Weekend with Great Grandma

Back home after a somewhat emotional weekend.  Hard to walk through my grandparents home knowing that it's probably the last time I'll ever get to walk through.  (They lived in the home - or the garage next to their home - for almost 70 years.)  Lots of memories, from the old piano I used to play, to the kitchen and helping Grandma bake, their tiny little bathroom with the pink tub, Grandpa's den & the smell of his shop (oh, how I love the smell of his shop), when the family would gather at Grandma's after Thanksgiving dinner to sing songs and visit, to the wringer washer out back . . .

Harder still, being present for a blessing for Grandma, tears streaming down our faces, knowing that she won't be there the next time we come to visit, and saying goodbye.  Good thing she's still within driving distance up in Idaho.  Hoping we can find a time to drive to Nampa to visit.

We also had family pictures done, spent part of the day shopping with my mom, four wheeling, horse back riding, family BBQ, a visit with my sister . . .  Pictures, and more details on the weekend to come.

"I Believe in Christ"

So, we have an amazing violinist/vocalist/pianist in our ward, named Angela, who is moving to the Y for more schooling.  (Don't judge - she's an awesome person!)  :D  Anyway, our ward music director wanted the two of us to play a piano duet in sacrament meeting before she leaves.  Angela didn't really feel comfortable doing a piano duet, but brought up the idea of a violin/piano duet.  I thought it sounded awesome.

So, we got together a week and a half ago to look over some music she had, and decided on "I Believe in Christ."  We were both super excited, but nervous too, because it's quite a difficult piece.  But, we went our separate ways and throughout the week we each practiced our parts.

Friday evening, we got together and practiced, and picked out a few more trouble spots to work on, then arranged to meet Sunday morning for one more practice.  So, I practiced some more that night, then again on Saturday morning.  I headed to the church to practice on the baby grand, (still quite nervous about the very last page) and got it down.  (This has some amazing, difficult runs in it that are played really fast.  So, you can see why I was nervous.  You'll hear them in the last couple of minutes if you listen to the recording.)

We practiced Sunday morning, and got goosebumps!  It was awesome, and we were both so excited to play in sacrament meeting.  It was fabulous!  The only downside was that the bishop announced it as a violin solo that was accompanied by me, instead of as a violin/piano duet.  But, oh well!

Anyway, since my family lives far away, and my FIL wasn't able to make it, I decided to record it during our Sunday morning practice, so that I could share it with my family.  We worked really hard on this, and I think it turned out beautifully!

Thanks, Angela, for the opportunity to play with you.  It was awesome.

You can click HERE to listen.  (Keep in mind, that I recorded this Sunday morning in the RS room while people were there setting up for our meeting.)

GM Cleanse - Day 6

Rough start to day 6 . . . Woke up feeling tired and weak, and when I raised my hand up, I could feel it shaking. Managed to make it out to the kitchen where I ate about 6 handfuls of small carrots. The shaking was getting worse, so I had Scottie come and get me a bowl of frosted mini wheats and a bowl of grapes.

Still kind of shaky and light headed, and after considering the past week and how I have felt, I've decided to stop the "cleanse." It's not worth it. And, I just have to say I have some amazing friends. They've all been supportive, and have offered counsel and advice, but none of them have said this was a dumb or crazy thing to do. They've stood by me - obviously concerned - and I thank them for that.

GM Cleanse - Day 5

Okay, Day 5 - Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing.



(Not sure I agree with this about being "feast day." Yes, it was A LOT of meat, but having to eat 6 tomatoes. I like tomatoes - I really do. But, I was worried.)

So, I started the morning out with a bowl of the wonder soup. I sliced half a tomato and put it into my soup (cold). Pretty good. I ate the other half with a bit of salt. Still worried. Not sure I'm liking this.

Ran out to do some R.S. stuff, ran a couple of errands, then was back home. I was feeling quite weak at this point, and had to sit down for 15 - 20 minutes to get my strength back up. Put a Bear down for a nap, then went to make my lunch.

