Christmas music

I just wanted to share a few Christmas songs I found this week, and love:

*because now that I'm in the Christmas mood, I want to share with everyone!

Still Alive

I've been knitting furiously, trying to hit a deadline (self-imposed) on this:



It's definitely not perfect. But I won't be pointing out the flaws :) to anyone.
I've finished a few other projects:






In other news, I finally finished one of the memory scrapbooks I had planned to make for my kids after Myles died. Yep. 3 1/2 years later... and only 2 more to go. And my goal to re-cover my dining room chairs? Well, I bought the fabric, plastic sheeting, and new padding last month. I think that will be on my List come January. Oh, after I find our staple gun! I've knit a lot of Christmas gifts this year, which means I will not be posting anything until after Christmas, just in case. But since my kids don't look at this blog, I'll post pics of their gifts:



This is for Hyrum. Plain pattern, warm hat, hopefully he'll like it enough to wear it.



These are Morgen's fingerless mittens. She asked for a pair a few months ago, but I was worried- some of her other knitted items were not appreciated. But, they were quick, and they match the hat I made her, that she still wears :), so we'll see how these are received.



Another hat, for my oldest son. I have no idea if he will actually wear this. He insisted on wearing his jacket all last winter (and yes, he has a comfortable coat which fits him), because his coat wouldn't fit in his locker. Or so he claimed. I hope he will like it, anyway.

I knit Jared a bigger version of a bacteria cell. Just because it looked funny, and because he'll get a good laugh when he opens it.

In other news, we have most of our Christmas decorations up, and we'll be buying a tree tomorrow. I'll post pictures once it is decorated :)  I have been making gifts for a few months, but when it comes to decorating, or putting up lights, I've been a bit of a grinch.  I can't really point to any one reason, but some of this is my own personal rebellion.  It truly disgusts me that we have Christmas decorations and displays up in some of the stores at Halloween. I'd like to enjoy my trick-or-treating without any snowmen, thank you very much.  And Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, which means I hate having it smooshed into a back corner because Christmas has taken over the store again.  Okay, I'll get off that soapbox now and get out my therapeutic knitting project...

Gratitude List:
* I have plenty of food (too much, actually)!
* warm wool socks when my feet get cold.
* a house with plenty of room for my family- immediate and extended- and for friends and neighbors as well.
* homemade bread for dinner.
* homemade jelly to put on the homemade bread.
* I'm healthy, Jared's healthy, and so are the kids.
* beautiful music.
* now that we're into December, I like seeing the Christmas lights everywhere.
* a dishwasher (automatic) that works.
* the internet.
* lots of yarn and other hobby supplies.
* Jesus Christ, my Savior.
* God is good, and I am blessed.
* my husband, and my kids, are my greatest blessing.

Really?!?

So, I sing in our church choir, and I'm also leading some of the choral music.  How long has it been since I led anything?  Well, about 5 years, at least!  Anyway, we're working on a beautiful arrangement of "Simple Gifts" to perform at the end of October. 

We're also beginning work on our Christmas program.  And one of the songs we are singing for Christmas, which I will be conducting, is Angels' Carol by John Rutter:

I want our choir to sound like these recordings.  And I know it is a lofty (and probably unobtainable) goal, but I plan to work towards this, and pray that God will bless our efforts.

In other news, Walker is taking Honors Science, and really enjoying it.  He's also taking FACS(family and consumer science), and I am enjoying that!  Lately, he's had assignments to cook things, which means he makes dinner or helps me with it.  He's baking zucchini bread as we speak.  Oh, and he decided he wanted to participate in the church choir with me.  :)that makes me happy.

Morgen was elected co-president of her class (35 students), and is having fun planning parties.  She's making Halloween decorations right now.  She is also coming to choir, although she isn't sure if she actually wants to sing or not.  Mostly she sings if she's in a good mood, and listens to the rest of us sing if she's in a bad mood.  She's playing the trumpet this year, and so far she has been great at practicing.

Hyrum lost another tooth.  He's up to a green belt in karate, and is also working on a fitness program that his karate teacher developed.  He likes cub scouts, and riding his bike, and he is NOT singing in the choir.  Sometimes he has to attend the practices though.  He has been reading the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. 

