Welcome to the Bubble

If ye shall prepare ye shall not fear

2012-01-13T12:33:00.001-08:00

Have you ever watched the movie Contagion? Not that great of movie, but it got me thinking again about food storage. If all those people in the movie had food storage, they wouldn't have such a dramatic movie...there would be no killing, stealing, etc. People would be prepared.

So...my new resolution for 2013 is to work on my food storage and I want to invite you to join me!

I am going to do a few things a month so here is January Food Storage for you:

Long Term Food Storage:
Vegetable oil-
2 gallons per adult/year
1 gallon per child/year

So my family needs 7 gallons of vegetable oil for my long term food storage (why start with oil? Because I am completely out!)

I am going to buy mine at Costco. If you know of a better deal let me know!

Short Term Food Storage:

I was told the easiest way to do this storage is to pick a recipe that uses mostly canned goods and then stock up on those items so you can have them for a 3 month supply. So I am going to choose 1 recipe a month and get all the things I need for that recipe to make it 8 times. Why 8? Because if I do one recipe a month then I will have 12 recipes for the year, if I get 8 of each item, I will have a 90 day supply of dinners.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
1 and 1/2 cup cubed or shredded chicken ( I am going to use 1 can of chicken)
1 15oz can veg-all mixed vegetables
2 cans cream of potato soup
1/2 cup milk (I have powdered milk in my long term food supply or you can use evaporated milk...)
1/2 tsp pepper
2 pie crusts (see below)

Combine ingredients; pour into pie crust. Cover with top crust and crimp edges to seal, put 4 slits on top.

Bake at 375 for 45 min.

Pie Crust

2 cups all purpose flour (long term food supply)
1 tsp salt (long term food supply)
1 cup shortening (long term food supply)
1/2 cup water (big huge drums of water in my garage :)

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or over night.

Roll dough on a floured counter.

Shopping List for 90 day supply:
8 cans cooked chicken
8 cans veg-all mixed vegetables
16 cans cream of potato soup
4 cans evaporated milk (if you don't have powdered milk in food storage)

The rest I already have in my long term food supply! So there you have it...easy as pie (get it, man I am funny). This is actually my absolute favorite recipe for chicken pot pie too, so it is also delicious! See ya next month!

Sims Christmas Preformance

2010-12-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

Sims preschool did the cutest little Christmas program. I am always impressed with this preschool and the fun things she does with the children. Sims was asked to do a solo on a poem he learned in class. My little boy did so great! He didn't even mess up once! I am a proud mama. Here is the whole program for your view pleasure:

And if you get a chance check this video out. It is another boy in Sims class who did a solo on his song, but check out Sims. The little girl behind him couldn't keep her hands off him! It is so funny. He is starting out his career of being a ladies man!

Sims first day of school

2010-12-19T19:56:00.001-08:00

Catching up...This is Sims on his first day of preschool! This is his second year at Ms. Kristen's! She has such a great program and he loves to go. He was very excited to start school after a very fun, but very busy summer with lots of traveling. We saw almost all of his cousins and traveled to 3 different states. It was nice to start a routine again. Lily was excited to walk him over and is getting ready to start Ms. Kristen's next year!

The Trailer!

2010-12-17T21:48:00.001-08:00

The long awaited photos have now finally arrived...OUR TRAILER!

Matt found this little gem on craigslist and we got it for an amazing price of $250! It needed quite a bit of work but it was basically in great shape. We worked really hard on it and got it ready and Matt took it out on it's first adventure elk hunting. He survived 20 degree weather and stayed toasty warm. I was a little jealous that I didn't get to go on the first outing but I am sure we will have loads of fun in it together as a family this summer!

I remember...

2010-12-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Hello my family and friends!

Sorry if it seems I have dropped off the earth...I sorta have! Life is keeping me soooo busy right now, but I love it.

I have had a special week. I have had time to reflect on Courtney, her birth, her moment here with us, and her spirit. It has been good, it has been healing. I have decided that this year to commemerate her birth I want to right her story...one of peace, comfort and hope. Those are the words I think of when I think of her. I want to ask you, as my loved ones to write your own stories of how Courtney has touched your lives or the lives of others and email me your story. I am going to make a book, one that I can share with other mothers, friends, family, so they can see what a powerful influence she had in this life. I hope to summit the story I write to the Ensign...I think with a lot of help I can do it!

I had the special opportunity to read my journal that I kept right after Courtney was born. It was a good experience to read. I realized that I was human and did suffer a little more then I remember today ( I have somewhat glorified the whole experience with me being a strong and put together heroine). I would like to share some of my favorite excerpts:

*"They brought her to me all bundled up in blankets and she looked so peaceful. I held her and I loved her and I knew that her spirit was there with me. She was alive those moments that we held and loved her."

*"I love my husband and I am so grateful for him. He has been such a wonderful support to me and he is so thoughtful and so strong. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is going to teach me a lot. I think he is going to help my understanding and I am so grateful for that. I love him so much and my only desire is to make him as happy as he makes me. I hope that I can be as strong and supportive to him like he is to me. I cannot express how deep my love is for him. He is the best."

*"I read a wonderful talk by Elder Faust from this falls conference talk. He said that when we are faced with trials like mine that we can either be selfish or Godly. He said when we are selfish we are mad at God that he took our baby away and we are so focused on our pain and grief that we can't see or understand the Eternal aspect of the trial. If we try to be Godly in our trials, it's easier to see the blessings that our Father in Heaven has given us. Its easier to understand that we must follow Gods plan and not try to live by our own plan. I am trying so hard not to have a selfish attitude! I am trying so hard to have faith and believe in God that he is guiding and directing our life. I am tryng to see the blessings that have been given to Matt and I in this trial. We have been blessed with a beuatiful, perfect daughter that now is waiting for us in the celestial kingdom. We have been blessed with her spirit and what a strong spirit she has to help us remember that we need to endure to the end and have faith. We have been blessed with each other and now we have an even deepter love and bond than we ever had before. We have been blessed with the chance to continue our family."

*"My friend Lori at work said how amazing Courtney must be because even though she never took breath on this earth, she touched the life of so many people."

*"Now I hope that we all can endevor to keep her spirit alive in us. I hope that I can remember how much she has changed me spiritually and emotionally. I hope that her influence will never die in me. I need that influence to keep me going and to help me remember what it all was for."

*"The role of the mother is to sacrifice all that you have for your child. I can remember my mom buying us girls clothes and never buying for herself. She gave so that we could have what was popular at the time. As a mother, I too have had to sacrifice for my child. I had to sacrifice my dreams and desires so that she could move on to the Celestial kingdom. I have to put aside my selfishness to support her in her decision to be in the Celestial Kingdom."

*"So what do I do now? Keep going. I have to keep moving on. Take what is given to me and make the best of it. I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY."

Those are the best of what I got. I am so grateful for Courtney. She has CHANGED my life. I am a better person because of her. I am so grateful for a loving, supportive and caring family. You all are amazing examples to me. I love you all so much! I look forward to hearing your stories!

Love, Jen

I bet you thought I died...

2010-10-07T20:59:00.001-07:00

This story actually starts back in September of last year when I first met Kim, my best friend. The first thing that I learned about Kim was that she recently had just run a half marathon and I thought...cool! This is one ambitious girl. So fast forward to January...Kim and I start hanging out a lot and become fast friends. We talk a lot about her half marathon and I tell her how cool it is that she did that. Then she says, well you can do it too, let's train for the half this summer together.

I laughed. Me, yeah right. I don't think so. I am not a runner. My latest running experience was a 5k where I thought I would die. Going from that to a half...didn't think it was going to work. But Kim in her awesomeness kept on the subject and finally I decided to "train" with her just to get her to STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!

But here is the awesome thing. I did it! With the encouragement from Kim and a few other friends I trained and ran a half marathon this summer. I started out slow and was able to increase my speed. I was able to run without feeling like I was going to die from not being able to breath. It was awesome. We would do long runs together and I felt great! It was amazing. I was ready.

And here was the coolest part everyone came to support me. My parents drove all the way from Colorado to see their baby run. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law and all my cute nieces and nephew drove all the way from Boise JUST TO SEE ME RUN! Oh what joy that brought to my heart to share this really big moment with my family. They are such a great support to me. Thank you so much for being there. My heart was overcome with emotion after I had been running for 2 and 1/2 hours to come up the hill and see my family whooping, hollering, and cheering me on as I ran the last little way. It was a moment I will always remember and I will be doing it again. COUNT ON IT!

And here is the best part to the story...tonight I was upstairs putting the kids in a bath and getting Jammie's on them and snuggling and when I came downstairs I saw this:
My sweet husband surprised me with an early Christmas present...a Garmin for running!! He wanted to give it to me now when I am still running all over so I can know how far I go and how fast I am going. I am so excited to go out and try it! He is the most thoughtful and sweet guy. I am so lucky to be married to him. He spoils me and I LOVE IT!

Teaser

2010-08-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

You may like something like this:

OR this:

These are just a few things I pulled out of the back of the truck! Are you getting excited yet?

She Market
Featuring Shade Clothing Company
August 24th and 25th
3pm-8pm each day

Other vendors include: Scentsy, Lia Sophia, Mary Kay, The Breadman's Wife, Ruffled Sunshine, Shirley J., Cutie Fruity and more!

See you there!

Shade Sale

2010-08-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is it ladies...This is my FINAL Shade sale and it is a doozy!

She Market
featuring Shade Clothing
Everything BRAND NEW and clearanced to
$3, $5, $8, $12, & $15

Thousands of discontinued colors and styles including camis, tanks, layer tees, long sleeve tees, sweaters, skirts, maternity and more.

When: August 24th and 25th
3pm-8pm each day

Where: 2908 Road 61 (off Argent)
Pasco, WA

And not only am I bringing you Shade but multiple other vendors to enjoy like: Scentsy, Mary Kay, In Bloom Birth Support, The Breadman's Wife, Lia Sophia, Pampered Chef, Shirley J. and more!

*Word on the street is that Shade is "going black" for an "indefinate amount of time". So this inventory they are sending me is the last of what they have so STOCK UP. Don't be scared that there won't be enough clothes either because they are sending me a 24 foot uhaul packed full of clothes!

