10 and 2 and 11.25.09

December brings a celebration of birthdays of our two sons born eight years and a day apart from each other. This year also brought with it a little financial joy as well. We sent off our LAST school loan payment on November 25th! We have only now to pay off our home. It is such a weird feeling to have that debt gone, I can't describe it. I wonder if I look different? Merry Merry Christmas!

I Miss

I miss Primary. I love Primary. I went to Relief Society for the first time in almost ten years and something just didn't seem right as we were waiting for everyone to arrive and get started. It was the music. She wasn't playing Primary Songs. Those songs have started my Sunday morning for a long time. I will miss those sweet tunes. In Primary, the gospel is simple and the spirit is sweet. I now will need to gain a love for the other things the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer, but Primary will always be on the top of my list for the things I love.

Merry Halloween!

A little late, but at least I have finally gotten around to it... here are the highlights of our Halloween this year. Jon was himself, he wore a pin that said "I'm ME". Mr. Jewels and I were the Buddy the Elf and his Girlfriend, I always forget her name in the show. Eme was cat girl and Sam, with a bruise still on his chin and new front teeth, a pirate. We spent all of $5.00 on our costumes this year. It was awesome. Have a Merry Halloween. And yes we passed out candy canes and played Christmas music at the Trunk or Treat. Tis the Season!

Summer Learning

Knitting.
My great aunt showed me how when I was about 10 years old. I still had the project in a box, unfinished, with the instructions close by. After awhile you forget what the instructions mean. So I reluctantly took my knitting project to the knitting class this summer. One of the instructors looked at my project, pulled it off the needles and undid it all! But I'm grateful for it. I am learning to knit. Granted, I have only done washcloths so far, but I am doing different stitches, my latest is the seed stitch, which I love. It reminds me of a cozy fire, sipping hot cocoa and watching the leaves fall. I think I like knitting.

Unbelievable

One of my goals for this year has been to fill our food room with food storage. Starting out small and simple I thought it would take me awhile to fill the shelves and especially with the amount of money we have budgeted every week, it was close to impossible to buy a little extra to store. But with a little faith, I wrote down my goal, started searching the LDS websites for ideas on food storage, looked for money saving tips, started using coupons and sure enough my shelves are filled and spilling over. I went to the store and of course to Costco for milk and butter and my total bill for this weeks' groceries and some items for storage was $58.00! I still can't believe it. It's like the Lord knows what he's talking about when He tells his Prophets to tell his people to establish a food storage. We have been truly blessed in this area of our lives. I now have a greater testimony of following the Prophets.

Porch Buddies

We are porch buddies. He'd rather sit by me and watch the kids play than go play with the kids. It's very flattering. And yes, that is a pot of flowers that he is holding.

Yes I Can

There are certain expectations that come with growing a vegetable garden, like preserving what I have grown. There is so much produce for us to eat on a daily basis that it becomes inevitable that I must somehow preserve these fruits and vegetables for later and so therefore I can. I only started last year and only did salsa and freezer jam. This year I have to do a lot more. I did tomatoes which after reading the instructions over about 20 times was pretty simple. It's funny to me that learning and doing one thing leads us to learn and do other things.

Presenting...

The Fruits of My Labors

Enough said.

Uinta trip

Some neighborhood friends of ours invited us up to their family cabin a couple weeks ago. It is beautiful up there. We enjoyed the weekend very much. We didn't even have any car or tire trouble. Seriously Blessed!

Post

I found this post at a yard sale, the only one I've been to so far this summer. It has found a home in the dining room. I did buy another smaller post and its home is outside with the potted flowers. This one is in better shape so I felt it deserved a place in the home, away from the elements. This post helped me get the umph I need to finish decorating the walls in the dining room. It is now complete and I love it. I do want to change the sideboard table but that will come in it's own due time, ie...when I have the money for a new one.

And here is a status update on the vegetable garden. These pictures were taken on July 1st.
The first pepper brave enough to show itself to the world.

An overall view of the garden.

CORN!

Gone, Gone, Gone, it's all Gone

I have had long hair for 6 consecutive years. I gave myself two options; trimming it or donating it. I made the decision that I would donate it, so that meant a shorter hairstyle. So here it is and yes this picture was taken of me by me, which I have never, ever done before, I look a little tired or I caught myself in a half-face.

And here is the hair that will be mailed off to be made into a wig. It feels good. And I love my hairstyle. I now get to use a flat iron again. Yippee!