Jared's keeping busy with work.  He has planned two hunting trips- one for elk and one for deer- with Walker this fall.  We're just about out of meat from last year's hunt, so an elk would be great.

I'm knitting a lot, and working on my scrapbooks again.  Choir (preparation and singing) and volunteering at the school keep me busy.

Gratitude List:
* Inspirational music.
* Other peoples' cooking.
* It is officially fall- we had our first freeze last week.
* Beautiful autumn leaves on the trees.
* The view from my front porch.
* hot showers!
* School keeps my children occupied :)
* Good friends and good neighbors.
* My family, though far from perfect, is a wonderful and supportive gift.
* God is good.

Summertime

Oh my.  Summer sped by my house this year.  And I was too busy enjoying it to write anything!  So, I will sum up here:

* Jared managed to stay in Utah the entire summer! He hiked and camped and fished and put in a garden.
* Janalee did a lot of knitting.  She also began working on her "crafts to be finished" list again.
* Walker is still growing.  He spent the summer reading, camping, and hiking.
* Morgen is becoming a better cook.  Her experiments are getting more and more tasty.
* Hyrum was baptized in June.  He made a new friend who is as boisterous as he is, and they've spent the summer running across the fields to visit each other.

We all worked hard at relaxing, and picking out fun activities.  We even did some of them!
This past weekend (Labor Day in the USA), we volunteered for 2 days at Swiss Days.  It's a fair put on by our town, and the proceeds help pay for any beautification projects we do.  We spent most of those two days at the scone booth, rolling out dough, cutting and pressing it, cooking it, then serving it.  The scones were delicious, and one of the perks of our volunteer job!

Gratitude List:
* Our garden, despite our benign neglect of it, has been a winner at producing vegetables this year.  It makes me excited to see what we'll get if we actually nurture it!
* Walker, Morgen, and Hyrum are all back in school, and all enjoying their classes.
* Walker went on a field trip last Saturday, to the Great Salt Lake, to observe and experience buoyancy.  He and a friend decided to swim out to one of the islands, and ended up making the entire group an hour late getting back :).  They had to apologize to all of the parents when they returned.  I'm really glad that he is a good swimmer.
* Morgen is still drawing and singing.  She is getting better at both.  She is also really good at being a teenager (already!), which makes me very grateful that she won't be a teenager forever.
* Hyrum runs all day long.  He loves school, and loves that he can walk to school!
* We have great neighbors and friends.
* We have a wonderful family.
* We have shelter, and food, and clothing.
* God has blessed me and my family.

As a side note, I have debated whether or not to make a big deal out of today.  I don't know that I want to celebrate it- cake and balloons don't really speak to the type of memory September 11 holds for me.  But as I gathered up my kids to drive to church, I decided that doing the same ordinary things we always do would be the best way to remember.  We can worship freely.  We can play games, and watch movies, and enjoy our family and friends, and remember those people who are not allowed these freedoms.  We are truly blessed.

So, we may (or may not) discuss the significance of this day at dinnertime. But I will remember that I am free to choose.  And that I am truly thankful for that choice.

Independence Day

 How often do you read the Declaration of Independence?  As an American citizen, I have to say that I do not read it as much as I should.  But I do make the effort every 4th of July, to honor those men and women who made my freedom a reality.  I am so grateful, today especially, for the sacrifices they made on my behalf.

Declaration of Independence

(Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776)

The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776
I found the text quoted above at this link: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html

Gratitude List:
* I am grateful that I live in a country which allows me to worship my God freely.
* I am grateful that I have the right to protect myself and my family.
* I am grateful that I am allowed to speak my opinions publicly, without fear of censure by the government.
* I am also grateful that others are allowed this privilege, regardless of my personal disagreement with said opinions.
* I am grateful for the military, and for their tireless service and sometimes immense sacrifice.
* I am grateful to have the privilege of supporting my particular political beliefs through my vote.

Summertime

I'm knitting a lot right now- partly for a challenge on a knitting forum, and partly because I'm finally confident enough in my abilities to try harder things, like lace!
This is what lace looks like while it's in process:

 This is what the same lace shawl looks like after it is properly blocked:

It is challenging, but I am so proud of myself for knitting this!

