Sumscrapbook

January Projects

2012-01-22T23:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I think after everything in December and our huge school break, I just needed a break from everything except the "must do's." Homeschooling is back in full swing. We read "Romeo and Juliet" this week. So very tragic! Explaining it to my daughter and discussing it with her ever since we read it, also hard. She has a lot of questions and its a hard subject to talk about, but we forge forward.

So, what has been going on this month? Mom, Dad, MyGirl, and I all went to the largest scrapbook store in the Springs. Fun! Mom and I were each given a piece of fabric (mine is the sun, moon, and star batik, on an orangey background) at the quilt guild we belong to, and given both a color and project assignment due in May. My color assignment is analogous and the projects have to be smaller than 45" square. So I shopped for different yellows and then found this hot pink, which works with the pinkish orange that is part of the orangey batik. I think I'm going to use these fat quarters to make a log cabin something. . . still working on that, but getting ready to cut it all out this week, so I need to make that decision soon.

A week ago Saturday I went to meet with the CTMH and other company's scrapbooking ladies in town for their marathon crop. It started at 10 am and went to midnight. I was home by 5pm, but that is still a really long time. I don't like crops, in general, because of all the stuff I want to haul, but since I was focusing on LittleBuddy's scrapbook, and keeping it simple, it wasn't too bad. I focused on just creating pages and putting the pictures in, with minimal embellishments, then came home and did journaling and little more embellishing where needed. I got 21 pages done in that time. Not really great for me, but we spent about an hour all eating lunch and talking, which was fun too. Two of the ladies are retired military, one was a Marine and the other an Army medic. One of the ladies is a native of this small town, and had stories to tell about the history which was interesting. There were only a dozen of us there, so its been fun to get to know them. Two of them are going to come over this Friday night so I can show them some scrapbooking techniques and how to make pages with hidden photos. More fun.

These photos are all four years behind. So sad that Little Buddy's book has been so neglected. You know why I had to wait and do the journaling? Because I had to bring it home and look in my big album to remember what were the important details I didn't want to forget. That's why I like to stay on top of my books, it sure makes it easier when I do the kid's books.

I forgot to mention that MyMike has been working 60 hour weeks all of Jan. So hard, but the other guys on his team have gotten behind and their big project is due to the customer in April, so basically he's babysitting and checking that everything they do works. He's even had to work two Saturdays so far, and was home the day I was gone, which made me feel badly, but I had committed to coming before I knew his schedule. He was busy though, doing all his little projects and when I got home and made Shrimp Scampi he was happy. He'll be ready for some motorcycle riding again. We didn't get enough of that in last year.

Did I mention Little Buddy is growing still? He's started to come home and want meals, not just a couple of cookies for an afterschool snack. I found one leftover from when BigBuddy was here, because I'm not usually ready to make dinner at 3pm. However, I've started saving leftovers for him, and fortunately, he's not that picky. He went on another cold campout on Friday, and was warmer than before, but just as tired. Watching the Deacon's pass the Sacrament today was a little comical. They all looked like they could have slept in til noon if we hadn't had church. As it was, he came home Sat. at 3, showered, ate, put his gear away, and was asleep by 6pm for the night. So, technically he did get 13 hours of sleep, but that was barely enough to make up for the 4 1/2 hours he got the night before.

I rearranged the mantle. I placed the Willow Tree statues there, and got another one this month, the brother and sister. Now all my children are represented. There also was an accident with the largest one. A member of my family accidentally knocked it over where it had been in the dining room, and the whole back broke. I was so sad, but since the front looked perfect, placing it here you just can't tell, and so I'm happy it was saved. Honestly, if it hadn't been, I would have just bought myself an exact replica, I love it that much.

So, now the dining room credenza is simpler and I like it that way just fine.

I also went over to our photographer's house this month and we went through some of the pictures she took. This one is not one that I'll have blown up large, but I sure do love it. I love each of their smiles, but the way LittleBuddy looks is just priceless, like it was just so funny he couldn't help himself. Kids are cute, no matter their age. Finished up the December album, and put this photo in it. I love when photography captures an unexpected moment just like this and I sure love these kiddos. Glad to have Cowgirl coming back to visit again this week. Love that many college courses are online these days and going on vacation for a week doesn't necessarily have to mean missing school. Sweet!

And, one more really wonderful thing happened this month. MyGirl earned her YW Medallion for completing the Personal Progress program. She had gotten a good start on it before we moved, and only had 2 projects and 7 value experiences left to complete, so in the past six months she really put her mind to finishing, and she did it. Sadly, she won't let me take a picture of her wearing it, but she got the silver one and its beautiful on her. Hard to believe she graduates from YW soon. This Saturday we go to a brunch for all the girls moving up this year. My babies are growing up way too quickly!!!

A Habit

2012-01-15T22:02:00.001-05:00

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle

I saw this written on a dry erase board at church today. I wasn't in the room when it was taught, but of every good thing I heard today, this was what I took home in my heart.

I am asking myself, along with thinking of my goals for the year, what habits do I need to practice that I may be more excellent? I think I know what it is the Lord wants me to do. Now to set up the mini-goals that will put that habit easily into my life.

Our bishop challenged us to just pick one area of our lives to work on this year, and when it was part of us, to pick another. Today that hit me that the way to do that is through our habits. Sometimes it means adding a new habit to our lives and other times it means eliminating a habit. Whatever it is, just acting is what creates change. And, sometimes, we're just ready to make changes. When I look at the big changes my children are making I am inspired by them. It should be easier for me to change. I have more experience, but I also have more habits that have been ingrained in me for a long time. Thank goodness the Lord has given me more time to practice!

Snowflakes

2012-01-11T10:42:00.003-05:00

I love snowflakes! I started noticing that I have a few around the house, and I like to create with them too. Even though the patterns are often repeated when creating something man made, I love that in nature, they are all unique. Every single one. Amazing. Organic and sparkly, what a wonderful combination!

We put the table back to a round table so I could use my snowflake tablecloth again. And, I found a good smoothie recipe that I love. Even better, its not green, but purple. Its easier on the eye to drink a purple smoothie, but this still has a cup of spinach in it - and it tastes Sweet!

Upside Down Smoothie

1 cup spinach

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 banana

1/2 cup pineapple chunks

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup ice water

6 ice cubes

Makes 2 good sized glasses. MyGirl and I loved it!

I put everything in the blender in the opposite order it is given above, so just start from the bottom, which is why I'm calling it the upside down smoothie. Its not an exact replica from any other recipe I'm aware of, just a compilation of a few I looked it, and this is how I made mine. Start by blending in the blender, then stop and scrape down the sides, helping the spinach get mixed, then pulse well at the end until its all smooth and creamy. Use less water if you like it thicker, but since I don't want it too thick first thing in the morning, I added the water. We'll be making it again soon! I also think I'll substitute strawberries for the blueberries when I run out. Even frozen peaches would be good here too, I think, just the color would be changed. . . surprises await :-) MyGirl said she'd add more orange juice next time. If we do that, then we'll not use the ice water, but I thought the balance of flavors was fine. If you try it, let me know what you think.

Here is a darling tag I saved from Christmas. Cowgirl tied these with red ribbons around printed kraft bags for all her presents. Cute and easy with the Cricut and glitter. Love her creativity! I also love the star of David hidden in the pattern of the snowflake as well. Really reminds me of Christmas!

Speaking of glitter, I had fun playing with the Snowflake stamp set I won last year in one of the CTMH blog giveaways. I've gotten a lot of mileage with this set, and loved that this particular stamp is open. That allowed me to use a white marker and glitter to give it added dimension. I included a close-up below. The wide striped chocolate ribbon helps draw the eye into an X shape. First you see the sentiment and the ribbon, then you go back and pay attention to the snowflakes. Often good design uses L, T, and X shapes I learned a long time ago in my graphic design classes. That's one thing I've proven true over and over again.

Last, I wanted to show the many snowflakes we still have on the ground, and this rogue squirrel that was climbing up and down the neighborhood yesterday. I saw it two doors down when I was going to my parents, climbing up their drain pipe onto their roof, then later in the day he was right above our kitchen window. When we started tapping on the glass, he hopped onto our deck, walked down the stairs, across the patio, and up the back side of the house by my bedroom. Not wanting him to find any way into our house, we tapped on the glass again, and he turned around and ran back down and into another neighbor's yard. Its the first one I've seen in our neighborhood since we moved here.

Green and Pink Drinks

2012-01-08T02:08:00.002-05:00

We took Christmas down on Monday. It felt good to get back to our real life again, though the corner where the tree was is feeling a little bare again. . . contemplating another kind of tree. . . hmmm.

We're on day 20 or 21 of our school Christmas vacation. Longest one we've ever had. School starts Tuesday. We've had some fun days, some relaxing days, some get-things-done days, just the way a vacation should be. I wish I'd had my camera with me today. We were at the library and there were over a hundred ducks sleeping in the parking lot on the back side of the library, their heads all tucked into their feathers. The funny thing was, most of them were between the lines, so it looked like they were literally parking and taking a nap. Then Littlebuddy saw a friend there who showed him where they could get breadcrumbs to feed the ducks, and the boys walked out to the back and suddenly all those sleeping ducks woke up, got up, and began to flock to the boys' feet, at least fifty surrounding each boy. Fortunately, they didn't get upset when the boys ran out of crumbs. The color of mallard's heads never ceases to impress me, such a rich and gorgeous teal blue these ones were.

Littlebuddy is taller than both his sisters and me. He's in a growth spurt, and you know what that means? He's Hungry! A Lot! If I'd make cookies everyday he'd be quite happy. But today I made Green Smoothies instead, and he liked it. I think better than I did, but I'm going to try a different recipe. The spinach didn't bother me at all, it was all the pulp and fiber from everything else, more than I wanted to drink first thing in the morning. I strained it for him, which is why I think he liked it better. When I find one I love, I'll post it.

I do, however, have a great, easy punch recipe to share. We had it both on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve and everybody loved it. I just made it up while I was at the grocery store, and it worked. It very well may have been invented by someone else before, but I'm not aware of it, so I'm calling this:

Pink Party Punch

2 2-liter bottles of Cranberry Ginger Ale (can substitute Cherry 7-up, but the ginger ale is better)
1 12-oz can of lemonade concertrate
1 quart of pineapple sherbet

Put the lemonade and sherbet in the punch bowl first. Next, fill up the empty lemonade can with cold water and pour it into the punch bowl. Pour both the bottles of ginger ale in next. It will fill up the punch bowl perfectly and in just a few minutes everything will be frothy on top and starting to mix up well in the bowl. Ladle into cups and serve. Delish and easy. I think we'll be having this again at Valentine's.

Three Darling Girls

2012-01-03T21:27:00.002-05:00

My mom's family is from Canada, so whenever we see relatives from that side of the family it is a rare and special treat. My cousin was passing through Colorado on his way to Texas and called up my parents and wanted to stop by. This is another wonderful reason to live so close. We stopped by shortly before they got there and we got to meet his growing family. Last time I saw him he had one nine month old. Now he has three darling daughters. The oldest sang us a "concert" that she made up on the spot, with the title, "Christmas is Still Here." It went on for a few minutes, with everything wonderful she could possibly think of to include. It really was precious. Her three year old sister was the puzzle whiz and must have put together a U.S. puzzle on the floor at least five times. They both built an entire New York apartment out of blocks, including having a kitchen sink. The baby was a cute little nine month old, just trying to do everything her big sisters could, without the vocabulary and skills to play like they did. MyGirl loved playing with them, and introduced them to the bubble-making Santa, one of her favorite toys at Grandma's house. My cousin, their dad, is at least fifteen years younger than I am, so we didn't really grow up close, but it was fun to see what a good dad he was, and how much he enjoyed his little girls. It was a fun afternoon and an added blessing to our holiday season!

Ready for the New Year

2011-12-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

I managed to get everything photographed last night. The lighting isn't the best, but I think it's sufficient to see the projects. Remember to double click on the photos that you want to see in more detail.

The first card here is the Christmas card that I sent out. Since I first started using a rubber stamp, 21 years ago, this is my first batch of homemade Christmas cards. Its a good thing I started making them in Sept or they wouldn't have gotten done. I brought them to my scrapbooking club that month, then came home and finished them the following Saturday, while listening to a Christmas book on tape. That helped me feel the spirit of the holidays! Then I finally wrote and sent them in mid Nov. The Cricut created the holly leaves, and I used a punch on the Kraft cardstock left edge and Red glitter glue for the berries. Every thing on this card except for the twisted twine is Close To My Heart because its what I stock the most. However, I heard that in the upcoming catalog, being released tomorrow to Consultants, Feb 1 to customers, that they are now carrying this twine.

This is the thank you card I just started yesterday. I used a Diamond Stickles glitter glue to give this otherwise flat card some dimension. It's made by Ranger in NJ. I usually let it sit overnight to harden. Again, I used the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut out this shape, and used CTMH's coordinating snowflakes set, which I won for free, to double stamp - note the two different shades of blue - and glittered it in the obvious places. Love the added shine and sparkle to the snowflake.For an inexpensive little product, selling for less than $3, it sure makes a big difference.

Then because I am trying to keep things simple, I just stamped a Thanks in the same dark blue that I used on the dots of the snowflake, and am calling it done. I thought of adding a ribbon, and think that would be a nice touch for hand delivered cards, but need to keep the majority of the cards flat for mailing.

This is the big project I started in late September, after the cards were done. Most of these pages were done in 15 - 45 minute increments until last night when I spent an hour adding a few embellishments. I decided that if I could have a monthly double page spread already done, then just add additional photographs in a page protector that has 6 - 4x6 openings, and is double sided, I'd be able to spend more time quilting this year. . . a girl only has so much time, you know?

The rules I set for myself, were to try a new style with each month, use the same font for each month, and only use what I already had on my shelf. Nothing new was bought to make these. I used papers and products from many companies but mostly CTMH since that's where I can get the best bargains. The only new papers I have bought recently were for my son's mission. They were from a company called October Afternoon. Love their product lines! I am really far behind on my children's albums, so when I am in the mood for scrapbooking, I'll be working on their books this year and the mission album is ongoing. However, its essential to me that I keep up on my own books so I know how to put theirs in chronological order and I can copy the journaling almost verbatim.

Stacy Julian, at Big Picture Scrapbooking, is doing a class called Twelve. I don't really know what its all about, but I read its using 12 different techniques and making monthly pages too, so I think its fun that we're thinking along the same lines. Becky Higgins from Project Life also has simplified her books dramatically, and doesn't really use this traditional way of scrapbooking anymore. Hers is mostly the page protectors with bits and pieces for titles and journaling. I like the idea of simplifying books, but still want to use the beautiful things I do have and let my creative juices flow, so here it is. Let the new year begin!

This is exclusively CTMH, even using the same Snowflake stamp set I used on the cards above. Love the color palette here and had fun trying the folded paper technique in the lower left corner. Lots of Cricut die cuts here too. That has been the best tool to make my scrapbooking faster and easier!

The fun products here that I wanted to incorporate were the transparent overlay, the rub-ons, and the transparent musical tape by Tim Holtz. I contemplated different ribbons, and went with ric-rac, for its playfulness, knowing LittleBuddy's birthday will be celebrated a few days before Valentines, so I didn't want this page to be too feminine, but more fun. Papers are BoBunny and K&Co. The heart paper clip is from Staples and the rub-ons from 7 Gypsies.Only the polka dot ribbon, black and kraft paper are CTMH. Buttons unknown. I keep them by color in glass jars, so I have no idea which manufacturer made them.

Since I know we're going to California in March, I created this page to reflect the sand and sun and a little Disney pattern is going on too. I will most likely fill in the circles with either Disney embellishments or small photos of happy faces, so this page is not fully ready yet, but will save me a lot of work after my trip.Most of this is CTMH except for the paper punches, which are Fiskars and EK Success.

A very feminine page here. I realized I don't do a lot of these, but I loved this color palette and wanted to play. This is another month exclusively using CTMH product.

These papers and flowers come from a MyMind's Eye kit that I've had for several years now, and just keep using bits and pieces up. With MyGirl's birthday, Mother's Day, and attendance at a quilt show coming up, I wanted it to be fun, flowery, and happy.

Again, playing with ric-rac only this one is big and thick. Its held on by colored Target staples. Loved the butterfly paper from October Afternoon, and the die cut and patterned paper, I believe from Crate Paper. Can't exactly remember, but loved them, and felt they all popped nicely on CTMH retired Ocean cardstock.

This Fanfare paper from CTMH I have used over and over, from the reunion, to last year's 4th of July pages, but I added some Elemental papers to change things up too, and the Jenni Bowlin Bingo card just makes me smile. Summer is always a time of fun and games, and lots to celebrate.

This month just really eluded me. Its definitely more feminine that I probably would want here, with all of our outdoor activities and since school here starts in Aug., I really should have used Sept's pages here instead, but I wanted it to feel like ice cold lemonade and soft breezes, so here it is. Something about the damask and the birdcage, just called out to me! They are from the retired Recollections store I loved in MD. Occasionally I still see their things at Michael's, but far less selection. If the month comes and my photos don't at all work with this, then I can make a new page and save this one for another year or a special more girly page I want to make. I use only repositionable glue on my pages, allowing me to change dates and move things any time as needed.

This is all CTMH's Typeset paper packet and canvas stickease. Loved the great variety and masculine color. Since Littlebuddy is the only one I really have school pictures for, this seemed great for him and his happenings. Its also Mike's b-day and looks masculine enough for him.

This page needs more embellishments, and Franky very well may not be here in the future, but something needs to be over there, and I just haven't decided for sure, so for now, he's here.Its a mix of very old CTMH papers, more transparent newsprint stickers from Tim Holtz and a tag from Staples. There are a few metallic CTMH products, but its lacking a great visual focal point. . . will be working on that come Oct.

This page was actually a CTMH kit I bought last year. I've made minor alterations, but I loved the chipboard that allows you to stamp on it and it holds the color around the raised lettering for "celebrate." Love that stuff! Since there's a lot of celebrating that month with Thanksgiving and my birthday, I thought I could get away with the subtitle as well as the pink.

This is all CTMH papers, from the Believe paper pack, with embellishments being silver edged brads from BoBunny's Christmas collection of a couple years ago and a random sampling of buttons I found. The blue polka dot ribbon is from Offray. I really do miss living close to that outlet. Every time I use a piece of bargain ribbon from there, I know it'll cost me ten times to replace it again. It does make me happy, though, when I find pieces in my stash that match colors of product I have from other places. Somehow this seems pretty coordinated in spite of the fact three different companies are represented.

So, there you have a year in the life, ready for photos. The page layup designs were inspired by CTMH books, Page Maps website, and my own imagination. Its always the right thing to give credit where it is due, but I can't always remember where ideas came from, so please forgive me if I've incorporated something into my pages and the original creator was forgotten. Feel free to copy anything here as well, just add that you got the idea from my blog here. Thanks!

