My Sweet Little Boy

Caleb never ceases to amaze me. He has a way of bringing me back "down to earth" by his simple, cute observations!

A week after we planted our garden The weather turned pretty cold here. Beau and I were both a little bummed that we might possibly lose some of our garden due to the cold nights. So we decided to blanket and cover the flowers and the garden, just to help, in case it did freeze at night.

The day after we had covered our plants, I loaded the kids in the van to run some errands. As we were driving out of the drive way Caleb got this look of concern on his face and said " Mom, why are the plants covered?" I quickly answered him, glad to explain, that we were helping the plants to survive. His scowl continued and his eyebrows creased even more as he said , almost appalled with me, "Don't you know mom, that dad blessed them. And that they will be OK!?" It was a statement rather than a question.

And there you have it. The words of a five year old boy, his convincing faith that he KNEW the plants would be fine! I told Beau later that day my conversation with Caleb. Beau smiled and told me that morning Caleb and him said a prayer to help the garden survive. So Caleb in discovering that everything was covered was just simply stating the fact that he had faith it would be fine!

I am thankful for children that always have a way of humbling me! If I could only bottle their faith! I am also thankful for a husband who is not afraid to pray for, and teach our children to pray for the things that others might find "trivial." I am glad that he was able to teach Caleb and in turn, Caleb teaching and reminding me to just have a little faith! Thank goodness for my precious little ones!! What would I do without them?

WINNER..Or should I say WINNERS!!!

So I put everyones name, who commented on my contest blog, in a hat and pulled one out! So the winner is ~


CONGRATULATIONS Kari! (Email your address, etc, again to my email address just to make sure I have it! And if you want a specific quote let me know!) And I will ALSO be mailing with your framed quote another handmade creation just for you!

I was feeling kind of bad to mail out just one since they are fairly simple to make and since I also had so many people comment! So I decided to draw one more name out. This winner will receive one of the above quote creations!! The second winner is~



So Bri Harris make sure you email me your mailing address also so I can get yours in the mail!

Thank you to all who participated. This was fun for me, as I hope it was fun for you! I am excited to get these out and be watching for another contest down the road!!

Happy Bloggings!!
{New Picture Post below~}

Canyon pictures and Fun

I took the kids for another drive up the canyon. We packed a picnic lunch but when we got up to our destination, of course being the space case mother I am, I had forgotten their lunch! HA! So we just had a fun drive instead! The kids of course had to "rock find" and I have lots of new ones in my yard from there "collection"! I was able to get some cute shots of the kiddos too! (Always a bonus in my book)

I enjoy taking drives so much! Beau has been "On call" since the beginning of the month so we can't leave cell phone range. But luckily only one more week of "On call" and hiking and camping for us can begin! Nothing clears my head more quickly, or brings me peace of mind, then getting out in nature and exploring all of God's beautiful creations!! The scenery is so amazing here. I don't think I could ever get enough! I love being outside with the kiddos! I need it as much as they do!

For my sister ~ Sharla Anne~

So I know that this is late birthday post to my sister. And I am so sorry but of course I wouldn't forget to do it even if it is late!


I have so many wonderful things to say about my sister Sharla. She is such a kind hearted, genuine person. She has a wonderful sense of calmness that surrounds her and I truly admire that about her! She has strength and is very kind hearted towards others. She really is such a good person and I love her so much!

Shar and I have so many wonderful memories together. We have always been close and she has ALWAYS been one of my Best friends! My very favorite memory of Sharla is something that I treasure so much. I got really sick one year at girls camp and caused everyone quit a scare. I was about 14 years old and Sharla was about 10-11 ish. When I got home there was a cute letter sealed and tucked under my bedroom door. I opened it and it had a square cutout of her lips she had imprinted on the paper with lipstick. The letter read "Put this where you hurt the most and know that I will always love you and I hope it makes you feel better" It was so sweet and tender. I remember crying and I still have it to this day!

Shequarla ~(this is what I call her)
You have always been somebody I have looked up to. You have courage and strength that I wish I could have too! You are such a good mother and example of patience with your children. You and I have shared so much and always had so much fun together. I am so thankful for such a wonderful sister and friend! I love reminiscing about "Huck Finn" (remember?) Our late nights giggling, staying up in the van, our long talks, our honesty with each other, teasing "Jeremy's twin" (get it?) , shooting ground squirrels at the cabin, pretending we were twins, sleeping on the tramp, sharing clothes, tubing in the snow, sledding, "sweet nougat and caramel"(remember?), laughing, crying together, Sharing mothering experiences, you cooking for me while I was prego, ("French Toast sounds kind of good, but I don't know?") and much much more!! Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for wonderful sisters, for you as my sister! I love you so much Shar and hope you had the best birthday ever!! I miss you sooooo much! Happy Birthday!!

Inexpensive Gift Idea & Contest!