In family news, Hyrum turned 8, and was baptised as a member of our church last Saturday.  We had all sorts of family over, and celebrated after the baptism with a picnic lunch.  I am so proud that Hyrum made this decision to follow Jesus.  He is growing up so quickly, and I pray that he will keep making decisions that will bring him happiness.

Here's a picture of Hyrum, with most of the birthday party guests, opening his presents:

He really is 8 years old now!

Gratitude List:
* I am especially grateful for the knowledge I have of God, and Jesus Christ, and for their plan for me.
* I have a wonderful family- both my own and my in-laws- who give their love and support to me.
* My husband is a good, strong man who cherishes me and loves our children.
* Our house is not flooded, although we have had record amounts of water this spring.
* We have plenty of food to eat, clothing to wear (just took another load of outgrown clothes to the donation center), and a lovely house that shelters us from the weather.
* There are homemade cookies in my kitchen, and breadsticks on the stove, cooling.
* It is summertime, and we have the time to relax from school and work a bit.
* Jared is home the rest of July.
* I have lots of yarn, and lots of ideas about what I'd like to make with it.
* I have good friends, and good neighbors, and an active and welcoming community.
* Today has been a good day.
* (i am also grateful that morgen is not yet a teenager. the moods she has- oh deliver me now!)

huge batch of bread-quick post

So, how we handled that much bread:
We mixed it up at the cannery down the street from my house (owned by my church, and used for big food projects like this one).  There is a huge kitchen-aid type mixer that sits on the floor.  We would make up one batch of dough (remember that includes 50 cups flour & 24 eggs, among other ingredients), mix it good, then let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Then we would oil the counter tops, scrape out the dough, and with oily hands, weigh and measure .85 pounds of dough into a ball.  We'd take two balls, roll them into long skinny tubes, and braid them.  Then we'd put them into the bread pans (4 pans welded onto a frame), and stick them into the proofing oven.  They'd stay in that oven for about 30-45 minutes.  Meanwhile, we're mixing more dough and shaping it into braided loaves.  Once the first batch was proofed (puffy and ready to be baked), we'd transfer the bread pans into the ovens, baking them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Each of the baking ovens holds 8 pans total, and we had 4 ovens, so 32 loaves.  We started at 6am, and finished about noon.  It was a lot of work, but still fun!

So many projects...

These mittens have been waiting for their tops for almost a month now.  Both the right and left hands are finished to this point, and one has its convertible cuff knit.  I got stuck on the other one, though.  I just need to sit down and wrestle it into submission, then knit on it for an hour or so to finish it up for this coming fall/winter.

 Yay!! One sock done, and it fits! It fits ME!! (which is how I intended it to be) The other half of this pair is OTN (on the needles) and since I began at the toe, I'm now up to the patterned part of the foot.  Just 44 more rows until I can begin the gusset & turn the heel.  Yay!!

 And this little cloth is finished and on its way to my May Dishcloth Swap partner who lives in New Hampshire.  It was an easy pattern, but one I pretty much made up by myself.  So I'm thrilled that it turned out as well as it did.

 (I'm still working on a few other projects, but since I'm typing right now I won't be snapping pics of those.  I know me, and I'd get something set up to photograph, then start knitting on it and forget to download the pic or finish this post.  So I'll save those projects for another time.)

The Sprinklers of DOOM have been finished, and reburied in the ground.  There are still trails of dirt all over the yard, but I'm no longer in imminent danger of being swallowed up by the earth if I walk outside.  This is good.  We have raspberries (3 kinds), grapes (2 kinds), currants (1 kind), blackberries (4 plants of one variety and 1 of another but the lonely only isn't actually growing so this should count as 1 kind as well), and serviceberries (1 kind) all planted and beginning to bud.  Yay for fruit!  Also, we (and remember that "we" means that I bought the plants and Jared/kids actually planted them) planted 6 tomatoes, with 4 more waiting for tomorrow.  There are 4 green peppers, and I have another list of plants to purchase this next week.  Planting and tending a garden always makes me feel like a real, true grown-up. 

