Nesting All Over Again...

Talk about nesting. Whew. I'm in full-throttle mode. We've been focusing on babies for a while now, and it isn't stopping any time soon, which is a good thing. My nephew and his cute wife and family just adopted sweet little twin babies. Because they live out of state, they needed a place to wait out the red tape and paperwork. Of course I offered them to come and stay here. Who wouldn't want to? So, we've had house guests, in and out, for the past two weeks, and loved every minute of it. Even though the babies are teeny tiny, they filled our house to the brim with something special. And the family got the OK to take the babies out of state yesterday, so they headed off to their home. It was sad to see them leave, but what a happy occasion for them to finally be heading home.

The good news is, we still have a new baby in the near future. My daughter is expecting any time now. Well, theoretically she is due on March 17, so it could be a while, but she's showing signs of having that baby a little earlier than that, so who knows? And I've invited her and her husband (and of course the baby) to come and stay here for a week or so after the baby has been born, so we will have another wee one in the house. We don't know the gender of the baby yet, but we all have our own ideas about that. I'm thinking boy, but I was wrong with our first grand-baby, so I wouldn't take that to the bank. Bob thinks it's a girl. I'll just be happy to not be calling it an "it" anymore.

So, that there is why we're (okay, maybe just I am) nesting around here. I did this before Wyatt was born, and wondered if there really was such a thing as grandparent nesting. I'm here to tell you, there is definitely such a thing, and I've got it bad. Which isn't really bad, since I've got lots of rooms and closets and cupboards to organize.

That brings me to a whole different subject. I have had to swallow my pride and let all of my walls down as we've hosted my nephew's family here. Normally, when you have someone in your home for a night or so, you can hide the fact that you have closets and rooms that are in such an upheaval, people might get harmed by opening the doors. But, when you have people in your home for an extended period of time, they become part of the family, and there isn't much in the house that they don't see. So, darling nephew and family, please forgive my disarray. Forgive it and forget it. Seriously. I have been planning for months to tear into the den and get it all organized ... when Bob was planning on going out of town for training. Stacks of projects had accumulated on the counter tops and shelves. I kept the door closed anytime anyone would come into the house.

Problem is, his trip hadn't happened yet when my nephew's family came. So, they not only saw it, they had to be IN IT, as they had some computer needs. When they asked to use the computer, my initial response was to say, "Oh, we don't have a computer". But I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have bought that. Soooo, I directed them to the doors, asked if they were up to date on their tetanus shots, and let them enter completely at their own risk. Oh well. It is what it is, and there wasn't much I could do about it in that moment. At least I can report happily that they didn't receive any harm (that I know of).

I did lose a little sleep over it, I must say, and that became my first project when Bob went out of town.  So, nephew and wife... the room is no longer a danger, and is actually quite usable. Come back.

And just as a side-note, it's fun, but distracting to organize the den. The cupboards and drawers have all sorts of Bob's treasures in them, like his collection of Micro Machines he used to play with the kids with. I get a little distracted with the memories sometimes, and the work takes longer than it maybe should. In fact, I had to stop and take a photo and send it to my kids on Group Me, so we could have a "Memory Night"...

And that brings me to another subject -- something I've learned in the past couple of months -- that relationships and time with family are much more important things than the little details in life. I learned that with Valentine's Day, as that came and went without me being able to do some of the extraneous Valentine's things I had wanted to do for our family. I realized, as we had them all here for dinner just before Valentine's Day, that being together is much more important than "things" I might have made or bought for them. And it is. I love my family, and both Bob and I receive so much joy from being with them. That is truly as good as it gets. And if I have a disastrous den, or craft room, but I have time to sit up into the wee hours and visit and laugh with my family members (sorry to keep you up so late, nephew and wife), that, again, is the best thing that I could have done with my time.

Now, there is a balance, right? I mean, we have to have clean, orderly, functioning homes. Soooooo, I need to take advantage of some of this nesting time, get things organized, and just keep my house that way. Then, I won't have to take big chunks out of my life (and away from family time) to clean and re-organize. Simple as that. And now, off to clean the bathroom...

Family Reunion

My husband and I were in charge of a family reunion on Saturday at our cabin. It was so nice to get together -- even for just a few hours -- and catch up on everyone's lives. 

The boys played football. And yes, that's my son... the tall one in the center.

I love how intent they all are on watching that ball.

In this family reunion (for my husband's paternal grandparents, who are no longer living), there are only two siblings who lived long enough to have their own families. We had the families of each of the two siblings wear a "family color", hence the green and blue shirts. We played a game where we had all of the first cousins have to put together a descendant chart for all of the descendants from the union of those grandparents. There are almost 100 descendants from the two, so its amazing how the numbers fan out and grow!

