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.

_____

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.

_____

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!

January.....ALREADY!!

HAPPY JANUARY, EVERYONE! WOW!! 2010!!! Can you believe that? And what are you calling it? Two thousand and ten or twenty ten? I kind of like twenty ten. It's different. I can remember when movies and books were popular about the year 2001...2001: A Space Odyssey, and that one about 1984. That was supposed to be the way far out future with lots of space stuff going on. Sci-fi space age. And here we are! 2010!! We are living in that space age future.....minus all the weird spage age stuff! LOL Aren't you glad though? Those were really weird ideas back then. The way cars and houses and clothes and people were supposed to look and all. Anyway.....welcome to 2010!

_____

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Ours was great. We headed out to Queen Creek to spend Christmas Eve with Stephen R. and Karma and Chris and Melany and their families. Had Indian fry bread and all the trimmings for dinner. Played the gift exchange game. We decided to make homemade gifts this year. No going to the store to buy anything for them. Having to make items with just the things we had on hand around the house made for some really interesting gifts. I was so impressed with what all the kids came up with. Stevie made a yarn hat on one of those round looms. One of the boys made Rice Krispy Treats. Another made a cute little Lego car. Chris made a picture frame with a very interesting photo in it. We had a lot of laughs over that one.

_____

After we got home, Kodi decided she wanted to open her gifts before we went to bed. So we changed our tradition and let her. I kind of like doing it that way. With no little kids around at our house it makes it so we can sleep in on Christmas morning! It was kind of nice. But I miss the magic of Christmas that comes with having children around who still believe. It just isn't the same when everyone is grown up.

_____

We had a Ward Christmas party for the adults in our Ward this year. They served us a very fancy, elegant 7 course dinner and it was so fun. Yummy food too! I was really glad Stephen and I went.

_____

It has been cool and beautiful here. We've had some rain and this coming week is supposed to have a good chance of rain for most of the week. I sure hope it happens. Our highs have been in the 70's the past several days. And we are knee deep in sunshine. Beautiful Arizona weather.

_____

Kodi and I went outside to watch for the International Space Station the other night. It was cloudy out and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to see it. But the clouds parted some and we were able to see it go about halfway across the sky. I had my camera and was taking pictures trying to catch it in one of them...which wasn't easy because it was so dark that you couldn't tell what you had on the little monitor thingie. But I did catch it in one of the pics!! I was so excited that I caught it!! I had to scrapbook it. So here is the layout I did about it. I love the way it turned out!

_____

And Hope has been sending me photos of the Logan kids. This is one of Cydney admiring Aunt Hopie's Christmas tree. I loved it and had to scrap it. The photo is just so precious.

Will be working on a couple layouts for Monika Designs this week. She sent me her newest kit last night. I'm excited that she likes my work enough to keep inviting me to do the layouts for her. It's quite an honor for me as I'm not an official member of her Creative Team - CT. She does beautiful design work. And I'm still a CT for Jan Waite of Waite For The Moment Designs. I have enjoyed working for her also. I love being able to use these beautiful kits and then keep them in exchange for doing the layouts. :) And it's fun to get to know these two ladies and to be their friend.

_____

I'm back into making cards also. It has been nice to be able to work on them again. And I'm still hoping to cross stitch again soon. I feel the mood coming on me. I've also bought the fabric for the first two grandchild birthdays for 2010. So I need to work on them this week. I have enough to do to keep me out of trouble. Let's hope it works!!

_____

I hope you are all enjoying your new year. It has been a good one for us so far. I'm looking forward to the changes this year is bringing for us. Hugs to Everyone!!

Happy December!!

Happy December, Everyone! It has been too long since I last updated this blog. I need to do better than this!

Big news here! We finally took Teddi Bear in for her first professional grooming job! And she did very well. Her fur was so long and so terribly matted when we first got her and we have tried and tried to brush the snarls out but nothing we did worked. It was so bad we finally broke down and got her groomed. And it was so bad they had to shave her fur all off. So now she looks like this expensive little dog and we just laugh because she looks so different and so cute. We knew she was a very small dog but now that the fur is all gone it really shows how small she is. And her legs are so LONG!!! and spindle-y looking. That surprised us. With all that long fur you couldn't tell just how long they were! I love the way they left the fur on her head and tail. She really looks cute. And they put the little red bow on her collar as it's Christmas time. Too sweet!

