A Milestone

Maddie's first word!

A Bend in the Road

Nothing is completely sure, except for the fact that we are moving. I am sad when I see the sign in front of our house, but I also know it is the right thing to move on.

 

Last night Austin and I arrived home from a little jaunt to Bend, OR. We found the scenery breathtaking and the outdoor recreational opportunities endless. It is a possiblity that we end up there.

 

Spring has Sprung

Nothing speaks to me like flowers. Here is our yard in bloom.

 

 

 

 

Hurry! Come quickly! My house is immaculate! Hardly ever does the entire housed get cleaned at once, but after 10 hours of constant work it happened. Best part is that I will go to bed with a clean house. Worst part is that somehow only moments after I awaken, no one will ever know what it looked like today. So come, now.

 

Of course this type of cleaning always comes at a price. Meg was the mother today, nice girl. And Nicky, well, he was a bit crazy after an entire day of being neglected by his mom. And that seals the deal, never again will I clean my house for 10 hours -- a clean house to sleep in is just not worth it.

Conference

Pictures of our basement during 8 hours of conference this past weekend. My best trick this year was buying a huge pad of paper that we could all doodle on at once. This tactic eliminated all traces of bickering regarding a perpetrator drawing on an other's paper. Our best work was making polka-dotted snakes and those fancy superman "s" letters.
I felt the spirit so often during conference, despite the high decibel levels, and I loved all the talks about the importance of teaching gospel principles within the walls of the home.

 

 

 

Accomplished

Today I completed a goal. One goal. But a goal none the less. (Drum roll please...) I read the entire November 2009 Ensign (conference issue) this month to prepare for general conference this week end. My favorite talks were Elder Bednar's, Sunday morning session, and President Monson's, priesthood session. Each of the talks helped me to maintain my testimony of the fulness of the gospel and encouraged me to be better.

Faux Egg Hunt

Something that I will always laugh about is the time we were visiting Grandma Goodell around the 4th of July, and she hid empty Easter eggs around her yard. We had a fun time finding them, although the eggs had nothing in them.
Austin created a similiar experience Saturday afternoon. Due to the rain, the community egg hunt was cancelled. So, Austin hid 120+ empty eggs around the yard and the kids hunted. It was so much fun the first time, that he hid all the eggs again and the kids hunted a second time. The best part is that he went and bought a bag of candy Saturday night so he could hide filled eggs; the kids hunted for them yesteday afternoon (I was not home during Sunday's hunt, I went to the Messiah at Bethany College).

 

 

 

I'm sure the kids could have hunted again, but it really was cold.

Piping Project

Here it is! The follow-up post about piping. Here we have a pajama top for Meg. Please notice the piping around the collar and pocket. Also notice the puffed-tulip sleeve, buttons, and holes to secure the front two sides. Please do not notice the hanging strings (soon to be clipped), rumpled right collar, and messy pocket (on which I did spend more than an hour). My first patterned project in ten years, and because it will be worn only during the dark hours of the day, I will claim it as my work.

 

Pants to follow this next week.