Craft Room!

For the past few months, I have been working on making a room off of the master bedroom into my "craft room".

What a treat it was to finish it up last week.

It is amazing to realize that crafting doesn't have to be a chore...

Before, I had to drag everything out to the table or kitchen and set it up before I ever started...and then put it away when I was finished.

It was still worth it for me because making cards is such a good release for me...but I found that especially as I got more and more tired near the end of this pregnancy...I was choosing to spend time doing cards less and less.

Suzanne Dye gave me "organizational stuff" for my baby shower, and went with me to the local Wal-Mart to help pick our what I needed. Can I just tell you that EVERY night I have wanted to sit down and make something? And, it's EASY! I'll be doing this for a REALLY long time I think...especially now that everything has it's place!

Baptism Day

Nathan was baptized on Saturday. I love that he chose to join our church and desires to live the teachings of Christ.

He chose who he wanted to have speak, which songs to sing, and who would pray at the beginning and the end of the service.

He also requested a slide show with pictures of his life for the baptism.

It was a beautiful occasion, and very low stress overall.

(It helps that we have two other children who have chosen to be baptized as well...so we are "seasoned" in the planning and execution of a baptism.)

Nate with Bekah (left) and Emily (right).

I am thrilled with your choices to live righteously, Nathan!

Congratulations!

Feeling Abandoned

He just up and left this afternoon.

For crying out loud, I'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant, and he's gone.

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.

.

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How's that for shock value??

My sweet husband is flying to Salt Lake for his parents 50th wedding anniversary this Saturday.

He'll be back Sunday afternoon...but we're saying strong prayers that this baby will stay put until he gets back.

Will you add yours to ours?

I know I could effectively *deliver* this baby (with help at the hospital), as I have had lots of experience, but my preference is definitely to keep things intact until next week.

Here's to a great trip...and an enjoyable reunion with his family!

Belated 4th Photos

We had a lovely 4th of July...

We started the morning with the yearly parade downtown.

Samuel literally ran in circles for 20 minutes before the parade started.

I loved seeing my family stand for the passing of the flag!

I love that our nation is free...but we must remember that we have an obligation to honor that freedom and not take it for granted.

It is also imperative that our children learn about the history of our freedom...and we are the ones who bear that responsibility to teach them.

The boys waiting for the parade to begin.


The girls (plus one...Hi Karina!). Our niece was here for the week including the 4th and Nathan's baptism.

Can She Bake a (Cherry) Pie?

Last week I had the chance to bake...something I truly love to do.

We have "Daytime Enrichment" for the women of our area once a month.

This month was our congregation's (ward) turn to be in charge of the luncheon.

I chose to help with the pies...

Here's the end result:

These were apple and dutch apple, following my grandmother's recipe...although I missed the lemon that she used LIBERALLY!

I have never liked sweet apple pies, due to the fact that Grandma's were ALWAYS tart and these were a little too sweet for my taste...I didn't want to make a late night run to Wal-Mart just for lemons though...so I made do with what I had.

Are you more of a baker or a cook?

I'm a baker...and love to make rolls, pies, breads, cookies, etc...

Surprise!

Saturday afternoon my husband got home from a week away at Scout Camp.
He had been prepping me all week that when he got home, I needed to go out and spend some time with my friend Susan, who was here visiting for the weekend.
This is very typical, and it raised no suspicion whatsoever in my mind.
It was a little bit difficult to head out within about 10 minutes of him getting home, but with the intent of just heading to Wal-Mart, I put on a clean shirt and headed out with Susan.
She had requested that we go and look at "just one house" out by my friend Kristi's house...which is very much something that we do when she is here.
(She used to live here in our town 20 years ago and thinks about coming back on a regular basis.)
When we got out that way, she asked which house was Kristi's and said she needed to stop and ask her a question about the homes in the area...but the house looked empty to me.
All of the cars were away...and the drapes were pulled tight.
I was sure they had gone away for the weekend, and Susan would have no luck getting her questions answered.
Lo and behold, we knocked on the door, and within just a couple of minutes the door was thrown open and a group of friends were yelling "Surprise!"
It literally took me about 2 minutes (think long time) to process that they were yelling surprise for ME (and baby #7).
I couldn't even walk in the door...I was so embarrassed.
It is very difficult for me to be in the spotlight...and this was no exception...but my sweet friends did a marvelous job pulling off a very fun and cute shower for me and this expected baby.
We've now got a ton of diapers and wipes, quite a few blankets and crib sheets, and numerous onesies, along with socks and outfits...what a treat....
and so unexpected for baby #7.
So, even though it goes against my quiet nature in general, I must admit...it was a wonderful thing to be tricked into a special afternoon!

Happy Dance

I just returned from the doctor...I've reached the point where I see him weekly.
Up until this visit, the baby has been head up...and I was prepping myself for a breech baby delivered via c-section.
However, the head is down...where it should be today!
Yea!
Here's hoping s/he stays that way!