Thankful Thursday

I am thankful...SO thankful for these people. My sweet husband who loves me unconditionally. My beautiful children who make me so proud to be their Mama. My sweet Abby who fits into our family so seamlessly. Her wonderful parents who raised such an amazing daughter and James...the little brother Kevin always prayed for. Funny how things work out exactly right. I am thankful for them all.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm not sure if I have shown you these pictures yet. I have a few from Kevin's wedding that I like looking at over and over. These are a few of them. My awesome personal photographer HH took a lot of great shots to help me remember every second of this day. Jo had started complaining that her shoes were killing her feet.

I suggested she take off her shoes. It was cool and rainy but it had to feel better than brand new, super high heeled shoes. 
"But I can't get them off" was her reply. So what's a Mama to do? Help her, that's what!

Her feet did not want to come out of those shoes. They were on good and tight.

VICTORY!! Sort of....my sweet girl did the rest of our time at the temple without shoes and she was just fine with that.

Sad face. I do love this little face. She cracks me up so often with it. I love her more than I can say. Thanks for the mamories (ha) memories my Jo. Can't wait to see you in 12 days!!!

Updated "Family" Gallery Wall

This is what my family photo wall has looked like since the second week we moved in just over two years ago. Nice, organized, balanced....boring. With the overhaul of the basement bedroom I was feeling the need for a small project. I needed to change out the picture of Jo for one of her senior pictures and that required a major shake up.

I took down the photos from the wall and laid the ones I knew I'd be using on the floor. I used a measuring tape to make sure I stayed within the size constraints.

I knew the big picture of Jo would be changing and that I wanted some different smaller photos from our lives. I gathered some frames and threw them down and went to work.

Here is what I came up with. I think I will be looking for a couple more frames to fill in here and there, but overall I am very happy with how it turned out.

I need a new Reader family picture. The little one I have is SO out dated. The square frame will have a metal insert and will be a cute magnet board.

The top frame I bought at Good Will for $1. I couldn't get the back off so I just painted over the glass and put vinyl on it.

In these 5x7 frames I want to put photos of Jim and me and my favorites of the kids. I just have to get them all collected.

As soon as I get new and updated photos of my nieces and nephews  my wall will be finished. Family is everything and using their faces as art in my home makes me happy.

This is my new favorite quote from Elder Holland. It came into my life at a point when I was questioning whether or not my prayers were being heard.

Family is everything. Not matter if it is family you are related to by blood or family you pick up along the way. Jim and I were watching a documentary on how to be happy. One of the main ways people around the world find happiness is through associating with their family and friends.

And of course my kids....if you have had a conversation with me in the last 22 years, you know all about my kids. I love them more than I ever thought possible. They are my soul. Every Mama should be as lucky as me.

So there is my new wall. Having pictures of my family like this makes them seem so close. Do you have a lot of family photos??

I am linking up with Met Monday....Check it out!!

It Happened on Valentine's Day

Back in February I decided that I would see if Valentine's Day was easier if I spent it in Idaho. We planned some fun things including all of Mom's favorites. We also enlisted the help of my Aunties and Grandma with a project. See, we had saved some of Mom's clothes that I had planned on making into quilts. What I didn't plan on was how hard it would be to cut into those clothes.

(My little buddy Cooper...I luff him!)

So we gathered together for a birthday party out at Aunt Peggy's to cut and sew and tie. It was hard at first. But since we were together, we just ignored the feelings (getting pretty good at that) and started in. 

(I did say we tried to avoid it)

We got all the kids (that we trusted with scissors) in on it too. There were a lot of jeans and shirts to cut.

And cut we did :) A few tears were shed, but mostly we giggled.

Some of my sweet cousins showed up to help as well. They were so appreciated. I have a very talented family.

Brook got some squares to lay out. She and Great-Grandma make a pretty good team.

Cy wanted to help too. She didn't do to bad.

 The tying was the fastest and easiest part of the whole day. We made Kevin help us with it since it was his quilt. Grandma came in a few times to supervise. I can't even count the number of quilts she has made in her life time. 

This awesome kid didn't complain. She is so sweet. I love you, Lace.

Kev pretended to sleep so he could be done for the day. I am SO thankful for my family that was able to come and help us. Aunt Pam took most of them home with her and finished them for me. She is a rock star!!

This is the one we made for Jo. I would bet it was her favorite graduation gift. She uses it every night. I love the memories we made during that trip. While it was nice to be near my sisters on Valentine's Day...it really wasn't any easier. Oh well. We'll always have next year :)

So Close to Finished

Let's remember where we came from, shall we? This was Jo's room in August. Such a proud moment for me.

Now that you have all thrown up in your mouths....lets look at some after pictures. The purple paint was easier to cover than I thought it would be. Covering the gray with the yellow however was a nightmare!!

If you are my facebook friend you will know that I disassembled that queen size captains bed, carried it downstairs and set it up ALL BY MYSELF. Yes...rock star moment. That sucker is HEAVY. The drawers weren't too bad, but the headboard was another thing. I may or may not have been pinned against the wall by the headboard for a few minutes. But that is another story for another day. 

I am so excited to have this room mostly finished. Now I will just keep my eyes open for the finishing touches....and figure out how to get my Mom's cedar chest to my house. I found the bedding on sale at Kohl's. Happy dance ensued. I bought the curtains from a lovely gal on etsy. She is a genius.

I have a few things I would like to do to the room. A cute little chandelier would make me swoon here. I am also on the hunt for something to go over the dresser. 

Hobby Lobby will have some things for super cheap after the holidays. Just have to see if I can be patient until then.

I made a pillow cover from a tutorial I found on Pinterest. Now I just need to make a few more. I loved how easy it was. 
So, that is our new guest room. Wouldn't you LOVE to come visit me now?? 

Fall

I went to MN for the weekend expecting to see all the reds and yellows and oranges of fall on the leaves. What I found was nothing. They have already lost their leaves. Sad for me. But when I came home I got to see this beauty in my back yard. Looks like Fall beat me home. I love the cooler temps (especially after the stinking hot summer we just had) and the beautiful colors. This tree never fails to deliver. Perfect way to end my perfect weekend. I got to spend lots of time with Jo. We had so much fun. We stayed up until 3:00 a.m. talking!! I have missed our conversations. She is such a good listener. My heart squeezes just thinking about it. Then I went to a yoga retreat with my friends HH and Nae and Salena. It was a great way to reconnect with each other. It was fun and funny all at the same time. I had such a wonderful weekend. I hope you did too!!