Curtis Family Fun

Got Snow?

2011-02-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

So...do you think we have enough snow God? Aparently not...we have another 6 inches coming on Saturday!
If we have hot days ahead, I'm going to start building an Ark!

Get to know Tyler Curtis

2011-02-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

Tribute to Tyler

Loves to play computer games, namely Star Wars and Lego Universe.
He is very friendly and social
He has a big heart and loves freely
He knows what he wants and will do all he can to get it
He loves to play "cushion cave" with his brothers
He really misses our cat Lynx
He likes Math and soccer
He is very helpful and when asked to do something, does it right away
Loves to joke around with Jayden and say random words to make him laugh
Doesn't like snowball fights that end up with snow in his face.
Loves to go camping as a family
Like cheese crisps and orange soda
Wants to own a cat again some day
Loves to do magic tricks and wants to be a majician when he grows up

Tyler's 7th Birthday

2011-02-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

Tyler had a very fun Birthday party. 5 friends came as well as our family. We had the party at "Precious Plaster". A fun place where they have a huge selection of objects, wall hangings and items to paint. Then the staff sprays it with shine and the kids get to take it home. The boys had a great time. Tyler painted a big wartime vessel, Jayden a diamond back snake, and Stephen Elmo. Dolphins, Ying/Yang, Snoopy on his house were some of the other items that were painted and taken home. The kids had a great time visiting and painting. We had a huge cake and pizza and soda. Tyler really loved his party. Each child got to take home punching balloons, a star mylar balloon and their painted object. It was so nice to have a fun place to hold the party that was large enough for that many people. Our house wouldn't have contained all the energy and fun the boys had that day.
When Tyler woke up that morning he said to me, "Guess what Mommy!? I'm now 7 years old." I asked him if he felt older and wiser and he replied, "Of course!" I got a good chuckle out of that one. I thought he'd say "no".

Funny things Stephen says

2011-02-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some funny things Stephen has said,

He was rubbing my legs under my pajama pants. He said, "Mom your legs are Spicy!" (prickly)

He bit into a fresh plum yesterday and said, "Ummm, this tastes like a...like a...like a Hot Pepper!" I have no idea how he even knows what a hot pepper tastes like!

Today he and Tyler were playing in the living room in a box that we had cut to be his Robot costume. He says to Tyler, "Hey Tyler come be a Catapickle with me!" Tyler says, "Ha ha ha Stephen a Catapickle!"

He is such a cute boy. I can't believe it was three years ago he came to be a part of our family. It seems like last week. Time sure flies.

Orange Chicken Panda Style (Asian)

2011-01-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

I love trying one new recipe per week.
This is my favorite so far:

2 lbs. boneless, Skinless chicken breasts or thighs cut into bite size cubes
1 large egg (I use chicken broth to be heart healthy)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 TBS. vegetable oil plus additional for frying
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. cornstarch, divided
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Or you can just bread it with Italian Bread crumbs (that is really tasty)

Orange Chicken Sauce:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar ( I usually double this whole part)
2 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. water
Grated zest from orange (or orange flavoring)

Stir Fry:
1 Tbs. peeled or mined or grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic (can leave out)
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs. sesame Oil

Place cubed chicken in large bowl. Add egg salt, pepper and 1 Tbs. oil. Mix well. Stir together 1/2 cup cornstarch and flour in a large shallow bowl. Add chieck pieces, a handful or two at a time, and stir to coat evenly. Top off any excess.

Pour about 1 inch oil in a wok or deep, heavy skillet and heat to 375 f.. If you don't have a thermometer, heat oil until it starts to ripple. Add chiecken pieces, a small handful at a time, and fry until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove chicekn from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Then cooking the next batch you will probably need to reduce the heat to keep chicekn from cooking too fast and possibly add a bit more oil.

Once all chicken is cooked reserve a couple of tbs. of oil from pain in a seperate bowel. Clean wok. Combine sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup and whisk until sugar dissolves.

Heat wok for 15 minutes over high heat. Add reserved oil back into pan. Add ginger, garlic, red pepper, and green onions; stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed. Combine remaining 1 Tbs. cornstarch with 1/4 cup water until smoothl add to skillet with orange sauce and chicken. Heat until sauce is thickened; stir in sesame oil. Serve with rice.

Jayden's room

2011-01-18T13:52:00.001-08:00

To see our whole house click on older posts below. Jayden's room is big with a huge attic attached to the side of his room.

Bedrooms and Office

2011-01-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

My room is the blue bedspread with plants. It barely fits our King Bed, night stand and dresser but we like it. The boys (Tyler and Stephen)have their own little bathroom (in their room) with an oldfashioned tub. It is cute and just their size. Jayden's room has the bright bedspread. Both boys rooms are upstairs. Our room is on the main floor just off the bathroom and office. Our Livingroom has a pretty design in the ceiling that I really like.
The kitchen has gorgeous cherry wood cupboards and granite looking countertops.
Our yard is huge. We are on 1/2 acre. I have planted lots of flowers and will have a vegetable garden next year.
Welcome to our home!

