Thou shalt not covet*

*The real title for this post is actually, "Thou shalt not covet other people's lives according to their blog"
My friend, who is sort of new to the blogging arena, has just experienced her first bout of blog induced depression, let's call it BID. I tried to explain what I have learned since my first BID - and since having my own blog for a while - and that is that I kinda know that the life according to blogs isn't a real one - just a peek into the best part of someone's life. I used to be so overwhelmed when I'd read other people's blogs and I'd think, "I'm a loser who has accomplished nothing and has gone nowhere with my life." I don't think that way anymore. I now see their blogs as a way to relax and live their life by proxy. Especially if they live in Hawaii on the beach or if they are an amazing graphic designer who blogs her amazing trips around the world. I no longer want to be living their life but I sure enjoy getting a small idealized window into it. It's like reading a novel or watching a movie. Not only do I get to keep up with them - I also get to be entertained by their stories and their experiences. Without having to pay their bills or face their challenges.
And on my blog I hope to give a glimpse into something of my life that may either be different or may be something we all feel - like BID. Every once in a while someone's blog may get to me if I am feeling especially down - but mostly I am excited if they are doing things because it means for some interesting reads! Like seeing crazy wild animals in a friend's freezing backyard. Or laughing at hilarious pranks people are pulling on their friends and family. Or hearing the cutest things your kids are saying or seeing the horrible messes they are making that you are having to clean up. Or getting good recipe ideas or fun family activity ideas. I love it!

What has been your experience with blog induced depression?

And then there was one...

Elijah holding Scarlett

Just after 5 A.M. on Christmas morning I heard some banging and clucking and general struggling right outside our bedroom window. Not sure if I was dreaming I woke Mike up and said, "I think something is attacking our chickens!" He jumped out of bed and ran outside - with no glasses and saw some sort of commotion over by our house. The top half of the chicken coop door was open and he saw an animal so he ran towards it. He said he made some sort of "ch-ch-ch" noise(?) and the animal ran away with Scarlett in tow. It seems to have been a large raccoon that climbed up and opened the top half and got inside and stole away our cute little hen. We were soo sad. I was outside by this time and Mike got the other hen and put her inside her little house inside the coop and locked it in. We had stopped doing that because we felt the coop was secure enough. Not so, I guess. So we are down to just one. We are planning on getting some full grown hens pretty soon to give Mermaid some company. She seems lonely for sure. So we feel generally bad for her because she's had to watch as her three friends have one by one been picked off. I am afraid we haven't been very good caretakers. We're learning though. The main thing we've learned is that we live in a freaking jungle and there is always some predator ready to come and eat our hens. Day or night. This is the only hen left - Mermaid. It's actually Ursula but Andrew refuses to believe his hen was the first to be eaten(by a hawk) so we have to call this one Mermaid.This is our little gals on their first night home. A lot of times with pets you regret them but with these I just regret that we don't still have all four. Aren't they cute? The only one left is the black one in the background.

Is it zoloft that would help me?

Is everyone as terrified by the tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo as I am? I have had several nightmares about it and read all of the new info on it as it comes available. It probably has a lot to do with being pregnant. I get pretty anxious when I'm pregnant. But here's the story as I've most recently read it:

Three boys are at the zoo - two brothers with their friend. They are at the tiger exhibit and apparently they were probably taunting it. (Not that out of the ordinary for teenage boys.) Well the tiger had had enough and jumped up and over it's 12.5 foot enclosure - which is four feet lower than the minimum standard. One of the brothers was immediately attacked while the friend and other brother tried to distract the tiger by yelling and things to get it to stop. The tiger did stop and turned on the friend. Meanwhile the brothers realized their friend was dead and ran 300 yards to a little cafe. Well the tiger wasn't done with them yet and followed the trail of blood to the cafe and continued to maul them. When the police got there the tiger sat on the ground next to one of the brothers and when that boy yelled for help from the police - the tiger went at it again. That is when the police shot the tiger dead.

Wow, it is truly one of my WORST nightmares come true. We were at the zoo a few weeks ago and looking at the lion exhibit - they were literally only feet away because at the Houston Zoo they are enclosed by plastic(?) walls. The she-lion roared and it was sooooo incredibly loud that you felt it to your core. It's honestly traumatizing to me what happened to those boys.

We didn't get around to sending out a card this year - part of that is because between the move and the new computer means we lost a lot of addresses. So we are doing it here on our blog. Most people we would send it to come to this anyhow...

