13 in 13 - Moving again

photo from lookbook at Ruche

Oh how I wish moving looked this cute.  Yes, we are moving again.  But this is a record amongst our now 13 moves in 13 years of marriages.  We have lived in this house for almost 3 years, the longest we have ever lived in one place.  This house has become home to me and tears have already arrived in thinking of leaving this home with its beautiful kitchen, spacious backyard, upstairs laundry room, fingerprint smudged walls and doors, and most notable, my incredible neighbors!  Lucky for us though we are moving within the same neighborhood and to another beautiful home.  It also just happens to be next door to my parents:)  I am overly anxious to start making this next home feel more permanent- the kind of settled feeling that ignites planning of parties, friends over for dinner and games, and a plan to completely decorate the entire house.  Ooo I can feel the excitement.

I have such an eclectic style that I have been overwhelmed by my indecisiveness varying tastes.  I love color, oh I love color, but what colors to choose.  I always seem to be drawn to the same cool blue colors, but then I am in love the classic combination of black and white, and then there's the thrill I feel when I see bold red.  What to do?  What to do?

brought to you by Pinterest 

These are the colors I 'live' in.  Cool, refreshing blues.  Aahhh I can feel myself relaxing already.

But then there's waking up to these chairs that greet you with such an energy to help you start your new day:

Another Pinterest find

I could go on and on with inspirational photos.  And please if you have a favorite website you visit with home decor ideas, please pass it along!

One thing is for sure, I will be having this print!  Because if you don't dance, well you're no friends of mine!

Lovin' this from Etsy Shop The Color Bee

Leaving Apple

Apple has felt the loss of two great men this week...Steve Jobs and my husband Mike.  It has been a bittersweet thing for Mike to know that he needed a different job. 

Bitter- to realize that this on-your-feet all day, retail-hour job, which happens to be at one of the top companies in the world and happens to sell the coolest products ever- just wasn't a good fit for someone suffering from Multiple Sclerosis.  {read more posts about Mike's journey here.}  His doctor thought he was crazy and rather remarkable for being able to do it for as long as he did.  Truly its a miracle that he could.

Sweet- to hope and pray for a new job that would allow him to not be completely knocked out from exhaustion and pain each and every day, a job that would allow his skills and abilities to be unrestrained in their reach-yes, he's got skills!, a job that would be more conducive to the schedule of a growing, young family.

Bitter+sweet = Today ... You can take the boy out of Apple, but you can never take the Apple out of the boy.

Bitter+sweet = Tomorrow ...  Our future is bright with Mike's new job.  We are so excited to see where this takes our family.  We feel beyond grateful to our Heavenly Father who continues to provide blessings after blessings to our little family.  We have struggled.  We continue to struggle.  But oh are we blessed!  Our 'morrow' has arrived!

I thought it would be fitting to finally post photos of Father's Day this year.  Mike had been wanting a MacBook Air and so we thought that Father's Day would be a fitting occasion.  If you walked by the Apple Store and saw this front window display, then you will understand the kids' presentation.  Each of our 4 children traced {ok I may have helped} their cute little hand onto a balloon.  They in turn walked into the room holding their balloon.  Eyan also brought him one of our favorite green smoothies.  Owen came last, carrying the balloon attached to his MacBook Air that he had made for his Dad.  Of course to get the pleasant employee discount Mike had to purchase the actual notebook himself, but it still counts.

Tate-isms

I am grateful that some of my children inherited the quick wit of their father.  I am always the one that knows exactly what she would have said in a conversation a mere hour or two after it actually occurred.    I do have to say that after 13 years of marriage to the most hilarious man, a few funny comments slip out every once in awhile, to which I am always surprised and quite proud.  {I'm that girl that laughs at her own jokes:) only because I'm just as caught off guard to hear them as anyone else, just ask my siblings}.

Well our four year old Tate definitely was born a character, just look at that grin above and at those sideways glancing eyes in this photo from my "Back to School" photo shoot.   He continually surprises me with the funny remarks that fly out of his mouth on a regular basis.  He is quite happy to be a 'funny man'!

If you have noticed I began a note in my sidebar entitled, "Tate-isms".  It mainly serves as insurance that I will write down some of those moments that I don't want to forget.