This spring has been quite wet- lots and lots of rain, and this is good for growing things.  However, I do live in the mountains, and every so often that means we get snow instead of rain:

 (driving the kids to school this morning)

(yes my lilac is blooming. no that white stuff is not plaster dust)

Thankfully it has warmed up enough to melt most of the snow.  Also thankfully, we have water walls around the tomatoes, and plastic milk jugs (with the bottoms cut off) around the peppers.  These protect and insulate our tender young sprouts from the less than warm night-time air, and also from the snow we were blessed with today.

Gratitude List:
* Sprinklers are done and they work.
* New kitchen window treatments for a total of $10, courtesy of IKEA (rod) and the local thrift store (curtains).
* Good music.
* A washer and dryer that work, so I can wash all the gardening mud out of my family's clothing.
* Cookies!
* Homemade pizza for dinner tonight.  Mmmmmmmm
* Finished knitting projects, and more new projects in the planning stages.
* Our cars are all working well.
* Jared is in town this week, and he's actually home this very minute, working on what will soon be a side yard fence.
* Homemade bread from last Saturday's "day of baking" at my church.  We made 7 batches of dough, and each batch = approximately 18 loaves of bread.  I brought home 12 loaves.  I may try this (on a much smaller scale) at my house next week...
* The snow is melting.
* It smells like spring outside and in!
* God is good.  I am blessed.

Spring?

So I am officially the mother of a teenager now.  13.  We celebrated his birthday a bit early, because his birthday fell on the weekend of both Easter and an overnight scouting trip.  This was the cake:



I was pretty proud of myself- 2 layer vanilla cake with pastry cream (that delicious eclair filling), topped with chocolate ganache frosting.  Balloons were vanilla wafers, frosted and sprinkled, (some left unfrosted for contrast) with licorice strings.  Unfortunately, I was so busy with the cake that I forgot about taking pictures of my son as he opened his presents.  But he liked his presents, and we all loved the cake (I am so making this again), so it was a successful birthday, overall!

Easter was extremely low-key this year.  Jared spent Friday working on the sprinklers of DOOM.  I swear, that job will never be finished.  It is the job that never ends ♫, It just goes on and on my friends ♪...

Jared and Walker went camping Friday, and got back Saturday night. They were sweaty and smelly and I could tell they had an excellent time. While they were busy lighting things on fire and looking for fossils, we did our Easter Egg hunt and enjoyed our Easter gifts. 

 Morgen got a sketch pad, which is already half-full of pictures.  She's in heaven with all that extra room on each page!

 Hyrum got a hexbug.  It has a remote control.  Everyone in the house wants to play with it.  There have been obstacle course races.

 Walker got some plastic tubes to make more climbing and crawling tunnels for his gerbils.  He was thrilled (when he finally got home).

 Jared got a gutting knife and I got some yarn.  No pics for those, but trust me, we were very happy with the Easter Bunny!

Our Easter Bunny always leaves empty plastic eggs for the egg hunt.  That way the dogs and other creatures won't be tempted to chew on them.  So, the hunt for empty eggs:

The searchers were rewarded with a lovely bag full of candy, which was promptly consumed at the table, leaving only wrappers.  Hyrum shared a few of his candy eggs with me, since I didn't have any chocolate of my own.  (well, I did, but it was hidden in my closet and he didn't know about it.)  We spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Oh, and we took a walk, by the sheep down the road, and I finally got a picture of the lambs!  There were three born, but we're not sure what happened to the third lamb.  We've watched and we can only see two now, so it either died or was given to somebody else.

 Anyway, (squee!) they are so cute!  And there are a few more pregnant ewes in this pasture, which means more baby lambs!!

So, notice the green grass and sunny warm feeling of the last picture?  Yesterday, and today, we got snow.

Blizzard-worthy white-out snow.  Which has melted, so all is not lost, but it is cold now.  

 And it is muddy. Blech.  Cold mud is not my favorite part of spring.  (these are Walker's new shoes.  he wears a larger size than I do now. and he is taller than I am.  Bah.)

