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| Sulley's first swimming day! We went to 7 Peaks. |
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| Happy 14th birthday, Nathan! Below he is talking on the phone with Brandon who was at Grandma Porter's. |
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| He's starting to grab things. He got this ring on his arm. |
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| Happy 3rd birthday to Sarajoy Faith! |
We've Given Up the Easy Life for the Good Life
Saturday, June 30, 2012
June Photos
Thursday, June 28, 2012
A Good Day to Stay Inside
Eerie red glow
Hot beyond the 100 degree weather.
Ashes falling from the sky.
My throat and eyes burn.
Children worried.
I tell Simon to go play and have fun. He says, "You're not supposed to have fun when a fire is coming, you're supposed to be sad."
The fire is still 20 miles away, but the intense heat and strong winds have caused discomfort and fear. There are times we can't see the lake for all the smoke. Even indoors there is a hazy orangeness to everything, and the smell of campfire is everywhere.
We spend the day indoors, thankful it is not closer and praying for those who are more seriously affected by the fire that has grown to cover 72 square miles of Utah.
Hot beyond the 100 degree weather.
Ashes falling from the sky.
My throat and eyes burn.
Children worried.
I tell Simon to go play and have fun. He says, "You're not supposed to have fun when a fire is coming, you're supposed to be sad."
The fire is still 20 miles away, but the intense heat and strong winds have caused discomfort and fear. There are times we can't see the lake for all the smoke. Even indoors there is a hazy orangeness to everything, and the smell of campfire is everywhere.
We spend the day indoors, thankful it is not closer and praying for those who are more seriously affected by the fire that has grown to cover 72 square miles of Utah.
Monday, June 25, 2012
My Room
I'm no Martha Stewart.
But I like to have my home decorated nicely.
And I like to have it decorated on my terms:
I want people to come into my home and know what we are about.
When you enter our home, you might notice the large painting of "Prayer at Valley Forge" over the mantle, or the wall with Founding Documents and other Colonial Paintings. Thanks to my Sister in law, we even have fancy vinyl lettering that says "Sweet Land of Liberty."
But you'll probably see the drawing of the Logan Temple first, and then the picture of our kids surrounding the Family Proclamation.
We are about Family here, especially kids.
So I mostly decorate with pictures. I think they're interesting and remind me of my blessings.
Plus, the time goes by so quickly! They grow up so fast!
It is especially that way in my bedroom. I love being surrounded by pictures of my babies.
I'm glad Dallin likes it, too. I guess it is also his room :)
One day, I was lying on my bed nursing, and I realized all of my cloth diapers were washed and stacked on the shelf. It looked so nice, and I don't think I ever took pictures of my diapers that my friend and I made 3 years ago. I thought I might like to remember someday how that looked and how happy it made me.
Then I took some pictures of other things in my room that make me happy.
But I like to have my home decorated nicely.
And I like to have it decorated on my terms:
I want people to come into my home and know what we are about.
When you enter our home, you might notice the large painting of "Prayer at Valley Forge" over the mantle, or the wall with Founding Documents and other Colonial Paintings. Thanks to my Sister in law, we even have fancy vinyl lettering that says "Sweet Land of Liberty."
But you'll probably see the drawing of the Logan Temple first, and then the picture of our kids surrounding the Family Proclamation.
We are about Family here, especially kids.
So I mostly decorate with pictures. I think they're interesting and remind me of my blessings.
Plus, the time goes by so quickly! They grow up so fast!
It is especially that way in my bedroom. I love being surrounded by pictures of my babies.
I'm glad Dallin likes it, too. I guess it is also his room :)
One day, I was lying on my bed nursing, and I realized all of my cloth diapers were washed and stacked on the shelf. It looked so nice, and I don't think I ever took pictures of my diapers that my friend and I made 3 years ago. I thought I might like to remember someday how that looked and how happy it made me.
Then I took some pictures of other things in my room that make me happy.
Sullivan's dresser
Diaper Changing Station
Lots of cute diapers!
The girl blessing dresses and pictures
The boy blessing suits and pictures
Sullivan's little closet of a room inside our room. The perfect little nursery!
This is all that fits: A tiny crib, a nightstand, and a basket of blankets. There's a window and a door and that's it!