Word Choices

2011-12-30T21:45:00.001-05:00

Sometimes the words we use aren't the words we mean. For instance, when I wrote that the best gifts were electronics, that was not the intent. I should have said, sometimes the most anticipated gifts are electronics. In my house that has been true lately, but the best gifts of all, you can't buy. And, as I finish up this holiday season which feels like it started Nov. 19, and has been the longest ever, its been nothing electronic that gave me the most happiness.

It was being with people I love, getting to know them better, having meaningful conversations, new experiences, serving them, and having fun with them. The togetherness, the love, the sharing, those are the best gifts. Now, don't get me wrong, a good Christmas trifle or a plate of shortbread dipped in Lindt chocolate or Mom's homemade caramels, those are very good things too :-) I think those fall in the category of temporary happiness. . . .

But the electronics, sometimes, are my least favorite things in the house, because too easily they pull us further apart instead of bringing us closer together. And, that's the challenge of the modern age we live in, to stay connected in real ways, using the electronics to bless our lives and not be the ends in and of themselves. They are tools that can make life easier, but they don't really bring true joy. However, as I've contemplated this blog, I realized that it brings me joy because it allows me to connect with those I love that live far away. And, you know what? I miss you. I miss making those real life connections more often, so I'm not all anti-electronics, but you know it would be Better and even the Best if you were here or I was there!

I'm grateful this holiday season for the joy I have felt. There were sad moments, hard days, and frustrations, like any real life, but to know that the Savior's power is real and that He can change hearts and lives, and bring us back to Him, that is the greatest joy. And I am reminded regularly how much I NEED HIM. Really, that is the greatest gift, that His Spirit can always be with us.

I have a big project I've been working on for a couple of months which I'm excited to share, because its going to make 2012 a lot easier for me. I'll post them soon. I also have a number of other creative projects I need to photograph still. Some I've already given away, but hopefully I can get the rest online here in the near future. If I miss tomorrow, Have a Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T22:13:00.000-05:00

Family . . . the best part of this week was just having our cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents all so close. We were all going back and forth from our house to my parents, the boys often without shoes! Every bed in both houses was filled to capacity. Meals were together except for a breakfast and a lunch or two. It really was lovely weather, just a bit chilly, but fun to have a beautiful white Christmas for all our cousins that came from the South and the West Coast.

Snow . . . more than we've seen in Colorado since we moved here. The cousins were making forts, trails, and throwing lots of snowballs. A pair of glasses were lost and found 48 hours later. . . blessings!

Christmas Eve . . . one of the sweetest moments was listening to my mom read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" after my dad read the story from Luke. My nephew paid close attention as Mom read it with drama. A sweet moment. Of course there was a wonderful dinner with poppers and laughter. Good memories!

Christmas morning . . . since we'd already had Christmas morning, this was a let down for my children, watching everyone else get their cool stuff. They got a little stuff, but it wasn't the same. Still, I was glad we weren't at my house in the morning, but at my mom's. With half of my children gone, it was good for me to have lots of other loved ones around to enjoy. It was very sweet of everyone to come to church and hear the choir's musical program. I was one of the accompanists and even had a solo, so it was nice to feel their support. It was also good in the midst of the presents and wrappings, that we could remember the real reason for the season. I was glad we could stop in the middle of the day to worship. Afterwards everyone came to my house for a casual Christmas buffet, with more food than we could all eat. I'm just finishing it finally today! There was Skyping going on with my nephew on a mission and lots of visiting and playing games. Good to be together with those that were here.

Garden of the God's. . . our favorite place to take out of town guests. A little snowy on the paths, and more crowded than I've seen even in the summer, but it was good to walk off the big meals and be out in nature after being in the kitchen. The cousins loved being together. Love and miss them all!

My youngest nephew . . . that was the best photo of him I captured all week. Such a cute smile, such a curious, busy boy. Usually with a train in one hand and an airplane in the other, he had the attention of us all.

Togetherness. . . that was really the best part. Yes, we missed Bigbuddy and Cowgirl, a cousin in Las Vegas and my brother in Australia, but for those that were here, we were together a lot and it was good. We look forward to the day when everyone can be together again. Maybe 2013.

And electronics, . . . Christmas always brings something new in the way of gadgets, even if the final selection wasn't made until after the big day was over. Its a sign of our generation that the best gifts often need chargers.

Twas the Tuesday

2011-12-21T13:50:00.001-05:00

Twas the Tuesday before Christmas, and all through the house, many creatures were stirring, and gratefully there wasn't one mouse!

While Mama was in her nightclothes, Papa donned his hat, and the snow blower got the front yard cleared in no time flat. She'd heard a loud noise and went to see what was the matter. It was just her dear hubby making a clatter. He went down the street, clearing for neighbors too, and the thought crossed her mind, what a Christ-like thing to do.

By nightfall a party was happily ensuing, the Beehives were eager for merry fun doings. The 2nd counselor was on bed rest and yours truly was asked to step in, but it was the generous advisor who hosted and made it happen. Her games were so fun, her heart so sweet, and the girls loved their party, especially the treats!

Some baking was done in the kitchen with care, in appreciation for kindnesses that had been shared. Rolls by the dozens accompanied by jam were just what this last-minute baker had planned. The oven was on for much of the day in preparations for parties and guests that would stay. How grateful we are for those that will come and gift us with their presence. We can't wait for the fun!

A gingerbread train was sitting on the shelf, and it looked cute enough in spite of its "come from a box" self. Our cousins like trains and my children wanted to share their love for their cousins with a creative flair. This family night activity had been planned the night before, in hopes of showing their love all the more.

All week we have waited and prayed with our souls for a loved one who traveled abroad with a goal.
Then a note was found on the computer to say, he is learning the language and loving his stay. His mother did cheer and his sisters did say, that's the best news we've heard in many a day.

And now it is Wednesday, we're sure getting close, to the day that our Savior is celebrated most. To give and to love make this season so bright, and with each act of goodness we feel of His light. May your season be merry and may you always remember that Jesus is the best reason to celebrate in December!
Merry Christmas!!!!!

Getting Busy

2011-12-19T02:12:00.002-05:00

What better way to forget your own issues than to delve into others issues?? Haha! Not really, but this weekend was spent being busy in positive ways for me. I could see by this morning that the Lord just kept providing ideas and opportunities for me to get busy, and truly work is a great blessing.

However, Why does reorganizing usually involve some monumental mess beyond what was already a mess to get there? Since BigBuddy is no longer sharing a room with his brother, I attacked both boys' clothes, cleaning, sorting, donating, bagging or returning to its rightful place. That room just needed an overhaul and it got it, with the temporary stopping point being my living room. Then it was his dresser and shoes. Fortunately I had the house to myself for a long time this weekend which allowed me to create such chaos and happily the living room is back to its peaceful uncluttered self.

The boys in my family went snow camping this Friday night with the Boy Scouts. Double sleeping bags for everyone and layers and layers of clothing, and still their feet were cold. I'm now on the hunt for better boots and socks.

My mom, bless her heart, came over on Friday night and helped me make over 120 meatballs. We froze them and will be using them when company comes later this week. I had to leave while they were baking to pick up MyGirl from a party. I came back to meatball mess all cleaned up. She is a great blessing!

Found this yummy idea on Our Best Bites, and it even has the link to this cute tag. Don't you love how the web can make your life easier? I love a good chili and know some others who feel the same way. Gave away three today and two more on Tuesday. I may even make up another batch and give more away. I'm just not feeling like doing tons of cookies and at the season of giving when the weather here is getting chilly, why not chili? It made sense to me.

Its Not Terrible

2011-12-15T10:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, an update to my previous post.
Yes, I miss my son, but it's NOT terrible.
I am so happy with the decision that he's made to serve.
I am so grateful he has made it safely there and his MTC president sent me a photo and letter letting me know.
Now, yes, I shed a few tears upon reading said letter and seeing his photo, but really just tears of joy.
I am so excited for this new opportunity for him.
So, no, its not terrible. Two years is a very long time. A lot can change, but I am absolutely positive that my love for him will never change, and that is a very wonderful thing.

I also put this photo of him framed on the table in front of the Wii downstairs in the family room. I see it every morning when I go make sure the others kids are up for school, and other times throughout the day, and for the past two days I have sat on the sofa, looked at his picture, and said a few words to him. I know he can't hear them, but it helps me to say them and I feel happy just to see his 8 x 10 presence.

I also want to grow spiritually like he is during the next two years so I have set a goal for how I am going to work on that.

I miss all my children when they are away from me and I know I am on a short countdown to the day when they have all moved away. It's life and life is good. Sometimes its just a little lonelier than I'd like which is what makes eternal life so very appealing to me. Never having to say good-bye will be the Best!

The Day Came

2011-12-14T01:20:00.011-05:00

Yesterday is the day my boy got on the airplane and began his mission. This boy who loves to eat and loves to play with his brother and loves to talk to people and loves to chat with me is gone for two years. I will miss him terribly, but I am so very excited for him. I've already sent him an e-mail at his website so when he opens it there will be some mail for him. I can't wait to read the ones he sends. I am so excited for every aspect of this new experience for him because he is so excited.
It's been so long since I posted, but we have been busy making memories and having fun.

On Friday we picked up Cowgirl from the airport and went up to Winter Park for a sleigh ride.
It was SOO fun. The beautiful Belgian mares had jingle bells on them, and as we sat behind them for an hour, it felt like being in a fairy tale. Floating along, listening to the bells, seeing the trees and snow, with all my family loving it too, just so fun! There was hot cocoa, roasted marshmallows, and some snow-ball fighting there too. Just a really beautiful day too!
That night we stayed in the hotel and the next day attended the Colorado Symphony's Christmas Concert. It was wonderful. We had a great time listening to such beautiful and meaningful music.

The next day was Christmas Eve at our house. It was also the day of my son's mission farewell. He did such an outstanding job. I was so very pleased with everything about that day, from having his boss in attendance to my mother's trifle to his setting apart; it was just a wonderful day and one I will never forget.
Too soon, however, it came to an end. We had to take Cowgirl back to the airport.

Then we continued, (we, meaning mostly he, with little of me) packing and unpacking and checking the weight over and over. Its been waking me up at night concerned with how to fit everything in and not be overweight. Fortunately our airport here was a little lenient, and let him be 1.5 lb. over without charging him. Tender mercies!
Then this morning it was off to the airport. Final good-bye's, hugs, a meal, and last minute advice, given by everyone. In the end, though, he just said, I'm going to be me and do my best." What else can he do? Nothing, and so once again he's focused on that which matters most. His favorite saying? It will all work out. Just trust the Lord.

He's committed to doing just that.

And now, he's on his way. He will be a great missionary, but I won't be posting a lot of photos. Notice none of these have his badge clearly showing. With this being a public forum, I'm hesitant to use those kinds of details, and he'll have it on most all the time. Oh, we do love this boy who will soon return a man. I will miss him terribly, but am most excited for him to be able to make a connection with those who need him to teach them about the Savior. Let the real fun begin!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-05T00:39:00.008-05:00

So cliche, I know, but seriously, this tune keeps running through my head. Since Thursday, we just keep getting snow. It stops for a day then starts up again. It is beautiful, and I love the peace and slowing down of life it brings, but in Colorado you have to keep driving in it. Life doesn't stop, but we go slow, and so far, no major problems. I think this is it for at least a week. Just one more week without, please, please, let it be. After the 13th it can snow buckets, but we need our boy to get out safely next week. . . 9 days and counting.
We've had a very fun weekend, cold temperatures and all. Mike's company had a family Christmas party. Best company party ever held for about twenty children, at least that I've ever been to. Santa and Mrs. Claus were both there for a couple of hours, entertaining, reading stories, leading us in singing, handing out presents to all children under 18, there was yummy food, sparkling cider, gift bags for all the adults. He was a great Santa and Mike's boss knows how to throw a great party. Grandparents were invited, and it was really fun for everyone. This was Santa after he'd taken off his outer coat, and was mingling with everyone.
This was he and the Mrs. on their way out the door. You're never too old to feel the joy and excitement only Santa can bring.
Afterwards, our church was hosting a creche festival, similar to the one we've been to in Maryland, but there were some differences. This one had lots of quilts on the walls. I loved it. There were also lots of people. I'd say at least a thousand people were there. We had to walk in a winding line to get up and down the long tables. Everything was beautiful and there were musical numbers going throughout, but they were all in the chapel, which was open to the festival. There was a reverent feeling there, and it truly was gorgeous.
Then outside they had a live nativity with animals. We saw Mary riding on a donkey with Joseph holding the reins. There were goats and llamas and horses. The reenactment lasted about fifteen minutes. It was about 18 degrees outside, but that didn't stop any of us from sitting there for the whole program in metal seats. It was really special, and Mary and Joseph? They're our neighbors. Their littlest sat with us and her big brother was beside LittleBuddy taking lots of pictures. The spirit was strong and I was grateful for this glorious reminder of the reason for the season. Then after a yummy dinner at my mom's we watched the devotional from the Prophet and his counselors. The talks, the video, the music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, all touched me. When you feel the spirit of Christmas it fills you with peace and joy. This weekend gave us many opportunities to feel that. I loved them all.

December 1

2011-12-01T22:56:00.007-05:00

Today starts my December Daily scrapbooking. I won't post here every day, but I am committed to taking photos every day and adding some journaling every day all month. There is so much about this December that is different from any December we have ever had before.

We have never sent out a missionary before.
We have never celebrated Christmas on a day that wasn't Christmas.

We have never celebrated Christmas in this house.
We have never had my parents live right by us at Christmas time.
We have never had a 2 year old come visit us at Christmas when all our children are much older. . . oh is he going to be spoiled with love and attention when he gets here!
We have never had our dad have so much time off in December.
We have never had Cowgirl come visit us in December and it not be Christmas.

It has been many, many years since all my siblings were in Colorado for Christmas.

So, as you can see, this a December to remember.

Today we woke up to a 2 hour delay from school. This is the best of all worlds in my mind. We all get to sleep in, but we don't have to make up the day at the end of the year.
MyGirl is still suffering from her glue gun blisters, but today she could hold a pencil again. I am continually amazed at the body's ability to heal itself.
LittleBuddy had an orthodontist appointment so his already short day was shorter. I am happy that my decorations are all up and the presents are all wrapped. Don't be disgusted. Because Christmas is coming so early for my son, he wanted it to look like Christmas before he left, so I couldn't procrastinate this year. I did it for the love of my son, not for the love of being organized, but I have to admit, its nice to have it all done. This leaves me more time to enjoy my boy. (Sorry for the really bad photo. I knew as soon as I took it, the lighting was horrible, but he was going to be late for the bus, so I had to live with it.)
Since today was Bigbuddy's last day at work, I didn't feel guilty going to the quilting guild this evening with my mom. These are some of the items that didn't sell at the craft festival they had in Oct., which convinced me I need to join this. Tonight was their Christmas party. We ate yummy food, visited, turned in sub-for-Santa items, voted to do the festival next year, found out who some fabulous guest lecturers are going to be in 2012, and finished up playing Quilto.
Only 12 days left until BigBuddy leaves. He was well loved by the people he worked with. He has learned some good things here about interacting with people that will serve him well in the future. Mostly, I am grateful that he learned that he is a valuable employee. He is an asset because of his attitude and work ethic and kind heart. I love that life offers opportunities for my children to grow in ways that support my goals for them as well.
We set up the advent calendars today. One is a Victorian Christmas party and the other is a story of a little shepherd boy and his experience seeing the Christ child. I love the Victorian era, with its carriages and high necked dresses. I also love remembering the real reason for the season Every Day. And, that's what December is really all about - remembering the events and the love and the things that helped us draw closer to the Savior. That's my goal for this December.

Outdoor Decor

2011-11-30T02:32:00.004-05:00

Black Friday last week turned into Light Friday for us. What started out as just buying a tree, became decorating the outside, which then turned into a very long experience in putting up outdoor lights. Two trips to the local Walmart later, and many, many trips up and down the ladder by MyMike, mission accomplished. When we first moved here, MyGirl declared that this tree would be the perfect tree to be lighted for Christmas, and I agreed. Now that we've done it, its my favorite outdoor decoration we've ever had because it twinkles :-)

I know it will come as a shock to you that the whole front of our house is lighted. Usually its just the front door, but that's because our last house was on a hill and would have been very dangerous if Mike had had any inclination, which he didn't. . . but this year was a different story. It wasn't easy, but he did it, and it adds to the neighborhood's many decorations. This place truly has a fun spirit to it, and nice too.

Happily Winding Down

2011-11-26T22:46:00.010-05:00

Its been busy, busy at our house this week. Mike's parents have been here for eight days now. They leave on Tuesday. Fortunately, Mike has been home the whole time, and showed them all the sights around town so I think most of the time it has been a good trip for them. My parents got home from their fun Hawaiian Holiday just in time to pick up some eggs for me on the way home on Wed., and then we all had Thanksgiving at my house! So fun to have so many here!
There was plenty of rolls and bread for leftover turkey sandwiches. My children think rolls are the best part of the Thanksgiving meal after the pies. LittleBuddy could skip everything else and be perfectly happy. For me, the best part is the candy corn. That's what we save for after the meal, where we all share the three things we're most thankful for. There were many tears shed, as we went around the table, in gratitude and humility. The fact we are all still there at the table together this year is a great blessing. Next year we will for sure be missing our missionary, so this year was especially sweet.

Afterwards, my sweet husband always does the dishes. He had helpers, but he does the lion's share of the work. It's the worst because I use the good china and the goldware that all has to be hand-washed. At least I used the goblets that go in the dishwasher. He appreciated that, but he doesn't complain. He also takes care of the turkey leftovers too, cutting, bagging, freezing. . . . Creating in the kitchen is a joy for me because I think of it as a creative endeavor. Its all how you spin it for yourself, you know? However, I know his is the dirty job, and bless his heart for doing it willingly after every big meal I make. He doesn't even care what kind of an apron he uses. He just picked what was in front, which I had been wearing earlier.

Then its time for fun and games. Grandma Jacobs is the chief fun person to play with.
LittleBuddy helped his dad with clean-up. Then he played his favorite computer game. Love that clean kitchen look!

The rest of the adults parked in front of the TV. Pumpkin chucking was highly anticipated, and there were some whoops from the sofas as they were chucked far into the Delaware cornfield. The engineers in the family always like to see what kind of contraption can be concocted and what results they get.

Today we went to the temple. Its been nice for our son to be able to attend with both of his grandparents. The big week is winding down. My younger children have really not spent very much time with these grandparents, so its been good for them to get to know them a little bit better. I even learned some new things this week. Before my father-in-law left for his mission, his bride-to-be insisted that they be engaged before he left. So, they were, and they were married six weeks after he got home. I don't know anyone else that has experienced that, and nowadays it's discouraged, but it is part of our family history. I also learned that my mother-in-law is a direct descendant of John Alden, who married Priscilla, Pilgrims from the original Thanksgiving. That means my children are descendants too, and that was an especially wonderful revelation for the week. No wonder its one of my favorite holidays. Its in our family's blood.

