Breakfast Pizza!

Did I hear someone ask for a super tasty, semi-healthy pizza recipe?!? 

No worries! Your wish is my command...

My In-Laws introduced us to this recipe and at first we were a little skeptical. "Breakfast Pizza" sounded a little suspicious to us, but we gave it a shot! It has become one of our favorites! Hope you enjoy! 

*You don't need to buy a specific brand of any of these ingredients. It will be good regardless!
{Trust me!}

Ingredients:

+Pizza Crust (Homemade or Store Bought)

+Pizza sauce 

+Eggs

+Spinach 

+Ham

+Sausage (We used already cooked turkey sausage)

+Peppers (red is my favorite)

+Cheese

+Olive Oil

Directions:
 1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
2. Scramble your eggs, chop peppers, cut up peppers, etc.
3. Rub a little oil on the crust, spread pizza sauce all over, then pile on spinach, peppers, ham, sausage, scrambled eggs, cheese and if you have more pizza toppings you like, put 'em on too! ( I was thinking mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, etc would be tasty.)
4. Bake pizza for 8-10 Minutes (unless packaged crust gives different instructions). The cheese should be all the way melted.
5. Take out and enjoy!

Try it! Let me know how it turns out! 

14 Months.

      Dear Abbigail Anne, 

I can't believe you are growing up so fast! Today you are officially 14 months old! It has been 2 whole months since you went and turned one on me. As much as I didn't want it to happen, I'm glad it did. Watching you grow up brings me so much joy and happiness! You have so much personality and it brightens my whole day, everyday!

+ You love to dance, "jump", play outside and climb on just about everything! (And by jump, I mean squat down, wait for us to count to 3, then stand up tall with your arms in the air! You never actually leave the ground, but you're pretty proud of yourself!) 

+ Your favorite foods are applesauce and hot dogs (nutrious right?) 

+ You're learning new words everyday! I love that you are able to tell us what you want (or don't want)

+ Currently, you have 8 teeth. I thought your fourth molar popped through.. But it was just teasing us. Hopefully soon! Teething stinks!  

+ In the mornings we watch Dora the Explorer and Bupple Guppies! Those are your favorites! 

+ Bathtime is still a favorite activity. Although now you think it's fun to stand up and dance or run in the bathtub. {It's caused a lot of unnecessary Owwies}

+ You sleep awesome during the night and your morning. But lately an afternoon nap is kind of hit and miss! I would like you to take two naps a day until your 5, but you've kinda decided one will do. (We're still "discussing" it)

+ You have the cutest voice and the cutest giggle! It's hard not to laugh when you are giggling. Thanks for that! 

+ You know where your nose is and where your belly button is and you are quickly learning all of your other body parts! You're a smarty! 

+Tantrums are becoming your specialty! It makes grocery shopping and church a lot more exciting! 

Thanks for being our sassy, silly princess! I can't imagine my days without you! You're my favorite little toddler {even if you did pee on my couch today!}

Love you Abbi Girl! 

XOXO,

               Mama

Real Life.

Okay, I'm going to be honest. I intentionally try to stay positive and post about happy things on this blog because those are the things I want to remember. But ALL OF US have weak moments. We all have days that are discouraging and seem like too much to handle! Right?!? 

  

Yesterday was a pretty good day. Abbigail was in a fairly good mood and things were going good. I even made cookies and did some dishes! I was feeling accomplished. We took some cookies over to Great Grandma Wright and played in the leaves at her house! We had fun. But after we got home, a switch went off in my head and the exhaustion hit. Seriously, my feet were hurting, my head was aching and all I wanted to do was get comfortable and go lay in bed. I was exhausted. {period}

But then I looked around and saw reality. Drew wasn't home from work yet, dinner was half way done, dirty dishes were COVERING my counters and my table, banana was stuck to my foot (thanks Abbi), Abbigail was opening every cabinet in the kitchen pulling out pots and pans, spaghetti noodles, hot chocolate mix, oatmeal or sandwich bags and if she wasn't doing that she was pulling out all of the trash on our garbage can and spreading it all over the floor. Just before I lost it, Drew walked through the door. 

He took Abbi for me and I finished dinner. Before we ate, I told him I was going to run to the gas station and get myself a Diet Coke. Finally, five whole minutes of silence by myself! It was nice. I got home, we fed Abbi and then put her to bed. (we had a late dinner, so it was past bedtime.) Then Drew and I sat down to eat. It felt nice to not worry about Abbi crying or yelling at me. It was just me and Drew, my feet were up, we were eating dinner and I had my Diet Coke. I was starting to feel better. Then, I went to take a sip of my drink, the lid came off and the full 32oz of Diet Coke spilled all over my pants and our carpet. 