Of course Kerplunk was played!

And how cute is that man at the grill? Seriously. And the kids behind him? Couldn't be any better!

The crowds sitting down to a great burger!

We can't have an open fire pit in our cabin area (cuts down on forest fires, so we're actually grateful for the rules!). To compensate, we have a gas version that works perfectly for marshmallows and even popcorn poppers! It does the job!

All in all, it was a success, I think! We had the opportunity to renew family acquaintances, and also to learn a bit about those who have gone before us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day. Some love it and some do not. I love it. I love that I get to reflect on all the blessings of motherhood -- of both having a wonderful, amazing mother,

Me and my mom

and of being a mother to four beautiful kids (okay, so they're not kids anymore, but...)

Our four kids
1993

I love that (sortof like New Year's) I resolve to try to be a better mom in the coming year. But, I don't get "down" about the things I fall short in. Its just part of life to be imperfect and to strive to be better.

I love what Our Best Bites wrote about motherhood this past week:

"If you spend any amount of time browsing the internet, you know what it takes to be an ideal wife and mother. If you read enough blogs or spend enough time browsing Pinterest, you’ll know that you need to…

*Prepare 3 healthy, homemade, preferably organic meals a day.

*You’ll need an elaborately simple system for folding and organizing your laundry.

*Due to a system of charts, your house will never be more than 10 minutes away from being company ready.

*You’ll properly display your family with their coordinating heights and ages in a vinyl decal on your minivan.

*You’ll send your daughters to school every day with a different hairdo, most of which involve mastering curling their hair with a flat iron and twisting elaborate shapes into her hair, fastened with giant bows and flowers that you have on a color-coded hair-bow organizer that you made yourself.

*You’ll never buy eggs from the store—if you’re a good mom, you’ll build your own chicken coop in the backyard and paint it a popular Benjamin Moore shade where your free-range chickens can happily lay their organic eggs.

*You’ll have professional portraits taken on a very regular basis. They should always be taken outdoors, either on abandoned rail-road tracks, in front of an abandoned burnt-down graffitied building that’s clearly unsafe for children, out in nature, but with items that don’t naturally occur in nature, like the big velvet couch that mysteriously appeared in the middle of a wheat field. Bonus points if you get at least one shot with your family holding hands while walking away from the camera.

*You’ll reupholster all your old furniture in funky, hard-to-find fabrics.

*Your kids clothes will be made from your husband’s old work shirts.

*At some point, you’ll consider redecorating your whole house with owls.

*You’ll definitely make all your own baby food because it’s just as easy as buying it at the store, and everyone knows that your babies will grow up with above-average intelligence and be better-looking in adulthood. Because of your homemade baby food.

*And finally, if you don’t simultaneously bargain shop AND shop at Anthropologie, you might as well not shop at all.

We might be guilty of a few of those things, but it’s easy to see how when we start looking around at what everyone else appears to be doing, we can start feeling a little inadequate."

We moms can't waste time feeling inadequate and wishing for something different. We are strong and determined and can accomplish just about anything we need to. So, we roll our sleeves up and continue working and progressing and striving and loving -- and enjoying every bit of it all along the way.

I'm so very blessed in being surrounded by a sweet, patient, loving family -- my husband, my four kids, my two son-in-laws (who are really like my sons), and my darling grandson -- how can I be anything but happy?

I always wanted to be a mother. When I was in various school classes and had to answer the question of what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always wrote "mother". My teachers were frustrated with that answer and would always try to get me to write something besides "mother", but I never could think of anything else. I love being a mom.

I love that on Tuesday my son comes home from his LDS church mission (two years since I saw him last!). I'll have all my little chicks back in the figurative nest. Or should I say swans...

Wilson, get in there where you belong!

I love that I have always had beautiful women around me that are exquisite examples of motherhood. I have to look no further than my family -- my mom, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, cousins and nieces -- to see lovely mothering to both their children, and other children around them.

And truly, whenever I've been "stuck" in a situation, and not really known what to do, I have and do and will call my mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

From our recent trip to the United Kingdom

My Remarkable Mother

With Mother's Day on the horizon, I've been thinking a lot about motherhood. I have many wonderful examples of motherhood in my life. Two of the very best are: my own sweet mother, and my daughter who became a mommy to our first grand baby just a few months ago. I can't explain what complete joy it brings to me to see my daughter being such an adoring, sweet mother to her baby. Brings me to tears just to think about it. I can't wait to watch my other daughter as she and her husband become foster parents. I have no doubts that she will be the most amazing foster mommy ever!