Blessings

2011-11-22T23:12:00.002-05:00

This is the family picture that got sent out in our Christmas cards last week. It was taken at the Flying W Ranch by my dad over Labor Day weekend. We were there for the cowboy dinner and show and I asked him to take a few quick shots of all six of us together. When I look at this photo it kind of sums up my feelings about the past year. Since I like to keep things simple, here are my top ten blessings of the last year.

1. We were (all six of us) together more this year than the last five years.

2. My parents arrived safely to be our neighbors.

3. Everything fell into place to bring us to our new home which we love so much.

4. We are all healthy.

5. We know about the gospel of Jesus Christ and His plan for eternal progression.

6. I am so blessed to share my life with Mike. It has been a great blessing to see him have his best year ever.

7. I am blessed to be able to share in this time of my son's life as he completes his preparations to be a missionary. His faithfulness inspires me to be a better person.

8. My youngest. . . He's 12. He's a boy. I am so blessed that he willingly sits down to share morning devotionals with me and when he comes home he still loves to share the details of his life with me.

9. My youngest daughter has done many hard things. I am blessed by her courage, her humility, her patience and her unconditional love for me.

10. My oldest, my first-born, has taught me so much that I could not have learned any other way. I am blessed by her honesty, her willingness to work so hard in everything she does, and her giving heart.

Digital Pages

2011-11-17T22:21:00.008-05:00

When I get behind in my scrapbooks, I am so glad there are digital pages to make my life easier. You've seen all these photos already, but they are in my books now, and it feels good. The most important reason why I need to get these done? Because I forget so quickly some of the little details. Its really the journaling that is most important to me. If I can get them done quickly before time dilutes the memory, then I can use my books as the catalyst for the children's books which I am Waaaaaaaaay behind in. I plan on using the full two years BigBuddy is gone to catch up on his books. I think mentally I've been saving them just for this opportunity, to help keep him close to me. Then when he gets home I can start working on his mission pages. . . Yeah!
Nowadays there are all kinds of fun details that can add interest. I really like the stitching options. It sure is easier than breaking out the needle and thread.
I also like the size options I can make with digital pages. If I want to print an 9 x 9 photo, I can't do that at home. My printer is only standard letter size. Then, I have to upload it to a photo site faraway and wait a week or so until it gets back or bring my disc to a place that has a larger printer. Kind of a hassle, you know? So, I love that I can have large photos in my books without any hassle. Just click and click. Sweet and easy!

I also love some of the options available online. The cute font for Sept. on the school paper would be expensive, but since Studio J is one price for everything, it makes it much more cost effective. I also love the resizing options, the border options, and that every single paper can be changed or tinted to one of the sixty color choices. That gives me lots of options, and I like to play with many of them.

Another option I really like is the ability to use things that are retired or no longer even an option anywhere else. The black and white polka dot paper I loved! I bought as much as I could reasonably afford, but then I used it with my club or for my own projects, and pretty soon I was out. Its just so versatile and looks as good with Sorbet and Smoothie as it does with Olive Green or Heavenly Blue.
There's also the shapes and patterns and templates available that make digital pages so versatile. With just a click I can create new layers and focal points and its all so easy to do.This is a pattern I have avoided in the past because making perfect circles is difficult without all the right tools, and I don't want to cut my photos and have them look all wonky. Online, the hard work is done for me, and all circles are perfectly round, unless you want to play with them and make them wonky, you have that option too.

When I'm not feeling well, I find that I can create a digital page in less than fifteen minutes. And I never have to leave my bed to do it. And, even when I'm well and busy, sometimes that's all the time in a week I can devote to creating pages, and I like that they have a 3-D look even though its on 2-D paper. Its like the pages have had their photos taken with all the embellishments on them, but they lie flat. I do like my textural embellishments, and my scrapbook has plenty of those, but its okay to have the digital pages too. That in and of itself is a snapshot of my life, and that's okay too.

Changes

2011-11-13T21:42:00.005-05:00

My neighbor with all the bird houses has put her house up for sale. Her husband has a new job in Phoenix. She will miss the birds and this weather, but three of her sons live in that area, so she knows it will be good. Fortunately for me, the birds often come visit my house too. I will have to start putting out bird food in my feeders, because I'll miss these guys. I spotted these four sitting on my deck railing over the weekend. They were there long enough for me to go to my room and get my camera and make it back to the kitchen. Then two flew away, and then one more, and then one was there by himself, quite content for a couple of minutes, then he flew off too.

It was a year ago this week that Mike and I came to this area and felt good about moving here. Now, a year later, looking back on all the changes, I feel so very blessed at how it all has worked out. We all really like it here. We all have a good life here. So much was unknown then. We felt like we were just walking into a tunnel, not sure where it would lead, but trusting the Lord's spirit to guide us with each footstep. It is better than we imagined.

My boy's VISA is coming this week, we were told. He will officially start his mission in Brazil. Its exactly a month from today - Dec. 13. The big change is coming. It almost feels surreal, a little, like walking in the tunnel again, not really knowing what lies ahead, but knowing that trust is everything, and so we keep walking forward. I hope his mission is even better than he can imagine too. I don't imagine. Its a little too scary for me - creatures always enter into my too-vivid-imagination, but I trust the Lord and so I replace my fears with faith and know that its all in the Lord's hand, and it will be what my boy needs, and I'm grateful for that.

One thing I have really come to love is that life is not monotonous, especially weather-wise, in our part of the globe. Its either gorgeous or dramatic. What was like this in the morning, became
this in the late afternoon, as dark storm clouds in the distance made a beautiful background behind the bright light of the sun shining on the grassy hill behind us. I just am amazed continually at the sky. It is ever changing and moving and beautiful. Even when the potential for something a little frightening is there, I have learned to appreciate its beauty and trust that the Lord is mindful of us here.

Counting Blessings

2011-11-09T15:00:00.012-05:00

I have issues in life, unfortunately. Mostly physical ones, though I'm sure if you spent enough time with me, you'd realize there are plenty of others too. These physical issues cause me to slow down and when I do, I spend more time counting my blessings. . . always a silver lining, you know?

I've learned that my jobs, though some may think they are mundane, are my contributions. They bless me by keeping me productive and learning and disciplined. They make life in my home work more smoothly and they bring me joy as I serve my family. One of the great blessings of teenagers, however, is that they can serve too. I have been the receiver of much service this week, and while I'd rather not, I am very appreciative. They bring the kitchen from a state of this -

to this

My dear mother cooked dinner for everyone on Sunday then brought over delicious enchiladas for Mexican Monday too. She has spent my whole life blessing me. Right before I got sick, she invited me to the quilt guild with her. I'm going to be more of a quilter in 2012, under her tutelage. I don't do much for her, but I sure do love her. So does my family. They look for excuses to be with her.

Bigbuddy heads to the MTC or CTM in just a little over a month. Today he is with my mom and my dad at the temple. I'm sad I missed it, but grateful they can enjoy today together. I believe a trip to Red Lobster is on the schedule as well. My boy loves sea food!

I recently created this page to remember the time he and his buddy had tons of adventures in three days. I need to find a better way to photograph these up close. . . still more learning to be done.

And, even though I may not have been physically well, I can't let certain moments pass me by. Our soon-to-be-missionary had his suit on twice this week, and I wanted to take some good head shots which I'll probably blow up to an 8 x 11 and frame for my family hall of fame. I like both of them, but am leaning towards liking the bottom one. The only problem is, I think its a little dark. I really need to get into Photoshop more and learn how to fix these kinds of problems.

I will truly miss him when he's far away, but there are two children left at home who bring a lot of joy to my life also. LittleBuddy had WackyTacky day at school, and boy did he ever dress for that! He got a lot of high-fives in the hallway that day, then as soon as he was home, took it all off right there in the front entryway, leaving just his blue jeans and his t-shirt left on. He cracks me up. I never would have had the guts as a 12 year old to dress that wacky!

MyGirl is doing great in her Introductory to Driver's Ed course. No driving yet, just learning and passing tests, and she's doing it! I'm proud of her. She gets most concerned for me when I'm having my issues, and I know would do anything to help me. How blessed am I! I did find one thing that I've done for my mother. Seriously a lifetime is not enough time to do for her what she's done for me. She and I found these plates at the local W*lm*rt for under $3. We thought they looked nice plain, but then we got out the Cricut and now they are part of our Thanksgiving decor. With so much to be thankful for, I could be counting for a LOOOONG time!

LittleBuddy

2011-11-04T09:37:00.005-04:00

I need to keep a list of all the books Little Buddy is reading this year. He finished Princess Bride a couple of weeks ago for his English class. Then he finished Harry Potter 5 and now he's reading Harry Potter 6. You know a child is loving a book when you wake up early in the morning and find them already dressed and reading, so eager they are to find out what's next. Love that.

In his social studies class, he's made a number of art projects to go with the areas they're studying. That teacher loves our boy. She's been very complementary lately as well as given him projects that he can successfully accomplish. He has new details to tell me everyday of something else he's learned. I am so grateful when teachers light the spark in my children. He is shining academically and while I'd love to take credit, I know its all him. He does work diligently on his schoolwork and its a joy to see that pay off for him.

Every day after school he and his best buddy like to chat after they get off the bus. Since we are closest to the bus stop, they come sit or stand on our front porch and catch up on life. They don't have any classes together, and don't sit together on the bus going to school, but they do manage to sit together coming home. I figure they are just finishing their conversations. Sometimes these last almost an hour. Yesterday I had to hurry them along. Little Buddy had an orthodontist appointment.

I'm happy that life comes relatively easy for him. I wish it was that way for all of my children. MyGirl is in Driver's Ed right now. To say it has been stressful would be an understatement. She begged to learn and now that she's getting the opportunity she's begging to quit. She's doing just fine, passing all her tests and doing as well as anyone else in the class, but the anxiety and responsibility associated with it are almost too much for her. I keep reminding her that Sis. Dalton tells the YW - we can do hard things. She will need this skill when she's a mother and needs to go to the grocery store to buy food for her children or take them to the doctor when they're sick. I feel bad for her, that life doesn't come as easy for her as it does her brother. I know the Lord loves her. I love her. I just hope I can help her enough to get her through this newest hurdle in her life.

Pirate's Cove

2011-11-01T11:10:00.011-04:00

Apparently we have the best neighborhood for Halloween! We didn't know it until we came home from church on Sunday and saw a large black ship at the top of the cul-de-sac. After dinner my dad and son checked it out, and found out that they were expecting about a thousand people. We walked up around 6pm before the sun went down to check it all out. Note the news truck behind the sign with his broadcast antennae sticking up high.
Pretty amazing pirate flags. I'd guess they're about ten feet high. That's the Black Pearl in the background. Its definitely larger than the house. The brown house behind it stands on the hill the next street up. This is one big ship.
There was so much attention to detail it was incredible. I talked to one of the men who owned one of the the three houses who were staging this, and he said the first year it took them a few weeks to put it all together, but now, in their fourth year they've got it down to two days set up. Amazing, really! By the time we left it was dark. Mike and MyGirl sat on the driveway handing out candy while me and Bigbuddy went with LittleBuddy and the neighbors trick or treating. Later we switched out, and they got to go see this amazing creation.
The children who live here were loving their roles.
You Pirates fans will remember the name of this ship, but for now, it escapes me. I'm not good with those kinds of details, but ask me my phone number from 1976 and middle school locker combination, I'm your gal.?!?!?
The kids were in awe at all the props everywhere.
This was the scene lining a driveway.
They also had their own fun interactive areas. The Black Market was where you could play games, get candy, get your fortune read. . . pretty fun for every child who was there.
The orange and black box up on the ship was a CO2 bubble maker - very cool! With the slight breeze last night, the sails were moving and the bubbles were going and the music was playing. . . you get the atmosphere. . . a pretty amazing re-creation!
This was the captain of the black pearl. He proceeded to pretend to pour the bottle down the throat of the skeleton after I took the picture. These guys are all into it, fully costumed, and having fun! My favorite? The sound of the cannon booms and watching the softballs being shot from one ship to the other.

And the next morning, I only picked up seven little pieces of candy or trash from my yard, and three were candy I had given out, which I think got knocked out of their pillowcases as they turned down the driveway. I had bought 1000 pieces of candy. We started at 6:15 handing out and by 8:15 we had used up 800 pieces. The crowds were less solid at this point, every three or four minutes three or four children would come up our driveway. Before it had been non-stop. Think about it, in 120 minutes we gave away 800 pieces of candy - one per child. The last half hour, it was getting chilly, and I was tired, and so I gave out handfuls. I had one last bag left and I saved that for Mike and BigBuddy. They were happy. By 8:45 we were lights off in the house, and I got to see that Vocal Point moved on for another week. What a night! What a memory! We will never look at Halloween the same again. This is the street where Pirate magic happens!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T12:30:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! The months are flying by. These are a couple of cards I sent out last week. I made another one last night. Mike's boss is too nice to my kids.
Our neighborhood has had a tradition going for the past three years, that the top of the cul-de-sac has built a Large pirate ship and its all tricked out with lights, etc. The neighbors beside them do something too. I'll be checking it out tonight.
Along with about a THOUSAND other people.

I just heard this yesterday. I went and bought a LOT more candy this morning. The news truck was up there yesterday. Apparently they'll block off the cul-de-sac in front of my house. I'll take some pics and show you tomorrow how it all went down.

Trunk of Treat

2011-10-29T17:19:00.008-04:00

Hard to believe it snowed on Wednesday. Yesterday was a beautiful day. I wore short sleeves most of the day. Thinking of my friends in Maryland today who have NEVER seen snow in October. Sounds more like a trick than a treat there.
I changed when it was time for Trunk or Treat up at the church. When the sun goes down here, it gets cold. I wore gloves, a coat, a scarf, and the most essential - mittens, to pass out the Halloween candy.
LittleBuddy and his snowflake throwing cohorts. An FBI agent again. He didn't want to repeat, but he had no other ideas, so this is what got thrown together. He has a large nerf gun behind his back. His buddies are Harry Potter and an 80's wrestler. I think his one friend really wanted to be Michael Jackson in the 80's, or Diana Ross dressed casual. . . that wig. . . quite something.
MyGirl went with the family whose car was next to ours. She held little Peter's hand as they walked around the cars until he got too cold. He didn't really want candy anyhow, just a lollipop.
There were quite a few children here. I went through eight bags of candy in less than 45 minutes! I stopped by the store last night to get some more for the trick or treaters. Its hard to say how many will come. I'm used to our isolated little cul-de-sac where on a good night I handed out 35 treats. Now I'm prepared for a lot more than that. Our neighborhood is connected to many neighborhoods. It could be a long night.

Last Week's Creations

2011-10-27T18:50:00.009-04:00

MyGirl has gotten out the knitting needles again. With Christmas coming she is making her wonderful cotton dishcloth's. I LOVE them. I hope to be on her list.

LittleBuddy is busy with school projects. He made a cuneiform tablet in social studies. Last night he spent six hours building a cell. I should have taken a picture of it before he brought it in. I'm especially pleased he turned it in today when it isn't due until Monday. He told me last Monday that he had a plan for the week so he could get everything done and Wed. was "cell day." Now he has to finish two hundred pages for a book report also due on Mon. I'm amazed he's so organized.

Today he got detention for throwing a snowball with his best two friends. They all will have lunch detention tomorrow. Seriously? That sounds fun.

When he came home from school his big brother threw a snowball at him, so now bigbrother deserves "lunch detention" tomorrow, right? We are still making up the funny ways he will have to "pay" while he is home from lunch for an hour tomorrow. I'm leaning towards being forced to play Scrabble with me or letting me take more pictures of him. . . going to be a tough punishment, ha! No ESPN is also an option or perhaps making me lunch. I'm still thinking.
We were "boo-ed" twice within a half hour of each other last week, so we whipped up a lot of cupcakes to share with our friends and neighbors.
I loved these bright Halloween plates. I just love Halloween color schemes. I have really liked orange a lot for the past year. It has always been one of BigBuddy's favorite colors. There was a time when he wore orange shirts every day. I think he was around 5 or 6. I'd have to do the wash every couple of days for him until I started buying cheap orange shirts so he could have a week's supply. He still likes orange. If you're into color theory, it does kind of describe him, however. He's social like Yellow's and a leader like Red's. Orange really is a good combination to describe him.
I finally closed the Cricut and got out the sewing machine. Notice all the technology filling up my tiny area - boombox, Cricut, sewing machine and laptop are pretty much the main tools in life I use outside the kitchen. Its always a trick to keep the one I need the most in the forefront and put the others away safely, since there isn't that much space in my little craft corner.
I was busy making privacy sheers for our den. Now when guests come they don't have to see how packed our ugly den is right off the front door. Its my least favorite room in our house. Someday I'd like to turn it into a PotteryBarn replica, but until then, at least we don't have to look at it all day long. I'm quite enjoying that.

The Best Cinnamon Rolls - Really!

2011-10-25T18:03:00.005-04:00

Our Frankies turned out fine and tasted really good.

However, it is these cinnamon rolls that made my day! I have been searching for YEARS to find a recipe that is nice and big and fluffy and delicious. This is the best one I've ever tried, and from start to eating one took me less than 2 1/2 hours. Fabulous!

The Best Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe by Mary Rockwood

Makes 12 big rolls

Made at 7000 ft.

Adjustments for lower altitudes:

Lower baking temp to 350.

Decrease flour 1/4 cup

This recipe is assuming you have a standing mixer - Bosch, Kitchen Aid, K-Tec, etc.

DOUGH:

3 1/2 c. bread flour

1 1/2 Tb. instant dry yeast

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

FILLING:

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour or bread flour

1 Tb. ground cinnamon

1/4 cup cold butter

FROSTING:

4 oz. cream cheese

2 Tb. butter

2 Tb. milk or heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Warm milk in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into mixing bowl. Melt butter in microwave. Pour into mixing bowl. Add sugar, yeast, salt, and eggs. Mix in flour, one cup at a time until dough starts to leave the edges of the bowl. Making sure the paddle appropriate for mixing bread is on your mixer, beat an additional 3 -5 minutes until it is moderately soft, smooth, and elastic. Take out of mixer and place in a greased bowl. Cover with waxed paper. Fill up your kitchen sink with warm water, about 1/3 the way up. Place the covered bowl in the water, making sure no water gets into the bowl. When I did this, the bread rose to the top of the bowl in 30 minutes.

When it is rising, mix the filling together so it is nice and crumbly. You can use your hands or a pastry blender.

Take out and put onto a floured surface good for rolling dough. Do not punch dough down. Sprinkle with flour on both sides. Dough should be not too sticky but not too tough either. Using rolling pin, roll dough into a 12 x 8 rectangle. Sprinkle filling over the dough. You may top with 1/2 cup raisins or 1/2 cup pecans next if you'd like or even 1 cup finely chopped apples. I did neither, but I'd like to try the apples next time. Roll up jelly roll style; pinch loose edge tight to seal. With a kitchen knife, mark the dough into 12 equal pieces by first marking at 1/3 and 2/3. Then mark each of these in half, then in half again. Using a thread, cut the dough along your markings. Arrange dough pieces, cut side up, in a greased 12 x 8 metal pan (ours were Wilton baking sheets.)

