Always Some Project!

 It seems that Christmas time always finds me trying one project or another...

This year it is my own version of Moon Dust, some writings for the Grands, and these

lotion bars! They have a base of oil infused calendula (from my garden, of course.)

I hope they hold up well.

I know I am very blessed to be able to try new things.

Blessed to Love Papa Ooh Ooh

 AKA Grandpa Luke!

This man is such a wonderful Grandfather to these boys!

They have so much fun with him!

And I have so much fun watching them have fun together!

They look up to him both literally (for now) and figuratively!

And I could not be more thrilled!

I am so blessed to be married for all eternity to him!

A Fine Nine!

 

Our Ashtyn is nine! The years really do fly by!

Ash is such a creative, fun and loving girl!

And a wonderful big sister!

I am so blessed to know you Ashtyn Dee!

Our Fantastic Four!

 

Thomas is four! He is such a delight to watch as he explores the world. He is so imaginative! And he has a fantastic smile!

We are so blessed!

'Two' Cute!

 

and ALL boy! Our Oliver is so adorable - even though he likes Grandpa Luke better!

He loves all things that might be considered a vehicle - cars, trucks, lawn mowers, tractors... When we went to the farm, Oliver did like the animals, but he loved sitting on the tractors!

And he loves 'giving rides' to all of his toys. 

He is growing up fast - but growing well!

I am so blessed to be his grandmother!

She's Five!

 Our Rylee Sue is five!

She is such a sweetheart! Rylee loves her family. She always tells me how happy she is when I visit or when she comes to visit me. Rylee just loves being with her family!

I am so blessed to have this girl in my life!

Nine Years a Grandmother!

 And loving it!!!

This beautiful girl turned 9 - already! Time goes so fast any more.

We love Claire so much. She is so fun loving and always learning.

I am so grateful to have this grand in my life and that she allowed me to be one of my favorite things - a grandmother!

There Really is Beauty All Around

 especially this time of year!

The flowers are out everywhere!

Plants are flourishing despite the bugs and weeds!

And the front yard project is complete! (Here's to hoping at least some of the weeds stay away...)

I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful place!

My Father's Example

 I can say without a doubt that I do have the greatest father! He is such a great support and example to me!

When I was young, my father was a high school math teacher. As I grew up, working with math was just something to learn like riding bikes, reading, cooking/baking. It was never something treated as difficult or hard. My father never treated math as something you are either good at or bad at. It was just another thing to learn. As such, I always knew that I could learn math, and I have come to LOVE teaching math to others, teaching them that they too can learn math with patience and practice. I have a career I enjoy thanks in part to my father's example.

My father grew (and still grows) a garden. He taught me so much about growing things, especially about trying something. I remember the year he grew peanuts. It was a great example of growing something not necessarily for the yield but for the fun of growing it!  This example has helped me to discover the joy in growing sweet potatoes and garlic - two of my favorite crops! I thought I may as well try it just to see what happened, and with my success, I now grow them every year.

My father also has a special place in his garden for roses. After seeing the beauty these flowers brought to his garden, I learned to care for them too. I now have several rose bushes that thrive each year.

latest project - this new garden area

My father also gave me an example of hard work and not being afraid of DYI projects. I watched as my dad laid tile among many other projects. This gave me the courage to teach myself home improvement skills like laying tile, dry walling,  installing new light fixtures, and so much more. As a single mom, I could not afford to hire anyone to do these things for me - so I just learned to do them myself. Projects like these are extremely satisfying to me even now when I could technically hire someone to do them for me.

I am so grateful for the wonderful examples set by my father! But his best and most cherished example comes from witnessing his love for his family and his love for our Father in Heaven! My father truly is a great man because of this love!!!

I am so blessed!

She's Seven!

 

Parker is seven! She is so full of life - ALL OF THE TIME!!! She is really into drawing, gymnastics, dancing, make up, and reading.

And treats (cookies, cakes, candy)... you name it!

We are so blessed to have Parker in our family.

Happy to be Surrounded by Mothers!

 

There are not adequate words to express my love for all of the many women who are mothers in my life - so I will just leave you with these pictures.

And so many more...

I am so very blessed! Happy Mother's Day!

It's always fun When Grandpa Comes...

 downstairs and says "who's first?!"

Although 8 may be too tall for this trick...

I am so very blessed!

A VERY Good Anniversary

 

It's been 11 years since I answered this man's message on eHarmony...

One of the BEST decisions I ever made!

I had been single for more then 16 years, raised my kiddos, been doing the single scene (dances, firesides, free sites) BUT was pretty discouraged about ever meeting anyone with a testimony of the Gospel. I decided I would give eHarmony a try in the summer... but during April General Conference that year, I kept feeling a strong prompting to join eHarmony NOW. 

I posted this (less than impressive) picture taken with my cell phone as I did not have any others... and two days later, I received a message from Luke. He had included his testimony of Jesus Christ as part of his profile. I knew then that this was a man I needed to get to know!

He and I are both so blessed to have testimonies of our Lord and Savior. How appropriate that this anniversary falls on this Easter Sunday.

I am so blessed!

A Stunning Six!

 

How can she be six already?! We love our Olivia!!!

She loves life, loves to have fun, and is such a natural hostess on all occasions!

We all love Olivia!

Projects in the Off Season!

 Winter is too cold to garden here... except growing sprouts, some micro greens and starting some seeds...

So I need a few projects to keep busy! Finished Jon's jean quilt - he loves it!

I've been doing a little canning- beef, turkey, bone broth, cranberry juice, and I tried some carrots for the first time. Luke liked the carrots, but they were a bit soft for me - so my cooking brain worked on it a couple of weeks and...

A purple sweet potato- looks strange and tastes great BTW!

decided to put together a recipe for my own version of cream of carrot soup - turned out so well! I used one pint of my home canned carrots, including the liquid, some of my home made onion powder, some of my homemade garlic butter, some lovely curry powder (no, not home grown)- blended together and added some white sauce instead of cream- then topped with a sprinkle of my own dried parsley - so, so GOOD! We will definitely be making this again!

I am so blessed to have so many projects to keep me going.