Oh, and just for a bit of drama, our dogs have been getting out of our yard.  Somebody (you know, the same somebody who eats the last cookie, and tracks mud through the house) leaves the side door, from the back yard into the garage, open.  Our garage is almost always open, and thus the multiple escapes.  We've had to chase them down, we've had neighbors bring them back, and we've driven around the neighborhood looking for them.  Today was extra-super-dramatic, though.  We drove around for over 2 hours, looking for them, praying we'd find them safe and sound, and nothing.  No doggies anywhere.  Finally we came back home and ate lunch.  Kachina came running up the street about 30 minutes later, and we coaxed her into the yard, but she was wet all over, and muddy from her belly down.  Then we searched again for Annie, hoping she was trailing behind her mama.  Nope.  Again, nothing.  Jared drove around for an hour, searching for her, and the kids walked around and called for her.  Eventually we gave up, and began to plan out how we'd handle finding her body.  About an hour or so later, she came running up the street.  So, we're working on a door/garage solution that will keep the dogs more securely in the backyard.  (the best solution would be to keep their food in the backyard and never use that side door, but realistically I don't see that happening) 

And, as a final bonus, Jared and I got to attend the military ball last night.  Kind of like prom, but they had food (and drinks).  I tried to get a photo of us together.  I was unsuccessful.  So, just imagine my very cute husband in his nice blue dress uniform, all shiny and handsome.  And I wore a velvety plush blue dress that was long and warm and still managed to be dressy.  Plus heels.  We were home before midnight, even!  If we're going to attend more of these (and we probably will, for career advancement opportunities), I should probably search out some nice, dressy, COMFORTABLE heels.  And maybe another dress. 

Gratitude List:

* Good weather for the campout and Easter Egg hunt. Always iffy this time of year.

* Cake!

* Watching the lambs growing up across the street. 

* Talking with my kids about parents and children (in the animal kingdom) and how they are similar/different to humans.

* Clothing I can layer.

* Jared is home.

* Dogs are safe.

* Kids are healthy and safe.

* Good friends and neighbors.

* Family.

* Podcasts and music on my iPod.

* Celebrating Easter, remembering His sacrifice for my sins, and feeling an immense gratitude for the love He shows me daily.

* I am truly blessed.  God is good.

More Gardening

Jared spent our spring break working in Northern California.  We thought about going with him, but since it was a pretty intense training session, we stayed here.  We planned short day-trip type activites, and overall enjoyed our break!  I had each of the kids write down some things they wanted to do, and I told them that MY break would be sleeping in every morning.  :)  So, we went to Jump on it (has a bunch of trampolines and a foam pit), watched the movie Rango, spent a day at the zoo, and another day at the Children's Museum.  We also spent some time watching Phineas and Ferb (cartoon, and if you haven't watched it, imagine a show about Calvin and Hobbes where they never get caught when they exercise their imaginations).  I did get to sleep in until 7 every day.  Some days it was 8!

Jared got back Thursday night, and we have some pipes to put into the ground:

 As you can see, he's getting help with the trench-digging.  I'm excited to get these all filled back in, because our dogs have found several interesting ways to use the trenches in their escape plans.  That is why they are spending today in their kitchen kennel. 

We've also got some seeds started, and hopefully they'll do well enough for us to plant them in our (not yet existing) garden plot in June.  Walker actually put the dirt into the egg cartons, and labeled them neatly for me. 

Gratitude List:
* Lots of new music from itunes.  I am spoiled by variety!
* Nice weather for sprinkler-installing.
* A hard-working husband and kids who think helping him is fun.
* Plenty of good food.
* A working washer and dryer, and dishwasher.
* Cookies!
* I ordered a shirt from shirt.woot.com.  I smile every time I wear it.
* Spring is sort of here!
* Jared is home for a bit.
* My lilac bush is putting out buds.
* I am so blessed.
* God is good.

Springtime in the Rockies

Yes, it is officially spring.  No, it is not safe to plant things.  Average last frost date here is June 8- mountains, remember?  But yeah, we're planning a garden anyway.  Jared spent most of last week digging trenches in our yard

with the help of his children.  Some of their help was actually helpful!  Anyway, our entire yard looks like it was attacked by large moles.  He'll be finishing this up next week, and hopefully it will be warm enough to glue together the PVC pipes that make up the sprinkling system.  I just hope the trenches don't collapse in the meantime.  On the brighter side, hauling all the sprinkler pipe was much easier in his newly repaired truck!  I'll have to get a picture sometime- it is really a beast of a truck ;).

Morgen tried out for The Sound of Music.  She made it to the second call-back, but wasn't chosen for a part.  However, we did discover a possible birthday present (acting class), and she enjoyed the tryouts. 

