We're Going to Have a GARDEN!

It is really going to happen! I'm so excited! Vaughan and I have been talking about putting in a garden but he's been So busy- which is a good thing, but has slowed down the process!

Unfortunately gardening doesn't wait! You have to get those little plants or seeds in or you miss the window of opportunity!

So Monday we finally took the first step and ordered dirt! Yep, we actually paid for dirt!
(this used to be TWICE as big - maybe bigger!) But after Vaughan wheel barreled load after load into the backyard we now have this:

It used to look like this:


This used to be our kids sandbox. The neighborhood cats found it and we have hated it! I knew it was a health concern. To be truthful I don't really like sandboxes! DIRTY! But Vaughan had so much fun making it for our kids! It really looked like he was putting in a swimming pool! It was pretty funny! But now it's going to be a beautiful garden!

I can already see the rows of radishes, carrots, lettuce and other delicious vegetables! I can almost taste them! But I'm trying not to "count my chicken's before they hatch!" This isn't our "first" garden, so I know our success ratio! But we'll keep trying until we get it right!

At least we are on the road to being more self sufficient! I'll post more soon!

Yay for Fall!

I am loving the cool weather that has finally found us! It finally feels like fall is coming! NOW I can decorate and bring the season in the house!

I started doing a little today. I love taking things I already have and updating them or at least making them look better than they used to! It saves money and helps me fill that creativity need! It makes me feel good using what I already love!

My first project is this holiday tree. I spent hours many years ago painting cute wood cut outs for each holiday. I am slowly changing them and updating their looks! I love how this turned out!

Here is the BEFORE:

And here is the upgraded version:
It looks cuter in person! I took off the rafia and added lots of ribbon! It was fun looking through all my ribbon. I tend to collect ribbon! ;)

Well, I'm off to see what's next!

They're Coming Home - AGAIN!

Yep! It's true! Mom and Dad. Grandma and Grandpa. They are coming home! Home from serving another LONG summer at Martin's Cove, Wyoming. LONG to me because I miss them so much and seriously thought we would have this past summer to enjoy their presence at the cabin, at FHE, dance recitals, sporting events and birthdays! But they decided they needed to serve another summer and so they did!

I am so proud of my parents for not "taking it easy" and for doing the Lord's work. For the great example of enduring to the end and continued service! How could I not try to be a little like them! They have set such a standard to live up to. I must certainly try to be like them.

Tomorrow there will be lots of hugs and squeals of joy from grandkids and from ME! I can't wait to hug my Dad and hug my Mom! I'm already dreaming of all the fun visits with Mom and shopping with Mom! At least ONE trip to Globe for the famous burritos from Burger House with Dad. (I think I'm the only one who hasn't had one yet!) Relaxing days at the cabin with Mom and Dad. And stories. I love to hear their stories about their mission, about the pioneers, about their life.

Hurry Hurry Hurry clock!

Peaches Peaches and MORE Peaches!

(All blanched and ready to be cut!)

So I've been working on One of the goals I've set for myself! CANNING. It's actually been lots of fun. Lots of work. Very messy. (That's the not so fun part!) But it's been fun to learn. So far I have canned using a steamer canner and a pressure canner. I like the steamer canner the best! Mostly because it's easier! Less scary! But you can only do stuff like fruit and tomatoes with a steamer canner.

My sister has a pressure canner and we bottled chicken in it! I'm glad to have the chicken, but it was the least favorite of my canning experiences. It smells and looks like a science experiment. It is pretty easy though! It will definitely be appreciated when it comes to making yummy chicken meals!

(pretty jars of peaches and pie filling!)

I've bottles 20 quarts of peaches, 12 quarts of pears and 7 bottles of peach pie filling.

I did 7 bottles of peaches and the pie filling yesterday! The peach pie filling is AMAZING! It was messy and sticky, but my house smelled amazing! There was a little left and so I put it in a bowl! I couldn't stop eating it! It was so good! There were some peaches left so I made peach freezer jam! I can't wait to taste it after it's frozen! It was so pretty! I ended up with 20 1 cup containers! WOW!