Our Little House

2011-01-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

So I am finally posting pictures of the inside of our house as requested. The boys had fun posing in each of the rooms for these.

Oh Christmas Time

2011-01-18T12:37:00.001-08:00

So we made ornaments for our christmas tree. We did it Christmas Eve. The boys loved doing it. Tyler, Jayden and Stephen had so much fun every night reading a Christmas related story and talking about Christmas. We had fun with their new toys. Tyler: Criss-Cross Crash Hot Wheels ramps
Jayden: Remote Helacopter
Stephen: a Drum musical set

Catching Snow Flakes

2011-01-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

Catching Snow Flakes
Tyler loves the snow. I know that one day he'll be a snowboarder. We plan to take the kids sledding tomorrow to a great place that even has a lodge with big windows to watch the kids come on down the hill. We had 15 inches in 2 days and we had to take full advantage of the big mound of snow we had piled up next to our driveway. Stephen loved me pulling him up it in his sled and pushing him down across our driveway. He said, "Mom give me a shove and then I'll shove my way up the hill myself." Tyler said, "If I stick my tongue out long enough I'm sure to catch some flakes." I said, "Should I go get our flavoring and we can make flavored slushies?" He said, "No way mom don't you know snow is dirty!?" I had to laugh at that one.

Fall in the Curtis Family

2010-11-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

This fall Jayden and Tyler have been enrolled in Nashua City Soccer. They've been enjoying it and doing very well. Jayden has practice on Wed. and Fri. evenings and his games are at 8am on Saturday. Jason has been a good sport and taking him to the games. His couches are both in our ward and have been very gratious to pick up and drop off Jayden from practice.
Tyler loves soccer and has practice and games on Saturday mornings at 9:45 am. I've been sad to miss there games since I'm in school every Saturday. So Jason sends me text messages to keep me updated, and I read them during my breaks at school.

Jayden has taken up playing the drums in the elementary school band. He practices 20 minutes 3-4 times a week.

Stephen is going through the terrible two's right now. He took a butter knife and stabbed the walls in the living room, ripped up Jayden's photo's that were just taken and not yet put into envelops to send Grandparents, and he was caught trying to stab one of Jason's pods for insulin with the insulin kneedle that he opened from the package on Jason's desk.
He doesn't stop unless he is asleep! The other day I said, "Stephen I am very mad at you for what you have done to the walls!" He said, "Don't you love me anymore mommy?" I don't know how he came up with that! I explained that I loved him no matter what but I was very upset with his actions, and that he needs to not due things he knows are wrong.

Life is crazy, but it's our life and we love it!

Kimberly is in Massage Therapy school

2010-11-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Kimberly is a massage therapy student at New Hampshire Institute of Therapuetic Arts in Hudson, NH. She attends Tues./Thurs. from 6-10pm and Saturday 9am-5:30 pm and some Sundays (same time as Saturday).
The schools website is www.nhita.com

She is thoroughly enjoying it and has received very high marks on her Anatomy exams.

Jason is helping tremendously with dinners, bed times and house hold duties. He even helps her study.

She will be done in June and take her NH boards that same month.
Life is busy at the Curtis household!

Can't wait

2010-08-18T23:28:00.001-07:00

The boys are very excited to start school. Tyler says he loves school and can't wait to be there all day like Jayden. Jayden says he wishes the homework load wasn't going to increase but that he is excited to make new friends and meet new people. YES, darn it, we have to put them into another school!!! That's the 4th one so far for Jayden, poor kid! We wish we hadn't moved so much. But that's life sometimes, we never know what were going to get! It's just our jobs to be able to make the best of it.

2010-08-18T23:23:00.001-07:00

Live for today, love for forever

2010-08-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

I've started my thankful journal again.
Today I was thankful for sunny skies and icecream.
Yesterday-Big hugs and snuggles with Stephen my two year old.

Getting ready for our move

2010-08-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

Well we finally did it. We found a house we really like that is cute and small and just right for us. It's a 1960's cape and we think we'll like it for the time being. We do plan to get a new job for Jason out west somewhere close to family. So we shall see how long we are here for. But whatever happens we are living in the moment and seizing every opportunity to enjoy New Hampshire and our dear friends here. We are having a open house on Sept. 2nd for all our friends to come on over and play and eat with us in our new home. I'll post pictures of the new home next weekend!

Curtis Family Fun: Disability Olympics

2010-07-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Curtis Family Fun: Disability Olympics

Disability Olympics

2010-07-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Girls and Aunt Stacey came up with Family Disability Olymmpics. We had to go through an obsticle course with each person having a different "disability". Like one arm behind back while linking arms with another person, and hopping on one foot. Wheel barrow because the legs don't work. Me on crutches (yes I did need crutches from a sprained knee) and other very funny disabilities. We even had a award ceremony with gold,silver and bronze necklaces. Thanks Aunt Stacey and neices! We had a really great time.

For our last afternoon, we all journey'd over to Fish Lake for rock skipping and splashing around. Did you know Fish Lake is a Volcano lake? At some spots they have yet to discover the bottom. It was beautiful weather the whole time we were in Utah.