Cooked me up some hamburger (about 1 cups worth) with some salt, pepper, and garlic. Sliced and cooked 1 1/2 tomatoes to mix in with my hamburger. Ate the other half raw. This one was REALLY hard. I literally had to force myself to eat the cooked tomatoes. Not that they were bad or tasted gross, but, like I said before - it's A LOT of tomatoes to eat all at once. I knew it would be hard, though, so I actually sat down and watched a one hour documentary on the Titanic while I ate. That helped.

By the time Brandon got home from school, I was feeling kind of weak again. (And, I swear this cleanse has sucked out part of my brain, too.) I ate another tomato before we ran a couple of errands, then rested on my bed while Brandon cooked us some steaks for dinner. I ate my steak - probably another 8 oz. worth, (and I couldn't even finish it all), and my last 1 1/2 tomatoes. I decided to save 1/2 tomato for my salad tomorrow for lunch.

Throughout the whole day, I've downed over 100 oz. of water. Will drink another 20 before I go to bed. Definitely not my favorite day. As I posted on Facebook: Okay, I did it. Well, most of it. I ate my beef (although I'm not sure I got down a full 20 oz - that's a lot of meat), and I ate 5 1/2 tomatoes.* sigh* Not sure how my relationship with tomatoes is at this point. And, I don't know if this is a result of the cleanse or something else entirely, but I have been freezing ALL day long.

Just two more days. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. Struggling at this point - I REALLY wanted a cookie today. Or a graham cracker. But, I didn't give in. Just two more days.

(Weight this morning - 142.4)

GM Cleanse - Day 4

Now onto Day 4 - Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities.



I like bananas. I like milk. I like batidos (which is basically a milk and banana shake served in South American countries). SO yummy. So, I started the day off with a batido and a banana on the side. 1 banana, 2 cups of milk. But, my bananas weren't ripe enough (I like my bananas to still be a touch green), so my batido was a tad bitter. But, I still drank it.

I felt pretty good. Almost full actually. I kind of puttered around the house, cleaning this, doing that, doing some laundry, playing with Bear, eating a snack of - you guessed it, a banana . . . By lunch time, I was starving!!

So, I had a couple more bananas and a big, cold glass of milk. I was full again. After a Bear was napping, I started making "the wonder soup." The recipe is as follows:

The following soup is intended as a supplement to your diet. It can be eaten any time of the day in virtually unlimited quantities. You are encouraged to consume large quantities of this soup.

28 oz, Water, 6 Large Onions, 2 Green Peppers, Whole Tomatoes (fresh or canned), 1 Head Cabbage, 1 Bunch Celery, 4 Envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix, Herbs and Flavouring as desired.

Not a big fan of peppers in soup. HATE cabbage, don't get along with celery, so I was bummed about this soup when I first read about it. But, it goes on to say that you can basically put whatever veggies in it that you want. So, I put an onion soup mix in, some carrots, peas, tomatoes, and corn. And, it was SO good! I had my soup and another banana for dinner, and I actually went to bed full.

Although, I wasn't entirely sure I liked feeling full like that.

Definitely my favorite day so far.

(Woke up to a weight of 142.6!)

GM Cleanse - Day 3

Woke up hungry today, but not feeling like I was starving or going to die. I didn't even really feel like I felt after a day of fasting. Just hungry.

So, Day 3 - A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today.



Both combined? I can do this. For breakfast, I made myself a smoothie. Strawberries, pineapple, grapes, clementines, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, spinach . . . You get the idea. Also, had a grapefruit - yes, topped with about a tbsp. of sugar. (Oh, and my smoothie was REALLY good!) Yum.

Still drinking lots of water. Went shopping with a Bear to replenish my banana supply (for Day 4), my tomato supply, and to get a salad and cucumber. Came home and ate a lunch of salad, topped with carrots, cucumber, and tomatoes. Grapes, pineapple, and strawberries on the side.

