Project Clean Up

The home we are in this summer has quite a bit of land around it and we found (much to our delight) that there are some already established flower beds around the house.  However, when we arrived they were fuller than full with weeds and one out in the yard was absolutely filled with quack grass.  So we went to our new favorite store (Menards) and bought a shovel and rake and we went to work...here is some of our progress:

 I wish I would have taken before and after pictures for all of the flower beds but alas I did not.  This next one was full of quack grass and old tree roots.  Evus is holding up one of the larger roots we dug out.

Willard wanted to model in the next couple pictures.  Notice we have now planted some flowers in the beds.  I got some lily starts from a Relief Society activity and we found some Irises out under a tree in an overgrown mess...we couldn't resist.  We have also planted a bunch of little seeds in there--please grow little seeds!

 The side of the house is really ugly right now.  We decided to create a bed along the house to make it look a little more attractive.

 This is a raised bed behind our house.  We planted herbs, veggies and some strawberries I got from the RS activity.  Oh I hope they grow!

 The boys love being outside and helping out around the yard.  While helping me pull weeds Willard fell down.  He got up and said "Oh, I fell down...I need to be careful, I need to be careful with my body!"  I asked him where he learned that he needed to be careful with his body.  He answered, "I learned it in church".  Thank you nursery leaders!  So cute!

 I asked Porky to say "cheese" in the picture below, but I think he thought I said Jesus because he began to say "Jesus, where are you?"

 My little Tigger

 Our weed pile!  Its hard to truly appreciate it in a picture but there it is in all its glory.

 The big trees in front of our house...I am glad we will have shade in the summer heat, but they scare me in a wind storm.

Welcome Ta Braska!

 This is our lovely Nebraska "summer home".  We will be residing here in the summers for the next couple years (and possibly some winter time as well).  It is a wonderful little home with lots of area around it for the boys to explore.  Everyone keeps telling us that it hasn't been lived in "for a long time"...haven't been able to get a straight answer as far as how long "a long time" really is.  I can say though that there are two couples in our ward who have lived in this house before too when they were grad students.  One couple has a very large family now and the other couple have grandchildren so its been around for a while.

 This would be the remnant drifts from the blizzard we had the day after arriving...FUN!  We brought Idaho weather to Nebraska.

 This would be the main pipe that exploded the second night we were there (also the night of the blizzard)...when we drained the bath tub we heard a waterfall coming from downstairs...yup.  Thats a lovely crack isn't it...but we're all better now.

 The boys were a lot of help when it came time to make Willard's birthday cake.  I can't believe he is three! 

 We had fun celebrating Willard's birthday with cake, icecream and the birthday fish named Bob.  We took Willard to Wal-mart and let him pick out his own fish.  Thanks to his Aunt Jessis he had all he needed at home to give it a good home (thanks sis!).  Before he got out of the car he was determined that it would be a BLUE fish.  Once we pulled the best looking blue fish we could find down off the shelf, we told him he needed a name.  Without hestation he said "BOB!"  That may be because that same afternoon the maintenance man came to check up on us and he is named Bob...it also may be because of a book his Auntie Em gave him where all the animals are named Bob (including the fish) but either way he is now Bob the Blue Beta from Braska and we love him.    Every time the boys enter the living room/kitchen area they great him (Hi Bob!) and when we leave they make sure to say bye. 

 Last but not least--who needs a pink flamingo in your yard when you have a herd of deer...or as Willard calls them "reindeer" or as Porky calls them "cows".  Either way they make for hours of entertainment for the boys...and Evus and I have fun too.  Don't know how I'm going to grow anything in our yard with these guys around but I'm still going to try.

Saying Goodbye to Idaho

 There we are, infront of our Uhaul after packing up Tuesday night.  Don't we look excited! (actually I think all of us were absolutely exhausted and we hadn't even traveled yet).  Mostly I was just emotionally exhausted.  Its so hard saying goodbye to people that you love and we love a lot of people in Idaho.  I'm grateful we got to spend a week with each of our parents in their homes before we left.  It was hard being unsettled that long before we moved but we made some great memories with our families.

We also got to have some fun with friends before we left.  Our bestest pals the G family came out to my folks' home the weekend before we left and got some hands on experience feeding baby cows!  My mom and dad have become quite the farmers.

To all the people in Idaho--WE MISS YOU & LOVE YOU!!!

We're Moving On...

 Evus finally made it!  At last he was able to receive his diploma cover...and we're hoping that soon he can fill it with that much sought after college diploma.  We are all so proud of him for working so hard and for all that is ahead of us too.  It was such a great day celebrating his graduation.  Evus' dad works at the university we have been at these past four years and he received permission to be give Evus his diploma (cover), that made the whole experience even more special. 

P.S.  Do you recognize the dress?...yes I wore it, the cardigan covered the major mistakes. Yeah for making your own clothes!

Save me a piece of that CORN!!!

