Merry Christmas from the Longhorn State!

I wish I were a computer genius and was able to edit the longhorn photo. When I saw it, I laughed out loud and wanted to share it with y'all. It is slightly blurry, but still funny.
"Up on the rooftop, longhorns pause  . . . "

And this one is evidence that things are bigger in TX.
Where do you think they store him during the off season?
And how do they get him up without a crane?

Merry Christmas to you and your family! We wish you the best.
Love,
the Hunts

p.s. A disclaimer . . . neither of the houses with lights is a photo of my house, but the one below is.

Baptism

Bryn and Nathan shared a special day last weekend. Both my parents and Nathan's were able to be here, which was a treat. The water was cold, but spirits were warm.

Bryn was baptized along with another girl in our ward. They sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" together after they were confirmed. We are pleased with Bryn and this memorable day in her life.

Evidence

that Nathan went back to Copperas Cove on Sunday to speak again. I begged him for this photo.
Imagine these prints on the streets surrounding your favorite high school. School spirit is alive and well in CC.

This time, he talked about gifts and the gift of the Atonement. His requirements for a great gift are:
1)Something you want
2)Something you need
3)Something you can use again and again.

He went with his parents to speak. The kids and I went home, after going to our own ward. My parents were here also (for Bryn's baptism), and rather than send them to the airport hungry, I wanted to make them our traditional Sunday lunch pancakes before they left. More on the baptism to come, soon.


Evidence of how I spent my day today:

47 jars, and not a single one broke! Two that failed to seal, which will become dinner tomorrow. I think they are the ones I didn't wipe very well after I transferred chicken from one jar to another.

Last week when talking to a friend she said she wanted to can chicken. If you buy 50 lbs of it at a time, you can get it for $1.50/lb at our Sam's. That's a lot of chicken, but split between 2 families of 6 people each . . . . I won't can chicken again until my zip code changes.

Her canner fits 8 pints at a time. Mine fits 16, so we did 2 batches. This is the first time I've used more than one canner at a time, I loved it!

She offered to cut the meat (my least favorite part) if we could use my stove for the canning. What a great deal. Looking forward to using chicken post baby when I am too tired to think straight.

Happy Happy

The last few years have flown by.

We sang at breakfast and dessert tonight.
She ordered Chocolate cake, Chocolate frosting, and Chocolate ice cream.
We went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.
She opened gifts and was even surprised by a few of them.

Using a twin needle

Today I learned how to use a twin needle.

When Bryn was Diana size (3T at the moment), I bought a shirt from JCPenney on clearance for $2.77. Unbelieveable sale. But I've never liked it, because of the sleeves--they had an extra flouncy part at the bottom. The flounce was always a problem. This fall when I tried it on Diana, she told me she didn't want to wear it. As in "NEVER, MOM!"
I guess we aren't a very flouncy family.

I couldn't get rid of it, though, so I decided to try something else with it. This morning, I got rid of the flounce and hemmed the sleeves using the twin needle. After working out the kinks, ie, "How do you thread this thing with 2 threads?" it was delightful and I will be using it to repair a few other T-shirts whose hems have come loose. (My mending pile is large and contains clothes that are outgrown or discarded before repaired. It is inevitably tossed in a random box right before we move. Hoping to eliminate it by our Ft. Collins move). If you plan to purchase a twin needle for working on knit fabrics, make sure you purchase the "Stretch" variety.

This is what the shirt looks like now. Not perfect, but a great trick to have up your sleeve. Pun intended.

Close up of the sleeve. Better now. And she told me she wants to wear it tomorrow. We'll see, at first she thought I was making it short sleeved.

p.s. Does reading about sewing bore you? Please share your opinion, either in comments or in an email to me.

Little Red Wagon

4 more wheels in our garage. I've always wanted one of these wagons.
A dear friend gave us her used wagon in perfect condition.
Hours and hours of fun.

Recipe for a good day

Have I given you this recipe yet?

Award Winning Cornbread

1 1/2 C Flour

1 C Cornmeal

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 C Sugar

1 1/2 C Milk

2 Eggs

1/2 C Oil (Canola)

Mix, Stir, Bake at 350 for 30 min in a greased pan. Enjoy!