I had a presidency meeting in the afternoon from 4:00 to about 5:30. I was feeling pretty hungry during my meeting (it probably didn't help that we were talking about yummy food!), but just kept drinking my water. By 5:00, my arms were tingling, and the muscles in my right hand were seizing up. At times, I couldn't even open up my hand without help - either from my other hand, or from Brandon.

After the presidency left, I asked Brandon to cut me up some pineapple, since I didn't think it would be a good idea to use a knife. I ate the pineapple, and another grapefruit, and felt much better. Dropped Scott off at scouts, while the other boys and I went to my RS activity that night. We tied a quilt for our Stake RS Women's Conference in a couple of weeks.

It went quite slowly because we only had one person show up that either wasn't on our RS Activities committee, or hadn't previously been specifically asked to come help. Brandon was at a delegates meeting, so the boys were stuck with me. In the gym. With a basketball. And, B thought it was so much fun to tease his younger brothers. *sigh*

After an hour, though, Scottie was dropped off to come help, and help he did! He tied about 1/2 row of stitches on the quilt, then helped to entertain Bear and the other boys while we finished up. By the time we got home, I was really hungry, and very irritated. I sent the boys off to get ready for bed, then said prayers with them and tucked them in.

9:30; Brandon still wasn't home. I fixed me up another salad, some fruit, and my last piece of corn on the cob. Brandon finally came home around 10:15. Yikes! I finished my dinner, drank another 20 oz of water, and headed to bed.

Day 2 has by far been the hardest as far as food is concerned. Day 3 was the hardest as far as my mood was concerned. Although, I'm quite surprised (knock on wood) that I haven't had any headaches. Probably because of all of the water I've been drinking.

(Starting weight this morning - 143.4. Wahoo!)

GM Cleanse - Day 2

Okay, onto Day 2 - All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter



So, for breakfast, I had a baked potato, with a bit of butter (and a little salt), with a handful of carrots. Not too bad, although, I was not really looking forward to the rest of the day. (I'm NOT a veggie fan.) I continued to drink a lot of water, and those couple of times when I was feeling really hungry, I popped a handful of carrots, and drank more water.

For lunch, I tore up some cabbage (at least, I think it was cabbage), and topped it with tomatoes & carrots. Okay, okay, and a tsp. of light ranch dressing. (I wish I would have thought to put some cold peas on my salad, but I didn't.) And, a piece of corn on the cob. And lots of water. Pretty good. I can do this.

Then came the hours between lunch and dinner. Yikes! I was hungry. I do not like asparagus, brussel sprouts, squash, raw peppers, or canned green beans, so I was struggling. Brandon came home and I tried to make a stir fry for dinner for the two of us. Let's just say - I failed. I do not know how to make stir fry. I steamed some broccoli, but without butter or cheese sauce . . . Yech! So, I again had corn on the cob and lots of carrots. And some peas. And lots of water.

I went to bed feeling okay - just weak. Oh, and kind of hungry. Really. Only kind of.

(Starting weight this morning - 145.something. Yeah! I'm down a pound.)

GM Cleanse - Day 1

So, a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine mentioned doing a cleanse. She had searched around and found one that she thought might be a good one to do. (It's called the GM cleanse or GM diet.) I looked at it, and decided to do it with her. So, we waited until Spring Break and Easter was over, and then we dived right in.

Day 1 - All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly suggested that you consume lots of melons the first day. Especially watermelon and a loupe. If you limit your fruit consumption to melons, your chances of losing three lbs. on first day are very good.



Well, since I don't like melons (or a loupe), I cut those out. But, I did eat a lot of grapes, clementines, strawberries, apples, and pineapple. And, I drank about 100 oz. of water. (So, yeah, I was in the bathroom a lot!)

By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty okay - just bored with lack of variety. All in all, not too bad.

(Starting weight that morning 146.6. Boo.)

A soon-to-be thing of the past

So, this post will be slightly embarrassing for my Scottie, but since this is my journal, I'm going to type it out anyway.

