White Chocolate Pie Recipe

OK, I did something wonderful today. I made up this new recipe and it is going to be delicious!!! I haven't actually tried it yet but I know it will be yummy!

Here is is:

White Chocolate Pie

1 8 oz package cream cheese softened, mix until smooth
Add 1/3 cup sugar and mix until well blended
Add 1 12 oz package Hershey's white chocolate chips that have been melted.
MIX WELL
Fold in 16 oz Cool Whip

Pour in a Nilla Wafer Pie Crust--Cool completely

Garnish with sugared raspberries.


Nilla Wafer Pie Crust

1 Cup Nilla Wafer Crumbs (I put mine in the blender)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (I also put those in the blender)
1/3 cup butter melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients, press firmly into bottom of 9-inch pie pan. Bake 6-8 minutes. Cool before putting the pie filling in.

Reflection on the Moments

Today has been a day of reflection on my life. I had the wonderful opportunity to go to two baby showers today. What a scarry, wonderful thing it is to bring a baby into the world. I have been thinking about my six wonderful children, all of whom are very different and have been since the day they were born. There has been a lot of tears, a lot of joy, a lot of laughter, a lot happiness, a lot of fighting, and a lot of quiet cherished moments with each one. I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father has blessed me with each of my children. I feel that I could write a book about motherhood, the do's and don'ts. But the book would just be for me because each of our lives are so different and we all approach life in our own way. What works for one child , as we all know, doesn't work for the next one that comes along.

At one of the baby showers we were asked to tell about "one of our worst mother experiences". Don't get me wrong, it was all done in fun. You know, the time you loose a child (and thank heaven's they are found), or the time a brand new baby boy pee's all over you, or in my case, when Daniel at 4 weeks old, slides out of the stroller without me knowing!!

Now I know we all have days and even moments that we don't want to remember. If we didn't have those how would we grow? I like to put those behind me, learn from them but not dwell on them. We all have a bad day, we all have done things that we think afterwards, "Why did I do that?" "I could of done better!" "Aren't you the grown up here, act like one!" (Can you relate to this?) There are moments that we cry, moments that we are scared, and moments that we just want to give up! (Jim laughed at me when I said that once!)

Me, I like to remember the good days, the good moments, the happy times together-the fun, the laughter, the times that life is good for that brief second. The time all the kids had red mustaches from the cherry koolaid, the time we all got up at 3:00 a.m. and layed on the trampoline with our blankets to watch the meteor shower, the time we sat and watched the fireworks on the Oregon beach--you know the moments!

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is "Why are we all so hard on ourselves?" Aren't we all just doing our best with what the good Lord has given us. Life is good! Let's make the best of each day and if we can, pick someone else up and help them along the way.

Enjoy not only the journey but the moments along the way! As long as we have more good days than bad, I think we are doing all right!

ZITS by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

OK, I have to share my favorite comic strip because it makes me laugh. I didn't used to read the comics but I guess I can really relate to Jeremy and his mother in the comic strip ZITS. I think I enjoy it so much because it is basically the relationship between Jeremy and his parents (mainly his mother). Since I have been blessed with one lovely daughter five wonderful boys, five of which are now teenagers or older I can relate!! Anyway, here are a few of my favorites. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do. If you don't have teenage sons, wait a few years then you too will laugh!!!

Sledding on the Lake

Here are some video clips of the boys playing on the lake. It was so much fun!

Having Fun at Bear Lake

Jim and I and Daniel and Samuel went to the lake and had 24 hours of fun!! We played two games of Monopoly, started a 750 piece puzzle (which we finished on Tuesday), walked down to the lake and played on the ice and pulled the boys around on the sled down on the beach. What fun! It was a much needed relaxing 24 hours with no phones!

Sledding on Budge Hill

We had a great day today sledding down the Budge Hill. It was so much fun! We didn't have enough sleds so we stopped at KMart first and bought a couple more sleds. The saucer was the fastest. The inner tube the slowest, I chose the inner tube! A great way to spend a few hours with the kids!

New Year's Eve Fun

The New Year came in a great way. Kristi had friends over earlier in the day and had a fun time playing Rock Band. Later that night Taylor had a party with his friends. I counted over 30 at one time. It was rather crazy but a lot of fun. At midnight all the kids ran outside and hit pans with spoons, blew their horns and turned on their car radio's. The neighbors were probably thinking "the Stephenson's are having another party!" The noise finally stopped around 1:00 a.m. The last of the friends didn't leave until almost 2:00 a.m. Jim and I, Daniel, Samuel and Kristi all played Monopoly and ate treats to bring in the new year.