Flag Time!!

I love decorating the holidays with flags! It makes me so proud to be an American every time I walk by!

I just had to show you this beautiful flower that came into bloom just for the holidays! I love them, and wish they would last a little longer!
My peonies have been bluffing me and I've been thinking that they would open for several weeks! Well the first few blossoms are out and I think they are just beautiful!

Yipeeee!!

Yipeeee!!! We opened up our pool this weekend! Chris worked hard to take a pool that turned green- back to blue! We turned on the heater and it was warm enough to swim! I was so excited all day to get in and it felt soooo good to feel like summer was on its way!

Tia was the first to jump in!

Larisa wasn't so sure about jumping in!

There she goes!!!
We had fun barbecuing and swimming with some of our friends
I love the water!!!!

Memorial Day!

We are very blessed to live about 15 minutes away from a National Cemetery! Since we don't have any relatives buried near by, we decided to stop and visit this cemetery. I love all of the flags that wind and line the enterance to the large grounds.

We are so extremely blessed to live in this land and I think that the flag is such a beautiful symbol of that blessing. I feel so honored every time I see a flag wave!

The girls were full of questions and I think that they now understand why we celebrate Memorial day! I was reading an article where they asked children at a national monument why we celebrate Memorial day. The number one answer was, "It's the day pools open!" I hope that my girls will now be able to give the right answer and not add to that statistic. For the weekend they place flags on every grave. You can see all of the flags behind us!

I thought a lot today about my husband and his job. Chris has never served in the military, but works with many veterans every day. I know that he is trying his best to help them and today I feel so proud of the work that he does.
It is very humbling to stand here and think of all those who are willing to put their lives on the line for our freedom!

I also feel very blessed by the great example of our fathers who both served in the Korean War. I loved hearing the stories my day would tell of the war(Both fiction and Non fiction). My mom and dad were engaged while my dad was gone to war and to me it is such a great love story!!

This tombstone caught my eye as I saw that he served in 3 different wars!Then I looked at the back of his tombstone and I was touched by what it said about his wife! What a tribute to be remembered for making others feel special!

Tiana found some rose petals and was excited to add it to a grave!

How grateful I am to live in this wonderful country!! I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!!

My dear friend Robin!!!

I kept hearing noise on the front porch and I couldn't find out where it was coming from. When I would open the front door a bird would fly away and kind of hit against the house. I started to worry that birds were getting in between the roofing and gutter and making a mess! Then one day I looked at the wreath that was hanging next to the door and this is what I found! My cute friend Robin had made a nest right there for me to see!! If I open the door "softly", she will just stay on her nest!

One day I put my shoes on while sitting on the front step - Boy! was she mad at me! You can't see it in the picture, but she is yelling at me! If you startle her, she squawks, and sounds like a mother screaming to protect her babies! She is getting more and more accepting of us and I hope that she will let us look at those babies when they come!!

Nature can be so much fun!

Yard Fun!!

This year we are trying to get the yard in shape a little earlier so we don't have the massive weeding jobs in the heat of summer. We had an enrichment activity on Square Foot gardening. (Thanks Jenny!) So we decided to give it a try! We had this garden spot in the corner of the yard and grew lots of weeds last year! If you ever want to learn how to grow weeds, I can teach a class on it! Chris built some boxes to separate out the larger garden spot and I think it should work out well! We didn't follow everything exactly, but we tried to make it work with what we had! I hope that I can blog about gardening success at the end of summer instead of gardening woes!!!!!

I LOVE watching the variety of flowers come into bloom!! You should come and take a look for yourself! I thought that I would show you a few of my favorites! This is a white clematis! I've seen a lot of purple, but I think the white is quite striking!

I can't remember what these are called, but I think they are a lot of fun! Don't they look like they belong in a Dr. Suess book?

I love bleeding hearts and I think these white flowers are beautiful!

I love the color of these Columbines!

The front path is weeded and mulch is down - were ready for you to come and visit. I might not let you inside though - it's been neglected!! The next project is to weed and mulch a large area at the side of the yard! It's a big job!!
Such a welcome return to have leaves and green return to my street! Happiness!!!

Piano Recital

Larisa had her spring Piano recital! She did a great job playing! She played "Amazing Grace" and "Night of the Tarantella"! We are so proud of her and the efforts that she makes to do so many things! She was looking forward to taking the summer off and then Chris told her that I was going to be teaching her some hymns over the summer!!

Beware - Chain Reaction!!

I went to a yard sale and I found this frame for $.75! That's right 75 cents!! Again, it was nice, but didn't match anything at my house!

So - I painted it black and for a few dollars purchased some cork! I made it into a bulletin board for my laundry room/office! I tacked up the word remember so I could put up things I need to remember! I love the word remember and the power that the word brings in the scriptures!

