My Loyalty to Girlfriends (the shop that is)

Can I just say how much I LOVE {squeal!} Scrappin' Girlfriends?!?!?!
I went in there yesterday to get some ideas on a gratitude journal that I'm making as a handout for our next enrichment meeting. Michelle was more than helpful and was running all over the shop showing me different ideas, colors, shapes, and purposes that I might be able to use.

[Gasp!] What??? You have never been there?!

Well seriously, get over there now because trust me, you don't want to miss out on all their fabulous crafts and besides that, they're having a sale that ends Friday. Check them out on the link below under creativity and hurry before the sale ends!

Now this isn't quite the finished product but rather my trial run at the gratitude journal. I don't quite like how this one turned out. I don't know what it is but something is just amiss (besides the typo on the quote). I'm going today to get the rest of the supplies so when I'm finished I'll have to post a picture. And might I add, with the chip board front and back plus the embellishments, the grand total is

drum roll please.................

The total is $1. But with the consensus of the scrapping girls from last night(our mini RS class), I'll be making them a little bit different than this one and a little cheaper to about 50 cents!

From the 1940's

Accentuate the positive;
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative;
Don't mess with Mr. In-Between.

Magnify Your Heritage

This past weekend was Craft Day with my family and my Grandma was in charge. I was really looking forward to it for a number of reasons other than the obvious of making a cute craft. However, my Grandma wanted us to learn about her mother in law, my Great Grandma Charlet whom I never knew. I was really grateful for this because I never knew her and as I become older and hopefully wiser in my years, I'm absolutely intrigued by family history and family stories. I love to learn about it because #1 its a part of who I am and #2 its a part of the legacy that I'll pass on to my children and grandchildren.

Grandma Charlet was a woman of spirituality, integrity, hard work ethic, etc. Among the two things she lived for besides her family of seven children and a wonderful husband whom she married at age 17, were that of quilting and her flower beds. Each of her grandchildren in attendance that day (my aunts and mom) were all to bring the tea towel that Grandma Charlet made for them and display for us all to see. She did beautiful embroidery and sewing!

I'm so grateful to have a family heritage that is honorable and one that I aspire to contribute to. I'm thankful for those who are now living that preserve the memories and possessions they carry that once belonged to my ancestors. I'm so happy and eager to learn about family history and to pass it on to my posterity. I love it. I treasure it. It is who I am.

My great grandma Charlet with her son, my grandpa Don Watson who was in high school during this photograph.

State of Mind

I've had a very overwhelming week and although I can't pinpoint exactly what has made it so, especially since nothing out of the ordinary has taken place, I feel..........................I don't know exactly.......................................extremely blah and strung out. I'm exhausted and completely drained. I have no energy and I feel like I need a heavy dose of Tawni's workouts as a swift kick in the behind and a fierce slap to my face. (Seriously Tawni, I miss your aerobics class SO much!)

However, I can relate and am so drawn to this quote by Abraham Lincoln. I feel like it's the only thing giving me hope right now: "I have been drawn many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."

Words of Encouragement

There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.....
.....We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. Through my own four-generation experience in our family, and through discussions with mothers of young children throughout the Church, I know something of a mother’s emotions that accompany her commitment to be at home with young children. There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives.....
.....The first question: What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more? Second, don’t over schedule yourselves or your children. Third, even as you try to cut out the extra commitments, sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Fourth, pray, study, and teach the gospel.....
.....Let us remember that “the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” I pray that God will continually bless the women of the Church to find joy and happiness in their sacred roles as daughters of God.
- M. Russell Ballard

Announcements

My brother Adam is engaged to Lynnette, we love her to death, she's SO awesome! Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the happy pair.

Also, Lance's brother Kempton is engaged to Bonnie, we also love her to death and so glad she'll be part of the family!

Our Backyard

Lance and I went on a double date with his brother and fiance. After dinner we went down the canyon and saw a little, and by little I mean narrow, falls. This one you can take a little stroll down and behind the falls, it's so pretty!

This is the view from inside the canyon. The Perrine bridge is about 450 feet tall and is open year round for any avid bungee jumpers, hang gliders, or dare devils.

