Winnah! Winnah! Winnah!

Okay, WHAT?! I won something? For reals? I really never do. And although everyone says "I never win anything," I'm the only one who can truly say that. I mean, the last thing I probably won was a game of Chutes and Ladders with my kids in which I tried to win by the tiniest margin possible. :D So, it's no surprise that...

This apron makes me feel like a million bucks!!

It wasn't actually my first choice (she's become so awesome, they're flying off the shelves! :D) but THIS is the one that was meant to be mine. It has my nickname on it and it is even more fabulous due to the out-of-the-comfort-zone-ness that it represents. I super love it! I wore it all day on Sunday like it was part of my outfit. :D I'm wearing it to the Ward Christmas party while I go find something to stir to feed my friends on Saturday morning. I'm wearing it to the next family party whether there's something to stir or not! I'm the new...

Glamazon Mom!

I love it because I won it and it makes me feel lucky! I love it because it's aqua and has dots! I love it because it has the most wonderful shape and makes me feel perdy! I love it because I never ever get to sew for myself and someone made it just for me! It's like tying on a burst of self esteem!

And that, my Friends, is a very welcome feeling to me! ;)

Aprons by Amy

I almost never take the time to sew for myself as I always have stacks and stacks of things planned to sew and tons of ideas that never even make it out of my head. When my good friend and fellow Special Needs Mom posted this on her blog, I decided to go for it! You should, too! Start out by going over to Positively Organic and see a pic of my beautiful friend in her awesome apron. The gal that sews the aprons is from Tooele... yet another Awesome person from Tooele... coincidence? I think not! :D Enjoy!

UPDATE! Wanna know if you're a winner or not? When the envelope looks like this!

Making a Mockery

Mock
adjective

1. constituting a copy or imitation of something; boys in mock battle;

noun

1. the act of mocking or ridiculing; they made a mock of him;

Diana and Geoffrey used their green tomatoes to make fun of raspberry jam.

Actually, we used green tomatoes, sugar and Jell-O to make some mighty fine jam. The seals are up there popping as I type. So, here's what happened...

We cleaned and de-stemmed our green tomatoes. Ours were mostly romas.

Then we dumped them in the food processor.

Voila! Green tomatoe puree. Looks tasty, no? :D

Then we got it boiling with equal parts sugar for 15 minutes.

Added a 6 oz. package of Jell-O for every 4 cups of puree.

Then we gave them a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

It actually went very smoothly, aside from one of jars not being able to take the mocking. He blew up, took his soccer ball and went home. :D

We made raspberry, strawberry-cherry or as we like to call it "strawcherry", a purple batch with 1 raspberry and 1 berry flavor that was blue and a tiny batch of cherry. YUM!

I Never Knew I Needed You

This is not the computer my Dad had, but I do remember having some like these at school. "You turned it off without typing the proper command?! It's going to explode now!"

I remember living with very little technology. I remember my Dad having a gigantic computer in his office in the basement of our house in Rose Park. Not very many of my friend's Dads had computers yet. We weren't allowed to touch it until years later with the advent of 'Sticky Bears Math' and 'Typing Tutor.' (Side note: I took bits and pieces of that computer to college with me, if I'm not mistaken. A certain monitor that said "Casper" on it sat on several desks in several of my college dorm rooms.)

Look, Laura and Angela!! I actually found a screenshot from Sticky Bears! Bring back memories?! :D

I remember when we got our first microwave. It was HUGE! It had an orange button on the brown woodgrain handle in order to unlock and open the door. We had to buy a little turn table to rotate the food around inside and things still always had really hot spots and really cold spots.

This is just like the phone we had in the hallway in Rose Park, only it was yellow or tan.