I couldn't do anything but cry...

Drew quickly told me to go change, he cleaned up the spilled pop and then left to go get me a new one. {He's kinda the best}

This may sound trivial to a lot of you. You're thinking, "crying over spilled pop?" But I can tell you, it felt like SO much more than that. 

I can't even express how grateful I am that God cares about me and all of his children. Even through the hardest and most exhausting of days, He is still there and He still cares. I am not alone; I always have help. Being reminded of this gives me peace, hope and helps me feel refreshed. Because I can pray to Heavenly Father for help and read scriptures and other inspiring material I feel like I can do it. 

I truly am grateful to be a mother. It is really hard most days, but at the same time it is even more rewarding. I love watching Abbigail grow. I love hearing her talk, learn new words, discover new things. I just love her. Being a mother is what I have always dreamed of being. Even on the worst days, I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. 

"Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones."

               -Jeffrey R. Holland

Inspiring Words.

via

I'm a little late talking about General Conference. You see, it's been about 2 weeks then these messages were originally given. For those who don't know, General Conference is a world-wide conference that is broadcasted from Salt Lake City, UT. It happens twice a year (April and October) Leaders from our church speak to us about the principles and topics that help us to be better people. General Conference has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Most of us have difficulties, trials, or questions that are weighing heavily on our minds. General Conference has always been a time that I can pray to my Heavenly Father about these issues and they have always been addressed somehow during that conference. It's comforting to know God answers our prayers, right? We aren't alone and we don't have to go through this life all alone! God is there to help! We just need to ask for it! 

I've been struggling with something for a little while now. It's something that has been on my mind often. Before General Conference, I prayed sincerely to God to please help me understand why I need to experience this. Why do I need to go through this trial? I kind of had the "why me?" way of thinking. I didn't understand. But, I knew if I prayed to God he would answer my prayer as he has done so many times before. 

The conference started and I got out a notebook and a pencil. I wasn't going to miss the answer to my question. All of the messages that were given were very inspiring. I could tell they were inspired from God. With all the craziness going on in the world today, it was nice to hear peaceful and calming messages. One of my favorites was a talk given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson (Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) about the moral force of women. He reminded us, 

“The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”

I was reminded I need to be tender, kind, virtuous and faithful. As a mother, I feel like that is even more vital. Not only do I need to be the kind of woman described above to please God, I need to be that woman so I can be an example for my daughter and teach her what is right. See what I mean by inspiring messages? But my question still hadn't been answered...

Sunday morning came. We turned the TV on and once again listened to the wonderful messages. President Thomas S. Monson (the Prophet of our church) spoke as the last speaker on the Sunday morning of the Conference. I felt it. I felt the Spirit so strong. It felt like God was speaking directly to me! He was saying, "Hey Ashley, Listen up! You wanted your answer and here it is!" And I did get my answer. I felt so comforted by the words President Monson spoke. He started off by talking about his sweet wife who passed away about six months ago.  He spoke about how he misses her and how this time has been very hard, but the knowledge that he will see her again has comforted him. He said,  

"It may be safely assumed that no person has ever lived entirely free of suffering and sorrow, nor has there ever been a period in human history that did not have its full share of turmoil and misery."

That was what first caught my attention, suffering and sorrow. That is what I was feeling! But that was only the beginning. He also said, 

"When the pathway of life takes a cruel turn, there is the temptation to ask the question “Why me?” At times there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel, no sunrise to end the night’s darkness...We become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required."

There was my first answer I needed to have patience. As hard as this trial was and how I still didn't understand, regardless of all that; I need to have patience! God will sustain me and help me understand in his own due time.

Then President Monson said, 

"Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. We know that there are times when we will experience heartbreaking sorrow, when we will grieve, and when we may be tested to our limits. However, such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before."

This trial would make me better, more understanding, more empathetic and help me gain a stronger testimony than what I had before. I loved that and it definitely brought me comfort. But what about right now? I'm still really struggling on how to survive my trial. I can see that after its over I will be better and more understanding, etc...but what can I do to make the trial easier as I am smack dab in the middle of the trial right now. Then, President Monson reminded me of scripture in Matthew. Matthew 11:28-30, 

28 ¶^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.

 29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.

Jesus Christ has already suffered and atoned for all of my sins and afflictions. Because of this, He knows exactly what I am feeling. I need to rely on Christ, learn of him and He will give me rest. Rest. That is exactly what I need. 