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Today in the car as the boys were enthusiastically talking about a show {think high decibel levels!}, “I love that part!  It makes me laugh my tears out.” -Tate

August 2, 2011 

Tate giving his answer to our family spotlight we are doing this week in devotionals.
Question: What makes you mad? Why?
Answer: Closing the door when I am in the garage and turning off the light, like when Eyan shut the door on us and Owen was really, really mad... I think he was going to pull his skin off.  Mom, why are you doing that ...Why are you pulling up and down your shoulders? {I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud but I guess he still saw my shoulders shaking as I was doing all I could to control my laughter}

 August 7, 2011

Yesterday on our way to preschool Tate asked, "Mom, how does that nest balance on the small branches?"  I was puzzled as to where this was coming from so I looked out our window to see this:

the logo for our community on a flag.  That he would ask that question, that his little 4 year old brain would wonder about balance really blew me away.  I have to say that I didn't quite know how to respond so I replied, "I don't know." - Good one:)  To which he promptly replied, "I'll ask one bird if he knows."

I love having Tate in my life.  He keeps me laughing and in a day full of running around like mad from one thing to the next, he sometimes is my best medicine.

Desire

With the beginning of school comes an opportunity for renewal, renewal of habits lost with the unstructured nature of summer.  I have been thinking a lot of why that is, why do I suffer from such an ebb and flow of discipline in the things which should be placed at high priority no matter the season.  {didn't I just post on this? here and here}  I've determined that one of the reasons that I struggle to be disciplined is that I let being tired get in the way of getting things done.

Being tired, boy that's lame. I let being tired overrun my time I have to do what could literally energize me - exercise, spiritual study, hobbies, etc.  I am searching and praying for that increased desire to take a step in faith: to set that alarm, to actually get up out of bed, to turn off that computer or phone that I often go to zone out, and to get off that couch after a very, very long day of going from one child's needs to the next so that I can receive that energy I so desperately need to fulfill those priorities.

It really comes down to desire.  Desire.  What do I desire most?  I need to reevaluate.  Filling my mind with good reading has definitely lent to some good thinking.  These quotes have been going around in my mind.

"Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.  The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming."

Elder  Dallin H. Oaks, Desire

"God bless you with the will and desire to be an example to the world and to live the balanced, righteous life He expects His children to live during their mortal probation."

Elder L. Tom Perry, The Tradition of a Balanced, Righteous Life

"[T] oo often our actions suggest that we live far beneath [our] potential...and settle for experiences far below our privileges."

Pres. Dieter F. Uchtforf, Your Potential, Your  Privilege - {as I've related to motherhood}

Such truth!  So many things to think about, questions to ask myself, changes that need to be made.  

Are the desires I am pursuing the kind of things that will help me to become the person I want to be?

God expects us to live a balanced life here on the Earth, so he must provide a way to achieve it.  What kind of tools has he blessed me with to achieve it?

What potential does God see in me?  Do I see it as well or am I settling?  If the privileges are available, what must I do to qualify for them?

Such work to be done on little ole me.  I pray that I may do what the Lord has personally admonished me, to "work tirelessly".  If you see me, remind me that I'm not tired, that I'm working tirelessly with the right desires in my heart towards my potential.  See what I say:)  I'm curious.

On the Morrow

In the midst of our deepest yearning to be freed from a heavy burden, a perpetual trial, or a unyielding veil of darkness that won't seem to dissipate, we plead with the Lord to hear our prayers and grant us his mercy and demonstrate his power in our lives.  We know that he can.  We know that he will.  Yet oftentimes we wait and wait and do not see His divine help.  We continue to pray and plead but that affliction remains.  Our faith shakes, our doubt creeps in.  Days turn to months and even months to years.  Yet we are not forgotten nor forsaken, not one minute, not one second.

The Lord calls out to us in His loving and inviting way, "Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you..."  {Mosiah 24:16}

On the morrow.  When is my morrow, you may ask?  When will your tomorrow come that will set you free from whatever it is that weighs on you?

Waiting is the hardest part for me, but that is my testing ground.  How will I wait?  Will I be so preoccupied with the fact that I want the solution now and I know how it should go, that I waste the time given to me to really seek out the solution and will of God? Will I become resentful, angry, bitter, and doubtful that I am really even on the Lord's radar?  Will I separate myself from any form of the love of God so as not to be reminded that I must trust, that He sees me as capable of such a burden?

I have fallen into every one of these traps.  Sometimes just for moments at a time and unfortunately sometimes days and weeks.  There have even been times in my life when even longer.

Immediately proceeding this promise of "On the Morrow", God instructs us how we are to wait.  This scripture was read to me at the most difficult trial of my life up to that point, a time when I knew what the will of the Lord was to be, I was going to obey, but I sure wasn't going to be happy about it.

