Holiday Potpourri

I found this recipe on-line and it really is good. It'll make your whole house smell sweet.

1 lime
1 lemon
1 orange
1tsp whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
15 whole cranberries

Slice the lime, lemon and orange. Place everything in a medium sauce pan. Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. turn dodwn and simmer. Add water when needed. Can store in the fridge when not in use. Pull out and reheat when you want. Lasts up to a month.

--J

When the Spirit Speaks

About a month ago Jess came home from church and said "I have a Secret to tell you" then he said that maybe he would just wait and when it happened he would tell me that was the secret. Now we all know: Men you can't tell your wives something like that and not have us be intrigued. So with very little convincing he told me that he was sitting in Church and was told tha we have another baby to come to our home. When he was in Iraq he had a dream about the birth of his baby girl. He saw her and it was not Emma. He knew that after seeing pictures of Emma. I too have had dreams of a little girl and I've had the spirit tell me that we have another girl. My body is very fragile. This will be my last pregnancy so we know that this is our little girl. We also know her name and how it is to be spelled. It is Ashleigh. I told Jess her middle name is to be Kae but Jess isn't sold on the middle name just yet. This pregnancy feels a lot like Emma's so far. And by now with my boys I'm so sick I'm throwing up every 15 - 20 minutes. I've thrown up twice once was bile and once was stomache acid. With Emma I only threw up twice and felt nausiated for a few weeks. So in a few weeks I should be feeling good :)!!
--J

In Wondering Awe

This weekend we went to a little town called Midway. There at the LDS stake center they have an inter-faith Cresche display. As we walked into the Church there was a reverance and almost a hush that seemed to fall over all who entered; all who came seeking the Christ child. As I walked through the many rooms and saw how many different ways the Nativity scene can be displayed I wondered at the journey that Mary and Joseph had taken into Bethlehem. How hard it must have been on Mary and how patient Joseph must have been to urge the donkey on and to take great care of Mary. I thought of how many Inns Mary and Joseph must have come to and been turned away from. And the one Inn Keeper who had compassion on Mary and offered his stable for shelter. How hard must it have been for Mary to give birth in such circumstances. Then to wrap her baby and only be able to lay Him in a manger. Did her heart break? I don't know but I do know on that Silent, Holy Night so long ago our Savior was born and what a miracle that was.
In one of the rooms they had a life size display and costumes where you could dress up and have your pictures taken of the Nativity scene. They did ask that no pictures be taken except in this room. Easton was a sheep, Emma an angel, Jackson a wiseman, Jess was Joseph and I was Mary. Easton was in awe over the baby. And kept giving the doll that represented the baby Jesus kisses. Kneeling by the manger with my son so eager to love the baby Jesus I felt a little overwhelmed and wondered how I would capture this love he had and make sure he keeps that love of his Savior with him always. I wondered if Mary felt overwhelmed at the thought of raising the son of God. And I decided that she had great faith that Heavenly Father would bless her with all that she needed to teach and raise her son and so it is with me and my children.

My sweet children couldn't get enough of the manger scene. How grateful I am that my husband has the same convictions as I do and that teaching our children to walk in righteousness is at the top of our list of things to do. I am so thankful for a gentle and loving husband who is also an amazing father. We loved seeing the cresche displays from all over the world and seeing the many different ways this sacred scene is brought to life.

And now as this season is just getting started, Sarah and I are practicing for performances and we even have a FHE program all ready to go. I just hope that I will be able to make it throuh without crying. And even though it is busy between kids, work and practicing I still have time to enjoy the season and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.

--J

As Promised

Sarah and I finally took pictures together. Some turned out really cute and others we'll just leave those out for now :)!!!

This was the very last picture taken. We were walking through the park and saw that someone had raked up a pretty decent pile of leaves so we decided it would be fun to play in them... soooo we did. And it was fun!!

We call this the Peek-A-Boo picture. It turned out pretty cute.

This is one of my most favorite pictures. I really like the background.

And this in another favorite. Just so happens this was the first picture taken that day. I'm really glad that Sarah and I took pictures it was so fun and now we finally have pictures of us together for our blog :)!!!