It's a good thing I didn't post anything yesterday. I was frustrated about Caitlin's Dr's appointment that I completely forgot to go to. I was in tears when Diana and I had a skull collision at her naptime. I have my first "goose egg" in years. And I was in a panic about Bryn turning 8. (My children's birthdays are always hard for me). But this morning, there is the smell of cornbread in my kitchen and the world is right again. She requested it as part of her lunch. I told her no last night during the midst of the stress, but when I woke up this morning, I thought "Why not?"

I got this recipe from companion on my mission. I can't believe they sold cornmeal in the Canary Islands, I never saw a native use it. I think I've made this recipe over a hundred times in my life, it is one of my favorites. Hope it becomes one of yours.

Buttoned Up

Last night at Sewing, I stitched on the button to Bryn's dress. It's done and ready to wear! And I have time to spare. It is only the 4th dress I've ever made, and I feel happy about how it turned out. I still have lots of progress to make, but am glad to have a functional, completed project.

The first two dresses are unwearable.
The first stained when I left it soaking in OxyClean too long (so sad, and my own fault). It would have been OK, but the color on the embroidery thread bled onto the fabric. 
I'm not pleased with the gathering at the waistline on the second. Perhaps I will fix it if my baby is a girl so she can wear it at 18 months. If not, I will probably get rid of it in our move.
The 3rd is Bryn's blue dress I worked on earlier this year. It is unfinished due to the changes I need to make in the neckline, but the plan is to finish it for her birthday. It is too tight going over her head and needs hemming.

New skills: Please skip if sewing bores you or you don't want so much detail.
This time I used a catchstitch to hem the dress. It looks good and has some flexibility built in. I learned how to cover a button with fabric, and finished a few days before the deadline (which might be the best part of the whole project). This was the first "special occasion" fabric I've ever used, and the first time to use a serger to finish the hemline. I used a new stitch on my serger, the 4 thread safety stitch, and appreciate the "safety" of this stitch. I.E. you can mess up with it and still be OK, you have some seam allowance left over in case you need to pick something out. I basted the side seams and sleeves before sewing them in, due to my serger anxiety, and it worked really well. Great idea to baste something you are scared to sew--I've never really used basting before, but I will in the future. 

What's up next? Some secret Christmas sewing. Must get started!

Fall Wall: Complete

Our fall wall is a work of art! Everyone colored a pumpkin and a turkey, but we also had pilgrims and Indians, cornucopias and fall leaves. We've loved the color in the kitchen. My favorite turkey is this one that's smart enough to hide.

I have used this website for many pre-school ideas, and we used this one for all the fall wall pictures.

We've finally turned on the heater and put on the flannel sheets.

It's time for Christmas cards, winter scenes, homemade marshmallows and hot chocolate! Happy December!

Pie Night and Sea World

Nathan and the kids had Wednesday through Friday off, so here's a quick recap.

Weds night we had pizza and pie with friends (8 pies, one was missing in the photo above).
Thursday we enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with friends. We brought the rolls, cranberry salad, and apple turkeys (made with apples, toothpicks and gumdrops). We also went on a walk without jackets. Lovely day.
Friday we went to San Antonio to the temple.
(On this day I also hit 34 weeks, which means they won't stop labor any more if I go early. I won't go early, but . . . . )
Saturday we went to Sea World. This was our family Christmas gift, more photos to come. It was perfect. 70 degree weather, not too crowded, and we saw everything we planned to see and more.

This week

My baby dropped.
(As in, my baby is now in a lower position in my abdomen. Happy in some ways, more pressure in others. I will be waddling from now until the end of my pregnancy. 7 weeks to go and I do not usually go early, so not expecting any changes).

We hosted Cub Scouts. We are meeting in our home due to remodeling of our church building. We played "Eagle Golf" (a game with plastic cups and dried pinto beans), and talked about having courage during stressful situations: Be brave, be calm, be clear, be careful. Another new scout this week.

I worked more on the baptism dress. Hoping to finish by Tuesday pm when Thanksgiving break starts for my kids. My pace is so slow, but seeing it come together makes me think it is worth the effort.

