Our Own Little Piece of Zion

As I traveled through Zion's National Park on the way to our home I marveled again at how beautiful the canyon is. I feel so fortunate that it will always be a part of our lives. I also had to laugh (again) as I drove through Rockville, Utah and thought about how different two Rockville's can be. Here are a few updated pictures. Paint and tile were the next two things to be finished - so things are really moving along at this point. When I looked back through the pictures on my camera I realized that most of them are of the view - looking out the back. I have a feeling we are going to be living on the deck. Some of the workers were telling me about the deer, rabbits and wild turkeys that they have been seeing every morning. Can't wait to invite everyone over!

There's Nothing Like a Wedding...

Thanks to lds.org for the first picture - I'm afraid the wedding pics I took are kind of lame - what can I say, I just didn't get any good shots (I'm hoping Alicia has better ones) - it was also freezing cold I might add. In spite of the wind, Tracey looked radiant and Eliot was handsome as ever. The wedding itself was beautiful and we (A and I) had a great time reuniting with friends - especially Texas friends who were there. I almost typed "reuniting with friends and family" - so many of our friends who were there feel like family! The wedding luncheon was yummy and I have now officially met all of Mont's siblings (too bad there wasn't time for more stories)! We are only too happy to have been part of El's and Tracey's engagement/proposal and were delighted to be able to share part of their day with them.

Other people's weddings have always been a wonderful reminder to me of my own sweet husband, marriage and family (and the almost 24 years we have spent together) - I'm so glad that families can be together forever!

Catching Up - In No Particular Order

While visiting with family and celebrating my brother's B'day I learned about a new craft - how did I not know about this already. Vanessa had made a Valentine's Day pillow for my mom and had used a punch needle design in the center of it. She (Vanessa) showed me how to do it (punch needle) and gave me some pointers. We had planned to meet at a great quilting shop (The Corn Wagon) on my way back to Las Vegas to buy supplies, etc. but unfortunately it didn't work out to go together. I ended up going to the shop by myself and it was FANTASTIC. Lucky for Craig I only had a half hour before they closed and lucky for me the airport screeners didn't confiscate my brand new punch needle (they almost did). My first project involves - a sheep - what else?! The pattern above is the one I am doing - check out Pine Mountain Designs Tomorrow the catching up continues....a wedding and Zion's House.

I've been a little flakey...

Yikes, it has been a month since I posted last - no I wasn't bedridden, no I wasn't involved in the witness relocation program and no I wasn't without Internet service. Let's just say I was a little busy, out of town for a while, and well a little flaky (get it, like pie)!

Needless to say, I've got some pictures to download and some posts to put together and will get caught up asap. At the moment we are off to a YW activity - an Iron Chef cook off and the secret ingredient is chocolate. E has had so much fun making little place cards for all of things that the Beehives are preparing. They are making about 6 different kinds of S'mores. I'll try to remember to take the camera...

With the exception of Kirchener stitching the toes together, these socks made from the Tongue River Farm yarn that Craig gave me for Christmas are finished. The socks are for Craig and should 1) last forever 2) be the warmest socks he has ever worn. The yarn is fabulous - from Icelandic sheep. I had so many comments from people when I worked on them in public. Several people asked if they were sleeves for a sweater. In retrospect, considering the time involved maybe turning them into a sweater would have been a good idea!

My current project is quite different - it is a purse that will be felted when finished. I've gone from a fairly detailed pattern on small needles (the socks) to a very slubby nubby yarn on fairly large needles. This yarn is from Dancing Leaf Farm (a great MD sheep farm in the foothills of Sugarloaf Mountain). I've also gone from working off and on for a couple of weeks to finish the socks to being able to complete a purse in a little more than an afternoon.

New Skirt

Emily has been looking forward to attending the temple with her Young Women's group ever since she turned 12. She had read in the New Era that you should wear your best to the temple and she wanted to make something modest that could be "her best", and asked if we could make a skirt together. How could I say no to that? We ran to JoAnn's on Saturday, picked out a pattern and fabric and spent today working on it together. In spite of the fact that I purchased the wrong pattern - CH instead of CS - and I didn't realize it until after I had started to cut out the pattern pieces - we think it turned out pretty cute. Thank goodness it was a skirt and not too difficult to enlarge. Emily helped as much as she could - the ruffles were a little more than she wanted to tackle. She is planning on wearing it with a white blouse. It is missing some ribbon trim on the ruffles - can you believe I can't find white thread ANYWHERE in this house??? I tried it with the blue thread that we were using for the rest of the skirt and it just didn't work.

Perler Beads

Do you remember fusible Perler Beads?? Emily received a small kit a few months ago and then "discovered" some that I thought had been tossed during our last decluttering... needless to say the past couple of cold and icy days have provided plenty of time to "perl"? While running errands on Saturday we picked up what I'm now referring to as a "bucket-o-fun" (6,000 beads). The projects above are destined for Alicia and her roommates. I'm partial to the "I Heart U" and the monkey myself. If you want to keep a tween or younger one happy the "bucket-o-fun" ought to do it! Emily is currently taking orders if you see anything you would like!