Four-Wheeling at the Cabin (Fish Lake)

2010-07-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

We had a Blast riding Four-wheeler's around the hills surrounding the cabin that the Curtis/Dastrup/Hancock family stayed in for 3 days. We all had a great time getting to know each other better. The boys loved Daddy time on the 4-wheelers! I had a blast with Jason as well...anything for an excuse to hold him tight. ;)

Jason and I did work at the Manti Temple

2010-07-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day. Mom Curtis tended the boys so Jason and I could get away to a hotel and then the next morning we went to the Manti Temple.

Pictures with the Firth Family

2010-07-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Leisa did a Fantastic Job taking our family photos. We had a very fun day! We enjoyed the crazy pictures as well as the "stand up straight and suck it in" pictures. It's been 6 years since all our Firth siblings have been together.
I loved the time spent with Shaura, Mark, Jason and the rest of the game. I know my family feels the same.

Our Trip to see our Family in Utah

2010-07-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Jayden was really hesitent at first to go near the honey bee's, but Uncle Mark gently helped him to have courage. They suits and bee keeper's hat really helped him overcom his fear. Uncle Mark was fantastic with Jayden as they discussed the details of the hive and they looked and looked for the queen bee. It was so fun watching Jayden's amazement and curiosity. He loves nature and learning about insects and zoology. Thank you Uncle Mark!

Kimberly Get together with friends

2010-06-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm holding a get together--

This Thursday 24th at 7pm

Please read the message from my friend who is hosting this get together:
"After talking with Kim over the phone, we decided that we'll move the party to my parents house (where I lived when you knew me). The address is 1195 N 730 E in Pleasant Grove, just up the hill from PG Junior High. You are more than welcome to bring the kids. We'd rather see you with the children than not at all, and there are toys/movies to keep them entertained. We'll have plenty of food to snack on, but I wouldn't consider it a meal. Kim has asked that everyone send her a message with your phone number so she can call you, but feel free to call me at ***if you have any questions."

Just email me or post a message here! I'll contact you.

Stephen

2010-05-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

Stephen is now 2 years old. He has attained the status of CARS KING. He has watched Disney Pixar's CARS, the movie 50 times now. That is usually the first thing that comes out of his mouth in the morning, "Watch Cars Mommy!" He loves crashing his cars together in the kitchen and making lots of noise with the tires on the wood floor. He loves to drink milk with vanilla whey protein in it for snack. His favorite place is outside, knocking on our neighbors door to say hello, and petting our kitten. He is a very friendly little boy with more energy than our other two children put together. He is a happy little boy who knows how to have fun all day long. He is speaking quite well now and loves to wave hello and goodbye to everyone in the store, the bank, the library, the park etc. We love our Stephen!

Our visit to Utah

2010-05-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

We are so excited! We get to go home to Utah to see family and friends! We will be in Utah County and Weber County June 23rd-July 29th, then we will go down to Fish Lake, Sigurd area and be with family from July 29th-July 5th. We fly home July 7th. We plan to get together with college and highschool friends whom we haven't seen for a very long time. The kids are excited to see cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and the like. They talk to them on the phone and it will be nice for them to get to know them in person. We hope we can see everyone in the short time we are there. Drop us a line and let us know if we'll be able to see you too!

Purchasing a home

2010-05-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

We've been looking for a new home to move to since the home we are renting was foreclosed on and the bank wants to sell it but at a higher price than we want to pay. So we plan to move by August 15th. This is the home we put an offer on:
http://www.nhsynergy.com/search/DetailListingResidential.asp?mlsid=2832086

A year behind

2010-05-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

We'll we're a year behind on our blog, and since my digital camera hasn't been holding a charge very long...I thought I'd put up photos from 2009 anyway. Why not right? We had a nice Easter. We went to a friends home and had a Easter Egg hunt with about 15 other children. Stephen helped me hide the 10 eggs we brought. It was so cute. He'd say, "Help, Help mommy!" He didn't want me to hide any of them. So I would find spots for him to place the plastic eggs and he'd put them down oh so carefully. This is Jayden in Easter 2009 taking a good look at what he found.

Two Kinds of Intelligence

2010-03-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

Two Kinds of Intelligence
by Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi

There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired, as child in school memorizes facts and concepts from books and from what the teacher says, collecting information from the traditional sciences as well as from the new sciences.

With such intelligence you rise in the world. You get ranked ahead or behind others in regard to your competence in retaining information. You stroll with this intelligence in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always more marks on your preserving tablets.

There is another kind of tablet, one already completed and preserved inside you.
A Spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness in the center of the chest. This other intelligence does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid, and it doesn't move from outside to inside through conduits of plumbing-learning.

This second knowing is a fountainhead from within you, moving out.

My response--BY KIMBERLY CURTIS
Two Kinds of Intelligence
The first stanza refers to Book Smarts. Intelligence in this regards is about proving to the teacher you are able to retain the information you have gained from her teachings.

