Lots of Happenings

We've been busy, as I'm sure all of you have, during these past few weeks. We started the month celebrating Nathaniel's birthday. Two weeks later, I filled in for the middle school choir/band director on the day of the concert because their baby decided to come 3 weeks early. Luckily, I only had to run the rehearsals. He showed up for the concert itself. Baby arrived safely, all was calm and bright.

Lincoln had his Giant Steps preschool Christmas program, which we enjoyed tremendously. 'Course, I'm extra partial to music in the younger grades/preschool. That's what I love to do.



We also went to my family's sibling Christmas party,

and our own family's Christmas dinner/gathering as well.




Time with family is always welcome.
Plus, I got to babysit grand-daughters and enjoy their company.
We're looking forward to seeing more of kids and grandkids for Christmas, and TALKING TO BILLY!!! YEAH!!! Looks like there's a very good chance of being snowed in on Christmas, so family visits may be limited, but snow can't stop the phone lines to Brazil!

Can Your Friends Do This?

Remember the Genie in Aladdin? Super contortionist...

I am alive

I miss updating my blog with interesting little items. Hopefully, with Christmas break coming up, I'll be able to find something truly unique and entertaining to satisfy my readers!

New Grandbaby

Our newest grand-daughter arrived this past Saturday night. A great way to finish a day that had a miserable football game in it! Baby A. L. weighed 9 lb. 7 oz. and was 21" long. She has lots of black hair, and wonderfully fat cheeks. K did a fabulous job delivering her--check out her blog post about hypnobirthing. Here are a few pictures of the new baby, and all her adoring relatives.

Oh, My Darling Clemetine

My 2nd graders are studying folk songs right now. I recently put together a power point presentation with their own illustrations of 'Clementine'. Their drawings were so cute that I had to show them off to my various readers. Hope you enjoy the show. I decided not to add music...and I did not put in the chorus repeatedly. You'll just have to sing the song in your head while you look at the pictures! My personal favorites include the 'Ruby lips above the water,' 'I am very very very sick,' and '...I draw the line--bluck!'

Halloween Visits

This past week, between babysitting and visits from little trick-or-treating grandkids, I have a few pictures to post. L had worn his costume all day at preschool and was done with it, so I don't have a picture of him as Zurg, but he enjoyed relaxing on the couch for a minute. Gpa was in heaven when 'Princess Belle' wanted him to read a book to her. Newton tried to rob candy from S. Gpa and Gma got to take 'Wonder Woman' around their neighborhood a bit to show her off. Neighbors were sweetly complimentary. I need to make sure I return the favor in future years! I even had one of my kids from school show up. I was so excited! One thing I miss about volunteering at the local grade school is getting to know all the local kids. I have no idea where all the kids live that I teach.

Nursery Rhyme lifestyle

Jack Spratt could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean.
And so, between them both you see,
They licked the platter clean.

John says this is who we've become. He has high cholesterol and has to cut way back on fats. (And keep drinking his 1/4 c apple cider vinegar in 1 c water.) I am pre-diabetic and have to cut way back on sugar. Fat in a product slows my body's absorption of sugar--so fat becomes a good thing, relatively speaking, for me. What a pair we make. Snacks that are ok for me, are bad for him: cheese, eggs, chocolate, meats...Snacks that are good for him, aren't the best for me: popcorn, candy that's not chocolate, bagels, crackers...

At least we can both eat lots of fruits and veggies.

Stylin', Baby!

Great legs run in our family--check it out!

















Newton was not impressed, though.

A Moment of Beauty

The other morning, when I was driving home from taking Melody to school, I saw this beautiful sunbeam streaming up through the clouds as the sun rose over Provo Canyon. I didn't get home soon enough to catch it at the height of contrast--sunrises and sunsets change so quickly--but at least you can still see the straight edge of the sun's rays. I loved taking a minute to enjoy the beauty of this incredible earth and all it entails. And I loved the memories that came of my kids running in to tell me to come look at the sunset, clouds, sunrise, or whatever, because they knew how much I loved those kinds of things.
Life is good.

Rest from our Labors!

Last week I came to the realization of why napping was a good thing to do on the Sunday. I'd always considered taking a nap a way to make sure you weren't doing something you shouldn't! (I don't know if I should admit that.) Now, I have new appreciation for the Sabbath as a day to relax, renew, and rest--by sleeping, if necessary.
I've been burning the candle at three ends, so to speak, and was very grateful to sit at the General Relief Society Meeting last night and be fed spiritually. I was worried that I'd fall asleep because I'd been on my feet canning all day. Instead, I found myself renewed and able to do one more batch of peaches after the meeting. How grateful I am for today, Sunday, and a chance to truly rest from my labors.

But, speaking of labors, I know blog posts are a little dry without pictures, so here are a few views of the 'fruits of my labors'. Yesterday I did 21 quarts of peaches, 14 quarts of pears, 8 trays of prunes, made a new apron, delivered Avon, test-drove an Acura MDX SUV (bad sound system, but comfortable seats), bathed the dog and gave him a preliminary haircut, and attended the General RS Meeting, and finished up by relaxing with John as we watched UNLV get beat by Nevada--in between channel jumps.


My attempt at homemade prunes--gotta use that 'Italian prune' tree for something!









Though I keep canning and keep canning, the fruit doesn't seem to get any less.









A few of the many bottles of peaches and pears I've done this year.

Summary of the week

It's been a busy week. I am now officially under contract as the K-4 music teacher at Timp Academy. I attended my first school social, the beginning of the year BBQ, and my first faculty meeting. I bottled a couple dozen quarts of peaches and pears. Today, I swept, vacuumed, and mopped my upstairs. And I babysat L and AB. That was the best part. I even have pictures to prove it! Cleaning, canning, and lesson plans--story of my life right now, and I'm loving it, even the cleaning part. On our date tonight, J and I talked about using the square footage of our home more effectively, and he had some great ideas. He pointed out that we're living in our home as though we still had all 5 kids here with us. We have 3 unused bedrooms that could be put to good use in organizing and and re-structuring our living areas. We need to maximize use of those empty rooms and empty closets, and have a place for everything. That is a fabulous concept: a place for everything. I think it can be done! Stay tuned...and enjoy the pictures while you wait :)

Sewing room: still cleaning

Back in May I wrote a post about cleaning out my sewing room. I even took 'before' pictures so I could show them with the 'after', if that ever occurred. Well, this morning I couldn't sleep so I went to work on my sewing room yet again. I should have taken new 'before' pictures, because it looked much worse than it does in the pictures. Too many sewing projects, and not enough cleaning in between...



Now you can see my pretty room that I love so much. I still need to clean one more wall of the room, but I've been successful at keeping my sewing table clean ever since May.