As I rely on Jesus Christ through this hard time I can feel rested. He will help me to be patient so I can survive my trial and become better, more understanding, more empathetic and gain a stronger testimony than I had before. I know this is true for all of you too! I don't know the details of your life or the personal struggles you find yourself experiencing at this time. But I do know that no one is exempt from going through trials. Difficulties in life happen to everyone! So whatever you are going through right now, remember to rely on Jesus Christ! Our Savior is so willing to help and give us rest! All we need to do is ask for it! That brings me so much peace and comfort! 

via

*This post was extra long! Thanks for letting me express what I was feeling to you! To hear more of the messages that were given at the last General Conference, go here

The Pumpkin Patch.

This would probably be considered a "picture overload", but we had so much fun I just couldn't pick a few favorites. 

On Friday, Stephanie and I got together and took our little monsters to a local pumpkin patch! It was the cutest thing ever! Plus the cute farm paired with the crisp fall weather and mountains surrounding us made our afternoon absolutely perfect! Apparently, this farm has been in the same family for generations! They were so friendly, I felt like I was part of the fam! We first got there and we jumped on the big wagon and went on a hayride complete with a huge tractor pulling the wagon. It was dreamy. Abbigail was so happy! She smiled the whole ride! Plus there were other people on the ride and she loves watching people. (I'm a people watcher too, she must get that from me.)

The big tractor dropped us off in the middle of a pumpkin patch. I was amazed at how big all of the pumpkins were! Seriously, What did they do to make their pumpkins so gigantic!?! A few of them were taller than Abbigail and pretty much all of them, including the ones we brought home weighed quite a bit more than her. (but I guess that isn't hard to do.)

We picked out our pumpkins and had to hurry home. (Drew and I had dinner with his boss that evening.) I was pretty bummed because they also had a miniature corn maze that was perfect for little kids, face painting and a little playground. I think we're gonna have to make a second, third and maybe even fourth trip back... 

... can you blame us?!

That one time I made "healthy" cookies and LOVED them...

Okay, I may or may not be using the term "healthy" very loosely. You see, I made these cookies earlier in the week and Drew and I ate two and a half dozen cookies in less than two days. Don't judge until you've had 'em people! 

Then today (Sunday) rolled around and Sunday's are a day for baking! After church, we usually take naps then go up to Drew's parents' house for some fun. Cookies and fun just go together! So Sunday's are a day for baking! 

... and I did it. I made the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies again. Two times in ONE week! To say I have a problem would probably be an understatement. So to justify my baking so many cookies, I've decided to tell people these cookies are squash cookies. Pumpkins are a type of squash you know... and squash is healthy! So there! 

You now officially have my permission to make these cookies as much as you want because they are in fact healthy! Can I get an Amen?! 

Ingredients: 

+ 1 Box of Spice Cake Mix

+ 1 Can of Pumpkin Puree (15oz) 

+ 1 Bag of Chocolate Chips

Yup, you read right! Only three ingredients! Yet another reason to make these cookies everyday of the week! 

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the cake mix and pumpkin puree together until it's smooth and then add the chocolate chips. (I just eyeball the chocolate amount. Personally, I don't think cookies can ever be too chocolatey, so I add pretty much the whole bag! But whatever floats your boat, if you only want to use half or 3/4 the bag, that works great too!)

3. Using a cookie scoop or regular spoon, drop cookies onto the cookie sheet about two inches apart.

4. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cooked through! 

5. Let the cookies cool and ENJOY! 

*this made about 2 1/2 dozen cookies* 

Hello Fall!

Taken by a friend here in Inkom. This is where I live, GORGEOUS right? 

I saw one of my favorite bloggers made a fall bucket list and I thought that was such a great idea. Sometimes I get in a slump thinking about how Abbigail and I are "stuck" inside all day, everyday. (Which isn't true, but that is what my mind has been telling me lately.) Plus I just love making lists because they make me feel accomplished! So here it is:

Our Fall Bucket List! 

-Take Abbigail to a pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin! 

-Make all kinds of pumpkin desserts, multiple times!

-Bundle up in our sweaters and boots and take Abbi on a walk a few times a week.

-Decorate the house for fall/Halloween. 

-Cuddle on the couch with Drew and watch his favorite show.

-Make hot chocolate like everyday!

-Get/Make Abbi a Halloween costume. 

-Take more pictures WITH Abbi. 

-Learn to make caramel corn.

-Make a bunch of goodies and deliver them to people in our ward. 

-Get to know my neighbors better. 

-Read my scriptures everyday and Listen to a conference talk daily too. 

-Read a new book. 

-Make chili and corn bread! Yum! 

- Learn how to make a new "fall" recipe. 

- Decorate our pumpkins! 

-Hand out candy on Halloween! 

Did I miss something? 

What fun plans do you guys have this fall?