You've got to check out this picture of De-Hwa Liu that was made with 15,000 beads (not by Emily) - amazing. For some reason I can't get it to post. Kind of reminds me of the pictures made out of Jelly Bellys - smile if you remember the CA Jelly Belly tour!

A quick Cara post - we enjoyed following the poms competition season and were so proud of Cara and her squad. I hate to see it end - although the girls seem happy that practices are almost over (one more basketball halftime performance). They improved with each competition and ended up with a "Best in Show" and 2 Spirit Awards! The last picture is your first look at Cara's brand new new hair color (just hours old). I'm calling the new color strawberry blond. The new cut is darling - so short in comparison to her usual length. Too bad school was just canceled (for the 3rd day in a row) and she won't get to show it off tomorrow :(

Peanut Butter Recall

I'm always seeing recall information but they've never applied to me. Imagine our surprise this am when Emily saw the peanut butter recall on line involving the possibility of salmonella poisoning and then found this jar in the pantry. Thank goodness it is unopened - check your cupboards...

Braces, Pillows and Snow, Oh My!

After spending many an afternoon in the waiting room at the orthodontists (while older sisters were being seen), Emily now has her own appointment. She had braces put on last week (the day after her 6th Grade Honor's Band performance) and has struggled this week to eat, chew and adjust her new flute embouchure (lots of pudding, jello, soup and flute practice). She is trying to "keep her eye on the prize" - beautiful teeth! Currently the bands are pink and green - she has already planned the colors for several months in advance - perhaps the only fun thing about braces.

ANOTHER snow day - in addition to sledding and getting together with friends, Emily had fun sewing and stuffing a pillow. she isn't too fond of pinning - but did a nice job! The pillow itself is actually even and well proportioned (that one corner doesn't really sag) - my photography doesn't do it justice.

Sew much going on...

I've been "sew" excited about these pillowcases. I just finished sewing 10 Valentine's Day pillowcases and one apron. Alicia helped me pick out the fabric when she was home for the Holidays. The packages are ready to drop in the mail this afternoon - 6 to Alicia and her roommates along with candy and assorted Valentine's Day wishes and Alicia's apron (only slightly different from the picture above), also a pillowcase a piece to two of Alicia's friends who attend JMU in Harrisonburg, VA and a pillowcase for E and C - fortunately those do not have to be mailed!

Birthdays and Baptisms

Happy Birthday to Princess Miriam our cousin/niece who turned 3 yesterday! Who knew we were related to Royalty? This isn't our most current picture just one of my favorites. We love keeping up with her activities and antics via her mom's blog. We also think her mom and dad are the best and because she is a princess that must make them the king and queen!




Happy Baptism day to another cousin/niece who is being baptized today! Congratulations Marissa! We wish we could be there to celebrate you, your decision, and this special day!

Everyone Needs a Ribbon Closet

Just got back from the orthodontist's office - Cara's dental saga continues (including a visit to urgent care because of the side effects of her pain meds that I didn't even blog about). While waiting I picked up the January issue of Country Living (I love the magazine but don't subscribe because I really stay caught up just by going to the orthodontist (both Cara and Emily see him and we have the hardest time getting them scheduled together, so I'm there way too often). Anyway - there was a great article in the "Idea Notebook" section titled "Creating a Happy Home" written by Alexandra Stoddard, who is amazing and a must read for anyone interested in discovering and celebrating their own style. I still smile when I think about the opportunity that I had to meet and talk to her at the National Book Fair. Illustrating her article are a number of fabulous pictures from one of her homes. I nearly fell out of my chair when I turned the page and saw a picture of her ribbon closet. I've got great ribbon - now I need a ribbon closet (not quite sure how I'm going to explain this "need" to Craig)!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Twenty-years ago today a tiny baby was placed in my arms - having already spent nine-months with her I felt like I knew her. As I held her, I wondered about my own abilities to be a mother and was overwhelmed by my love and hopes and dreams for her. I continue to wonder about my abilities and I am still overwhelmed by the love that I have for all of my girls. And for the past twenty-years I have had the wonderful opportunity to watch her as she has discovered her own hopes and dreams. She is an amazing young woman! Happy Birthday Alicia!

Smile!

Today Cara and I spent part of our late morning and early afternoon at the oral surgeon's office. She underwent an interesting (my words not hers) procedure that will allow an impacted tooth to erupt (come in). It actually involved making an incision so that the impacted tooth was visible, gluing on a small bracket, attaching a gold chain and then closing everything up. The chain is then attached to existing braces and the tooth is slowly pulled into the correct position. She insisted on NO PICTURES but I found someone else who was willing and if you are really interested you can see here

Scroll down and view the slide show.

In Cara's case the tooth was not left exposed - but covered up again - with only the gold chain visible. Emily will be having the same procedure in about six months - so she is watching Cara's progress with great interest. Hopefully the recovery will be quick and relatively painless - hey she gets to miss school - that's something isn't it?!