I translate the second stanza as this: You are compared to your peers. As you are given life lessons you prove to yourself and others through your actions and words what you’ve become through your past education. Life’s experiences add to this record of knowledge.

The third is a little more complicated to explain in regards to self reflection. There is a basic schooling we receive from life’s hard lessons. The schooling we get from making our wrong life choices, as well as receiving the consequences from those choices, and finally learning from our past. We learn how spiritually, emotionally, and physically strong we are in order to “survive” through the difficult patches of life. Then we miraculously spring off that growth and education life just served us with a fresh view. That fresh view comes to us and we move through life with ease. New thoughts and information flow through us easily once more until the next hard lesson comes along. This learning curve comes into reality through self-reflection and gaining insight into why we made the choices we have, the person we have left behind, (our old self) and the person we are soon to become. This education can’t come from any other person, it can’t be given to us through the loss of agency or another persons' life experience; it must come from within.

After all this learning and education we write it all down in our journal of thought, or composition and potentially we can glean from it years from now to increase our future self… and maybe, just possibly others will too.

Halloween Happenings

2009-11-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Jason went out and returned the two costumes I bought for him and me. They were Bacon-for him and Eggs for me. He said, "no way am I wearing that!" So I asked him to go return them and pick out something else. He came home with Cesar and Greek Goddess for us. Not bad either! Jayden picked out the great Police Officer outfit at a place here in Hudson. He got the Boys BEST costume award at our ward party. Tyler was the Blue Power Ranger. He says next year he wants to be the red one. Stephen said he wanted to be "Baby". That is his name for his teddy bear. So he was a Panda Bear. It was fun taking the boys to the ward halloween party. We had dessert, they played bean bag toss, Tyler got his face painted like a Tiger (his favorite animal) and Jayden enjoyed running around the gym with friends. Stephen loved tossing the bean bags into the cut outs of Frankinstein's body. Jason wasn't feeling very good so he stayed home.

We all drove over to our old neighborhood at Shepard's Hill Townhome association and went with our friend Dawn and her kids trick-or-treating. We got A LOT of candy since the houses are so close together and we did lots of houses. I had heel on to go with my dress so I ended up walking barefoot a lot of the time to save my toes ( they were getting a little smooshed). We had a fun time together. We all got glow-in-the-dark necklaces from the Hudson Fire Department. They came to the neighborhood and handed them out.

Stephen asks every day for "candeee can-ee!" He's learned what it means to eat too much chocolate in one day. I said to him, "Stephen do you know what happens when you eat to much chocolate? (the second day into him having diariah)" He answered, "Ouh-ee's!" He's hade a sore bottom from eating chocolate candy bars.

We all had a happy,safe Halloween. We hope you did too!

What's happening?

2009-10-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

Jason is supporting Kimberly through college now.
She is taking 6 credits per semister, with one class at a time, 1 term and 2 term. The boys are doing great with Soccer this fall. Tyler's team always has high scoring games for being Kindergarter's! Jayden is getting more daring on the field and his team has won every game. Stephen is going great at the Gym's playday's. He likes the big huge slide structure there as mommy takes exercise classes 4 times a week. Jason is getting ready to purchase a retriver in the spring and looks forward to training him to be a gun dog. Kimberly is busy with school, gym and crafts for the boys. Jayden enjoys school almost as much as Tyler. He is busy with scouts and soccer. Tyler loves Kindergarten. When we move he'll be switching to afternoon. Stephen is busy and is enjoying help unpack. I keep telling him we need to MOVE first! LOL He thinks he's being helpful to me by unpacking the boxes I've tapped up. Funny little 20 month old!

Moving Day

2009-10-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

We are moving to a new home. Why?
1) It has a great front/back yard (back is fenced.
2) It has 3 bedrooms, large kitchen with working island
3) It has a large finished basement
4) It is in a gorgeous location
5) We plan to buy it after renting it for awhile
6) The school is wonderful

I've been packing 3 boxes a day for 2 weeks and I have painted the living room in cream and a yellow/orange(one wall). What a lot of work that was done. Once I have it all decorated with the curtains and pillows to match it should be very warm and inviting.

We are packing the Uhaul Friday and moving on Saturday. We have wonderful friends who have helped me with some of the packing and organizing, and more friends to help with moving day and Joanna said she's happy to help with organizing and decorating! We have the best friends in the whole wide world! Thank goodness for them or I would probably go crazy! Raising three little boys is a big job for Jason and I!

Beautiful blog

2009-10-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

I just found our digital camera so now I can take decent photos of the beautiful fall now that's it is fading.:( This is a photo I took of a friends backyard. It was taken with my camera phone. The leaves are gorgeous, the weather is nice most days. I love the crisp clean air in the early mornings as I drive the boys down to the bus stop. The apple pies smell so good. My friend made one the other day at the church so she could give it to the Elders. All of us thought it was for the baptism after church, so we were really looking forward to it. How sad!
We plan to go apple picking soon.

King and Queen of the mountain

2009-09-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here we are on the top of Loon Mountain, NH with a view of a lake leading through to the river (which one, I don't know). We had a fun hike to find the deadman's Gold. We followed clues on a paper we were given, at the end each kid got a part of the treasure, a Gold nugget. Fun Day!