We have had quite the year with many unexpected changes. We were happy to find out last January that we were expecting but sad to learn in April that we had lost the baby. In June Mike was offered a position in a town 2 hours away from Kingwood. We decided to accept which meant we had to get our house ready to sell & have it sold in just a few weeks! It was crazy but with the help of MANY people we were able to pull it off. (Thanks Carlie and David!) We loved our home in Kingwood with all of our friends and family so close. Throughout the process of moving we often thought we were crazy to be leaving! It was hard to but we were excited for the change. We moved at the beginning of August to College Station and found out within a couple weeks that we were expecting again. Poor Mike has had to help out a pregnant sick wife for 8 months of this year!

Elijah started his first grade year at a new school and we love his teacher and couldn't be happier. He's in a Cub Scout program through his school and gets excited at the prospect of shooting guns and arrows. We're not sure if Cub Scouts actually do that but oh well... Andrew is now going on three (January) and is quite the talker. Andrew has a habit of befriending complete strangers just about everywhere we go. He just likes to meet new people and get them on his side. We are having a lot of fun with our adventurous boys and just found out that this next one is a boy as well. We are excited for all of the Scout activities and camping trips we can expect to take part in!

Mike's new position has him working with a commercial construction company that is building the physics building on the Texas A&M campus. It's a challenging position but he is enjoying it. Megan continues with her photography business but she is always looking for a way to start the next family business with Mike.

Here in College Station we decided to finally try and live in an old house like we had always talked about. But since we knew our stay here would be short we decided not to buy but to rent. In the end, renting an old house has completely cured Megan of her love of old houses and their "character". Maybe someday she will be able to regain it but in the mean time we have all come to really understand the term, "drafty old house".

Even though our house is drafty and old we did go ahead and get those chickens we had been dreaming about too and that part of the dream has been much better than imagined. We love our chickens and can't wait for their eggs coming in January. One of the perks of College Station is that we are living more rurally and have enjoyed Sunday afternoon drives through Texas hill country. It's nice to try some place new but still be within driving distance of family so we can take part in all of the traditions and holidays with them.

Because this year has brought so much change, we feel it has required a lot out of us. We know that everything would have been much more difficult without the support of friends and family but most of all our Savior Jesus Christ. This season has been a wonderful chance to slow down and recognize the miracle of his birth and the gift of his life. We hope that each and every one of you know of God's love for each of his children and his constant support and care for us all.

Wishing you the merriest Christmas!

The Knorpp Family

The BEST soup for those stuffed up days!

Ok, so we had this Tortilla Soup recipe from Martha Stewart the other night and I have to say it is so good. It is the perfect thing to make during the winter with all of the congestion and coughing. Make sure and add all of the jalepeno with the all of seeds - that really gets you cleared out but still isn't too hot(this is relative). And add all of those extras - they make it taste so good. I always use corn chips instead of messing with making corn tortillas crunchy in the oven.

To serve, ladle the hot soup into bowls, and then let everyone pick and choose from among the suggested mix-ins and toppings: toasted corn tortilla strips, lime wedges, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, diced green peppers, sliced scallions, diced avocado, and cilantro sprigs. You can also use leftover or store-bought roasted chicken in this soup; use two quarts homemade or reduced-sodium canned chicken broth instead of the cooking liquid.

Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Click here for the recipe!

Knorpp Look-alike Meter

Elijah looks way more like his dad - this may just be a weird photo to use of Mike but I still think these are fun!

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Knorpp Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family name origins

Naming the boy...

When looking for a name for my kids I don't necessarily want to find something weird or strange but I'm never that happy to see my name choice in the top ten - Andrew is no. 11. So today I pulled down the top 100 boys names of 2006. Our top name for the boy isn't different at all but luckily it didn't make the top 100. There are some I am still considering that are on here and some that aren't. I'll bold my favs from this list. Without further ado...Here they are:
1 Aiden
2 Jacob
3 Ethan
4 Ryan
5 Matthew
6 Jack
7 Noah
8 Nicholas
9 Joshua
10 Logan
11 Andrew
12 Michael
13 Caden
14 Dylan
15 Tyler
16 Connor
17 Jackson
18 Caleb
19 Jayden
20 Alexander
21 Nathan
22 Brayden
23 Zachary
24 Benjamin*
25 William
26 James*
27 Daniel
28 Gavin
29 Evan
30 Luke
31 Joseph
32 Landon
33 Christopher
34 Mason
35 Cameron
36 Anthony
37 Owen
38 Gabriel
39 Austin
40 Lucas
41 Christian
42 John
43 Sean
44 Elijah
45 David
46 Samuel
47 Carter
48 Hunter
49 Brandon
50 Alex
51 Jordan
52 Liam
53 Thomas
54 Justin
55 Dominic
56 Ian
57 Jake
58 Colin
59 Hayden
60 Jonathan
61 Isaiah
62 Cole
63 Adam
64 Tristan
65 Isaac
66 Max
67 Kyle
68 Aaron
69 Nathaniel
70 Wyatt
71 Robert
72 Chase
73 Riley
74 Carson
75 Brady
76 Jason
77 Parker
78 Charlie
79 Devin
80 Cooper
81 Blake
82 Eric
83 Xavier
84 Sebastian
85 Brian
86 Henry
87 Seth
88 Steven
89 Brody
90 Bryce
91 Will
92 Brendan
93 Patrick
94 Sam
95 Julian
96 Drew
97 Miles
98 Kevin
99 Peyton
100 Ben

