Watching the Grass Grow

Yard Update

Charles turned our cement slab into something more lovely. . .


The kids enjoyed helping (and sometimes watching) the progress of their future paradise. :-) Their job was to remove rocks and little pieces of garbage from the dirt. I will have to take a picture of our rock pile. There were a crazy amount of rocks in our yard! Willy enjoyed swinging and making "chocolate pie" (that is what he called his little dirt pies he would make). Then he would come and dump the dirt on my shoes and say," Chocolate pie, all done!" :-) Charles is getting ready for the moment we have been waiting for! Planting the seed! I have NEVER been more excited in my life! Getting married . . . exciting. Having a baby. . . exciting. Planting our own grass . . . the thrill of my LIFE!!!! :-) I was giddy! I still am!

As soon as the yard was covered we got our sprinklers ready to go. We turned them on and got them all set for daily use. We then decided to say a special, "Please help the grass grow prayer". As soon (I mean instantly) as our prayer was done, the storm clouds moved in, and we had TONS of rain! :-) It was so great! The whole day had been stormy off and on. At one point we were counting the seconds between lightning and thunder, to make sure we were safe -- but we did not go in, we wanted to get the work done! It was so exciting and fun! I loved it! The kids loved it, too. :-)

This is a picture from this morning. I am so excited to watch the progress. I know it will take a little while, but I can harldy stand it! Our trees have buds, and we have tulips and other little flowers growing all over. The grass should grow right on time for Summer-time fun!

Gotta go . . . I have to watch the grass grow . . . :-)

Groovin' Sammi :-)

Sammi had a cute little dance number in the program. She stayed in at recess to learn it! She had so much fun performing! :-) I had so much fun watching! Charles was there, too. He LOVED it! Go Sammi! (She is the one on the far right, in the bright green shirt.)

Sammi's School Music Program: "The Earth"

Sammi's school performed their music program today. It was so cute! It was all about saving the Earth. Lots of songs about recycling, walking, save the whales, etc. etc. There was something cute about the little kids singing to their parents (so passionately) about saving the planet -- that they will inherit! It was all about "going green". :-) The gym was all decked out, and then they had garbage everywhere when you walked in -- so you would have to sit on garbage, or move it out of the way. . . trying to make a point. Very clever. Well done, it was very well done.

It is really hard to get a good picture in the gym, the lighting is so bad. I did my best, but the pictures are just not good . . . I tried! You get the idea, at least!
Willy stayed by my side the whole time. I was standing up, and he was holding onto my leg.

Sammi was sitting next to the boy that she "likes" the best in her class. He is also LDS (in a different ward) and he reads Star Wars books. (That is what she tells me) Sammi is totally obsessed with Star Wars. She wants to watch the movies all the time, and she is now checking out Star Wars books from the school library. Grandpa got Charles a Star Wars facts flip book, and Sammi has read it dozens of time! Silly girl. She told me she wrote him a note, that listed all the things they had in common: They like Star Wars, they are both members of the Church, and they are both good readers. . . sounds like three good reasons to be friends to me! Anyhow, if she has to like someone, I am glad he is a boy who can read well, and who knows about "The Force"! He is the boy on her left with glasses.

Bits of Fun

We took a little trip to the Candy Store for St. Patrick's day. The kids always enjoy it there, and so do we. :-)
They are sitting and watching the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is always playing!

Charles is worse than a kid in a candy store. Budget? What budget? Mmmmmm . . . Candy!

Charles is scoping-out the ice-cream . . .

The kids each got 2 dollars to spend . . . what to pick???!!!!

Spring is coming! It is getting warmer, and the flowers are beginning to bloom! Hooray!

The kids were just being silly...

Living in a two bedroom home, with 5 people -- is really not bad at all. Actually, I love it. We do not have too much excess "junk" and "filler furniture". We stick to the basics, and it keeps life simple -- the way I like it. I love our home, and I find myself very happy and contented here!

This is the kid's room (not perfectly clean, but they did pretty good!)

We traded rooms with them, so they could have the bigger space. Sammi has a room, too. (The walk-in closet, see below). We are planning on making a special built-in bed in there for her. The room is big enough for me to lay down in . . . anyhow, it works! :-) My Nan (grandma) once said to me, "Houses now-a-days are too big. . . families do not learn how to love, share, and be close." :-) I'm feeling the love! :-) We could have bought a much larger home out in the suburbs, and Charles would have had to drive and hour, to and from work. His time with us is more valuable than more space!! That is FOR sure! I sure love our home! I am really enjoying beautifying the yard and making it "ours"! :-)

Tilling the Earth

Here is what we have been up to lately . . .

