Friday Flashback

After reading my niece's blog and seeing old photos of her family, I thought it was a genius idea! So here is a flashback of my family.......notice the progression of the hairdos.....and kids.......

One kid.....

Two kids....

Three kids.....

Four kids + pregnant

Five kids + pregnant

Six kids....+ probably pregnant

Seven kids.....

No more kids!!

Wait!

Seven kids + one son-in-law

Seven kids + one son-in-law + one daughter-in-law

Now we're adding TWO more son-in-laws!

And grandkids!

MORE grandkids...but wait....we're missing a couple of grandkids...

And a new daughter-in-law!!!!!

Do ya' think it's time for another family photo?

Keepers of the Flame

Women are the ones that keep the memories, take the photos, pass on the old wive's tales, continue treasured traditions, and impart feminine wisdom to future generations. This is precisely one of the reasons why I haven't blogged much in the past two weeks.

It's because of free stuff....

{huh?}

For years I have had a passion for paper scrapbooking, organizing all the photos and trying to keep up with 30+ years of photos....Nope, I'm not caught up....Is anyone ever caught up? When you  take hundreds of photos a month, no one is EVER caught up.

But I'm digressing again.....

Recently I've switched over to digital scrapbooking. It's quicker, easier and less messy, and actually you can spend the same amount or considerably less on products-and they're reusable!  I heard about a web site called artscow.com, which is a printing company. If you join, they give you free digital books! The only price you have to pay is the shipping, which is expensive because it's published in Hong Kong. I've had free credits for dozens of free 8 x 8 digital scrapbooks and the credits will be running out.....TODAY!

So I've been frantically creating digital scrapbook pages, scanning old paper scrapbooks and trying to download them before the deadline. I still have 5 free credits left and only one ready to download....

{sigh}

I hate missing out on the free stuff....but one can only do so much.

As the Keeper of the Flame.

Covers of two recent books.

Real Men Love Pillows.....

Or at least they fake like they do.

The bed takes a little longer to make, and it takes a little longer to get into, but so far I love it and I'm thinkin' TL is a very patient man because he's never complained about the plethora of pillows on the bed.

I like it because my bedroom isn't big and my bed is pretty much the focal point and so hey, why not emphasize it? The real thing looks better than the photo, but there's lousy light because of rain.

And I made these pillows all.by.myself.

Really!

They were super easy. I just googled, "How to make a pillow cover"

And I found a great tutorial.

See, I have been doing something besides blog....

So save a little money and make your own designer pillows.

'Cuz we all know our men just love them!

Changes

Hi everyone who reads my blog....

I've been getting a lot of annoying spam comments, so I have decided to turn on the word verification. I know it is a pain....but I'm sick of getting Anonymous comments with weird messages.......

It's either that or go private....

Photos from the Frozen North

Here's a few of the 300+ photos that I received last week from my Alaskan missionary. I'll try to narrate them the best I can:

Looks like the Northern Lights to me. (Fairbanks)

Blurry footwear used in Alaska.

I guess they don't tract much in Alaska.

Umm, I have nothing to say about this one. (Fairbanks)

He did mention that people have lots of guns. (see previous photo)

Proof positive....Yes, Virginia, there really is a North Pole.

Wow!

The famous Alaska pipeline......(still in Fairbanks)

I believe this was Christmas Dinner.....

Welcome to Nome.....

Mode of transportation in Nome. (crazy!)

Mode of dress in Nome.

What they drink in Nome.

 What they eat in Nome. (he said it was a musk ox)

Now we have been transferred to Sitka.

Remember the movie "The Proposal?"

Sitka is an island...

Looks like he is doing great.

(and gained a little weight!)

I have enough of these to last the rest of the month....
But I won't....

Update

Good news:

I've finally gotten through the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi.
In Spanish.
I won't share how long it has taken me...
more than a day...
more than a week.
more than a month....
(cheers from the crowd)

I'm trying to get the blogging mojo back.
So my mom can see the photos from my Alaska Boy.
I'm working on it.
I miss all the email comments....

God Knows Everything

I don't have time to write everything that has been going on the last few days. If I did, you wouldn't believe it anyway. My husband and my mom know and they both laughed. Yup, it's probably pretty funny.

Anyways......

One of the things I was asked to do this week was mend a pair of dress pants. The missionaries brought it over and said, "Sister, can you fix these? They have a hole in the crotch." A new member had purchased a dress suit at Goodwill, but discovered the hole.