I remember when all phones were hooked to the wall and had varying lengths of curly cords that kept the part you talked into and listened out of connected to the wall. I never remember once losing the phone. Never did I hear my Mom call out for someone to call the phone so that she could find it. It was always where it was supposed to be. I even remember having an old rotary phone in the first house we rented when we moved to Pinetop, AZ. My Dad's friend (and my friend's Dad) Doc Flake called and my Dad wasn't there. I told him he was at the Roundhouse Resort, where he worked. After hanging up with Doc, I thought I'd call my Dad and tell him Doc had called. 3-tick-tick-tick, 6-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick, 9 (oh geez! The LONGEST one!)-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick, 4-tick-tick-tick-tick, 8-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick, 4-tick-tick-tick-tick, 8-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick... busy signal. Oh, right, Doc Flake probably has a push button phone. When was the last time I heard a busy signal? That nice lady that answers everyone's voicemail for them, sure!.. but no more busy signals.




And so, welcome to my world new iPod touch. I didn't know I needed to update my Facebook upstairs before I went to bed until you came. I didn't know I needed Pandora to play me music in other rooms than the office. I didn't know I needed to watch Netflix movies away from home... Landon would probably tell you he knew that all along! And who knew I needed an app to make a game out of my neverending list of chores? You did, Epic Win and I welcome you! I'm sure you are not the last app that will find its way into my heart.



Now, has anyone seen my phone?

Book Review: Great Ideas For Primary Activity Days by Trina Boice

This isn't so much a book with a plot as a book with an action plan! I am the Activity Days Leader for the 10 and 11 year old girls in my Church/Ward. Activity Days actually encompasses girls from age 8 to 11 and we do fun activities that teach and uplift and foster friendships and positive peer pressure. Through a series of events, I am currently alone in my calling. Whew! Deep breaths! I think I can! I think I can!

I remember being this age and the activities that we did when we were called the Merrie Miss. So, I feel a fair amount of pressure to get it right and teach good principles while having a lot of fun. I went to Seagull Book looking for one book and came out with this one! I thought I wanted the one that has lessons, handouts and games that you just copy right out of the book and use. Instead, I was inspired by this book by Trina Boice. It is FULL of all kinds of ideas for games, craft projects and service projects, but I also love the way that she presents the ideas. I feel so encouraged reading this book! I feel like I really can be a role model for these girls. She is so positive and uplifting and, dare I say, cute in the way that she presents ideas. And not only that, but she has organized her ideas into the categories of the goals that the girls are working towards to earn their Faith in God awards.

There, I fixed it!

Landon has a favorite pair of sandals. They have Buzz Lightyear on them and he can put them on himself... they're my favorites, too! All they really are is flip flops with elastic around the back. When they started getting too small, we tried to replace them with actual flip flops that had Lightning McQueen on them. Let's just say that flip flops and three year olds, at least my three year old, don't really mesh very well. So, taking a cue from Buzz, I rigged up ol' Lightning with fair success. I was going to cover them with fabric and sew it with the elastic stretched and all that "fancy" stuff, but then I realized that he is 3, he doesn't care! And all I really care about is that his shoes stay on his feet. So, without further ado, here's my project in pictures.

Buzz is actually in very good condition considering he wears these just about every day. I should re-phrase that... he wears these for several minutes in a row several times a day.


The white's a little bright, but I'm sure he can take care of that in short order.


Here's his cute feet. His feet really are that blurry in real life, they're hardly ever still!

P.S. If you ever need to waste some time (who doesn't have WAY too much time?) here's a site from which I borrowed the name of this post that is very entertaining.

Reflections

My sewing reflects my life. When I was younger (a lot younger) my Mom would buy me fabric so that I could make my own clothes that fit in the style of the day, but fit me and my gangliness. As I took classes in high school and college, I sewed things that fit into the assignments and time alotted for sewing during the years of cramming of information into my brain. When I got married, I tried to sew for my husband... boys are so hard to sew for! And when the kids came, thus ended the era of sewing anything for myself! As the mirror shows, my life is not all about me right now, it's about my kids. Keeping them bright, shiny and happy is my life's goal. :D When I have time to sew, I sew for them. Like I said, my sewing reflects my life.