4 generations:
Me, my mom
Whitney and Wyatt

And can I just take a minute and tell you how amazing my mom is?  To begin with, she's 82 years old (or, as she likes to say, "I'm in my 83rd year"). Let me make a list of her awesomeness just to see if you agree:

-She has more energy and excitement for life than anyone I know

-She still works and keeps up her own yard, and it is quite large and full of beautiful flowers and plants. (And when I say she works, I really mean works!) She prunes back grape vines and bushes, plants new pretty things every year, and has a beautiful green thumb!

-She got an IPad last year and uses it all the time. She emails, takes and sends photos, reads blogs, "Googles"things when she wants to look them up, plays Sudoku, reads scriptures, and takes it everywhere with her!

-She loves projects and isn't afraid to tackle just about anything. She just refinished this little scruffed up cabinet she bought at an antique store.

Before

After! So darling!

-She goes to Silver Sneakers workouts at the gym 2-3 times a week
-She tries new delicious recipes all the time and loves to entertain
-She has wonderful health, and it's important to her to keep it that way
-She was recently asked to team-teach the 7-year-old class in her church congregation, AND SHE ACCEPTED!!!! And, I might add, those little 7-year-olds love her!
-Since I brought up serving in our church, I have to add that she has served willingly and faithfully in every calling she has ever been asked to do, which would include being Relief Society president three times. No matter how big or small the assignment, she can always be counted on to do it!
-She is always up for an adventure or a shopping trip
-She loves to visit her "older" friends and family members as they are convalescing in hospitals or homes
-She was just asked to be the Treasurer for her city's women's service club (or Ladies' Guild, as we like to refer to it)
-She reads voraciously and always has one of the classics, a mystery, a biography, and a religious book all going at the same time
-She is an incredible Visiting Teacher and has always taken that opportunity very seriously. She considers it as important as any of the other callings she has had.
-She does all of her own finances, including staying on top of her investments by thumbing through Money Magazine
-She can (and does) fix her own sprinklers. Whaaaaat?!
-She is a strength to all who she comes in contact with -- family, friends, and sometimes even complete strangers. Oh, the stories I could tell of the times she meets someone in line at the store and leaves practically being their best friend. People are drawn to her.
-She is loving and wise and truly a beautiful matriarch of our family.
-Side by side with my father, she has raised 6 daughters, who have given her 33 grand children! She is a wonderful mom and grandma!
-She has been a widow for 10 years, and even though she misses my dad more than she could ever express, she has made a happy, fun, fulfilling life for herself.

Don't you agree? You couldn't ask for a better example of motherhood to her six daughters and 33 grandchildren. If I can be like her by the time I'm "in my 83rd year", I would feel like I've succeeded in life. Love you, Mom!

Happy Valentine's Day!

by nest of posies

I love Valentine's Day! How much better can a holiday be than to be all about the people you love the most? And I love that you don't really have to go crazy decorating if you don't want to, but instead, you can just spend the month thinking about the people you love and writing out Valentine's cards and letters. I love it!

How grateful I am to be literally surrounded by people that I love with all my heart!

First and foremost, my sweetheart of 28 years! (and the one who happened to turn the big 5-0 yesterday!) I love that he has a birthday 4 days before mine and that we get to go through this milestone together. I asked him two nights ago just after midnight how it felt to be 50, and he said that he didn't feel much different than he did ten minutes before that, when he was 49. So, once again he has paved the way without any trepidation, and I'm not at all nervous to follow along!

My love, my best friend (truly... we do everything together!), and he's my night in shining armor (name the movie).

And oh, my sweet, sweet family. I get choked up just looking at this photo. I am so full-to-the-brim with love for each and every one of them! I was feeling under the weather this past weekend, and my sweet kids kept checking up on me all throughout the weekend and beyond, to make sure I was okay. Oh how I love them all with all my heart!  And don't even get me started about that amazing missionary on the left. He has been serving in the California Roseville Mission since May of 2011 (yes, that means he will be home this May, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the days!). He has worked so, so hard, gone through some really difficult experiences, loved every minute of it, and grown so much, it is almost miraculous. Can't wait to get my arms around that boy!

Gulp. I can hardly stand it! As I mentioned before, I've been under the weather, so I haven't dared to go near our little grand-baby for several days now. I'm just about back to normal and I can't wait to hold this sweet little boy. He is nothing less than perfect, and I can't describe how amazing it is to be his grandma.

