OH, YES!! PLEASE LET THE RAIN COME DOWN!!

Good Evening!! So much to show you tonight!! First.....Stephen found this HUGE Wheaties flake in his Wheaties! It's DOUBLED over. So it's actually twice the size you see here if it were all layed out flat and not doubled. So we had to get a few pics of this gigantic piece of cereal for the record.

And this is a normal size flake next to the huge one! Remember...the big one is doubled over!

And yesterday, the wind started to blow and we found faces in the clouds over our neighborhood! So I just had to take some pics of that.

Then the rain came. But the big story of this storm was the wind. We had a whirlwind in our entry way by our front door just swirling away in that little corner. It went way up to the second story of our building.


And after the rain...the beautiful sunset and the gorgeous clouds.

All of these photos, by the way, were taken with my little bitty camera! Neat, huh?

And then about noon today, the rain came again. And what a whopper of a storm we got!! They said we would only get about .25 to .50 inches of rain around the state. Well, Mesa...by 3 PM had gotten 1.18 inches and it was still coming in waves. I'll be very surprised if we didn't get 2 inches plus before the storm ended.

The beginning of the storm.

And it just kept on coming down!!

After the first wave of the storm ended, this is how our parking lot looked.

It has been an awesome but kind of scary day. We got about three waves of this storm and there were some pretty mean looking clouds out there. Some had rotation in them and there has been a lot of damage done because of the winds. We had a little bit of hail here at our house. I was hoping to take pics of it, but we didn't get enough to take pics of it. Kodi and I went outside during the storm to get our photos and we both got drenched. But it was worth it.

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Hope you are all having a great evening!!

It's Our Aniversary Today!

Wow! 42 years today! And they have been good years. I wouldn't trade any of them. Sure have had our ups and downs during these years. I think our hardest trial was Stephen's heart surgery and all that has happened because of that. But I also see great blessings because of it. Blessings we never would have had without that trial. So I'm grateful for it.

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When I think of how many years we have been married and of how much we still love each other, I find myself hoping that our children realize what a blessing that is to them in their lives. The fact that we, their mom and dad, have kept our committment to being married and raising a family in spite of the trials and troubles that have come and gone. And the fact that we love each other more than ever before. And that our love just keeps growing as time goes on. This is a great gift to them from us. It's a part of their legacy. It really makes me happy to see them doing the same with their marriages and to see the love they have for their wives and children. Our family is truly very, very blessed.

Check This Out!!

For all you digital scrapbookers out there or those who would like to get started...check this out! Suzy Q is a super talented designer at Scrap Orchard and her kits are so much fun to work with. Here is her blog addy: http://suzyqscraps.com/blog/2010/09/01/fall-is-just-around-the-corner-sneak-peeks/ She has some new kits coming out soon and this link gives you a chance to win one of them.

WELL!! IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

Well! It's about time I got back here to do some blogging! There I left you all hanging over my baby's 21'st birthday. So it's about time I caught you up on what we did.

Stephen went out and got Kodi a maple frosted donut on his way to work the day before her birthday. And that night - just in time for her 2:13 AM real birthday time - she was born at 2:13 AM on 2/13 - we lit a tea candle and put it in the middle of the donut and went into her room and sang Happy Birthday to her! Then we made her eat her treat before she could go back to sleep. It was really fun and I think she loved it. And of course I made her her favorite Jello dessert that takes about 6 hours to make. And she loved that too. Then her brothers and sister's-in-law gave her another party with a cake and candles and everything when we went out to Stephen R. and Karma's house for dinner that weekend. So it was good.

Here is a layout I did using the photos we took at 2:13 AM.




Stephen got the living room ceiling all painted. I'm so glad that part of the paint job is done. AND that he did it while I was asleep. I was so worried about him being up high on a ladder trying to do it

And we bought two new fans for the living room and dining room. They match except for the blades on the dining room one are a few inches shorter than the living room ones. I really love them - the fans - not just the blades. And the best part is that the lights in the dining room one WORK!!! They stay ON!! No more on and off stuff with the vibration of the fan! No more scary popping noises! No more being afraid to try to change the light bulbs and having them break off in the socket!! No more jiggling with vibrations til you think it's going to fly apart and demolish the room and everything in it!! It's really great!!! Sure was an adventure getting the living room one up though. Stephen was standing on the top of the six foot ladder trying to reach high enough to install it. I almost couldn't watch! But we got it done without any mishaps.

AND we finally got the carpet all cleaned. AND a new leather sectional couch!! YAY!! We are loving that! The sections on each end are recliners. Soooooo nice!! They are kind of a golden brown in color with a slight reddish tone mixed in there somewhere. I need to take a photo of it and scrapbook it, don't I? That and the fans. Yes. I do!!