Bucket Boy

2009-09-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

Tyler was responsible for keeping the bucket out of Stephen's reach, so he wouldn't set the newts free.

CHEESE

2009-09-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Jayden had been beggin all day Wed. and Thursday to go to the pond. The first night there he found out there were frogs and newts (salamanders) in the pond. Oh boy! What did that mean? "Mom can we got to the pond now?" said every hour. LOL

An Afternoon at the pond- CAMPING TRIP

2009-09-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

On the afternoon of Friday we spent time on beach of the small pond at the campground. I worked on my tan and enjoyed keeping tabs on Stephen, Jayden and Tyler. Jason took a nap back at camp, and prepared the fire for dinner. The boys loved wading through the water and gathering up newts in their net. We bought a special bucket and net at the office/store so they had a special way to bring them home. Aren't a good sport? Yes, I let them bring them home.

Stephen loves keys and drivers seat

2009-09-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

This was taken at our campsite. It was like our make-shift pack and play (playpen), he loved being there with the keys in hand. We camped at Lost River Valley Campground in North Woodstock, NH.

Best Brothers

2009-09-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Tyler is such the best big brother to Stephen! They get along so well. I appreciate all his help he gives me with Stephen. Stephen misses them already. 8:55 am first day of school.

Big Third Grader Jayden

2009-09-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

So Jayden is now a big 3rd grader. His school consists of two seperate buildings with seperate school names but under the same Principle. The Kindergarten thru second grade in Library street and 3rd-5th is Dr. H.O. Smith school.
Jayden has a slight cold and sore throat, but he was rearing to go this morning. He was a lot less excited as he slowly got out of school, Old news mom! But he is excited to see old friends from last year and he loves to learn. He has a new back pack, which he is happy about. He and Tyler ride SEPERATE buses. The Kindergarteners are bused seperately.
Jayden loves Science, Reading and Computers. He is our little abscent-minded professor. Happy Day! It's really quite now..just me and Stephen here at home. Now I can focus on his skills and learning a lot easier.
Awww....school days..YESSS!

Tyler Starts Public Kindergarten

2009-09-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

Tyler is so excited to go to Kindergarten. This morning he was the first one dressed and ready to go. At 7:30 am he was at the door asking if it was time to drive down to the bus stop. "Is it time yet Mommy?" I heard that phrase like 4 times! What an excited boy! I asked him if he'd like me to drive him and Jayden to school. He said, "No, I need to ride the bus for the first real time!" He is in the a.m. group in Mrs. Mazilia (Maz--ee--l--a) class. She team teaches with with Mrs. O. (Oglia--something). Tough names!
I'm excited for him too. I really like his teacher and I'm impressed with the fun things she has planned for them within the classroom. When we went to Opening Intro. night, I had the opportunity to speak with her for a while. She is new to Library Street school. She moved over from Private school Infant Jesus School in Nashua. She also came with her friend and co-Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. O.
Tyler goes from 8:45am to 11:15am.
I can't believe my little boy is so Big! Where did the days and weeks go?

Family Photo June 28, 2009

2009-07-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful for this special day June 28, 2009. The day Jayden Lynn Curtis was baptised. Jayden said about the Baptism, "I was so relaxed and calm as I walked through the hallway on my way to being baptised. I knew I was making a good choice, and I felt so happy inside." The ward missionary who filled the baptismal font only filled it with the hot water tap because usually it is so cold, I guess the boilers in the church had been fixed since the last baptism so that it was VERY HOT. Jason went down into the font and then we waited and waited to see Jayden to appear. He was there but as he stepped a toe into it he said, "Oh wow that is HOT!" so it took a few minutes for him to get in because it was so hot.
He was baptised and we were so happy. I chuckled inside when he came up and sputtered and wiped his face. Nothing like being bent backward into hot water.
Baptism by fire???
It was a happy day. We had a large veggie platter, and cupcakes after the baptism for everyone that attended and then had a salad, pot roast, potatoes and carrots, and rolls at our home. Jason Firth and Dennis Harris were our guests for dinner (and also attended the baptism). I also made Mac & cheese for boys since they aren't crazy about red meat.
It was a wonderful day.

Jayden's Baptism

2009-07-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken before Jayden's baptism. His Dad, Jason, baptised him. Jayden said of the event, "I'm so happy. I felt so calm and relaxed, and knew I was doing the right thing by being baptised." We are so pleased that he has decided to be baptised. He also received the Holy Ghost that same day, since he was baptised Sunday afternoon. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is customary to be baptised and confirmed a member of the church at age 8. This age is believed to be the age of accountability where the child can decifier right from wrong and be accountable for his or her actions.

I'm so thankful for Jayden. He is our oldest child in our family and he is such a good example to his two younger brothers.