My neighbor gave me some collard greens and mustard greens to try. I was skeptical, but really enjoyed them. I enjoyed their unique aromas, both while washing them and then boiling them.

I made this for dinner tonight: Italian Style Roast. A nice twist on the typical Sunday pot roast. I didn't follow the recipe strictly . . . too much salt and onion soup mix (my opinion), and not enough carrots. Also, I decided I needed NO NEW RECIPES. Again. I have so many recipes already!

Nathan spoke in Copperas Cove. It is a city southwest of where we live, and on the way we passed Fort Hood, the largest army base in the country, where the recent shooting happened. It is HUGE. You can't see much from the road except tons of equipment and many, many brown buildings. There was a large hill, and I asked Nathan if he thought it was man made or not. He thought not, but I think it was too tall to be natural and would have made a nice overlook point, a place from which to see the whole base.

We felt grateful for the soldiers who serve our country. Several shared their experiences during deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan. My favorite was this, shared by a soldier who’d served twice in Iraq. He said the second time was scarier than the first, but both were scary. He grew closer to Heavenly Father as he read his scriptures daily and prayed. He said something like, “I knew that I wasn’t going to make it out of there . . . so I turned everything over to the Lord. When I went out into combat with mortars falling all around me, I knew that I was going to be OK, because I had the Holy Ghost to guide me.” Thankfully the first thing he "knew" was wrong, and he did get out.

I met a sister who lives on a wheat farm near San Saba, TX. Hard Red winter wheat. I would love to go see that. She drives an hour and 15 minutes one way to church. Our drive was 45 min.

We passed the Copperas Cove High School. Home of the "Bulldawgs." Our favorite feature was the 6 foot yellow bulldawg tracks on the streets surrounding the school. We knew we were close to something big.

Andrew came home from church with these jokes:
What did Brigham Young see when he looked at his right hand?

One thumb and four fingers.


What animal can jump higher than a house?

All animals, houses can't jump.



Have a great week!

FHE: GRRRR + Attitude

Shopping for an FHE idea?

Most Monday nights Nathan and I take turns teaching lessons. Last week he taught us a way to remember the 10 commandments with hand signals. Perhaps we'll post photos of that another day, it is quite clever.

This week, I went to one of my quick back ups, the last page of the FRIEND magazine. There I found this idea:

"Read “My Gratitude List” (pages 6–7). On a piece of paper write “GRRRRR” and on a second paper write “ATTITUDE.” When we are unhappy, how can gratitude help us to be happier? Slide the second paper over the first so that all the letters are covered except “GR.” What word do you read? Talk about how having gratitude can make our bad attitudes go away."

At the end of my lesson, Bryn said, "Where did you get that?"
She thought the GRRRR + ATTITUDE was brilliant. So did I.
Try it out sometime this month. (It will work better if your learners can read).

For our activity, we cleaned out the fridge. It was long overdue. Morning sickness prevented my wanting to do it for a long time, and now it's my size. My little helpers were happy to unload and re-load everything I wasn't. Pretty sure that "cleaning the fridge" will repeat as a FHE activity.
Thanks family!

Not much else to report. Our camera is down . . . so it might be a little slow for awhile.

This year I'm grateful for:
70 degree temps in November
My neighbor's fresh garden lettuce
Homemade bread
A husband that loves children
His career in a beautiful place to live
General good health & access to medicine
To be able to be a stay at home mom
Laughter in my home
To know how to read
A college education
A piano in my home
My ancestors
My siblings
My children
New life to come
The Cat in the Hat (I read it every day to Diana before her nap and she can finish almost every line. Her favorite line, "What a shame! What a shame! What a shame!").

What are they waiting for?

Something I love about where we live is witnessing the southward migration of birds. Every day hundreds of birds pause on the buildings, wires, trees, and fences along our main street during the early morning and early evening hours. Nathan made this video on the way home from work today at 5:45 p.m.
We think they are grackles, but do not claim bird expertise of any kind.
ENJOY!

If you didn't watch with your volume on, you missed something and better try again.