*Spread the word, copy and paste the information for the sale to your blog or facebook, then email me a link vwbabe3148@hotmail.com and I will enter you in a drawing TO WIN $50 IN SHADE CLOTHES AT THE SALE!!!

Thanks for all the support in these crazy sales. It really does bring me joy to be able to provide this opportunity for you all! Let's have fun.

What a Lovely Day

2010-05-09T19:23:00.001-07:00

I love mother's day. I love being able to think about all the amazing women in my life and what I have done for my family. It is the one day that I really pat myself on the back and enjoy what it means to be mother.

Matt spoiled me today with:
*breakfast in bed
*a wonderful, inspiring talk
*a delicious dinner and dessert
*played with the kids and took care of all their many needs.
WONDERFUL

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother that has raised me to be the woman that I am today. I am so grateful for her and all the things she did for me as a child. I remember her playing "Uncle Wiggley" and "Memory" with me all the time when my brother's and sister's were in school. I remember her teaching me to make pie and ginger snaps. I remember her carving pumpkins with me while we danced to Ray Conniff. There are so many wonderful memories of her creating and shaping me to be the mother and wife that I am today. I am so glad that I learned those lessons (even if I didn't act like I was learning, I did learn). I am forever blessed by her example.

As a mother, I have discovered that it is not about how much laundry I can get done or how clean my house looks, it is about the legacy that I leave in the hearts of my children that they will in turn leave in the hearts of their children. We are not just making dinners and planting gardens, we are cultivating generations of people. It is amazing to be a mother and I am grateful that I can be blessed to be one. Happy mothers day to everyone! Thanks for all you do.

Happy Birthday to a Sweet Boy!

2010-05-04T08:22:00.001-07:00

Today Sims turns 4!!! Such an exciting day. He woke up this morning ready to open all his presents and to have a fun day. I couldn't hold in all the excitement yesterday and I told him that I was going to take him and a friend to Chuck E Cheese today, so he went to bed extra early so today would come fast! He is such a good boy and he deserves to have the best day ever!

I made a "mini" cake. Matt and I are trying to be careful about what we eat and I know that having a whole cake around would be bad news, so I made a small mini cake that we could eat for breakfast. Sims loved it!

Sims got this cool fish tank and 4 fish from Grandma and Grandpa Norway. He named his fish: Thomas, Percy, Ninja turtles and Otto

He got a scooter from Grandma and Grandpa Boise. He has been riding it around the house all morning!

A Card from Aunt Kari

A card and money from Aunt Teresa

Paints from Lily

Thomas Book from Grandma and Grandpa Norway.

A transformer from mom and dad.

And some gum. He LOVES gum. He is so excited and so happy! It has been a wonderful morning and it only barely has begun! I am so happy that Sims is my son. He is such a wonderful little boy! Happy Birthday!

Oh What a Day!

2010-04-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today actually started 4 days ago. I went to my first meeting for the Relay for Life at Karen's house. At first it was a sad meeting because it was just me and Karen, but then people started to show. As we discussed what Relay for Life is all about (raising money to fight cancer) we all started to get excited about fundraising opportunities!

One of the first things we were able to participate in was a bake sale! I love me some bake sales because they usually are very successful and I can bake some really yummy things. The bake sale turned out to be for this weekend...we all decided that we had enough time to conquer and that we could do it!

So I started baking on Wednesday...I continued baking on Thursday and even got in more baking on Friday...all in all I made:

2 batches of home made granola bars
72 chocolate chip cookies
48 cupcakes
a dozen peanut butter cookies and
8 mini loaves of banana bread

We also enlisted the help of many wonderful willing women who donated their time and their baked goods. These women here are AMAZING. So when we set out this morning for the bake sale we were loaded with hundreds of yummy goodies. We were so optimistic.

WE SOLD NOTHING. It was horrible. For the first 3 hours we sold 5 items to strangers. The rest of what we made was money that we put in to feed our kids and ourselves. We were in a horrible location. It was supposed to be this great event with a ton of people, but none of them were interested in baked goods. We looked at all our yummy delights in despair!

Luckily, our friend Annette and Karen came up with a plan to go to Walmart to set up our table again and try to sell our goods. I am not going to lie, I was totally and completely discouraged. I really wanted to go home and just be sad the rest of the day, but I followed Annette over, we set up the tables, put out our goods and then, the fight against Cancer miracle happened. PEOPLE CAME!! They bought a ton of baked goods. We moved so much! It was fantastic. We ended up making $600 from our bake sale!!!! We were so happy. People were so generous and so willing to buy the treats and even give more for the cause. It was such a great testament for human goodness.

I am happy we did it. We came out on top in the end. We learned a lot of good lessons and made a lot of new friendships. Our kids were patient, our bodies were given extra strength to continue. It was great to be a part of. Here's to the fight against cancer!

Seriously People...I've been busy

2010-04-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

I know, I haven't posted for over 2 weeks!!!! ACK! I am a horrible person. But let's just say things have been busy...

I got home just in time to kick off spring break...we did so many fun things...
*Trips to parks
*Grandma Boise
*Rach, Emmy and Tater
*Birdhouses
*Hiking Badger Mountain

Then we had a surprise trip to Salt Lake...it was never a surprise for Matt, he was planning on going the whole time to pick up our NEW CAR from my wonderful brother!! I cannot express how awesome my family is. That will have to be a whole post in itself. At the last minute, Karen and Brad and Grandma Boise graciously agreed to watch our two little ones so Matt and I could get a weekend away!! We did so many fun things...
*I got a new cell phone
*We went and hung out at Temple Square
*We saw the Joseph Smith movie (incredible)
*Went to an awesome outdoor mall
*Got a new, awesome coat
*Went to Matt's mission reunion
*Got to see a ton of my family!!

We got home and quickly tried to get back into the pace of things. I have been struggling because I decided that I needed to start exercising again. I have been going super early in the morning, so my body is trying to adjust to the new schedule. There have been many a night that I am in bed at 8pm asleep. I know pathetic, but it is all worth it for a healthy body! We have been doing so many fun things here too...
*Playing outside, this weather is incredible
*Lunch dates
*Park dates
*Taking dinner to the neighbors
*Gardening

So needless to say, I have been a little sidetracked, but I am back and have a lot of fun pictures to share!! I am now getting involved in a very worthy cause: "Relay for Life". Check out Karen's blog: www.prpakakjo.blogspot.com to learn more. I am excited to be a part of a team and to have a chance to raise money for such a great cause!!

Happy Birthday to a Wonderful Woman.

2010-03-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

The most amazing woman had a birthday today....my Mom. I was so excited to be here in Colorado to help celebrate it with her. She has been such an example to me of how I want to be a mom. She knows everything. If I ever need advice, I just have to call up my mom and she has some profound wisdom. I am so glad that I was a part of her family. I am so happy that I get to carry on her legacy. She is an amazing woman...Happy Birthday Mom!!

The Birthday girl bright and early! She got a whole bunch of cool presents including a new LEGO set! She was thrilled.

We had a birthday lunch for her where she didn't have to cook a single thing or clean a single dish. We made yummy Costa Vida chicken and it was a success.

This is my sister Kari, her daughter Isabella, my mom and Me and Sims. We had a wonderful trip and loved to spoil my mom on her birthday!

Did I mention the snow? It has been snowing like crazy on this trip. We have had two days of intense snow. Lets just hope I will be able to make it home tomorrow!

At the Farm

2010-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the Farm. Like I said before, Lily LOVED the farm. She was able to use all her words: cow, sheep and neigh neigh (horse). She loved it. Sims wasn't too excited, but as we found out later that day (because he threw up) that he wasn't feeling very well. It was a lovely day. We went to the park after and played for a little bit and took the kids home and they both napped.

This is Charlie, he was the new baby cow born on the farm. He was darling. Sims loved that he was named Charlie because of that video on youtube about Charlie biting his brother...

Lily loved to look at Charlie. She just sat there and yelled "Cow" "Moo" the whole time. It was darling.

We went on a nice little hay ride down to the Payette River. The kids thought it was fun to ride behind a tractor on some hay. It was really a nice ride.

We Made It!!

2010-03-18T19:14:00.001-07:00

We made it to Colorado, the sick storms subsided for the afternoon so that we could get on the plane and get back to my parents house.

Then I started throwing up.

Then the next day Sims started throwing up.

But I am glad to say that today we are well and happy. My kids are eating again. My mom has taken on a special mission of getting Lily to gain a few pounds while we are here (Lily only weighs 20 pounds). We have been having fun. My kids are sleeping well and a ton, so I have been able to rest a ton too.

We went to the farm yesterday and saw chickens, cows and sheep. Lily was in heaven. She loves the farm animals.

Pictures to come!!

So Terrible it's Almost Funny

2010-03-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I woke to the smell of vomit.

The first thought that came to my head was "Oh, I can smell again!" (after battling a rather nasty sinus infection for 2 and 1/2 weeks this is a good thing.)

The second thought to my head was "vomit??? Who threw up?".

I know slow thinker, but it was early in the morning. Sims was up at this point and so together we went on a search. I kept saying to him, "Did you throw up buddy?" and he would reply "I don't think so?". So the search started. I went to his room thinking that my smeller was finally working so I could smell the yuck that had happened the night before, but nope that was not it. I went to the guest room, where the smell was significantly worse, but no one was in there and nothing was found. Then I opened dear, sweet Lily's door and found the vomit.

Some time in the night, she threw up everywhere and proceeded to go back to sleep and sleep in it. I know bad mom. I thought it too, but I had NO IDEA, beside the smell, that anything had happened. I woke her up covered from head to toe in vomit. Immediately ran her to the bathroom to get her cleaned up. Put her in the tub and let her play for a bit. She was happy as a clam. No, hey I just threw up everywhere, sad attitude for her, she was smiling and happy.

As she was playing, Sims and I were sitting in the bathroom keeping her company. I was distracted by something Sims had said, looked away and when I looked back Lily had POOPED in the tub. I was not too freaked out because It was a normal poop. I lifted her out of the tub, had her sit on the toilet while I let the water out to clean the tub before I could clean her. She was not a big fan of the toilet, so I wiped her bum and let her go while I set to work on the tub.

