Project Life Tuesday ~ Week 22

(Sorry that this picture looks so fuzzy on my blog!  It looks nice & crisp on my computer screen before I upload it to my blog.)

Monday ~ Autumn & I didn’t sleep in on our Memorial Day.  We got up at 6:30 so we could take Papa & Mimi & Nick to the airport.  They are going to Japan for 2 weeks to visit Nate & Riannon.  Luz came to clean & Autumn played w/ her kids and had fun.  I had fun watching day time shows that I usually don’t get to watch.  We did some grocery shopping, cooking, and ended the day at the Deckers.  Autumn played w/ the girls and I watched The Bachelorette.

Tuesday ~ Midge (Mom’s cousin) & Peggy called Mom last week to say they would be driving through Texas & wanted to stop by and visit.  Mom was so sad, b/c it was the day after they left for Japan.  But, Autumn & I were excited for them to come so we could play hostess.  They wanted to go out to dinner, so we went to Cheddars.  I got Autumn in bed when we got home and then we had fun chatting and catching up.  They are both such sweet & incredible ladies and I’m glad they came to visit.

Wednesday ~ Autumn is such a sweet little love bug & likes to write me notes.  I love having a spot for her to craft & create next to me at the kitchen table.  She likes to use my washi tape & her handwriting is so great for  Kindergartner.  She only needs help spelling a few of the big words.  These love notes from her mean so much to me.

Thursday ~ We had Ben & his family over to swim tonight & celebrate the last day of school!!!  I can’t believe they’re going to be 1st Graders already.  It seems like just a few short months ago that school started & now it’s already over.  It has been fun to see how much Autumn has grown & learned & changed for the better.  We are so glad that Ben & Autumn were in the same class & that we got to celebrate the start of summer w/ him and his family.

Friday ~ It was so nice to have a short work week.  Autumn was so excited to get to go to daycare all day today & just play since school is over.  All we had planned for tonight was my new visiting teacher coming over to say hi and drop off some homemade banana bread.  Autumn was thrilled that we got to just stay home and watch a movie, b/c we usually can’t on weeknights b/c it’s too late.  She picked a Barbie Pegasus movie & I painted her nails all sorts of fun colors.

Saturday ~ For my journaling card today I used the blank 3x4 grid card that Autumn wrote out her list of things to do before the pool party we had today.  Once a year a group of us that used to work at a pest control company together try to have a pool party so we can reconnect.  Autumn’s handwritten list cracks me up:

• Get mail
• Pick mushrooms (there are wild mushrooms in the yard that we dig up & throw away)
• Food
• Flodes (floaties for the pool)
• Drecks (drinks)
• Toyays (toys)
• Mack dzrt (make dessert)
• Swem (swim)

Sunday ~ A few weeks ago Bishop was going around and saying hi before sacrament meeting started.  As a cute way to connect w/ Autumn he commented on how her dress kind of matched his tie.  He told her to send him a picture of her dress some Saturday night and he would see if he could find a tie to wear that would match the colors in her dress.  So, Autumn brought it up this Saturday night so we texted him a pic of her dress.  When we walked into church today I cried through the whole meeting b/c Bishop had on a tie that matched her dress PERFECTLY!  It meant so much to both of us that such a busy man would do such a small but meaningful thing to make Autumn feel special.  It was truly a tender mercy and reminded me that Heavenly Father is aware of us.

I am linked up over at The Mom Creative.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY Y’ALL!!!

Cheer Meet & Greet

Autumn has been looking forward to tonight for a week.  It was her Cheer Meet & Greet Party.  Back at the beginning of May I decided to sign her up for cheerleading through the city’s sports department.  I thought it would good for her to be on a team, a fun way to get exercise, and a reason to get us both out of the house.  I got an email last week from her coach that she wanted to have all the girls (11 of them) over for pizza so we could all get to meet each other.  Plus, they needed to fit the girls for uniforms.  They had some samples there for the girls to try on just so they could see if they needed to be lengthened or shortened.  When Autumn put hers on, we both got so excited!  She looks too cute.