Eye Candy

I frequently feel a need for color therapy. Nothing works quite as well as a trip to the fabric store, but looking through my own fabric can work wonders too. The fabric came from my mom's stash, one of my favorite places to shop (or just window shop). Thanks, Mom!


This is called a Box Pouch, and there is an online tutorial for it if you want the link here.

It went together really quickly and is nice to have a zipper that is more functional than the last one I did. If you've never sewn in a zipper, this is a great place to begin. I started and finished all today, from shopping to completing! I love a finished project.

Tonight at our sewing group, I cut out the pieces for the final baptism dress, so that is moving along as well. You might not see it until after the baptism, but you will probably get a report when it is complete.

P.S. a little SEWING TIP:
At our last sewing meeting, our teacher said that we should change needles with each new sewing project. She sews a lot, and so probably needs to change that often. I don't sew nearly as much as she does, but figured since I couldn't remember the last time I changed a needle, it was time. I put in the new needle for Bryn's blue dress, and noticed a big difference.

Happy Halloween

From our web to yours!

I saw these Spider Pops last year on the Family Fun website. When I found the spider web bowl at Pier One, I knew what our new Halloween tradition would be. This year we made around 70 and surprised teachers and Trunk or Treaters with this Halloween treat. Nathan had a day off work and got his hands in on the fun, too.

If I had a million dollars . . .

I might pay someone to round brush my hair everyday.
The salon where she works is called "Fountain of Beauty" and she has clients that drive from Dallas every 6 weeks to have HER do their color.
(That's over 2 hours, folks).

Heard at the Hunts: Heaven

When we got home from the Trunk or Treat, there was a LOT of candy trading at the table. Bryn handed me a plain Hershey's bar and said, "Here, mom. It's HEAVEN."

Diana piped in, "I want a bite of Heaven."

I shared.

"How is your Heaven?" I asked.

"It's good."

Fall Favorites

Flag football
Fall colors on the trees in Chicago
September weather there
Butternut Squash Soup
Baking
Hot cereal on a cold morning--if I wake up in time to make it.
Harvest time: My neighbor brought me green peppers, fresh salad greens, fresh herbs, and lemongrass. She promised more to come. Yum.
Fall fabric centerpiece. Bought the fabrics on my only Black Friday early morning shopping trip EVER. In Ohio, with Sarah.
Halloween Pumpkin shirts (matching hand me downs in two sizes from two sources).
How I love those cheeks! So kissable.

Time is ticking.
Soon it will be Thanksgiving, my Favorite Fall Favorite.
What pies are you baking?
We are having:
Two Pumpkin
Rhubarb
Apple Cranberry

A new favorite: FALL WALL "Blank Slate"

I read (too many) blogs with great design and great photos. One of them featured a wall covered in scrapbook paper and it got me thinking. Since we don't have fall colors here, why not make my own? The first photo is the "blank slate," including the helper who helped me put it up. It is in our kitchen, right behind Nathan's spot at the table. The second photo contains our fall artwork. I hope my kids remember me coloring with them.
It's one of the best parenting duties.


Did I mention my kids don't have art class at school?
Can you imagine elementary school without art?

Diana this morning at breakfast: "My pumpkin is weird."

The best made plans . . . . (Fish week)

If you were to title this week's menu, it would be "Fish week."

Monday night we ate frozen fish sticks because it was a busy day and Nathan wasn't going to make it in time for dinner.

Tuesday night: Refried beans and rice.

Today I discovered that my kitchen helpers put the frozen fish into the fridge, not the freezer. They were so efficient that I didn't even notice them or give them a second thought, until I found 3 dinners worth of fish in the fridge, (plus 3 lunches worth for N to take to work).
OOPS. When I found the first package, I thought "Great! I didn't have a plan for dinner tonight and since they are already thawed, it will be perfect."

Then, hiding behind package one, I found packages 2 and 3. I laughed because what else could I do? It was too late to re-freeze them.

We ate Tilapia Fish Sticks tonight. This is a favorite Tara gave me when we were neighbors in Chicago. Tilapia was always on sale at one of our favorite stores, and it has become a family favorite (for some of the family, that is).