So, when I gave myself the challenge of sewing myself a 50s inpsired dress, I got really excited. It's been a coon's age since I've sewn anything for myself. Do you know how long a coon lives? Me neither! :D But I know that in order to be concious to put the oxygen mask onto my children, I need to put my own mask on first. Knowaddimean? So in small and meaningful ways, I'm trying not to forget myself.

As in times of yore when life was all about ME and my Mom was the one with the check book at the fabric store, one of the reasons I have chosen to sew me a dress rather than to buy one is fit. Store bought dresses of this variety hit me in that weird place that looks too long to be short and too short to be long. It's called the 'awkward length' and I excel at it! :D

So, I fell in love with this pattern:



I actually really love the featured pink dress, but I'm not too crazy about the colloar, so I think I'll end up going for the yellow one. Cute, no? To me, this is what my Grandmothers would have worn as more of a work dress... the kind you change into after Church on Sunday to shell peas in or something. The dress that stays under an apron much of the day as she whirls from task to task. I see myself wearing this dress on a hot day instead of shorts, on a date with my hubby, to a meeting at the school... somewhere between dressy and casual.

I have yet to find the perfect fabric for this project, but I'm having an awful lot of fun looking! Tell me what you think of the pattern and I would LOVE to hear your fabric suggestions, but remember that if you're reading this on Facebook, to click the link and leave the comment on my blog, pretty please! ;D

She's With Me

Love me some Collin Raye.

I heard him sing this song in person and I will NEVER forget the emotions I felt from him and the ones it creates in me every time I hear it.

I've been thinking of him (him the person, not the celebrity) since I heard that he lost his precious granddaughter. She had an undiagnosed neurologic condition that left her with deteriorating disabilities. No matter how many people know your name, you still feel pain and experience life even when the cameras aren't rolling. God bless Haley and may she be able to be her family's Guardian Angel.

I dare you to listen to this song and not cry. Double Dog Dare.

Charity

I am in awe of the word "Charity." Sometimes when I think about it too much, I enter the dark realm of "I'll never do enough" and I have to drag myself back up from the depths and try to be satisfied with what I can do. I don't think that is how Charity is supposed to feel. It is synonymous with our Savior and I KNOW He doesn't want me to feel that way when I think about Him. I know that He didn't do the wonderful, selfless things He did for us while He was here on the earth in order to make me feel guilty.

In one of the many lessons and talks I have heard on this subject, someone (I wish I could remember who!) presented Charity as a way of life. ...As a character trait that we can cultivate to become second nature. ...As everyday things that we do for others that make us who we are.

I love to do things for others. I love thinking about whomever I happen to be sewing for at the moment and how they'll (hopefully) enjoy what I'm making for them. I love picturing the things I sew being tattered and worn, having literally been loved to death. I love thinking about someone resting comfortably with a full tummy of food I made for them. I love smiles and hugs and even tears when I'm able to pull off something nice that someone wasn't expecting. Those are all things I love about living Charity rather than giving it grudgingly.

In no way do I profess to be perfect (or even consistent) in my Charity. All I'm saying is that when I am able to accomplish the things my heart feels for people, it makes me happy. I love sharing in the glow that both the giver and receiver get to have when kindness is shared. I like that feeling enough to keep on trying!



1 Timothy 1:5
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Mosiah 18: 27 - 29
27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given.
28 And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.
29 And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.

Make A Wish!

During a (Hammon) Family Reunion this summer, we enjoyed a tour of the Make A Wish Foundation in Salt Lake (You should go!). I, like so many others, assumed that wishes are for children with terminal illnesses; Otherwise normal kids who have a disease that will shorten their life. The woman giving us the tour was adamant that they don't use the word "terminal" anymore to describe their Wishers. Instead, they say they have "life threatening medical conditions." Many of the kids they grant wishes for get better in the long run. She also said that some of them later get jobs at Make A Wish and make a difference helping other kids.

