The Newest Addition

Zachary David Sharp was born on August 19th!  We were so excited to welcome him here!  His proud parents are Brandt and Kelly Sharp and he has three brothers that love him very much!

On the way to the hospital at 9:30 pm.  The boys could hardly wait to see their new brother!

He definitely wasn't lacking attention!  There were plenty who wanted to hold and love him!

I was extremely excited for him to come because I had missed the births of a niece and nephew while I was on my mission. He came three weeks early and I was quite pleased...I get to spend a little time with him before going up to Logan!  He weighed 6 lbs 1 oz when he was born and is 18 inches long.  He is absolutely adorable!  Congratulations Brandt and Kelly!  We are so excited to have a new member of the family!

Home

The past couple of days we have had the Buchanan Family Reunion.  It has been held at our house for the last few years and it really ends up being the highlight of the summer.  But the preparation is a little hefty!  My mom and I have spent every day over the past 2 months getting the yard and house ready for all 70 guests.  Washing blinds and windows, weeding, baseboards, trimming trees...lots of hard work!  At times I was a little tired of doing all of the cleaning and towards the end, as time got closer to all of the guests arriving, I found myself being a little ornery so I tried to catch myself.  I started to look for the blessings in all that I was doing and this is what I found....the place I call home.  My family has lived here for 23 years, so my whole life.  I LOVE this place!  There are so many memories here.  It is a place of love, peace, laughter, happiness, and joy.  As I started to look around at how blessed I am, my attitude automatically changed.  Here are a few of my favorite rooms with a list of little memories that come to mind:

The Entry Way
receiving guests, Christmas garland, coming up on Christmas morning, sliding down the banisters,

The Living Room
playing the piano for hours, reading a book, taking a Sunday nap, Christmas as a child, the Nativity, getting scared

Family Room
FHE, scripture study, time together, playing with toys, having family over, playing games, Just Dance, long chats, movie nights, sleepovers 

Picture Wall
remembering family and special times together

Sitting Room and Desk
doing homework, visiting with grandparents, finishing crafts and projects, the Christmas tree, warm winter nights by the fireplace

The Kitchen and Dining Room
baking and cooking with family, family get-togethers, grocery shopping, doing crafts, eating breakfast and dinner together

My Room
reading the scriptures, taking a nap with the sun shining in, Christmas eve sleepover, late night chats with Carli and Brooke,  having friends spend the night

The Yard
family reunions, jumping on the tramp, BBQs, picnics, popsicles, summer Sunday night dinners, sitting on the swing, playing on the playgrounds, campfires, riding four wheelers, building snowmen, yard work as a family

I have loved so much the past 5 months living at home.  It has been so much fun to spend so much time with my parents and Carli and Corbin, and to be so close to the rest of my family.  I love my home!  I am so thankful for all that my parents have done to make our home so special to me.

When I first moved up to school I would never refer to my apartment as "home".  I didn't want my home to be replaced.  But the longer I was up in Logan, the more it became a "home away from home" for me.  I love Logan and I love Utah State University!  The 3 years I have lived up there were some of the best years of my life and what made it so great were the people I met!  I went back up there a month ago with my Mom and Carli to get things all set up for school this fall and I truly felt like I was "home" again.  I am so excited to be back up there!

Then there is the Netherlands.  That is my "home FAR away from home"!  I remember being in the MTC and talking to one of my teachers, Brother Bond.  I asked him, "Was it hard on your mission to feel at home?  Did you really miss all of your family and friends?"  His reply really struck me and stuck with me.  He said, "The Netherlands will become your home for a few years.  And your family will just grow bigger and your friends increase."  Now I truly understand what he means!  My family was definitely not replaced on my mission but I found my Dutch family and friends who were there for me the whole time.  Coming home to my house and family and friends after my mission was such an amazing experience and it was so wonderful to see everyone and everything again.  But I miss my "home" in the Netherlands!  So....I have already made plans to go back next May after I graduate for a few weeks!

(I had pictures to add but it won't work!  They'll come!)

Anyway, with all of these thoughts about "home" I have come to the conclusion that I don't just have one.  Home is a place where I love others and I feel loved.  It is a place where I can be myself.  It is a place where I am surrounded by family and friends.  It is a place that encourages me to be a better person.  It is a place where I can live the gospel and feel the Spirit.  I am so thankful for the homes I have and the many homes I will have.

WOW!!! A little overwhelming!

My sister Brooke and I were having a little chat the other day about love languages.  I am not way educated in love languages, but I know a bit.  The five include: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.  I am not quite sure what my love language is but I can tell you what it is not: receiving gifts!  People are soooo nice to give gifts but it is just hard for me to think I deserve it!  And I just don't feel like I can give enough thanks to let the gift-giver really know how thankful I am!  Well, on Thursday I was taking a little nap downstairs when I heard someone come into my room.  It was my dad and he was setting a big garbage bag on the floor.  When he saw I was awake, he said he had a little gift for me.  The word "little" was definitely an understatement!  When I opened the bag, to my surprise, I found a MacBook Pro AND an iPad!  What?!!!  He told me it was just a "little" back-to-school gift.  I was stunned and soooo grateful!  My parents are very generous and thoughtful!