Scottie is 11 years old. And still wetting the bed at night. We've talked to his pediatrician several times about this. Medications were always an option, but I just didn't feel right about using them. For one, the med's stop the wetting, but when the med's are stopped, the wetting starts right back up. For two, I didn't want to medicate my little boy if I didn't have to.

A monitor has always been an option, but they're fairly expensive, and I can find a hundred different ways to spend $80+ dollars. I've liked the idea of the monitor because it actually teaches the brain how to respond when they feel the urge to go, and they can get up and take care of it. But, honestly, I was a little skeptical, and I LOVE my sleep and I was selfish and didn't want to get up to care of it.

So, we kept putting it off and putting it off. But, we decided around his 11th birthday that it was just time to do it. We could continue spending money on pull-ups, or we could spend some money on this, and, hopefully, be able to use it for Gavin, too.

Anyway, we got this around his birthday time - about 6 weeks ago - and he has used it almost every night since then. The first few nights, Brandon got up with him when the monitor went off to help him. (Scott's request. He absolutely REFUSED to have me help him since he's a growing, maturing boy, and I'm a girl.) The instructions state the the trainee needs to actually get out of bed and stand up before they turn the alarm off. That way they're taking action, rather than just rolling over and turning it off and ignoring it. Then, they can go about changing their underwear. (We actually put Scott in underwear, clipped on the monitor, and then had him put pull-ups on so we didn't have to change the sheets every day.)

After the first few nights, Scott was able to take care of it himself. Over the weeks, we have watched the accidents get fewer and fewer. The amount that he wets before he stops himself has gotten less and less. And, the past four nights, he has slept without the alarm at all and has gone the whole night (or getting up once himself to go to the bathroom) without an accident!

He is SO proud of himself, as are we. We looked at several different monitors, and even bought one that was more expensive than the one we ended up with. But, when we got home and read the reviews on it, we decided to take it back and get this other one (which, is cheaper.) I HIGHLY recommend this. It takes parents involvement for a little bit, but it is SO worth it. :)

Next up, is Gavin! And then potty training the Bear.

So, if you're a parent out there dealing with night time accidents, I really recommend a monitor. This is the one we got: http://bedwettingstore.com/wet-stop3-bedwetting-alarm.html. It's got good reviews, and it's just about the cheapest monitor out there. For $50, and the awesome feeling Scottie has that he has now accomplished this, is great!

Great job, Scottie! We love you.


LOVE this kids personality!

King size, please

Remember this? The bed itself has served us well - as has the bedding, though it's not as old as the bed. We've had a queen size bed since we got married 12+ years ago. 5 years ago, we bought a 2 - 3" memory foam mattress to put on top because I was having problems with my back. The memory foam worked wonders - for a while. So, we switched mattresses with Scott (who had one that was given to us by Brandon's brother. It was several years newer than ours.) That, too, worked for a little while.

But, the past couple of years, I've had back problems again. I would get up in the morning and my lower back would just ache. It would take a couple of hours for it all to work out and I'd feel okay again. Then, I'd go back to bed. I headed to the chiropractor a couple of times, which helped, but it would only help for so long.

We've talked about getting a new bed for a couple of years, but we just haven't been able to afford it. But, this year, when we got our tax return, we decided to see if we could squeeze it in. We got Brandon's truck fixed (it needed new ball bearings on the axle), paid some medical bills, etc. and thought we might be able to do it. We even went to a "scratch-and-dent" store and laid on a few and found one we liked - for almost $700 out the door. Honestly, that's pretty good for a king size bed.

We came home to hash out the budget for the rest of the month, only to discover that we hadn't paid tithing yet! *sigh* So, we put it off again, since we were now a couple hundred $$ short.

A couple of weeks went by, and I just dealt with my sore back, just holding onto the thought that we'd get one someday soon. As we were wandering through Walmart one day, we found a lot of their bedding on clearance. So, we looked just for the fun of it. We found one that we liked, for more than half off, in a king size, so we decided to get it.