Minutes later I hear Sims cry out "Lily just pooped in the hallway." WHAT? I ran out to find a nice mound of diarrhea in the hallway. SERIOUSLY? At this point I had to call in reinforcements, here was my vomit laden baby, standing over a mound of poop in the hallway. I was about to crack. Sims ran to get Daddy. "Daddy, Daddy, Lily threw up all over her crib and just pooped in the hallway." Now I know that would be a fun way to wake up.

Daddy came to the rescue and helped me get Lily back in the tub and cleaned up the sheets from the bed. Just when you think you can handle things yourself in a nice calm way, everything blows up. Daddy was the hero.

Needless to say, Lily is FINE. She felt great the rest of the day. She was her same singy, laughy, silly self. We just got attacked by the random sickies and the mad poo bomber. (She has been on antibiotics that cause some major diarrhea).

I on the other hand, now have pink eye. Thanks Karen. I survive a month without getting it from my kids and get it from lovely Karen. Here's to the month of March, where we have been sick the entire time, we love you!

News from the sick front:

2010-03-11T06:21:00.000-08:00

We are battling some nasty sickies over here, so please...stay away if you know what is good for you!!

Lily is on the mend! I am so happy to say that she is doing much better and I have even caught her singing a song or two. She had a nasty sinus infection in the sinus between her eyes, so her cute little face was all swollen to the point that she could hardly open her left eye. The swelling has gone down and she is on the mend. Thanks to a wonderful pediatrician and some really strong antibiotics.

Sims, I am sad to report, is now sick. He has gotten pink eye AGAIN. We are just throwing that around here all the time. I have started disinfecting the whole house. All the toys have been wiped clean, Lily's room has been completely cleaned inside and out and Sims room is next. Poor boy started running a fever yesterday. He got up to 103 last night and he threw up. So it looks like we have that lovely flu virus that is going around too.

So we are hunkering down and staying home for the rest of the week with plenty of rest. So if you need me, I will be here with my disinfectant wipes cleaning and taking care of my cute kiddos to get them better so we can get to Colorado next week!

This Girl

2010-03-09T21:15:00.001-08:00

This girl makes me laugh.
She makes me cry.
She loves Me Mu (the Wiggles)
She loves to dance.
She loves to sing.
She is a great sleeper at night (when she is not sick)

I have been so sad as of late because my sweet girl has been sick. Her little body is fighting a nasty infection so unfortunately she is none of the above right now. So keep this girl in your prayers that she will have a speedy recovery and that we will go back to laughing, dancing and singing.

Fieldtrip to Petland

2010-03-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE our preschool. The teachers are fantastic, fun and so energetic. The ideas and teaching are amazing. I just love it. And I love the fact that I live right next door!! This field trip we got to go to Petland, the local pet store. The kids loved it. It was so fun to see all the animals. They got to pet bunnies, hamsters, rats and even puppies. It was so fun.

Sims had a great time and now every day he asks when he can get a fish. He was really intrigued by the fish. I think it has mostly to do with his favorite story about feeding a fish too much food, but I think I know what I am going to get him for his birthday this year...his very own fish tank. I remember having one growing up and I loved it.

So thank you so much Ms. Kristin and Ms. Julie. This was a such a successful field trip. We love you guys so much!!

Lily-the brown nosed Baby

2010-02-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

We were having a craft day on Sunday with our cousins. The kids are really into sewing right now, so Spence and Hannah were sewing on the big machine and Sienna and Sims were sewing on my hand held mini sewing machine. Everyone was hunky dory, but then I thought in my head..."why is Lily being so quiet?" Here is what Lily was up to while everyone was busy sewing. She got great joy out of coloring on herself. I got a great laugh out of it all. She brings so much joy to my life!!

In his shoes.

2010-02-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

Lily loves to put on shoes. They are always Sims, mine or Matt's shoes. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. She is getting to be such a big girl!!

Some Awesome Stuff

2010-02-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

I have been reading the October 2009 Ensign. In there they talk about the power the Internet has to spread the gospel. They specifically talk about blogging and how we as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can spread our testimonies through our blogs to our friends and families. What a great idea!! I have been rather obsessed about posting cute pictures of my kids and my goings on in my life that I have forgotten a HUGE part of who I am...my testimony.

So my friends out there that read this blog, I am going to try to share the insight to my testimony with some spiritual messages and thoughts. I hope you enjoy.

Tonight I went back to read my FAVORITE chapter in the Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi chapter 2. LOVE this chapter. It just speaks to me and shares so many truths of what we believe. Mainly this chapter talks about agency. I love this concept because I have a very strong belief in our right to choose. I love Jesus Christ because he fought and died for that right. Like I said the whole chapter jumps out at me, the whole thing is highlighted, but I will share my favorite parts:

When I read this chapter tonight the first thing that struck me was when Lehi was talking to his son in the beginning telling him that he knows that his life is very difficult...then he says these powerful words: "Nevertheless, Jacob, my first born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

I almost wept with these words. My life has been continuously filled with trials...the loss of Courtney, bankruptcy, miscarriage, etc. But here is the truth, I KNOW the greatness of God. I know that he knows me and knows of my pains. How healing it is to hear these words, that these afflictions that I have been suffering will be for my GAIN.

And that is why I love this gospel. Because of those simple words and the knowledge that I have that they are true. I have a strong testimony that the Lord does know me and he will continue to give me the faith, courage and love that I need to carry on through any affliction that may be necessary for me to endure. I am so grateful for these truths.

Read this chapter. It is awesome. I may come back to it later. But for now, these are my thoughts and my testimony. Love you all!

Pictures with Santa

2010-02-18T18:56:00.001-08:00

I just found these pictures that Matt took at our ward Christmas party. They are classic. Of course Sims is as cute as a button, but Lily was a little scared....

A Love Fest to Remember

2010-02-10T22:03:00.001-08:00

{Remember how I opened my house to all these amazing women...well they came.
{We had a fantastic afternoon of delicious food, great friends and well behaved children.
{I enjoyed myself quite a bit.

I think at one point we counted 22 women in my house with their wonderful children. We sent the kids upstairs to play trains, or watch a movie (that we had projected on the wall in Lily's room). It worked out wonderfully. There was enough Mac-n-cheese to feed them all.

I am so grateful for those that came. I am looking forward to another fest for those who weren't able to make it. We missed you.

Here are a few pictures from this day...enjoy.

The Miracle of Being a Mom

2010-02-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot today about how amazing it is that as a mom, I hardly get sick. I have been in the throws of pink eye over here and have had my hands in my little boys face trying to clear a way goop so he can see, but alas, I am still not infected. I know, I wash my hands it is all about "science" and stuff, but I think it goes beyond that. I know that Heavenly Father has a special blessings on mom's that we will be spared from some of these horrible things so that we can continue to nurture our families. I am grateful for that blessing.

Mom-I am the doll...

2010-02-06T20:22:00.001-08:00

So I must admit, my daughter is the cutest thing on this planet. She just brings so much joy to my heart. We have this mini cradle (made by Grandpa Paul) that Lily loves to put her dollies in. Super cute.

One day while I was working in the kitchen, Lily decided that she was going to be the doll and climbed in the cradle too. Being the cute, petite thing that she is, she fit. Love it. Here are some classic pictures of her being the dolly. Please note her super cute dolly in the crib with her. She loves this baby and walks around the house yelling "beee beee" all day long. They are inseparable. Our wonderful Aunt Debbie hand made beee beee and it was well worth the time! Thanks!

Embracing the Doctrine of Love

2010-02-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Ok.

Since I have moved here I have been overwhelmed with how many wonderful people that I am surrounded by. All I have to say is:

WOW.

So I have been pondering in my little heart about what I can do this Valentines season to show all these truly amazing woman that I love them and am so excited that they are in my life...This is what I came up with.

Come to my: "Embracing the Doctrine of Love"
Valentine Open house

This Friday Feb. 5th starting at 11:30 and going till Matt kicks everyone out.

Come and lets enjoy each other and our awesomeness.

Please bring your kids...the more the merrier.

We are going to have yummy treats to eat and I am going to have a huge vat of Mac and Cheese for the kids to enjoy.

If I don't know you, I want to know you, so please come...this if for you. I can't wait to see you there...pass the word along.

I want you to feel the doctrine of love!

Completed

2010-01-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

I wanted to show you the finished craft room! I finished my last project to make it complete. I had these lovely blank canvases that I brought from the studio that I have always planned on covering with fabric. I finally got to do that project to help complete this room. I used some yummy textured fabric. The green is corduroy and the middle patterned fabric is actually an outdoor canvas fabric. I sewed on the decals that I cut out of a basic brown fabric and then I made "ribbon" out of the same brown fabric and tried to sew it in an oval...need to work on my ovals apparently. It looks really great and I now feel my creative juices are starting to flow again!

Face Lift

2010-01-24T20:15:00.001-08:00

Remember how my dear wonderful husband got me the dresser I wanted so badly for my birthday...Here it is:

This bad boy was found in someones trash pile. I saw it when we moved in the house 4 months ago and have been wanting it ever since. I know, I am crazy...but look what came from it:

I have given my whole craft room a face lift and I love it!! I was feeling some bad karma coming from that room. I told Karen that I couldn't craft until it was solved. She gave me some good advice on how to arrange things and now my groove is back. I love it. I have another project I am working on to finish it off. I will post the completed photos when I am finished. I am so excited. You can't tell in the photos, but I have been getting into distressing...I distressed the hutch...looks so much better and then I distressed the new dresser and inked it with some chocolate ink to give it a nice look.

I'm a Big Girl Now

2010-01-20T19:26:00.001-08:00

One of Lily's recent accomplishments is getting out of the highchair!! Yea. She strives to be a big girl just like her brother. One morning as I was getting breakfast ready, she climbed up on the stool and asked for her food. She is so precious and cute. Of course as a paranoid mom, I don't let her eat on the stools, but she has graduated from the highchair to these kitchen steps that puts her at a height where if she stands, she is right at the counter It is super cute. She loves it, she loves to be able to eat with the family now and refuses to go back in the high chair.