Here is how we are to wait for our 'morrow':
"submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."  {Mosiah 24:15}

This is our challenge friends, maybe not the burden or trial itself, but what we do while we wait to be free from it.  I pray with all my heart that I "submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

I have seen many 'morrows': miracles, deliverances, and answers to prayers.  Lately our family has been blessed with tremendous blessings all at once.  Answers that have come from waiting months and some even years for answers to our prayers.  We have been provided with a new place to live since this home we are renting has been sold.  It just so happens to be next door to my parents!  Mike has been offered a new job, one which will lend him a better opportunity for a healthy lifestyle and optimal use of his talents and skills.  He has also been given a new opportunity to serve in our church that will increase his capacity to influence and help others with his tremendous example of faith and work.  Such blessings and others unnamed have become our 'morrow'.  We have truly been delivered by the plan of an omniscient Father in Heaven and by the redeeming power of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Craft Explosion for the Sewing Group

Coming in October I have BIG PLANS for my Sewing Group.  Although I want to keep the group sewing driven, I thought a once a year craft class would be a blast, so CRAFT EXPLOSION was ignited.  My goal is to offer 2 different sessions with 3 classes each, so each person can complete 2 separate projects, including instructors.

Instructors!!!  That is what I need.  5 of them to be exact.  Instructors will be able to choose which project they would like to teach from my list of suggested projects.  I will be doing a run-through of the project with each of them before the class so there will be no fear involved and you will be guaranteed a completed project!  Each instructor will also only teach once so they will have the other session to choose an additional project to complete of your choosing.

Check out my sewing blog Learn 2 Love 2 Sew for the complete details on my goals, class projects, and needs for your feedback!

Here are a few of the proposed projects:

Plasti-Dip Fun

http://fellowcreatives.com/2010/09/16/plasti-dip/

Oh I really want someone to choose this one.  You can transform any little trinket to a chic new piece of decor.

Faux Metallic Letter

http://kfddesigns.blogspot.com/2011/01/faux-metallic-letter-tutorial.html

Silhouette Embroidery Hoops

http://arieleldridge.blogspot.com/2010/04/embroidery-hoop-silhoutte.html

I will be teaching this silhouette class! 

Chicken Wire Display Frame

http://search4serendipity.blogspot.com/2011/07/tutorial-chicken-wire-display-frame.html

Crystal Necklace

http://www.joyfolieblog.com/2011/08/diy-wednesday-crystal-necklace.html

Head on over to my sewing blog Learn 2 Love 2 Sew for the complete list and to leave me some valuable feedback!!!  Hope to see your name volunteering to be an instructor so we'll have some classes to offer:)

Back to School Photo Shoot

Where did the Summer go?  Seriously.  We had such an eventful summer filled to the brim with activities, lessons, and family fun, interspersed with some great lazy and torturously crazy days.  Hopefully soon I will catch up on my posting of our fabulous summer {here's to dreaming!}.

On the boys' last day of summer I decided to take some "Back to School" photos.  We went out of our neighborhood a stone's throw to a dirt road and parked along the side of a shady bend.  To our right was the boys' fantasy come true, the remains of an old home just fit to climb on and explore.  They entitled it, 'the Secret Stairs'.  I bribed the boys with passage to these 'Secret Stairs' as soon as our photo shoot was complete.  They took the bait and really did a great job of cooperating.  I think they may have had a little fun too:)

I really am unworthy to have such an amazing camera {a Christmas present from my thoughtful husband}.  My goal this school year is to learn how to shoot on manual.  I just heard some of you cringe.  Yes I don't know how to use my camera.  I'm learning though!  little by little.  Despite my ignorance I feel like the photos turned out much to my delight!  Having beautiful children gives me such an advantage.  {Fiddling around with Aperature does too:)}


There are so many that I love.  Make way for a train of photos:

Painted Toenails

Pink bows. Pink ruffles. Pink headband....and Painted Toenails.  Abigail is all dolled up and growing up.  I was so happy to see Jani share these photos of my little niece.  The feeding tube almost goes unnoticed amongst her feminine clothes, porcelain skin, and ruby lips.  Such joy to see her glowing as she develops as an infant.  Our family is praying, crossing our fingers, and holding our breath that Abigail will get the approval from her doctor to travel down here with Jani and Jesse this weekend for some celebrations.  To hold her will be the fulfillment of such a long awaited moment.  I have followed her little life so closely that I feel such a bond with her.  I pray when I eventually get to hold her, that she may feel it too.
{you can view the details on Abigail's journey by clicking here, on the "We are Family" label in the right sidebar, or viewing my "Popular Posts" in the sidebar as well}

Her life flight t-shirt the pilot gave her.

***UPDATE***

Just found out that these painted toenails are heading my way this weekend!!!!  Can't wait:)