I have very, very, VERY mixed feelings about granting a wish for Becca. No matter which way you look at it, it makes me feel like I have to admit that Becca will die early. She doesn't have a 'treatable' condition really. I know that the things that CMV has done to her body will never let her be completely healthy or whole. Her medical conditions certainly threaten her life if I don't stay completely on top of them and do everything I can and everything doctors recommend and even those things I feel inspired to do for her. BUT having someone gather and spend money on her because of this fact is impossible for me to get my head around.

There is also the issue of her not being able to communicate. How do I know what her truest wish would be? I like to think she is happy and content with how we do things. She rarely complains anyway. :) Anything that we did for her would be what WE want for her and not necessarily what SHE would want for her. This wouldn't seem like such a big deal if I didn't walk slowly around and read all the pictures on the walls of wishes kids made that meant so much to them. They had heart's desires that were fulfilled. I'm fairly certain most of Becca's heart's desires are to sit quietly with her family and 'hang out.' :) Besides, I'd probably want something boring like a ramp on the house or someone to invent a fuel efficient wheelchair adapted van. Wishes are supposed to be to meet someone famous or to be a superhero for the day or to go somewhere amazing. And, depending on the day, NONE of those things would get a reaction out of Becca.

At one point in the tour, they took us out to a cute little fountain with statues of children in it and gave us each a token with which to make our own wish and throw into the fountain if we wanted. I still have my token. I couldn't bring myself to make a wish.

Sister Love

Emily's asleep, so I can't really ask her permission, but since her co-author is sitting here next to me and he gave his okay, I'm going to share this. Emily, who is 8, gave a talk in Primary at Church today. The theme for her talk was Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is a God of Miracles. She held this picture back to back with her talk as she read so that it was visible as she talked. I should also mention that Becca LOVED hearing her sister's voice over the microphone and smiled and kicked throughout. :)




Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is a God of miracles. In our family we have been blessed with many miracles. One is named Rebecca. When she was born she had many problems and doctors weren't sure if she would even live. We are lucky to have her in our family. She is 10 years old now. She still has many disabilities, but has two important abilities. She has the ability to love those around her, and the ability to show that love in her own way. heavenly Father blesses our family with miracles to know what she wants, the miracle of a strong father and mother who can take care of her, brothers and sisters who love and help her, and the miracle of the little things she can do to show she loves us.

We all have many miracles happen to us every day, but most of the time, we don't pay attention. We have the miracle of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. We have the miracle of being able to talk to Heavenly Father whenever we want, through prayer. We have the miracle of being members of the true church of Jesus Christ. We have the miracle of a living prophet who guides us and tells us what Heavenly Father wants us to do.

Because of these miracles, we can return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus after we die. I am grateful for the many miracles we have and say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Trifle

Remember that Friends episode where Rachel is making English Trifle, which is a dessert, and the page in the cookbook flips and she ends up putting some weird stuff in the layers? :D You know you wanna watch it... Friends; Rachel's Trifle

Wikipedia defines trifle as: A trifle is a dessert dish made from thick (or often solidified) custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or gelatin, and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top.

I define trifle as heavenly clouds with super yummy fruity creamy stuff in between. I'm a sucker for a really good trifle. Vanilla pudding... Cream cheese... cake- pound cake, angel food cake... strawberries, or even better- raspberries... YUM!

And so, Kelly, this post is for you! THANK YOU for the super yummy trifle! Have I told you you're my favorite Lee Sister-in-law? ;) You can make me trifle any ole time you want to!

Nifty 50s Style

Remember the 50s? The 1950s? During WWII, women's style skimped on everything because everything was going to the war effort. Skirts were pencil thin with no extra fullness and little detail. Then came the 50s! After scrimping for so long, skirts got really, really full. Often full circles in fact. Fun details. Bright fabrics. I love it! Love it! Love it!