Unfortunately I think they inherited this from me - sorry girls - marry someone with amazing teeth genes!

Photo Album Complete

I'm more of a starter than a finisher and so I'm so excited to announce that our Mediterranean Cruise photo album is complete! I used photoworks.com. Of course, the system isn't perfect - with a set number of templates you lack some flexibility, there isn't a cut/paste option (for moving text around or from other documents), no spell check, and you can't make corrections in preview mode. HOWEVER in spite of my criticisms above, all in all I was very pleased with the ease with which I was able to put everything together. For me (not a great scrapbooker) with lots (and lots) of photos this was very doable - particularly for a very specific event-focused subject (a cruise, vacation, party, etc.).

If you are interested, you can preview the album (not that anyone would be interested in our trip - but in case you are interested in the format, etc.). I am already planning another album in my head - but I want to wait until after I receive the hard copy of this one just to make sure that quality wise I want to do another one.

Our Album

Happy, Happy Birthday!

My sweet Emily turns 12 today! I can hardly believe it. We are so blessed to have her in our family and in our lives. If I started a list with "Emily is..." it would go forever. Here are a few highlights:

Emily is creative
Emily is kind
Emily is talented
Emily is a performer
Emily is smart
Emily is funny
Emily is a chef extraordinaire
Emily is a reader
Emily is a good friend
Emily is amazing
Emily is a swimmer
Emily is our baby
Emily is after all Emily

We love you Emily!

Belated Christmas

I received a belated Christmas gift from Craig - something that I promised to order for myself and then forgot. I remembered to order it last week and it just arrived. I keep telling Craig that it was just my way of extending the season! I am so excited about the yarn and the sock book - the patterns are absolutely beautiful (most are made by stranding two colors of yarn throughout). The yarn itself comes from Icelandic sheep and is naturally colored (the cream, light brown and dark brown is the actual color of the wool - no dyes, etc.). Hopefully my socks will look just like those pictured above - I'll keep you posted. Click on the socks above to see them in more detail. The farm website includes the above pictures as well as a lot of additional information. This year yarn, next year sheep (just kidding)! Actually Craig gave me two great decorative sheep made of metal that I can't wait to put in the Zion's house.

Another Book - The Sister Knot

Yesterday while running errands I was able to catch part of the Diane Rehm show on our local NPR station. The guest for the hour was Terri Apter, the author of the book:

The Sister Knot: Why We Fight, Why We're Jealous,
and Why We'll Love Each Other No Matter What

Although I wasn't able to listen to the entire show and I haven't read the book, I was intrigued by the subject. It made me think about the relationships that I have with my sisters (so blessed to have two) as well as the sisters-in-law in my life (so blessed to have five counting all sides). The author had some interesting information about why this relationship is not only challenging but deeply rewarding. The callers who were estranged from sisters or whose sisters had died, expressed poignantly what the loss of this relationship means. One caller with two sisters said she doesn't even know where her sisters are or how she would get in touch with them if she needed to talk to them - that just about made me cry - because my situation is so different. Another caller (without sisters) talked about what a compliment it is when someone says, "You are just like a sister to me." I loved that and know just how that feels.

I love all of my sisters and am grateful that they are such an integral part of my life.

You can listen on-line to the program by accessing The Sister Knot.

A Book and A Theme

There are two things that I have been meaning to post for a couple of days - Dana's post about her theme for this year "Run With It" was an additional reminder that I wanted to get these two things down on paper (not sure if that phrase fits, given the technology at hand but I think you understand).

During December, our book group read A Heart Like His: Making Space for God's Love in Your Life by Virginia H. Pierce. This book was different than anything else we have read because it was church-related - in the six years that I have been meeting monthly with this group we fairly consistently stayed away from anything "religious" in nature (although we have found lots of "religion" in much of what we have read.

But I digress, I suggested the book several months ago because of some of the experiences that I had after being introduced to this book last spring when we were visited by some of Craig's cousins. Tene had finished it during the trip and asked if I would like to read it. I found it to be a very quick read (it is short and the book itself is small). But long after I was finished reading, I found myself thinking about it. It truly gave me much to contemplate - I suggested it for book group because I thought it would initiate an interesting discussion, which it did. I highly recommend it. (I was excited to hear that our entire RS is trying to read it and hoping to talk about it during February Enrichment).

The two things that really struck me while reading were:
1) This book isn't about adding any more "things-to-do" onto our already overwhelming "to-do" lists.
2) This book isn't so much about doing as becoming.

I love the focus on the concept of BECOMING rather than just "doing". I have to admit, sometimes the "doing" feels like going through the motions to me some days. This leads me to the second thing I wanted to post. I've been toying with the idea of having a theme for myself this year and I was thinking about "be more...." (I heard the phrase on a commercial - for what, I have no idea) but it stuck with me. However the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of BECOMING! Becoming kinder, becoming creative, becoming patient, etc. rather than just trying to be more kind, be more creative, be more patient....

Perhaps some would argue it is merely semantics but BECOMING feels different to me - and since it is my theme, I am going to BECOME!