I made cards this week.  It's been awhile, with unpacking and knitting to take up my free time.  But, I had an itch to make cards, and decided to brave the cold basement.  Maybe I'll be scrapping again by the summer?  We'll see...  In the meantime, I still have my knitting.  And yes, I'm making socks again.  Well, one at a time socks:

I'm not quite to the heel yet, but I am making progress!

Jared and I went on a date Saturday.  It is still cold in the evenings, but warm enough for us to walk together, which I love.  We decided to treat ourselves to some ice cream, and walked over to a local restaurant which serves gelato and ice cream, as well as the best pizza EVER.  Anyway, we enjoyed our treat, and visited, and when we walked out the door, we saw snow!  Yep.  It was snowing.  We still took the long way home.  After all, we wanted a walk and a little snow won't freeze us.  I like this snow, though.  It is fluffy and beautiful and it doesn't stick to the pavement.  So we get a beautiful powdered-sugar look on the houses and ground, but a nice clear road and no need to shovel anything.  And I can tell that it adds to the snowpack in the mountains, which means plenty of water for summer irrigation.  I truly love where we live.

Gratitude List:
* Long walks with my sweetheart.
* Ice cream in waffle cones
* We are within walking distance of TWO ice cream parlors.  Three if you count the ice cream counter in the local grocery store.
* Spring break for my kids begins tomorrow.  I am sleeping in 'till at least 8am!
* I love the mountains. 
* The ice is melting off the rivers and nearby lakes.
* My neighbors are great.
* Warm weather in the afternoons, so the kids can play outside.
* We (almost) have a sprinkling system!
* My husband is a very handy man.
* Cars that run well, a nice warm sturdy house, lots of food, and healthy kids.
* Walker has discovered comic opera.  Thank you, Anna Russell!!
* Everyone was at church on time today (not my fault, but I don't mind taking credit anyway)!
* I am blessed.  God is good.

Stuff I missed

I am having a hard time posting, because I keep thinking of other things to do while online.  Also, I get sidetracked a lot (ravelry & facebook, I am looking at you here).  And then there's the "not home" factor. 

That whole label "Stay At Home Mom" is very misleading.  Very.  Take today, for example.  Today I took kids to school.  I dropped off my art project packet and picked up next month's packet.  I ate breakfast in the car, because it takes me 25 minutes to make a roundtrip from the school to my house, and Walker's 7th grade class had a class choice counseling session that I was invited to attend.  That took almost an hour.  Right now I'm home, and I've eaten lunch here (nice and calm, thank you).  My afternoon looks like this: pick up Walker about 2:30.  Stop at the bank & deposit $$.  Drive home.  Pick up Hyrum about 3:30.  There are a lot of other errands/duties included in this day, but everything else can be done from home.  Still, though, if I figure out how much time I was at home today, it is significantly less than the hours my kids are at school.

In other news, my in-laws are buying a house 10 minutes away from us.  Hooray for grandparents!!  They're actually within a 10-minute walk from Walker's school, which is cool.  They'll be back and forth between here and their other house for a while, but I am excited to have them close enough to invite to dinner once a month or so.

February was the month of visits- my in-laws were here, taking care of some house business.  My SIL Emily drove up with her 3 kids to spend their spring break with us, which was fun and chaotic and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  BIL Nate and his family came up to see them, and we all got a chance to visit.  I'm glad that my kids have cousins that are close enough, geographically, to be friends as well as relatives.  My sister Emily drove out with her family, and because she was here, my sister Melissa drove down with her family and spent a few days at my parents' house.  We were able to spend an evening with them, and let the kids reacquaint themselves.  Like I said, lots and lots of visiting was accomplished.  Thank you February, for having nice traveling weather for all of us.

Walker's school, like I mentioned earlier, is talking to his grade about next year's class schedule, and giving some counseling on which electives to add to the core classes.  He opted for Band (still playing the tuba), and FACS (Family & Consumer Science).  I understood the band choice, but wondered out loud about the other class.  He told me that he "likes sewing and cooking stuff."  Then he grinned and added that he and a friend decided there would be lots of girls in that class.  He is not old enough to be thinking this!!!  Today's counseling thing was good, though.  It is interesting for me to watch my child figure out what he is interested in, what he's good at, and what new things he wants to try.  He amazes me.