Donna Reed, June Cleaver, Mrs. Cunningham... they knew where it was at. They were always there for their kids, teaching them what was right. Always cooking and baking and looking fabulous doing it! Now, I fully realize that my perception of this era truly does come primarily from these TV shows. I did not actually live during the 1950s. In fact, even my parents were babies during this era. But right now, I am really digging that full skirted, pearls and an apron style. :) Where's the rule book that says that just because I'm a Mom with young kids, I MUST wear jeans and a t-shirt every day?

Donna Reed
(Don't you just LOVE this picture? I'm going to start doing this every time I serve my family dinner... "TaaDaa!")

Barbara Billingsley

Marion Ross

My next experiment in fashion will be to make myself a "50s Housewife dress." Stay tuned!

My head is full. My heart is full. I have SO much to say that never every seems to get said. I literally compose blog posts as I clean my house, change diapers, wipe runny noses, fix dinner... but they never seem to make it into print.

I am an internal creative whirlwind. I have SO many ideas I want to create... with a sewing machine, with a computer, with scissors and glue, with hair elastics and ribbon. So, why do I get so clogged? Why don't I just do it? Well, not that I'm blaming her, but the most obvious reason is that as soon as I decide to do something, my cell phone alarm beeps reminding me to feed Becca so her special diet is perfectly spaced throughout the day. Or Buddy Boy needs to be fed and/or changed, Snaggletooth needs encouragement also known as a chill pill, Stinkerbell needs to be found and guided back to the right path or Lanny Man needs help in the bathroom even though he doesn't. I have to force myself to do the dishes and the laundry which explains why I always feel behind in those areas. *Sigh*

Welp, rather than whine and complain about never having time to do things I love, what is a good solution? I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I shouldn't feel guilty about doing those things I love. I should MAKE time for those 'mental health' things so I don't find myself on the other side of that line. You know how when our Grandmas were growing up, and maybe even our Moms, they had a day for baking and a day for laundry and things like that? I'm thinking that could work for me. Only I need to add blogging/journaling, digital scrapbooking, sewing and writing in there somewhere. :) Wish me luck!

Stop CMV!

I was pregnant with my first child at graduation for my Bachelor's Degree, but I didn't know for sure yet. In fact, we waited for a little while after that to test because we were going to a friend's wedding and we figured if we didn't know, we couldn't spill the beans. Sometime between that new little life starting to grow and when she made her entrance into the world, a horrible thing happened. It could have been as innocent as me eating a cracker that a small child had discarded... we were poor college students, I couldn't let it go to waste! It may have been me waiting too long to wash my hands after changing a diaper. It's possible that Hubby contracted it and brought it home to me. However it happened, Cytomegalovirus entered my body and harmed my baby. CMV for short is a silent virus, or it was for me. The people that do show symptoms have "flu like" symptoms.

Every day for ten and a half years now, we've lived with the consequences of that virus. I don't blame anyone for giving me the virus or myself for getting it... anymore. I cried so many tears at first when I realized something I had done had caused this much damage. But ultimately, I didn't do anything on purpose. If I had known about CMV what I know now, I would have been so much more careful... especially if I had known my CMV status was negative, that I had never had the virus. I have been in love with Becca since I knew she was coming and now that she's here, I wouldn't change a thing about her. I know that comes off as contradictory, but walk a mile in my shoes and you will totally get it. :) One thing is for sure, though. If I could prevent this nasty virus from affecting even one precious baby, I WOULD!

Enter StopCMV.org.



I don't have time to crusade against CMV. We chose to get our family here quick since lifting Becca was part of every succeeding pregnancy. Becca is now the oldest of 5 children and I wouldn't give up the craziness we have at our house every day for the world! Don't get me wrong, if you are curious or I am given the least oppurtunity, I love to answer questions about CMV and encourage testing and preventative measures and all that sort of thing... but right now, I don't have the time or resources to do more than that, I just make friends that do! :) I joined an email listserve when Becca was about 18 months old of other parents of kids with CMV. We've been through A LOT together and we are still going strong! It has expanded to include a Facebook family of Moms (and Dads) who chat every day and offer those pats on the back and "you go, girl"s as neccessary. :) Now we have authors and public speakers and event organizers that are getting out there and spreading the word about this super common yet preventable virus.