New Years Eve

2010-01-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to have a nice quiet evening at home for New Years. It was fun. We made homemade chicken hot wings and chili cheese dip with chips. The kids thought it was the best to be able to eat these yummy treats. As you can tell, they loved it.

The little ones went to bed by 7:30 and Matt and I settled down to watch a 30 Rock marathon till the new year...lets just say...I fell asleep on the couch at 8:30pm. I didn't quite make it to midnight, but I still had a wonderful new years eve.

I love spending time with my family who mean the most to me. They make me laugh and smile and they help me to remember what joy is all about.

Happy new year.

30's not so bad...

2010-01-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

So I had an absolutely delightful day.

I am blessed with so many great people in my life who give me love so freely. Thank you.

I was surprised with gifts, babysitting and even Matt stayed home to spoil me today.

I got a manicure and pedicure (thanks Tiff and Karen)

I got an awesome new dresser to remake into a really cool creation (thanks Matt)

I got a salad shooter (no one should live with out one of these...thanks mom and dad)

I got a great set of new sewing scissors and the most colorful, beautiful thread (thanks Linda)

I got overwhelmed with love and affection from my friends and family. I am amazed.

Thanks to you all for making this truly a wonderful and happy Birthday!

Pizza Night

2010-01-13T20:35:00.001-08:00

One of the things I love about my kids is that they LOVE pizza. It has been an easy fix to many meals, just give them a slice of pizza and they are happy little campers.

Many of you have probably witnessed the pizza apease miracle. If my kids are sad, I give them a slice of pizza and they quiet right down.

So Sweet and So Tired

2010-01-12T19:46:00.001-08:00

Sims does pretty well at bedtime. It has progressed quite nicely from where we used to sit in his room until he fell asleep till now we take him up to his bed, read a story and bid farewell. We gained our freedom at night as a couple to watch our shows, play on the computer and do what ever we want. It is wonderful.

This particular evening when we finally finished watching our shows and headed up to bed ourselves...this is what we found. Sweet little Sims fell asleep standing up.

I laughed myself silly.

I love being a mom.

Happy New Year.

2009-12-31T13:57:00.001-08:00

I am excited to see what 2010 will bring.

I am so happy of the blessings that we received during 2009.

I know that it might not be a good idea to put goals on here since some of you might hold me to them.

But I have always been a big fan of accountability so here goes.

1. I want to prioritize my kids and family first. I need to focus on what makes us happy and function as a family.

2. I want to spend time each day strengthening my spirit.

3. I want to be more thoughtful in my gratitude for others who are such blessings in my life.

4. I want to learn how to appreciate myself and my role in the family.

5. I want to have a better relationship with God.

That is good. I am sure there are 20 more, but I have to focus and narrow it down. These are the things that are really important to me. I hope you all have a great New Year! I love and appreciate you all.

This is for you mom:

2009-12-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

This dress that Lily is wearing is a dress that I wore as a baby.

She looked darling in it. I just hope that I was that cute!

If you are wondering where I have been...

2009-12-22T20:27:00.001-08:00

I have been making this:

These cute houses I found a tutorial for on my favorite blog of course: http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/

I got this crazy notion in my head to make these for my nieces here since we are trying to be thrify in our gift giving this year. I made two...they took a little more time than I anticipated (ok, maybe WAY more time), but it was fun.

We exchanged gifts tonight. Once niece had pure joy for hers and the younger niece said "I don't like it". (in her defense, she was beyond miserable tired and she is 4 so I will cut her some slack.)

It was worth it.

For your Viewing Pleasure

2009-12-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

This should make you smile today:

Untitled from Matt Johnson on Vimeo.

I will remember:

2009-12-12T15:30:00.001-08:00

Today marks the 5th anneversary of Courtney's birth.

I still remember her. I remember what a great Spirit she is. I know she is watching over our little family. I wanted to share this beautiful poem that was written for Courtney:

A Special Call

I was waiting, oh so patiently
In the Spirit world above
for the special day to come
to meet the parents I so love

Moments before my turn to go
Heavenly Father said
"My little child, a special call,
I have for you instead."

He told me I could choose
the sacrifice so great,
but the work He had for me
really couldn't wait.

It didn't take me long to choose.
I knew what I must do.
And so my dear sweet mom and dad,
My sacrifice was you.

My little body came to earth.
Never to feel you touch.
But my Spirit lingers near
Loving you so much.

The work keeps me so busy.
The time goes quickly by.
I know it won't be long until
Mom and Dad, you're at my side.

My parents don't you worry
I'll be just fine 'til then.
Our savior will sustain us
Until we meet again.

-Michelle Sims

Thanks so much Michelle for those beautiful words, they were truly inspired. I know that this is where Courtney is. She is doing a greater call than we can ever imagine. I am glad that I could be that sacrifice if it means that the work of our Lord will progress.

She changed many lives that day. Mine included. I hope that you all can know and feel the happiness that the Savior has given to us, by giving us eternal families. I give you today my testimony that this work will go forth. We are just a small part of a huge plan. I know that Courtney is happy and doing great and because of that I rejoice. We will be together soon as a family!

I love you all for your support, strength and encouragement.

On the mind of a 3 year old:

2009-12-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

Sims was coloring Santa on a coloring page. I took the opportunity to discuss Santa with Sims with the upcoming holiday. Here is how our conversation went.

Mom we don't have one of these.

What?

This thing that Santa comes down (chimney)

Yes we do (finally in this house we do have a fireplace! Which I have carefully hung the stockings by). It is right here.

Well it won't work.

Why?

Because there is glass on it.

Oh.

Well your in luck we are going to Grandma's for Christmas and she has a real fireplace. Never fear, Santa will bring you your presents!!

Way to go Gas fireplaces. Thanks for keeping the magic in Christmas.

Coming to you from the Johnson home:

2009-12-09T08:10:00.000-08:00

One night and one night only!

Lily Johnson:

Lily from Matt Johnson on Vimeo.

Things I love about Lily:

*Her constant need to "have a snack" where she goes to the pantry and grabs a box of cereal to munch on. She is very self sufficient and cute.

*Her laid back attitude, most of the day she spends chillin. Which includes her finding toys to play with and then laying down to play with them, because really, she is a Johnson and they don't do anything standing up!

*Her constant chatter. And every once in a while her songs. I hear her singing some of the random little songs that I make up about everything and it makes my heart swell.

I love this thing called motherhood.

Gingerbread fun!

2009-12-07T21:18:00.001-08:00

Making gingerbread houses was a family tradition I grew up with. I always remember my mom making the gingerbread, and hand cutting each piece with her knife from their home made pattern. Then my dad would get set up with plates, gingerbread, and the "glue" (frosting). He would carefully put each one together every year. Some years we just decorated the houses as a family and other years we would have friend too. As I was going through the same routine myself this last weekend, I just sat there and smiled at all the fond memories that I have from my parents hard work in putting this together. So now I give that gift to my children and family. I am so grateful to be able to carry on this tradition and I felt so close to my parents as I worked on this FHE. Here are the results:

13 Homemade gingerbread houses and one long table.

This pattern is from my mom and dad. Isn't it cute?

13 wonderful people. We had Brad and Karen and kids and our wonderful neighbors, the Hatches, over for the fun. The kids LOVED it! They could hardly wait for the Hatches to arrive. The excitement in the are was energizing!

Even the boys sat down and had some fun. Even though I sorta made them. Now I know how my mom felt with my brothers...

The finished Projects:

Hannah

Hunter

Matt and Brad (notice that Brad's house doesn't have anything on it but icing. I think he ate all his candy?)

Shane (notice the love addition of the foam cup that we had our icing in...Lovely.)

Karen and Kristin with Austin

Spencer

Dillion (masterfully pulled apart his whole house and stacked everything up in some sort of tower?)

My house. Beautiful.

Katelyn

Mom's Little Helper

2009-12-06T19:18:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I got the itch in me to bake some yummy holiday treats. I literally spent the whole day in the kitchen and didn't shower till...um...4pm. BUT, I got a ton done. I made gingerbread to make 13 gingerbread houses for FHE tomorrow night, I made sugar cookies, I made ginger snaps and lastly I made some yummy buck eye balls (peanut butter yummies). As I was working away in the kitchen, Matt was busily working on the new entertainment center. He successfully put crown molding on the top and molding on all the front to make it look more finished. We were in working heaven, caught up in some wonderful Christmas music (found on pandora.com...if you don't know about pandora.com go there now and thank me later).

So what were our little helpers doing while we were so busily working? Well, Sims was at the neighbors house playing...have I mentioned how much I love our neighbors? Well we love them so much. Such a blessing. And Lily was, well Lily was doing this:

Such a sweet girl. She was happily playing and talking to herself. Her favorite thing is to pull all the towels out of the drawer and now she likes to sit in them. It's not my favorite thing, but hey, if it keeps her happy I am all for it. I love this time of year. I feel so much holiday happiness and I love the spirit that you find every where you go. I hope you all are finding the same happiness and joy in your lives.

Today I Will:

2009-12-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

*Finish Painting the Bathroom
*Order Christmas Cards
*Start working on a new Christmas card list since my old one was lost...send me addresses!
*Make cookies with Sims
*Cuddle my sweet babies
*Make dinner
*Finish my home made present for my brother for Christmas. I think he will love it!
*Go to the post office

We will see how much I actually will get done.

Beautiful New Entertainment Center

2009-11-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

Matt spent the Holiday building a custom entertainment center for our TV and electronics. Here it is, isn't it beautiful?

Not only is it beautiful, but it serves so many purposes. His main goal was to get all our electronics off the ground and away from little baby hands. This is going to make my life so much easier. No more trying to get the little ones to not play with the computer, phone, xbox, etc. I am super stoked. Also I now have a ton more storage space! I am so excited to be able to organize and put some toys in baskets for the kids to be able to pull out and play with, but also to put back in baskets and put back in their right places. It will be so nice!

Great job honey. I love it. Thanks so Brad and Paul for all their help too!

Isn't he cute.

2009-11-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

Untitled from Jennifer Johnson on Vimeo.