--J

No Wonder

Sometimes I wonder why Sarah would be so tired after babysitting... after I saw these pictures all I have to say is NO WONDER!!!

What is up with my kids??? Eaton can't resist a dog pile and Emma can hold her own. You should see her with all of the nephews and uncles. She is one tough cookie.

Love how sweet and endearing this photo is. This is what happens when Jess goes out of town. Sarah comes to babysit my kids and then my kids go BONKERS!!! And who wouldn't with such a fun aunt hanging around.

That's my lil' Sis. One day I'll be as skinny as she is (again). She is my inspiration after having 4 kids. And she has such a fun personality. I love my family and love that we are all so close but Sarah and I have this awesome "Sista Bond" that we cherish. So I think we do more and get along more than with the other sisters. I'm so glad that my kids have such great relationships with all of my brothers and sisters too. Jess and I both feel it's so important to have those family bonds.

And then they go crazy :)!!! No really... I think this is my favorite picture. My next favorite is of Sarah looking like she is biting Jackson's ear off. I'll post that one later since I haven't figured out how to put more than 5 pictures on one post. If anyone knows the trick... please feel free to fill me in :)!! I love how Easton is upside down. He has more personality in his pinky finger than most kids I know!

More Twilight

I can't get enough of Twilight. I love it :)!! We moved into a new ward in the spring this year and about a month ago the ward was split. Before the ward was split I met this amazingly sweet girl named Emily Tyndall. I found out today that she is in a band called Petal and they wrote a song based on the Twilight book. I have heard a little piece of it and it's amazing. Awesome Job Emily!!! And not only is it being recorded but they have a music video they are doing. She is Bella and there is an Edward (no it's not Rob P but he's just as good lookin') so check out her website at www.petaltheband.com the music video will post next week and there is a link on the website for their blog. It's great and you have to check out her dress...it's fabulous!!!

Holiday Season

This is my favorite time of year. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the holidays that wrap up the end of the year and the beginning of a new year. One thing that I am so grateful for is music. I am so grateful for the talents my Heavenly Father has blessed me with; especially singing and piano. I am so thankful for family. For my sweet husband and children. For my parents and my husband's parents. For my siblings, their spouses and their children as well as my husband's siblings, their spouses and children. I am so very close to my sister Sarah. I am thankful for her talents as well and that we work well together developing and perfecting those talents. One thing the Holidays bring on is Christmas Carols. Those are our favorites and so fun to sing..... we already have a few people asking us to sing. I'm nervous but I know this is one way to share my testimony of our Savior with others.

On my side of the family we celebrate birthdays once a month and have a Family Home Evening (FHE) tied along with it. December is our month to come up with FHE. Last year we had all the grandkids dress up and we re-enacted the Nativity story. It was beautifully done. I will post on my family post pictures and highlights from last year. This year I felt very impressed that we needed to sing the precious Christmas Carols. At first I thought we should have just a family sing along, now we are going Caroling to neighbors and friends. I'm so excited about this. Sarah and I are going to sing a few songs before we leave to get everyone in the spirit of singing. So I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes. I love Caroling and think it's almost a thing of the past so I'm challenging everyone to get out there this year even if it's only to your next door neighbor and spread some Christmas Spirit :)!!!

I am also a nurshery leader in our ward and I have decided that this year for singing time from now until the end of the year we are going to sing Christmas songs and learn a few. I have Senior Nurshery and these kids already know "I Am A Child of God" and "I Love To See The Temple" word for word. So I think they can do it. Now I just have to find bells or chimes and have some fun with it too since after all they are only three years old. They do love music time though and I think they could spend almost all of nurshery time singing....but I don't know if I can :)!!!

Halloween Pictures

This is my hunky, handsome, adorable husband and me on Halloween. We went as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Not exact impersonations but hey I thought it was close enough.

Jess and I have been married almost 8 years and still going strong. We still feel like we are newly weds too. We have experienced a lot during our 8 years. Jess was in the active duty army for 4 years...making me a full time army wife, and in the National Guard for 2 years....which now he is putting in his WO packet to fly helicopters for the army. He is already a pilot he just needs to build up flight hours and get paid for it. We have 3 beautiful children and we've been through a lot to get them here.