So I have been promising many of you who have requested for a long time that I would do a post on an inexpensive gift idea. I apologize this has taken me forever to get to. But I finally have found something that I hope will be worth the wait! Plus keep reading to see how you can WIN one!

A while back when I was browsing (O.K. yeah right- how do you just browse here) at Tai Pan, I came across cool framed poems/ sayings that were all done antique. They were so cute and fabulous. But in my own cheap and thrifty mind I was thinking "Hey- self- you could make these for a fraction of the cost." So I decided that this would be the post I have promised. I know many have also asked to have step-by-step instructions, so I hope this helps!!

1st~ Type up all the poems, quotes, or sayings that you like. (I just printed mine out on regular printer paper, but you could use card stock too)

2nd~ Cut the poem, saying, etc. to the size of the frame you have.

3rd~ Crumple the saying up into a ball and then unfold it, so it is nice and crinkled.














4th- Spray stain your saying or quote. ( I use Design Master spray satin from Roberts. You could use regular stain, although the spray stain drys in seconds. Or even dip your paper in tea to give it a old weathered look. The more crinkled your paper is the better the creases will appear darker.)

















5th~ Paint your frames the color you want them. (I bought dollar store frames that were ugly and just spray painted them with a high gloss black spray paint.*hint* High gloss makes it not look like spray paint. So my frames cost me $1.00 each. I also found some bigger 5x7 frames at the DI for .75 cents each and spray painted them too!) Sand your frames down a little around the edges if you like that look too!

6th~ Frame your quotes and enjoy!!














(This is what I gave Savanah and Caleb's teachers as a gift)



*Hope This is self-explanatory enough!*
~ My friend Gina and my Sister Hanna have both had CONTESTS on their blogs. So I thought I would give it a try too! If you LEAVE A COMMENT I will put your name in a drawing and in a weeks time I will draw a name and mail the WINNER one of these loving creations!!) Good Luck!~ *blog stalkers..I know you are out there...you are welcome to play too~* PLUS I will throw in an EXTRA bonus to the winner. Another hand made SURPRISE just for you!

Flowers, Veggies, Fruit, and More

I know that posting about my flowers, and garden may seem kind of boring. But this is part of what we have been so busy with!

We have got our flower pots in and our front bed all done. It was fun picking out flowers and letting the kids help!










Our garden took us two days to finish. I thought we could bust it out in one day but the 100+ weather made us all a little sluggish! HA!





Our raised beds consists of : (1st bed) Green peppers, Red Peppers, jalapeño peppers, and a variety of different kinds. (2nd bed) Juicy fat boy tomato's, cherry tomato's, Roma tomato's, and also a variety of others. (3rd bed) Peas, onions, green beans, and yellow beans. (4th bed) This bed has carrots, spinach, spring mix lettuce, and another kind of onion. ~ I hope it all turns out!!





The bigger section of the garden has:
~Crookneck Squash, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Two varieties of pumpkins, banana squash, yellow squash, zucchini, corn, and two other things I can't remember! I thought that we would have left over room, but we had a hard time fitting all of that in there. We ended up planting our strawberries in hanging baskets because of lack of space!!

We are hoping for lots of harvest so we can make fresh salsa, can lots of things, and enjoy fresh fruit! Yummy....we can't wait!!

Projects .....

I decided to post some of the projects that have kept me busy lately! I love wood crafts as most of you already know. I love coming up with new ideas!

New picture wall hanger for girls room:


(This picture wasn't staged either. I looked out the window and this is what I saw, so I grabbed my camera~ I think it is so precious!)

New Sofa table for my front room:





My Sisters Ali and Hanna both have made sofa tables, so I decided to try my hand at it too! So I drew up a sketch and designed this table! I love how it turned out! Plus more decorating space ~ Bonus!!



New Huge wall frame for above my fireplace:


(Now I just need pictures to fill it!)

Wood crafts are my release and my outlet! It is something I enjoy and am always on the look out to try new things or design something new!! If any of you have any ideas or a place you go for ideas let me know! :) Enjoy!!

Caleb Beau

Caleb had his end of the year program Monday night. He was so excited to show us all the things he learned. He asked me if he was going to get pictures too since I took some with Savanah, so of course I took some of him!

He is such a handsome kid. He really loves to learn and enjoys doing whatever daddy does! He is a great little dirt bike rider and a super skilled climber! He loves trees and anything high. I have found him on the roof before after he used the kid table, with a bike stacked on that, and then a huge matchbox car racer on top of that! It is a wonder he didn't fall!!

Caleb is very independent and is very proud of the fact that he can style his own hair! He does it in one of three ways (In his words)- "spiky wild hair" (which he is sporting in the pictures), "shark hair" (which is a fo-hawk), and "Missionary hair" (which he only does on Sunday's, part to the right)

I am so thankful that we found Mrs. Orton. He has learned so much from her class and really loves her! His last preschool class he dreaded and never wanted to go. Now he asks everyday if it is school day and I attribute that to Danielle. She is an amazing teacher!! She has worked hard with her classes and it shows. The kids can all count to fifty, do sign language to each letter of the alphabet and do their sound. They have learned about fireman, police officers, 911, animals, farms, letters, sounds, and tons more. They even have had field trips!! She is amazing!