(Peach Pie Filling! Mmmm - you can almost smell it's yumminess! cinnamon and almond flavoring!)

Now to start on my NEXT goal: Bread Making! Just in time for my Mom coming home! She is the best bread maker I know! I LOVE her bread! I've already asked for her help! I want my bread to be like hers - soft, moist, and not crumbly!

And in case you were curious, the goal after this is GARDENING! YEP! We've already started working on the ground. Then I'll have yummy tomatoes to bottle! Mmmm! Homegrown tomatoes are the BEST! I can already see bottles of whole tomatoes and salsa all in a row!

Why this crazy canning obsession all of the sudden? (Those who know me, especially my Mom know I always hated canning!) Well, my Mom gave me her gazillion boxes of jars and they are sitting in our shed. Empty. I figured if I was going to store all these bottles I might as well fill them! That is my goal. To fill every bottle! I have no idea how many are out there, but there are lots! (I think it would overwhelm me to go count!) But it's baby steps! right? Maybe I'll bottle corn next summer! I'm thinking carrots might be good too! (I'll have to learn how to grow them first! tee hee!)

Guess I better ask for a pressure canner for Christmas!

Here is the yummy peach freezer jam! Didn't plan on this, but what a wonderful accident!

The Bedroom Project

So - redecorating and painting Holli and Hope's room has been long overdue for some time now! We've been working on their room since August. We started by emptying their closet and reorganizing and cleaning it. Let's just say whenever there is any cleaning or organizing going on at our house it all gets dumped in my room! I'm SO ready to have a clean bedroom again!

Then we started looking for the "perfect" bedding! You can't choose paint until you know what the bedding is going to be! We finally found this beautiful bedspread with large zinnias in shades of blue and green! The girls did not want PINK anymore! So pink was totally out! Along with the bedspreads we found pillows to match! The fun part is everything was on clearance! We found them at Marshall's but didn't buy them right away! After looking everywhere I could think of we decided that "these were the ones!" And then hoped that they would still be there!

Then we had to choose paint! The girls and I talked about what we could do creatively in the bedroom. We decided we would make stencils by tracing the zinnias on the quilt and stencil them on the wall. My SIL Tiffany helped me find the perfect blue and the perfect green!

Vaughan and the girls painted the room. They also took the closet door and shelves and painted them white. And then the real fun began! For a full week I started stenciling zinnias on the wall. I'm still feeling the pain!! But by 11:00PM Saturday I was done! As I was admiring my art work... :) the light went on *bing* I knew what would look SO CUTE! I got my glue dots and jewels and started putting them in the center of all the flowers! Can you say C U T E! (I know stenciling is so 80's, but trust me, it's cute!)

We then hung all the cute stuff on the walls and place the decorations around the room. It is really looking cute. All we have left is laying the "new to us" carpet and paint and install the baseboard. We plan on doing that this weekend! (Thank you Tiffany for the carpet!)

I wish I had "before" pictures! But I didn't think to take them! But here are some pictures of the finished project!

Lots and lots of Zinnias!

Isn't the quilt and the pillows so cute! I love the colors!

This is our magnet board project. They hang above the desk in their room. We had Vaughan screw them to the wall and then I found these cute brads that just happened to match the papers we'd chosen. I hot glued them to the screws to hide them. The girls made magnets to match!

This is the top of their built in corner book shelf. It's my favorite display! I made the round boxes. I was given these paper boxes and was going to just donate them to charity, but I got this idea to mod podge them. I *heart* mod podge! So now we have these adorable boxes that match their room. (Shhh - the big one has chocolate in it! I use it for activity day girls - treats for saying their Articles of Faith!) The candle sticks came from Savers! So fun!