And if all of that isn't enough, I was born into a wonderful family. I had an incredible mom, dad, and five sisters and an up-bringing that was sweet and almost magical to me. We continue to stay close to each other and have seen each other through some pretty tough things. I love these truly beautiful women! 

My dad passed away ten years ago. Oh how we miss him! He was funny, talented, a man of deep, deep devotion and convictions, a wonderful writer, could fix anything, loved projects, a super hard-worker, tender and kind, and loved his family. I always felt that he was the greatest man in the world, and I wanted so badly to have a husband like him and to have the same kind of life that he gave my mom. And guess what? I did! I did! I married a man who is also the greatest man in the world! What are the odds?! Who knew there were two men that shared the title "Greatest Man in the World?"

I am beyond grateful and have so much love for the people in my life this Valentine's Day and every other day in the year!

by thegirlcreative.com

Family Christmas party

We had a big family Christmas nativity gathering at our home last night. It was great, as usual, to be together as a family and remember why it is that we celebrate Christmas -- the birth of our Savior.

The nativity was done by the littlest family members, the great-grandchildren. They did a fantastic job. I love this little photo of Joseph not being able to contain himself as he bends down to pick up the "baby Jesus". So sweet!

After the nativity, we always eat yummy appetizers and treats that we all help in making and bringing. I ended up bringing the same old, same old this year...

Christmas Peanut Butter Kiss cookies. They are simple to make, and always seem to turn out. Plus, by changing the colors of the sugar crystals, they become very festive for many a holiday!

My favorite recipe to use for the cookies is the following:

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen

1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

3/4 to 1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

1 t. vanilla extract

2 c.Bisquick baking mix

granulated sugar, or to make them festive, use colored sugar crystals mixed with white sugar

60 Hershey's kisses, unwrapped

Beat sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add Bisquick and mix well. Chill at least one hour. Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 7 minutes. As soon as you remove from oven, place a Hershey kiss on each one, pressing down into cookie. Let cool. We like them straight from the refrigerator!

One of the other things I did that was easy and festive, was to wrap a decorative plastic tape around the water bottles. I saw the tape at Home Depot (of all places), and bought it not knowing exactly what I was going to use it for. It turned out to be just the right size to cover the blue water bottle label! I like that the tape is plastic so it didn't get torn and messy.

Converting slides and finding treasures

One of my on-going projects that I have had for about a year now is going through all of my dad's slides and converting them to digital. He has thousands of slides, and each slide has to be done individually, which takes about 2 minutes (per slide). I absolutely LOVE doing it. Its like a treasure hunt, because I literally never know what I'll find on the next slide. Yesterday, I had a chunk of time, so I thought I would start in on another batch. The box had "Grand Canyon - 1959-1966" on it. I converted slide after slide that looked like this:

1966

Lovely photos, but at this point I am really looking for the slides with people in them. I am converting all of them, no matter what they have on them, but it is much more exciting when I find some familiar old faces. While scanning the slides, I number the slide and enter the information on each one on a spreadsheet, so it will be nice and easy in the future to look at that spreadsheet and just pull all the photos that have Grandma and Grandpa in them, or whoever I may want photos of at the time. I've just passed 1200 slides, which doesn't seem like that many, I know. I have so many more to go, but like I said, I love doing it. Just wish I had a bit more time to carve out for it. I'm hoping to get at least one reel done a week from here on in.

Here is why I love doing this project so much.  Just when I was getting a little tired of the Grand Canyon scenery, this one popped up on the computer:

1959

This right here is why I'm doing this project. There is something about a photo like this, of my Grandma and Grandpa, that is absolutely priceless to me. It was a pretty dark photo -- one you wouldn't have been able to see by just looking through the slide. I lightened it up a bit with FotoFlexer. I'm sure a professional could do a better job, but I'm loving this for now!

And then this one appeared...

1959

This one if of my aunts, cousin, and Grandma again (with her pretty little hat). I love this one, too. Such a wonderful time -- dresses, hats and beads.

1959

I couldn't resist throwing this one in. Three of my sisters are in that mix. I love how every one of the kids (except the cutie in the red coat -- one of my sisters) is squinting, and pulling hillarious faces. It makes your eyes water just looking at it. The little one in the blue coat was pretty smart hiding behind the girl in front of her.

It makes me want to dive into a new batch of slides....

Genealogy Fan Chart

Have you ever seen this?