Happy Birthday Uncle Mark

2009-07-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jayden's 8th Birthday

2009-06-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Jayden designed his Birthday cake and I drew it out with the icing. We played games, did magic tricks, looked for bugs outside to suck up with his special bug vacume (with magnifying glass). We had a fun evening celebrating! Jayden is a boy that loves science and learning about wild life! He requested that his cake be decorated with an Atom and a lightening bolt to represent electricity.
He is very creative. He can be found most days doing origami, a craft of some sort, designing animal cut outs and reading.
We love Jadyen! HAPPY 8th Birthday Jayden!

Me and My piano students

2009-06-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's so rewarding to be a piano teacher. I've been teaching for 2 years now, here in New Hampshire. It's so fun to see the kids advance, and grasp hold of the concepts I teach them. I love it when they pass off a new song that was difficult for them just 7 days prior. It shows they are really practicing and that I've done a good job teaching them the fundamentals. I love being a piano teacher.
We just had our 2nd piano recital. This picture was taken Friday night.

Stephen's after shot

2009-03-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here he is After his haircut! I was the stylist. We sat on the toilet (lid down of course), with me covered with a haircape, and he was covered with a haircape. I used the clippers and went at it, he was a wiggle worm, and didn't understand why I was making him sit still for such a thing. But he did stay on my lap, and we got his cute haircut done in about 13 minutes.
Doesn't he look like a cute little man?

Stephen's first haircut

2009-03-19T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here is Stephen before his first haircut.

Fun for Kimberly's Birthday

2009-03-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

I decided that it would be fun to take Jayden, Tyler and Stephen to Chuckie Cheese for some fun on MY Birthday. We went with a good friend of mine, Amanda, and her four kids. It was a riot. Between Tyler and Jayden they ended up with 100 tickets to be used on a fun rocket launcher at the end of their play. Stephen loved the Merry-go-round and when it was time to get off, I had to pry his cute hands from the horse's pole. He rode it 4 times in a row. We had a really great time!

The boys unwind

2009-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Stephen at Grandma and Grandpa's

2009-03-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Stephen had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa Firth's. He loved this old fashioned highchair. He was so proud to to sit higher than ours.

New photos-for January

2009-02-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

On New Years Eve the boys slept under the Christmas Tree in sleeping bags. We wore party hats and ate yummy food. Tyler is now 5 and Stephen is now 1 year! They are so fun together. Tyler loves to sit with Stephen and pass a bouncey ball back and forth. Tyler is a good older brother. Here is a link to some recent photos.

January 2009

Mom and Dad's 50th

2008-12-29T20:53:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful to those that made it possible for me and Stephen to travel to Utah so we could celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary.
Here are a few photos from that wonderful trip.

Kimberly Visit back home to Utah

Some New Photos

2008-12-29T20:41:00.001-08:00

Here are some recent photos of our little family. Taken mostly in December. Oh if only I could take more time to put them all up. Just click on the photo below to see them all.

Winter 2008

2008-11-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

This is our cute little family as of November 25, 2008.
Jayden is 7 years old. He is very inquiring. He loves going to the library, reading about insects, mammals, reptiles and any creeping thing. He loves picking up Stephen and moving him from pre-carious positions (in other words, getting him out of where he does not belong), he is very sweet and thoughtful of others. He is well spoken, and very ingenious.
Tyler is 4, almost 5. He is making his way into the world as a very independent, determined middle child. He is often caught smuggling candy into closets where he can devour it as fast as possible before being discovered. He loves helping mommy with making meals and special family night treats.
Stephen is 9 months. He can take 3 steps at a time, loves cords, boxes, balls and any box or item that can fit smaller items inside. His favorite chores are helping mommy with the dishes, he likes to try to do them while sitting on the open dishwasher door. He likes to give raspberries on tummys and giving open mouth kisses to chins.

Jason loves to play wrestle with the boys, football on the X-box or TV and spending quiet time with Kimberly. He is a wonderful husband and father.

Kimberly is a busy mommy and loves it. She is teaching Piano lessons. Just finished her second recital with her students. She is excited to fit into a size 10 now!

See my bald spot mommy?

2008-10-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

I was trying to take a picture of Stephen sitting so cutely but he kept crawling after me to get the camera. THANKS Jason! He had let Stephen enjoy the camera another day and now he loves to grab at it.
Funny boy!

Stephen Struts his stuff

2008-10-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

Soccer Days

2008-10-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

This is Jayden's first year in Recreation Soccer.
He says, "It is great because I get to play with other kids, I get to run around and when we score goals it makes me feel super good inside!"

OUR BOYS

2008-09-30T05:33:00.000-07:00

They love to horse around no matter what time of day!

Family Photo

2008-09-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

Tyler had to do an "ABOUT ME" project for Pre-school, so we asked a church friend to take this picture outside after church. Stephen was all ready for that camera!

BE Thankful today!

2008-09-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

Quote of the day: "Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it.” ~ Ralph Marston

With Thanksgiving upon us, what better way to start the next week then in a mode of thankfulness? In the upcoming week, I challenge you to THANK everyone who is involved in making your day a good one and see how it enhances your own feelings of gratitude. Please keep in mind the importance of appreciation and gratitude is coming from a feeling of sincerity and truly feeling that appreciation and gratitude or they simply just become empty words. So whether it’s a loved one, or a stranger on the street – if they have made your day better – say THANK YOU.