And, of course, the king size bug bit again. I started looking on ksl and craigslist to see if we could maybe find something a bit cheaper. And, we scored - big! We found a guy in Brigham City that was giving his away for free. It was 3-4 years old, but for free, we decided that we ought to try it. The one drawback was that it didn't come with box springs.

So, we headed to Sam's Club to price the box springs, and found they were more than we wanted to pay. *sigh* So, we started looking around and calling around to see if we could find a better price. Meanwhile, Brandon looked on ksl one more time, and found someone just a few miles away that was selling their mattress AND box springs for $200. Again, it was 3-4 years old, but had only been used a handful of times since it was used in a summer cabin up at Bear Lake.

We decided to take a look. It was more firm than we were used to, but we decided to get it anyway. This one was cheaper than the box springs alone at Sam's. So, we called the Brigham City guy to tell him we found something else, brought it home, and started the process of switching out our bed and re-arranging our bedroom. It took some doing, because our bedroom is quite small, but we managed to make it fit and make it look nice.

The first night, I was SO excited. More room, hopefully no painful back in the morning . . . I didn't sleep as well as I wanted to, though, and was somewhat disappointed. I didn't want to tell Brandon that, though, so I just told him I slept okay, but that it would take some getting used to.

The first several nights were the same. I wasn't waking up with back pain, though, so I figured it was worth it. I just felt so far away from Brandon. :) But, one night, I realized that I was sleeping clear over on my edge - because that's what I was used to. So, I scooted over quite a bit, so I could roll from side to side without having to actually sit up to roll over, and I've slept GREAT ever since! I don't have back pain in the morning, I get a good nights sleep (when Bear isn't waking up), I feel like I'm still sleeping with Brandon instead of in two separate beds, and we've both decided that it was a great $200 spent! And, I don't think we'll ever go back.

Projects, pt. 2

Now, time for the downstairs bathroom. Small, no windows, dim lighting, blah white/off white/nondescript paint, ugly gold light fixture with even uglier light covers . . . You get the idea. So, we decided to paint it. Finally. We have had absolutely NO inspiration when it came to this bathroom, so it has stayed the same for the past 4+ years since we moved in. But, we got sick of it. So, we decided that we were going to paint it no matter what. We were going to find some colors that we liked and just do it. So, we did!


A cute Toady with an ugly light fixture


Again, a cute Toady, but with plain, boring, blah walls


Plain. Boring.

We headed to Home Depot to look for paint samples and get the paint mixed, and possibly get a new light fixture. So, while the paint was being mixed, we wandered over to the lighting area and found a fixture that we loved! Brushed nickel (which is our color choice for our accessories in the house), with four sockets for bulbs. And, it was on clearance. For $3!!! So, of course, we grabbed it.

Then, we headed home to prep the bathroom. Brandon fixed, smoothed, and evened out some places while I washed the walls and started taping. The ugly gold light fixture was taken down, and the covers taken off the sockets. Then, it was time for bed. The next morning, after the boys were in school, I headed downstairs to do some painting! Bear was SO good. I turned on Blue's Clues for him (his show of choice) and he's alternate between watching that, and coming in to see what I was doing.

We painted three walls an antique white, and the fourth wall, the door wall, we painted a sage green. Tate Olive is the color, I believe. Of course, two coats were needed, so we got that done, put the light fixture in and the covers back in place and a shower curtain hung up. It was a HUGE improvement!


The green and the antique white


The antique white - doesn't look too much different in pictures, but it's a vast improvement in real life!

But, I decided it wasn't done. We talked about it and decided to put a quote on the wall. We looked and looked and chose a Dumbledore quote from book 1 of Harry Potter: "It's not our abilities that make us what we are; it is our choices." I haven't cut out the vinyl letters yet, but will soon. I still felt like something was missing, though, so I turned to Pinterest for ideas, and came up with a tree!

Yes, a tree! I started looking online for vinyl trees that I liked, and found one that I fell in love with that I could afford. (Vinyl can be REALLY expensive!) But, it was black. And, I preferred brown. So, I started looking at stenciling, but couldn't find a cheap stencil to use. Then, a friend of mine suggested a projector. *Light bulb* Yeah!