Tomorrow will be LOTS of salmon, are you coming for dinner?

My helpers begged to have their picture taken after their baths and combing their own hair. I love my helpers and their working hands.


Friday will probably be fish, too.

Now, I wonder, "Was it my helpers? Or was it me?"

Gatesville

Today Nathan was assigned to speak in Gatesville, a town of about 16,000, about 40 minutes from our house.

To get there we passed other small towns named Flat and Moffat, and drove by the North gate to Fort Hood, the largest army base in the USA. We crossed the Leon River, pictured below, which looked more like a lake.

We admired the practice field for the H.S. band. The Gatesville Hornets have the nicest band field either of us have ever seen--fenced in, marked astroturf and a stand for the drum major about 10 feet in the air. All the schools in Gatesville are in one central location, and the church is right across the street. Wal-Mart, the next big landmark, is less than half a mile away.


His message today was from Thomas S. Monson's talk from April Conference, "Be of Good Cheer." Nathan's thesis stated that being of good cheer will not only help us grow it will save our lives: physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Here is a section of his talk:

"Being of good cheer will save you physically. When I was growing up, my friends and I learned that we could be cheerful doing things that were difficult. When I began middle school I talked with one of the counselors at school that encouraged each student to get involved in activities outside of class. She talked to my mother and me about cross country. I grew up scouting and enjoying the outdoors so this sounded like something I would really enjoy. When I learned more about this sport I wasn’t so sure it would be fun. However, I had signed up and I was going to do it until it was over. On the first day of practice I learned we could run and laugh and enjoy one another’s company and for the next 15 years it became a regular part of my life I as ran cross country in the fall and track in the spring through middle school, high school and much of my time in college. I ran road races and fun runs in the summer and winter. We sang and laughed while running. I laughed and laughed at those practices. We stopped and went swimming in ponds or irrigation canals. We raced each other, cars, and occasionally an intimidating dog. We ran through sprinklers, up hills, in the sand, and on the asphalt and when it was over we were glad we did it. We ran cheerfully. The task of running did not change, it was and is still difficult for me, the difference is I learned, at a young age, that I can choose to be cheerful even if what I am doing is difficult and that has made a tremendous difference in the way I approach running and many other difficult chores and situations. The task in itself does not change but my approach to the task has. Vigorous exercise is important to our health and learning to be of good cheer while doing it has physically saved my life."

He choked up a little when he got to "For the next 15 years," and I did too.

Diana got to stay with us during class time and seemed OK with it, until church was over. When she realized church was over, she said to Nathan, "I forgot to go to nursery!" and cried. They didn't have any nursery children. Can you imagine?

On the way home we stopped took this photo as evidence that the Texas National Guard is alive and well, not far from our house. Across the aisle from this row of helicopters was an identical row. Andrew was SO excited to see all of these in one place.


It was a lovely day together.

the DRESS part 1

Background: Eight years ago, I was pregnant and did not find out the gender of my child. When SHE was born, I decided I would sew her a blessing dress. Less than a week after her delivery, I was at Joann's buying fabric and a dress pattern. What was I thinking? A few days later, (the night before her blessing, when the dress wasn't finished), I stayed up late next to my mom as she sewed the dress. I think I only sewed one seam, and even that might be generous.

Having my first daughter made me want to be able to sew dresses for her. Specifically modest clothing that is also cute. I set a goal to sew her one dress each year.

Fast forward eight years, to 2009. In that time, TWO dresses have been sewn, and only ONE for that daughter. Nevertheless, time moves on and we are planning a December baptism. Once again, I am pregnant with a child of unknown gender . . not that much has changed. Bryn will have a dress sewn by my two hands, and my mom will not be finishing it the night before. Due to my current pregnant and highly emotional state, I will not be either, it must be done in advance.

That said, last night I finished (almost) Bryn's prototype baptism dress. I didn't get the hem done. This morning I sent her to school with the dress on a hanger so she could wear it for school pictures. She did, though the strings hanging off the ends at the bottom bothered not only her, her teacher offered to trim them for her.

"My mom is still sewing it and I might get in trouble, so please don't," Bryn told her. I wish I could have been there.