Here are a few small clips from his program too:


(This is the finger poppin' song. It is funny when he notices me he forgets what he is doing)



(This is his group dance he learned....it is so cute)


We are so excited to do fun things this summer with the kids. But they will both miss school so much. Congratulations to our little Shnoodie on his graduation! We love you him so much!!

Savanah May

Here is my beautiful girl! I got some special shots of her on the day of her Kindergarten graduation! She really is such a sweetheart and has a huge heart towards other people. She is always including others and is so quick to appease those around her!

Savanah did such a good job at her graduation! She looked so beautiful in her dress Grandma made. She was so excited and kept saying (In her words) " I am a little bit nervous, but really excited too!" I can't believe she will be seven this year and soon be in First grade!

Here are a few small clips from her graduation:


(Savanah's Part)



(dance)





We couldn't have asked for a better teacher for Savanah! Many of you know how paranoid I am and how worried I get about my children. Before school started Beau and I prayed that Savanah would get the teacher who best suited her. And soon after Savanah started school I knew right away the the Lord answered our prayers! Mrs. Pugh is amazing! She loves her teacher so much! And Beau and I think she Mrs. Pugh is the greatest also!!

Family Day

On Thursday we decided to have a special family night. Beau got home late Monday night and the kids wanted to have another family night, but with him. So we decided to make pizza's. The kids love choosing their own toppings. Kennedy Likes lots of everything. Savanah like Pepperoni and Cheese, and Caleb just cheese! I always make mine a veggie lovers. A little oil, lots of vegetables, spinach, and a little feta cheese! Yummy!!

Then we all went outside and helped clean up the backyard. Caleb and Daddy tilled the garden. Savanah raked the grass, Kennedy cleaned the rock~HA~ and I mowed! We got the garden all ready and the kids and I planted their box with lettuce, onions, carrots, and peas!







To top of the fun evening we had watermelon! I love working together as a family and including the kids in things that need to get done! It makes them take better care of the yard and also appreciate the value of working together!

To my Mother...

Mom,



Where in the world would I be without you? What kind of life would I have if you weren't strong in the gospel? What kind of person would I be without your constant example to follow?

I am so grateful for your constant loving care. For your testimony. For your teaching me in the ways of the gospel. Mother's Day is such a special day to me! I have these feelings for you all the time, but it is day to actually express to our Mothers just how special they are to us! And mom~ I couldn't have asked for a better one! You have always shown me the importance of doing what is right. Your example of selfless service is something I hope to always obtain also!!

We have always been close. My friends ask the question all the time "why is your family so close?...or....I wish my family was that close!" And I attribute it to wonderful parents who always had FHE and who were faithful in teaching us what was right! Thank you Mom for loving me, teaching me, laughing with me, crying with me, and most importantly just being the kind of mom I hope to be!! I love you with all of my heart! You are my best friend and my hero!!

I also want to express to my grandmothers, sisters, friends, sister-in-laws, mother-in-laws, my thanks for your constant examples in ways to be a good mother! I hope you all take the time to express to your mother just how important she is to you!! What would we do without righteous mothers in this world? It scares me to think where we would all be without the influence of our mothers or others that took their place along our way!! Love to you all!!


Sheri Dew says:
"....Without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail. Never has there been a greater need for righteous mothers—mothers who bless their children with a sense of safety, security, and confidence about the future, mothers who teach their children where to find peace and truth and that the power of Jesus Christ is always stronger than the power of the adversary."

I hope you all have a very special Mothers day!!!! I love you mom!!

Eli's Senior Pictures

I had so much fun doing Eli's senior pictures. I can't believe that my youngest brother is graduating! That is just CRAZY! Hanna, Eli, and I drove around to find some good natural backgrounds. It was fun to spend a a couple of hours with them.

Here are some of my favorites after some photo editing:

Missing the Temple and Other Things....

One of the things I miss about living in Idaho Falls is the Temple. It was so close! I miss that! It is such a beautiful temple. The greenbelt that surrounds it and the falls make it so breathtaking!



It was so exciting to go roller blading around the greenbelt again, and feed the ducks with the kids. They had so much fun. Grandma is so fun! She is so active with the kids and is always willing to take them fun places. She roller bladed with me while we pushed strollers! I haven't "bladed" for so long. I am sure I provided lots of comic relief to fellow Green Belt walkers. Since I was all over the place with my arms flailing in every direction, trying not to loose my balance!

Here is a couple pictures of my cute mom......








It was the perfect FHE! I sure miss my cute nieces and nephews! Here are some of my favorites from our excursion....

















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