Steel and Birthday

Eleven Years. On June 11th we celebrated eleven years of marriage. The traditional gift for this year is steel. Even though last year we decided to skip getting each other a gift to go with the year, this year without knowing it got each other something made of steel...a pullup bar and a garden pot. I received the garden pot, just in case you were wondering.

We also celebrated Eme's birthday on June 13th. She drew a picture of what she wanted her cake to look like, a pink Christmas Tree with a blue sky and green grass. We got pretty darn close. I love having her as part of our family. She is such a delight.

Hunger

Why am I so hungry right now? I ate lunch just a little while ago and I am starving right now. When I finally get some time to sit down at the computer to check up on all the blogs I now have to stop and get something else to eat so I can actually enjoy blogging. It's a hard life.

Let's Go Fly A Kite

Up to the highest height. I don't know if my knitted kite will fly very well, but it looks good. It is supposed to be a wash cloth. Can you tell that it is my first knitting project? I am going to try another one and then probably another one until I can get it right.
I did get the vegetable garden all planted right though, with the kids help. We have planted sweet corn, pole beans, bush beans, carrots, pumpkins, watermelons, tomatoes of course, and peppers. I absolutely love the finished project, now if only it will stay this way. I have read articles that say to "Plan for Success" so that is my motto for my garden this season. I have committed myself to spend quality time in the garden...weeding, watering, fertilizing, and Eme says I need to sing to the plants for them to grow (something she learned in school), so singing is now added to the list.

Flip Side

On the flip side of dark cold winter months come the bright warm spring and summer months. We are getting ready. The vegetable garden will be a work in progress this year as I am attempting the raised bead square foot gardening. Here is how it looks now with new soil brought in from the green waste site and freshly tilled.

This was the view from my front window a few weeks ago until a hail storm came and destroyed them all. Cruel weather.


These are the artistic works of our middle child for your enjoyment. Complete surprise to me.




Checking out the green grass.

Back in the Swing

The end of a school year is crazy. Lots to do and lots to remember. I helped with teacher appreciation week last week and it seemed like my whole world was consumed in it. I don't know how other women do it all. I like the simple life. This week I feel like I can get back into the swing of things, such as cleaning the house, making dinner and being a mom.

Frosting

Thanks to a lovely baking class I attended a week ago, I was encouraged to make my own frosting instead of using the cake frosting bought at the store. Now, I enjoy the store-bought frosting, especially having it in the fridge so I can have a chocolate treat every now and then. Needing a chocolate fix, Monday night I decided to make a cake for dessert and had no frosting in the pantry, so we looked up some chocolate cake frosting recipes on the internet that had excellent reviews and picked one to make. It turned out delicious. The whole cake was devoured by the next afternoon.

Dog Gone It

Starting at 6:00 a.m. (well more like 5:30 or 5:45), Mr. Jewels was making a lot of noise as he was coming up the stairs to our bedroom after his paper delivery job, come to find out it was a huge dog that was making the noise. A German Shepherd followed him around the neighborhood and then hopped in the car and was ready to come home. It was a good few hours of the kids playing laughing, screaming, crying and giving the dog names like Avery and Rabbies Vac. (Jon said it was the name on the collar). We found out the name was actually Donte and he had escaped last night from his home. Good, well trained dog and never barked. Chewed up 5 stuffed animals, a wooden snowman and a wooden doll. Ate Sam's breakfast bar and half the box of Multi-Grain Cheerios. Glad he's back with his rightful owner.

Relief

Yesterday was layoff day at Mr. Jewels' work. The anticipation was numbing. We had known this was going to happen for about two months. Rumors were spreading early in February and what was funny was that some guy called a meeting to straighten out the rumors, but what he said was exactly what the rumors were. Engineers. Every phone call yesterday morning made my heart jump, it was usually a telemarketer, but I was grateful that he hadn't called yet. He called at his usual time and he was still employed. Mixed emotions were flowing. How does one feel relief and gratitude when others we know are in the other boat? Prayer is an amazing thing. It allowed me to thank Heavenly Father for his blessings and ask His help in providing a way for those in need. I recognize His hand in all that we do and it feels humbling to know that He knows that our little family relies so much on Mr. Jewels' employment, it is so true that each of us has a responsibility in our family. I realize how important it is to do those responsibilities and to be grateful to have them. My favorite scripture that I read last night is "And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you."
And after all the emotion, I'll take Sam's example and just find a quiet place to sit and feel humbled and grateful.

Is It Over?

