We will miss our dear President Hinckley!

I thought I would take just a moment to share this lovely photo of President Hinckley. It is from a great slide show here. Our family had a little talk last night about how President Hinkley is no longer with us and honestly I wasn't too sad. He has lived such a wonderful life and blessed and inspired so many. And who could begrudge him the opportunity to be reunited with his beloved little wife? But as I looked at that slide show and saw that dear face, I think it sort of hit me how much we all will miss him.

I think one of my favorite messages from President Hinckley is the list he gave our youth years ago of things to strive for:

Be Grateful

Be Smart

Be Involved

Be Clean

Be True

Be Positive

Be Humble

Be Still

Be Prayerful

Such a simple little list, but I am sure that if I could "be"all these things I know I would be a lovelier, happier person and so I am grateful to President Hinckley for leaving me with something to strive for yet!

Love Walked In

I just finished this book. My mom the librarian recommended it and she is very rarely wrong about a book. It is a fist time novel by a writer of poetry, something which I think shows throughout the novel. It is the story of a single woman who meets a man and his child. That sounds like a fairly conventional plot line but the story really wasn't. I wasn't sure I was going to like it, as the charming little girl in it has a difficult beginning and I never like books where sad things happen to children, but she is a very strong little character and I ended up being happy with the way things came together. The author has lots of references to old movies, especially The Philadelphia Story and Cary Grant, which I loved. I was feeling in a bit of a rut, a lot of the books I have read lately have been good but similar in plot, this was a nice change. I would definitely recommend this one, it has a nice message about how the people who come into our life and whom we love shape our lives.

Loving Jane

I have really been enjoying the Masterpiece Theater production that has been running on Sunday nights. They are running a bunch of Jane Austen novels turned into movies. This week is Mansfield Park. It is on PBS and really, they have been great. I am hardly noticing the writers' strike now! Anyhow, watching these has really but me in the mood for more Jane so I checked out Gwyneth Paltrow's version of Emma yesterday from the library and watched it while painting and sipping hot chocolate. I love school days! It was a lovely afternoon and I remembered how much I love this version. Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility is my favorite, but I think this one might be second. Gwyneth is just so lovely, the costumes are fabulous and so is the acting. I'm sure you have probably all seen this one but it sure is worth watching again!

And this is the little painting I worked on. It is just tiny, 4x4. I love all of Jenn's work and she had a painting awhile back of two of her black haired girls and I just couldn't get it out of my head, I wanted to try something similar of Brittany and me. So this is my poor attempt, Jenn is really so amazing and although I knew that before I really appreciate it now. She is also such a sweet and doesn't seem to mind my wanting to be like her(never happen in a million years!), and I suppose they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But you really should go visit her and see how it is really done! I love everything she does! But it is sort of fun to have my little version of me and my girl.

Five things about me!

Alison tagged me for a little meme the other day and I think since I have posted a lot crafts lately this is a good day for it. It is a simple one, I like that kind, just five random things about myself. So let's see:
1. I can not run my sewing machine unless I am barefoot.



2. I took one art class in high school and one in college, neither of which indicated that art was an especial talent of mine, but in the last couple of years I have started messing around with paints and now I can't see to stop. And although my funny little amateur things may never be very impressive they do make me happy.

3. When I was five months pregnant with Brittany I won a trip for two to Hawaii on the radio (yep, people really do win those things sometimes!) and spent a great week snorkeling with William. Here is the picture to prove it.


4. I never go downstairs in the morning without putting on mascara. I know that sounds incredibly vain but I have blond eyelashes and I look like an alien without mascara on and would rather die than leave the house without it. Trust me, my family would be the first to support me on this.

5. I have a terrible sense of direction. This was one of my big fears when we moved here six months ago. I was afraid that without any mountains as a reference point I would get lost and never be seen again! Luckily I must have improved my disability by working so hard to find garage sales in Utah and so with my trusty map I haven't been utterly lost yet!

I think this may have turned into five weird things about me, but it was fun. I think there have been a bunch of memes running around lately so if you haven't done one in awhile I tag you!

Love!!!

I have had this idea in my head for a long time. My friend Tif suggested ideas for this pillow to me and last night they had to come out of my head! Should I have finished other already started projects? Or do laundry? Or clean my dirty floors? Probably, but it was a lot more fun to stay up late and finish this! It's in the Shop.

Shop Update is Done!

I decided that in honor of Valentine's Day (and my tendency to make holiday items just to see if I can!), that one of these little hearts will accompany any of the girls going to a new home.