Here it is.


New skills: I sewed my first darts and set in sleeves! The sleeves were easier than the darts. It might be that because of the elastic gather in the sleeve, the mistakes on the sleeve don't show? Darts in an of themselves don't seem so tricky. The trick is trying to match the second dart to exactly the same size and shape as the first.

Isn't she lovely?



The icing on the cake is that if my baby is a girl, she has a dress already waiting for her in the closet. Thanks, Mom.

Decision 2009

Nathan accepted a position at Orthopaedic Center of the Rockies, in Loveland and Ft. Collins, Colorado. Find more about them here.
He will start work for them in July, 2010.

Heard at the Hunts: Singing Time

After dinner, we had some time before the kids went to bed. We sat in the living room and sang songs together. Each person choose a song, I played the piano, and this is what they chose:

D: I Am a Child of God
C: Love at Home
B: Book of Mormon Stories (all 8 verses)
A: I Stand All Amazed

Me: The Family is of God
N: Teach Me to Walk in the Light

I am including a copy of the words to the song I chose. I love them! They resonate in my heart what I believe about families. I love to hear these words or sing them. Here is a link if you want to hear it, too. It is worth your time to listen to it.

The Family Is of God by Matthew Neeley, Oct 2008, Friend
1. Our Father has a family. It’s me!
It’s you, all others too: we are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in fam’lies.

2. A father’s place is to preside, provide,
To love and teach the gospel to his children.
A father leads in fam’ly prayer to share
Their love for Father in Heaven.

3. A mother’s purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love and serve in the fam’ly.

4. I’ll love and serve my family and be
A good example to each fam’ly member.
And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,
I’ll help my fam’ly remember:

[Chorus]
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how He shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God.

I love singing together in our home. I enjoyed it as a child and I enjoy it as a parent as well. As we sat together in Sacrament meeting, I was the only one singing on my bench. (Nathan was gone). But everyone sang, and/or danced at home.

I'm so grateful for the encouragement my parents gave me to learn to play the songs of our church--it has brought me many happy memories and good feelings to our home. I resisted piano lessons when I was a teenager, but picked it back up in college.

Nathan and I bought a used piano about a year and a half after we married, for $600. It was the first piece of furniture we purchased together, and one of the best investments we've ever made. We've taken it from UT to IL and now to TX. I try to play for 30 minutes each Sunday, and sometimes I play during the week, too. I often wish I put more focus on developing my skills, but this is working for now.

88

Degrees in my town right now.

We've been enjoying some rain and cooler temps over the past few weeks. It made our grass turn green and grow again.
But today the heat is back.
Diana lay down to nap with a wet sweaty head. I'm pretty sure she'll wake up with that, too.

It's not time to put away the summer clothes yet.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day
But knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

by Robert Frost


My seventh grade English teacher, (who I REALLY liked), had us memorize this poem. I've never forgotten the message, even though I can't recite it word for word anymore. I love this poem.

Questions:
Why is the title of the poem about the road he didn't take?
What is the "road less taken" in our case?
Where do the paths lead? He never mentions destination, just the road to get there.

We are at a fork in our road.
After 9 years of post college training,
Nathan has two great job offers for a career we hope will last for 20-30 years.
We are deciding this week.

Please give us any advice you have on making life/career/big decisions.
We are listening.

The Boy in the Shirt

Andrew earned his Wolf badge! These are a few happy memories and lessons learned during his first year in scouting:

Fun
Learned a lot
How to tie a square knot/overhand knot
What to do when someone tries to kidnap you
How to shoot a BB gun
How to shoot arrows
Went to the fire station
Building bookends & a message board

He wasn't the only scout to advance at our pack meeting. We had 3 others become wolves and one earned the webelo. We set up the same number of chairs as normal and had to add to them. Our scout group is growing! Fun to see since it all began with 3 boys at my home.

The outing to the scout store was more than a little chaotic--I purchased 85 items. My goal for the next time is to fax them a list of what I need in advance. It is too much to keep straight--even when I have it written down. Our scout store is about 40 miles away, which adds to the fun.

I am willing, however, all for the boy in this shirt.

