Craft idea exchange

Here are more of the ideas shared!

craft idea exchange

Today I participated in a potluck lunch/craft idea exchange. The concept was for everyone to bring a item that could be easily reproduced by another to give as a gift this Christmas. Sadly, for me, the majority of the items were things that were sewn and I do not have this talent, hence, these things could not easily be reproduced in mass for me to present to my friends and neighbors. Regardless the afternoon was wonderful! Great friends and great food! Everyone brought a food item for lunch and there were many yummy selections. I will need to post more of the ideas on an additional post as this only lets me submit five photos at a time-ugh.

A happy Thanksgiving!

We left Thanksgiving day for our drive to Southern Utah, the kids did great on the drive. As they all get a little older it makes traveling so much easier. We got into town early enough that we had a relaxing dinner and had time to visit with family and even watched the movie, Evan Almighty. The movie even kept the kids' attention throughout the entire thing.
We didn't hit any of the early bird sales on Friday, there just wasn't anything calling out to either of us. My sister-in-law Patty and I did go to Roberts Crafts, Tai Pan Trading, Crumpets and the Dixie Center craft show. I always enjoy getting my Utah "crafting" fix! We also saw the movie Fred Claus at the theatre with James' two sisters and their families.
The posted photos were taken on Saturday. We went to visit James' mom at her residence. Later that day we all gathered for a family dinner. Molly and Lindsey were the only "girl cousins" there as Clarissa was out of town. Take a look at all the boys cousins! Even with Clarissa there they still would have been very outnumbered! We had a wonderfully relaxing long weekend.

Friday I attended my monthly stamp class and we made these cute Christmas gift tags. I still need to add ribbon to mine and I want to add some sparkle also with my glue pen and fine white glitter. They were so relaxing to make! Next month is my month to host so I've requessted that we make a shaker ornament and a card. The shaker ornaments are made with small metal tins made by the Wilton candy company. They should be really fast to make, but very cute. I will be sure to post after we make them. Since I went to the stamp class Friday instead of Saturday I had all day Sat. to just get caught-up with housework then James and I went out to eat and to Target for the rest of the Christmas shopping for the kids. Now we will fill in with the great bargain gifts, but other than that we are pretty much done - hurray! Now for all the wrapping. ugh! I really want to enjoy all of December with my parents and not at the stores.
One thing I'm excited about giving the kids is some posters that I ordered from church distribution. They are 11 x 17 and only cost $1. Last year we gave each of the kids pocket sized Book of Mormons and this is one thing we are doing for them this year. Trying to bring Christ back into Christmas.
Austin will receive Two Thousand Young Warriors. Reid will get Ammon defends the flocks of king Lamoni, since Ammon is his middle name. Chase will get Samuel the Lamanite on the wall since Samuel is his middle name. Ryan will get Captain Moroni raises the title of liberty - a favorite scripture story of mine. Molly will receive Mary and the Resurrected Lord. James and I spent time picking out the particular picture that each child should have by their bed, and I think this will reinforce gospel principles.

Toy Kitchen

Ryan's toy kitchen from Nana and Papa arrived yesterday afternoon and late last night James and Austin put it together for him. It was the first thing he went to play with when he woke up this morning. He wanted me to post a picture so Nana and Papa could see him with it and he wanted me to tell them how much he likes his pajamas (which are hand-me-downs from his brothers!?) and do they like them too? :)

Chase did fabulous at the third grade musical last night. We videotaped it and did not get one 'still' picture - ugh! I am hoping to have him put on his bug antenna today so I can get a photograph. The third grade teachers chose Chase to present flowers to the music teacher (a great honor to a child) and he did a terrific job.

Happy Friday!

Thankful Thoughts

I am thankful today for so many blessings!
This morning Reid fell while running in loose gravel and his front tooth hit the sidewalk - ouch! He chipped off a section of his front tooth, as well as scraped up his legs and stomach. James took him to the dentist right away, all will be o.k. but he will need to go back in next week so they can do some sort of temporary enamel so he will have a full front tooth. I am thankful for dentists today, especially ones that are open at 7:30 a.m. and take your child immediately.

I am thankful that dinner (yummy pot roast with potatoes and carrots: it is actually pretty cool here today) is in the oven and it is only 3 p.m. When everyone is fed it is amazing how much nicer we all are.

I am thankful that most of Christmas shoppping is done, at least the shopping for my kids. I have a run to Wal-Mart still to do to pick up some things in the electronics department. Still, the stocking stuffers are completely done so that is a relief.

Tonight we get to see Chase perform in the third grade musical called Bugz! It should be pretty fun, then afterwards I am looking forward to watching last nights premiere episode of Bravo's Project Runway. We really wanted to cancel our cable t.v. all together and truthfully the reason I didn't is because of this show. Yes, I could do without the drama of reality t.v. but I am so intrigued by individuals who can buy fabric and make a garment with it. I have a lot of respect for their talent. I can't even thread my sewing machine and really have no desire to learn, but I so admire people who have this talent. So-I'm thankful for vcr's that record. We have three old vcr's and only one will actually record.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time slowing down and being with family.