So, I printed off a tree that I really liked onto some vellum, borrowed a projector from said friend, and went to work! And, I love how it turned out! It was SO fun to do. I like painting rooms and watching them transform, but this was fun. :) And, every time I walk down the stairs, and glance to my left, I can see my little tree in the bathroom, and I just feel giddy inside!



The projected image - here we go!


Halfway done with the brown


The trunk and branches are complete!


Time to paint the leaves


Halfway done with the leaves


A closeup


I worked right around the light switch and the t.p. holder


All finished! Doesn't it look awesome?


My cute little tree!

Projects

So, for a while now, we've been telling Scottie that we'd build some shelves in his closet. His is the smallest room in the house, and with a big bed in there and his dresser, there wasn't a lot of space to put all of his books and Lego projects. They just ended up piled on top of his dresser until things were almost falling off.

So, when Brandon's parents gave us some cash for Christmas, we decided that we should use that money to get materials to build shelves for the boys closets. So, the first long weekend we had, we emptied Scott's closet, then sat on his bed and drew a few different sketches of what we wanted to do. When we had decided on the one we wanted, Brandon started measuring and calculating what materials we'd need, while I threw out a bunch of "stuff." (And, really, who knew that a 10 year old could have SO much stuff?)

Then, came the trip to Home Depot. With a Bear in tow. For a couple of hours we went back and forth, deciding what would work better . . . All with a Bear in tow. He actually did pretty well, but by the time we were finished, he was more than done.

So, Friday, while everybody was at school, Bear & I washed down the closet, and then painted it. (Okay, I painted, not Bear.) First thing Saturday morning, Brandon was hard at work measuring and cutting and putting in shelves, while I cleaned out Braden & Gavin's closet.

By the end of the day, it was mostly finished. We had some touch-up paint to do, and some final cleaning of the bedroom itself. But, Scottie was very relieved to be able to sleep in a (mostly) clean room that night!


The before color - a non-attractive beigy, almondy, something color


Finished painting - now onto building


A couple of shelves done . . .


All finished!

Monday, it was time for the shelves in Braden & Gavin's closet. Their closet was already white, so it didn't need to be painted. We decided on a layout for their closet, then ran to Home Depot for a couple more things. Then Brandon got started. He was able to get a good start on it by the end of the day Monday, but had to come home each afternoon for the next few days and work on it a bit more. By the end of the week, though, both closets were completely finished!

I bought some plastic bins for the boys toys to go in, then we pulled everything out from under their bed, and arranged it all in their closet. We love it! They're able to keep their room more clean now - except for their clothes. They can't seem to remember that their dirty clothes go in the hamper, not on the floor. One thing at a time, I guess! And, their closets look awesome! Brandon did a GREAT job of building them, and the boys were even able to help a bit!

I forgot to take "during" pictures of B & G's closet, so you just get the finished product pictures!


All built!


All organized!

Shaffer Magic Show

Presenting the Shaffer family in a one-of-a-kind magic show!!

(Please hold your applause 'til the end of the show.) :D

Couldn't resist

I was looking through my pictures and videos yesterday and came across these two. I just couldn't resist re-posting them. Some of my favorites of the little Bear ever! How I miss the little-ness! Enjoy!

Picture Board

I've been wanting to do something like this for my sister for a long time. My original thought was to make a big board, mod podge a bunch of pictures of the two of us on there, with the words, "Sisters by chance, friends by choice." Or "Sisters ~ best friends." Depending on how much room I had.

When I was little, Anne Marie cross stitched a picture for me that had "Sisters by chance, friends by choice" on it, and I love it. I wanted to do something similar. It was originally planned for her birthday, but it just didn't happen. So, I was determined to get it made for her Christmas present.