Family is very important to us. It's our most valuable possesion. I was never 100% sure that I would be able to have babies since I have endometriosis (on a severe level). So for us having children is not only a blessing but a miracle. This is us and just a little snippette of our life. And I think this is the first year we both "dressed up" for Halloween.

Bella's Lullaby

I listened to the Twilight soundtrack and my most favorite song is Bella's Lullaby. I have heard two versions of it on the internet and love them both. Not that anyone hasn't guessed yet but music is a huge part of my life and has been since I was little. My mom sang to me all the time as a child and played the piano. My sisters all play the piano and so do I, maybe that is the reason it is my favorite instrament. I've had a few people comment that they can't believe my favorite song on the soundtrack is Bella's Lullaby...... I thought everyone would have had that pegged from the first 15 seconds of the song. I've been practicing Hymns and Primary Songs but I really need to branch out a little more and play a few other songs too. I guess that I'm nervous that someone is going to critique my playing and give me a failing grade. I get stage fright too and maybe that's why I haven't done more singing. I do have to say it's easier with someone singing with me...Thanks Sarah!!! And I'm pretty shy so I really only belt it out when I'm cleaning my house. If you ever want to hear me singing then you should stop by my house unannounced in the spring or fall when I've forgotten my windows are open.... then you can hear what I really sound like. If you listen for me at church... you won't hear me.... I've perfected singing quietly or at family birthdays... I sing Happy Birthday horribly on purpose. Only my husband and kids have heard me sing it right!!! So I guess one of my New Year's resolutions should be to get over it and just sing huh???

Mountains and A Grain of Sand

I was listening to a song the other day on the radio and the words caught my attention. I often go through life, as I think we all do, rushing about trying to get our "to do" lists done. Making sure that everything in the house is spotless, the kids are fed and off to school or home from school and then it's off to work, home from work and put the kids in bed while packing lunches, reading scriptures and saying prayers. There's quite a few more activities packed in just one day but for the sake of carpel tunnel I'll just assume you get it. Sometimes I worry about all the wrong things. Or I get so caught up in a certain situation that may be going on in my life at the time that it completely consumes and swallows me whole. This is where I tend to forget important things. Sometimes this mountain that we are climbing seems so all encompassing and when we get finally "get over it" and look back it's actually just a grain of sand blowing away in the wind. But what is left behind can sometimes be a hole as big as a mountain.

These past several months I have really learned a lot about myself and patience and that even though there is some horrible thing happening right now... down the road it's going to seem so insignificant in relationship to what we could have focused on or where we are going. Sometimes I find myself being upset with a situation at work or with friends or extended family and I beat it to death in my mind and I pray about it over and over and over and over again until I think Heavenly Father wonders if I, Joleen, believes that He hears my prayers and in His time will answer them. I have to be patient and turn some things over to the Lord to finish taking care of in His time and in His way. But as I am thinking and beating it out trying to figure it out..... I'm missing out on opportunities I could be spending with my precious babies or my sweet husband or extended family.

So what I have learned is that trials will come and most of them are best handled head on and to do all I can do and then pray about it and talk to my Heavenly Father and leave the rest in his very willing and very capable hands. I am watching miracles happen in my life and my little families life at the moment and in due time I will share those with you. For now I will leave you with just a little taste of one such miracle. I miscarried another baby :( just a few weeks ago. While I am still a little tired and lacking a little energy I am feeling rather well. Jess and I thought that this time I would be able to carry the baby full term. Many don't realize just how many miscarriages I've had and when I tell them... people think I'm making it up. So it's huge for us to feel like this baby was it. Well we lost the baby but in all of my reflecting and reaching and praying and growing these past few months.... I was blessed with the knowledge that around this baby's due date there is something that will be going on in our lives that will make it much harder on us if I were to be pregnant or just have given birth. I think I know what will be going on in our lives but as I am not 100%sure I'm not ready to reveal our speculation.... but this I do know..... Miracles happen and I am so blessed.
--J

More Twilight Fun

Liz with her pumpkin cupcake. Very creative!

Sarah's Twilight cup cake

Sarh with her cupcake.