This is what the yard looked like when we moved into our home back in August. What you cannot see is that there is about a foot of leaves all over the ground. The old owners used the whole yard as compost. Yuck! They did great work on the inside of the house, but the outside, well, it was very neglected! We love the house, and the location, and we knew the yard was going to take some work . . . it has definitely been "some" work!!!!
We have trimmed the trees like crazy! We are trying to help them heal and grow strong again! I used a chain-saw for the first time in my life. See that big branch . . . I cut that while Charles was using a broom to catch the huge thing, and gently (ha) help it fall to the ground. We only damaged our gutter, just a touch. :-) We have to trim it down more . . . bring on the chain-saw! We had to dig out some old trees. It took FOREVER to get the trunks out! Charles did good work!
They used this as the "garden" it had mostly onions in it. I want a garden, but not like this! I heaved all the cinder blocks to the side of the house, where they will be used for a dug-in border around the house. I got my squat-work in that day! I moved over a hundred of them, Charles moved the same from the side of the house . . . HEAVE!! "Bend your knees, not your back... bend your knees, not your back!" I had to keep repeating that, over and over!

We have filled and removed over 300 black garbage bags of debris since we have moved in. Lots of dead leaves, weeds, twigs, branches, etc, etc. It has been insane! The dump has been our friend!
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We had a nice man offer his trailer and free topsoil to us! (We will make it worth his while!) Charles and I shoveled topsoil for 3 days, one wheel barrel at a time. :-) Dirty work!
We then used the trailer to fill it with junk to haul away . . .
Charles is digging a ditch around the house, where the cinder blocks will create a little barrier.So for now, we have removed all the junk in the yard (it has taken months, and many Saturdays). We now have the topsoil down, and mostly spread out. We are planning on prepping it, and getting ready to plant our grass seed this Saturday. It is suppose to be a nice shade grass (we have BIG trees!). I will keep posting the progress as it happens!! :-) No more exposed tree roots!
We should have grass for the summer! Tiki-Lamps and lemonade -- here we come! :-)

The Publicity Dilemma

This video was on LDS.org . . .


This was a headline in today's on-line news (KTVB) . .

HBO, Mormons square off over airing of sacred rite

05:40 PM MDT on Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY -- HBO is defending its plans to depict a sacred Mormon temple ceremony in an upcoming episode of "Big Love."

The drama about a Utah polygamous family will show an endowment ceremony on Sunday.

In a statement issued Tuesday, HBO said it did not intend to be disrespectful of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and apologized. But it says the endowment ceremony is a critical part of the "Big Love" story line.

On Monday, Mormon church leaders criticized HBO for its decision to include the ceremony. Only church members in good standing can enter temples to perform or witness the sacred rites.

Go to LDS.org for the Church's response, or just click on the widget to the right. . .

We live in interesting times!!! A little scary... but exciting, too. This song came to mind:

Hymn #260

Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly:
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
We wage no common war,
Cope with no common foe.
The enemy's awake;
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?
Now is the time to show.
We ask it fearlessly:
Who's on the Lord's side? Who?

I am grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in these unique, and interesting times!

A Mother's Sick Day

This last month has been full of sickness in our home. Lots of coughs, ear-infections, Hives, sinus infections, etc, etc. Lots of sleepless nights, and total exhaustion. . .

I enjoy a clean home. I do my best to keep things tidy. I let the kids play with toys and make a mess throughout the day. But before Charles gets home, I try to make it clean and comfortable -- so he can come home to peace. I can never provide quiet, but I can provide peace. :-)

So, the other day, I was SO tired, and sick. All the kids were home early, and William went down for a nap -- so I thought I would try and take a nap myself! Sam and Dan came into my room with me, and they played PBS on the computer. I NEEDED sleep, I had been up coughing all night long. Anyhow, the house was a MESS! Dishes piled-up, clothes everywhere, the living room was scattered with backpacks, toys, shoes, who-knows-what. The bathroom was gross, the kitchen was scary. I mean it was just messy -- everywhere! (2 bedroom house does not take long to get messy!) I had not done any cleaning all day, and I was "saving" it for 3pm, and I was trying to gather some energy for that time -- I was so, SO, tired! I cuddled up in my bed, and I drifted off to dreamland. . . finally!