blurb

Okay, so I've wanted to figure out a way to print out my blog so it can actually be saved as a sort of family history project but didn't know an easy way to do it. Not so anymore - Tyan told me that blurb will get all the posts and their pictures for you and make them into a book. I looked into it and an hour later I am editing my blog book! It's perfect and easy to use/change/customize. Check it out!

scary cat

I got so many responses to my other cat video that I had to post one of my favorite cat videos of all time.  We should probably feel sorry for this cat but instead mike and i almost cry every time we watch this...boy, doesn't it just make you yearn for a kitty?

Boy's Life

It's another man child!

Kathy's kitty forward

One of my weaknesses is funny cat videos...I've watched them all on youtube but hadn't seen this one yet:

p.s.  Our dog Jenny is going to a new home on Friday...

Orange you glad it's just a carrot?

So, I am feeling less than refined by having this picture on here....so I am now removing it. It had it's day in the blog spotlight and now it is time to retire it.

Ok, this is so funny that I wanted to forward it but was too embarrassed to do so. I am stealing this from a friend's blog - this carrot came from her parent's garden.

A Speech with Lessons for Us All

I have read so much about Mitt Romney running for president. It is of obvious interest to me because I am a Mormon. This post is not meant to endorse Mitt Romney - I don't feel comfortable getting political. It is more because I take deep offense that someone would be disqualified in so many Americans minds not because of his abilities to lead but because of his faith - a faith that I share. It is a hard to thing to hear - it is nothing more than prejudice. I know that it means that those people would dismiss me just as they do him. What a strange feeling. Mitt Romney may not ever be our president but he gave a speech that each of us needs to listen to - to be reminded of the true strength of this nation. I too must remember we must put down our differences and not become a people divided but a people fighting together for the great cause of liberty!

Idyllic afternoon

The other afternoon the boys and I decided to explore the abandoned house across the street. It had always intrigued me and so we finally got the guts to go snoop around.After peeking in all the windows we found a beautiful old tree in the backyard that was surrounded with deep ivy. Looking up we realized there was an old swing wrapped around the branch. The branch had actually grown over the chains for the swing. We found the biggest stick we could and finally got it down. After checking to see if it could hold weight we all took turns swinging.

It was so idyllic to swing under that tree - the weather was perfect and the sun was setting through the trees. Some days are just the best and make up for all the rest that aren't so great.

Go elf yourself!

We got this from Jason and Jodi and loved it so we did it to ourselves - you should too - it was really easy and fun! Click here!

*poor Andrew is a total girl in this...good thing he's too young to care!

p.s. Mike just scrooged himself - thought you should see that too...

Ode to my chickens

I am so glad that my friend Marisa gave me the courage to get some chickens. I couldn't be happier with them - well, maybe when they start laying eggs I will be. Truly, chickens are just as good as it gets when it comes to a backyard pet. They don't need much - they don't smell or make noise. Both of which I was worried about. They are fun to watch and easy to care for. My kids love them - so do I - actually so does Mike which is nice- he doesn't really like Jenny all that much. Their feed is really cheap and easy to give to them. Our fence is only about 4 feet tall and they can't get over it. They love to just run around the yard catching bugs and eating grass. I am a lifelong chicken owner now I believe. I highly recommend it to anyone with even the smallest yard. We are renters so don't let that stop you if you are too! They each cost $1.25 to buy and their feed which will last for months was $15.00. You can find an old dog house or improvise with anything. They really aren't picky. They are pretty cold hardy too. Why not get one? I just found a good article about keeping chickens as pets - check it out!