This is a Genealogy Fan Chart, that YOU can create for yourself with virtually the press of a button. You will be able to see all of your ancestors for 9 generations. It is fascinating and the information is already all there for you!  When we printed ours out, it was interesting to see how far back so much of the work has been done, and also to see where there is still work to do! Fun for the kids, too, to see all of those generations fanned out. Love it!

Follow these simple instructions:

1. Go to createfan.com

2. Click on "Login", which will take you to the process of logging in to Familysearch.org. If you haven't registered in FamilySearch before, click on the "Register" or "Create A New Account" link. Registering is easy! If you are a member of the church, you will need your confirmation date and your membership number (easily accessible through your ward clerk); and, if you are not a member of the church, you can register to be given access to the FamilySearch program. (Note: if you already have an LDS Account, you will use the same login and password on FamilySearch)

3. Once you have signed in, or created your new account, it will take you back to Createfan.com. Click on "Create", and Voila!... It will create a fan with your name in the First Generation Circle, and will show all the 9 generations fanning out from you! Pretty amazing, eh?

4. You can print this yourself on an 8-1/2 X 11 sheet of cardstock or regular paper, or for a larger printed copy, you can email or take a zip drive to Staples, or Kinkos, or any other place that prints larger documents. Call your local office products store for more details.

This is such a fun way to get children and youth (and adults!) excited and interested about their ancestors and genealogy work!

Wedding Photos - Part 6 - The Wedding Party

To view the rest of the wedding photos, click below:
Part 1 - The Temple

Part 2 - The Luncheon

Part 3 - The Reception Entry

Part 4 - More Reception Details

Part 5 - Yard and Food

These should be the last of the reunion photos that I'm sharing here. I have more than 600, but I think I'll save the bulk of them for a wedding photo book. This post shows some photos of the wedding party...

I love this photo with Bob and Ryan. Looks to me like Bob is giving Ryan some father-in-law advice. I would love to have heard the conversation!

We didn't have a formal reception line, but the bride and groom and Bob and I seemed to find ourselves greeting guests in the same neck of the woods. I think it gave the wedding couple a bit of reassurance to have us nearby, since so many of the guests were our friends.

We had the cut-out made of Wilson (who is in California serving a mission), so he was here and there throughout the wedding day. I love this photo of Robbie and Wils.

And here is our family. I love this photo! (Too bad Wils' missionary wardrobe didn't include any colors of the wedding) Its actually better that way. I like how he stands out.

Me, my mom, and my sisters. One of my sisters left before this photo was taken, and the other of my sisters lives in California and wasn't able to come for the wedding. I love these girls!

And me and my cute daughters. Oh, how I love these girls, too!

Robbie changed into shorts to help clean up. I like how he still stayed within the wedding colors (all except the socks) even for working. He's an awesome son!

Family Reunion!

We had our family reunion this past weekend up at our cabin. It was for my side of the family (my parents, sisters, and their families). We had 41 total, which was pretty good considering all of the other things that were going on that day! My mom and all 6 of us daughters were all there, which was a pretty big feat!

We had it as a one-day affair, so it was really easy to plan. We had everyone bring their own lunches, and then had the family gathering at about 3:00, where we had some games and activities planned. Linda made up Bingo cards, using our family last name instead of Bingo, and then using all the first names of the family members filling the little squares. It was fun to play the games and hear the names of every last family member. That will definitely be a "keeper" for reunions to come!

I didn't do much in the way of decorating. I got some photos reprinted at Costco and hung them up on a piece of twine. The photos were of the cousins all through the years. (That was sort of the theme of the reunion... cousins)

Bob gave the kids (and adults) rides in the Mule. The fall leaves were absolutely gorgeous, so there were plenty of sights to see! The kids couldn't get enough of the rides.

After the family gathering, I passed out the cousin photo books that I had made, and Bob passed out the little keepsake ornaments he had made (both shown in the last post). In the book, I left an extra page in the back so that if one wanted, they could get others to sign the back of their book, just like a year book.

Here we are signing the books, just like in high school. Pretty funny.

The kids went out on a nature walk, led by my niece Joanna. 

Joanna had little boxes for each of them to put their treasures in. It was a darling activity!

For dinner, we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. The daughters brought salads, the grandsons brought chips and the granddaughters each brought plate of cookies. It worked out perfectly with plenty of food!

It was a fun day and it really was pretty easy to plan. We have so many people in our family who are willing to help. It sure makes it nice when have family gatherings and events. 

Don't you just love family? There is so much comfort and peace in being together. Its so important to do what we can to have gatherings and opportunities to be together and feel that love and support from each other. What an amazing blessing!