StopCMV.org is an awesome new website that answers a lot of questions and enhances the network of parents and loved ones affected by this virus. They have started a new awareness campaign where people from all over the world send in pictures of their hands. My personal faves are the little Cerebral Palsy hands of those most devastatingly affected by CMV. Starting June 1st, you can go to this website and vote for the picture that you love best to be used as part of the Stop CMV campaign. Go and do it! And don't just vote for Becca's (hers looks an awful lot like the one at the top of this post), vote for the picture you love best. They are ALL great! Anything and everything that gets the word out and prevents this virus is awesome, dontcha think?

Be aware. Spread the word. Stop CMV!

This one didn't make the cut because of the different looks on each of our faces and the varied amounts of focus, but it was a great idea, right? Right?! :D

I Hate Shopping

I am 6 feet tall. I weigh 154 pounds most days. Most people, especially seeing me for the first time, probably think of me as "tall and skinny." There is a lot of duplicity in the way I feel about myself and my self esteem has undulated between hating the way I look and liking it for as long as I can remember. I shouldn't say it like that, it's not that I hate the way that I look... how could I? I have incredible parents and it's their genes and the ones before them that make me, me. I actually love a lot of the things I see in my face that I can attribute to different relatives. It's kind of like seeing them every day. :) I don't know what it's like to be short, so how could I say that I'd like that any better? I have a bunch of stuff stored in the cupboards up by the ceiling that I'd never get to use! :D The trouble comes when I have to buy clothes for this "tall and skinny" body of mine, because no matter who is walking the runway, the normal everyday stores that I shop at do not make clothes that fit me. I take that back... they either fit me around OR lengthwise, but usually not both in the same outfit. It's a little like this gem of a movie, I'll be honest.

For instance, jeans. If it does not say "Long" in the size, they will look okay on me standing up, but as soon as I sit, you better run for high ground because there's a flood a comin'! I often have to buy non-jeans pants in a larger size to get them long enough and then either take a seam down the sides to cinch them in or use the ubiquitous drawstring. Skirts, dresses and shorts that are knee length on everyone else will be thigh high on me. I don't really "do" thigh high. And shoes? Fuggedaboutit! There are like 7 pairs and if I'm not in the store the day they put them on the shelves, the cute ones will be gone. Trust me, I worked at Payless long enough to know that they send 15 pairs of the cute style in the 7-9 size range and one in the size I wear. (Hey, I told you my height and weight, I don't need to tell you that I wear a size 11 shoe!) :D And yes, I totally used to hold back the cute pair before they went out on the shelf, because I am not kidding you, they would be gone that day. How do the shoemakers not notice this? Oh, right, because they only sent one pair, and after it's gone, they don't see the 30 vertically blessed women who came looking for the shoe, but didn't buy anything because there wasn't anything to buy!

And people wonder why I love to sew! ;)

Now, shirts... there's where I can shop in the 'normie' section. I am roughly the same height from rump to shoulder as the girl sitting on the next park bench over. I can usually find really cute shirts that fit and look nice. In fact, I know I'm average here because my size is often gone off the rack! :D I think this is where my non-t-shirt shirts come from. I love to wear something with just that little something extra, if only to draw attention away from the drawstring or the floods! :D I'm talking a little puff sleeve or a vintage Tinkerbell design or some little bling bling. It's not too much to ask, is it?