The falls is so long we had to get it in two shots.This is from behind the falls looking into the canyon.

I Didn't Forget

Remember a few months ago I blogged about a family craft day in UT and I promised I would get you all some pictures? I haven't forgotten, I've just been so BUSY I haven't have time. But since I have a few minutes I thought I'd post them really quick.

This one is too cute and I love the fork easel. We got them at the DI, a dozen for $1 and with the tile and vinyl the cost is about $1-3 (depending on how much your vinyl is).

My aunt made this for a December craft day where we usually do a little craft swap game. Everybody fell in love with it and request that we make it for a regular craft day so we did. It has 8 different interchangeable plexi glass plates for the seasons and/or time of year.

Super Saturday

Since I'm on the enrichment board I was able to help put together the Super Saturday for our ward. It was definitely a lot of work but worth it and so much fun! Below are some crafts that we did and thank you to everyone that came to craft and visit!

We made flower hair clips of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

We made children's bracelets and a few pairs of earrings not posted.We did glass etching and since I didn't do a dish myself, I'm posting this picture. This is just a 4x4" glass tile with a flower although all the other ladies did their names and different designs onto 9x13" pans. HUGE hint: if you know someone that has a Cricut, use it! It saves you from having to cut everything out by hand, not to mention addition time and money. One thing that we found was that it didn't work on older dishes, older meaning about 20 years.

This is a place mat coloring caddy. Just put together two place mats and stitch. Pretty simple.

This is a 12x12 tile, love the font.

There were a few other crafts we did not pictured. One was a family home evening board with hanging name tags. Another was a craft board with a cute quote but since I didn't make any, I didn't get any pictures.

Celebration

Last day of the summer semester, Huzzah!!!!! And you better believe we're going to celebrate......for 2 weeks at least until Lance's program starts. Then it's back to the books and lets face it, at times I might as well be single. I'm so proud of him though, he's done an amazing job and has fantastic grades!

We Either Live in Hope or We Live in Despair

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey towards it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us....Hope sweetens the memory of experiences well loved. It tempers our troubles to our growth and our strength. It befriends us in dark hours, excites us in bright ones. It lends promise to the future and purpose to the past. It turns discouragement to determination.”
-Samuel Smiles

Yellowstone National Park

My family and extended family on my dad's side all went to Yellowstone this week. We try to have a family vacation once a year and it was a pleasant surprise to have all my cousins, aunts, and uncles from Arizona join us. I really missed Lance all week, he's still in school for the semester and was preparing for finals so he wasn't able to go. But I had a great time anyway!

Ever wonder why it's called Yellowstone? The views are so breath taking!

Although we didn't see any bears in the park other than at Bear World, we had a little visitor over night that left evidence all over camp

Eating the dutch oven greaseLeft over trail mix he left behind

Old Faithful still remains faithful

There are tons of these geysers, hot springs, and mud pots all over the park

The whole clan

My girlsPlaying games while waiting for the dutch oven dinner to finish cooking

Most of my nieces and nephews

We went to Bear World which is right before Rexburg. They had all kinds of sweet rides for kids - small and big alike. Oh yeah, they had animals there too.

Notice the empty bear face where Lance would have been

Thanks

I've been so busy getting ready for the jewelry show downtown and helping with Super Saturday, that I haven't had ANY time to do anything. Seriously, eating and sleeping and quality one and one time with Lance was put on the back burner. I was in survivor mode and came out looking pretty ragged. Thank you to everyone who came downtown to support me at the Quilt Walk event on main street. I had a great time out there even though it was a little hot and I caught the beginning of both storms right before I packed up. It was a pleasure meeting everyone and I look forward to future shows. Thank you!

Friday Date Nights

We try to have a date night every Friday and even though it doesn't always happen and we have no money at all, we try anyway. About a month ago we went down to see the falls since we'd heard there was so much water going over. It was so pretty! I've always been in awe of the snake river canyon we have here and the falls and when I was in high school it was my sanctuary so to speak. I loved being in and around it, there was just so much peace that I felt whenever I was there. Anyway, we got our dinner off the dollar menu at Wendy's, took our burgers down to the falls and had our date. We had a great time!