I started getting ideas from Pinterest, and eventually decided that a picture board would work better for what I had in mind. Plus, then she could swap out pictures as she wanted. So, I headed to Hobby Lobby with my trusty coupons in hand, found some awesome material (feels kind of like suede, but it's a faux suede) that was super cheap with my coupon, got the ribbon and some tacks. Then headed to Home Depot for a board, and found exactly what I wanted. (Don't you love it when things fall into place like this?)

Then, came the hard part - putting it together. We had to cut the board first, then measure and put on batting and the fabric. Putting the batting on wasn't hard at all. I had Brandon help me stretch it out and staple it on. The material wasn't hard to put on either.

But, when we got to the ribbon, that's where we had a hard time. We had to measure it exactly right, before we stapled the ribbon in, so that the diamonds on the front were exactly the same size. It took some doing, but we got it figured out. (Okay, math not being my strong suit - AT ALL - Brandon did all of the measuring.)


Nailing the batting and the fabric in place


Board before the ribbon . . .


. . . and after the ribbon

So, we finally got it figured out, put the tacks on, then put the printed pictures onto it. I was so excited about it. I had been teasing my sister about it for a few weeks telling her how excited I was for her to see it. I almost asked her to open it before Christmas, but I held out! And, she loves it as much as I do!


Brandon nailing the tacks in place . . .


. . . while I take weird pictures of him!


The finished board!


Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and everything in between, Anne Marie! You're the best sister a sister could ask for.

I love you!

True story - this ain't no yarn!

Tonight at dinner, I told Scottie that I needed to have the blue storage tub that he'd been using for his toys. He got this shocked look on his face and then said, "But, where am I gonna keep my yarn? And how am I gonna be able to crochet!"

This is what I get to play with all day

From a Harry Potter wanna-a-be . . .


. . . to my little stud muffin!

The Forgotten Carols

*sigh* Oh where to start. We just got home from a most incredible night. The Forgotten Carols with Michael McLean. It was . . . wow. Words can't even describe the emotions that I went through tonight. Thoughts of my granddad as the audience got to sing "We can be together forever someday." And then "Silent Night." It was a special, magical night, and I'm still in tears over it. The Spirit was SO strong, and I'm so incredibly grateful for all that I have. I've got the best hubby, who surprised me with the chance to go tonight. Thank you Brandon for sharing it with me tonight and making it possible for us to go. I love you.

B (aka Braden)

Gratitude Day 10 - Today, I'm thankful for this little bug:



Braden was sort of our "planned accident." We couldn't afford birth control pills, so we planned and calculated, then prayed that whatever was supposed to happen would happen. And, it did! B was born 14 months and one day after Scottie was.

He was big compared to Scott - Scott was 6 lbs. 14 oz. when he was born. B was 8 lbs. 3 oz. To jump a full pound and a half was huge for me. It took me a really long time to heal with him. My legs, ankles, and feet were so swollen that the only things I could wear on my feet were Brandon's moccasins.

But, B was always a happy baby. And he was CHUNKY! He was over 20 pounds by the time he was 6 months old, was wearing 12 - 18 month clothes when he was not even a year old, and had such cute rolls. Roll after roll after roll. He was so kissable!

He's always been my snuggle bug. He would wake up in the morning and come climb into bed with me, lay on my chest and fall back to sleep. Then he'd wake up next to me and we'd giggle as we I tickled his feet or growled at him. Sometimes I wish he was still little enough to lay on my chest and just let me hold him. (I guess that's why I have Connor now.)

And, he has such a tender heart. When Koko died, he sobbed for such a long time. And when our fish all mysteriously died (including our HUGE 7" goldfish), he was heartbroken. The same with my parents dog, Champ. He drew pictures of his fish and of his Champy and to this day, they're still hanging on his wall. He didn't know his great-grandpa, or his great-grandma very well, but we visited with both of them throughout the years, and Braden remembered enough. He was so sad, and could often be found curled up next to me as we both cried.

B has always been very smart. He's always done well in school, and is currently doing 5th grade reading and spelling. He loves to read, and make up stories. That's one thing to know about Braden. He LOVES to talk. He can't just explain a simple something in a simple way. He explains it to the max.