I really do hate shopping. It never fails to sink me into a depression. I mean, first of all, I had better need something really bad if I am going to take any of my kids with me because it is not a quick in and out for me. Geoff and I once went on a date, with someone else watching our kids and everything, and all I did was try on clothes at a store like a normal person. Of course, we still left without buying anything because that was the plan and the dresses all hit me in that weird length that is too long to be short, but too short to be long. It's no wonder I avoid shopping for myself at all costs... and speaking of costs, my husband doesn't hate this trait in me at all. :D Although, it should be mentioned that he is a saint when it comes to shopping for me. Not only is he patient about it, (he even went back into the store and bought the one thing, (a shirt, of course!) that I had seen, liked AND it fit me after I had said it was time to go), he also ends up finding me things that I like. We window shop online all the time and he buys me clothes, even as surprises, that I really, really like. :D

But on the plus side (no pun intended!) I have this year's Halloween costume in the bag! :D

Don Knotts, Leader of the Geeks

When was the last time you've seen a Don Knotts movie? If you can't remember, I highly recommend you open up your Netfilx queue in another tab and add one right on in there. Make sure and add one that has Tim Conway in it, too, you will not be disappointed! The Apple Dumpling Gang

Last night we watched Private Eyes. Our kids didn't get some of the spoken humor, but they loved the prat falls and funny faces from both of the main characters. They're kind of yin and yang, Don and Tim. Tim Conway is the down pillow to Don Knotts' pins and needles. Don is always nervous and on edge and Tim just seems to accidentally fall into being funny. Of course, I mean their movie characters, I am not professing to know either one of them personally. :)

As I watched Don Knotts' face morph from "uh-oh!" to "oh brother!" to "yipes!" I mused that he is funny because he's not beauiful. If you took, Pierce Brosnan for instance and made him try for those same faces, it wouldn't be nearly as fall-on-the-floor funny as Don Knotts makes them. You would have to have a unique brand of self esteem to wake up every morning knowing people loved you for your humor and not your savoire-faire. And we do love them, don't we? On Geoff and I's first date, he made me laugh the entire time! Don't get me wrong, I lo-o-ove the way Geoff looks, but the way he made me laugh that night made him more memorable than other guys I'd been out with; they tried too hard. You could be the cutest guy in the world, but if you're boring, I'm going to have trouble remembering your name, if you know what I mean.

I also happen to love The Ghost and Mr. Chicken because he gets the pretty girl. It's so cute how he doesn't really believe that she likes him over the obnoxious hunk of man-meat that is always chasing her around. As for me, myself and I... we stand by our geek, uh, um, man.

Geoffrey- eoffrey- eoffrey

Don't forget to go look at Landon's big boy bed on his Daddy's blog.

And while you're blog hopping, check out Geoff's new photography blog, too! He loves comments, even short and sweet ones, so make sure and let him know what you think! ;)

Growing UP

Growing up as in Tall

We do a lot of this at our house! All of our kids are above-average in height, which isn't surprising given the height of their parents. I have noticed some hemlines raising lately and it's not due to haute couture, but rather because the occupant of the clothes has lengthened their legs. Those tags they put in clothes with the size on them are suggestions, really. If I want to cover my kids modestly, I usually have to get them a size ahead. I just moved Ethan up into 6 to 9 month clothes because the 3-6 were too tight and short. He just passed 3 months old a couple of weeks ago. Landon has been wearing 3T since he turned 2 and it's not limited to the boys... the girls all wear a size ahead, especially in dresses to get them the right length. I don't remember if it was this way for me when I was a kid, but I know now that if my pants do not say "long" in the size, they will not be anywhere near long enough!

Growing up as in Old

I have always said that it is not my birthdays that make me feel old. It used to be my siblings. My sister is 21 months younger than I am and, without fail, every time she has a birthday, I'm like, "Aren't I that age?" Nope, about to turn the age that is 2 years later.