I look forward to most weekends, especially if there is nothing but free time on my hands to do whatever I want to do for how ever long I want to spend doing it. This weekend wasn't one of those. I was wanting it to be over before it even started. I woke up Friday morning with a pain in my neck, must have slept wrong all night long. I hate when I can't turn my head from side to side. The pain is still there, how many pain pills will it take for it to go away already?! We had a wedding to go to Friday night for Mr. Jewels' Aunt, it was lovely. His family is very very talented and so S-M-A-R-T, so I kind of just watch and listen from the sidelines. It was good to see his sisters and that they are doing well. Even though it was weird to not see the youngest one there, I guess it would be a little extreme to fly halfway across America to be there for a 10 minute wedding ceremony. After the wedding we brought the mother-in-law up to our house to stay with us until Sunday. I wasn't much for sleep overs when I was little and I'm not much for sleep overs now, I don't know what it is, but I just feel nervous the whole time someone is staying over. Saturday, I went grocery shopping, took Eme to a birthday party, went to a baptism, gave Jon a crappy haircut, spilled hot wax in the toaster, on the counter and on the mixer, TWICE. Before going to bed Saturday night, we set out the church clothes, bathed and showered and ready for scriptures when I noticed two holes in Jon's ONLY church pants. So he had to wear other pants, that, should I say, are flood worthy, to church today. I was asked if I shouldn't just sew some ruffles on the bottom of the hems. I might just to that. So this week, we will be shopping for new church pants and a new toaster and remembering to put only one chunk of wax in the Scentsy plug in. I still haven't cleaned up the wax that was spilled on the dining room floor a couple weeks ago. I'm having a love-hate relationship with that thing. Is it over? Almost.

Winter, Spring, Winter, Spring

Some evidence of Spring.

Just waiting for the kids to come home from school.

The Good Morning Cow

Just so you know...I made a whole gallon of the Morning Moo's NonFat Dry Milk, without mixing it in with our regular 2 percent, which is what I usually do with the Church's brand of nonfat dry milk. It was fantastic! Didn't mind drinking it one bit. Now we know that we can enjoy it if we ever have to have it.
Also here is my latest project. A set of shelves that were in Mr. Jewels' Aunt's Shed that she no longer wanted. I painted them green and am going to put my canning jars and other essential items on them. They make my bare basement actually look cute.

Giddy as a School Girl

I am so happy today. First of all I got my gift from Lydia and it was fantastic. I love it all. I can't wait to try out the recipes. So here is a picture of what I was given:

Some of the cookies were cooked at different times so that's why they all look so different. The really dark brown ones were cooked for who knows how long because forgetfullness runs thick in my blood when it comes to setting the timer for things, but I did remember to set the timer for the other batches and keep the oven turned on. Then I cleaned up the kitchen till it was sparkling and then went grocery shopping/food storage shopping. I went to Smith's for their sale on pasta. I bought 23 bags of pasta, 9 boxes of cereal, one box was a manager's special for only $0.79, 4 gallons of milk, a bag of chicken breasts and a box of Fruit Rollups. My before fresh values savings and coupons savings was $92.85, but I paid $44.98! I couldn't believe it! I was so excited that when I came home I put everything out on the table and took a picture.

What a Great Day!

I love laughter that comes from the very center of little bodies. It's amazing what they find funny. Enjoy.

For the Fun of Giving

(Took this from Lydia's blog)

Why not give it a try?

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me.

Restrictions:
1 - I get to give you anything I want to give you.
2 - But it will be just for you.
3 - You'll receive it by the end of March
4 - You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same giveaway to 5 people.
5 - Don't forget to take a picture of what you get.

Happy Giving!

A Want for A Time of Need

I have never been a huge food storage fanantic and I have always liked our little "food room" as Jon calls it, downstairs in the basement, it has been, should I say, sufficient for our needs, meaning it has never been well stocked. I now want to have it well stocked and I actually wouldn't mind seeing our entire basement looking like a case lot sale gone mad grocery store. I made my first case lot purchase of black beans the other day and it was thrilling. I want more. I even bought a #10 can of Morning Moo's Low Fat Dry Milk Alternative. I have heard it is better tasting than the "other" powdered low fat dry milk, or "warm milk" as it is known around here. We will try it and find out. Now, should I travel to Dick's Market place in Centerville for their case lot sale, they have slightly lower prices than the Macey's around here?

Story Time

I love that Sam has an older brother and sister. He learns and discovers most things from them. I especially love when they discover the joy of reading. It's these little moments that remind me of what is most important. I love reading to them, they sit quietly in my lap and point their little fingers to things on the page. What a great time.

