My garden

 

I am enjoying my garden so much right now.  The rain has done so much good.  My favourite is the veggie garden.  About four months before he died, Brother Alec gave me some envelopes with seeds in.  I have been putting off planting them and am so glad that I did it.  They remind me of him everytime I water them.

My little redneck

I had to laugh at this picture.  No shirt, backwards cap and a trucking book.......
Jesse loves for us to read to him.  He constantly brings me a book to read and gets quite upset if you can't stop what you are doing to help him.  Luckily there are a few willing brothers around.

Aidan and Homework

Well Aidan is quite a smarty pants but he really hates starting his homework.  Once he gets going he actually has fun, but the coaxing to get him to do it is exhausting!

Any tips :-)

Valentines Day

We spent valentines day as a family this year.  We had homemade burgers for supper and by coincidence I found two bread rolls shaped like hearts.  I wonder if the baker at Spar did it on purpose :)

It was a weird evening and got quite dramatic when Kyle cut his finger.  I applied lots of pressure but each time I had a look it was still bleeding.  Eventually I called Logan to come take care of it because I was feeling a little queasy and besides, I can't stand seeing my children bleeding!  If you feel queasy.....don't look now!

This has been a tough week for me and I am feeling really tired.  Every weekday so far I have had to take the children to school and then had to be at various places for a good part of the day.  I hate that!  I just want to be at home.

Saturday was the cherry on top.  We went to help Chace and Ruby with their garden.  It was quite overgrown (a lot of work for two people who both have full time jobs).  I was enjoying the hard work while it was overcast but as soon as the sun came out I felt really warm and could feel myself burning, even with sunscreen.  I was feeling very stressed because I still had to get home and alter the hem on 3 pairs of pants for a sister in the ward.  I had tried to do it Friday night but by the time I had all the children in bed it was so dark and my eyes were straining to sew the black fabric.  We had to leave early in the morning to garden and so I didn't get a chance then.

Well the pants are sewn now, supper is made, dishes in the dishwasher, two children asleep and I can sit and blog a little.  Hope next week is a little quieter!

A Gift from Courtney

A while back I received a gift from Courtney all the way from America . It was so unexpected and thoughtful and made my day.

Family size.....PERFECT!

The brownies turned out so well.

In our home the best way to eat brownies - with icecream.

Thanks Courtney, we appreciate your kindness!  

PS.  You really should read her blog, she's one funny lady :)

Create!

In September 2008 President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said this:

(If you don't feel like reading it, here is the youtube link:)

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. ⁴ Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.

If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. ⁵ The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.” ⁶

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.

I felt deeply moved as I watched this video.  It made me feel good to know that my desire to sew, or make my photos look good, or help my children to do something is an characteristic of Heavenly Father and that the joy I feel when I create something (even with imperfections) is how Heavenly Father meant it to be.  I am actually practicing for one day when I can create stars and planets!

A visit with the Chippings

On Sunday we had my mother-in-law's cousin and her husband over for lunch.  What wonderful people.

A new blog

Logan has started a blog.  I think he needs a follower or two :-)


http://loganhugo.blogspot.com/

Photo:  Rob Dickey

A dress for a sweetheart

I have been itching to make a dress for my little neice and after finding inspiration on Make it and Love it I went and bought a white tshirt to start the dress.  It was so much fun.

A flower on the t-shirt

Small flowers for the head band

Lara and I found this material when we were helping to declutter a room at my mom-in-law's house.  It seems it was her mother's material - so you could say that this is vintage material.

Neighbours

This morning, about 15 minutes before it was time to leave for school, I realised that I had forgotten my gate keys in Logan's car.  Logan was an hour away.  I managed to get Aidan over so that he could go to school.  I was able to watch him walk all the way.  Once he was inside I realised that he had left one of his bags by the gate.  I was barefoot and the little ones were inside so I couldn't run to take his bag to him.  My neighbours daughter arrived about this time.  She saw the ladder by the gate and stopped to ask me what was wrong.  I burst into tears and told her my sad story. She took the bag and drove to the school and gave the bag to Aidan.

At this time I decided that I would climb back over the gate.  It then hit me that I couldn't get the ladder over  to the side I was on.  Luckily a sweet young man stopped to help me and I could climb back over.

When I got inside I discovered that Jesse had climbed onto my bed.  As I was moaning at him he jumped too close to the edge and fell off the bed landing on the back of his head.  He was silent for about 10 seconds, got his breath back and proceeded to scream.  Just then my neighbour phoned to moan at me for not asking her for help.  She was so sweet and kind that I started crying all over again.

An hour later she phoned to ask me if I needed bread and milk and if she could fetch the children from school.  Then in the afternoon she called me to the wall with a huge box of fruit.

I am so blessed with good neighbours.