Why I don't read fiction . . . very often

Just finished a book I started yesterday. This is one reason why I don't read fiction . . . at least very often. I get sucked in and can't set a book down.

These books, Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 are written by Blue Balliet. Andrew is reading the first one right now, and the Wright 3 is the sequel.
Great stories--they have mystery, math, secret codes & patterns, art, architecture, and they take place in Chicago! I enjoyed looking up Vermeer on the Internet and learning more about his paintings. After finishing the Wright 3, I must return to Chicago to tour the Robie House. (I always wanted to see Frank Lloyd Wright things while we lived there . . . but never did).

If you are looking for a good read, I recommend either one (but go in order, of course) and enjoy! Don't pick them up on a day you need to do housework, however, or you might get caught with your book read and your housework left undone. Like me.

First Zipper(s)

Looking back at September, it's been a busy month. We've had ups, downs, ins and outs. We've celebrated birthdays and successfully transitioned back to school, begun flag-football practices and experienced head lice. Remodeling our church building began on Sunday, and someone cut Diana's "curlies." Many of these things we hope to remember, and others we hope fade to the dark recesses of our memories.

At the beginning of the month, I decided I needed a new wallet. When I was booted from the house yesterday at naptime for a realtor, I went to the fabric store. Grumpily booted. Very grumpily booted. I bought 2 zippers and 1/8th of a yard of some very cute batik quilted fabric. This morning when stress called my name at 3:00 a.m., I got up to spend a little creative energy.

The biggest accomplishment I made was placing my first 2 zippers! I've always been scared of them, but our teacher at Relief Society showed how to quickly put them in, and I thought I should try it out. The first one took 30 minutes or so, but the second was much quicker. I tried copying my worn out wallet. It is just the right size for a few essential cards, a little cash, and a separate coin pocket. I ended up with a slightly smaller version, and all in all I am pleased with it.

It is, however, slightly too small for daily use of my frequently used cards, so I will be re-attempting soon--(I have leftover fabric & the desire to try again). In the mean time, I have 3 girls who will probably fight over it and find lots of things smaller than a health insurance card to place inside.

First USB drive for my children

Last night I tried desperately to send Bryn's first emailed assignment to her teacher. She is in second grade.

The assignment was "All About Me." You could label 10 photos on poster board. Or, you could make a PowerPoint presentation with 10 slides, labeling your photos there. In the computer lab last year, Bryn was introduced to PowerPoint, and she has played around with it a little bit at home. It was no surprise she chose PowerPoint. The slide pictured above is her "Title Page."

For some reason, I could not send the presentation. Perhaps the PowerPoint file was too large? Who knows? Each of the 3 emails I sent without the attachment worked, each of my 3 attempts with the attachment did not.

This morning I made a run to the store for a USB drive. The only other one that we own is Nathan's for work.

She did a great job putting it together. I felt two things:
1) Grateful for my education (I learned PowerPoint in college)
2) How quickly will I be running out of answers?

Peachy

"Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matthew 7:16

Tonight for Family home evening we worked on a project I've wanted to do for a LONG time, canning peaches.
We began at 7:15 pm with 6 eager participants, around 25 lbs of peaches and 14 empty jars.

Peeling off stickers


Smile for the camera


Blanching part 1


Blanching part 2


Focused on the camera


Focused on their work


We ended at 10:00pm with 2 tired parents, 13 sealed quarts of peaches, and about 5 lbs of peaches left over. (Only one did not seal)! A success!



Thanks to my canning gurus for teaching me your tricks! You know who you are & we love the fruits of your labors.

Nine

What happened 9 years ago changed our lives forever!

We had a great day together. His celebration started early with cornflakes, blueberries and yogurt for breakfast and ended late with vanilla cake and Bluebell's "Birthday Cake" ice cream. He also asked for Chili and Cornbread, and his sisters set the table to give him a break.

Only a few photos . . . .

Great tunnels for his new RC car to go through.

While putting away dishes in the kitchen he said, "Birthdays are so fun!"
His plan for his birthday money: "Buy a Nerf gun."
His favorite part of the day: "Opening presents!"
We love you, Andrew!