Well, except for him, he's the best part!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Lazy Summer Days
I think not.
We may not be following our schedule to the letter, but we have been busy!
We're still working the kinks out of our summer schedule, but here is how it (roughly) goes:
6am Wake up and exercise. Dallin and the older kids go for a run.
6:45 Scriptures
7:30 breakfast
8-10 work in the yard
10-12 house chores and school work (mostly just math right now)
lunch
1-2 quiet reading time for everyone
2-5 free time. Friends are allowed T-TH if chores are done. M and F are family days since Dallin doesn't work.
5-7 Dinner prep, eat, cleanup
7:30 littles to bed
8:00 read to bigs
9:00 time with Dallin to go over finances, read, watch movies, talk, watch Becoming One With Christ.
10:00 Bed time
So far, I have been sleeping in until about 7, but it still works pretty well. I've gotta exercise sometime, though. And study. And I rarely get to bed before midnight. And I keep falling asleep during quiet reading.
But it is a framework that is keeping us from wasting away our precious summer, so we like it!
We may not be following our schedule to the letter, but we have been busy!
The hot pink Bumbo got a masculine makeover thanks to a free pattern from
Dallin got to work and made some leaves for our dining table. This table came with our house in Spanish Fork, but the leaves weren't with it. He used some old shelving and made it work really well. Our cramped 5' table is now a spacious 8' table. Thanks, Dallin! Now we just need a new tablecloth!
Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries...
or 3...
Or 5 or 6 buckets.
We picked for over 4 hours on Monday. Bings, Goldens, and Pie Cherries.
It hardly looked liked we'd picked at all. It is so hard for me to walk away from free food, but I knew I'd already gotten myself in over my head.
By the end of the week, I had a tiny little meltdown.
But I also had 10 trays of dried cherries, Several bags of pitted and frozen pie and bing cherries, 14 quarts of canned cherries, and several pints of cherry marmalade.
Years and years ago, I picked up a ratty old booster seat at a yard sale. I couldn't resist it because it reminded me of my childhood. I think my cousins must have had one or something. We've used it a lot, but it has become so ripped and pulled apart that the kids won't sit in it for fear of splinters and vinyl pinches. I had some fabric left over from the Bumbo project, so I made a matching cover for the booster seat. It was a little more challenging as I had to make my own pattern, but it turned out to be pretty quick and easy. I love how cute it is and it is useful again!
We also got a dump truck load of wood chips to help ease the burden of our gardens. We were inspired by the video at www.backtoedenfilm.com
We've already seen some great results with water retention and nice crumbly soil. We've used old sheets as groundcover when we run out of newspapers. I've started picking up sheets at yard sales because they are really cheap and cover large areas.
We covered our huge garden, front flower beds, pumpkin patch, and 2 rows of raspberries. This film gave me a lot of hope for my yard.
We are glad to have Brandon home. He was in Idaho for a week with us, then a week by himself. Then he went to Scout Camp with Dallin for a week. Then he spent most of the following week with Millington cousins. We missed him a lot, but we're glad he had such great experiences.
Nathan attended Youth Conference at Snow College and Timberline Youth Leadership Training the following week.
It is nice to have everybody back home together!
6am Wake up and exercise. Dallin and the older kids go for a run.
6:45 Scriptures
7:30 breakfast
8-10 work in the yard
10-12 house chores and school work (mostly just math right now)
lunch
1-2 quiet reading time for everyone
2-5 free time. Friends are allowed T-TH if chores are done. M and F are family days since Dallin doesn't work.
5-7 Dinner prep, eat, cleanup
7:30 littles to bed
8:00 read to bigs
9:00 time with Dallin to go over finances, read, watch movies, talk, watch Becoming One With Christ.
10:00 Bed time
So far, I have been sleeping in until about 7, but it still works pretty well. I've gotta exercise sometime, though. And study. And I rarely get to bed before midnight. And I keep falling asleep during quiet reading.
But it is a framework that is keeping us from wasting away our precious summer, so we like it!
Monday, June 18, 2012
A Little Miracle
It surprised me for the first time when Dallin took a detour on the way home from a family activity. He turned up Woodland Hills Drive. It isn't our usual route, but it gets us home.
But I was a little shocked, wondering if he was just in the mood for a more scenic drive or if he was actually considering it.
