DIY Halloween

Here

Here

Here

Here

A Great Escape

When I need a little retreat from real life I visit pinterest. Here are a few finds

Here.

Here.

Ready to Nest

No, I'm not pregnant but I feel like I'm ready to nest. With the kids going back to school today, and my whopping 9 hours to myself a week, I have lots of projects in mind. My first priority is to get ready for Holy Cow. But on the side I want to do lots of canning, harvesting in the garden, and re-decorating. I'm working on my youngest's bedroom right now. I'd also really like to turn my dining room into a library/study.

What a dream!

Recipe here.

Never canned this, but love to eat it!

Heavy Hearts

I just can't focus on anything else right now. Little Lucy, my niece, is in the CICU at Primary Children's. Her open heart surgery 6 weeks ago was unsuccessful and she will need another one next Wednesday. There are many more risks this time around and things seem much more serious. My sister and her husband are such troopers. Lucy is such a trooper. Thank you for all your prayers.

Mormon 5:21
21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.

Seasonal Depression

I'll miss you baseball fields,
snack shack and quilts on the grass.
I'll miss you heated parents, cute little boys and
girls kart-wheeling in the background.
Goodbye KC Royals, until next year.

My very first harvest

My husband comes from an amazing gardening family. My dad always had something growing in our backyard. You'd think we would have a pretty good shot at being good gardeners but that hasn't been the case. We have tried a few times over the years but have never made it to harvest time without completely giving up. After a few too many years of this dirty little secret in the corner of my backyard I decided it was time to take things into my own hands.After a lot of work and some great help from my husband and my amazing friend (yes, she did the sprinklers all by herself-I watched and learned) this is the finished product.
My dirty little secret is now those amazing (but tiny) strawberries. Hopefully I can figure out how to get them a little bigger.

2 Days and counting...

We are only just beginning our summer vacation and I've already heard "I'm Bored." Here's an idea to occupy many summer hours. Hopefully it will keep their attention longer than the slip-and-slide.

Late Night Projects

Four Year Olds are Funny!

Today's comment...

after talking about which kid came to our family 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, my four-year-old said,

"IS YOUR TUMMY HEAVEN?"

Pergola

I'm going to build this, you just wait and see.

Love this idea

Maybe once I finish my garden. That's a picture for another day.

here.

My Mantra

from Curly Girl (my favorite since Mary Engelbreit)

My kids are all growing up and I am changing. I have more time to think. There's no diapers to change, bottles to make, midnight feedings or crying my eyes out every night do to sheer exhaustion. I feel like I'm entering a new stage in my life, with lots in store for me. I have time to think outside myself and my little family. I look for opportunities everywhere I go. I'm excited for the future. I never thought I'd get here. When you're in the thick of babies, the light at the end of the tunnel is so dim that some days you can't even see it. Trust me, it comes. You just have to hold on and try to find the small little joys to get you through (I'm sounding so depressing, sorry!) I know this next stage is temporary too. It won't be long before I am dealing with teenagers! Scary! I'll take it as long as it lasts. I'm in a good place.

Holy Cow! It's That Time Again

Holy Cow starts today.

9am-8pm Today, Thursday & Friday

9am-5pm Saturday

PS. don't you love the rainbow effect? I give all credit to Nancy. She's brilliant.

Easter Recap

If your weekend was like mine you got plenty of peeps, eggs and little pieces of Easter grass all over the house. I was also fortunate enough to be richly fed at church. I am still on a high from my meetings and would like to share this with you.

From Jeffrey R Holland, Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].” 20

My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day. May we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,” 21 for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.