And I'd tell you the story behind finally getting the carpets cleaned and buying a new couch, but it involves a tiny dog getting scared out of her wits by a visitor to our home. And she jumped up on the back of the couch and ran across the tops of the cushions pee-ing all the way. Drip, drip, drip. Poor puppy. So scared. I didn't have the heart to scold her. And the cushions didn't have removable covers so that I could wash them. So we turned them over to the clean side and when Stephen came home from work I said... I've made a decision. And I need to tell you about it. I can't stand this any longer! So!! We are getting the carpets cleaned and we are going out to buy a new couch! And we did!! Ooops! I just told you the story. Oh, well. Now you know. And it isn't like we didn't need a new couch. We were sitting on it one day...no one was jumping on it or anything...I promise!...we were just sitting there and CRUNCH! And the couch dropped a little to the floor. The front of the frame broke in two!! AND being a denim couch it was all faded and looking beyond awful. So what can I say. It definitely had died on us. The pee job was just the final straw. Thank you, Teddi Bear!! : )

Stephen's work has been keeping him real busy the past month. I think they have forgotten he is retired and only working part time. I really love having him home and don't like it when he has to work so many days in a row. And it's sooooooo nice to be able to just say...ask them for Thursday and Friday off so we can have a four day weekend! And he can do that and it doesn't hurt us.

He was able to take a four dayer last weekend when our Shane was here and we really enjoyed having Thursday afternoon with him. We played Phase 10 a good part of the afternoon and had ham and baked potatoes for dinner and then Stephen and Kodi ran him to the airport. There is nothing like having family for company, good visiting, fun games to play, and great food to eat, is there?!!

Have been working hard on my scrapbooking. So here are a BUNCH of new layouts that I've finished over the past few weeks. I've also thrown in some older ones. But a lot of these photos are from Tyler's baptism day and the family activities when Hope was there in July. Remember...if you click on the layout it will bring it up bigger for you. Enjoy!

Aunt Hopie...the Fairy Godmother of the Little People.

This layout was chosen as Layout Of The Week this week at one of my scrapbooking sites!




I love this series of photos. I actually made two pages but put them together for a double layout challenge. So if you divide it down the middle you'll know what the two pages look like. Love how this one turned out.




Hope sent me these next two photos on the computer. I saw Tristin's first and when I clicked for the next photo and it was Cydney with this look on her face I just burst out laughing!! Priceless photos of both kids. And it made Grandma's day!




HAD to get that blue tongue in there on a layout! Too funny.





Love, love, love this photo! So precious!!



I got a lot of comments on this layout. Everyone loved it.

Well, those photos should bring back a few good memories and some laughs too. Hope you enjoyed them. Take time to enjoy the simple pleasures. And if you look for them, you'll be amazed at how many come across your path each day. Bye for now!

My Baby Is Turning 21!!

WHOA!! Can you believe that? My baby will be 21 years old in less than three hours!! And I never wanted her to grow up! I wanted her to stay little forever!! But life had different plans and now she is a beautiful young woman. Still.....it seems like just yesterday that we welcomed her into our lives. Such a precious little bundle of delight. Our first girl after five boys.

On her blessing day. She is wearing my blessing dress and using my pink shawl from my own blessing day.

Her first car!! Designed by her wonderful brothers!! It came with a sun roof and a squeeky toy hood ornament. Plenty of horse power in the engine.....better known as big brothers pulling her around the house in it. What more could a girl ask for!!

I have been scrapbooking again. Here are a few of my latest pages.

Stephen and I are going to wake Kodi up at 2:13 in the morning to start her birthday off right on time. That was what time she was born. ON 2/13 AT 2:13 AM. It's such a special birthday that I decided to carry through with my years' long threats of doing this. I didn't tell her we were going to do it this year though. She always says she doesn't want me to wake her up 'cause she is too tired. Anyway, Stephen went to Bashas' early this morning and got her some of her favorite donuts.....maple frosted raised. She doesn't know we have them. I'm going to put a candle on one and we'll light it and go in and sing to her.....at 2:13 AM. Fun, huh? :) I also made her some of the Value Jello dessert that they made for the Young Women's New Beginnings one year. She loves it and always asks for it for her birthday. It's the only time I make it because it takes at least 6 hours to make! Very easy to do but very time consuming.

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Tomorrow we will go out to Queen Creek for Kodi's party and dinner with Stephen R. and Chris and their families. We were going to have it here at our place but Stephen R. called today and invited us to have it out there as they have a lot more room than we do and the kids have space to play. So we will do that.

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Anyway, that's about it with us right now. Hope everyone has a great day! Look for the simple pleasures and be grateful for them!