Little and BIG Greatfuls

I guess I've really felt like getting into the spirit of Thanksgiving this year because this last week I have been making an effort to appreciate the little things in life. My little things have ranged from coming home to a moldy-pumpkin-free porch, or a clean front yard as I like to call it, down to listening to the birds chirping while taking Annie for more walks. I know it sounds like a scene from Snow White; enjoying nature while listening to the enchanting song of birds. I promise there was no singing along with the birds, and there was absolutely no prancing through the woods, it just made me happy to hear their little chirps. I was also grateful for things such as ice cubes, commas, dishes in the dishwasher and not the sink, and my pillow, although I've always had a deep affection for my pillow. I could keep listing all my little things, but I'm sure it would become obnoxious by the time I started on my Tuesday gratefuls, and I don't even want to know what everyone would be thinking of me by the time I got to Saturday. So I'll just end my little thing gratefuls here.

This week we got new carpet in our 2nd bedroom. This was not mentioned on my little things gratefuls list because this is a B-I-G grateful. We needed this new carpet because of Sage; our first attempt at dog-parenting. You see, she would often confuse our 2nd bedroom with the bathroom, making it necessary for us to replace the carpet after only 1 year and 8 months. Such are the woe's of parenting, sigh.

A picture from the resident chef:

It was a lazy night.

Halloween

For some strange reason I've always loved Halloween, and it's not because of all the candy that's involved. I'd like to think that my fondness for a holiday runs deeper than just chocolate. It's probably because I love fall. I love walking outside and feeling the crispness in the air, watching the leaves fall, pulling out jackets, scarves, and long sleeved shirts. And even though I failed to get any decorations related to Halloween or Autumn up this year I did manage to carve a pumpkin. However, I refuse to post a picture of it. Not out of embarrassment of my lack of artistic abilities; I was able to overcome that problem by using a handy pumpkin carving template, and I think it's one of my best carvings every actually. I, once again, was not fast enough getting the camera out, and sadly my lone Halloween decoration began to mold and rot before I could document it's beauty. I will not force you to look at something so disgusting; I would only do such a thing to my neighbors who are still being subjected to it sitting on our porch. (I'm trying to think of a good way to convince Cory that he wants the privilege of throwing it away, because I don't even want to touch it.)

Despite having a decomposing pile of pumpkin on our porch, and some slightly unhappy neighbors, my Halloween spirit was not dampened, and we celebrated Halloween to it's fullest. I started off the evening by stopping by my parent's to see the nephews in their costumes, and helping Mom bake some cinnamon rolls. After that I drove out to go trick-or-treating with the nieces and nephew in Goodyear. I should add that this drive included me almost running out of gas, unable to find a civilized gas station during rush hour traffic, and ending up at a gas station in the heart of Phoenix that had some.. let's just say.. disreputable looking gentlemen around it. Fortunately nothing came of this adventure other than a full tank of gas, and a creepy Halloween story. After trick-or-treating with the kids I headed home, and got their right as Cory got off work. My Halloween enthusiasm was still going strong, and we decided to go to the corn maze at Schnepf Farms. It wasn't until we were surrounded by corn that I became aware we were in a "haunted" corn maze, and although it definitely added another frightening experience to my Halloween, I prefer "un-haunted" corn mazes. But now that I'm in the safety of my own home, with nothing but a rotten pumpkin to scare me, I have to admit it was pretty exciting to have such a scary night.

Our Week of Dinners, A Missionary, and A One of A Kind Birthday Celebration

So it has taken me a few weeks to post it, but here it comes.. our week of dinners!

Sunday was family dinner with my family- Roast Beef, Potaotes, Carrots, Homemade Bread, and of course.. KoolAid. (delicious.. and easy because I didn't have to make it!) Sorry.. no pictures.

Monday was family dinner with Cory's family (at Cafe Rio.. yum) to celebrate Casey coming home from the W-A (my home state)- I had their bean burrito, and Cory had their stake quesadilla. (Once again.. delicious, and easy because I didn't have to make it!)

Some pictures of Casey coming home.. just for fun..

Cory.. the baloon man!

Tuesday's dinner was sort of a flop. I was going to make salad with crispy chicken. (healthy and delicious) Well.. I made the chicken, and was letting it cool. I was going to cut up the chicken and throw it on the salad right before Cory got home. Well, somebody who has a slight sleeping problem, and is probably borderline narcaleptic, fell asleep on the couch. When they finally came back to reality the chicken (that had not been cut or put with the salad) had disappeared.. into Cory's stomach.. he didn't know I had planned on making a salad. He says the chicken was delicious though, and I didn't mind that he was satisfied with 1/2 a meal. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture early enough.. but here's the proof that I made it.

Wednesday was Salsa Chicken Burrtios (thank you Kimberly.. this is one of my favorites!) Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of this meal.. but I swear I made it!

Thursday we had the left over Salsa Chicken. I honestly made it, just forgot to take pictures. Cory and Casey are my witnesses because they both ate it.. and they even lived to tell about it.. that must say something about my cooking!

Friday was home-made Pizza night.. and I actually took a picture before it was gone!

Cory also turned the big 2-4 last week. We had both families over for cake and ice cream.. our house has never had so many people in it! We had so much fun.. and the lemon cake and snickerdoodle ice cream made it uniquely Cory!