Anticipation

I found an old CD of mine and put it into the stereo to listen to the other day. Why is it that songs can bring us back to what we were doing when that song was playing? I remembered driving to my sister's home to pick up my son after work and feeling the sun shining down through the window on my black Pathfinder and having a very pregnant belly. Little Eme. I even remember the maternity clothes I wore and the winding street that I was on. The songs being played at the time made me daydream about how our lives would be in the near future. I felt a lot of changes coming. Mr. Jewels was finishing school, looking for a job and feeling that we were ready to buy a home and I was nervous to become a stay-at-home mother. I happily anticipated the life I wanted for myself and my family. I wanted our lives to feel like how the songs made me feel. After listening to the songs the other day, I actually feel like our lives reflect the feeling in those songs. I think I will be listening to those songs a little more often now, just to show me how far we've come.

Off With Their Heads

We cut up ALL of our credit cards last Thursday night for our financial class. We had a lot. Not all of them had been put to use or had been activated, but all in all it felt good to cut them all up. We also got our minivan loan paid off too thanks to the third check we got in January. Love the third check months, I wish they happened more often. Now we just have to get two school loans paid off. We will be going after that "like a gazelle". Quoted from Nacho Libre and Dave Ramsey. We like the way Nacho says it better. So that is our new catch phrase until we get them paid off. I love having goals that are achievable. I am having anxiety over this whole food storage goal of mine. I know I have to just take it one step at a time. Baby Steps. Just like Sam is doing now, he only takes a few steps at a time. I will follow his example and take it a little at a time.

Met My Goal

Now I know this picture has nothing to do with what I am about to say, but it is the prettiest thing I saw in January. I made a goal for the month of January to not do any shopping other than groceries and I actually did it. I didn't set foot in Savers or Ross, my two favorite places to shop. Think I can do this again for February? My other goal for that month was to take time to figure out the money. Because of the financial class Mr. Jewels and I are taking, I made a budget from the money I make, telling my money what to do is great, I have been able to focus on what I want to do with that money and set realistic goals. Mr. Jewels and I sat down and looked at what our money is doing which really helps me understand where we stand moneywise. He usually does the budget and just tells me what is going on, but now I am more involved than I have been. My goal for the rest of this year is to work on Food Storage and Emergency Preparedness. I wish me "Good Luck". My goal for February is to find a good paint color for the fire place and paint it one last time. (I have already painted it twice now with some paint I already have and I still don't like it.) Aargh!

Oh the Joy

I love when I have cleaned and mopped the kitchen, it seems like the rest of the house can follow suit and become magically clean too. I especially love going back into the kitchen to find a footprint in the sugar that was spilled on the floor probably just seconds after the mop was put away.

Lessons Learned

2008 was a year of lessons for me to learn. Lessons with an S at the end.
Lesson one: Learning to cope with a child in the hospital.
Lesson two: Having to say goodbye to a favorite car.
Lesson three: I can't always help everyone with everything.
Lesson four: Real Estate can be a very ugly game to play.
Lesson five: Difficult times can mean blessings later down the road.
Lesson six: Really loving being a wife and mom.
Lesson seven: Appreciating good health and happiness for in-laws.
Lesson eight: Courage to call and go visit a very angry lady.
Lesson nine: (still learning) why these lessons were taught all in one year. Maybe I'm a fast learner. Ha!
Lesson ten: The miracle of forgiveness between friends and the love our Heavenly Father has for us.
Lesson eleven: That there were plenty more lessons and there will always be plenty more, just hopefully they won't be the same lessons over and over again.

Tickets to the Liquor Store

Explanation on the quotes for Mr. Jewels birthday:
"Don't act like you don't know who it be neither." is from that Go shorty, It's your birthday song by fitdy cent and "tickets to the liquor store" is what Mr. Jewels thought they were saying in a Nelly song when they actually say "Nelly can we get tickets to the next show." So there you have it. Just some of the things that make us laugh. Also the date on the picture is all wrong, should be around October of 2008. I didn't take the time to change the time.

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Happy Birthday Mr. Jewels!
You are a fabulous husband and father and best friend.
Here are some of my favorite things I like about you:
"Don't act like you don't know who it be neither."
"Tickets to the Liquor Store"
Clapping your hands in church when we were asked to by show of hands sustain someone.
Your laugh when you get tickled. Especially when all three of us get you.
Your Smile and dimples.
Your Kisses.
Your Name Curse.
That you always come home to me.
Last, but not least, everthing.