Cover dough loosely with clear plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Rise dough on counter. Mine took an hour to raise enough to fill the pan.

While this is rising, make your frosting by beating it all together in a mixer until consistency is fluffy and makes peaks.

When dough fills the pan, bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 -20 minutes or until light brown. Carefully invert rolls onto the plastic wrap you used to cover them with shortly after they come out. then flip them upright again onto waxed paper. (She explained that this helps to keep the filling better inside the rolls.) Frost while warm. Immediately rinse the pan, as the filling with be hard and difficult to get off if you wait. It did rinse easily after about 5 minutes when I got to it.

This recipe can be doubled. It also can be refrigerated at the 2nd rising stage for 2 - 24 hours. Dough should be taken out 30 minutes to stand or until fully raised before proceeding with baking.

The hunting is now over. I will never need another recipe again for these - YEAH!!!

Sweet Frankie

2011-10-25T14:10:00.007-04:00

I'm making these today for a YW Party tonight. They look cute, creative and yummy to me. We love ginger cookies around here. I already started. They are baked and cooling now. It worked out well as MyGirl was taking an algebra test, thus I wasn't needed beside her. I have to say this dough was fantastic to work with. I did add another 2 Tablespoons of milk because they were a little too dry, but I didn't need to refrigerate the dough at all. Just started rolling out and baking. They expand when they're baked. My original rectangles were approximately 2 x 3 and they look to be closer to 2 3/4 x 4 now. You should know that I also make my own frosting and I'll be using Skittles instead of M&M's because that's what I have on hand. And, at my altitude I decreased the baking soda to 1 1/2 tsp. and increased the flour to 3 1/2 c. I also baked at 375 for 7 minutes and they were perfect.

I'm also making a new recipe of cinnamon rolls so I'll be decorating these while that dough rises. Today is the day to make a big mess in the kitchen, then I'm done for the week. We're expecting our first big snowstorm of the year by midnight tonight. Anywhere from 5 - 17 inches is expected over the next two days. . . everyone here is excited, except for MyMike. He doesn't think he'll have to shovel because it will be 40 and 46 the two days after it snows. We'll see. . . .

I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker website.

Ginger Frankenstein Cookies

Make these monstrously good spice cookies, spooked up with candies and chocolate chips.

Prep Time

1:00

Hr:Mins

Total Time

2:20

Hrs:Mins

Makes

dozen

1 1/2

cups sugar

cup butter or margarine, softened

tablespoons mild-flavor (light) molasses

egg

tablespoons milk

3 1/4

cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

teaspoons baking soda

teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2

teaspoons ground ginger

1/2

teaspoon ground cloves

1/2

teaspoon ground cardamom

container (1 lb) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting

drops green food color

1/3

cup candy-coated chocolate candies (72 candies)

3/4

cup candy corn (72 candies)

cup semisweet chocolate chips

A Week in the Life

2011-10-20T14:55:00.008-04:00

You may or may not have heard about a couple of scrapbooking styles called Project Life and Week in the Life. Project Life takes a picture a day for a year, does some journaling and enjoys the simplicity of it all. Nothing fancy, just chronicling your life. Week in the Life tracks your life for one week, writing what occured at each hour of the day and also causes you to reflect on observations, things overheard, what you're grateful for that day, and the favorite moment, as well as writing down what you ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I'm intrigued by both of these because they give a more accurate look at your real life, and I can see that in the future these might be fascinating. So for this week, I am trying Week in the Life. aliedwards.com has a great free download which made it easy for me just to fill out. I'm still working on it until Saturday. I have to remember to take at least a few pictures every day, and here are some from the past week.
The fall colors are all out this week - reds, oranges, golds and browns. I love it. I'm still shocked that we get so many more colors here than we used to get when we lived in Colorado before. Its

just another little blessing that I really do appreciate, like seeing the cattle close by.
How cute are these two? This was taken after Sunday dinner at our house. Always lots of smiles and joy when we are all together.
Dessert was carrot cake. I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog. The key to the moisture - pureeing the carrots in the food processor.
Our temple opened again Oct. 5 after being closed for two months. It was fun to bring our boy back.
MyMike and I decided that there really is no greater joy than taking your children with you to the temple. The spirit is so strong, especially when you go as a family. He and I stood in the Celestial Room and were really drawn to the chandelier and spent about five minutes in a discussion (quietly) about it. Then in church on Sunday a member of the temple presidency came and spoke and at the end talked about the chandelier. What another great blessing!
LittleBuddy's cute pumpkin face he drew. I only made one batch of Rice Krispie treats with the two boxes I bought. The boys ate the rest and enjoyed the Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Actually they just really enjoy eating, and BigBudding needs to gain more weight before he loses a bunch in Brazil, so I'm encouraging him to eat all the healthy calories he wants, and cereal fits into that category at our house.
One thing I have enjoyed is seeing him so into the book that I loved earlier in the year. He's reading Gerald Lund's, "The Undaunted," and has spent much of his spare time this week devouring its pages. Life is good. Cowgirl bought another bargain airfare to come see us after the new year. Algebra is going better this week. LittleBuddy has some really nice friends. Got to keep taking more pictures and recording more. . . so much more easy to be IN real life than to Preserve it.

Corn Maze or Not

2011-10-17T11:54:00.014-04:00

Last week when Cowgirl was here we all wanted to go to the Corn Maze. Our first plan was to go when she arrived, but since it was white out conditions that day, we opted to wait until the last day she was here, since it was on the way to the airport. It was a lovely 72 degrees.
This corn maze was pretty big and not as easy to navigate as the last one we went to in Maryland, so that was good for my growing children.
LittleBuddy still qualifies for a free pumpkin with admission. Sadly, they were already picked. Its definitely more fun to pick your own when they're still on the vine. But, he found one he liked. MyGirl found a little bitty one for her decorating. We also went on a hayride pulled by this tractor. It was very informative.
MyGirl really liked the animals. She had fun petting this little piggy. The last time I touched one, back in probably the year 2000 it was on the lips, courtesy of Cowgirl volunteering me for the "fun." SOOO GROSS! I still have the taste of pig and pretzel (which I held in my mouth) whenever I get near them. I've tried to avoid them since.
There were actually three mazes at this farm. The other two were a hay bale maze and a snake maze. The boys jumped over the hay bales, because walking would be no fun if you can see where you're going. Then there was a snake maze, which was black plastic over the hay bales . . . also deemed somewhat lame.

Fortunately, the real corn maze was a lot of fun, but I don't know if it can really be called a corn maze. Do you see any corn on these stalks? No, of course you don't, because its not corn. These are all corn-less stalks, which are called sorghum. I learned something new that day. Why grow sorghum? The farmer said, "It makes it a lot less messy when walking in the corn maze." Yes, but didn't he just say . . . ? I try not to be difficult in public, but this thought went through my mind.
There were some surprises, like this spider, the size of one found in a Harry Potter novel, along with several skeletons and scarecrows. A couple looked like they were glow-in-the-dark. . . glad we were here during daylight.
Big and LittleBuddy quickly found their way after a few wrong turns at the beginning. Mygirl was close behind. Notice how nicely paved this row was. Sometimes that was a clue which way we should go, and sometimes it wasn't. It was kind of tricky.
Fortunately, while Cowgirl and I were getting ourselves lost, the boys and MyGirl had already found the center, and were perched on the piles of hay giving us directions. Then we all had to figure out how to get out. LittleBuddy led the way, and knew right where he was going. I'm pretty sure he ran on every single path of the maze at least once. We couldn't follow him, he was running ahead too much, but he enjoyed jumping out at us as we went by, and then whichever way he darted after that, always seemed to be right. How do kids do it? Its fun to have them lead the way and me just enjoy the adventure. I love having older kids. It was a fun activity to do together.

Fall Color

2011-10-14T11:55:00.007-04:00

Its looking and feeling like Fall here. I've seen lots of gorgeous color, which makes me so happy. The only leaf color I haven't seen is the bright orange, but we do grow pumpkins here too, so they're my orange for the season.
This is my neighborhood, looking down the street as I was turning into my driveway. The truck is parked in front of my parent's house to give you an idea how close they are to us.

From our view out the back the scrub oak is starting to change colors and some are losing their leaves. Soon we'll be back to barren bush, but its still pretty to look over the fields and hills. I saw a large buck in the bushes yesterday, munching on leaves, shaking the bush with his big antlers. The grasses are more golden again and the leaves on the scrub oak have turned yellow and gold.
Last but not least, our maple tree gives the backyard a beautiful spot of color. I love seeing the multiple colors of leaves. I'll probably always miss the gorgeous displays of fall color on the East coast, but grateful that we have our own version to enjoy where we are. My neighbor told me my tree is something she looks forward to every fall. Yes, I miss the oranges, but its pretty here in its own way and I love the beautiful blue skies that seem to be part of almost every single day.

2nd Week of October

2011-10-12T14:15:00.003-04:00

Busy week. I didn't post because Cowgirl was here for the last four days. The morning I went to pick her up it was cold, slick and snowy. What should have taken two hours roundtrip, took three. Fortunately, we made it, though there were whiteout conditions more than once. There was a major pileup on the freeway shortly after I was on it, so I was grateful to have avoided the four lane shutdown. This picture was taken around 12:30pm, about an hour after we got home.
Shortly after that I went with Mike to a funeral for his secretary's 24 year old son. That was sad, though I was pleased to hear the same scriptures shared that I believe in, focusing on the resurrection and life after death with the Savior. The only consolation at such a great loss is the hope of seeing them again. How grateful I am for faith!
The next evening there was no snow on the ground. Welcome to Colorado, where the sun shines most of the time, and the snow melts quickly. Its been a beautiful week ever since. Fall is definitely here and its a good thing. I would have been sad to skip my favorite season completely.

Cowgirl wanted her picture taken out back like her brother, so in the middle of making dinner we ran out back for a quick photo shoot then tried again after dinner. The lighting was definitely different, but I liked both of these photos best. She doesn't like either of them, but that's often the way. We are our own worst critics. It still think she's beautiful and it was good to have her here with us again.

Two Months, Eight Days

2011-10-04T13:15:00.004-04:00

Hard to believe that we only have a short time left with this young man before he leaves us for a long time. Last week I just had to take him outside at dusk and take a few pictures of him. I need more to hold onto when he's gone. This one was my favorite. I will miss him. A lot. He and I are very close. I enjoy talking to him and spending time with him. As old as he is, though, I still see a couple of things that I want to teach him, and bless his heart, he's open to it, but I still have to approach it carefully. He's a man now, and has his own life and mind and I have to step back more and more and yet I find that I am enjoying that too. It brings me happiness watching him run his life successfully, both with his job and with his calling. I do not need to worry about him. He will be fine.
While we turned in all the Visa paperwork by the end of July I have heard that those who turned theirs in by June just received their Visa's last week, so I have no idea whether it will get here or not in time, and if he'll really end up in Brazil for Christmas or in Provo. Either way he will be trained and that will be good.

He is excited to go. I am excited for him.

He loves to serve. I want him to be that happy.

He won't need me there to help him. This is what I raised him to do.

He will learn to need the Lord even more, and that is exactly what I want for him. Its going to be a great experience!

Page Maps Sketch

2011-09-29T22:55:00.004-04:00

Had fun making this from the Page Maps blog ... check it out on the far right.
From our trip to Manitou Springs. Its the right side of a double page spread. I'll post the other half next week.

Sweetness

2011-09-28T11:40:00.011-04:00

Before I write another post about girl stuff, I had to include this recent pic of LittleBuddy, my middleschooler. Love this boy so much!!! And those eyes, they're going to be melting a few hearts in the near future, I'm sure. He's a great youngest son, easy and engaging and sweet, with just a little bit of attitude every once in a while to remind me he's a normal pre-teen. Five months from now I will have three teenagers again.

Last night was our YW in Excellence for our ward. The theme was "Think Pink." It was the same theme our ward in MD had done a couple of years ago for a New Beginning. I'd shared ideas from that with the committee and they decided to go with the same theme, but of course they made it unique to this ward, and it was wonderful! Loved the tissue paper decorations hanging from the ceiling in bright pink.
The display on the middle of this table is MyGirl's project - her Mission Organization project for Choice and Accountability, which is why we put it on orange paper.
Here is MyGirl with some of the other Laurels. You can't tell in this photo, but almost all of the girls wore pink. The girl in the black shirt has on a pink skirt. There was lots of white and pink and black and it was so cute. My favorite was when they all went up to sing and sounded like angels, really. It was tear-inducing, which my daughter always has to comment on afterwards, but at least she's used to it by now.
Another fun twist, was their food selection. They had a chocolate fountain. The girls loved it. Their siblings loved it. Even the parents loved it. The Deacons especially loved it. There were fun things to dip like Rice Krispie treats, pound cake, bananas, apples, marshmallows and pretzels and a perennial favorite, pink lemonade to drink. . . . sweet!

There was a great spirit there. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the girls and celebrate being a girl.
The Laurel President who was in charge made a wonderful handout for the girls that I thought was so clever and tied into the theme so perfectly. These are post-it holders, with little post-it notes inside. Although she has already earned her medallion, she said that sometimes some of the things to be accomplished had to be done everyday. You had to remind yourself to keep thinking about it and doing it, and so after starting over a few times she put post-it notes all over the place, in her room, on her phone, on the bathroom mirror, etc. so she wouldn't forget. She told us when we are thinking about making progress then we will. What a great idea and one we will be using at our house to finish off the last few goals MyGirl has left.

This is a picture of Kayli, the Laurel president, and Wendi, her mother. How young does she look too?? She's only a couple of years younger than I am, and looks about ten years younger. I could say I'm jealous, but I'm not. I just adore her. She is a faithful woman and gives, gives, gives. She is sweet even when others aren't sweet to her. I am learning from her and she has become my closest friend since moving here. I love that there are good women wherever I live.

MyGirl

2011-09-26T15:20:00.012-04:00

MyGirl has a lot of talents. One of them is to organize. For a YW project one of the requirements was to organize something and maintain it. MyGirl helped me immensely when we moved and she has taken upon herself the chore of maintaining the pantry and the linen closets and under the kids bathroom cupboards. She is amazing I know. I took this picture last week. It looks like this most of the time.
Another one of her talents is to cook. She likes to be in the kitchen and help. When she was younger she'd refer to herself as LittleMissRachelRay, as she'd stand at the stove, and stir a pot of soup or homemade spaghetti sauce. She especially likes to bake and she's good at that too. Her brothers love when she decides to make something.
Last week our neighbor was sick. She has the most adorable kindergardener, so after homeschooling and kindergarden were over, MyGirl would go pick up this little girl to come spend the afternoon with us. She has two older brothers and a sister too, and they were invited to come over too, but the youngest was MyGirl's favorite.
They played dress up with all our old Halloween costumes. They made princess hats. They played legos and marbles and with some of the boy toys too. They fed our guinea pig. They colored.
They dressed up "Kit," the American Girl doll MyGirl has grown out of, and enjoyed all the cute outfits grandma had made. They fixed hair and made crafty flowers and played together for many hours and I heard our neighbor was sad every day it was time to go home. She got a really cute haircut a couple of weeks ago, but she won't let me take pictures of her with her hair all done and her makeup on to let her see how beautiful she is. However, she would let me take pictures of her with the younger girls so she could see how happy they are. That's MyGirl.
MyGirl really is an angel inside. I thought she could count this as another project, but she only has two left to do, and didn't think either of them would fit for this service, but she served anyways, and loved it. Yes, she has some difficult challenges, more difficult than some and not as difficult as others, but what makes her amazing is that she has this heart that is so giving. She just really likes to help people. She likes to mother and nurture and care and create for them so that they can be happy, even when inside she isn't feeling very happy. The days she played with our neighbor were mornings when Algebra was making her short of crazy. Yet, she moved on and didn't feel sorry for herself. I know it sounds like I'm bragging about her here, but I know that she reads my blog, and I hope she knows that you don't have to be great at Algebra to be a wonderful person. You just have to be a really good person, and she is. Someday I'll share Pres. Uchtdorf's wonderful message from last Sat. with her. Maybe when she's in Relief Society. For now, she is creating a good life, using her talents to bless others, and I know the Lord is happy with her. I am too.
She likes to go in the backyard too, and tend to our garden and check out what's going on. We're enjoying our neighbor's sunflowers as well as hoping that little bush will next year turn into a big blueberry bush. That would make my summer! She picks our tomatoes and zucchini and is going to be well prepared to be a mother someday. She also spearheaded card-making yesterday morning as it was her dad's birthday. Her brothers all joined her for making some very sweet cards and their dad was grateful for everyone who remembered him.
Last weekend he and Bigbuddy took the bikes out again for their "best dirt-bike-riding-day Ever!" MyGirl is a lot like her dad. He too is very organized and hard-working and makes time for the children in his life too. They both like to play outside and play all day long when they do. They also like to go to bed pretty early and get a good night's sleep. However, he doesn't like to cook, except on the grill, and that works just fine for me! MyGirl and I will take care of that!

Schedules

2011-09-20T09:03:00.008-04:00

No pictures today. Just regular life going on. I need to take a picture of that more too.

We're in the routine of the school year. School's already been in session exactly a month. Every day my alarm goes off at 6:20 a.m., and I get up no later than 6:30. I love it! Its the most I've been able to sleep in during the school year in at least nine years. Surprisingly, its not my seminary student who I need to be up for first, its my youngest. His bus comes at 7:04. For seminary (orange days) we leave at 7:20 to pick up another girl, who then brings MyGirl home afterwards. On school days (black days), we leave at 7:25 and I pick her up at 9:15. Its a good schedule and things are going smoothly.

Homeschooling has its own schedule too. We only have a few classes yet to complete. However, one of them is Algebra. Its not going well. Pray for me to know how to help her. So far, everything I've tried hasn't clicked for her yet. I know it will eventually. I'm just hoping its in a few weeks, not years. Bless her heart, that she just hasn't given up yet, or thrown the book out the window. She's still trying. She's a good girl and she wants so much to succeed. I really want to be able to help her sufficiently soon!

One of the best things about moving here has been the increased time we've gotten to spend with Cowgirl. With cheaper airfare and closer airports, at least for her, she's been able to fit into her schedule lots of days to come visit. She's coming again the weekend after Conference, the 2nd weekend in December, and then another week in January. I feel so blessed that after waiting for five years to spend more time with her, that has finally come to pass. This year we will have seen her eight different times, all for the cost of seeing her just twice in Maryland.

The mission is getting closer, less than three months now. I called the church mission office yesterday, after having too many adults telling me too many conflicting things. I learned that he gets his Malaria shots when he gets to Brazil and that rabies has not been an issue. Feeling grateful for that and praying it holds true when he gets there. I also found out that the reason he doesn't need an FBI recommendation is because our closest Brazilian consulate is Houston, not NYC. Local police good enough for us. One less thing to add to our checklists. Today we get the international driver's license although its only valid for a year and can't be renewed. No one could answer what to do after that, but we will be obedient and get it anyway. Every day there is something to do.