The temple

I enjoyed the blessing of attending a session at the temple today with three other ladies from our ward. We left at 6:30 a.m. and were fortunate to get home before the kids got out of school. Ryan stayed with a friend who does childcare out of her home and he really had a great time there! I am hoping that James and I can go again this coming Saturday...we'll see how the schedule works out as the weekend gets closer.

President Hinckley said this in Oct. '95:
"These temples are there to be used, and those who use them will reap a blessing of harmony in their lives. They will draw nearer unto the Lord, and He will draw nearer unto them"

A wonderful promise.

looking forward to December

My parents are coming to spend the month of December with us - we are so excited! Counting down the days really! James and I are extra thrilled that they have offered to watch the kids for four nights for us so that we can have a kid free get-away. We are very appreciative of their offer and although we hate to leave when they are here (when you only see someone once a year you want to spend time with them!) we recognize that this is an offer that doesn't come around very often. The last time we had a kid-free vacation was eight years ago when I was pregnant with Chase. Eight years is really too long.

SO - we are going on a cruise! It is just a three night Royal Caribbean cruise that departs out of Los Angeles and has ports of call in San Diego, CA and Ensenada, Mexico. When looking at getaways options a cruise actually turned out to be a lot less expensive. Who knew?

Since we have never been on a cruise before let me know if anyone have any tips to share! We are a little nervous about the entire passport issue - neither of us has one! The travel agent and all the internet sites state that we will be o.k. since we are cruising before Jan. 2008 but still I'm a little nervous.

Veteran's Day weekend fun

We have had a great weekend! On Friday I met my friend Wendi at a local high school for a singing and dancing performance of a teenage group called "Light!" See above photos. Her daughter, Lauren, performed and was fantastic. Oh how I wish I would have pulled Molly from school and brought her to this show - it was fantastic! A crowd favorite (bottom photo) was an adaptation from Wicked! The Musical. Rather than singing "Popular" they changed the words to "I want to be muscular" So funny! You will appreciate it if you are familiar with the song. :)

On Saturday James and I went to a wedding for the son of good friends of ours. It was a beautiful day with a beautiful ceremony. We drove about three hours each way and am glad we did - although we really didn't get to visit with our friends (for good reason: one never has time to visit when they are hosting!) we were thrilled to be invited to share in the special day.

Yesterday was our wards childrens sacrament meeting program. I am happy to say that Reid, Chase and Ryan all went up to the front this year! Reid and Chase sang and said their individual lines and Ryan at least stood up when it was time and sat down when it was time although he did not sing. Good enough for us!

Tonight we are off to voice/piano lessons for Molly and the last baseball game of the season for Reid.

Happy 5th Birthday Ryan!

Ryan got to open his presents this morning before everyone left for school since Austin will be going to Las Vegas for the weekend for a high school band competition.
He received pretend food and army guy stuff - his favorites. His nana and papa have gotten him a pretend kitchen that is ordered and on its way. He celebrated his birthday yesterday at preschool, handing out the treat bags and Scooby-Doo Yogurts. Tonight we will have brownies and sing to him. Happy Birthday Ryan!

Ryan

Here is a picture I took of Ryan on Sunday before church. He had put this tie on all on his own - I didn't have the heart to tell him it didn't match and was much too small. He wore it through most of sacrament meeting, thinking he was such a big boy.
We are sending in a small treat to Ryan's preschool friends tomorrow. Sorry the photo is not very good. Enclosed in each bag is some Hershey kisses, a airplane and a stretchy guy.

He's my buddy

We all need a brother, a sister, a buddy, a friend. Someone to help us along life's path. I have had many in my life who have lovingly placed their arm around me and helped me proceed forward. Who is yours?

Lighten Up!

The holidays are coming and here is a quote that I hope to keep in mind throughout the next couple of months. I shared it at a enrichment meeting a few months back where I spoke on the topic of compassionate service and it has become a favorite quote for me in regards to many areas of my life. It is from Sister Chieko Okazaki. She teases that it is a favorite Japanese proverb from the ancient book of Okazaki, chapter one, verse one.

"Lighten up! If you're doing the best you can, that's good enough. If you make a mistake, give yourself credit for trying... If you do only half of what you wanted to do, or do it only half as well as you would have liked, pat yourself on half your back. But lighten up!"

A Puppy Party

Guess who's turning five?! It's hard to believe that Ryan will turn five on Friday! We celebrated today with a small birthday party with a puppy theme. He invited six little friends to his puppy party and they had a wonderful time. Here is a close up of the cake. I got the picture off the internet and James made the entire thing by himself! I think he did a great job, Ryan really liked it so it was a wonderful present from dad to son.
The kids all played pin the paw print on the puppy, dog bone drop, bean bag toss, and "trainer says". Molly did a great job of painting paw prints on their hands. Ryan had a great day. Happy Birthday gumdrop!