Sims loves to sing songs. I thought you would enjoy hearing him. This little ditty is one that he has learned at Preschool with our favorite teachers, Ms. Kristin and Ms. Julie. He is constantly singing (maybe because I am too).

Christmas is coming!

2009-11-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

We didn't waste any time. The day after Thanksgiving Brad and Karen and fam came over and we got out all our Christmas stuff. Karen helped me create some wonderful Christmas spots. I am so excited for this wonderful time of the year!

Linda and Paul came over the Thanksgiving. While they were here, Linda helped me make this beautiful fabric wreath. She had brought all her Christmas fabric. We found the on line tutorial Here: kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/2009/11/fabulous-wreaths.html. I love the look of the wreath and I love how this space turned out!!

So sorry about the bad photography...I will have to start taking lessons from Matt. Karen created this space with a hodge podge of Christmas items I had. Since this is a new house to us, I didn't have any ideas where to put anything. I think this turned out super cute. I hope you can see how awesome it is! Notice the super cute JOY. My sister Debbie in all her craftiness made these adorable letters and sent them to me as a Christmas surprise! Thanks Deb.

And lastly, my new Christmas wreath. I found the online tutorial here: http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/2009/11/kathryn-nannygoat-made-this-gorgeous.html. It was super easy to make and was cheap. The whole thing cost me less then $10. I love it! I am so excited about this holiday season! I hope each of you can find happiness and joy in your lives.

Thankful

2009-11-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I am still finding so much gratitude in my heart. We had such a wonderful holiday. I did spend most of the day missing my family, but I was surrounded by Matt's wonderful family. Karen hosted Thanksgiving at her house this year. We had a beautifully set table including a little thankful present for each guest and delicious sparkling cider (that I got for a super good price with coupons!).

There was a lot of great food
There was a lot of talking and laughter
There was a lot to be grateful for including good health, a caring and loving family, a new beginning, a good job and the blessing went on.

We ate a ton, too much probably.
We took naps on the couch and floor
We watched a parade.

What more could you want our of a great holiday?

She's growing Up!

2009-11-29T09:30:00.001-08:00

Lily is almost 18 months old!!
It seems like yesterday that she was born.
Lily is my sweet angel, so full of life and energy.
She is happy and content almost all the time (I did say almost :)
What she likes to do:
Talk
Eat
Play with big brother
Talk some more
Sit on Jack
Suck her thumb
Talk
Did I mention she likes to talk? She is constantly babbling about something and the funny thing is, I am starting to understand what she is saying. Her words are getting more clear. It is so fun and often brings tears to my eyes to see her becoming such a big girl.

Making Room

2009-11-21T21:08:00.001-08:00

With all this coupon shopping I have been doing lately ( I am an addict) I needed to make room in my pantry to store the food I am stocking up with. The concept with couponing is buying in bulk so you get your supply and build your own grocery store. It cuts out on the "I have to run to the store for this one item" When you end up buying 20 and pay full price for everything. I have a fantastic tutor, Bonnie, she is great. We go out shopping together and have a fantastic time. So not only am I getting great deals, I am making a really great friend.

I cleaned out my pantry, the closet under the stairs and Lily's closet so now I have plenty of room to build my own grocery store. It makes me feel so good to have a nice and orderly house too. I love it! I have a nice big pile of stuff to donate, I know, I just moved here, but I didn't go through anything before I moved.

I firmly believe in an orderly house. I know that it makes me more of a sane person. I am going to keep my pantry open and stare at the beautiful order till it morphs, as it always does, into chaos.

Free Moment

2009-11-17T22:50:00.001-08:00

This free moment came faster than I expected!! I went to a wonderful enrichment tonight. I am surrounded by talented and lovely ladies in this ward! Amazing. The theme was "Women who Create". They focused on how each of us as women create something that is amazing to behold. And they stressed how each of us has something that we do and that we can share with one another. I love how they promote us to be strong women and women who appreciate each other. They talked about all the different ways we create, like our homes, talents that we may have, missionary opportunities, etc. Nothing was left unturned. They made us these beautiful journals for each of us that tells of things that they notice we create. It is amazing, they made probably over 100 journals and each one has special points about ourselves. Then when they served refreshments, we each had the opportunity to write in others journals.

Amazing.

Uplifting.

Inspiring.

I came home very uplifted and happy. I feel like I am in the right place. I am at home with these women. I love it.

I was so excited when I got home that I had to do something. Remember this rocking chair for Lil? I finally finished it. What do you think?

I am still here

2009-11-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

The Shade sale went fantastic on Saturday. Thanks to everyone that helped, it was amazing how giving you are...I love you for it!!

I am now watching my lovely nieces and nephew for the next 5 days. We are busy making decorations for Thanksgiving.

More to come when I get a free moment!

Shade Sale!

2009-11-12T14:41:00.001-08:00

Seriously Ladies, come to my Shade seconds Sale. I have hundreds of shirts, skirts, and some specialty items in my very own mini store.

Here is the info:

When: Saturday November 14th
8am
Where: My House 8207 Camano Dr
Pasco

EVERYTHING IS $5!!!

And if you aren't excited enough...look what came in the mail today...MORE!!!

A Tale of Two Friends

2009-11-12T14:34:00.001-08:00

Since I have moved to lovely Pasco, WA, I have been FLOORED by how nice everyone is. I never realized how stand offish people were in Boise. I don't think anyone ment to be, but we were all soooo busy and the wards so big that we didn't notice when new people moved in. So when we came here my mouth dropped open at the reception. I have friends and a ton of them too! The people here are all so great and so lovely. I have absolutely loved every minute of it. One of my new friends, Amy, and I clicked instantly. She is spunky and full of life just like me. She has been so warm and receptive from the beginning of my life here. I LOVE her.

We were hanging out the other day painting another good friends nursery, talking about life when it came up that she had a twin bed she no longer needed. I was so excited!! I have been thinking and planning on getting Sims a new twin bed for Christmas but decided to put it off because we can't afford that expense right now. Amy was so excited because she just wanted the bed out of her house, so she GAVE it to us!! Can you believe the generosity. I am so amazed! Not only did they give it to us, but she and her husband brought it over to our house and took the whole thing upstairs!! I know, they rock.

Amy, I love you for your kindness and generosity. Sims loves you for his new bed. He feels like such a big boy now!! Thanks a billion

Love, jen

This is for you Mom!

2009-11-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

When we moved into this house we brought a beautiful red couch with us. My mom made a fantastic suggestion that the couch would look even more lovely with cushions on it. I took it on to make cushions for my lovely couch, but didn't want to spend a ton. Here is what I made (thanks to my mother-in-law Linda for all her help making these).

Total spent: $16.

I went to the thrift store and bought 3 cushions for forms (I already had 2 cushions I wanted to redo) and 2 different bed sheets for fabric. I was so excited! I love the look and Sims loves the softness of the pillows!

I am a Convert!

2009-11-09T21:23:00.001-08:00

I have been resisting couponing because I have always said "I am too busy". Well when we moved to Pasco I decided to give it a try as a new full time stay at home mom. I came to the right place. There are many wonderful and talented couponers here to learn from. My good friend Bonnie has taken me under here wing. Here is what we did tonight on my first couponing trip:

15 boxes cereal
1 healthy choice meal
14 bottles of dove shampoo and conditioner
3-6 pk of Danimals
2 pkgs crescent rolls
4 pkg cookie mix
12 boxes of kleenex
5 lb bag flour
7 frosting
3 rice side
3 paper towels
3 cans progresso soup
2 cans corn
3 bags chex mix
1 bag frozen corn
11 lbs of chicken
2 box of cinabon bars

Total Spent: $38.53

I am converted.

Pumpkin Carving Fun

2009-11-06T05:54:00.000-08:00

So I am finally getting caught up on my posts!! Yea. Man I promise never to take a week off again! We went to Brad and Karen's house for pumpkin carving. It was a great night as usual. The kids were so excited to carve the pumpkins and I have to admit some of the parents were as equally excited...

Matt got out the skill saw to cut off the tops of the pumpkins. That man is such a genius. It is so much easier this way!

The kids were so excited to get started. It could have been because they were all anticipating having a GIGANTIC cupcake after all the carving was over, but I really think they were just excited about getting messy and creating a face!

Even "Uncle Karen" as Sims calls her got into it.

And Lily was just chillin' the whole time, walking around babbling to herself and pushing around a chair. She had a great time. Happy Halloween (I know, it's too late, but lets just pretend I did the post last week!)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

I am still trying to catch up on posts since I took last week off!! Here are some cute pictures of the kids in their halloween costumes. Matt took them over to the local elementary school for a "Monster Math Night" put on by our beloved sister in law Karen (she is the PTO president). The kids loved it. Sims got to play a couple of games and they came home with some candy! Lily only kept her costume on for a short time because she got a little hot. But she is still a cute little cow. That was the perfect costume for her because right now she is obsessed with cows. She will walk around the house mooing. It is the cutest thing ever. Sims of course was a big hit in his Thomas costume. I am so glad that I did it, it was worth it!

SHADE Sell

2009-11-03T22:24:00.001-08:00

...Maybe you like this....

...or this...

...or maybe even this....
...hmmm this looks nice...
....always can use one of these....

...well what are you waiting for...I have all of these at my HOUSE right now, hundreds of them in all shapes and sizes. and guess what...EVERYTHING IS ONLY 5 DOLLARS. yep you heard me right. I am here to hook you up. So give your friend Jen a call, or come by...

Sugar and Spice

2009-11-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

So I am a trying to catch up with what has been happening! Life is getting busy again. My sister-in-law Karen and I helped throw a baby shower for our dear friend Tiffany Harker. She is pregnant with her 4th baby, but it has been 6 years since her last baby. She was in great need of some cute girly things...it was so fun to get ready for. I was in charge of the decorations. Here is what I came up with. Our theme was "sugar and spice". Her colors for the baby room is black and pink.

This banner is made out of pink and black scrapbook paper. It says Sugar -n- spice.

This cradle and the rocking chair are Lily's. I have had them since the move and have been meaning to paint them. This shower gave me the motivation I needed. I painted them a nice pink and added some black fabric for accents. It turned out way cute. Remember the rocking chair because I have plans for how to decorate it for Lily's room. I will post the finished product!