Shop Update Tomorrow!

These little girls have their Valentines already and are looking for homes. They will be in the shop tomorrow at 10 a.m. (And they are even cuter in person, we are having a cloudy day so not the greatest day for pictures!)

A Rite of Passage!

I don't know what it is about little boys and trains, I guess because I never was one, but there sure is a love affair between them at our house. I am afraid this seems like one more sign that my baby isn't really a baby any longer. Today we got out Matthew's motorized Thomas set and you would have thought Joshua was having Christmas all over again! I mean look at that happy face, he could hardly stand it!
You can't quite tell, but this was part of the happy-happy-yeah-for-Thomas dance. Doesn't he look like one of the big kids?

And that is supposed to be a kiss for Thomas, not Joshua having him for lunch! Yep, we love Thomas. Bye Bye baby!

Look how my dolls have grown up!

I was going through some Valentine's Day stuff today to get ready and put some out soon, and I found two of the dolls I made around last Valentine's Day. These are some of the first ones I made and it is kind of fun to me to see how they have changed. I am glad their eyes aren't quite so sad looking now and I am for the most part happier with their clothes, although I do like the one without a skirt and just that fun fabric. I may need to try some more like that. But I like their hair better now. I was very inspired by Emily and it really shows in these first dolls. All this means too,that I have been making these little ladies for a whole year now. Wow time does fly!

Happy Valentine's Day From Little Miss Gingham!



Well there has been so much fun doll-making in blogland I had to work on some of mine! I have had so much fun looking at Miss Vanessa and Jenn's creations I just had to do something. If you haven't seen what they are doing you really ought to go look. I kind of updated this little gingham girl. I added a little stuffed gingham heart with felted flowers and a heart shaped charm to her neck. She is very excited for Valentine's Day and is in the Shop waiting for a home.

Oh, and I attached the heart in quite a permanent manner. Do you think I should do it with Velcro or snaps so it can be removed?

Two Elephants Out to Play!

Well, I made it! Brittany has been home sick with asthma problems the last two days but we actually had a very nice afternoon yesterday watching Anne of Green Gables and embroidering. I have always imagined watching shows like that with my daughter and it was just as fun in real life. Matthew was at school and Josh was asleep so it was a girl afternoon. And so I managed to get two little elephants into the shop today. They are hoping to have homes for Valentine's Day. Oh, and Brittany wanted to use some of the same fabric to make a heart pillow for one of her friends in Utah, I will have to show you how cute it is when we put it together.

Shall We Dance?




I have been thinking about movies that put me in the mood for Valentine's Day and this one is definitely at the top of the list. I loved it! Maybe it is because I am an old married person(fifteen years this April!) and so are the characters in the movie. Richard Gere's character has a great life, good job, nice wife but something is missing. He starts taking dancing lessons not necessarily to "be" with the beautiful instructor but he is somewhat hypnotised by her. It is a funny movie with great music and good and bad dancing (this is a perfect role for Jo Lo, her dancing is great). The writing is good and I guess I liked it because it is about choices, hopefully making good ones. It left me with an all around good feeling, and wanting to go home and kiss my hubby. Guess that is why I actually bought this one, something I rarely do unless it is a kid video!

The sound track is also really fun.

My kids LOVE dancing to the soundtrack and were really dancing their little hearts out Sunday before church(that would be the explanation for Brittany's pj's and curlers!). So see, it is even good for a little cardio-exercise in the winter!

Pink Elephants on Parade!
I have been working on these guys and thought I would give you a little peek. They are made out recycled terry cloth, I think, or is it chenille? Anyway, they are really soft. Only one has eyes, I thought he probably better lead the parade for safety's sake. I am hoping to get them into the shop for Valentine's Day by Monday. I also have a couple of more Valentines Day ideas I want to get to. Probably not till next week though. And just in case you are wondering who is cleaning my house while I am crafting the answer would be no one! So I need to get some of that done too. But hey, the sun is shining and my kids are playing nice together, at least for this minute! Hope you are having a great weekend too!
Oh, and thank you so much for all the painting love! That is why I love blogging. I wouldn't have had anyone to show our proud accomplishment too without you guys! I agree with Miss Tiffany, I am definitely going to find a way to get it into a red frame. I think about that every time I go by it now! Thanks so much for your kind words for both of my kids art contributions!

We Love Lightning McQueen!