Sat. he got an e-mail that the 2nd half of the Visa experience is underway, after he completed some more forms and mailed them in, so that gives us hope. If the first half only took seven weeks, maybe the Visa will actually get here in time after all. I'm starting to see why its a blessing to have five and a half months between the call and the day he enters. As it was explained to me yesterday, sometimes the consulates process twenty in a day, and sometimes they don't process any for months.

There's always something to cause us to rely on the Lord's timing, isn't there? It doesn't really matter how smoothly we may be able to create our own schedule, we must all learn to walk by faith, live with other people's schedules and wait for certain things in life to be ready, even when we are ready now. And so we do, filling our lives with the regular routines, and praying for the patience to wait it all out, knowing eventually progress Will come.

Balancing Act

2011-09-14T18:56:00.010-04:00

Today I finally got to the 25 lb. box of peaches sitting on my dining room table. I canned these 6 qts. then froze another 6 qt. in freezer bags to be used for smoothies, and 8 of them had already been eaten. I'd had these since last weekend. Today was a presidency meeting and homeschooling, but I knew I finally had all afternoon free for a project of my choosing. Even though my life is pretty simple, it still manages to fill up most of my time. And, in homeschooling today, MyGirl was taking her Algebra test, so she wouldn't need my help like she normally does. My neighbor was selling these for a fundraiser. Straight from Paradise, Colorado, they are delicious, or so I'm told. My mouth feels like its on fire when I eat raw peaches, so I eat them cooked or canned, like in cobblers and pies, you know the most fattening way possible. And I'm looking forward to that! Littlebuddy is looking forward to his breakfast smoothie tomorrow morning.
Over the past month I've been working on some scrapbooking pages from earlier this summer. This one I worked on the better part of the whole week Cowgirl was here. It took me a long time to select the colors and accents, and I got sidetracked making some cards too. I used the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge here and I loved how easy it was to make the sun, the bird, and the branch. These are among my favorite photos I took of my children this summer.

How many pictures do you think are on these two pages?

19, which is how many of us were at the family reunion this summer. Take a look below to see how I did it.
The twill is holding two cut outs from a page protector with 6 (4 x 6) pocket holders. I carefully cut right down the middle so each side would have three pockets vertically, and I cut off the three ring holes normally used in a page protector. Gluing down the bottom of each pocket, I was able to get five pictures in each one, three on one side and two on the other. In my scrapbook I've cut out an opening the size of both of those so it is easy to interact with the page.
Here's another way to get more pages in, using Flip Flaps. They are designed to fit 4 x 6 pictures, but they worked fine for my 3 1/2 x 5 ones too. I make little tabs for them, here using half cut circles so its easier to turn the flaps.
This page uses the negative space from a Cricut cut out. The green swirly along the bottom was sponged in green ink to give a fluid movement to the page, but kept lighter, and low-key. In all my pages I am trying to have your eye focus on the photos, and not all the embellishing. However, I like to make them look beautiful too, so there's a balancing act going on here too.
Last Saturday I went to a crop with the Close To My Heart ladies and the Creative Memories ladies. They all meet together at the Catholic church, but I think only two of them are Catholic. Half of them are school teachers and they all work except for the leader, who sells for two different companies, volunteers for the Starlight Foundation in a big way, and has four children of her own. When I go there, I am reminded how simple my life is, and I truly like it that way!

The two photos below the kraft cardstock, on the right page, actually both open out to reveal two more pictures underneath each of those two photos, giving me six photos where it looks like only two. I'm really liking this methodology. Close To My Heart sells a book called "Magic," which most of these ideas are either inspired or copied from. I made this page when I was with the ladies on Sat.
Then I got to work on another project which I can't show you until Christmas, but here is a sneak peak of half of the holly leaves I had cut with the Cricut before I came, then stamped while I was there. The ladies all thought I was a little crazy for starting a Christmas project in early Sept., but since Christmas will be celebrated early this year at our house, I've got a lot to do in a short amount of time. And, fortunately, my life is pretty simple so I can squeeze this in whenever I have a little time.

However, last night a mother sent me a four page list of all the items you need to send with your son when he goes to Brazil. I'm going to have to put this project on hold for a while and get some more mission shopping done. I hadn't thought of things like a mattress cover, thinking he'd be on hammocks most of the time, but apparently he'll be in both, and the mattresses are shared and aren't changed regularly in the equatorial climate, so I can see how this would be a good thing. I'm hoping I'll have time to finish this project by the end of the month, but if not, it'll be okay. My favorite reason not to procrastinate is not to have the stress that comes from hoping you'll make the deadline. Knowing there's plenty of time, helps me to stay less stressed, and I always need that!

In Balance

2011-09-12T10:13:00.009-04:00

When Cowgirl came over a week ago, one of our agenda items for the week was some crafting. I scrapbooked and she made these darling Halloween cards. It was fun to see how fabulously talented she is, and to be able to talk with someone about what makes for a good design. For instance, noticing how your eye reads things visually is important. Color, contrast, placement, proportion, all these things must be balanced for a design to work. One of these cards she was bothered by. That's what led to our discussion. It wasn't working for her, and she didn't know why. By the end of our crafting time she knew what she'd do differently next time to make it work. She is a quick study, for sure, and a delightful crafting buddy as well. She's also speedy. She made all of these in half the time I finished my page. She used the K & Co. line with a little help from my stash and stamps.

Looking Back

2011-09-11T09:51:00.007-04:00

Looking back on past September 11ths, and feeling the need to count my blessings.
These are all pictures from past Septembers. So much has changed in ten years. I didn't have a digital camera until 2003, so I don't have any photos from that actual day to share, but I remember it well.

2001 - It was such a beautiful day on the East coast. I came back from the bus stop that morning and turned on the news. The first tower had just been hit, and the commentators were talking about that when I watched the second tower get hit. Immediately I knew this was not an accident. Later, I wrote in my scrapbook that in spite of all the tragedy, our little family was safe and well, gathered at home, for which I was (and am) most grateful. I still ache for all the families who lost their loved ones. It was a day of mourning, and still is. I will never forget the prayer Mike uttered that evening, as he prayed not just for the families of those who had been lost that day, but also for the innocent Muslims and all of the children of God throughout the earth who would be effected by the consequences of this day.

I remember an incredible outpouring of faith expressed publicly at that time. Most everyone remembered their religious roots and felt the need to pray and ask the Lord for mercy upon our country. Within months that national feeling dwindled among many, but not among those who believe. Still today, there are those, like the cowboys, who openly express their gratitude and humility before the Lord. My Christian neighbor, who is a consultant for Shelf Reliance because she has felt inspired to be more prepared. To those who look to the Lord, He will continue to guide them. We have had many challenges in the past decade, but I can clearly see that the Lord has blessed us, and I am so grateful for that.
Sept. 2010 - We all have a greater need to be with family. Our sense of what's most important was heightened after 2001. There is also an increased measure of precaution that has permeated society. Traveling is less fun. MyGirl wouldn't fly home on Sept. 11 last year, so we came home on the 12th.

Sept. 2007 - I see the light that shines in the eyes of my children and I know that in spite of the evil in this world, goodness prevails. The Lord has saved some of His most righteous for the last days because they have the faith and willingness to follow the Lord no matter what. We visited Pearl Harbor this year. We felt the same sense of loss but also the same desires to continue forward, rebuilding, living, loving, and standing for righteousness wherever we are.
Sept. 2006 - The sweetness of children is one thing I most wanted to preserve on Sept. 11, 2001. I remember how important it was for me to keep the youngest ones from seeing the TV images which were so horrific. I was so sad for them to have to grow up in a world that would do such horrible things, but as I see how they have grown up to be wiser and less innocent than I was at their age, but still good, caring, loving, sweet children I am most grateful for the rhythm of life that carries us forward, propels us to grow and carry within our hearts a hope for the future. We have taken our children to Gettysburg, to Arlington, and to Valley Forge. I hope we have instilled within them the sacredness of life, and that the cost of freedom is only guaranteed when people stand up to those who would destroy it. My children are my hope for the future. In spite of the hard things that we experience, the tragedies that have happened and still may occur, I have hope for them that they will have the strength to carry on, trust in the Lord's love for each of them, and be part of the force for good that will continue to stand firm and undaunted for truth and liberty all of their lives.

Flying W Ranch

2011-09-07T10:06:00.011-04:00

For a few years I'd been hearing about the Bar J Wranglers up at Jackson Hole. Then when we moved here I saw something similar, called the Flying W Ranch.
Last weekend we all went to check it out. Located just north of Garden of the God's, the red rocks frame this picturesque setting. My boys of course had to climb to the top when they saw others doing the same thing.
It was a little slice of the old West. From Indian dances,
to cabins. This one was filled with cookbooks dating bake a hundred years.
If I'd had littler children, they would have loved to go inside the tepee.
There were stores to walk through, but the main feature is the chuckwagon supper and cowboy show.
There are two large seating areas, one inside and one outside. Because there had been rain earlier they had us sit indoors. We were in the back, but could feel the breezes easier, so we didn't mind.
There were a lot of people here, but they fed us steak or BBQ beef, ranch beans, chunky applesauce, biscuits, a baked potato, spice cake, and lemonade. There was even enough for some people to have seconds, and the line moved quickly. The show was more of a musical concert, though there was some comedy thrown in too. This fiddler on the right and one of the guitarists were national champions in their field. They were fabulous. The one behind the post used to play backup for Kenny Chesney. The singer on the left was new, young, and the butt of most of the jokes. The purple cowboy seemed the most authentic. He was from Montana, wrote cowboy songs, and had a great voice. It was fun to experience this and I realized, when I saw a sign, that the Bar J and the Flying W are two of six cowboy dinner shows throughout the West. Now I don't feel like I've missed out, though the Bar J is supposedly more funny.

True Beauty

2011-09-04T20:22:00.010-04:00

We had so much fun with Cowgirl when she was here. More to share as the week goes on.
Early in the week we went to Manitou Springs. Its a town at the base of Pike's Peak and right next to Garden of the Gods. Its got an old Western town feel to it a little. It also has an artsy flavor. It reminds me of a cross between Jackson Hole, WY and Ellicott City, MD. Not as large or as fancy as Sun Valley, but still nice to have so close to home.
It was a girls day out together. So fun to have Cowgirl AND Mom here all together. We love picking up Mom whenever we go somewhere fun, and we always love having Cowgirl home. Tonight after dinner, Mygirl said, "Just not as fun with all these boys." We love our boys tons, but when Cowgirl leaves, there's a void. We all feel it. She is by definition, FUN!
And, Beautiful! All these women in my life are so beautiful to me. It would be darker place in my life without them!

When my friends from Maryland were here in August, we went to this same place, after Garden of the Gods, I forgot to bring my camera. Happily, this time I didn't forget, and the flowers were still just as gorgeous.
These just lined the shops along the south side of the street.
I loved the brilliant colors as well as the sizes of these dahlias.
Each new color caught my eye.
I took pictures of everyone over three inches.
And continued to be impressed by the creativity of the Lord.
Then, MyGirl, pointed out to me that one of the flowers I had just taken a picture of was fake. Sure enough, I went back and touched it, and it was silk. I was fooled, and I wondered how often things look good and blend in and I'm not really aware if its even fake. After that, it just doesn't look that beautiful anymore to me. What do you think? Its the 2nd to last photo above.

My baby shared his testimony in church today. At first he didn't know what to say, and said so, but then he just shared his real feelings, and the Spirit was strong. The room quieted and the words he shared were so beautiful. When I look at these pictures I am reminded that the things that are most beautiful to me are the things that have the Lord's hand touching them. We are blessed to be living in a world created by Him.

Colorado State Fair Rodeo

2011-08-31T11:16:00.004-04:00

In our house, the word "fail," was getting overused, so we have substituted "needs improvement," in its place.

Last night Cowgirl and I went to the Rodeo. It was so much fun. Fortunately for us, yesterday was $1 to get into the fair and $1 to get into the Rodeo. Possibly the best $2 I have ever spent!

When we went to the box office to purchase tickets, the lady said, "Well, you won't have to worry about getting in line for the general admission seats because you have box seats. They're reserved." We almost couldn't believe it, but it was true. We were feeling lucky!

We still arrived at the arena about 45 min. before the rodeo started, not trusting we really had seats this good, but we did. We were in the grandstand, but in the seats with individual backs and armrests, not bench seating, and we were right next to the railing, with four rows down below us. I guess those were deluxe seating. Anyhow, we loved it, and had terrific views of everything. We also were right next to the gate where the cowboys came in, so we got to see the facial expressions of the cowboys and their practice rope throws before they came out into the arena. It all just really added to the excitement and energy of our experience.

However, most fun was the bronco and bull riding. They were the center and stars of the show. There were three events like this, bareback bronco riding, saddle bronco riding, and bareback bull riding. I had no idea this was such a big rodeo to the cowboys. I thought it was just our little old state fair. No, no, no. Every time the announcer (who was Fabulous!) would introduce the next rider, it would be like this, "Ranked 4th in the world right now in bronco riding, so-and-so, placed 2nd in Calgary, 3rd in somewhere Missouri and 6th in Caldwell, Idaho. He's up and coming and following in his daddy's footsteps. Let's hear it for ----." (or something like that) There were current world champions participating. Some won their event, other's didn't even place. Only two in the entire rodeo weren't in the top twenty in the world for their event. Yet, they were all such humble guys. The guys who won the calf tying and the bull riding were both from Utah. When the calf tier was interviewed shortly after his big win, the announcer asked him how many children he had. He said five. When he was asked how many rodeos he'd been to this year, he said this was his seventy-fifth. When asked how he keeps going, he said, he's just trying to make a living and keep food on the table every night for his family. He had a genuine awe-shucks attitude, and seemed embarrassed even to be interviewed. Afterwards, the announcer said, "And that was one of the nicest men, not just a cowboy that you'll ever find." He was also current world champion in his event, and his three brothers were also ranked cowboys and there too. It made us realize that rodeo is quite the family sport. There were brothers and sisters both participating. In the warm-up area we saw more than one cowboy holding his 1 year old on the saddle with him. Oftentimes, they were introduced as "A husband, a father, and the son of . . . "

However, the very best part of the whole event for me was the opening prayer. When was the last time you went to a public event, where there were plenty of people sporting tatoos and drinking beer and everyone was quiet to listen to the announcer praise Jesus Christ, and thank the Lord for the talents of the cowboys and acknowledge that without the blood of the Savior sacrificed, none of this would really matter. I had tears by the end of this beautiful prayer. I felt uplifted just by being in the audience, witnessing these athletes who were throwing down calves or racing their horses around the barrels or hanging on for dear life. It has made me want to be more of a rodeo fan now. If this sport embraces Jesus, then I want to be for this sport.

There was that feel to it all night. My cowgirl and I loved every minute of it. The two plus hours flew by and I was glad to see on facebook she had posted, "best night ever!" It was fun to share that with her. My major "needs improvement" however?? Forgot my camera. Thank goodness for her phone. I'll have to get her to post more pictures for me later.

Cricut Creations

2011-08-29T10:45:00.007-04:00

Here is a scrapbook double-page spread that I made using the Cricut for the three different tree shapes. I think these really help to give the page some personality and they were SO easy to make.

Sorry for the lighting. I'm experimenting with my camera and the lighting in my house. I really should make a little "set" to shoot my paper projects, but haven't taken the time to do that yet.
Sorry for the blurry here. The flower is made from the Cricut. You roll it up and I loved this large polka dot paper as the background.
Same paper using more of a Disney-color-scheme. More Cricut scallop borders. Still loving those.
The red and white flowers were both made with the Cricut here, then stamped on.
Lastly, just ribbon and paper flowers and a wooden button here, but the stamp set comes with the Cricut. So much fun. Cowgirl and I will get to start creating today. She's finally caught up on her sleep and is ready for action. Love my crafty girls!

First Week of School

2011-08-26T09:13:00.006-04:00

We're almost through the first week of school.
LittleBuddy and our neighbor, his best bud, were looking forward to riding on the bus together, since they don't have any of the same classes. My boy went to his house, three doors up, so they could stand together at the bus stop. His sweet mother came out too, and we both had our cameras with us.
The boys were done after one picture. So I took some pictures of the beautiful flowers on this corner.
Even the fire hydrant is the most beautiful little area!
They make me happy every day when I look out on them.
Then, I was told to go back home. Other children were arriving. So I walked across the street and back to my home, where I opened the blinds.
And shot more pictures as he walked to the bus, which came to the opposite corner. So, no more standing at the most beautiful corner bus stop, but now I get an even better view of him each morning as he waits for the bus with his buddy. And, for the record, today MyGirl starts at the high school, for Ceramics 2. She's looking forward to it. She's a senior this year. Where did the years go???

Winding Up Summer

2011-08-22T11:17:00.007-04:00

Today is the unofficial first day of school.
Technically it opens tomorrow, but Thursday there was a "processing day" for LittleBuddy consisting of everything from getting pictures taken to paying fees to picking up textbooks to practicing opening up the locker. Today he's at a 4 hour orientation, which is a long time to be at school, so in my mind, it started today.

It just so happened that BigBuddy had last Friday off of work, so Mike asked his boss off for the day too, and we headed out for our last daytrip of summer fun. After much decision-making, we picked a lake an hour away, only fifteen minutes from where we used to live, which none of us had ever spent much time at.
The kids all brought their tubes and lounged away, tipping each other over, piling tubes up high, and laughing a lot. Fortunately we had the place almost to ourselves, as the local school districts had already started. I have never heard MyGirl giggle so much for three hours straight. She was having a great time. We grilled on the edge of the lake for lunch, and enjoyed the overcast day which kept us all better protected from the sun, me especially. I tell you, the Lord is good to me!

After everyone changed at the nice facilities, we went on a bike ride. There were trails all over the place. They were paved and the hills were moderate enough even I could handle them no problem. The only issue to watch out for were the grasshoppers. There were two or three every two or three feet. Right before you'd get to them, they jump off the side into the grass. Being first for a while, I cleared the way for the rest of them. I noticed coming back it was a much easier ride. Really, it was a lovely day, low 80's, sun peaking behind clouds, and like I say, about empty.
As we drove towards the marina to see the bigger boats, we came upon a model airplane runway. A guy, who clearly was well practiced, was flying this orange model all over the place, doing loop-de-loops, stalls, dives, just having a lot of fun, and we were mesmerized watching it all. After about fifteen minutes from when we got there, he brought it down for a landing and I got this nice shot of it. The photos are deceiving, but in reality, this plane is about five feet long, maybe six. I thought orange was a great color against the clearing up blue skies. That contrast made it easy to spot.
We all had plenty of fun. My favorite moment, however, was when we got home, and this guy said in his most exhaustive voice, "I can't believe you can get so tired having so much fun." We all slept well and are grateful to have squeezed in another day of fun before heading back to school.

Slow Gardening

2011-08-17T11:31:00.006-04:00

After moving this winter, when Spring came I was about "projected" out. But, I knew I needed to start a garden, and so slowly and with much help from my older two children, I did.
The lighting is better in the photo below, but you see the whole long row better above. We planted everything - 4 tomatoes, 1 bell pepper, 3 green beans, 2 zucchini, 1 basil, and 1 oregano Memorial Day Weekend, because we'd had frost on the ground earlier in the week.