"Rrrraaaaarrrrrrrr!!!!" I was awoken by the sound of Charles' voice, along with him jumping on me like a predator on his prey . . . which scared the crud out of me! He was home EARLY!! NO! I was happy to see him (of course) but then reality came to mind. "You are not suppose to be here!! I have not cleaned yet!!" Were the first words out of my mouth. "No! You are not suppose to see this!" I whined. Charles was laughing hysterically. He was really in shock at how gross the house was. But he thought it was pretty funny. Laughing. Lots of laughing. Like I said, I ALWAYS have the house clean when he gets home -- it is just one of those things I like to do! Charles got to see what happens when mom is off-duty. (Which never happens!) I think he gained a new appreciation for the real work that I do each day. I know he has always appreciated me, but I think, now . . . it is even more. :-)

I told him to leave, so I could "redeem" myself. He took Daniel with him to the store, and I worked my magic. I called in all my animal friends, and we got the job done. ;-) All sparkly and clean. :-) Charles was even more amazed when he got home to a sparkly home -- after seeing the tornado damage that I had cleaned.

A homemaker's work is often only noticed -- when it is NOT done! :-)

The "Little House"

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This is where we first lived when we moved to Spokane. It was a 500 sqft home -- so tiny! I was SO happy to live in a house, I did not care that it was SO small! We had good times there, but it was pretty rough, too. It was year one of Law school -- beat-down bootcamp.

When we first got there it was ant-infested. We slept on a futon in the living room. :-) We had not been introduced to food-stamps or medicaid (which ALL the medical and law students used -- or else you starved, and died :-)) so some nights we had croutons for dinner. Luckily, Sam and Dan were small, and they were so fun -- they had no idea we were dirt poor!! They were silly times, but as I look back -- they were some of the BEST times!! I am SO grateful we survived those times and were able to keep moving forward!!

Sweet Memories. . .

(If you click on the map, it shows the street view, and you can move around, etc.)

I left my heart . . . in Spokane!!

I LOVE Spokane, Washington!!

We spent 3 years there, while Charles attended Gonzaga Law School. Though they were times of high-stress and poverty, they were truly some of the best years of our lives . . . because we lived in Spokane. It is such a beautiful place. I long to go back. I day-dream of Spokane on a regular basis. I am (of course) happy where I am now, but there is this part of me that longs for "home" and that is what Spokane became for me. I believe Spokane is "magic". The trees are so huge, and there are so many -- it is like living amongst the Elves. I miss the variety of parks, and fun things to do with family. I miss the old homes on the South Hill, that have such charm and beauty. The tree-lined streets, and hilly roads. I miss it all. I really do. I am wiping a tear . . .

Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane, was a favorite place to go as a family. It is a magical place.

The Carousel was a family favorite. We even got season passes (Thanks Grandpa) we went often. It was like stepping back into a dream, of days gone by.
Spokane was so great, even giving birth was enjoyable there! William joined our family, and it was the most pleasant birthing experience I have had. The hospitals there are great. This picture was taken a few weeks after he was born, at Sammi's old elementary school.

Spring-time was such a sweet time!

A lot of people would decorate their tree's for Easter -- I loved it! Maybe I will try it this year!

Friends!! Lots of great friends were made in Spokane. We met SO many people. Our ward was full of Law and Medical students, so there was a HUGE turn-over of families. We got to know so many amazing people!

South Hill Trees . . . I just LOVED them!!

A picture from out third-story apartment window. It was a great place to live. We had so much fun there! The kids LOVED it!

More fun at Riverfront Park

One of my favorite "running roads" on the South Hill. It was SO pretty!!!

This is where Charles lived for 3 years . . . studying his brains out! He said he had a friend spider that would keep him company. :-)

Japanese Garden at Manito Park. It was a great Sunday place to visit. We used to take LONG Sunday walks (8 miles) and we would walk (slowly) all around the South Hill, because it was all so beautiful!

Rose Garden, Manito Park

Riverfront Park in the Summer.

Manito Park -- walking through on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The big red wagon downtown . . . kids loved it!
Manito Park, a great place to feed the ducks!
These are just a few pictures . . . Spokane is SO much more. We do hope to one day return to the most magical place on earth! :-) It is calling me . . .