Thank the:

Public transportation driver who gets you home, to work, to the store, to wherever you are going safely.

Check out clerk at your favorite grocery store for assisting you in providing food for you and your family.

Store attendant who helps you find that particular food item located in aisle 5 as you walked past it in a hurry.

Waiter/waitress for serving you a good meal.

Person who holds the door open for you.

Traffic for flowing at the right speed to get you to your destination safely.

Car for starting up first thing in the morning.

Alarm clock for waking you up and helping start your day.

Telemarketer even if you aren’t interested in their product as someone just trying to do their job rather than viewing it as an invasion of our time.

Yourself for choosing to live in a space of appreciation and gratitude and knowing your contrasting experiences help show you the way to what you do want in your life.

Looking for a way to stay focused on Living Life Fulfilled? Make sure to surround yourself with people who lift you up, inspire you, support you, and simply love to laugh and have fun.

Time Out for Women

2008-09-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

I just attended a women's conference in Southern Mass. (about 2 hours south of our home in New Hampshire) I went with my friend Ruth Ruediger and her daughter who lives in Brookline, NH. Ruth is around 65 and her daughter Laurie is 41 of age. We had a good time. The drive was beautiful even if we did get off the freeway to early due to incorrect instructions from the Hotel (by cellphone). The little New England cottages, the country furniture stores, the old churches, the front porches decorated with pumpkins and scarecraws....all let me know that Fall is here. It was a great time. We stayed in a hotel in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Friday evening we hear Kim Nelson (male) speak, Kenneth Cope sign and speak as well as Micheal McKlean.
Time Out for Women is a great function for women, sponsored by Deseret Book.
I'm going to now include some of my notes taken while I was there Friday and Saturday. Saturday session: Kenneth Cope opened for us--Singing
Speakers for this session:
Mary Ellen Edmunds
Kenneth Cope

Break
Camille Fronk Olson
Question and Answer
Merrilee Boyack

Jason Wright
Sharon Larsen

When we are facing horrible and challenging times in our lives: God has a way of bringing us down and then raising us up to higher and happier than we have ever been!
Camille Fronk Olson

I like to call the devil—“What’s his no-face”. It’s a stupid to make a decision to be a no-body. He likes to tell us “THERE IS NO-U TURN—like God has had it with you.” Mary Ellen Edmunds

Another one by her: Once-I taped a chip to my shoulder-boy was that a bad day.
Jesus is the GREAT PEACE MAKER…He doesn’t like us to be contentious and angry with each other. He loves us and wants us to treat them that way.

Is it easy to become a JURU SELAMAT- PEACE MAKER?
A. Share True Life experiences
a. Drums next door shares the wall to your bedroom…at 10pm
a. What is your natural reaction-Peace maker?
i. Here-I want your autograph right before bed.
B. Green light-and it turns red as you get there.
a. As you start up following the car in front of you-They are going the speed limit-and he is on the cellphone…what name to call? NOT today-You count to 97 as you say the Lord’s prayer… you are a JURU SEL-a-Mat (short a)
C. You are in the 10 items or less lane-you realize the sweet older woman in front of you has 57 items and is looking for her check book and quill pen….what’s your natural reaction ? TODAY-you are a Juru Selamat—Isn’t it wonderful you are saving money with all those coupons, what a beautiful day-beautiful quill pen!
When we are contentious it’s hard for the spirit to stick around.
It’s hard to stick around someone who is contentious isn’t it?
___________________________________________________________
My Intention is to: SPREAD LOVE! It's my new catch phrase....let's find something to do in 5 split seconds to change someone elses day, whether it be a simple "Oh what a beautiful smile!" Or "you are so good!"
A split second--that is all it takes to make comments that will improve the day for those around us~!

SPREAD LOVE--
By Kimberly Curtis

Halloween Party memories

2008-09-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

Halloween Memories.
We have so many--
I think I'll mention now our first in Hudson. The year? 2005
Jason had to work late that evening, so he didn't celebrate Oct. 31st with us, but he did go to the church function a couple days prior.

Our good friends Melanie and Burke Hunsaker invited us to their home along with Jenny and Adam Davis' family for dinner (baked spaghetti, salad, rolls, Soda (which I brought), family night message, and trick or treating in their town-home association neighborhood. The baked spaghetti was Delicious, the family home evening message was a flannel board colored ghosts story and the the kids made out with lots of candy. I think we hit like 30 homes in 45 minutes! (the houses shared a yard between them)
I went as a cowgirl, Jayden a fireman, and Tyler as his Dalmatian, fire-house dog. We sure missed Daddy that night.

All three years our church has had a dinner, and truck or treating, as well as auxiliary games in the gymnasium and also a "haunted alley" on the stage of the gym. The youth put that on.