However, this picture was taken on Aug. 15, and look at how small my tomatoes are!! You can see them on the far right. On the far left is the zucchini plant. The only other plants that survived were 1 green bean, and the basil.
So far our net harvest have only been these three zucchini and a few basil leaves. Not feeling too successful. I hear there's a woman about ten minutes away who is an expert for this area. I guess I have to go visit with her this winter, because I clearly don't have the knowledge I need to succeed, or is it the motivation? Oh well, we had the middle zucchini last night for dinner and it was tasty.
And, did you notice our grass? MyMike spread seeds over it and we've watered it regularly, and still it's patchy and sad. At least he got the dandelions out. We've much to learn about gardening in mountain climates. . . slowly but surely.

Art Philosophy

2011-08-15T20:57:00.007-04:00

Close To My Heart has recently come out with a Cricut cartridge called Art Philosophy. It has 700 different designs, 52 of them being two different alphabet fonts. Since I already have the original Cricut I thought I'd give it a try. I believe the Expression Cricut is what this cartridge is designed to be used with, but trust me, I'll have plenty of fun even with my smaller sized one.

Normally making scalloped edges requires mat sets that sell for a minimum of $20 and you only get a few sizes. Now I have access to scallops in squares, rectangles, ovals, circles, as well as the traditional scallop-less shapes, and a myriad of label designs, as well as doilies, scalloped borders, three different Christmas ornaments, two Christmas trees, two snowflakes, two hearts, two stars, a fleur de lis, a damask pattern, a few scrolls, flowers both flat and dimensional, banners in various patterns, most with overlays, and more, all available for me between 1 inches and 5 inches. And with the Expressions, all the way up to 23 inches.

I was in the mood for bright and cheery papers, so all of these projects reflect that. I found it makes card-making simple and fast yet polished, because everything is perfectly straight and even. And, did I mention how fast this is? Always love that!
Here the daisy is cut first on white, where I sponged pink ink in the center, then cut a yellow overlay and sponged a little pink ink on the edges, glued it on top of the white, cut a pink scalloped edge and laid that over the green background. I added a bright pink rhinestone to the center, stamped in coordinating ink, and there it is. . . . Easy!
This cupcake was super easy and almost looks good enough to eat! Creamy background (I was thinking vanilla frosting), bright green overlay, glue it on top, and add tiny brown opaque pearls (thinking chocolate chips.) Doesn't get much faster than that. Didn't even stamp here.
Here, playing more with the scalloped edge, this time no center cut out of it. The flower is cut flat, then you roll it up starting with the outside edge. When its done, it looks like a flower. You put a dot of liquid glass on the base, hold it in place about a minute, and its done. I also added a purple rhinestone. Clearly I was in a blingy, bright mood, stamped a sentiment across the top and inside, where it reads, "coming your way." Delivered that today to my visiting teaching sister. Fun, cute, easy. Love that too! Remember to double click on the pictures if you want to see them better. Its hard to make 3-D flowers look as good as they do in real life in 2-D but I tried.
Last but not least, so very happy to be playing with the scalloped border in lots of colors and sizes, and wanted to fill the center with a stamp. I found this one which fit perfectly and was just what I needed for a thank you card. Used tiny rhinestones for an accent, colored the designs in colored pencils, and again, fast, easy, and the border really sets it off, better than just a plain square mat.

Now I'm working on a layout that I'll have to take a picture of soon. The Cricut is staying out on my craft table. I keep finding new ways to use it. I love the coordinating fonts too. If you want to take a look at how stamping and the cricut work together, here is a video put out by CTMH. They just ramped up creativity to a new level for me, and I'm loving it.

Once in a Lifetime Memories

2011-08-14T11:48:00.006-04:00

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, and now life has settled into the normal again.

On Tuesday, Aug. 2 we took our boy through the temple for the first time. It was marvelous, feeling the Spirit so strongly, and knowing that this soon-to-be-missionary was prepared and ready to make sacred covenants. I loved having my parents there too. There was pouring rain when we came out, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of him in front of the temple, but I will before he leaves for Brazil. Our temple is closed for the next two months for renovations, so we went again last Tuesday, and will now wait until October to go again.

As you know I went to Maryland last Thursday. I made it back just in time to take the Sacrament Sunday morning. It is such a privilege to have that opportunity! I felt especially grateful for all the Savior has done to strengthen and bless my family. I pray with His help, our extended family can be strengthened and blessed also. Then, this Thursday, our Maryland friends came to see us.

Its not like we are on the way to very many places, so when people come see us we know it is a labor of love, and we appreciate it so much. We took them to see Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, and Fox Run, all which they enjoyed. The weather was beautiful and we all got some good hikes in.

We also played games. Girl games are at the table. Boy games are in front of the TV.We made S'mores on Friday instead of Saturday. Everyone loved that.
Then, too quickly, on Saturday, they had to go. All the kids had a great time together. They are taking their daughter back to BYU. She just returned from a mission to Moscow. She was so excited on Friday night when we saw six deer in the back, first settled into the grass, then running across the hills. I think she sat in the red chair for an hour just hoping to see something, so I'm grateful she wasn't disappointed. We called my parents to let them know, and my dad was pretty excited too.

It was hard to say good-bye to our friends as I know we won't be seeing each other again for a long time. So grateful that love is eternal and family and friends can last forever!

Dear Friends

2011-08-07T22:28:00.003-04:00

Just got back from a fun trip to Maryland.

I've known Patti ever since I moved to Maryland. She was MyGirl's first Primary teacher when we moved in the ward. I didn't realize for a few years how blessed my daughter was, because I didn't know Patti well until about three years after we moved when she was my roomie at Girl's Camp. Patti has a gift with children, and has one of the most tender, dear hearts I know. She has had many challenges all her life, and we've been friends through some big ones, so to see her married to Jim who is such a good man brings me so much joy. She is my age, and I rejoice that they have found each other. They'll soon be sealed and that will just make me even happier.

We went to brunch the day before she got married, counting down only 27 hours to go. . . .Lots of laughs, yummy crab omelet, Mimi's muffins, and feeling so excited. Isn't it the best to see our friends so happy?!

And here is my dear friend who I stayed with. She already has three sisters, but if I could pick a sister I'd want her to have a lot of Cynthia's qualities. . . among them that she truly is one of the best friends one could ever have. And, lucky me, she's heading across the country tomorrow morning and driving out to see me, and her sisters, and take her daughter to college, etc. I'm so excited she's making a detour to see me. Twice in a week. Life is good.

In An Instant

2011-08-02T01:28:00.004-04:00

Let me say first that everyone is fine. We feel so thankful!!!!

Last Friday my mom and dad's moving truck came to their house and drove away with all their things.
On Saturday they each hopped into one of their two cars and drove, with my dad in front, to their new home, three houses down from us.
Somewhere past Laramie, where construction crews are working on the road, it was narrowed down to only two lanes, and my mother fell asleep behind the wheel.

I have to add a little here -
This is not posted to embarrass my mother. She had just spent three months getting ready to move, and then did it. She's been packing boxes, cleaning out things, cleaning up things, you know the routine. Its painful, and I remember clearly how exhausting it is.

This is my main point of this whole story. A week ago Sunday I was talking on the phone to my mom and dad and suggested that I come out and drive with my mom because I knew she wasn't used to driving for a long time. My dad likes to drive. He always drives. MyMike and I were married a few years before I realized that I Could Drive on a long trip too. Its just not how my parents have done it, and knowing that, I felt that I should fly out on Friday night and then drive back home with my mom on Saturday. First my dad, then my mom, assured me that they didn't need my help. My uncle had already offered, they said, and they'd already declined.
Well, the thought, kept coming to me, and I ended up suggesting it three times in different conversations that week, and each time I was told no, we'll be fine.

Well, back to the story. . . .Fortunately the car drifted to the right, and my mother woke up as she was heading straight into the snow marker on the edge of the road. That, of course, terrified her, so she turned the wheel fast, all going 65 mph, and then proceeded to spin three times all the way around. She hit the construction barrels on the side of the road.

My dad, looking through his mirror, was just sick inside, feeling horrified and helpless all at the same time.

Then an oncoming car approached my mother, as she was now in opposite lane of where she should have been, and fortunately, just in time, she was able to get control of the car and get it back to her lane, and then safely to the side of the road, and come to a stop.

I don't know how she even kept driving after that. The car was missing a mirror and has some dents, but really, it was fine. I would have been shaking worse than a leaf.

When they got to my house, they were there for about five minutes before this came up. Then in waves, I just kept realizing, except for the grace of God, she wouldn't be here right now. My dad said if she'd drifted left instead of right, she would have rolled the car for sure. If she hadn't have opened her eyes when she did, who knows what would have happened.

Can you imagine if she had just driven across the state to live by me and not made it?

I shudder.

It really might have been too much for me. I am feeling over and over, SO GRATEFUL she is well. Not a scratch, not a bruise.

Two things I take from this - If I feel prompted to do it, I cannot let others deter me. I need to follow the Spirit that guides me and act on it. President Monson has perfected this. I received the Spirit, and I must follow his example. Do not listen to the No's, even if its my parents. I respect them and always try to obey them, but sometimes I just have to ignore even them if the Spirit tells me differently.

The second thing is to never, ever, ever get so caught up in a dream and forget that it can all change in an instant. I was so immersed in having this great opportunity to be neighbors with my parents that I think I neglected to remember that Heavenly Father giveth and He taketh. It didn't occur to me that my dream could be taken away. Once the wheels were in motion I was already there mentally. I took for granted that this was going to be my new life, and I was going to love it and all would be well until they got much older. I need to remember that each moment is a gift, and that in an instant it all can change. I need to be more emotionally strong to prepare for those kinds of things and keep the Lord closer so obviously I can follow His Spirit more exactly. As my children would say, That was a fail, and so it was. I have been teaching them to say instead, That needs improvement. And, so I DO!

Lesson learned for me the hard way.

Last time I was with my mom we were celebrating her birthday at the reunion. May I never forget to treasure each day until her next one. Dad's, Mike's, all my children's too. Life is so very precious.

Fun Times

2011-07-29T19:45:00.006-04:00

Today is BigBuddy's Birthday. He finally turned 19.
It feels like his whole life we have been waiting for this age to come in his life - to go on a mission and be a fine young man. And now that this day has come its been totally low key.

He's had his best friend here all week, and he just left this morning, then BigBuddy had to go to work at noon, so it doesn't feel like a wonderfully special day, but this past week I hope made up for today.
Of all his birthday gifts, he was most excited about this coin that shows the Army of Helaman on one side and says Sons of Helaman on the back showing a missionary. I think his next favorite was either a book on the temple, which he'll go to for the first time next week, or the money I gave him yesterday to go out to dinner with his buddy. They hit Texas Roadhouse, ordered 20 oz steaks each and came back like beached whales. Then two hours later they were back in the kitchen looking for something to eat.
We've had thunderstorms every afternoon, and then they disappeared in the evening. All the boys enjoyed making s'mores every night. I thought I'd planned ahead, but still needed to make a Hershey-bar run, not realizing this was going to be a nightly ritual. That firepit has been the best investment. The kids love it!
Here you see Pike's Peak in the background. The big boys took the cog railway up it yesterday afternoon, then when they returned, they decided to hike up the mountain in front of it. As they relayed the hike to me, it was so steep it made the one at the family reunion seem flat. BigBuddy said they'd set a goal of taking ten steps, or up to the next tree, and finally made it to the top, and saw some amazing views. Among them, the trail that made a zig zag up to the top, instead of going straight up it like they had just done. In all their excitement, they missed the easy trail, but this was a week of Big Adventure, so this just added to their stories to tell.
They only spent an hour at the Garden of the Gods, but had fun posing for pictures. We saw some bucks here, which we don't usually see around here.
This morning they were too tired to do much, but eat about a dozen waffles each, and watch YouTube funny videos. It had been a big week. His friend had never been to Colorado and he loved it. He and BigBuddy hiked three different trails this week, totaling probably 20 miles. They rode bikes on a fifteen mile mountain bike trail. They went to see the buffalo farm, and we had bison burgers that night, which they loved. They played Wii and electronic Monopoly and had a lot of laughs. We went to the Olympic Training Center, (they have a new movie there), we had A&W root beer floats at A&W, and I made chicken enchiladas, since our guest told me how sad he was that he hadn't been able to come on Mexican Monday. He was a frequent dinner guest when we lived in Maryland, especially on Monday nights.

One day we say Two double rainbows. This was the first one, which I saw north of us, in the parking lot at the bowling alley as were leaving. About three hours later I saw one north of us when I went out side to check the mail. By the time I got back to get my camera it was gone, but it was even brighter and more vivid than this first one.

I didn't take near enough photos of everything, but I did drive to the far away places, and enjoyed all the time spent with the boys. And our girl, she had a great time at Trek, with only one small blister the whole time. She said the woman's pull was the hardest, but she also realized that sometimes what everyone else thinks is super hard, really isn't that hard at all. And, she didn't take any photos, she was too busy pulling her handcart. I am grateful all of my children had such a good week. Looks like I'll be doing more journaling than cropping in my albums, and that's okay. I'm glad they all made great memories and shared them with me.

Dear Me

2011-07-25T19:39:00.006-04:00

I got MyGirl on her way to the Pioneer Trek last night. All the youth met at the church for a fireside at 9:30 pm, then met with their families and boarded the buses with all their gear, and themselves - girls in two buses, boys in the others, and they were set to leave at midnight. Its going to be an adventure, for sure!

This was the apron I made for her last week when she decided she didn't want to wear the dress just by itself. You can see her bonnet a little behind her. It didn't match exactly but was as close a yellow as I could find. Fortunately, she didn't complain about that.

Suffice it to say, I was helping her to the last minute be happy with everything. We braided her hair cute, with an off-center part, which I loved on her, but she was done with any photos I might take. This pic was actually taken a few days ago. I know she'll do well. She is strong and healthy and enjoys the girl she met in her "family." They're planning on riding up on the bus together, and leaning together to get some sleep before they hike their 15 miles today. Praying that her feet will be happy and that she'll be able to sleep tonight on Rocky Ridge. That's what she's most worried about. Somehow I think she'll be tired enough to get some sleep.
So, instead of another girl to keep things balanced at home, we are now all about boys.

This is a friend of Little Buddy's. His parents are one of the ma's and pa's on Trek, so he's at our house. Chick-Fil-A here had a special. Bring in 2 canned goods and get a free sandwich. We were out anyhow, so it was a great place for lunch. The boys got a kick out of the headgear available to try on. These two are so funny together.
When they're not pretending they're cows, they busy on electronics. Just when they were set to go outside and physically play, a thunderstorm cropped up, so they came up in the den where I am and found some great YouTube videos to laugh at. 12 year old boys are in a class all by themselves. Silly, smart, goofy, embarrassing, obnoxious, and tender would be words I would use to describe them yet I am highly entertained just listening to them. What does that say about me? That one in front, I just adore him, so I guess it doesn't really matter how obnoxious he is. He'll only be twelve for another six months. He's growing WAY too fast!
This was our view at dinner time last night. Some of those antlers are getting pretty big.
This was our view as I went into the kitchen to start dinner tonight.
With the telephoto, is more how it looks with the naked eye. I stood on the deck and took these and they just watched me. We still get a kick out of watching them.

Baseball

2011-07-23T22:57:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we were given tickets to see the Colorado Sky Sox play the Salt Lake Bees. It was a lovely night. We got there at the end of the third inning because our air conditioning crew was running behind, but with the heat lately, it was worth it.

I like baseball games, but sometimes they can be a little long. I think I'll always come at the third inning. This felt just right.
Around the 7th or 8th inning, there were three runs , two were home runs. That got the crowd really into it.
This is the mascot, Sox the Fox. He was fun! At every change of innings there were fun audience contests. Here they were trying to make a hole in run. Didn't happen, but fun to watch.
This was my favorite player - Mike Jacobs. I realized if we were living in a matriarchal society, this would be my husband's name. When I told MyMike that, he looked at me strangely. Where do I come up with this stuff? I know.
For about fifteen minutes there was rain coming down. We got up and watched the game from the covered area. That was during the 9th inning, and we won, 7-6. Then it quit raining. Mike and I don't mind rain delays. It reminds us of one of our early dates when we sat huddled under a blanket watching the Angels in Anaheim. We got wet as we sat down to watch fireworks, but it was worth it. It was a great show and everyone else had wet bums too.
It was fun just to be together. Glad BigBuddy was off work that day at 5:30.

He missed last nights' 17 Miracles movie. So good, but so sad. With MyGirl heading to Trek tomorrow, it was the perfect reminder of the real sacrifices made.

Remembering my friend Amy today too. She passed away a year ago on July 24. It was a Saturday. I still miss her. I keep wanting to call and tell her my boy is going to learn Portuguese. I went to lunch the other day at Panera and missed her there too. It was one of our favorite places to catch up on life. I'm glad her body walks well again and she is without pain. I just wish missing her didn't have to hurt still.

Renaming

2011-07-21T13:29:00.006-04:00

I ended up renaming the So Happy layout I was planning on doing, and instead found a stamp called O Happy Day. Yesterday we received travel arrangements, and a lot of other requirements, three which have to be notarized, and all in by Aug. 9. BigBuddy is busy again when he's not working.
MyGirl told me this week that my blog needs more creative projects. So, here's what I've been working on all this week, in about 10 minute increments. I am glad I have my own desk and older children so I can leave things out on it. It makes it easier to just come back to it when I have a few minutes. The big creative projects I've been working on this week involve the sewing machine and the long table. I'll post them next week. I spent hours on those, but that's always made longer by the fact that I have never Ever worked on something without picking it out. Its not that I don't like fabric, but clearly paper likes me better!
I've decided to get out of my box more. The only paper here that is CTMH is the background, the black mat paper and the off white journaling piece. The train and ticket papers are from Crate Paper and the stickers and patterned paper are from a company called Simple Studio. I really like them. Playing with design here too, not so graphically aligned. It was fun. No picking out, and I always scrap with repositionable taperunners, to make it so much quicker when I've made a mistake, which I do, but its so much less painful than picking out, you know?
I would love to do a Harry Potter page, but have nothing to scrap - no photos of any of us at the theater, no film clips, can't even say I could find the ticket stub. I may do just a journaling page. What I enjoy most is sharing it with my children, hearing their enthusiasm and excitement and hearing that even LittleBuddy had tears in his eyes when he thought Neville was about to die. I love that real love triumphs over evil and that ordinary people can do great things without letting it go to their head and craving more power.