Now, it is my kids. Becca is about to turn 10! WHAT?!! When did this happen? She's going to have double digits! Emily turns 8 this year and WOW! Talk about a wake up call! Being LDS, 8 years old is pretty special. When Becca turned 8 we did things differently and it was a difficult time to wrap our head's around. Now Emily is here and even though we won't miss the 'milestone' of Baptism this time, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I remember being 8! If I mess things up for her, she'll REMEMBER it!! Maybe that's a silly thing to worry about, but there it is! We went to a special little meeting yesterday that was focused on the kids getting Baptized this year and it was so neat! They listened to talks and went around to 3 different chats about different aspects of Baptism that they got to raise their hands and participate in. Emily really felt like a million bucks when it was all over! It will be really neat to invite family to our special event in June.

So, even though growing up doesn't actually mean gaining more height for me (thank goodness!!), I am constantly amazed at the rate in which time passes and my enduring hope is that I can keep up! I want to remember all of this! I don't want to miss important things because I was focused beyond them or even behind them. I want to be here... present... for all of the exciting things my family and I are going through. Especially in this year of double digits and Baptisms! :)

How goes Project Simplification?

As a small update, my goal to simplify is going really well! Unlike so many resolutions that end in ashes in January, I'm determined to make this part of my personality and the way I do things. I have already cleaned several areas in my house with a mind towards getting rid of things I don't need. I have also simplified the way I spend my time and focus on those things that will make me happy and nourish my spirit. :) So far, so good!

Simplify

This is the one and only resolution I am making for myself. Simplify. I am only going to do the things, keep the things and think about the things that will make me happy, keep me close to the Lord and make my family stronger. My mind has already been reeling with things I can do (or stop doing) in order to accomplish this and I figure the best way to be held accountable is to openly declare my attempts and hopefully results. :)

The first thing that came to mind was simplify the way my house looks. There are many ways to describe how it looks now... lived in... broken in... an obstacle course... sanitary clutter (my favorite). You see, it does get cleaned regularly and I even get down to the scrubbing, vacuuming and disinfecting stages of things. But the clutter, well, now the clutter just keeps on creeping in. No matter how many times I put it away, it ends up right back on the floor. I often say in exasperation that I wish we had less stuff, but I never actually do anything about it except to keep right on picking it up and putting it back away. My goal for this year is to get rid of unnecessary things if only to avoid the laps they make from the shelf to the floor and back again. I would love to be so magnanimous as to donate them to a specific cause, but in light of simplifying, I will just hope that the good people at D.I. will price them such that someone who really needs them will be able to afford them easily. :)

An interesting thing happened to me during this past Christmas season that has driven my perspective on simplifying my life. I love to sew a lot for Christmas. It does tend to save money, but it also gives me oodles of time to think about the people that I am sewing for. By the time I have finished their gifts, I have imagined their response to the gift and reminisced on our shared experiences and thought about how much they mean to me and why I am spending my time on them instead of my money. However, this year I decided that I wasn't going to panic if things weren't finished on time and sew until the wee hours of every night right up until Christmas Eve. I wanted to enjoy it and all of the other things I sometimes miss out on when I sew obsessively. Instead, I prioritized my list with the things that definitely mattered that they were done early, such as those to be sent far away, and the things we had decided would be the "big" gifts for our kids and so on. As a result, I didn't get everything done that was on my list in time for Christmas morning. *GASP!* And it was okay. *Gasp! Choke! Bug eyes!*

I stopped sewing during the day right before my kids' first day of Christmas break and only sewed at night after they were asleep, making sure I went to bed at a good time. And you know what happened? I was happy. I enjoyed my kids while they were home (for the most part... I'm not THAT patient). I baked and made dinners that had thought behind them instead of "freezer surprise" every night. And I didn't hear anyone complaining Christmas morning. I don't sew for people in order to stress myself out and this year I made sure that didn't happen.

I really want this to work and with 5 kids it's just got to work or they will grow up remembering a stressed out, disheveled, screaming Mommy and that is just not an option. They grow up way too fast and I don't want to miss it! Wish me luck! ;)