Rachel (the coach) had this cute set up in the living room for the girls so sit and talk and eat pizza.  It was fun for me to visit with some of the other Moms and get to know them.  They seem really down to earth, which is nice.  I was worried we’d end up on a team w/ crazy cheer Moms.

This centerpiece in the middle is just too cute!  One of the girls on the team has to wear leg braces and use arm poles to get around.  Autumn knows her from school, even though they weren’t in the same Kindergarten class.  This little girl wanted to go upstairs to play, so Autumn took her arm poles so she could climb up the stairs.  That melted my heart and made me such a proud Mama that Autumn would do that & make this girl feel included.  I made sure to tell her how happy it made me & how proud I was of her when I was tucking her into bed tonight.

After the girls ate & played, they had them come back to the table for dessert & a craft.  They had these red bells w/ a glitter sticker of their initial & a cheer cone.  The girls decorated their bells w/ the stickers & then tied this cute cheerleading bow on top.  Us parents talked about uniforms, cheer buckets, schedules, etc.  The 2 coaches said they would send out an email asking when everyone wants to try and schedule practices since games are on Saturdays.  Someone suggested Sundays, but then the subject got changed to something else.

I’m for sure going to have to email the coaches and let them know that we won’t be coming to practices if they are on Sundays, b/c Autumn & I want to keep the Sabbath Day holy.  Plus, that will be hard to cheer at a game on Saturday, have practice the next day, and then not get together again to practice until the day of the game the next Saturday.  Hopefully they won’t choose Sunday as the practice day, b/c otherwise I’ll have to see if I can get Autumn switched to a team that doesn’t practice on Sundays.

It was a great evening and Autumn is so excited.  She knew a couple of the girls, b/c they try to keep girls from the same elementary school on the same team.  I didn’t have a Young Women’s activity tonight b/c they’re all up at Girls Camp this week.  I wasn’t able to go, b/c I couldn’t take that much time off from work.  Anyways, Autumn & I came home, I gave Autumn a shower, we snuggled on the couch and watched a little TV, and then I put her to bed.  I love my little cheer bug!

Staff Onry

I couldn’t wait to hear all the stories & see all of the pictures from Mom & Dad’s Japan trip.  These 2 pics were some of my favorites.  They said that these signs were by their hotel.  I love it b/c the figures on the signs are bowing to show respect.  I also love the incorrect grammar.

This however, is my very favorite sign… “Staff Onry.”  I got such a kick out of it.  Also the red sign says “Road Closed Temporarily for Repails.”  I’m glad that even though there is a whole military base full of Americans on the same island, that the signs aren’t grammatically correct.  It’s very endearing.

Mom & Dad were having a hard time adjusting back to the time change and both took naps today.  Dad even laid down on the couch while we were there and said he was only going to close his eyes for a few minutes.  Next thing we knew, he was snoring!  It was fun to also have Emma back home, b/c Mom had gone and gotten her from the dog sitters earlier today.  The whole family (that lives in this area) was back together again.  Sing it with me now, “reunited, and it feels so good.”

Project Life Tuesday ~ Week 21

Monday ~ Tissues & Tornadoes.  I have a cold, so I kept these cherry cough drops & a box of super soft tissues near by.  I am glad it’s just a common cold w/ no fever.  It is so trivial compared to the tornadoes that ripped through Moore, OK today.

Tuesday ~ This is not a very flattering shot of Autumn, but I had to document her 2 new front teeth.  They have taken their sweet time coming in, and I was worried she didn’t have any teeth there.  But, just a few days ago there was a tiny white dot under her gums & now all of a sudden they busted through.

Wednesday ~ Mom wanted to see her 2 grandsons before she leaves for Japan for 2 weeks.  So, we got on the computer and Skyped w/ them.  Jackson was funny b/c he kept making faces at himself on the screen.  Technology is such an incredible thing!

Thursday ~ Autumn & I went over to see Curt & Mary’s baby goats.  But, Autumn got side tracked by the “jump-oline.”  She said she was going to practice her cheerleading jumps w/ Jessie.  She had so much fun & was a sweaty head by the time we left to go home.

