to Uncle Jim and Aunt Michelle's house for a delicious meal and yummy dessert and spending time with the silliest cousins EVER!

Bon Appetit

Chicken in skillet

Sauce for chicken

Finished Product

Last night I made some very yummy Mandarin Chicken using Tari McDonald's recipe. Thanks Tari for posting it! It was very easy to make and it uses a lot of household ingredients so you don't have to make an emergency trip to the grocery store to get something you don't have in the middle of cooking (which I find myself doing way too often). Let me know if anyone wants the recipe and I will give you the link.