quote of the week...

"The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before."


--Steve Young

quote of the week...

"While there is a chance of the world getting through its troubles, I hold that a reasonable man has to behave as though he were sure of it. If at the end your cheerfulness was not justified, at any rate you will have been cheerful."


---H.G. Wells

Dear Heavenly Father,

Next time the words, "I'll make sure it gets done, don't worry" are about to come out of my mouth, PLEASE...please...PLEASE stop me from saying it.

Your loving and impulsively acting daughter,

talitha

car conversations...

18 yo son: So, I think I have trouble communicating with my girlfriend.

Me: Really? Why is that?

18 yo son: Well, for starters, she didn't know she was my girlfriend. So.

quote of the week...

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend."


---John Leonard



I am grateful for my old friends, and I hope they can always be grateful for me.

my mother's day present.

About 5 or 6 years ago, I saw in Country Living magazine how someone had put a screen door on their pantry. I pretty much drooled over it. I clipped it and filed it away for a "love to do when we have a chance" project. Over the years, we had looked into getting a pre-made screen door, but it would require special ordering to get the size right, and was ridulously expensive. One day a few months ago, I started breaking down what a screen door was made out of, and after the Hubby and I talked, we I realized--we he could make it! And for far less money.

Before:

                                                                 I know, right? Yawn.

                                                    we tested it for fit and for level swinging.

                                         All painted out. What a difference it makes to this wall!

When she slams shut, I'm reminded of my grandma's house in West Virgina, which is a lovely memory...a bonus is that we can never seem to get our kids to close the pantry door...ta da! No more problem with that. When all was said and done, we spent about $80 on her. By far the most expensive things were the decorative corbels...but they pretty much make the door, don't you think? The rest was simple 1x4s, some trim pieces, extra spindles from Hobby Lobby, and paint.

She's so pretty.

FYI: I named her Shelby.

quote of the week...

"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they are the first to be rescued off of sinking ships."

--Gilda Radner

Saturday is a special day...

What I will do today:

go to the Temple
clean the house
prepare for Sunday
take kids for haircuts
laundry
catch up on emails

What I did today:

went to the Temple...
and nothing on my list seemed to be all that important after that.

quote of the week...

"I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else."

- Winston Churchill

Saturday is a special day...

What I will do today:

visit some of the young women at their Seminary make-up day
Pick up tablecloths from a friend
order son's corsage for his prom date
make about 75 phone calls
set up for and attend our church talent show & young women fundraiser

What I actually did:

visited the young women, had an awesome talk with my bishop
Picked up the tablecloths
ordered the corsage
made about 90% of the phone calls
set up and attended the talent show and fundraiser--which was REALLY good

quote of the week...

"Our goal is not to compete with or imitate anyone on this earth, but to use our unique gifts to serve other people. By focusing on our commission to lift other people, we lose our fear of falling short of them. As we do the work of the Savior, we feel a sense of his approval."

--Mollie H. Sorenson

Happy Easter.

quote of the week...

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

--John Adams

small and simple reminders...

This one is from the girls' room. I made the pillows in the feed sack style that is popular right now, and which I love. A friend was kind enough to lend me her stencils, and I just used acrylic paints. I wanted the wording to have meaning (small and simple reminders, right?) so this particular pillow says "Gift of Christmas" and "daughter of God" in French (because the room is decorated with a French feel). The numbers on the bottom are her birth month and date. I did one unique to our other daughter for her bed, as well.

Also, the pillow directly behind the feed sack pillow is actually an old bedspread from The Hubby's grandmother. I made several pillows and throws from it for our house as well as for other family members, as a small and simple reminder of our dear Grandma Peg, who is sorely missed.

quote of the week...

"Why do women do that? Why do we complain about the 10 things we didn't do instead of celebrate the 3 things we did?"

--Wynonna Judd


I have to admit, I love me some Baby Judd. Her song "Is It Over Yet?" is perfection.

Saturday is a special day...

What I will do today:

go to a friend's child's baptism
get caught up on my reading
make the kids do all their chores
act on a prompting to read the YW lesson for Sunday

What I actually did today:

went to friend's child's baptism
ignored the reading I needed to do, and read what I felt like reading
forgot to make the kids do their chores
decided not to act on the prompting to read the YW lesson, lived to regret it on Sunday

quote of the week...

"Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.”

--Dallin H. Oaks

Saturday is a special day...

What I will do today:

watch all of General Conference

go to the store in between sessions to get laundry soap so I can do laundry

snuggle with my children

finish reading a book

make tin foil dinners


What I actually did:

watched most of general conference, except for when I fell asleep until Elder Oaks' voice woke me up

went to the store, bought laundry soap (and Cadbury eggs because, duh),
did no laundry whatsoever

snuggled with Cooper whenever I could, realized once I finally got him to sit with me,
 he was spiking a HUGE fever

sent The Hubby to the store for children's Tylenol

made tin foil dinners. They SO rocked.

finished reading my book

As the weather warms up and families start traveling...

...I have to ask that you take a moment and read my friend, Anne's, recent experience.

Anne and her family's story at Car Seat Nanny

For all intents and purposes, the crash Anne's family was in could have been a multiple fatal. My husband has covered many crashes just like this, with much different results.



Please, please, please. Never buy used car seats. Have your car seats installed by a law enforcement officer or car seat installing specialist (like Anne herself). Use them. Every single time you are in the car with your children. Be an example and protect your children's parents. Wear your seatbelts. Every single time.

quote of the week...

"In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours."


--Mark Twain


I found this apropos, considering we woke up to snow and the kids are now outside playing with no snow in sight. Hello, Spring.