Wanted: A More Domestic Wife

We are going to have another moment of truth (.. we've been having alot of these lately.) I will be the first to admit that I am not the most domestic of wives. I do pretty well at keeping up on the laundry (.. mostly because we only have so many clothes), I keep the house pretty clean (.. it can only get so dirty with 2 people living in it), but the area where I struggle the most is making dinner. So, I decided to set a goal for myself. (.. drum roll please..) I am going to make dinner Tue-Fri this next week. (Sun/Mon are excluded due to family dinners both nights.) Now, to all you domesticated wives.. I know this hardly sounds like anything special (.. 4 whole meals.. big whoop), but in this McDowell household.. when this particular goal has been met.. there will be cause for celebration! So, to make acomplishing this goal easier for myself (.. the resident chef) I took a trip to the grocery store today, and bought all the ingredients I will need for our 4 meals. To be honest, this isn't the first time, I've tried this before. I've even made it 2-3 days, and then (for some reason or other) I just stopped. This time is going to be different though. Why you ask? Because of you! I am posting my goal on our blog so there is no backing out, I will post pictures of every meal every day.. so you will know that I'm not cheating, or giving up. By the end of next week.. we will have our more domestic wife! Wish me luck.

- The Resident Chef

Thinking of Others

We have had a few accidents happen to friends and family within the last month. A few weeks ago Cory's cousin's 20 month old baby got hit by a car. She is still in the hospital, but seems to be recovering well. Her family has made a blog for anyone who is interested in donating or just keeping up on her progress. The blog is www.kissesforcallie.blogspot.com. (I have a link to it on the right side of the page.)

Last month my boss's wife's cousin and his wife (I know that's a confusing connection) were in a plane accident. It was a small plane, and they were both seriously burned. They are still in the hospital trying to recover. She has an amazing blog that will cheer anyone up when they're having a bad day. Her blog is www.nieniedialogs.blogspot.com, if you ever need a pick-me-up this is the place to go! Her sister has a blog as well, and puts updates on the Nielson's recovery if anyone is interested keeping up with them. Her blog is blog.cjanerun.com. (I have links to these blogs on the right side of the page as well.) I know this is kind of a depressing post, but these circumstances have made me stop thinking about myself and start thinking about what I can do for others, especially for those in need.

Missionaries, Baptisms, and New Additions

A few weeks ago Justin, my younger brother, reported to the MTC. Now.. we're going to have a moment of truth here. All growing up I could hardly wait for the day when I wouldn't have to deal with my pesky little brother for 2 whole years. I mean.. he couldn't chase me around the house, or do other things that little brothers are so good at doing, if he was 1/2 way around the world. Right? Well, as that day started creeping closer I noticed that I was intentionally trying not to think about it, almost as if I might miss him! I found myself thinking things like.. who will put on a dress and dance around the house with me when Justin's gone? Who will finger paint with me? Who's gonna put me in a headlock and make me eat snow? (No.. I didn't accidentally slip that last question in there.. I'm actually going to miss the teasing.) So, Monday night, before their long drive to Provo, I put on a stiff upper lip (or tried) and went over to my parent's house to say goodbye for 2 years. On the way home Cory decided I needed some french fries, ranch to dip them in, and some pop to wash it all down. (what a wonderful husband.. he knows there's nothing better than drowning your sorows in grease, fat, and sugar!) I am very proud and excited for Justin, and I know that he is going to love the time he spends in the Dominican Republic, even if it means he can't tease me for awhile. :) Good luck Justin.. we love you!

We had another very exciting family event the week before Justin left. Cassidy (my niece) was baptized. It's hard for me to believe she's already 8 years old, it seems like she was just a little baby. It was very special to see her make this big decision in her life. She is growing into a beautiful girl, and is setting a wonderful example for her siblings and cousins. We love you Cas!

We also have a new addition to our family to announce. A beautiful baby girl! Her name is Annie. She is very sweet, full of smiles, and loves to play. She is a little more hairy than we had hoped our little girl would be, and has 2 extra legs, but we still love her.

Harry and Laurie (Timothy and Kristy's neighbors) have had Annie since she was a little puppy. The Chiuaua and the Golden Retriever they had as well didn't allow Annie to get as much attention as they wanted her to have. They were kind enough to give her to us, along with anything you could ever need for a puppy. They knew that she wouldn't have to compete for attention in our family. :) We are very grateful for their kindness. Thanks Harry and Laurie.. we love our newest addition!

Baby-fixes and Midnight Brawls

Last night we had a movie night with Tanner, Emily, and baby Kendall. We had a great time, and the fact that I got to hold Kendall during the whole movie made it even more enjoyable! (hey, I've gotta get my baby-fixes in when I can.)

We left their house around 11:45, and when we were getting off the freeway I noticed Cory was not going home. I tried to get him to tell me where we were going at almost midnight, but he just smiled.. then Borders came into view, and it all made sense.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I like (some may say, "I'm a bit obsessed with") the "Twilight" series (seeing how I read the first 3 books within a week), but I had planned on being in the comfort of my bed at midnight when "Breaking Dawn" was released. Cory, apparently, had other plans for me!

It was a new and scary experience to start fights with everyone supporting "Team Jacob", and high-fiving everyone cheering for Edward, but I managed to walk away with only afew bruises. (ok, maybe I'm trying to make this sound more eventful that it really was.) I do take some pride, however, in the fact that I was in line at a bookstore, at midnight, for the release of a book. If that's not dedication (or obsession), I don't know what is!

Unfortunately, since I didn't know that we were going, I didn't have the camera with me. So I don't have any pictures of me whooping some Jacob fan rear-end, but I'm sure you can all use your imagination and picture it!