I have always wanted to do a diaper cake. I really wanted to do one for this shower, but was not willing to spend the money on diapers (sorry Tiffany, I am cheap!), but I solved that problem by having a lovely friend of mine, Kati, who was also going to the shower and didn't have a gift, get the diapers for me. It turned out perfect. I will definitely do this again. It was so easy and turned out super cute!

Here is the finished result of the gift table. I think it turned out wonderful. I was super excited!

To go along with all the cute decorations Karen and our lovely friends had made the most delicious food ever. There were cupcakes, salsa, spinach dip, feta dip, chicken salad, all kinds of yummy breads, apples and Carmel and a yummy punch. I was supposed to be on a diet, but this shower was my downfall. I did have to eat, it was just too tempting!

And this was my gift to Tiffany. I saw this idea on this website: http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/. I always wanted to make this and finally had my opportunity. I spray painted this frame and hot glued fabric and ribbon to some cardboard for the back! It was so fun to do and easy.

All in all the shower was fantastic. There were about 30 women who came to celebrate. Tiffany got some awesome things and we just had a good time celebrating as friends. I had a great time doing the decorations and look forward to the next party!

Happy Birthday Tiff!

2009-11-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

My dear sweet sister in law is having her birthday today! We had a fabulous weekend in Boise and were able to hang out and do projects together!

Tiff is amazing in so many ways...she is funny, just like her brothers. She is very crafty. She inspired me to start to tap into my crafting side. I never scrap booked or crafted before I moved to Boise, but now I am a seasoned pro under her tutelage. She is always there for you, if you need help, she is by your side.

I was deeply impressed with this quality when Courtney was born. We found out that Courtney was gone and called Tiff and she was there right away. She was one of the few blessed people to be able to hold our sweet baby and be there at that very spiritual moment when she was born. I am glad she was there to share that with me. I am glad that she was there in the years after to help me remember Courtney and all that she taught us.

It was so hard for her to let us move to Pasco, but she put herself aside and saw how important that was to Matt and I and our family. She has been a great support since and I have been blessed with phone calls and emails from her. Our friendship continues to grow.

This is for you, I know I promised you these pictures a long time ago...I hope they make you laugh! Happy Birthday.

Love,

Jen

Pumpkin Patch Again....

2009-10-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

For FHE Monday night we went to decided to go to the pumpkin patch as a family. The night started out at Brad and Karen's for some yummy chili and cornbread. We were all filled up with yummy goodness (except me of course, blast this diet!) and we headed out to this great pumpkin patch out in the middle of nowhere. The kids were so excited! There was a carousel ride, a haystack pyramid, farm animals, and a corn maze. The real Halloween miracle was that we arrived a little late...it got a little dark, we picked the pumpkins in the dark, but we got our pumpkins for free! It was great. Then we went back to Brad and Karen's for a yummy treat. The best part about it was that Matt was there to capture our trip with his wonderful photography...enjoy!

What have you been doing lately??

2009-10-21T07:43:00.001-07:00

We have been working furiously lately on finishing Sims Halloween costume. And this weekend we got it done! It is entirely made out of cardboard. Sims helped me paint and came up with the whole idea all by himself. He is so excited to be Thomas and puts on the costume almost every day! It makes me so happy to see him so excited. Halloween here we come.

Just Chilling

2009-10-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last night was bath night. Lily for some reason only likes to stay in the water for 10 minutes. Then she gets out and gets in her jammies. But the challenge is once she is in her jammies to keep her out of the water while Sims finishes his bath...she is a very busy girl. So my solution is, put her in the sink. She is still so small that she fits right in the sink! She loved it and had a fun time just chilling.

Preschool Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday for preschool they headed to the pumpkin patch! Sims had so much fun and loved every minute of it even though it was FREEZING cold!

He is growing up so fast! He just went through a big growth spurt and now is in 4T clothes. He looks like a little kid now instead of a toddler. He is very sweet and has a great attitude. He loves to have fun.

Picture of his whole class.

Mr. Kristin and Ms. Julie (Sims calls Ms. Kristin, Mr. Kristin, he can't quite grasp the ms.) He loves his teachers!

On the hay wagon ready to go get pumpkins!

He found one that he loves!

Totally random: This pumpkin patch had a zebra and a kangaroo! The kids loved to look at them, but to be honest Sims most favorite animal was the plain old pig.

And we can't forget the tower of hay. I am still amazed at how brave Sims is. He climbed all the way to the top, multiple times. He didn't get his bravery from his mom, that's for sure. He had a blast with his friends.

The End.

A little Yummy Treat

2009-10-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to find the perfect recipe for granola bars to use some of this food storage that I have an ample amount of! I used to buy the Fiber One granola bars at Costco. They are super delicious, but had this horrible side effect....GAS! When I ate those, I would have the worst gas of my life and Matt did too, so I set out on a mission to find a granola bar recipe. Here is what I came up with. Both of these recipes are from my favorite recipe site: allrecipes.com Enjoy!

Playgroup Granola Bars
INGREDIENTS

2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

And this one is a little sweeter(actually I do not know that, I have never tasted either of these b/c I have been on a diet since I found them, but I have tried these on my family, neighbors and sold a ton of them at a garage sale.):

Easy Granola Bars:
INGREDIENTS

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sweetened condensed milk, butter, coconut, almonds, chocolate chips and cranberries with your hands until well blended. Press flat into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them. Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars. Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

And the verdict from my family is: Matt loves the playgroup granola bars the best. I found to only cook them for 25 minutes because they are more chewy! Have fun with these recipes. I have loved them!

A little bit about ME.

2009-10-11T21:17:00.001-07:00

This is me and my beautiful family. Matt and I have been married for 8 wonderful, blissful years. These are our two cute kids. I am an overly happy stay at home mom. My favorite things to do are to craft and create, play with my kids, love my husband and spend ample time in the kitchen (cooking, not cleaning up).

I was born of goodly parents. My mom and dad continually teach me and inspire me to be the best me that I can be. I love them and hope to become more and more like them.

This is my family. I am the youngest of 7 children. I was adored, and sometimes picked on by my many wonderful siblings. Some of the best moments of my life are when we have all been together.

This is my brother Brian and his family. Brian is 12 or 13 years older than me...sorry I can't quite remember. He is a great brother and is so generous. Our relationship continues to grow. He has a wonderful family. They live all the way over in Iowa, so our family reunions mean a lot to me, because this is one of the only times I get to see them.

This is my sister Teresa and her family. She is one of those big sisters that every girl needs. She was my second mom and continues to be so today. She is dependable and lovely. Her family lives in Utah. Her strength and courage continues to inspire me.

This is my brother Mike and his family. He is a fun loving guy, but also knows how to be serious and we have had many good conversations. I love his family and their energy. His sacrifice and dedication to his family is a great example to me.

This is my brother Pete and his family. He is amazing. He works so hard and always has a great attitude and smile on his face. I know that he often faces challenges, but he has faith. He teaches me to continue to have faith.

This is my sister Debbie. I can't say enough about her. I am constantly reminded of her awesomeness. She has such a lively and busy family, but continues to tap into her creative side with sewing and crafting. We talk often, we laugh often and sometimes we cry often. Her relationship strengthens me.

And lastly, not pictured is my truly wonderful sister Kari. She was delivering her first baby about the time we took these pictures. I am so grateful for her and her excitement for motherhood. She reminds me what it is all about. She has a wonderful little family that has joy and happiness in their home. I love her spirit, she is so caring.

All these people are what make me who I am, they have all inspired and sculpted me in some way. I love my family very much. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for putting me where he did in this family. It has been a blessing and will continue to be one. I love you all!

He really is just that wonderful

2009-10-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

I have an amazing husband. He is patient, he is funny and he is the best dad on the planet. He just has a love for life and helps keep me going. There are days when I feel lost in despair that he just takes my hand and puts me back on my path.

We laugh.

I cry. (Matt doesn't cry, but he gets teared up every once in a while)

We play.

We love.

It is perfect.

What takes my breath away still is how amazingly talented he is as a photographer.

He is so creative.

I love to have a chance to share with you my pride in his ability. Here, as promised, is a slide show from the wedding we went to in San Fransisco.

Enjoy.

Erik and Nicole - Wedding from Matt Johnson on Vimeo.

Current Craftiness

2009-10-08T20:26:00.001-07:00

First off: The pajama pants. Are they not the cutest thing in the world. I guess it helps that the cutest model in the world is wearing them...hmmm

Lily loves her new pajama bottoms and looks like such a "big girl" in them. It makes me a little sad to see her growing up so fast!

Second: Wall art. I brought some mount board with us from the studio. It is just little 8x10 and 4x6 mount board, but I got this ingenious idea to mount scrapbook paper on it and do a little distressing to make this:

My nephew Spencer was over and was so nice to pose in the pictures for me! He was enjoying some coloring.

My craft area is now complete and I have been in it almost every day doing something creative. I love it. The wall art just adds to the creativity of the room. My favorite part is that Sims has his craft drawers in the same room, so you can find him in there coloring and doing playdough. I love to see him explore his creative side too!

Weekend with Grandma Boise

2009-10-06T13:23:00.001-07:00

We had a fabulous weekend when Grandma Boise came to town and with her she brought more cousins!! It was Sims dream come true. We played, laughed, crafted and did it all. She came on Thursday last week and stayed through Sunday. We pretty much lived at Brad and Karen's house (thanks guys for being so patient with all of us and opening your house and food to us!). On Friday we went to this playground called the playground of dreams the kids loved it and we had a blast. They ran around, swung on the tire swing and even Lily went down the slides. It was great. Linda helped me learn how to make pajama pants for Lily, I will post pictures of those soon. She made bean bags for the kids out of cute Halloween fabric. Matt, Brad, Karen and I even got to go on a date to the high school homecoming game! So it was a fun filled weekend, now I am just trying to rest up from it!

Lily Rocks

2009-10-06T13:19:00.001-07:00

There are so many things that I love about Lily. Her personality is the thing I love most.
She is the happiest baby and loves to explore. She has a strong personality, but I like that about her. She is always willing to help me out too, she loves to close doors for me and pick up the toys. I cannot believe how much she can understand. Today it was just the two of us and she was needing some mommy time, so I sat down with her and told her to go get a story to read and off she toddled and came back with a story. I love it.

