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!

Hillsboro Branch

Today was another speaking assignment for Nathan, this time a branch in Hillsboro. Once again, I forgot the camera. The most notable thing about the trip is that many of the members traveled almost as long as we did to get there. No one lived closer than 15 minutes to the church, and many lived 30 minutes to an hour drive. They came from towns called Clifton, Hubbard, Whitney, Walnut Springs, Meridian, and "towards Cleburne." Someone said their boundaries included two counties. There were about 50 people in the Sacrament meeting (too many to count, but more than last time). I love having Sacrament meeting in a room with folding chairs, even though they are more entertaining to climb in and through than a church bench. Not, me, Diana.

Sometimes I've thought that I've had to drive a long way to church. The stake center is 30 minutes from my house, but from their homes, nearly 2 hours.

They had a potluck lunch afterwards, which was a nice way to end before our drive home. The Chapel doubled as the "multipurpose" room for the lunch. I brought apples and bread. As I was cutting the apples, a man told me to throw my peels into his bucket to give to his goats when he got home. "How many?" I had to ask.
"Six," was his answer.

I was flattered when a lady I didn't know saw me picking up Diana from nursery. "You are having your second?" she asked.
"No, no . . this is my fifth," I replied.
"You don't look that old!"

I liked meeting the R. S. president. Her husband is also a member of the high council, so he was off speaking somewhere else--a 2 hour drive away. She sat next to Caitlin and snuggled with her during Sacrament meeting . . the air conditioning was a little too chilly for both of them.

In the R.S. announcements, they talked about an upcoming Enrichment in which they will teach how to make your own laundry soap. I asked for more details, and gave my email address so she would send me the "recipe." Must try it, at least once. She said she spends $12 a year on laundry soap. It could be a big $ saver. So fun to see new things and meet interesting people--and I enjoyed being with Nathan for more of our Sunday than normal.

Finished!

It's done! 9:30 am Friday, Sept 18th!


More than once I asked Nathan why I didn't just BUY a cute apron instead. He assured me that I was learning useful skills and that the first time we do ANYTHING it isn't easy.

I guess I have been doing a lot of the same things over and over again,
Wake up
Lunches
Kids to school
Home again for housework or
Shopping
Lunch
Nap
Kids home from school
Dinner
Flag football/scouts/or Enrichment
Scripture study
Crash into bed
Repeat
and getting out of my comfort zone was uncomfortable.

It was not easy. The ties were particularly tricky. Sewing with black fabric is a little bit like knitting with black yarn . . . it's hard to see exactly what you are doing, and I don't have the right marking tools.
I learned a lot:
what "understitching" is
how to use interfacing
my very first V-neckline
why marking your fabric can save you a LOT of time

I bought a seam guide, (If you don't have one yet--spend $1.50 and get one--it's the best sewing money I've spent in recent memory).

I got through this apron with a lot of help from a friend in my ward who was making one, too. She's great and answered many questions and let me look at her apron a handful of times until I understood how the pieces fit together.

I am keeping the pattern, but think this one will last me a long time. In the meantime, I can't wait to use it at dinner! Now, what is for dinner?

Remember when you see this photo that I today I am 24 weeks pregnant!

When BBQ is the answer

If a realtor called at 4:00p.m. and wanted you to be out of your house from 5:30 to 6:30 pm what would you do?

You'd clean like mad until 5:15, and then go out to dinner.

True story
Our family
Tonight
Clem Mikeska's Famous BBQ
Delish.

Click on the link above if you want to see mugs of the famous people they've served. My favorite part was that they had a table at the back big enough for all of us, without moving chairs or putting 2 tables together. That, and the brisket.

We will treat any visitor to our home a meal at Clem's.
After all, BBQ is a TX tradition.