When he confirmed that he was indeed going to drive by the house I'd had my eyes on I expected to feel excitement.
But I didn't. I felt panic. In those few minutes it took to drive up that lovely winding road, I re-lived all of the anxiety of moving and getting established in a new home. It suddenly did not seem so appealing.
We couldn't even see the house for all the trees, and I didn't want to drive up the driveway and be annoying. What we saw of the driveway and garage had an uninviting unkempt appearance.
I didn't completely drop the idea right away. I wanted to be sure it wasn't just my own fears getting in the way of my dreams.
But the next time I worked in my yard, I was filled with pride and excitement about the plans we have for it. I thought about the things we love about our yard and our home, and I realized I don't really want to give it up.
My desire to live in Woodland Hills has been replaced with the desire to work hard and be happy here.
I asked for the Lord to take the desire away if it was not right, and He did.
But I was a little shocked, wondering if he was just in the mood for a more scenic drive or if he was actually considering it.
When he confirmed that he was indeed going to drive by the house I'd had my eyes on I expected to feel excitement.
But I didn't. I felt panic. In those few minutes it took to drive up that lovely winding road, I re-lived all of the anxiety of moving and getting established in a new home. It suddenly did not seem so appealing.
We couldn't even see the house for all the trees, and I didn't want to drive up the driveway and be annoying. What we saw of the driveway and garage had an uninviting unkempt appearance.
I didn't completely drop the idea right away. I wanted to be sure it wasn't just my own fears getting in the way of my dreams.
But the next time I worked in my yard, I was filled with pride and excitement about the plans we have for it. I thought about the things we love about our yard and our home, and I realized I don't really want to give it up.
My desire to live in Woodland Hills has been replaced with the desire to work hard and be happy here.
I asked for the Lord to take the desire away if it was not right, and He did.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Everything is Fine
But I am lonely.
I'm ready to have my family all home all together.
Nathan left this morning for Youth Conference and he'll go straight from there to Leadership Training.
Still 2 more days without Dallin and Brandon.
Waaah.
I'm ready to have my family all home all together.
Nathan left this morning for Youth Conference and he'll go straight from there to Leadership Training.
Still 2 more days without Dallin and Brandon.
Waaah.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Coping
Finished putting wood chips on the garden.
Sullivan's having spells of inconsolable fussiness. What else can I do? I just hold him.
Reading the historical fiction series based on my ancestors.
Teaching Simon and Sarajoy how to do chore charts.
Chewing ice faster than my fridge can produce it.
Introduced my girls to the movie Pollyanna. They loved it! So did I!
Lots of popcorn to go with it.
Nathan's stepping up as man of the family. Too old for Scout Camp already?
Mysterious lumps on Daisy's jaw and neck. Dr. says "just a virus"
Sullivan's head beginning to look misshapen. He laughs out loud while the chiropractor adjusts.
Stop by Darlene's new house so I can see it and she can see the baby. Wonderful visit.
Laundry is s l o w l y getting folded.
A movie with Nathan in my room. We share crunch berries after the kids are asleep.
Sulley fussy again tonight. The sling works its magic.
Praying for strength and feeling it. Asking for guidance and getting it.
Stayin up late to read or write so I don't have time to worry or be afraid or remember that I miss my man.
..
Sullivan's having spells of inconsolable fussiness. What else can I do? I just hold him.
Reading the historical fiction series based on my ancestors.
Teaching Simon and Sarajoy how to do chore charts.
Chewing ice faster than my fridge can produce it.
Introduced my girls to the movie Pollyanna. They loved it! So did I!
Lots of popcorn to go with it.
Nathan's stepping up as man of the family. Too old for Scout Camp already?
Mysterious lumps on Daisy's jaw and neck. Dr. says "just a virus"
Sullivan's head beginning to look misshapen. He laughs out loud while the chiropractor adjusts.
Stop by Darlene's new house so I can see it and she can see the baby. Wonderful visit.
Laundry is s l o w l y getting folded.
A movie with Nathan in my room. We share crunch berries after the kids are asleep.
Sulley fussy again tonight. The sling works its magic.
Praying for strength and feeling it. Asking for guidance and getting it.
Stayin up late to read or write so I don't have time to worry or be afraid or remember that I miss my man.
..
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