Simsography

2009-10-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

Another afternoon spent in the backyard. Sims loves to take photographs and I am really contemplating getting him his own camera for Christmas.

While we are on the subject

2009-10-02T05:02:00.000-07:00

Courtney was born 5 years ago this December. She was stillborn, at 38 weeks. We later found out that she had a genetic disorder called Turners Syndrome that was part of the reason she didn't survive. All I know is that she was perfect, absolutely perfect.

When something like this happens to you, you have a choice. You can choose to celebrate the life that was so preciously given to you or you can choose to mourn the life that was so preciously given to you for the rest of your life. I have chosen to celebrate.

Matt and I looked for a way to help celebrate her life. The first couple of years we bought expensive presents (along with many of our family in Boise) and donated them to the local kids who are without families and without homes. Don't get me wrong, this is a NOBLE thing to do, it just didn't feel right to honor my baby.

So a few years ago, inspiration hit. We decided that we were going to start photographing one family a year who had a child with special needs to celebrate Courtney's life. Courtney would have been disabled if she would have lived.

What we do:

We photograph the family, and take individual pictures of the kids.

We give the family their portraits: For FREE. This is our gift to our baby, so we are so happy to be able to do this for the family. We usually give them a 30x40 canvas portrait with a smattering of smaller prints. So far in the past, the families have been so wonderful and great to work with!

Here is the problem. We are in a new area and don't know anybody with a disabled child except for Tiffany Harker. Well, Tiffany is due to have a baby in 9 weeks, so we thought that next year will be better for her so she can enjoy pictures of her baby and herself too, so don't worry, Tiffany will get done. But I need your help my little Tri-city friends (I don't have many yet).

Please send this link to everyone you know. I want to hear stories and I want to meet inspirational families so that we can decide who to photograph this year in memory of our daughter. Please just post a comment or you can email me at jen@jonballphotography.com.

Check out our old website for the studio we ran back in Boise, all these portraits are done by Matt (my husband). www.jonballphotography.com

I hope this gets to a lot of people. I want to be able to give this gift to another family this year! Thanks so much for you help.

This is the family we did last year. They have a beautiful son who has down syndrome.

Im Memory of Courtney-Warning, not for the tenderhearted

2009-09-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

I found this story on one of my craft blogs: http://greysonsgift.blogspot.com/

I thought that I would participate in memory of Courtney.

This is the result:

8 blankets that are 12x12. It felt great making them and sending them on to this dear sweet mother who is trying to heal from her wounded heart. I have been there, I know, there is need to heal.

I thought I would post a little bit about the story of Courtney:

She was born 4 and a half years ago, it will be 5 years this Christmas.

She was an angel.

She touched my life, she changed my life. I am a better person because of her.

I have a greater faith in my Heavenly Father's plan for me, if you are not familiar with it, check it out here: www.lds.org

I am grateful for her.

Courtney, this is for you. I love you.

Love, Mom

Lily's Room

2009-09-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

When I did the house tour before I didn't have any pictures of Lily's Room because she is ALWAYS sleeping, which I am not complaining about. I finally got everything put away and organized thanks to this beautiful new dresser, thanks Grandma and Grandpa Norway. I kept her other old dresser in the closet to keep random things like candles and party supplies. She has a huge closet, so it is hard not to utilize the storage space.

Day O' Fun

2009-09-26T22:02:00.001-07:00

Today we spent the whole day with Uncle Brad and the cousins. It started out with an early morning treat of Viera's Bakery, the most amazing doughnuts ever. We hung out for a bit at our house and then headed off to the park for a pic nic for Brad's College Course that he teaches. It was at a park right by the river. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and also getting very wet, more pics on that later. We then took a short break for naps, but reunited again and went to this great event here in Pasco. It was called Heritage Days, or something like that. It was fantastic. They had all these crazy people who dressed up like they were real old time explorers and pioneers. Many of them had been camping at the park since Wednesday and were living there in canvas tents, eating out of their dutch ovens like that was completely normal. It was fun to see the rustic way of life. The kids got to feel many different coats of fur like fox, raccoon, beaver and even deer. I don't know if they appreciated it, but I loved it and ran around like a wild woman trying to get them to see everything that was there. Here are some pictures of this great event:

Spencer doing his best Daniel Boone impression

Sims just being rock star awesome

Seriously, there were some crazy people there, this lady was one of them. She just sat in front of her TP with the gigantic dog. The kids loved to pet it, but I seriously wondered the last time the dog and the woman frankly had bathed?

The had these 2 huge canoes hand carved out of wood. It was great.

This guy apparently is a history teacher at the high school. Brad knows him and he is how we found out about the festival. He was dressed in a complete old school uniform of like the civil war complete with a spear. Lily was scared to death of him, it was like the whole Santa Claus fasination, you want to be near them, but you cry because they look so scary...

One booth had a cross bow shooting thing that the kids loved. This is a touching moment where Matt taught Sims how to use his first crossbow.

Just Chilling

Awe the swings, probably the most favorite moment of the day. The kids all had fun swinging and jumping and so did Brad and Matt!

The wonder twins. So funny to see them side by side and know that they are only 12 hours apart. Austin was just chill while Lily was trying to put every rock in site in her mouth. It was great.

Possibly Sims most favorite moment. A steam engine.

That wraps up the fun filled day. On the way home tonight Sims was listing off all the fun things we did today and he said, we can do this again tomorrow right?

Haircut

2009-09-24T21:05:00.001-07:00

My sweet and precious daughter was blessed with a ton of hair. I love it, but as of late it has been driving me crazy because she will NOT leave her hair alone. If I put it in piggy's she has them pulled out after nap time. The same with a pony. So I have been flabbergasted as to what to do. The end result is me giving up and her having hair in her eyes. Believe me when I say, I do put up her hair in those tiny little rubber bands that have to hurt her head, but to no avail, she has them pulled out after nap time. So one night at dinner, I looked over at here with crap all over her face and hair in here eyes and I lost it. I seriously LOST it. I pulled open the junk drawer, grabbed the scissors and went over to my sweet little girl and chopped off her hair. Yep, I am every mom's nightmare. I made my kids hair look like it had been hacked up with the kitchen knives. But let me tell you that the calmness and sanity that reclaimed my life was worth it. Not to mention that Sims, Daddy and I laughed and laughed all night long because I had given our Lily an official Mullet. These pictures do not do justice.

She Speaks

2009-09-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

Untitled from Jennifer Johnson on Vimeo.

Matt and I went on a trip to San Fransisco this weekend to shoot a wedding (pictures to follow). We left the little ones with Uncle Brad and Aunt Karen. They had a fabulous time. When we picked up the kiddos there was one thing I noticed....more vocab from my little girl. Lily now says "Uh oh" and "Cheese". She is really getting interested in speaking words and tries to imitate me and Sims more often now. I think she will be talking up a storm before I know it!

Finished

2009-09-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished product. I love it. I has such a warmer feeling to it. It will be a perfect fit for my craft area!

Swinging

2009-09-22T07:27:00.001-07:00

This is for you Grandma's

2009-09-16T22:08:00.001-07:00

Message to Grandma's from Jennifer Johnson on Vimeo.

Time

2009-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot today about Time. Here is how it breaks down.

Before the move:

Time was my enemy. I never had enough time to do anything. I was frantically running around doing errands/trying to be a good mom/fulfill church callings/work, etc. I hated it because I never had the time to do things I really enjoy.

After the move:

Time is my friend. I love it. I have time to play with my kids because I have time later to do the laundry and clean the house. I have time to craft. I have time to think about my sweet husband and all he does for me. I have time to write him love notes.

I am so happy now. I miss my old friends and my dear family, but I don't miss the chaos and craziness that I called my life.

Simsography

2009-09-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

Here are some more Pictures by Sims. He took a picture of his new train cars he got today. We went around the house and rounded up all the spare change we could find and took it to walmart. I noticed they had one of those cool "Coinstar" machines that counts all your change for you. We went to the machine and like the good mom I am, I wanted Sims to have the experience to do it himself. He was so excited that he didn't listen to well to mom's direction of pressing the green button, so we had to do the whole thing in Spanish. It all worked out in the end and he got his cool train. He has been playing with it all day and has been such a sweet boy. He even let Lily play with the little cows and sheep. Such a good brother.

Preview

2009-09-15T22:04:00.001-07:00

Here is a preview of my next crafting experience....Tune in for the results.

What did you say...Summer's over, well not for us!

2009-09-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

The kids and I headed out in the backyard today to celebrate a warm almost hot day. We are adjusting to the new house, but miss our pool. To compromise we use our little inflateable pool and make a "water slide" out of it. I made a video of the kids playing, but like the renob that I am I videod it sideways, I apologize, but it is worth the head tilt to see how cute the kiddos are. Enjoy.

Untitled from Jennifer Johnson on Vimeo.

Fall Wreath

2009-09-13T20:29:00.001-07:00

So I have this favorite Craft blog that I have been following. I have wanted to try several things that she has had featured on her blog but with the move and such, I have never had a chance. Finally it was like everything lined up to make this craft come together for me. I went out garage selling yesterday and found all this great fall foliage for only 11 dollars. I got a ton, enough to do at least one more wreath or center piece. So here is my finished product:

Here is the props of the lady who started all this wreath madness for me: http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/2009/08/letter-wreath.html, she was featured on my favorite craft blog: http://kari-youcanmakeit.blogspot.com/

Pasco Fiery Food Festival

2009-09-13T20:18:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Matt had to work all day to get stuff done from his old job, so I decided to get the kids out of the house so we wouldn't distract him. We went to the Pasco Fiery Foods Festival. I am all about festivals, they are always entertaining, and this one in particular was special because it had a train ride. Sims was super excited so we set out on our adventure. I am very proud of myself for being able to find it and we found a great parking place and set out. Here are some pictures of our adventure.

