Mommy's Little Monkey

Mel's Spaghetti Sauce

So I will let you in on a little secret about myself..I have always wanted to create my own recipe for spaghetti sauce. Probably sounds stupid, ok it DOES sound stupid. But..every woman I know either makes great sauce or they have their mother's/ grandmother's recipe that they use. Since I don't have my mommy around to learn from, and my grandma uses whatever spaghetti sauce is on sale, I have just always wanted to create my own. Well, I have tried different concoctions and recipes but just have never found one I loved. Today I am a changed woman. I have created a sauce that I LOVE!!!! I created it from about three different recipes and some things my sister in law told me she does (thanks Lisa). I hope you have the guts to try my recipe (I know some ingredients sound weird, just trust me). You won't be disappointed (and if you are just don't tell me). Ok, here goes....

Mel's Spaghetti Sauce

Chop: One stalk celery
One large carrot
Two or three garlic cloves
1/2 an onion
(chop the carrot and celery very small)

Saute veggies in two tbsb. olive oil for ten minutes on med heat
Add 1/2 pound lean ground beef
saute until beef is browned.

Add one jar of your fav pasta sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 large jar baby food carrots
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp brown sugar

Slice a thin strip of green bell pepper and lay on top
Let simmer for about 45 min

Take out the bell pepper
(unless you love the taste-leaving it in too long will give your sauce too much of a bell peppery taste)

Simmer for about another hour and ta da!!
You have a delicious sauce for all your pasta needs :)

Go Cougars!

Congratulations to my hardworking hubby! Jimmy just found out that he has been accepted to BYU for the spring semester! The kids and I are so happy for him...he has worked incredibly hard to get in ( keeping straight A's, a full time job, two kids and a wife happy). We are excited and feel like this is where the Lord wants us at this time in our lives. We have a lot to do and a lot of logistics to figure out, but we know that everything will fall into place for us...it always does. Its fun to think about what the future holds for our little family. Congrats again to my main man :)

Sarah Rose

I got a new lens a couple of weeks ago and of course made miss Sarah model for me! She loves it (most of the time).

Anticipation

Before Seth was born I had no idea how much my life would change. I was excited but naive. But when that sweet little boy entered the world we went from Jimmy and Melissa to a family. We just sat there after he was born and marveled at the amazing little boy we had created. The spirit was so strong and we were so happy. Life had brought us the little boy we never knew we needed to be complete.


Sarah came into the world much differently than Seth. Her birth was hard on both of us and she was whisked away to the NICU before I could even hold my sweet baby girl. Jimmy and I were scared because she couldn't breathe and so in a split second we decided that Jimmy needed to go with her. The NICU was far away from Labor and Delivery...so I didn't hear from Jimmy for hours and nobody on the L & D unit knew how my baby was. I was frantic and emotional to say the least....Jimmy and a nurse finally brought her to me later that night, and soon after Jimmy had to leave to go be with Seth. When everyone left it was just Sarah and I and I remember looking at her and thinking of what a tremendous responsibility it was to be the mother of a little girl. I felt the spirit strong that night....I wasn't just a mom anymore, I was the mom of a daughter.


Now I have less than four weeks to go until my little Luke is born. I have already felt such strong promptings about this little boy. Jimmy and I both feel that he is going to bring so much joy and happiness to our family. Even though I am so excited to meet him...part of me is little bit nervous. I keep wondering how it will be to have two boys. The dynamics of our family are so different then they were with the other two. This little boy is so lucky to have a big brother and sister that already love him so much. They get so happy just talking about him. I can't to meet him, snuggle with him, kiss him, and share him with my other two angels!

Just Thinking.....

So I was talking to my little sister today (she is getting ready to teach her first year of second grade) and she was telling me about a little girl in her class. The little girl's mother and father were in plane crash this past year....and thank heavens they both survived. But, they were both burned really badly. The mother was burned so badly that she is not even recognizable except for her sweet spirit...her own baby wouldn't even go to her for months. It makes me cry just thinking about it. I know my own disappointments and trials in life don't even compare to this woman's or her family's....but it sure has made me think. I have never given much thought to the Resurrection I guess... I mean I know that is a gift and something amazing, but I just never thought much about it until I heard this story. I don't even know how to put into words how I feel about it now. It became so sacred and special to me once I realized how it would change this woman. Not only her outward appearance, but all the emotional damage that has come from this tragedy will be taken from her. It has strengthened my testimony of Jesus Christ and the amazing gift that he has given to us.

Dancing With Daddy

Jimmy's dad got married last night. It was a beautiful wedding but I was taking the pics so I didn't really get to spend too much time with Jimmy or the kids....but later I found Sarah dancing with her daddy. It was so sweet. She was so happy and proud to be dancing with him. Jimmy later told me that she had asked him to dance with her!! Too sweet!! I love that little girl!