16 June 2010

We're Off!

To Salt Lake for a day to visit Lew and do Salt Lake specific chores ie: shop, repair bosch, early morning walk with my old walking buddies...

To Lake Powell for a week of memory making with the Nelsons and a Fathers Day extravaganza.

To St. George to visit our long lost Klingonsmiths!

To the airport to say goodbye to Doug, he has to go back to work.

Just me and the kiddos to Arizona to spend an unspecified amount of time with family. My grandma Martha will be at my parents house and I can't wait to see her! She has yet to meet Jennie, can you imagine life without meeting my Jennie?

And then back home. Doug is my home. I'm already missing him.

14 June 2010

Joseph's Birthday/ Baptism

Joseph's birthday breakfast... Chocolate and Butterscotch chip waffles, he's been talking about them since that day at your house Elise. Yum!


Doughnuts in class! My papa started this tradition. Joe's favorite is the maple one and he talked it up to his classmates all day, so when I brought two assorted boxes in just before the bell rang, every kid wanted a maple. They were good and some of them split one. I hope I can channel Joseph's ability to persuade when he gets a little older and the stakes are a little higher than doughnuts.


Joseph was so excited for his baptism. I'll never forget his smile in the font, he was positively beaming!


He had a ton of support with Abuella and Grandpa, Lewis, Grandma and Grandpa "C", Mishawn, Micah, Brock, Tanner, McCall, Jaymie and us of course making it to his baptism. His friends Maren, Parker and Addison were able to come too.

Thanks for making the trip everyone. You really made the day just perfect. Abuella, he loves navigating his new scriptures, and Grandma "C", he loves his green afghan. Thank you so much!

13 June 2010

Lucky Jennie gets a Mural from Grandpa "C"

I bought the paint and that was all! Grandpa "C" prepped the wall...

voiced how my ideas were looking through his eyes...

Gave us a white tree with two birdies...

A pink tree with four birdies...

Resulting in the cutest little girl mural I've ever seen.

We all LOVE it! Thank you George!

01 June 2010

Someday for Joseph's Birthday

I've been thinking a LOT about room design. I hate doing it, but with Doug's father coming and painting on Jennie's wall, I'm consumed. My friend Autumn led me to this site and I'm in love with the Napoleon wall... I don't think I'd do him exactly, we're clean Jack Black fans over here. I think Joe would love something like that when we finish the basement someday.

Happy Birthday Joe! Someday.

29 May 2010

Obedience

I get the girls ready for the day, then I get myself ready. This particular day, we were running a tad late for a doctors appointment. I decided to multitask and finish my hair and make up, giving the girls their final instructions, "Put your shoes on and buckle up!"

This is what I found.

I somehow forgot to say, "Please keep your clothes on". Silly mom.

26 May 2010

Original Artwork by Sophia

Sophia and I first painted 3 canvases-one pink, one dark pink, and this one green. Then I taped on a random flower.

Sorry, we paint half nude. I love how cleanable skin is.

Super cute I think. When we have all 3 canvases finished, we'll post again.

25 May 2010

My Olive Wood Nativity

I bought this nativity in Jerusalem in 1997. I didn't know anyone with a "Willowtree" nativity at that time and I thought that the faceless one left more for me to feel rather than for me to think, "That's not what he looks like, is it?" I love it, and it's up all year long. The same little darling that did these, defaced my olive wood memory keepsake.

Notice the smile she put on Mary's face, and the closed eyes and smile on baby Jesus. Does it make you think, "That's not what they look like, is it?" Maybe they did.

Gratefully, an eraser and some olive oil restored it's beauty, and I can still patiently love my little girl:)

24 May 2010

I'm Cold!

It's snowing. Huge. Fat. Flakes. (read Fat as the bad word it is!) I think that this isn't so bad really except that I'm cold today.

Our ward had a preparedness meeting to discuss the real danger here in Idaho, and it's a winter storm. Could I have been a pioneer? Thanks to Doug's Mom, we're doing pretty good on quilts, but if any of the AZ folk who will NEVER use them wants to contribute one of theirs to our store, I'd take 'em.

The real bummer is creating a happy home for Doug, (who grew up in Hot, Hot Mesa) when I myself feel cold. I've pulled him through this winter with my happiness for this home, and my gratitude for how hard he's working to provide for us, and I've turned every cold night into a snuggly warm time. But I'm cold.

I hear President Monson telling me, "Trust in the Lord." Okay, so I'll snap out of it now and trust that this snow has a purpose in MAY and I'll make chili for dinner tonight, and I'll wear an extra layer of clothes and my socks all day too.

I'm grateful for my home, and space heaters, and an operable oven, and food to cook, and hot water from the tap, and sweaters, and gloves, and kids who don't seem to notice the weather at all.

Jennie's new bed in her very own room


In preparation for Joe's baptism, we needed to figure out sleeping arrangements for my parents and Doug's parents. So we threw the boys down in the unfinished basement, separated the girls, got Soph her queen bed, and Jennie got this darling daybed with trundle. I got the super cute Pottery Barn quilts from Downeast for $20 each, isn't that the dang cutest steal you've heard of in ahwile! The darling green baskets were $1 each in their after Easter sale. I just love how it looks so far, when we get the walls and furniture painted, hang some original art and her mirror, I'll post a real finished picture, but for right now, doesn't she look happy!

Doug's dad George just agreed to paint a tree and some birds on Jennie's wall, a mural of sorts. I'm so excited! I'm in love with these trees from my sister-in-law's craft blog. Thanks for the inspiration Stacie! I love all of these birds, inspiration from googling modern birdie images, thanks google images:)









20 May 2010

Sophia


Mom you can't make me smile. (I'm so in love with these freckles!)

Sophia at 4 1/2 is AWESOME! She has loved pre-school and doesn't even seem to mind that I've been her teacher. She's a fabulous cutter, and can write and say the sound of all of her upper and lower case letters. She's trying to put the sounds together on her own to read the words, but gets a little shy when she notices me listening in on her. She enjoys coloring in the lines and does most pictures in a pink pallet just like "Pinkalicious"

She is very sensitive to the spirit. She'll hold my cheek when I cry, and tear up right with me if she feels it too. She still doesn't understand why Jesus had to die on a cross, and unlike most of us who just accept it, she questions why every time she hears the story. She likes to answer questions in Primary, and her answers are always beyond what the leader is expecting of her.

She's growing like a weed lately. We just found the dress-up box from the move and she was a little sad to realize that she doesn't fit into many of the 2T outfits anymore. She's not ready to pass that stage in life just yet. She almost always carries a purse, the contents of which include but are not limited to, paper, colored pencil, eraser, mirror, and lip gloss... usually there's a few stray beads, a torn ribbon, an old dandelion and a rock or two as well. She still prefers skirts and dresses to pants, and I realized as I unpacked clothes for spring/summer that she doesn't have any shorts or capris and she's totally happy with that.

My favorite time with her is when we read together, if she's heard the book a ton, she'll mouth the words right along with me. She stares into my eyes and sees right into my soul. I also love her fresh out of the tub all snuggled in a huge towel like when she was little... she's still my little girl.

She's snuggly, independent, strong, passionate, curious, bright, thoughtful, helpful, hard working, and just darling. She hates for me to do her hair, but loves when it's done. She hates for me to dress her, but loves how she looks in the ensembles I choose for her. She loves helping me in the kitchen, and sees things before I tell her they need to be done. She is an absolute delight and I'm glad I get another year with her before she goes to kindergarten.