Woodland Park

2011-07-19T22:50:00.014-04:00

Wednesdays this summer have been our days for field trips since BigBuddy usually has the day off.
Last Wednesday we ventured to Woodland Park, about 45 minutes away, picnic in tow.
We found a shaded picnic table right on the main street in town, and enjoyed the fact it was ten degrees cooler here than at home.
Pike's Peak is just south of here, and the views were lovely! Looks like the snow is finally about melted up there.
We walked through town and found this cute guy sitting on a park bench. There were some fun Western shops and even a cute craft store with amazingly good prices. I helped the economy there.
We like antler arches. It reminded us of Jackson Hole, but of course, there are more there and they are much bigger. We also stopped by the visitor's center, just to see what they had to tell us, and found there are about ten different cool places all less than half an hour away. My boys were thrilled to hear about the Colorado Wolf and Rescue Center about ten minutes away, so we went to check it out.
Tucked back from one of the mountain highways, this was a fascinating place. It houses 17 wolves, 2 coyotes, and 6 foxes.
We learned a lot in the hour plus tour we received. Some wolves prefer to live alone, but when they mate its for life, so sometimes they live with their mate. Other times they just live with a friend, if their mate has passed away. That was true in this case.
This was Princess. She lives alone. She is a diva and can't share or get along with others. The fences are all electrically charged. We were reminded to keep our distance regularly. Princess is probably one of the reasons why.
Wolves come in many different colors and sizes. Some of them are grey, black, white, or mixed. Very few are just true brown.
We were there in the afternoon. Several were laying down in shady places. Some were asleep.
One thing I learned was that some wolves are very friendly to people. At this facility, some get taken for walks on a leash. Others are so friendly, they are offended if you don't physically touch them and love them. In fact, a wolf accepts you into their pack by licking you. We were told that to really let them love you, you should open your mouth so they could lick inside. You COULD NOT PAY ME to let a wolf do that to me, but there were six people who had paid $75 that day for the opportunity. They get a more "advanced" tour. No thank you! ICK!!!!

The funniest part was at the end of our tour. We were told to communicate with them and howl like a wolf. It was funny, and of course, my gentlemen were the loudest howlers of our group. We heard one, and then several began to howl back. The kids loved it. Now they want to practice in our backyard the next time they see a coyote. The neighbors will love that I'm sure.
This was a unique place, and one my children will not likely soon forget. Now we have a new list of fun adventures all less than an hour away that we want to try.

So Happy

2011-07-17T20:16:00.007-04:00

This month I wanted to get Bigbuddy's emotions caught in a scrapbook while they're still fresh. I used Becky Fleck's Page Maps contest as my inspiration. Sometimes creativity is in the altering not in the original creation, like following a pattern to make a quilt or a skirt. I need to make the coordinating page to go with it. The title will be So Happy!

A New Winner

2011-07-16T11:19:00.002-04:00

LittleBuddy pulled the numbers 1 - 11 out of the hat, and the winner was:

#9 Nannypanpan@gmail.com

I'll contact you for your home address, and your creative juices can start flowing.

Thanks to everyone who participated.

More creative inspiration to come soon.

Giveaways!

2011-07-13T19:28:00.003-04:00

I've decided on a Christmas in July theme for this giveaway.

It includes a number of things you could use for creative fun:

10 patterned pieces of paper, stripes, dots, and patterns, all 8-1/2 x 11 (Provo Craft)

1 paper of beautiful ornaments (??)

1 paper sampler of stickers (Pebbles)

1 cardstock stickers (daisy d's)

1 pkg. glittery star gift tags (Pier One)

10 generic off white gift tags with strings

1 roll approx. 3 yds. gold organdy ribbon (Offray)

1 roll approx. 12 yards red grosgrain ribbon (Offray)

1 pkg. of 3 wooden frames (Ikea)

1 pkg. chocolate, bamboo, colonial white embellishments (Close To My Heart)

1 tiny alphabet wooden stamp set (Studio G)

Wherever you are in the world, just give leave a comment with your name and e-mail by Friday at midnight.

I will then have my LittleBuddy randomly draw out a number on Saturday morning, and if you are that number, you will win!!! Tell your friends to come leave a comment too.

If you want to enter other giveaways, here are a couple more.

Wendysueanderson.blogspot.com is giving away the other Dots and Stripes paper pack on her blog. If I could win, you could too.

Then on her blog post is a link for EchoPark's blog. They are giving away the large Cricut's. They usually sell for at least $300 unless you find an outrageous sale, but who doesn't like FREE?

They are also advertising the new MyCraftChannel run by Kristine McKay, who designed a really cool Halloween line for Echo Park paper. Check that out, make a comment, and maybe you could be the winner.

It doesn't hurt to try all the others, but at least leave a comment here. Good luck!

And the winner is . . . .

2011-07-13T12:02:00.006-04:00

ME!

You may have recently noticed that I added a few other blogs to my bloglist. These are people that occasionally I check out what creative projects they're doing. They have so many inspirational ideas that I decided to add them to my list to make it easier for me to find them. Well, one of them, Wendy Sue Anderson, was having a giveaway of dots and stripes paper. Who doesn't love dots??? I've been known to buy dots in several colors before or whole pads before of just dots, so this was a cross-your-fingers and make a comment. And, for the first time, I Won!

Wendy's pages are always colorful, cheerful, and darling. She uses cute little embellishments that aren't complicated, but perfectly add to her scrapbook pages. Thanks Wendy! Her blog is called just me . . . and my little world.

Anyhow, I thought, what if I did a giveaway also? I'm going to take a look at my stash so check back tomorrow and see what I've come up with, and if you're interested, maybe you can be a winner too.

2011-07-12T17:23:00.009-04:00

With so much attention being paid to BigBuddy these past few days I thought it was time to give a little to the rest of the family.

Cowgirl, our hard-working, fun-loving, and family-centered oldest daughter is picking up furniture from her grandparents this weekend before they move. She is really sad that they are moving closer by me because she has really enjoyed having them closer to her. I understand that. I really do. If we can get her here more often it could be the best of both worlds! We have a lot of fun when she's home, but she's at that busy phase of life so that doesn't happen often enough for me. At least we can talk and text regularly. I love having her for my daughter.

MyMike. . . poor guy. He's getting a root canal this Friday, after being miserable since last Friday. On the more positive side, the company that he is working for loves him and he loves working there. It is such a good fit it was worth the move. Everyone should know that they are contributing and appreciated. Right now he is working on unmanned vehicles which I think should make the world safer for the good guys. Its nice that its not top secret and we can visit him at his office once in a while. I love this man. Part of the reason he wanted to move me here was to have less stress in my life and that has been the case. I don't teach anymore. I can send MyGirl to public schools sometimes and get a break from homeschooling. Getting old together with him is a good thing. Now if we can both stay healthy enough to enjoy it!

LittleBuddy told me today that he wants a real job. He told me he gets bored when his big brother goes to work and he would like a nicer paycheck than he's currently receiving. I thought that was cute for a twelve year old. When he gets bored he resorts to his electronics, which I've limited. But, I have to give him credit, because after we talked this morning, he went hiking with his brother and sister, then read his book for two hours. I am teaching him piano lessons again and I am looking for a good viola teacher close as well. This little guy has a lot of untapped talents. I think I need to work harder at helping him find them all. Last week he thought he'd try his hand at computer programming, and he was successful. He has a lot of fun at Scouts and with his friends. One is coming to stay with us when his parents go to Trek, and LittleBuddy can't wait!

Here is a sweet picture of MyGirl. She didn't know I was taking this photo of her at the reunion. That's a good thing. She's Anti-Photos. She went to her friend's house last Saturday. They went on a hike to the park and back. She saw a garter snake on the way and didn't freak. She's a better girl than her mother! The Pioneer Re-enactment Trek is in less than two weeks. They're going up to Rocky Ridge and Devil's Gate, where the actual handcart pioneers suffered. She was sick when our former stake went on Trek, but now she will get to leave young women's having had this opportunity. This will be a unique and truly memorable experience. Only nine groups a year are allowed into Rocky Ridge, and our stake is one, however they have to climb/hike 15 miles the first day. Rocky Ridge is mostly uphill, and its not going to be easy. The Trek Dr. came and spoke to us all last week and told the youth to take a Large gulp of water Every Five Minutes. Its going to be hot and dry and rocky and dusty! They are walking in memory of one of the pioneers who actually walked. Its been humbling to learn about that woman's life. I'll share her story later. I have been proud of MyGirl that she really hasn't complained as she's been preparing. Last week she and her big brother hiked 13 miles in a few hours and she did fine except for the sunburned top of her head. At least she'll be wearing a bonnet on the real trek. I know it will be harder to have a handcart to move besides herself, but she's strong and she's healthy. What a huge blessing that is! And she won't be doing it alone. We still have some wardrobe issues to fix, but that's tomorrow's agenda.
So, that's what's up.

Families are the best!

Every day there's something on the news that makes me want to hug them all and keep them closer. To quote one of my favorite songs, "Shower the people you love with love." Words that I need to remember always!

Yummy Things

2011-07-10T11:11:00.001-04:00

I forgot to share these photos of the dessert MyGirl made for the Fourth. Yummy cheesecake bars with an oatmeal crust. Loved how patriotic these were, with the help of the smallest size Wilton star cookie cutter.
And, the Corn Salsa - So good, I'm including the recipe. I got this from the cookbook "Celebrate," put out by the American Cancer Society. Fresh, Healthy, and So YUMMY!

Corn, Onion, Red Pepper, White Bean, and Cilantro Salsa

1 15 oz. can white beans, rinsed

1 15 oz. can yellow corn, drained

1 large red bell pepper, diced finely

1/2 large yellow onion, diced finely

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped finely

1 T. lime juice

1/2 T. tabasco sauce

dash of salt

Toss it all together and serve. This picture above was taken right after I put it on the table on the 4th. Fifteen minutes later, half the bowl was gone. It was that fresh and good. Everyone loved it, even LittleBuddy who doesn't like peppers. MyMike and I put it on our grilled meat for a relish. I am definitely making this again! BigBuddy likes all salsas. I wonder if they have a lot of those in Brazil? I can only think of the Rodizio Grill, a Brazilian restaurant that serves a lot of yummy marinated meat. If he has to survive on that, he definitely won't mind!

It was raining yesterday evening, so instead of our S'more Saturday Night we made Foil Dinners and baked them in the oven at 350 for an hour.

Foil Dinners -

Layer the following:

sliced onions

hamburger patties

salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning

baby carrots

sliced Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes

Wrap tightly in Aluminum foil and put directly on the oven rack or outdoor grill, seams up.

Then we put the foil dinners on paper plates, and made the most of our indoor/outdoor meal. We like a squirt of Sweet Baby Ray's on top. . . .Mmmmmm! You can substitute chicken breast or pork chops for the hamburger also.

Served with fresh watermelon and cucumbers, everyone was full and happy. I liked this because MyGirl and I could put it together as a team easily and quickly, and everyone loved them.

Our Missionary

2011-07-08T17:36:00.017-04:00

*Note the change made below - what I mistakenly wrote as Jerusalem, was an error of my too excited brain, and should actually be: Bethlehem.

I woke up this morning to BigBuddy looking out the window. "Look, Mom! They're on our side of the creek." Not one, but two, beautiful does enjoying the green grass and the water. It's going to be a good day, we both agreed.
Around 1:15 pm I checked the mail box. It's Here!!! I texted him at work, then found Cowgirl's work number, grabbed my camera, and called Mike, who had just called me. About ten minutes later, Mike was home, I was dialing my cell phone, and Bigbuddy drove into the driveway, got the keys, and went to the mailbox. LittleBuddy was with him.

It's HERE!!!
As he's opening it up, he's so excited, the envelope gets pretty ripped.

Cowgirls on the phone by his ear, as he reads out loud the words,

"going to Brazil Belem, entering the Brazilian MTC on Dec. 14, 2011."
He talks to Shaena and is so thrilled. Tears are in both our eyes. MyGirl is running around exclaiming, "I can't believe I was right. I said he'd go to Brazil. I just can't believe I was right." My dad had predicted the same thing. He then called his grandparents, his best friend back in Maryland, and texted our bishop and his favorite friend that is a girl. He really felt speechless. Happy, overjoyed, and humbled.

He is going to be a missionary! What a tremendous privilege! To be called to represent the Lord Jesus Christ, and bring His message to others is a great joy and opportunity not given to everyone. In fact, the third paragraph of his letter says, "You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel." To hold oneself to this standard is not for everyone, but the blessings are great for those choose to do so, and I am very excited for the blessings that await him as a missionary. He has a new language to learn and we have a lot of things to buy and prepare, but he has his VISA, he has his CALL, and he is Willing to Serve!

So, in the past two and a half hours, this is what I have learned about Belem from the internet, either through Wikipedia or letters written by missionaries that have been posted, or by the girl from our stake who just returned from there a couple of weeks ago and spoke in our ward.

The city is named after *Bethlehem, where the Savior was born, and also after the city of Belem, in Portugal. Cowgirl gets credit there for dreaming he was going to be serving in Portugal - very close - speaking the same language, and named for a city there.

It has almost 2 million people that live there, and lately has had a large influx of skyscraper building. It is located on the 5th degree latitude from the Equator, so is considered a tropical climate and has no dry season. Belem is on the estuary of the Amazon River, that spills into the Atlantic Ocean. The mission itself takes the northern border of Brazil and goes halfway into the rainforest.

There is a big disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and the missionaries for the most part live poor, as in no warm showers for two years. The language in that area is known for being the most difficult to understand due to their extremely fast speed, slang, and accent. My boy will be calling upon the Lord regularly, I'm sure, for help. He and I had a good talk last night. When you love the Lord and trust him, it doesn't matter where you're called or what language you're speaking, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

He loves the Lord. He will love the Brazilian people. He will probably like all the food except for the cowtail soup, which the sister missionary said was chewy, and not very appetizing. He will serve with his heart, mind, and strength, and share his testimony of Jesus Christ.

I know there will be challenges and I know there will be trials, but I am thrilled he has this opportunity. I will now be developing a new love for all things Brazilian. This will be a wonderful experience for our whole family to share, as we do what we can to support him. Part of our faith is to know that we are sending him farther than we can drive if things go bad, and trusting that the Lord will provide what is needed. I shed tears of joy after his call, feeling the same emotion I did when he was born - what a privilege it is to be a mother and to now be the mother of a missionary. I will cherish this day always, for the opportunity it presents!

Fourth Fun

2011-07-05T15:07:00.022-04:00

I knew it was going to be a good day when I saw this deer with antlers staring at me when I got up. A little while later his two friends joined him further up the hill, and stayed for about an hour.
We got up early this holiday weekend, made waffles, then headed to the high school for the bus pick-up that took us downtown. Our little town only has about a dozen square blocks, and they were expecting about 25thousand people, so we wanted to Avoid Traffic. That's usually our third major goal of all 4th of July's. #1 is to feel patriotic. #2 stay safe.
The theme was, "Liberty and Justice for All."
I loved everything about this. Sitting at an intersection, under a shady spot of trees and the community church behind me, we'd brought our camp chairs and water bottles and were ready. Everyone was dressed in red, white and blue, lots of families and teenagers and elderly and groups of friends. . . truly something for everyone. We arrived about twenty minutes before it began.
First came the children's parade - on bikes, scooters, and wagons
all decorated, with parents close-by.
These two pulled out of the line and onto our street. A second after this occurred, the hat was snatched, the boy was screaming and the girl looked as smug as a toddler can. It really was the comedy moment of the whole thing.
Music was interspersed. These teenagers were first. Sounded great! I love marching bands!
This was one of the last. He was being towed behind a truck, just playing patriotic music down the road . . . so great! Loved all his decorations too. It had that kind of home-town feel.
The fifes were part of the Civil War Reenactment unit. Didn't know there was one close by.
Then came the troops. Everyone stood and clapped and cheered so loudly. It was moving. I almost forgot to take their picture, but at least you can see their backs.
We saw all kinds of military assemblies -

Tanks,
Vets,
Subs?? MyMike looked at me somewhat shocked. We're a long ways from water, so we weren't expecting this, but it was still exciting.
Shriners carrying our flag and those of our neighbors. I took this photo for my mom, Dennis, Debbie, and Julie. You know I love you always!
There were some surprises too. . . Captain Jack? At the 4th of July parade?
He was with the Renaissance group. I was glad to see the camel. I missed it on our trip to the zoo. Now I've had my camel-fill for the year. I like camels. I don't know why, but I do.
Cowgirls, of course. Cowboys too, but this photo is in honor of you know who. Go Brunettes! Love you too always!
Our only float - a Marine!
My new favorite colors this year are orange and turquoise. A beautifully costumed Native American. So bright and neat headdress.
Our local heroes - they took the state 5A hockey championships
Old cars. Yes, there were some really old ones, and some really cool ones, but this was my favorite. I used to have a yellow one. It wasn't a convertible. I never owned a surfboard, but I looked at Mike and said, "That's what I want to drive next - in turquoise. He smiled, "First you have to find one that runs, and they're probably not selling that one." Always has to be the practical one. . . . mmph! Translating that also to mean - no chance am I fixing up an old car for you. Still, I know he loves me. He did all the clean up with the kids after our BBQ while I had nap 2.

There were over a hundred entries in this parade, but this is a good sampling. It was a lot of fun. There was a great spirit of patriotism and values. Lots of signs like "Freedom isn't free" and "Sons of liberty." I loved it all. However, it was THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR. Thank goodness for the shade tree! I drank my entire liter of water, came home, ate a popsicle, went into the basement, where it is always cooler, and fell asleep on the recliner. Woke up just in time to make everything we needed for our BBQ, napped again, then went down the street to the school hill, and watched the Air Force Academy fireworks on the Left, and the Lake's fireworks on the right. We liked the Academy's best. I think next year, we'll go to where we saw the Thunderbirds and get a close-up view and avoid the 50 thousand who were in the Academy stadium. The traffic coming home will be so much better!

AND - - - Waiting still for THE CALL. Today his schedule is noon - eight, so he's coming home on his break at 4 to check. The mailman should have delivered by now. I'm letting him take it out of the mailbox. Just thinking it could be here right now - I can hardly stand it! There may be another blog post later today. I'm on my way to Costco. Got to keep busy and free from temptation (of the mailbox kind - not so good for the appetite kind) until 4!

UPDATE: Sent on the 28th according to the church website, doesn't necessarily mean its in the mail. Our bishop checked - it was just sent Today. We've waited this long. We will wait some more. If it gets here on Thursday that will be 23 days . . . long compared to everyone else we know around here, but sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Good Books

2011-07-03T21:55:00.002-04:00

In March I started reading the Porter Rockwell Chronicles. There are four books to the series. I think I may have mentioned them before. I finished them when Littlebuddy got his braces on the end of May. In the past month, apparently I have a lot of dentist/doctor's appointments to drive to, because that's mostly when I read.

I've just finished The Undaunted, by Gerald Lund, about the Hole in the Rock pioneers. It was fun to see their story in some detail in the Ensign this month too, but nothing like reading the book. I loved it! So inspired by it! With MyGirl getting ready for Trek in three weeks, we are talking and thinking a lot about pioneers these days.

On Friday, MyGirl got her New set of braces on. Isn't that sad that she had to be just like her mother and after already wearing them for two and a half years, get a new set? I feel her pain. Hopefully these will be off earlier than mine were! So, I had to grab a new book for the hour plus appointment. I am so glad I reached for Unlikely Heroes by Ron Carter.