Last year (2007) Jason was in the Young Men's presidency so he helped out with that while I spent most of the evening with the boys. I was "static cling", I just pinned socks to my clothes (hey-I was pregnant and tired!--but No lack of creativity!) Tyler was a mouse, and Jayden was Superman. The year prior, (2006) Jayden was Flash from Disney's THE INCREDIBLES and Tyler of course-was Batman. He got the costume early in the season so he loved playing in it for like 2 weeks before Halloween.

This is a picture of Jason in the coffin from the haunted stage.
Yes-he is a vampire-but he doesn't like wearing black! LOL

My Favorite Season

2008-09-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

I am so happy it is fall. Boston and New Hampshire in the fall is BE-U-TI-FUL! I love the sun beating down on my warm skin, and breathing in the cool fresh fall air. The smell of pumpkins on the breeze, fresh apples on the trees, golden light kissing the red, green, yellow-gold leaves above my head---just sends me into a feeling of ease and contentment.

Fall Traditions:
I smile when I think of decorating my home and front entry for fall. We have made it a tradition to go as a family to the local apple farms and pick a bushel or so. I then make a Delicious apple-stuffed pastry pie and then take cuts to friends and neighbors.

Each year we attend the pumpkin-pick hayride in October (we usually attend it with the Hudson Area Moms Club-now 3 yr. members).

The boys love that. After the hayride around the corn fields (the corn has usually all been cut down and the field is pretty bare), we get off the flatbed trailor that was pulled by the tractor and do a little Fresh, organic shopping in the big red barn. The boys each make their vegetable of choice pick and of course bring home the one pumpkin that they picked from the field.

I LOVE FALL! It's my favorite Season! The Colors are beautiful, the smells are delicous, the only downFALL (lol) is that it doesn't last long!

Me in a Cartoon Form

2008-09-02T17:08:00.001-07:00

Hi-This is Kimberly as a Cartoon character!

Tyler after the race

2008-09-01T23:13:00.001-07:00

"Mom-I can't see you!"

Stephen is crawling at 6 months old!

2008-09-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

Fitness University

2008-09-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

The boys participated in this years FITNESS UNIVERSITY!
Running and fun athetic-type games held once a week for several weeks. Then each age group has a certain length to run around the High School track!
They both did great. Jayden finished top 12 in his age group. Tyler missed his race (boys will be clue-less at times! : O ) )
but he did beat all the 4 year olds in the Finale Run at the end of the day!
It was a very fun day!

Stephen crawl and play!

2008-09-01T23:08:00.000-07:00

Pretty Flowers

2008-09-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

I had a rough week, so Jason got me these nice roses to say Thank you and WE LOVE YOU MOMMY! It made my month!

The boys room Curtains

2008-09-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

I let Tyler pick out the fabric for the new curtains I made.
He chose a bowling motif! So fun and it really gives their room a funner feel now!

Jason is such a good husband

2008-09-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

Jason is so good to put the worms on the hooks, and to take the icky fish off the fishing poles' hooks and land the little guys back into the water.
What a great husband and father!
hint hint--I like the fishing part, not so much the wiggly buggers!

Jayden caught a fish!!

2008-09-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

Here is Jayden (age 7) with his second catch of the day!

Fishing on FAMILY DAY

2008-09-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

FAMILY DAY-Kayaking Day

2008-09-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun day! My friend Michelle Gray let us use her Kayaks and her private access to The River behind her home to go Kayaking, we had a picnick lunch beside her husband-made pond and ate in the shade of the veranda. We played tag in her massive yard, and enjoyed a round of horse-shoes (Jason won). We had dinner at a local chinese buffet and later that evening we went fishing and caught about 5 fish at Mine Falls Park in Nashua, NH.
WHAT A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A SATURDAY! We had a great time together as a family!

Jayden in the Bumber Boat

2008-09-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Summer Time TRIPS

2008-09-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Kimberly and Tyler getting wet-and getting others wet by shooting inside the Bumper Boat at Clark's Trading post in Lincoln, NH.

2008-09-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is a Black Bear putting an American Flag up a flag pole.

Kimberly took this photo this summer at Clark's Trading Post at Lincoln, NH.

This Trained Bear was amazing! The boys loved this show!

OTHER CURTIS FAMILY WEBSITES

2008-09-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

We do have other websites:

More info. on our family including pictures:
http://www.myspace.com/lighthousemoma

Kimberly's FACEBOOK SITE:
http://www.facebook.com/ in the search you can type: Kimberly V. Curtis

A educational site on our Life Force Business:
http://www.lifeforcevault.com/

http://www.sharethecause.com/beclean
Please watch this compelling 10 1/2 minute documentary and choose to help us reach 1 million people.
At the end of the film, please fill out the comment form to find out what you can do!

CHEAPER HOUSHOLD ITEMS AND CLEANERS THAT ARE SAFE FOR YOU AND THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN:
http://www.melaleuca.com/
When you want to order:We are a preferred customer and can give you the referral ID that they will ask you for!

STEPHEN CRAWLING VIDEO

2008-09-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

NOW FEATURING: STEPHEN CRAWLING!!!

Small cameo appearance: Tyler Curtis

CLICK HERE: