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.