Well, that big winter storm that hit the States a week or so ago left us with some very wonderful rain here in the Valley. Mesa got just under half an inch. It has been so cool and beautiful here and at times down right COLD!!! I have LOVED it!!

I took some photos of one of our recent stormy days outside my window here. Loved the way the dark sky looked with the palm trees. So I'm sharing them with you.

So....What's been happening with us here? Well...lots actually. Although a lot of it is the same old stuff day in and day out. But nothing exciting going on means life is okay and things are good, right? No one is having any adventures we can do without. And that's okay.

A couple months ago we had to take the puppies in for their yearly checkups and shots. Teddi Bear had never had any so this was a first timer for her. Dr. Funk is a neat looking guy, isn't he? Reminds me of Einstein. He was getting ready to give Teddi her first shot here. Kodi is helping to hold her steady.

From the time we walked into the examining room until the time we walked out Frankie was looking for a way out of there! He didn't like being there at all. Wouldn't even eat the treats they gave him to help him be more comfortable. So Teddi Bear ate hers and Frankies too. She didn't seem nervous at all. And Teddi weighed in at just over 17 pounds, Frankie was about 100 pounds.

And Teddi Bear continues to be a mischief maker with her puppy ways. She turned a year old on Thanksgiving Day and we've had her about 8 months now. Frankie is still not too happy she has invaded his territory. But she now respects him as the alpha dog rather than trying to kick him out of his spot. So that is good. Here is one of the messes Teddi made. She found the package of toilet paper on the landing upstairs and had herself a great time with it. Totally mangled that roll there. It was quite the mess!

This is one of the times I can say....she's your puppy, Kodi. You get to clean it all up! Great, huh?!!!

I had to take a picture of this next thing...I was walking through the downstairs bedroom one day and something caught my eye. I picked up the item and it was this little rubber aligator munching on Kodi's little Polly Pocket. I got a good laugh out of that. The grandsons like to play in that room when they are here and I figured it had to be one of them who did this dastardly deed. Sure enough! It was our Colebe. He 'fessed up to it at the family birthday party at the park a few days later. I still have this sitting on my desk here to remind me of how wonderful my grandkids are. And it's still making me smile everytime I look at it.

And here are a couple photos of our Autumn Tree! I think of all the themed trees we did this year, this one was the prettiest. I love the colors of the leaves and flowers and it looked so pretty against our new green walls. We put orange lights on this tree and it gave off this very orangy glow. We left it up til after Thanksgiving and now have the tree decorated with our traditional Christmas ornaments that we have collected over the years and white twinkle lights.

We also added a beautiful new little grandbaby to the family in September. Haven't seen her in person yet. It will probably be a while before we get to. But my sister keeps us in photos over the internet and I have them all saved on my computer here. I'm so thankful she loves my grandkids and my kids and is so willing to take the photos and send them to me.

Thanksgiving was kind of quiet. Chris and his family came for dinner after Melany's family get together. They did the turkey and it was so yummy. We did the rest of the meal and had plenty to eat for everyone. It felt funny to have such a late Thanksgiving dinner as we are used to doing it around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. But it was a nice day and we had plenty of time to get everything done without rushing.

We are looking forward to Christmas. It sure came fast this year. I'm not near ready for it to be here and gone again, but that's okay. That's just the way I am. I love this time of year so much. I do have the Christmas gifts all bought and plans for baking and fudge making are in the works. Right now I'm working on making some Christmas cards to send out. As for anything else, what gets done gets done and what doesn't will just have to wait til next year. I'm not going to worry about it. We'll be going out to Queen Creek to have Christmas Eve with Stephen R. and Chris and their families. That will be special.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Remember why we celebrate this very special season and take the time to enjoy all the simple pleasures. It's those simple pleasures and the company of family and loved ones that are important in our lives. It isn't the gifts and material things.

Merry Christmas to all of you!