It Was Bound to Happen

eventually. I guess I should just be glad he has taken this long. *I* has his first crush [actually, I guess it's not his first crush. I found, "I love Hermione" written in the bottom of his shirt drawer a while back but that doesn't really count does it]. Now his little notebook says, "I love Kaitlin." I'll admit, it's pretty cute. I've really chosen just to pretend that I don't know. Even though he knows I do.

The Internal Debate

replaying in my head as I type goes something like this... "It's been over three months since you posted. You're free. Everyone is gone. No more expectations. Do you really want to do this again?" etc. I'm still not sure that I do. But here I am. Typing. See, I've been feeling restless and I get bored walking around my house [plus, when I'm walking around my house I start to feel guilty for not cleaning it better], so I've been doing some digital scrapbooking [which as you may or may not know means I've also been making some digital templates]. I've never invested in templates really, so when I'm putting together digital pages I've been taking the little bit of extra time to create a template of my own. Only I really don't think I'll ever use the same template again, so I guess I'm making them to share. You must be Irish. You're the very lucky recipients. Here's the link to my most recent: template 27. And this is what I did with it [as always, ignore my lack of words. Right now I'm toying with the idea of getting a book printed at Blurb and just writing the words in with a pen later]. So there you go. Happy St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy the journey! ps. As always, if you have template usage questions just ask. You can change the paint color, give the speech bubble a pattern, etc. The tape is a Friday Freebie from Gunhilde Storeide and you can still get it + lots of other really great stuff. Just follow the link.

Hello There December

Today we busted out the advent calendar and were supposed to go and get our Christmas tree. I made the mistake [or not really a mistake] of putting on the note: "get your pegs done fast so we won't have to wait." You see, *B* has a calling in our new ward. And he had to be at the church tonight at 7:00p.m. That didn't leave us much time. I figured that they would be motivated to get done quickly and we could go before dinner. I should know better by now. They did eventually get finished after dinner. It took them so long that we didn't have time to go. We hoped that the meeting would be quick, but again, I should know better by now. Those things never are. So, we didn't get our tree tonight. The boys got another lesson in, "if you would have done it when you first got home... blah blah blah." So, things happen and I guess this is my lesson in going with whatever happens. I can't control things. December One, I think we've met before.

Enjoy the journey!

ps. for the past few years I've denied myself of participating in this little project. It calls to me. Every single year. I knew it would drive me crazy [irritating perfectionist that I am]. This year I succumbed. I cut up cereal boxes and decided to join in the fun. We'll see if it really is that. Fun I mean.

*UPDATE* that's as far as I got. Cutting up cereal boxes + picking up $5.00 worth of paper/products. I gave myself a limit. Maybe next year...

So, I spent the day painting

and I realized that I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not going to share. I've never used acrylics before and it's going to take some getting used to. Bummer. I was trying to paint this, only better. Because it's always better when you paint it yourself. It didn't work. This is my digital interpretation of what I meant to paint. It's the cover for our family yearbook [this is the view you'd get if the book were laying open on it's pages. that's my dad + mom on the right. they'll be the front cover. all of us kids + grandkids on the back cover. one wire per family. click it to see it bigger]. I was privileged to do that this year. Put it together, I mean.

Enjoy the journey!

Cranberries + Apples

make yummy juice. I even made muffins with the castoffs using this recipe. They were good. Missing something. There wasn't a distinctive flavor. They mostly just tasted like muffin. Next time I'll try adding a bit of cranberry juice + some orange zest. And... just so you know: it isn't the fault of the recipe. I've used this same recipe for carrot muffins + I've made pumpkin muffins by actually following the recipe [well, almost]. It's a delicious recipe. I do add cinnamon + nutmeg + a splash of lemon juice [though vinegar works too] to activate the soda. To all of the above. On a different note: Christmas is coming. It's coming fast. I'm still thinking about advent. Here's a link with ideas for those of you that also do advent. I'll let you know when I have mine planned out. I'm trying to remember to take more photos. Take more photos! Enjoy the journey!

2.for.Tuesday

This is really a continuation of yesterday's post. As I went through the rest of the assignment yesterday, JS supplied a list of words as she asked us to think of phrases or sentences that described our holiday values. Lots of great words. Lots of important words. Togetherness. Warmth. Giving. And all of those things come into play. But really, why Christmas?

one: wonder. this is the hardest to define and yet the strongest in my mind and heart. I want my children to feel the wonder of the Savior at Christmas. The miracle of his birth. That he is the Son of God. I want them to love the baby Jesus and what he represents more than anything else at Christmas. I want them to give gifts because the wisemen gave gifts and because Jesus gave the ulitmate gift. I want them to receive gifts because without someone to receive there would be no gift. I want them to understand all of this. And more. Much much more. I am starting with the Nativity. We will set out the Nativity one piece at a time [one piece per day] and talk about the role that piece plays in the story of Christmas. Ending with the baby Jesus. I hope that as *B* and I bear testimony that they will begin to feel the true spirit of Christmas and wonder at the life of the Savior.

two: magic. is it the crispness in the air? the smell of wasail on the stove? the lights? the carols? I really believe that it is all of these things. It's leaving a gift on a door step and running as fast as your little legs will carry you after you ring the door bell and collapsing into a laughing heap knowing you didn't get caught. It's wondering how Santa gets to all of the houses of all the little children in all of the world in just one night. And do reindeer really fly? It's not quite believing Mom + Dad when they say that Santa won't come unless you're asleep and not being able to sleep because you do believe. Just a little. As always, thoughts and ideas welcomed! Enjoy the journey!

I've Been Thinking

Christmas is coming really fast and every year I tell myself that this year will be different. I won't hate Christmas. Not that I really hate Christmas. Just that I end up hating Christmas. This year Jessica Sprague is doing a free Holidays in Hand class [I think it will be similar to the Stories in Hand class that she did last year]. Today's assignment is to write my values + goals. Hmm. Good question. What do I really want? I've always been big on the magic and wonder that surrounds Christmas. I love it. I don't even hate Santa Claus. I would like to see that magic + wonder in the eyes of my children. I would really like to feel it again myself. So hear is the big question... What is it that makes Christmas magical? I'd like to hear your thoughts. Enjoy the journey! ps. today is the last day to register if you're interested. just click the link for details + free code.