Then later that day I received a call from Stockton 12 Honda and...drumroll please...my car had arrived!  Now, I have kept it a little secret but I bought a car a couple of weeks ago.  So there is a winner of the Cafe Rio gift card...congrats Derek!  I did get a new 2012 Honda Civic and it is a charcoal grey color.  I. Love. It.  It is absolutely beautiful and it smells soooo good!  We went and picked it up that night.

(pic to come soon..it won't upload!)
Well by that time I was feeling pretty spoiled with gifts and receiving things...come on, who normally gets a new car, laptop, and iPad on the same day!  But, there was still more comin'!  We had a competition that night at our family reunion and I won!  So I got first pick at the gifts and I just couldn't pass this up...

yeah, "Our Best Bites" cookbook!  With my new love of cooking and baking I was so stoked to receive that!  And I know it will get a lot of use!  By the time I went to bed that night I was just so overwhelmed.  I had received enough gifts to last me a couple of years!  Thanks Mom and Dad for the computer and iPad!  Definitely don't deserve this all so I hope I can pass the generosity on.  I am so blessed!

Cooking and Baking...I love it!

My new favorite thing to do is to cook and to bake.  I grew up always helping my mom with the cooking and the baking and I loved the time I got to spend with her because, in my mind, she is the greatest cook and baker in the world!  When I was about 18 I started to make birthday cakes for all of my nieces and nephews.  They could choose whatever they wanted as the theme of their cake and I would do my best to pull it off!

Harry Potter Cake for Ryan's 7th Birthday

 When I was on my mission my love for cooking and baking grew.  I tasted so many wonderful foods from so many different cultures and I wanted to be able to create such delectable things myself.  Because the missionary time schedule doesn't allow for much free time, I just picked up cookie baking in the morning during breakfast time and at night after we were finished with the day before going to bed at 10:30.  In my first two areas a baked a few hundred cookies but in my last area, Den Haag, the number of cookies I was producing skyrocketed!  I ended up making about 250 cookies every Sunday and for my last Sunday, Stake Conference, I baked 1600!  That was definitely a once in a lifetime thing!

250 cookies for Church in Den Haag

Birthday Cake for an amazing Young Single Adult in Den Haag, Shaila Mahabier

Well, since I have been home I have been practicing my cooking and baking skills a bit.  I am definitely a beginner but I hope to improve!  I think the best thing about cooking or baking is the way it brings people together.  I love family dinner time every night.  I love enjoying a delicious dessert with someone I love.  I love the look on my nieces or nephews face when I show up with their birthday cake.  This week I tried out a few new recipes and they were fabulous!  I'll post the links below the pictures!  Enjoy!

Coconut Chicken, Pina Colada Sauce, Garlic Mashed Potatoes,  Cheddar Biscuits, and Green Salad

Grilled Pizzas

Yummy Desserts for a Young Men/Young Women Activity

I'm gonna miss 'em!!!

Last Wednesday morning I crawled out of bed at 4:30 and drove over to Britt and Marianne's house.  They had asked me to babysit their three adorable kids, Rhett, Jack, and Kate, for a few days while they went on a little road trip to San Francisco.  I was so excited to watch them because I love them so much!  When they woke that day I got them all bathed and ready and then drove Rhett and Jack up to Centerville so they could spend some time with their favorite cousins, Ryan, Landon, and Trevor.  Kate ran a few errands with me and was the best little bud ever!  At about 3:00 we were all ready to go camping.  We drove up past Kamas to stay in the Knotty Pine campground.  It was just beautiful!  Kelly met us up there with all of the boys and we just had the greatest time...doughboys, playground, swimming pool, air hockey, scary stories in the tent, phase 10...it was like the good old days!  We stayed just two nights and we all agree that was a little too short.

 Marianne's mom took the kids Friday night but I got them back again on Saturday.  We had a fun movie night and woke up early for church the next morning.  We had a fab Sunday, even though it was very rainy!  Sunday night we couldn't resist and we had to go dancing in the rain.

And there had to be a warm bath that followed!

Today we took them to see a movie.  It was there choice so we saw "The Smurfs".  Definitely wouldn't recommend but then again Rhett said it was one of his all time favorite movies so I guess I am not a very good rater!  After lunch, naps, and a bike ride, Britt and Marianne returned home!  The kids were very excited to have their mom and dad back, and to see the gifts they brought for them!  Although I am exhausted (being a mom is hard work!) I am going to miss those kids so much!  Good thing they only live a couple of blocks away...I may be stopping by a little more than usual, Britt and Marianne!