Friday ~ Today was Field Day at Autumn’s school & Ben’s Mom was there and took some pics of Autumn for me.  This one of Autumn is my favorite b/c she is completely drenching herself w/ a wet sponge.  She’s also got a huge smile on her face and is having a complete blast.

Saturday ~ Today I decided to mow the lawn for the first time at our house (pathetic, I know).  Since Nick will be gone for 2 weeks to Japan, I figured I ‘d better have him show me the intricacies of our lawn mower.  I only mowed the front yard & it was cloudy & cool outside, but I was so hot & sweaty that I had to go lay on the cold tile in the kitchen when I was done to cool off.

Sunday ~ Liz’s birthday is tomorrow & all she wanted me to do for her is make a tres leche cake.  We had a party w/ her family at her house.  Dad cut a hole right in the middle of the cake before I left to go to the party & he put 3 $1 bills in a little plastic baggie & put that in the middle of the hole in the cake.  So random, but funny.  Love ya, Liz!!!

I am linked up over at The Mom Creative.

Also, I just saw on Amazon that the new Core Kits are in stock!!!
I just typed in the search bar “Project Life Core Kit (and then whichever kit you are looking for like Rain, Midnight, Kraft, Jade, Cinnamon, etc…)  WOO HOO!!!

I just had to share this cute camera washi tape that my parents brought back from Japan yesterday.  They said they found it at the Japanese version of the $1 Store in Okinawa!!!  How fun to have washi tape straight from Japan.

They also brought these cute origami paper doll bookmarks for my daughter & I.  It has our names written on the front & what our names mean in Japanese on the back.  So cool!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY Y’ALL!!!

Welcome Home, Mom & Dad & Nick

Welcome home, Mom & Dad & Nick!  Nate called this morning to talk for a while and it was good to chat w/ him.  I left work at 4:00 to go get Mom & Dad & Nick at the airport.  But, they were stuck in a huge long line to get through customs and there were only a few agents.  So, I left the airport and went to get gas for the car and to get Mom a soda w/ lots of ice.  By the time I made it back to the airport, they had gotten their luggage and were walking out.

It was 5:40 by this point, and I knew we would never make it to Autumn’s daycare before it closed.  So, I called Curt and he said he would go get her.  That was such a huge relief.  On the way home, I offered to stop and get dinner, but they said they just wanted to get home.  We stopped and got Autumn, came home, and Mom fixed grilled cheese & hot dogs for dinner.  LOL!  Mom said a lot of the Japanese people do this peace sign thing w/ both hands when they get their pics taken.

Autumn was so excited to see all the fun presents that they brought back.  The best one was this gorgeous pink dress.

I thought these little rice crackers were so cute.  The wrappers are printed to look like Geisha dolls.

Mom was able to find a Japanese nativity set to add to her collection.  I think that these Kokeshi dolls are so cool, and I’ve never seen a nativity that looks like this one.  Mom said they had Dad’s name written on the back of the Wiseman one in Japanese letters & her name on the back of the Mary & Joseph & Jesus one.

We’re SO GLAD they are home safe and sound and that they had a great time.  Having them gone made me realize how much I rely on them & how much they’re a part of mine & Autumn’s every day lives.  But, it also helped me realize that I have an incredible support system/friends.  I was able to reach out to friends a few times to help w/ Autumn and they were more than happy & willing to help.  That’s such a blessing!

A Card, A Lesson & A Fireside

We got up this morning, had some breakfast, and then got ready for church.  Once we were ready, I had Autumn write a note to the Bishop to give to him at church.  I saw this super cute saying on Pinterest and got the free download from this blog, so I printed it off.