And Miss Sarah (on Bella) her self. This was so much fun. I already have requests that I do another one. This time I'm thinking of a red carpet theme for the movie release... What do y'all think??? So Any whoo.... be thinking and send me your ideas or you can volunteer to help me too and I won't turn you down I promise :)!!

--J

Twilighters

Last Friday night we had a GNO with a Twilight theme. I haven't figured out how to put more than 5 pictures on a post so I was limited to just 5. I have all of them on my FB if you want to check them all out. Anyway.... Here is Prom Bella and Renesmee. These were some of the party favors. Thanks Jen they were awesome... and I love the tags.

We decorated cupcakes. Mine was supposed to be Edward so I posed as "kissing" his cheek. It's silly I know but Jess really likes this pic so I'm good with it.

This is Broken Leg Bella getting bit by Victoria. LOL this was so fun. Dressing up is great and what girl doens't like to... especially around Halloween???

These are more of the party favors. They are coffins filled with candy "blood bags", red finger nail polish and Eclipse mints. And yes we put vampire teeth around the napkins. There are endless possiblities out there.

We played Twilight Jepardy and had some quick facts and a Bella's Birthday Quiz too. We're sad everyone wasn't able to make it. We had loads of fun though and I'll post sarah with her twilight cupcake next.

--J

Twilight

So I took a "which character are you most like in Twilight" quiz on my FB and it said I was most like Alice. I have always wanted a Porsche and I love to shop and almost went to FIDM so I could see it. Then I took a different quiz in the bloggin' world and it said I'm most like Esme. It said : "You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great importance to you and you always try to make everyone feel welcome. You have a great capacity to love and are sensitive. You are firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgement and appreciate the kind way you always handle things."

So I'm Esme in the bloggin' world and on FB I'm Alice. I guess I'm a mix of them both. What do you think???? Anyway... it's all for fun so don't think I'm going to change my name or mix both names to make a new one :)!!
--J

Joleen

These are a few pictures Jess took of me during our Fall Frenzy of picture taking. I actually like them. It's very rare that I like pictures that are taken of me. I'm just a little self-concious I guess. Anyway.... These are my updated pic's!

Beautiful Sarah

Sarah is so amazing. I thought I would post a few pictures that Jackson took of her the other day. They have so much fun when I am at work. Sarah is so pretty too. If you ask her she'll tell you she's not but really just see for yourselves. I'm so glad that I have a sister that I can relate to and have tons of fun with. Sarah and I get along so well. I think we are singing this weekend. I have to check with her, but we'll let you know how it goes if it pans out.

Inspiring Quote

I was really bored in my US History class one day, and decided to read the quotes that my teacher has on the wall. He is not only a history teacher, but a guitar teacher as well. This was the quote that stuck out to me:
"Humans make Music, &
Music make Miracles."
I love it and decided that Joleen and I are the perfect example of this. We make the music, and the music that we sing, hopefully will make miracles in the lives of others.

Jackson to the Rescue

Jackson is my buddy. He is almost always right there to help me out when ever I need it. When I'm sick he sticks right by me. When Jess is out of town he doesn't want to leave my side and will sleep either in the hall or next to me at night. He is a protector! The other day he was my hero. We inherited a piano. It's older and not the most beautiful piano but it still works. I was getting frustrated playing it because two of the keys would stick half the time or wouldn't sound the other half. Jackson loves to play the piano too. (He has perfect pitch as well, so the keys were driving him nuts too.) Being the super smart little guy he is he took the top of my pian off and looked inside to see what the problem was. Well it just so happens there was a number 9, green uno card which was causing the sticking and the non- sounding of the keys. Now I can sit down and play the piano and not get frustrated. Thanks Jackson.... you sure are smart and you are my hero!!

In One Ear

I'm reading this book that I think is amazing. It talks a lot about life after death and is one lady's experience of dying, crossing over then coming back to life. It's a true story. I love how spiritual it is and how well it explains some things. I love that it goes along with everything I believe in and it also goes along with some books I've been reading lately about being positive and how life is anything you make it. Today while I was reading there was a part that totally jumped out at me. She said that we should not compare our selves to others and that we shouldn't compare our talents to other's talents either. That we should develope our individual talents. Sarah has been working on some lyrics on this exact topic and I guess it just made me realize that it doesn't matter what people think of me or who is trying to tear me down... we are all unique and we are all children of God. As long as I am happy and doing the things that Heavenly Father has asked of me then I don't need to worry about what someone else may say. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes I think we have to take a look outside of what others think of us and take a look deep inside and see what Christ and Heavenly Father see in us all.