I met Bro. Carter when he was the guest speaker at our Stake Youth Conference, and I was assigned to "take care of him, whatever he needs." It was a lovely opportunity to pick up he and his wife every day at their hotel, introduce them before they were to speak, and spend time with them as we toured Washington D.C. with the youth, make sure they were comfortable, etc. He shared some great stories how ordinary people influenced the Revolutionary War. On the bus rides back and forth he had many stories to share with me and those sitting close enough to hear. I was a totally captive audience. I encouraged him to compile them in a book, and he did. Since that time, sadly he has passed away.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is a goldmine of inspiration and appreciation not just because of the acts of courageous human beings but, very clearly to me, is more evidence of the handiwork of a loving Heavenly Father who watches even the smallest details. When needed he takes care of what no one else can, like having the clouds cover a full moon, or sending a person in your path that you already know and trust, when you are acting as a spy trying to get confidential information to General Washington. . . seriously cool things. And, my love for George Washington continues to grow. Someday I hope to be able to thank him, inadequate as it may be. I am on page 140 and eagerly looking forward to a Tues. morning Dr. appt. to finish it.

Tomorrow our little town is having a parade and maybe fireworks. I'm excited! My first time living in a place with a hometown parade. The bishop even announced it from the pulpit, for all of us new families to know about, but we had already found out about at the hair salon. Little towns are great! The community is also holding a street fair afterwards until 3 pm. Then everyone is encouraged to go home and grill, because the fireworks start over the lake at 9:30. I can't wait!

Happy Independence Day weekend! Thank you to all those who serve our country willingly and unselfishly! You are a blessing to us all.

And, no mission call yet - 19 days and waiting. We stalked the mailman yesterday. . . "he's at the mailbox across the street, he just turned up the cul-de-sac," it was so sad when it wasn't there. Hoping for Tuesday. That will be 21 days from when we first turned it in, and a week since it was sent. We're only across the Rocky Mountains. Maybe the mailman took the scenic route??? Paddling upstream over the gorge?? Wanted to hike a fourteener with his mail pouch on his back?? We've verified the address is correct, zip, everything. Another test of patience. . . . Time to go find my book!

Happy Birthday Cowgirl!

2011-07-01T12:28:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday Cowgirl!

This girl has ALWAYS been able to do whatever it is she sets her mind to.

Currently she is an assistant store-manager, full-time student (making great grades), holds a church calling, has friends who love her, and is a dear daughter and sister. She made time to see us both in May AND June. Somehow she keeps it all together, and well, we just consider her pretty amazing!

She was born on the same day as her great-grandfather. He was a ranch foreman, so the fact she thinks of herself as a cowgirl should come as no surprise. She loves living out West. Its where she belongs. Part of why we came out here is to be closer to her, and we are. I don't know when we are going to see her next, but we need to get that planned soon. We miss her every day. She is a lot like her grandma Jacobs, always ready and up for something fun to do, very creative, and is a lot of fun. She always is on time, abhors being late, and is a natural leader. She's also very smart, and school comes easy. There's lots to admire about her. Not to mention that she's just beautiful.

Its a good thing when your children leave you and you see their lives become successful. She still has more goals yet to be realized, but we all know life comes at us one day at a time, and since its the girl who puts her mind to things and makes them happen, we know they will!

Bargain Favorites

2011-06-30T00:52:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was one of our warmest days so far.
It was also BigBuddy's day off, and we don't have A/C in our new home yet, so . . .
our plan was to stay cool - all day.

After getting chores done, we headed to the dollar theater at noon. I knew we could count on A/C there.

On the way home we would be having a late lunch at Sonic.

They don't have those in MD, or at least if they did, I wasn't aware.

I strategically planned so we would be there between 2 and 4 when my favorite drinks are half off. Those would be the Lemonberry Real Fruit Slush and the Limeades. I like Cranberry, Strawberry, and Cherry.

Then, stopping at the dollar store, we found all kinds of great gadgets for squirting water for less than $5. The favorite was the crayon, a long cylinder you can fill and then shoot. My kids were having so much fun, the neighbors came over and joined in. Then their mom came to see what was so much fun and now she's heading to the dollar store. Good things should be shared, and bargains for summer fun are always good.

Mutual was in the evening. 45 minutes before we were to leave LittleBuddy got a phone call that he was supposed to be bringing dessert to go with the steaks they hadn't gotten a chance to cook due to the cougar. I was not about to turn on the oven, but when I opened up the pantry I saw all the makings for s'mores. I've been doing some couponing lately, and had bought two each of graham crackers, chocolate bars, and marshmallows, getting a $1 off of each. So, I laid down the graham crackers in a glass pan, put broken chocolate and marshmallows over the top and microwaved it for only 30 seconds. The marshmallows were big and puffy and the chocolate was starting to melt so figured that was sufficient. Then I put more grahams on top, and voila - s'mores. Littlebuddy told me afterwards everyone loved it. And, I still have plenty of everything left for our Saturday Night S'mores, which I must say is a great tradition. Something about sitting around a fire, with no where to go, brings out the chat in everyone.

And, no matter how hot it gets in the day, its always cooler at night. We had a thunderstorm roll in around 6:30 last night which dropped the temperature 20 degrees and only lasted ten minutes. Best bargain air conditioning ever!

Bonding

2011-06-28T14:24:00.013-04:00

A couple of weeks ago BigBuddy and his dad decided to take the motorbikes on their first Colorado adventure.
I took these pictures of them before they left, everything in the trailer, and ready for a fun day.
They called me a few hours later with glowing reports . . . .this is less than an hour from home,

the trail is pretty easy, great views, not crowded at all, we're having so much fun, we've gotta come again, etc., etc.
I was happy for them. Our dad always has a long list of things to do. He works hard for all of us. Last week it included changing oil, checking gauges, etc. and he promised when he moved us here - more fun!
When they got home, around dinnertime, imagine my surprise when I see my husband. His pants are totally ripped up at both knees and he has a blood streak on the side of his face. No time for pictures, I'm grabbing the neosporin, bandaids, a wet washcloth, etc. When I ask him what happened, he said he told our son he was going to check out a road "over there" and be right back. Suddenly the road became the side of the mountain, and he was going uphill pretty steeply, and fell. Twenty minutes later when he hadn't returned, BigBuddy went searching and found him. He was upright, his bike was okay, but everything wasn't working right, and so they came home. The next night, as he's laying in bed, he (MyMike) tells me, "I should never have gone by myself. I never would have attempted that with our son. I always get myself in trouble when I think I am 18 again. I going to be more responsible from now on. No more overly grand adventures." I nod and tell him how sorry I am he can hardly walk, the scabs on his knees are so thick it hurts him just to sit at the table, and forget kneeling for prayer. I'm sure he's learned his lesson. Pain is usually a pretty good teacher.

So the very next week, we're up at the reunion and BigBuddy talked with one of the park workers who told him about some great hikes in the area. He decides "Eagle Claw" sounds like a great one, and its only supposed to be 3-4 hours round trip which will leave plenty of time for other reunion activities. He tells all his cousins about it, but they don't seem interested. However, his dad thinks that sounds great, so they head out after lunch.

Look at how steep this is! It was practically straight uphill.
Yes, the views were stunning!
Yes, at this altitude you are breathing hard.
Well, they made it to the top. I'm wondering if someone died at the top - hence the cross.

Bigbuddy tells me his dad's legs were shaking by the time there. The rest of the reunion, my dear husband wasn't feeling too well.
I asked him, when he got back. . . what about not pushing yourself like an 18 year old? I had to go with my son, he tells me. I couldn't let him do this hard thing alone.

BigBuddy loves and appreciates him for doing it. He knows it was hard on his dad. After taking me on the rattlesnake hike, which I refer to it now, he knows he needs a buddy to share in the challenges he's ready and eager for. He's excited his buddy from MD comes in a month. He's taken the days off work he needs so they can have some great adventures. Mostly, though, he's ready for his mission. We check the mailbox every day -ANTICIPATION!

Something about challenges, doing hard things, and pushing yourself with other people bonds you together. I think he'll have that opportunity over and over again on his mission, and I've realized that that is exactly what this 18 year old boy needs. His dad and I are about used up and its time for others his own age to fill in the gap and eventually an eternal companion who will age with him. Oh, the wisdom of the Lord. I increasingly am in awe at how every detail is correct and his great love for each of us, to provide what we need right when we need it. Life is good. Heavenly Father is great! We are Blessed!

A Scary Critter Week

2011-06-26T20:05:00.009-04:00

You may have seen my post on Facebook, but as it was the talk of church today, its fresh on my mind again.

LittleBuddy - bad lighting, but cute boy, almost as tall as me,spent the week at Scout Camp. On Tuesday MyMike came home from spending the first two days with the boys and said he didn't know why but he had a bad feeling about leaving our youngest son. That brought tears to my eyes just thinking about it, then MyGirl saw me, and said, Oh, mom, do you miss your boy? Yea, that's it, as I'm trying not to think the worst. Mike mentioned that for the next two days they'd be working on their rifle and shooting merit badges, so I started praying earnestly. All right, at one point, I asked MyMike if he thought we should go pick him up, but he gave me the look. We're not molly-coddling him. . . okay, but you brought it up my look responded.

Well, Friday night I'm feeling pretty good. The life-threatening merit badges are over, he'll be home the next day. I'm just getting ready to go make dinner when I get a phone call from his Scoutmaster. Instantly, my heart goes THUMP! First words out of his mouth are, "Hi, I hope you don't mind, I'm bringing your boy home early." "Is everything okay?" I say feeling sick inside. "Well, we spotted a mountain lion around the camp, and thought it'd just be safer to bring everyone home." VERY relieved, I say, "Great, good call, I'll see you in 90 minutes. Oh and thank you for keeping him safe all week."

Apparently, on Thursday two of the leaders and one of the boys spotted it, and felt slightly panicked. The leaders estimated it to be about 250 lbs., the largest they had ever seen, and they are both experienced in the wilderness. They talked with the forest service who advised that all the boys sleep in cars that night, but there weren't enough, so one dad slept with his two boys in their tent, and the Scoutmaster sat up all night around the campfire with his shotgun and bullhorn. Poor guy.

That day they're out at the lake, and come back to the tent area and find that one of their fish they had caught is gone, the Scouts find a leg of a deer in camp (only the leg) and there are big paw prints, over 9 inches across, around the tents, so that's when the leaders said enough. No wonder MyMike felt uneasy. It had probably been watching them for a couple of days before it got bold enough to get that close. A bunch of little Scouts running around looking like antelope, I'm sure. But, myLittleBuddy wasn't too worried. He said other boys were more worried, so he just helped calm them down. He had a great time and would go back again but I'm grateful we don't have to deal with that worry for another year.

On Wed. my middle two were feeling adventuresome so we went about 20 min. north to a unique state park. In the middle of the prairie, suddenly you have this.
Rocks and boulders that have become a canyon, with water running through the bottom.

I was happy to take them, until on the way there, BigBuddy informs me that our guide book says the hikes aren't too difficult, but watch out for rattlesnakes. I'm not too worried. That's one person's opinion, but I casually ask the gal who gives us our day pass at this state park, if they've seen any lately. Her response, "Yeah, a bunch down by the damn, and a few around, but just stay on the trails and you should be fine."
Not comforting, and frankly, I was on the lookout all along our hike, but we saw the area and it was interesting. However, my kids didn't think it was very fun that I didn't want to hike all the way to the damn. . . . PLEEEEEEASE! Besides, it was hot, and in spite of my hat, glasses, and long-sleeve, SPF 50 shirt, I was just feeling baked. Came home and had a nap and felt much better about everything.
Friday morning, a much more fun adventure, meeting Maryland friends at one of our favorite spots. All the teenagers were so happy to be reunited, and we spent all morning chatting and walking around.
The father was serving as bishop when I was Relief Society President so we have a good working relationship, and the wife and I have served together in YW as counselors, then I was her visiting teacher for several years. She was also LittleBuddy's Cubmaster for his last two years in Cubs, and Cowgirl and I both taught her children piano and I taught their two oldest in Sunday School for a year. Bigbuddy and their oldest daughter have been great friends all through their teenage years, and LittleBuddy and their middle boy were also good friends, so seeing them here, in our little spot on the map, was so fun! . . . Until the Ranger came to warn us that the local rattlesnakes were "having fun playing with people," (his exact words) so stay on the paths. Welcome to the Wild West - where the creatures are scary but the weather is beautiful!
Hoping for a non-creature week this week! The only thing I want to see is cattle out the back window. And maybe a deer or a little fox. Or a hawk . . . things lower on the food chain, you know what I mean?

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-06-23T16:38:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. I called her up. She had fun taking my nephew to the MTC, going out to lunch with Cowgirl and my brother's family and touring the new BYU broadcasting studios/stations. Yesterday. . . off adventuring with my oldest two, getting ready for YW last night, calling her, making homemade pizza, but never quite made it to the laptop.

I don't really love this photo of me. I showed it to my mom in the camera and she said its because we're getting old. First thing my middle brother said to me at the reunion after giving me a hug - "Like your hair," translating to "I see you're going pretty gray." I smiled, and told him it was "All natural beauty." Oh, I'm going to look forward to looking young again in heaven!

Even, then, however, when I stand next to my young-looking mother, she is going to be the one everyone wants to flock towards. It was so cute to see all the grandchildren call out her name more than once, wanting to make something or play a game, or sit by her. We are going to have a GOOD TIME being neighbors! I only hope I can remember to keep getting my laundry done and the bathrooms cleaned once a week. Somehow she always manages to get those things done as if they're no biggie, because she's ready for the next activity - Always! I'm still scheduling my life, trying to make it all fit, and hoping when I get behind on bathrooms and laundry that things won't turn ugly on me too quickly. My mother makes being a homemaker easy, and its not that way for me, so I admire her greatly. I should have paid more attention when I lived with her, but I was always trying to get everything done as quickly as possible so I could go out for my own next adventure . . . and I wonder where BigBuddy gets his attitudes from . . . mmmmmm.

She's a wonderful mother and grandmother and I am thrilled to spend more time with her in the future! Happy Belated Birthday, Mom. I think today is the first day we haven't talked in a week.

Little Buddy is at Scout camp this week. I am missing him SO MUCH! His dad was with him for the first two days and I missed him SO MUCH TOO! I am missing all those cute nephews of mine too. . . withdrawals from the reunion. . . not fun. Hopefully when Little Buddy gets back I'll start getting over it.

Recent Cards

2011-06-21T19:40:00.006-04:00

Since I knew I was going to be seeing so many family members I made several cards last week. Some for Father's Day. Some for birthdays. Some just because I hadn't given them a card in a while and I wanted to. Most of them are pretty simple, but that's the way I'm rolling these days.

The best thing about making a homemade card is that while I am making it I am thinking about the person I am going to give it to and my love for them increases. However, I know many of these cards get thrown out after reading them, and I'm okay with that. I don't give them to be treasures. I give them because I love the person and this is how I show it. Occasionally I make cards to have on hand, but its not near as enjoyable for me. Creativity from the heart, that's where the joy lies.

The Reunion

2011-06-19T22:48:00.020-04:00

For the Jacobs Family - what a great way to spend a Father's Day Weekend! We were excited to see elk on Friday afternoon when we arrived - three big ones right next to the car.
While we stayed in lodge rooms, here is the room where we gathered all together . . . the Birch cabin. I gotta say, every time I was in here - You could feel the love.

From card games to crafts to our big birthday party, it was where the fun was had.

Another place we all met was the Aspen Dining Hall - Let's hear it for no cooking for 48 hours! We needed three large tables every time we all got together - 18 of us in all.

This was our youngest family member, Rich's little boy - How darling is he!!! Nothing like a toddler to help us all feel young again.

There were fun activities to choose from, like early-morning archery,

A big hike - these two literally went straight up the mountain on a four hour hike.
They climbed all the way to the top of the mountain behind him. For BigBuddy, Life is always an adventure!

Of course, the best part was being with loved ones. . . Rob, my little brother.

Rich, my next youngest brother, and his posse of nieces and nephews
The two Steve's - one my son, one my baby brother. When my boy was born, he was going to have another name. It had been picked out for weeks, but when he was born, MyMike looked at me and said, that's the wrong name. He needs to be named Steven. I said, my brother will love that, and so it was. Who could have guessed he'd grow up to share the same height, same build, same hairline, same blue eyes, same noses, same ears, similiar voices, same gentle personalities, with a love for all things outdoors? There are some major differences, however; son is right handed, brother is left, and personality traits, of course, but seeing them standing together reminded us all how much we are a family!
Lots of creativity took place this weekend too - here the professional artist with his wife.

Kate was making God's eyes, where they first became part of our family experience at my grandparent's fiftieth anniversary party in California. The little boys really liked this activity too. My youngest was so relieved when he realized he hadn't left his when we got home. Rich is drawing on mugs with markers, another popular activity.
Cowgirl and Rebecca are making frames for our photos, and covering them with paper and embellishments. All the girls made at least one. Cowgirl had brought a huge pad of MyMind's Eye paper, purchased for only $5. Go Craft Queen! Call me when the next major sale is - I'm coming!
MyGirl and I made this mosaic box at the craft cabin. Actually I just laid down the glue. She did the hard work.
Cowgirl made herself a cute necklace. On her wrist you can see the wristbands my dad handed out, saying, "Jacobs Family 2011." Live Strong Jacobs Family!
Surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, this truly was a beautiful place. Here are some of the girls together on the way to lunch. The far right, is Steve's girlfriend. She was lovely.
I loved it all weekend when spontaneous love just burst forth. It's hard to capture in photos how good it feels, but when I pulled up this photo, it seemed to say it well. I had to laugh as LittleBuddy and his cousins were plotting the whole time how they can see each other more often. Of course, we are hoping with grandparents next door that will help! And if their dad could get a job out here. . . here's to wishful thinking! It was a great time to just immerse ourselves in everything family.

And did we ever!

Papers IN!

2011-06-15T13:13:00.003-04:00

Silliness

2011-06-12T23:42:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted these before, I think. I bet if I looked on all my photos I could find at least a dozen more of these type of pictures.

Some things are just so cheesy and silly. And yet my boys never fail to run and stick their heads behind them. Still. This last photo was just taken a month or so ago at the zoo.

In Stake Conference today the mission president's wife spoke about the miracles that take place even by boys whose frontal lobes aren't fully developed.

The lightbulb went off for me again.

It reminded me of the moment when I heard a man say that when the brain and body of a boy catch up, good things begin to happen.

I see great growth and development in my boys. Yet for all the wonderful, sweet, loving, hard-working, sensitive things my boys may be, they definitely have moments where I just say to myself - they are so silly and goofy!

Today I was reminded that I am the silly one. What else can I expect?

They are genetically programmed to be this way. Gotta ride the tide here and just wrap my arms as tight as they'll let me, and love 'em good. And be grateful that they still are boys who love the Lord and love each other and love me. And in the end, that's all that really matters to me. The Lord will work his miracles with them and through them when the time is right. He already has. For now, they're still growing up.