She wrote this note on the inside of the car, and on the other side we attached the picture I took of them last Sunday.  Autumn was giddy w/ excitement to give it to him.  Church was good, and my lesson on Priesthood Keys went well.  The lesson never really came together or gelled over the past 2 weeks.  So, we just started talking about Priesthood keys & I asked the girls what questions they had.  The next thing I knew, it was 2:00 and time to end, and we hadn’t even covered 1/2 of what I thought we would.  But, it was a good lesson.  For the treat I brought “KEY” lime gooey bars to tie in with the “KEYS” of the priesthood.

After church we went to Mom & Dad’s house to eat our leftover Napoli’s for lunch.  I put chemicals in the pool, we watched some TV, and did all the dishes & cleaned up so Mom & Dad can come home to a clean house tomorrow.  I wasn’t going to go to the Single Adult fireside tonight, but the lady that was going to conduct the meeting said she couldn’t go b/c of a migraine, so I texted Deckers to see if they could watch Autumn for me.  They said they’d love her to come over, so I dropped her off and went to the church.

The fireside was by Pres. Thomas and was about keeping the Spirit in our dating & relationships.  His point was that we need to have the Spirit w/ us ALL the time, not just while dating.  It was a great fireside w/ lots of discussion & participation.  We had root beer floats for the refreshments, and as soon as we had cleaned that up I left to go get Autumn so she could get to bed before 9:00.  We are SO EXCITED for Mom & Dad & Nick to come home tomorrow!!!

And We’ll Have Fun, Fun, Fun

My morning started early this morning!  My phone rang, but I was still 1/2 asleep & thought it was my alarm so I hit the snooze/off button & went back to sleep.  A few minutes later my phone rang again & I was awake enough to notice it was a Florida phone number.  I groggily said hello & heard a voice I know & love.  It was Mom & she was calling from Japan.  She called to say they were doing well and having fun, but are looking to coming home soon.  The connection was horrible & it kept cutting out, but it was good to talk to her for a little bit.  Since I was so awake by this point, it was hard to go back to sleep but I eventually did.

I had to be at a Just Serve meeting at 8:00 at the church this morning.  A few people from the church research department met w/ us to find out how the program is going, what’s working, what’s not, etc.  Liz was a total life saver and watched Autumn for me so I could go to the meeting.

After it was over, I stopped by her house & got Autumn & we went over to Mom & Dad’s.  Their lawn had also gotten out of control in the past 2 weeks, so I mowed both the front and back yard.  I like mowing their lawn b/c they have a riding lawn mower and it’s fun to drive it around.

By the time I was done, I was covered in grass and dirt, so I changed into my swimsuit and jumped into the pool.  It was cold and felt so refreshing.  I got out to water some of the plants and was SO HAPPY to see this mini zipper spider.  I hope it stays there and grows to be big, b/c we like watching zipper spiders.

Liz & Liberty & Jacob came over to swim, and we threw together a hodge podge lunch.  They’re such laid back and fun friends, and we love having them come over.  Liberty looked so funny in Jacob’s towel.

After they left Autumn & I cleaned up the house a bit, did some dishes, watched TV, and then went on a Mommy/Daughter date.  We treated ourselves to our favorite Italian restaurant as a pat on the back for making it through the past 2 weeks w/out any major mishaps.  After we ate, we walked down to WalMart to get a few groceries.  We went to Mom & Dad’s to make some key lime gooey bars for my lesson tomorrow.

At 7:30 we went out to the ballpark for the annual Movie Night.  We got to take our blankets and pillows out on the field to watch Despicable Me up on the big screen.

Autumn had a lot of energy, so I told her to run to the wall and run back.  She did that 3 different times and I timed her to see how fast she could do it.

This year they passed out beach balls, glow sticks, and free popcorn.  I had to take a picture of Autumn leaning against me w/ her feet propped up on a beach ball while snacking on popcorn.  We’ve tripped the life fantastic, I tell ya!

I asked someone sitting in front of us to take a picture.  I love this picture of us.

We didn’t stay the whole time, b/c I didn’t want to deal w/ all the traffic, plus I was getting bitten by mosquitoes even though I had sprayed myself w/ heavy duty bug spray.  Earlier in the day Liz & Liberty were telling us about the 1/2 price after 8 pm Sonic shakes.  So, Autumn & I stopped to get one.  She got the strawberry cheesecake & I got the coconut cream pie.  Hers was good, but mine didn’t have much coconut flavor.