Homecoming

Sarah got asked to Homecoming this last week. I was so excited for her. This is also her first date!! Yeah... go Sarah. How fun is that??? Anyway, I just thought I would keep everyone posted and of course I am doing her hair so we'll post pictures of the hair and the dress and the date as they come. Congrats Sarah girl and have fun at the dance. Oh and yes for those wondering we are keeping the brothers as far away as possible... it's not nice to scare away nice boys, just the scary ones :)!!

Sweet Babies

I love my sweet babies. They are so amazing to me and each one is such a miracle. Babies are miracles in and of themselves but these three never should have been mine. I have endometriosis (endo) and it's pretty bad. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the opportunity to be a mother and try my hardest to be a good mom. Am I perfect? I should say not but I'm trying. More than anything in the world I would love to be a stay at home mommy. Right now with they way the world is (with rising gas, food and everything prices) it's just not happening. I am sad that I can't be a stay at home mom but I am thankful for a great career and I love my job and the salon I work at. One day I will get to stay home with my babies. As for now we take every opportunity we can to have fun and enjoy being a family. (That is why I'm bloggin' at 12:47 am) Tonight I got home from an extra trying day at work and my kiddo's and awesome hubby decided that we needed to watch the stars come out. Emma was so cute she thought we were going to miss the stars :). So we headed out on to our new grass (yes we finally have grass) and laid out a bunch of blankets and watched the stars appear. Emma giggled her sweet giggle and Easton had to point out every airplane he could see... along with belly floppin' on all of us. I love when he gets in my face and says "Mommie??? Mommie??" And I say "Yes" or "Eastie" and he just smiles his devious little grin and I know that is his way of saying "I love you." Jackson is my brainiac and I love him so dearly. He watched and was counting the starts as they appeared in the sky. Poor kid lost count after a while but he is so much fun to talk to and listen too. I love how his brain works, I get a kick out of it. So these are my sweet precious babies and I hold them tight every day and tell them every day at least twice (if not hundreds of times) how much I love them.

Sweet 16

Sarah turned 16 this year. So as a little tribute to her I decided to write 16 of my favorite things about her.

16. She is a very good friend, friendly and one of my best friends.

15. She has great hair!

14. I love when she gets embaressed and her giggle that goes along with it.

13. I love how sassy she gets with our 8 brothers and how she can hold her own with them.

12. She has a fabulous fashion sense :)!!

11. She is outgoing and isn't afraid to try something new. She jumps in head first and doesn't look back.

10. That's her place among the kids. So glad my parents didn't stop at 9 :)!!

9. She is soooo smart. And she wants to be a nurse.

8. She is dedicated to everything she believes in and wants out of life.

7. She is super pretty.

6. She is genuine about everything

5. Her testimony and knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

4. That she has goals and knows where she is going and what she wants out of life.

3. Her flippin' sweet piano & guitar playin' skills

2. Her smiles lights up any room and (drum roll please.......)

#1. That she and I are such great friends and how well we understand each other and how we have this amazing bond with each other. (Never play Apples to Apples with us... you'll loose)

And that is my Sweet Sister Sarah! Love ya Sis!

Not Just Music

Sarah and I not only sing but we read. We have been reading the Twilight saga along with every other girl in America. We like to keep up on our current events and be in the know!! So it goes without saying that we are anxiously awaiting the movie release.... which to my surprise today has been bumped up to November 21st. So whether you are Team Edward or Team Jacob...gear up cause we have just shaved 3 weeks off our waiting time. (I strongly believe in the secret j/k) And for those of you who are fans and live in Utah we are planning a Twilight Party at my house in the near future so watch for more details to come. And anyone with ideas or who wants to help in the planning just give me a buzz.