This thing scared me, so I was certain Sims wouldn't go near it, but he said he wanted to do it. It really is like 2 stories high it is incredible. We got his tickets and up he went. He LOVED it. I was so surprised. He went on it over and over till the guy finally kicked him off.

Lily really is the perfect baby. She was so content to sit in the stroller the WHOLE time we were at the festival. We were there for about 2 hours. I just kept throwing food at her and she was happy as a lark. She found great joy in watching her brother have fun.

Here it is, the moment we waited for. The Train ride. It cost 6 bucks but was completely worth it. Sims loved it and Lily enjoyed it too.

Footsteps

2009-09-11T22:01:00.001-07:00

Sims is following in his daddy's footsteps with photography. His favorite moments are when I let him take pictures with the camera. He is getting good at actually taking pictures of people and things versus his toes and Jacks nose. I thought I would post these to show off some of his talents.

"The little wit's cup"

"mom"

New House Part 2

2009-09-11T21:37:00.001-07:00

Here is the next set of pics of the house, I had to leave out Lily's room because it always seems that she is sleeping...always. Hence why here room is also the last to be completely unpacked and put together, so it is a good thing I left it out! Please excuse the mess in the pics, I just moved in!

This is the other view of our family room. There is a fire place, but because of the placement of the TV and couches, it is hidden. There it is, you can see it behind the couch. We have put our family picture above it for now!

This is my new kitchen. It has much less cupboard space than the old house, but much more pantry space, so it evens out. We often sit at the bar for meals and Sims loves to be able to sit there and do crafts and talk with mom while I work in the kitchen.

This messy room is going to be the office/guest bedroom. It is quite a big room, so I have a good feeling about how it will turn out when all is said and done. I just have to put myself into it and organize! I will do after pictures when it is all done.

This lovely room is my master bedroom. My dear, sweet sister-in-laws Tiff and Karen painted this room green for me. For some reason as of late I am having an obsession with green, so this is perfectly lovely for me. This room too, is huge. I don't know what to do with all the space, in the future you may see a reading chair and maybe a bookshelf. We will see....

And this cute room is Sims room. He loves it! You can see the cute little guy asleep in his bed for these pics (taken during nap time). He loves the sports motif and gets a kick out of the fact that his door handle is a basketball. It was like this house was made for our little family!

New House Part 1

2009-09-10T14:46:00.001-07:00

Here is our new house. Isn't it pretty?

This is the entry way and probably my most favorite place right now. Tiff and Karen found this awesome table at a garage sale and snatched it up for me. As you can see it fits beautifully! Off to the left is a half bath and stairs going up.

This is the formal living room (above 3 pics). It turned out great and is my second favorite place (probably because it is the only clean place!)

These pics above is of the dining area. I am going to have this also be my craft area, so I have to be really good about hiding everything and finding places so it doesn't look cluttered.

Here is one view of my family room. This is right off the kitchen. It turned out perfect the placing and I am so glad that I will be able to be a part of more things now when I am cooking! I tried to upload more pics, but blogger wouldn't let me so I am going to try a new post to see if that works!

First Day of School

2009-09-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, preschool, but still. Sims had so much fun today at preschool. It was a big event that took a lot of getting ready for:

Grandma Boise took him and got him new shoes for preschool.

Grandma Norway got him a cool new backpack.

We talked and talked about preschool and he was so excited.

Grandma and Grandpa Norway were there to walk him to school and even Uncle Karen (this is what Sims calls his Aunt Karen) showed up to celebrate the first day of school!

And today, his dream was fulfilled. He had a blast. He LOVES his teacher and our neighbor, Ms. Kristin. She pretty much rocks the house. This is just another blessing of our move.

Exhausted

2009-09-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am almost to tired to post. Almost.

We are making headway. Unfortunately today I had this brilliant idea to go to our storage unit and get all the stuff before Saturday to save time on the actual move day. We went to the unit, opened it up and I saw my dad almost faint in terror. So maybe there was a little more stuff there than I had remembered...it's not that bad right? So after completely packing my car and his car full of stuff, we still have to go back for one, ok maybe two trips. But seriously, I need all this stuff, seriously.

My mom made some great progress today, she packed the entire kitchen. Now we are eating off paper plates and plastic cups. Fun times.

My awesome brother in law, Rich, helped me move some incredibly big and heavy things out of the storage unit tonight. He is amazing.

We had a delicious meal at Tiff's house. She is always so generous in having me and my parents over when ever they come. Amazing.

My BFF, Amanda, brought me loads of boxes tonight so we can get more packing tomorrow!

So what I have learned today:

1. I have way to much stuff.

2. I am surrounded by amazing family and friends.

3. I couldn't have done this without them.

Oh sweet Relief!

2009-09-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

My parents came today!!! What a relief. I have been telling myself that all I had to do was hang on till they got here and they are here! I am so happy. In one simple day my dad fixed my car seat that I haven't been able to fix for weeks, my mom helped pack up my garage. I am including a picture. I wish I had the before picture but just imagine things strewn about everywhere, and now look. It is all in an orderly state waiting to be loaded up on the truck Saturday. A lot of people have asked where we are going, we are moving to Pasco, Washington. Matt got a job as a high school photography teacher at Pasco High. We are super excited and now if I can only get through the move I will be golden!

Closing the Door

2009-08-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day I will ever be working at the studio.

Today was the last day I had to leave my kids with babysitters to go work.

Today I closed the door on an ERA of my life.

The funniest part is, I am a little sad. It has been the hardest work to keep the studio going for the last 5 years, but it has also had some good times.

I remember bringing Sims to work with me and the fun that we had. We spent so much time together and I had to get creative as to how to occupy his attention. We were a family down there. Matt and I loved spending so much time together (at least I did :) Our retoucher, Kristen was just part of the family. Sims lovingly referred to her as "Tin Tin".

I think I knew that the good times at the studio were over when we had to let her go b/c we couldn't afford to pay her any more. I remember crying and crying. It was like telling your sister she couldn't hang out any more.

I am sad that I won't be able to be so involved with Matt and his work. It blew me away at how talented he is. Each day he would come up with something new and really cool. I loved looking at his photographs. I loved being a part of his clients lives.

But as it is said, when God closes a door somewhere he opens a window. That window for me is Pasco. I am beyond excited for this new chance in my life. I am so thankful that we have been on this journey. I am so thankful that we have been in it together. Matt is my best friend. He helps me laugh when all I want to do is cry. He is my prince. I love him so much. I am excited for this new chapter in our lives.

Here's to windows.

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-08-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

When I get something in my head, I start to obsess about it. I am sure all mothers can relate. If the kids get the sniffles, I start to obsess that they have the swine flu, etc. Well right now I am obsessing about Sims having the Chicken pox. I called my mom a week ago, "mom, what do the chicken pox look like?". Sims has been itching and scratching, but it has been mainly on his legs, so we decided it was mosquito bites. Well today at church, I noticed a couple more raised bumps on his face. We showed a nice old doctor in our ward who said that it could be, but it might just be a rash. But he advised not to take him to nursery.

So on the way home Sims says to me, "Mom, I want to go home and look at my chicken pot pie in the mirror." I gave him a blank look and Matt politely translated that he wanted to look at his chicken pox in the mirror. Such an adorable boy.

A Boy and His Dog

2009-08-29T19:44:00.001-07:00

Now that I am a blogger once again, I go throughout my day creating posts in my head. I know you all do this too. Like for example, as I was cleaning and painting the studio today, not being such a good sport about it. I started to create a post about all the people I am thankful for: Tiff, Krista, Amanda, Mike Sallee, Joe, Rich and Matt for helping us out today at the studio. I thought about my very pregnant visiting teacher, Andrea, who went above and beyond to watch my kids all day today. I thought about Karen and Brad and how much they have helped us at the new house in Pasco. I thought about my parents and how amazing they are and giving. I thought about Linda who loves to watch my kids and give me beautiful quilts. Once I started this post in my head, I started to have a more cheerful attitude. I have been blessed with amazing people in my life.

I also started a post about the basil I dried from my garden and the leaves that I have picked off the plant to put in my next pot of spaghetti sauce, but that wasn't very interesting.

Then I settled on the the perfect post. A boy and his dog: Jack goes to bed with Sims every night and will not come out of his room till Sims is fast asleep. What a good dog. Sims loves him very much. Enjoy.

Ahhh....The Berry Ranch

2009-08-29T06:21:00.001-07:00

It's quite funny really...My friend Krista told me about some wild blackberries that were growing out by Tiff's house. I just can't pass up a free thing, so I got Tiff and Krista and we headed out to get us enough blackberries to make jam and pies and all sorts.

What we didn't realize that we were heading into what was certain to be our death. I have never seen such huge thorns on anything. Roses, Nope, weeds, Nope. It was really treacherous. And we were trying so hard and only came out with enough blackberries to make one pie and enough scratches to send us to the hospital Seriously. I was a little discouraged.

So I called Tiff back and said, I have a plan: It involves a ladder and pants, long sleeves, heavy gloves and a machete, but we will be able to get more berries. And she said, "How bout we go to the Berry Ranch". Some times this woman is so prolific. She is amazing.

We headed out to this place, I had never been there before, to pick us some berries. Mind you these we will have to pay for, but Tiff thought that paying a little for berries is worth it for our life. It was amazing. They had thousands of big, beautiful berries and get this NO THORNS. Seriously. It was a dream. Here are the Pics. I went home and immediately made most of mine into Jam. Thanks Tiff for being a genius as always.

Fork Anyone?

2009-08-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

Lily has learned how to eat with a fork. She is growing up so fast!

Every day should be like this:

2009-08-27T19:33:00.001-07:00

Even though today was not the best day (stress got the better of me and caused me to feel nasty) we still managed to have some fun. We brought this car home from the studio for Sims and he loves it. We have been all over the neighborhood in it. So today I suggested that we should give it a good wash to keep it looking nice. Here is the result. Enjoy!

I Am Thankful For:

2009-08-26T21:17:00.001-07:00

*God. Knowing that he listens to me and my prayers. Knowing that there is a purpose and knowing where I am going.

*My new house. Even though we will be renting, it is much bigger than the house we live in now.

*Energy. With all that I have to get done. I am thankful that I have been given the energy to keep up with it!