Lest We Forget

9/11

A day I will NEVER forget. I still remember where I was. What I was doing. How I felt. For days. The erie silence. The empty skies. The anger.hurt.sadness. I remember the sense of pride, humility and love. Patriotism. Prayer.

Hope was only 2 years old. She doesn't remember. Or understand why my eyes well up with tears when I remember. Holli was 6, Heidi was 9, Heather was 12. I wanted to keep my kids home with me. Safe. Where I could protect them and help them understand. Hillary had an A hour. She was a Junior in High School and had already left. I really just wanted my family home with me where I could gather them under my wing. Because then I would know where they were.

I hurt for all the loss. For children who lost Mommies, Daddies, Grandparents. For parents who lost sons, daughters. For friends who lost coworkers. For the loss of innocence. Security. Peace.

Today to honor those lost I will hug my children. Tell them I love them. Offer prayers of gratitude for this country we live in. For freedoms - we should never take for granted. I will be more patient as I drive around town. I will smile at people I meet. Whether I know them or not.
I will remember that it is because of so many that I have the beautiful life that I live each day.

SEPTEMBER - A Beautiful Month

September comes with many promises!

1. FALL = Cool Weather

I seriously can not wait until I can leave my doors open all day and feel the cool air blow through the house! I look forward to turning off the A/C and all the ceiling fans. If you haven't done this before- sit down and just listen to the quiet after you turn off the fans and a/c! It is amazing. I always take a moment just to bask in the silence. (I'm weird I know!)

2. My parents are coming home from their mission!

I know, you've heard this before, but this time they have promised to STAY HOME. I am looking forward to having my parents home so much! I seriously miss them. They bring so much peace to my life. They add so much to our family. It's like everything is in place when they are here. I look forward to having the circle complete once again.

3. Dance is back in session!

This actually started last week. But I just love dance! I love they way my girls try out the new dance steps they are learning each week. They come home and show me the new things they learn. I love watching their able bodies bend, twist, twirl, stretch and leap. It is always amazing to me no matter what they are doing! (I secretly always wished to be a dancer!) This year we are cleaning the dance studio and I am assisting on Wednesday mornings with the 4 & 3 year old classes to trade in part for the girls tuition! It's been so fun to watch the girls pitch in and help! They have done such a good job and had such great attitudes! I think it will make dance even more special this year.

4. Piano Lessons!

Not only have the girls resumed their piano studies, but Hillary has started teaching at our home again! It's fun to visit with some of the families that come for lessons. It's a time to reconnect with friends and family. It's fun to see the kids learning and growing in their music studies! I love hearing them play!

5. Activity Day Girls

We met last week for the first time since July. It was so fun. I've had fun preparing and getting ready for them. I have seven darling girls! They each come with different personalities! They come eager to learn and do whatever is prepared. This year we are going to conquer the 13 Articles of Faith and start our memory books. We will work on our goals and finish at least two in each category! It's going to be a great year!

6. Ward Family Outing

Next weekend we get to go camping with our ward! We look forward to this each year! It's fun to take a break and enjoy our ward family.

7. RS Broadcast

I love hearing what the General RS Presidency has to tell us! I look forward to this so much! It's usually just the shot in the arm I need. And of course, the cherry on top is going out to dinner after wards with my mom, sister, sister in laws and daughters!

8. Canning - canning and more canning!

I have been bottling the last two weeks and have more planned! So far my sister and I have bottled peaches and chicken. I hope to bottle peach pie filling, apple pie filling, pears, tomatoes and maybe salsa! I've had so much fun learning and especially hanging out with my sister!

See what I mean? Isn't September going to be amazing? There is so much fun to look forward to. We are still finishing a project that we started - re-decorating Holli and Hope's room! We will be stenciling zinnia's all around the room, hanging shelves and pictures! I will post pictures when we get it done! It's looking so cute already.

I hope you have a fun month to look forward to! September just feels like a month of re-birth to me! Time to start over, clean up and get going! It feels so good!