We got home, I got her to bed, and then I stayed up until 1:00 am watching The Blind Side and working on editing pics and Project Life.  It was a day of non stop fun!

Yucky Yard Work

We had plans tonight for some friends to come over and swim.  However, they weren’t able to come so that left Autumn & I w/ an open Friday evening.  I decided it was time to finally tackle the dreaded task of mowing the lawn.  It hadn’t been mowed in almost 2 weeks, and w/ all the rain we’ve been getting, it was starting to look like a jungle.  It doesn’t look very tall in this pic where I mowed one line right down the middle of the yard, but you can kind of see it.

This is a better idea of how bad it was.  These were all the clippings in the driveway, and I like how you can see that big circle of where I turned around to go down another row.

After I mowed the lawn, I was on a roll so I decided to trim the other side of the tree that’s not over the driveway.  I cut off quite a bit!

I didn’t have Nick here to help me step on them and push them down into the trash can, so I just did the best I could and left them like this for now.  It looks like I have a tree growing out of my trashcan.

I was so hot & sweaty when I was done that I came in the house, drank 2 big glasses of water, and laid down on the cold tile in the kitchen to cool off.  At 8:00, Autumn & I went over to the Lee’s so we could go decorate some doors.  Autumn decided to stay and watch a movie w/ Sis. Lee’s kids.  It was fun to drive around w/ just Sis. Lee and talk w/ her.  She’s has so much on her plate right now, but still makes time for things like this that will make the graduating Seniors feel important.  I’m so thankful that I get the opportunity to serve w/ her.

Last Day Of Kindergarten, Welcome Summer

Deb is so wonderful, b/c she knows how much I love pictures and she always takes some of Autumn for me and sends them to me.  I appreciate that more than she’ll ever know.  She had a fun day on her last day of Kindergarten.  I tried to get Autumn to wear the same outfit today that she wore on her first day of Kindergarten, but she was in a rotten mood this morning.  Plus, we had some pretty intense rainstorms overnight and it was wet and windy this morning.  So, instead of getting into a power struggle over it, I just let her wear whatever she wanted and figured we can get a picture in that outfit tomorrow or Saturday. 

Last night when Autumn was going to bed, I heard her in her room crying.  I went in to ask what was wrong and she said she was so sad that today will be the last time she’ll see her Kindergarten teacher.  Her teacher is moving to another school to be the librarian next year, so Autumn won’t get to see her in the halls or get to stop by her room.  I thought that was sweet that Autumn loves her teacher so much! 

We made a little bag of goodies to thank her for all she’s done.  She’s been a perfect teacher for Autumn.  She was so patient w/ Autumn’s aloof side, but she did it in a loving way and kept her on task.  She encouraged Autumn’s artistic side and let her be herself and express that.  I can only hope that Autumn’s 1st Grade teacher will be as strict but loving.

Deb wanted to do something fun to celebrate our Kindergarten graduates & ring in the summer fun, so they came over to swim and eat.  It rained a lot today and was cool and cloudy, but the sun came out a few hours before we got together.

Deb brought 2 big pizzas from Papa Murphy’s, and the goat cheese and spinach and sausage one was so flavorful and delicious.  I’ll for sure be buying that in the near future to eat again.  Deb had texted me earlier in the day to ask if Mandy & Mason could come, too.  I was so glad they wanted to come, b/c my motto is “the more, the merrier!”

After we ate, we jumped in the pool and swam for a while.  Once the sun went down behind the house, it got cold and the wind picked up.  It was only 72 degrees, which is cold for us in Texas in June.  The kids started shivering, so we finally got out and had some dessert.  We had popsicles, so we went out on the driveway so the kids could lay on the warm cement and be in the sunshine.  This picture of random towels, Mom’s helping kids w/ push-up popsicles, and long shadows just makes me so happy.

