I having a SALE!!

I found these cute old antique windows. They are hot right now! I have seen them all over the place as decorations. I have single pane, two pane, three pane (as seen in the picture above), 4 pane and 6 pane. Normally they start at $50, but right now through October they will be $25 and up depending on how many panes you choose. You can pick any color of vinyl and any saying. Look at my other blog for ideas. expressionsbyeloise.blogspot.com

Could it be?....... Spring

I am afraid to even say the word for fear it won't really be true. Could it be spring? I hope so. I keep telling Brian not to put the snow shovel away. I am certain there will be one more big snow before we can relax. I took this picture of my tree in the front. I love it's pretty blossoms! I had a very cold and snow spring break at the farm but loved being there anyway. The cold temperatures didn't slow down Max one bit. He took every advantage he could to go out on the farm. His favorite part was driving the 4-wheeler. Here is a slide show that shows all the things we have been enjoying this spring. Enjoy!

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad's

I am Enrichment leader in our ward and we decided for our dinner for the Relief Society Birthday we would do the sweet pork salads from Cafe Rio. It turned out amazing and all the sisters were ranting and raving about how good it was. We had so many people request the recipe and so I thought I would share them all with you! The dressing is the exact kind that Cafe Rio uses! That's one of my favorite parts of the dinner. Enjoy!


Sweet pork
3-4 pounds of pork loin
1 cup brown sugar
1 bottle red taco sauce
1 TBL. Cumin
1 can of coke
Cook pork on low in crock pot with above ingredients for 12 hours or overnight. Shred
pork. Strain liquid, then add the liquid back into shredded pork.


Rice
2 c. chicken broth
4 1/2 c. water
3 c. rice
6 chicken boullion cubes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt or powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder or salt
1 Tbls. dried parsley
Add all ingredients to large pot/pan. Cover with lid and bake 1 hour at 400 degrees. Stir
half way through cook time.

Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix (buttermilk recipe)
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. mayonnaise
2 small tomatillo, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 small jalapeno (seeds removed), chopped
Blend in blender. Add additional mayo if dressing is too thin.
My family likes this sweet pork recipe better (it's more work, but i do like the flavor!):


Another Sweet Pork Recipe
3 lbs. rump pork roast (from costco ... comes with string tied around it)
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 TBL. dried minced onion
Cook all ingredients in a crock pot all day (low). 1 hour before serving, remove meat and
shred, discard juice. Put shredded meat back in and add:
1 c. dark brown sugar
1 c. red enchilada sauce
Warm for 1+ hour on low.

To assemble the salad first you put a tortilla on the bottom then the sweet pork, rice, and beans (black or pinto which ever you like best). Then you put lettuce and top it with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cilantro and whatever else sounds good to you and then use the dressing. UMMM it is GOOOD!

An interesting lunch

At Manila Elementary they have "take your family to lunch month". Max has been begging me to go to the school and have lunch with him. I gave him a million reasons why I couldn't and then....
I gave in. I thought to myself, it won't be THAT bad right? Turns out it was wonderful. The girls loved it. It was interesting though that the kid sitting next to Saydee was eating things off the floor and the kid across from him was daring him to eat the grossest thing he could find off the floor. That happened to be a Kelsee's chewed up peperoni! eeeewww gross! I also found it interesting the whole school lunch trade. One kid traded his cantaloupe for a Hersey kiss and another traded a pizza crust for an extra chocolate milk. Another interesting fact is that Max didn't get a milk. I asked him why didn't you get a milk, he replied, oh I have never gotten my milk this whole year. I continued to lecture him about how I pay for him to drink a milk every day and from now on he had better drink his milk! The girls and I had fun playing at the play ground with Max. All in all we had a very interesting lunch today!

The ginormous Mathews family

These pictures were done by Shawn Frehner the day of Max's baptism. We were missing two people but you have got to admit, this family is getting HUGE! The best part about it is I love every moment I get to spend with this crazy family! They are the light of my life! I love every single one of them dearly!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

WOW! We have a lot to report. We had a very big weekend with my family. Most important our first and oldest child Max was baptised! It was a very special event. He was able to share his day with his cousin Shayla Mathews. His Grandpa Mathews said the prayer and Uncle Dann gave a talk on baptism and his Pop gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and his Grandma Vicki ( the wonderful and most talented) wrote a song for his baptism and Uncle William sang it for us. Here is the words to the song.

Today I choose to follow Him, Jesus Christ, who died for me.
I choose to keep His commandments so His spirit will be with me.

Chorus:

Through the priesthood I am baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
I want to remember how I feel this day. Help me as I try to live like Thee, I pray.

Jesus left me the path to walk; my parents taught me right from wrong.
At times I'll make a wrong choice. I can repent, and learn to be strong.

Sing chorus again.

I'll learn to hear the Holy Ghost; whisper things you'd like to say,
to lead and guide and comfort me; to know of thy love every day.>

It filled the room with the spirit! Lots of thanks to everyone who participated and made it an unforgettable day for our child!

We took family pictures (it was impossible to get EVERYONE to smile!)

My family did the Christmas program in sacrament meeting. It was neat to hear my brother report his mission. We all sang in the Christmas program inculding the kids.

On the way home we went sledding with Brian's sister Keri in Cedar City and we were able to make it home safe and sound despite a huge snow storm that we had to battle the whole way. We are so blessed this holiday season, with love from friends and family. We don't know how we would get by without the support of all of you. We are so grateful that we have the Savior in our lives and that we have guidance from him. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from this holiday season!

she talks

Kelsee has started talking a lot. I wanted translate for you the things that we understand that she says.
Daeee- Daddy
cut cut- drink
doe doe- Dora
cocky- Rocky (our dog)
shshshis shshshis - could be shoes and could be socks
She does say other things but we haven't figured out just yet what they mean. 18 months is such a fun age we all enjoy all the new things she is learning.

Just another side note: Max will be baptised in Pioche next week along with Dann's homecoming and a Christmas program provided by the very talented and large Mathews Family. All are invited to attend!