Morgen entered her school's science fair in January, competed in February, and was able to compete on the State level this past week.  I took her down to BYU to set up her project the night before, then she rode the bus with the other Wasatch County students who were competing.  They spent the morning presenting their projects to the judges.  After lunch, there were other activities- walks, rock-climbing- until the awards ceremony.  Since she's in 5th grade, she is too young to advance to the National level, but she had a wonderful time.  I was pretty proud of her.  She came up with the experiment on her own, then had her dad help her set everything up and record her data.  And this Saturday she'll be auditioning for a part in "The Sound of Music."  It's a big time commitment, so I'm not sure if I want her to make it or not!

Hyrum has been playing basketball on our street with some of the other neighborhood boys.  He loves sports, and I'm glad he has friends here.  A few weeks ago he called me from school to tell me he'd stapled his finger.  Apparently one prong went into the pad of his left index finger.  Mr Hardy (the school principal) had to use a pair of pliers to yank it out.  He was fine, but he wanted me to know.  I found out later that he spent the rest of the day teasing his cousin Madison, who is in his class, by touching the stapler and waiting for her to scold him.  He's still taking karate, and really enjoys the sparring.

Jared & Walker spent last weekend measuring our yard.  I got to be the scribe.  We're planning to put in a sprinkling system, and he wanted exact measurements so he can draw up a watering plan.  We know where we want to put the garden, and where we'll build our deck (but probably we won't be building 'till next year).  He's also gotten his truck fixed, which will be helpful when he's transporting all the sprinkler pipe.

I've been listening to podcasts lately- Dave Ramsey for financial stuff, Sticks and String for knitting info, and Stuff You Missed in History Class for entertainment purposes.  I also get the General Conference podcast from my church.  I like having interesting listening material- it makes knitting more interesting, and driving or doing chores a bit less dreary.

That's about all the life events.
Gratitude List:
* Healthy kids and husband
* plenty of food and clothing
* good schools, good teachers, good neighbors
* God
* good music
(have to pick W up at school now, so I'm ending quickly)

Socks!

I knit those socks.  Yep.  All by myself and everything.  I love the colors, and I'm so happy I am finally finished!
One small problem: they are a perfect fit for Hyrum.  So I'm trying to be happy that they fit somebody in my family, even though those feet are not mine.

Gratitude List:
* snowblowers
* Jared is home < 3
* Freshly baked cookies
* yummy leftovers for lunch
* Walker is practicing his tuba upstairs.
* I have a lot of sock yarn now.
* Also, enough yarn of one color to knit a sweater for (hopefully) me!
* My kitchen is mostly clean
* Dinner is in the crockpot (shredded BBQ elk)
* Laundry is folded and put away
* House is warm
* Family is healthy
* God is good

Happy times

Random happy things:

* Jared was home for Valentine's Day this year.  I think that makes 4 times in our 15 years of marriage.  :)
* My in-laws are looking at houses near us.  I'm pretty excited about that.
* I went shopping for yarn with friends today.  I laughed so hard in the car I almost couldn't see the lines on the road!  Plus I have lots of beautiful new yarn.  (pretty sure yarn fumes make me high)
* More snow at the house, and more shoveling, and hot cocoa afterwards.
* Everyone is healthy.
* Kids are reasonably happy.
* We have plenty of food to eat.
* Jared is home for the rest of February!
* I unpacked another box.
* Walker went camping with the scouts, in the snow, and had a wonderful time.  He's sacked out on the couch now.
* Jared's making dinner tonight :)

Stay home!

One of my favorite things in the world is fog.  It turns an ordinary street into the gateway to a fairyland.  It makes dead trees appear mysterious.  It opens up so many possibilities because it hides what is normally in plain sight.  Fog gathers around rivers and lakes (I know the scientific explanation but it isn't what I wanted to blog about), and we have one of each of those near our house.  So, we get a lot of fog here.  And I love it.  I just have to remember that I need to leave earlier in the morning, so the kids get to school on time!