The kids has such a great time playing out on the fort in the backyard while us Moms sat and talked.  We kept commenting about how fun it was to listen to their laughs and squeals of joy and fun.  It’s the sound of childhood and fun summer memories to come.  They all gave each other a big bear hug when it was time to go.  We’re so blessed to have access to a nice house, pool and backyard to entertain our friends.  We’re also so blessed to have such great friends that fill those places w/ joy and laughter and memories!

Good Food, Pretty Tree & Fun Activity

Today for our weekly Wednesday meeting we had an old employee bring in lunch.  We’ve given him a lot of leads and he wanted to thank us by having lunch catered.  It was from Aboca’s, which is one of my favorite Italian restaurants.  Their bread & dipping sauce are so tasty.  My tummy was very happy!

After dinner tonight we went over to one of the leader’s houses for our activity.  This gorgeous tree was in her neighborhood, and I’ve never seen anything like it.  I don’t know why, but it makes me think of the opening scene of Golden Girls when it shows the outside of their house.

The leaves kind of looked like palm tree leaves, and then it had these hot pink (they look light pink here, but they were hot pink) fuzzy blossom type things.  Does anyone know what type of tree this is?

For the activity the girls put together these 3 different crafts for camp that they will secretly drop off to another ward each night.  This one was cute b/c it was a little bottle cap attached to some nylon type fabric for a necklace.

Then there was this cute quote attached to a bag of life savers.  Since it’s so stinkin’ hot here in Texas during camp, we have to use non-melting candy.

This one was wrapped around a regular pencil and a red scripture marking pencil.  So creative!

After all the crafts were put together, they came up w/ some ideas on what they can do for their skit up at camp next week.  The final activity for the night was for the girls to pre-certify for the swimming part.  They had to swim 8 laps in the pool w/ any forward stroke they want, and then 2 laps of the backstroke.  They all passed it off w/ flying colors and then they got to just play and swim for a while.  Autumn was so excited when she could finally jump in and play when they were done.

We have such a great group of girls, and I hope they have a fabulous time at camp.  This was a fun Wednesday night activity, and Autumn slept well tonight after swimming.

Spectacular Sunset

Tonight after work/school Autumn & I went over to Mom & Dad’s for dinner.  We cleaned the pool skimmers, got the mail, and put out the trash cans.  At 7:00 I got on a phone call w/ Bishop Atkinson to ask him about Priesthood Keys.  I’m teaching about them this Sunday, but was having a hard time finding exactly what the keys are.  We had a good conversation, and now I just need to figure out how to take all the info I have and turn it into a lesson for my Laurels.

After that, Autumn & I went over to the Mannewitz’s.  She has some clothes that don’t fit her anymore that she wanted to give to me b/c I’m “bustier.”  My arms were full of clothes when we left.  This was the spectacular sunset we got to see on the way home.  This is SOOC w/ no editing, and it doesn’t even do the actual sunset justice.  It looked like the sky was on fire b/c of the vibrant reds and yellows and pinks.

Once we got home and I got Autumn to bed, I went through all of the clothes and tried them all on.  Most of them didn’t fit b/c my chest was too big.  So, I’ll save those clothes and see if they will fit Aunt Jeri when she comes to visit.  If they don’t fit her, then we’ll give them to Goodwill.

Project Life Tuesday ~ Week 20

Monday ~ Rufio sent us some copies of a bunch of old pictures she found while going through some things.  I ADORE these 2 pictures.  It’s so neat to see Rufio on the phone at the telephone company where she worked.  Then this one of her & Grandpa Jay walking down the street in Las Vegas is one I had never seen before.

Tuesday ~ I have been stalking the local Hobby Lobby stores in hopes of finding a signed kit from Becky Higgins b/c if you find a signed kit, you’re entered in a giveaway she’s doing.  I was THRILLED to find 2 signed kits when I went to Hobby Lobby during my lunch break. (And, I just found out this morning that I was one of 3 winners that will get her 18 piece journaling pen set!  Woo hoo!!!)