I am so excited to have finally finished this! After we moved in this summer Matthew and I decided it would be fun to make his room a Cars room using the Pixar movie. So I started painting this canvas months ago. I printed off coloring pages from the movie and then traced them onto the canvas. I made the resolution to try and finish some unfinished projects so I go to work on it again. Only this time Matthew wanted to help. So he did the larger areas and I did the details. We had fun filling the stadium yesterday in the background and now it is finally finished!

Here it is in the Cars bedroom, looks a bit more lost on that big wall than I had hoped I guess we will have to add something to it. Matthew and I both like how it turned out and now I can start some Valentine's Day things. Yeah!

Cross your fingers!

Go on over to my friend Tiffany's blog and enter her contest to win one of her gorgeous boxes! I have a wonderful collection of these and I promise if you win you will be sooooo happy!

What to do during the writer's strike



Okay, I know this is sort of old news since this series ended last year, but I am sometimes slow to the party. I never watched Gilmore Girls when it was on tv but I am sort of glad now because it meant I got to watch the whole thing without too much waiting. My library has 5 of the 7 seasons and my sister gave me one they were missing for Christmas so I have just had the greatest time watching these cute girls! I just finished the last episode yesterday and now I think I may start over again. So if your library isn't so nice as to supply you with a great series like this during this never-ending writer's strike, I recommend getting it through netflix. But be warned you will be hooked, the writing is so great and funny and hey, the clothes are cute too!

Things that are making me happy!

So here are a couple of things that are making me so happy today. My kids art! My friends Circe and Tiffany turned me on to the concept of painting on canvas for kids and our lives have not been the same since! I buy pretty inexpensive canvases at Walmart(three 9x12 for about $3.50) and they go for it. I know I have talked about doing this on the blog before, but I had to again because just look Brittany's latest! Can you tell we are already thinking about Valentine's Day around here?

And I love the after-holiday sales! I bought this Hello Kitty waffle iron today at Target for $13.88! I have been wanting it ever since I saw it and now it is mine! So just plan on seeing cute pictures of waffles sometime soon.

And last but not least, my kids went back to school today and our routine has been restored! I do miss them but they were excited to go and I am excited to get something accomplished!

New Year's Resolutions
I have been thinking of things I want to resolve to do better at this year. Number one is definitely going to be a better attempt at a healthier lifestyle. I have decided that the new year doesn't really start for me until Monday when my kids go back to school. So starting Monday there will no more junky food going into my mouth. So of course I will be loading up this weekend! I am not going to eat after 8 p.m. and am going to go do the running club they have at the kids school with them three times a week. We will see how it goes, I am hoping by putting it in print here it will help me commit. But another of this years resolutions is to finish all craft projects I start in a timely manner. And finish those not yet finished. So here is one I have already accomplished. It has been a full year since I started this blog, one of the most fun things I have ever started, and in one of my very first posts I showed a ripple afghan I was starting. I was all inspired by Miss Alicia and wanted to give it a try. Well, a full year later I finished! Granted it is only a lap size, but it is keeping my toes warm and the bright colors are making me happy. Of course, I turned right around and started one to match my bedroom. So now the next thing to finish is the painting I started for Matthew's room when we moved in but we are working on it(and if you want a fun challenge try painting a project with a five year old's help!)

I am Enchanted!

Yes, I think my family was one of the last to see this really fun film but I loved it so much I had to share. It was so fun to go to a film that we all enjoyed(although hubby did label it as a chick flick but the humor in it made up for that). I think my favorite part was when she becomes real and calls all the animals to help her clean the apartment. I really wish I could learn that song!

Happy New Year!

Well, this was a New Year's first for us! This is how we spent the first day of 2008. We went to a beach near Half Moon Bay that was pretty sheltered, and for Northern California, pretty warm. 60 degrees and not too windy. You can see we started with jackets but then got rid of them.

William took this picture of me and the kids right before that wave behind us filled up our sneakers with water and sand! But it was soooo pretty and the kids actually got to look for some shells which they love to do but isn't necessarily a feature of all the beaches around here.

And Joshua just wanted to walk around and through

sand up in the air!

And then after we had some lunch the kids were still game for more adventure so we went back into San Francisco to explore. It was a great day for exploring by the way. I guess there must have been a lot of folks staying home to nurse hang-overs of recover from late nights because it was a lot easier to get around and find parking. We stopped to explore this amazing place. It is not just a museum, it is the Palace of fine art! And it really seemed like a palace to us! Someday maybe we will make it inside-on a day they are open. It was a very unusual New Years Day, but really fun! Hope yours was too!