See those papers in Evan's hands...thats right, complete with his signiture and we are headed to Nebraska for grad school.  Who would of thought one day someone would pay us to go to their school, and who would have thought that school would be in Nebraska. LOVE IT!  Evan has earned every bit of it.  We are so excited to go to Nebraska and I just wanted to share a couple little facts that I have learned about the state in the past few months:

1. You can hear the corn grow...really, they say if you walk down the road surrounded by corn fields you can actually hear the corn growing...you better believe I'm going to test that out, so I'll get back to you as to whether I really hear it.
2. When the CornHuskers play at home, the UNL stadium itself becomes the Third Largest City in Nebraska, HA!  That is the funniest thing ever!  They love their football team.
3. Kool-Aid was invented in Nebraska...I'm just saying my kids appreciate that one

I'm sure there are many wonderful things yet to learn about the Corn Husker state and school and we are preparing now to go and have our adventure there.  Our little Willard now says "We are moving to Braska" and maybe one day it will all seem real but right now I'm still not feeling like we are actually done here.  We feel very blessed so...Save us a piece of that corn!

Time for Decision Making...

After an extra year of school Evus has finished applying to grad schools and we are now in the process of deciding where to go.

At the beginning of Fall Semester we put up a Grad Draft as Evus started pouring through different school programs trying to find ones that fit what he wants to do.  We started out with a list of over twenty and slowly around 8 made it up on the wall but slowly they were slimmed down to the to three:

After prayer and work Evus has slimmed his choice down to two!  So everyone, where should we go:

"I will give you a pattern in all things..."

Over a year ago I bought a dress pattern on a whim and decided I wanted to learn how to sew, right...so I went to my mother-in-law and got some much needed tips on attacking a clothing pattern.  She helped define the jibborish in the step by step instructions and then gave the greatest piece of advice: make the pattern with an old sheet or something like it FIRST so you make your mistakes on that instead of on your nice fabric.  So I went to Deseret Industries--I LOVE that store--and bought an old pink curtain.  It was EXHAUSTING making the dress...so many times unpicking mistakes and in the end what did I have...an old curtain in the poor form of a dress ha!:)  and I was so burnt out I put it all away and didn't make the dress with the actual material. 

Over a year later (now) I bought some cheap material from (once again) Deseret Industries and decide to pull out the old pattern.  I did the pattern a little bit differently and here is the finished product #2

Doesn't it look great, aren't I amazing!!! Now check out the back!  HA not so amazing!

I couldn't help but laugh at how terrible it looks from behind and inspite of it you better believe I'm still going to wear it!
Maybe one day I'll actually try making it with the nice material I bought so long ago that still remains in my material box.

Its crazy trying to make a dress.   So many pieces that need to fit together just right and matching seams.  I like to cut corners, I get impatient trying to follow a pattern and start to rush cutting each piece out.  However,  I learned while making the dress that I saved myself a lot of frustration in the long run when I took time to follow the patterns.  Miraculously, edges met and lined up perfectly when I followed the pattern.  Where I sped through and did not understand instruction before plunging in (the zipper) I ended up with an ugly result.  It made me think of a scripture given by the prophet Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 52:14.  God has given us patterns in all things.  How to treat our neighbors, how to treat our families, even how to treat our enemies.  Christ is the perfect pattern for us to use to know how to live our lives.  We have patterns for building a strong home that can be a refuge from the storms of life.  We have patterns for how to have lasting marriages and how to teach children with love.  We sometimes forget these patterns and try to cut corners but there is power in following the patterns. 

Today I'm thankful for heavenly patterns.

Finding Rest as a Mother in Zion

Rest unto Your Souls--Elder Per G. Malm General Conference October 2010

In our day to day actions, it is the small and simple things that will have a long-lasting impact.  What we say, how we act, and how we choose to react will influence not only ourselves but also those around us.  We can build up or we can tear down.   A simple and positive example is a story told about my grandmother.  She sent one of her young children to buy some eggs.  The trusted child was probably joyfully walking home along the road but most of the eggs were broken when the child arrived home.  A friend of the family was there and admonished my grandmother to scold the child for behaving badly.  Instead, Grandmother calmly and wisely said "No, that will not make the eggs whole again.  We will simply use what we can and make some pancakes that we can enjoy together."
When we learn to handle the small and simple daily things in a wise and inspired way, the result is a positive influence that will solidify harmony in our souls and build up and strengthen those around us.

This talk has come to my mind so many times over the past several months.  It is so easy sometimes to be impatient with my children when they disobey or make mistakes.  I am trying to build that inner peace through seeking inspiration from the spirit so that I can be a positive influence in my home.  Scolding doesn't make eggs whole again and anger can hurt my children's tender hearts.  I am so grateful for the times when I have asked for inspiration when frustrated and the spirit has helped me to find a better way to reach my children and teach them with love.  I find that I have had more of those experiences when I am daily studying my scriptures and kneeling in personal prayer.  It gives me great inner peace when I parent the way the spirit directs and I am so grateful for this talk.  Just wanted to share it with anyone out there who might need it too.  It has been a strength again for me today.