Yesterday, in addition to the fog, there were a few other obstacles that made leaving my house a bit of a challenge.  We had a fire a few blocks away, and it was a huge, flame-shooting, black cloud-billowing spectacle.  I think everyone in the entire town showed up to watch.  It took me 10 minutes to detour around the block that was closed off, because the streets were choked with cars.  No, not cars that were driving, cars that were parked so people could take pictures and check out the flames.  This seemed a bit odd to me- don't you run AWAY from a fire?  But yeah, one of the many interesting things about small-town life!

Last night I went to pick up a plant that needed a new home.  I pulled out of our driveway, and there was a MOOSE.  It trotted away as I slowly drove down the road, but circled back through the yards and I lost track of where it was.  But it likes our neighborhood (who wouldn't?) because the kids saw it again this morning.

After I thought about it, though, I began to wonder if maybe I should just stay home.

Gratitude List:
* Good music.
* I have a washer and a dryer that work.
* Email and texts, and how easily I can stay in contact with family and friends.
* There are more pictures on the walls now.  Slow and steady, right?
* Another box (fabric this time) is unpacked and sort of organized in my craft room.
* A family that is loving and supportive.
* Visiting grandparents.
* I rearranged my living room.  It isn't perfect, but the layout works better than it did before.
* I am blessed in so many ways.
* God answers my prayers.

Lots of knitting

There has been a lot of knitting going on here.  I know I have other things to do, and somehow I forget.  Or I put them off, thinking I'll get to them later.  Also, I got a nook for Christmas, and after I figured out how to transfer my knitting patterns to it, I kind of got lost for awhile. 

I found this tree at a craft store over the holidays. I desperately wanted to take it home, but it was a bit fragile. That, plus the 8 hour drive with 2 dogs and 3 kids in the car, decided me against the purchase. I had a better chance of winning the lottery (which I did not enter) than of bringing home that tree intact.






We also added to our menagerie over the holidays.  Walker got 2 gerbils, both male (we hope), and has them secured in a nice large cage with all sorts of climbing/running/burrowing places.  He named them Hercules and Ladon.  Hercules was a Greek hero, you may remember, who was given 12 challenges, or labors.  One of those challenges involved taking a golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides.  The apple tree was guarded by a never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon.  Ladon, depending on which version of the myth you believe, was either overcome or slain by Hercules.  So, my myth-loving son named his gerbils after a hero and one of the monsters that hero fought.  Is anybody else seeing a problem with this?  Oh, and his other choices for names were equally disturbing: Beowulf and Grendel, or Siegfried and Fafner.  These pairs are also one hero and a monster that the hero killed.  In Siegfried's case, the hero ATE the monster after it was killed.  Gerbils can be cannibalistic.  I don't really think they need the added encouragment of being named after mortal enemies to fight with each other. 

Hyrum got a betta fish.  Just one, though, so the chances of it fighting are slim.  He named it Fireball, since it is red. 

Morgen got a poinsettia plant, to go along with her gecko and crickets.  Random: I love Morgen.  I vehemently dislike her arguing with me every.single.time I ask her to do something.  And the worst part?  She is currently working on her science fair project with her dad, and just made a suggestion.  He countered it, and she didn't argue with him at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (this is me going crazy- garble arble blaaarrrrrrgh)

Also, I am unpacking/organizing my craft room, which means I have lost: all of my birthday cards, and the workspace I need to make more.  I dislike purchasing birthday cards, however, which prevents my sending any type of paper message.

Jared was in Germany for 2 weeks in December.  I am always hesitant to post when he is gone, because I'm afraid I'll slip and say he's gone, and having that information out on the interweb makes me a bit paranoid.  Anyway, he made it back safely, bringing us candy and treats (enough to fill half of his suitcase), in plenty of time for Christmas. 

Gratitude List:
* a warm house.
* hot cocoa and homemade soup with bread- best part of winter, that!
* good music, old favorites and new finds.
* a new yoga class.
* making meditation time for myself.
* wikipedia- I know it isn't the ultimate source of information, but it is a great place to begin.
* chocolate.
* neighbors who clear our driveway, because they claim that staying inside drives them batty.
* my nook.
* 15 years of (mostly) happy marriage to my handsome, sexy, smart, funny husband.
* lots of snow outside.
* getting order from chaos, ever so slowly, in my craft room.
* my family and friends.
* good books, and The Good Book
* my blessed life
* God