Well, it really didn't match the decor in that room, so I started to change things around in the room! First, I had to clean the room! Most of you probably don't even know that the room exist, because it is a mess and I have to keep the door shut for my sanity! So, I had to get organized! I cleaned out the cabinet and tried my best to organize! I love these plastic bins! I purchased them at Walmart for $1 each!

Then I decided I needed to paint the chair black to match the frame! So, the 75 cent frame set off a chain reaction! I like my little room now, but maybe I'll think twice next time I see a cheap frame!!!

I found this lamp at a yard sale for $2 and then found the shade for 25 cents at a different yard sale! The picture says, "Love is patient" a warning sign for me!!! I found it at a yard sale too for $1!

A couple of finds!

I have already had a lot of fun this year at yard sales! I love that I can just look on Craig's list now and see all of the yard sales in my area! I found this cute little table at a yard sale for $2 and I thought it would match my sun room! Then I went to another yard sale and found this basket with all of the nature balls for $5 and I offered $4! I thought it was a nice find for a total of $6! It looks really nice between my couch and chair!

At a church sale I found 2 of these candle sticks! They were each $1! I actually liked them the way that they were, but they didn't look right anywhere I put them, so I painted them black!I bought a couple of plain candles 1/2 off and then wrapped them in scrapbook paper and added some cording! I felt like it was still missing something and I started searching around the house! I found these little metal frames that I bought on clearance and tied them on!

It looks right at home on my fireplace now!

One reason I love it here!!

A few weeks ago I had a friend say, "I don't understand why people live here if they hate winter!" Well, I don't hate winter, I think it's beautiful - I just don't like that it last about 5 months!!!!! But, the answer to that question of why do people live here is that the other seasons ( for me at least) are absolutely gorgeous!!! Spring is breath taking to me! I love watching everything come up and I can't believe how fast things grow! I think Hostas must grow several inches a day! I have several trees in my yard that bloom pink and white and I love it! It is fun when the blossoms start to fall and it looks like it is snowing! (That's my favorite kind of snow!)

I love these pink blossoms!! They smell so yummy!!

It's fun to slowly watch the tulips come up!

I don't what these flowers are called, but there are so many and it cheers me up just to look at them!
I Love spring!!!

Mother's Day!!

I am sorry that I left the blogging world for a couple of weeks. I would like to say that I have some wonderful story to tell, but I have just been busy. I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year! I remember so many sad and lonely Mother's Day and I am grateful that this was a happy year! I have to give a lot of credit to my dear husband for that! Chris has always been great to me on Mother's Day! While we were struggling to get our children here, he would take me up to Park City for the weekend! He knew that watching the primary sing,"Mother I love you" would not be a good thing for me! This Mother's Day I woke up to a nice breakfast! Before we left for church he had me open the gift he gave me. I couldn't find the earrings for the picture, but it matches the set! The set is prettier than the picture is showing and I love it! The section of the bracelet that is flipped says, "when you wear this, remember me!" Chris bought it on his trip to Texas and it made me happy to know that he thought of me!We went to church and after Sacrament Meeting we had a our Visiting Teaching workshop and a nice yummy treat table! I was worried that this would stress me out, but everyone did their part and I really enjoyed it! The men even gave us a nice centerpiece for our table - about 14 lbs of Hershey Kisses!(Don't worry, we didn't eat them all!) I came home and took a nap while the family made me dinner!! It was a yummy dinner and I didn't have to do a single dish! Larisa even made me brownies for dessert! Larisa gave me the movie Pollyanna. This is one of my all time favorite movies! Growing up my mom used to call me her little Pollyanna, an I loved it! I am afraid that my age has tested my Pollyanna attitude and I feel a little bit more like Mrs. Snow ( A grouchy older woman in the movie)! Hopefully the movie will help me remember to play the "glad game" more!! I heard Tiana playing it the other day - it made me smile!
Tiana gave me a book of poems that she wrote for me! They are so sweet! Her favorite poem goes like this:
"Mother, Mother can't live with any other
Hugs and Kisses
Happy smiles and
Hearts filled with joy!"
I love the poem too! I am so grateful for the privilege of being a mother and to have such a sweet wonderful family!


I can't let Mother's Day go by without expressing gratitude for my wonderful Mother! My mom is such an amazing person and I still hope that I will grow up to be like her! She is so sweet, thoughtful and spiritual! I've always felt her love! She always put her family first! She loves the Lord and you can feel her great spiritual strength! She always has a kind word, poem or song to share! I remember several times coming home late and finding her waiting up for me reading the scriptures, the spirit was so strong! I love my mom so much and know that having her for a mother is one of my greatest blessings!! I love you Mom!!
(My mom and her granddaughter Anna on our trip to Nauvoo!)