Seeing as how this is a part of my calling, mending dress pants, that is, for missionaries and others, I said "Sure!"

When I began to examine the pants, my heart sank. Not only was there a hole in the crotch, but the fabric was worn and torn away from the seam. Which means it wasn't going to be a simple, sew-up-the-seam kind of repair.

The other morning as I was saying my prayers, pleading for strength for the day and telling Heavenly Father what I had to do, one of which was to repair the pants.

Then it came into my mind exactly how to fix the pants. So I just fixed them exactly as I was shown.

First, I ripped open the crotch seam. Then I took a tiny piece of fusible interfacing and fused it to the back of the fabric where the hole was. Then I used my darning foot and stitch and sewed the heck over the hole, the patch and the pants. Then I sewed the crotch seam with a heavy duty stitch.

Did I know this?
No.

Heavenly Father told me what to do.

So if you are ever in a fix, and you can't figure out what to do.

Pray.

Little Bloggy Break

I'm taking a bit o' a break for a day or two---
Between being sick,
Church work,
Catching up,
And my father-in-law in the hospital.
Well, something has to give.
And I guess it's blogging.

I promise I'll be back.
I'm taking photos!

Note to Self:

Do NOT take the coughing-sneezing-stuffy head-so you can sleep medicine at 10 pm.

Good news:  I slept, didn't sneeze, I can breathe through my nose, slept.
Bad news:  Can't.focus.on.anything.at.9.a.m.

Is the remedy to take the coughing-sneezing-stuffy head-so you can wake up medicine?

I ♥ February!

Taking advantage of the fabulous weather!

To harvest some of the bounties of the garden.

And anticipate the future fruits of our labors!
In the last week.....
Lettuces:   3 lbs +
Carrots:    3 lbs
Tomatoes: 1 lb 6 oz
Plenty of cilantro for our Mexican food dishes

And prepare for the spring planting!

Happy Birthday!

To the #1 ASU fan!
Happy #3 Baby B.....we used to call her that but she's a big girl and and a big sister!
Love, Grandma..

Grandma still feels a little under the weather......

Pensive & Reflective

Pensive     (pen-siv)    adj.

dreamily or wistfully thoughtful.

Reflective (ri-flek-tiv)  adj.

syn.  contemplative, meditative, thoughtful.


I woke up this morning with this kind of mood, I suppose perhaps because I have a raw and burning throat and all my carefully laid plans for today are like the house of cards that collapses with the mere breath of wind. And also perhaps because my youngest offspring is in way worse shape than me, sleeping off the effects of her latest Nyquil dose....She's been burning the candle at both ends. She's learned how from the master of course.

So today I think I'll back off, pay the bills, like any dutiful house manager does on the 1st of the month, do some reading, take a nap and think of something reaallly easy for dinner.

I'm feeling reflective because two important anniversaries have come to pass and I've been doing some reflecting.

A year ago today I was called to be the Relief Society president of a small Spanish branch. To say that I was surprised is a gross understatement, although I had spiritual inklings ahead of time, to which I immediately dismissed as being a load of crock..........

I was used to being in the background, happily leading the music, learning the language, enjoying the people and staying in the shadows.

I suppose if I had been called to be the president in my own English speaking ward, I could have girded up my loins, fresh courage take, like my pioneer ancestors, and done just fine.

But this....this has reduced me to a puddle of humanity, literally, and forced me to my knees pleading for help on many, many, many occasions.  I used to cry before every meeting and visit.  I wished I could just make it go away many times.

But what have I learned?  I've learned that Divine Help is always available. I've learned I can do some hard things even though I don't want to. I have learned more about what it means to have the gift of tongues....to feel a conduit of light and inspiration literally flowing from above into my heart and brain and out of my mouth. I've learned that God loves me and my sisters. I've been awed and humbled at the faith of people who sometimes don't know where their next meal is coming from, who fear for their safety at times and are subject to ridicule and discrimination. I love them for their infinite patience with me, trying to muddle through the language and sweetly correcting my mistakes. I love their abrazos and beautiful dark eyes and glossy dark hair. And their kids....oh wow....such beautiful babies!

So I'll close for now, drink a cuppa echinacea tea, and report on my other anniversary tomorrow. One must have another blog topic waiting in the wings........