Wednesday ~It was so great to get some much needed rain today b/c we’re in Stage 3 drought conditions.  We can only water our lawns once a week.  But, the bad news is that this storm caused 16 different tornadoes tonight in the DFW metroplex & there were 6 deaths reported!

Thursday ~ Autumn & I shared a Subway $5 foot-long sandwich for dinner tonight.  Then Autumn read to me out of her school readers for homework.  She is doing such a great job & only needs help w/ a few words.  I’m so proud of her & it’s incredible how much progress she’s made since the start of the school year.

Friday ~ Since Mom is so talented w/ all of the cute Scout food ideas she does, a lady in her ward asked Mom if she would make 2 cupcake dresses for her 2 girl’s baptisms.  Mom looked it up on Pinterest & recreated what she saw.  She did such a great job and the dresses looked so pretty.  We’ll for sure have to do this when Autumn gets baptized.

Saturday ~ We had our first swim of the season today as a family & it was so nice!  I put sunscreen on Autumn & we were only out there swimming for a few hours, but she already got a super dark tan from that little bit!  I love her brown Indian skin.  Tonight Liz & I went to a restaurant in Dallas to hear her cousin’s band play.  It was so fun to be out late.  The iPhone pic turned out super grainy & red b/c the lighting was horrible, but who cares?  I’ve got our fun night out documented.

Sunday ~ I’ve noticed the past few weeks that a lot of items I’ve needed at the store have been on sale, and usually by a $1 or more!  I’ve had the distinct impression that it’s a direct blessing from a loving Heavenly Father for being a full tithe payer.  I have such a testimony of tithing & the temporal & spiritual blessings that come from giving back to Heavenly Father just a small 10% of what’s all His anyways.

I am linked up over at The Mom Creative.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY Y’ALL!!!

Fun With The Francis Family

A few weeks ago when we were celebrating Liz’s birthday, we had a great idea for her whole family to come over for Family Home Evening tonight, b/c we had so much fun when they came last year to swim.  Tonight was the night, but it was too far of a drive on a school night, so just Liz & Lib & Jacob came over.  We still had a great time w/ good food.  It was so pleasant and nice outside, so we ate out on the patio.  Seeing people I love and care about so much gathered together around a table to share a meal & good conversation makes my heart so happy.

After we ate, we went swimming for a while.  Poor Jacob was so cold that he started to shiver.  We eventually got out so we could go over and see the petting zoo (puppies & goats) at Curt & Mary’s.  Liz loved the sweet little puppies and wanted to take one home w/ her.

Jacob had fun petting the goats and saying hi to the donkeys.  It was so cute to hear him try to copy the sounds they were making.

Liz thought she had died & gone to heaven when she saw the 2 baby kitties.  Curt told her to take both of them home for free.  This is her begging/“pretty please” look to Liberty b/c she really really wanted to take one home.  But, he said they already have enough pets and she’d just have to come visit the cat at Curt’s house.

We were all melting over how cute Jacob & the kitty were playing.  He had this piece of rope and would wiggle it around and the kitty would swat at it and chase it.  It was so precious to see them together.

Autumn was oblivious to al the fun animals b/c she was in her own type of heaven while jumping on the “jump-o-line” with Jessie.  I’m so glad Jessie comes out and jumps w/ her b/c it makes Autumn feel so special & important.

We eventually had to leave and come back home so we could have dessert and get the kids to bed.  We let Autumn & Jacob ride around in the little Ford truck for a little bit.  This picture of them holding hands and walking back to the house together is so sweet.  Autumn’s has such an innate nurturing & loving & mothering spirit.  We had dessert, cleaned up the kitchen, and then they went home to get Jacob to bed & Autumn & I came home.

I got her to bed, did a load of laundry, edited some pics, and watched parts of Eat, Pray, Love.  I skip to the Italian part & the Bali part.  Those are my favorites.  The Italian one especially, b/c it reminds me so much of Slovenija. I don’t know if it makes me less heart/homesick or more heart/homesick for Slovenija when I watch it.  I want to go back to visit again so badly.  I’ll just have to keep saving up my pennies.