Most times I love it.

He's had some fun expressions, too. For instance, on our way up to Yellowstone for a family vacation one year, we were driving through Newton, Utah. B looked out his window and said, "Look at all those pretty flowers! That looks like a good place to have a war. Mom, is that where the people of Newton have their wars?"

And, just the other night, Brandon was replacing a cracked face plate on a bathroom plug. Brandon asked how it got broken, and B said, "I don't know. I just know that I heard Gavin say, 'Huh?' So, I followed his gaze and saw the broken cover."

I had the chance to sit B down on my lap this afternoon and talk about Connie with him. He really wanted to help out the family, but didn't know how. After suggesting they rake leaves, I admit, I watched proudly as he rode his bike down to their house, then jumped right in to rake up the leaves. He frustrates me to the limits sometimes, but I'm still so proud of him.

I love you, my B. Keep up the good work!






















This is the picture he drew for Brandon & I after my granddad's funeral in February. Despite our struggles with him during Primary, somehow he's getting it.

Connie

Today has felt very surreal for me. I found out on Monday that my friend, Connie Hogan, was very sick with the stomach flu. Wednesday night, just down the street from us, were several police cars and an ambulance.

As I was heading out the door to go to our Relief Society activity, I stopped by Connie's house to see if she was being taken to the hospital, and what the police cars and ambulance were all about, and if there was anything I could do to help. One of our neighbors, and the Hogans really good friend, was there with them and told me that Connie had passed away just an hour or so earlier. That moment will be forever etched in my mind.

My head is still having a hard time wrapping around this news. We weren't super close friends, but Connie is one of those people that just works her way into your heart, and I grew to love her so much. She's one of the smartest people I know, and she knows something about everything. With a super testimony of the Gospel, a beautiful smile and attitude, and an infectious laugh.

And it's hard to let go.

I've lost cousins and grandparents, and have known people throughout high school that have passed away, but I've never had a friend that I cared so deeply about pass away. This is really hard for me. And, I never thought that my first funeral as the RS President would be for a friend.

So, that's why today has been surreal. I keep thinking that I'll drive down the road and see Connie coming around the corner after picking up one of her six kids from some activity or another. Or see her at Scouts. She was B's scout leader right now. And Scott's last year. So, they're feeling her loss as well.

Because of my calling in the church, I have received numerous phone calls and fb messages with offers of help and wanting to know what was needed. But, it's hard to be strong when all I want to do is break down and cry. But, my mom reminded me to look to the Savior and He will help me be strong at those exact times when I need to be.

Case in point - B and one of the Hogan boys is in the same class at school and church. They're best friends, and since that first day when Zach came over to play with the "new neighbors" (us), they've been almost inseparable. B told me that at school all of their classmates made cards for Zach to give to him when he comes back to school. I asked B if he wanted to do something for the Hogan family, and he said that he did, but didn't know what he could do.

But, I knew. Because as I was heading out to run some errands and escape fb for a little bit, I looked over at the Hogan's home and saw some leaves in the front yard. Not a lot, but enough that my boys could go rake. And, I had the thought come to my mind that my boys could do a small act of service for the Hogan's (really the only thing a 6, 9, & 10 year old can do) by raking up their leaves. And I know that thought came from a loving Heavenly Father.

And, when I mentioned that idea B loved it. So, we packed up our rakes and some bags, and the boys went and raked up their leaves. I was so happy and touched watching my boys do an act of service for somebody else - and to do it willingly. At that moment, I was able to be strong for my boys and teach them about acts of service. And in the next several days as the funeral is being planned, as well as the luncheon afterward, I know my Savior will help me to be strong.

Because He promised to lift and guide me during the difficult times in this calling.

So, to a wonderful friend . . . Connie Hogan, thank you for your example to me, your words of advice, the laughter, sharing the frustrations over our boys, and, ultimately, for working your way into my heart.

I'll never forget.