Practice Makes Perfect

I don't have any picture updates for you. Sarah and I have been practicing singing and fine tuning our voices. It's an ongoing process: practicing and fine tuning, you are never done in that area. We have decided that we need to do a photo album of just us so we are planning on taking pictures (which took some convincing on my part since I don't like to see myself in pictures) in the near future so you'll have to check back to see our photos and tell us which ones are your fav's.

Anyway.... as a side note we were having FHE last night since Jess will be out of town today and we decided to play scripture hang man. For those who don't believe in Divine Intervention I wish all of you a moment or experience such as mine last night. The Haag Family rules of scripture hang man go as follows: you have to pick a word or phrase from the scriptures, once it's guessed then you have to tell why you chose that word or phrase by either telling the story, giving a personal experience, ect..... So we started out and we play in teams since our children are small. Jess chose the first word and it was "converted" and told the kids about his mission just a little bit. Then I was at a loss as to what I wanted as my word or phrase. As I was flipping through the back of the Book of Mormon I instictively chose "Nephi builds a ship" which is in the front of the book. After everyone had guessed it I was then to explain the story. As I was telling the story I said that Nephi's brothers told him that he couldn't build a ship, he didn't know how or have the tools too and that they laughed at him and mocked him. Then I told them how Heavenly Father showed him the plans and showed him how to make the tools and where to go for wood and supplies. And then at the very last I likened it to us today and told my small children that in life we can do and be anything we want to be and that if we ask Heavenly Father that he will show us the way and what we need to do to accomplish these things. Even though I was talking to my children it seemed like Heavenly Father was talking to me and as I listened to everything I was saying I knew that I was where I needed to be at this point in my life and that my sister and I are supposed to be singing and blessing the lives of others through our voices. I don't know how all of that will come about but I do know that He will show me bit by bit and piece by piece. FHE continued and Jess chose the phrase "The Iron Rod" and then it was my turn again and I chose "The Liahona" and it just seemed that our explainations of the stories and our personal experiences were this Divine intervention of sorts for me. Here I was thinking about what my children needed and what I was supposed to be teaching them and it turned into everything that I needed at that moment. And how ironic it was that I was teaching myself. Was it a huge and grande display of anything.... no it was just this awe hah moment in my living room with my family, that opened my eyes to the things I needed at that moment.

I am so thankful for all of the different talents my Heavenly Father has blessed me with. For my sister, Sarah and for the sisterhood bond we share. For my wonderful, dear, sweet husband and all of his love and support and for him being in tune with the Spirit too.

What It Takes

Sarah and I (Joleen) have been singing probably since the day we were born. There are actually 13 years between the two of us but we are the best of friends. We recently decided that we wanted a blog page where we could journal all about us and our singing, somewhere we could post our inspiration and sucesses as we journey down this path in our lives. Sarah is an amazing pianist and our voices tend to blend beautifully. "Nothing is greater than the harmony that comes from siblings" that is Sarah's most favorite saying. I play the piano as well but I like to let Sarah take the lead there since I'm a little rusty in that area.

We have the most amazing family and not just because of it's size :)!! There are 13 siblings in our family all from the same Mom and Dad. Our parents are the most compassionate, caring and supportive people we know. We love them dearly and thank them for all their love, support and input. We have been very blessed by our Heavenly Father who we owe so much to for blessing us with our talent of music, among other things. There are 8 brothers and 5 sisters in the family. I'm number 3 in line and Sarah is number 10! We have to thank our siblings for their love and support as well. We are always there for one another and cheering each other on in all of our different endeavors.

I am married, 7 1/2 years, and have to also thank my sweet husband for all of his love, time and support. For his patience with me as well. He is amazing and my rock, my everything. We have 4 beautiful children... one who is in Heaven waiting for the rest of us and watching over us as we journey through life here on Earth. The other 3 keep me very busy here at home. And I have to thank his parents as well for raising such an amazing son and for being supportive of us.

Sarah is in her Junior year in High School. She has lots of personality, is friendly, smart, loves to swing dance and is lots of fun. She is an awesome aunt too. She wants to go into nursing aside from singing and she is super creative. She came up with our name: Diamond in the Rough. We hope you like our blog and will check back often to see what is going on with us, our families and our singing. We love input so don't be shy on commenting :)