Getting back to the basics

                                                                         My handsome hubby and me at the pumpkin farm


After the shootings in CT last Friday, something changed in me. I sat down, first frozen, then angry, sad, and now knowing that a change has to be made for me and my family. I know that we need to get back to the basics.

 

 

Michael, my nephew and Aaron

 

 

I tend to burden myself with too much "stuff". I don't concentrate on what matters most: teaching the gospel to my children, so they have a wealth of knowledge stored for a "rainy day"; having the freedom to homeschool my kids, teaching them what they need and having the availability to teach them extra; doing what I can to have a healthy, happy family; and fulfilling my newest role as Relief Society President in the branch I belong to and having the ability to serve others and teaching my children to serve.

 

Those are the basics to ME!

 My husband and I are blessed to be able to read a story to our children and the scriptures nightly and be able to tuck them in each night. I can't imagine those parents that don't have that oppurtunity now. How quickly it was taken from them.

 

I hurt for those people and can't stop thinking about them. My prayers go out to them. Though  don't know them, I feel a love for them.

 

So, my new year's resolution is to get back to the basics. Family Home Evening ideas, scripture study ideas, homeschool ideas, and getting healthy tips. We have a tremendous tool that is the internet that we can use to inspire and help us! I love that there are so many sites out there that help us with great ideas to help us be better people!

 

Hope you have a great day! I am looking forward to the new year!   

 

 

Still Life, Tulips by Emil Nolde

Today in school, we had a little art lesson. The boys try to make their on version of the painting below entitled

Still Life, Tulips by Emil Nolde

Below is just a few pictures of the process! Aaron wasn't too concerned with the colors! But he did want to do what his big brother was doing!!

Below is Michael's picture! I think he did a pretty good job for a 7 year old!! He was so excited!

And finally Aaron with his picture! He actually threw me a smile!!! I love it!

Hope you are having a great morning!! It looks to be another lovely day!!!



Freezer Cookin'

Well, since I am officially obsessed with Pinterest, I figured I may want to give some of the ideas a whirl!!

I decided to try my hand at freezer cooking. And after about 5 hours of work, I ended up with 20+ meals!! WOHOO!!

I am pretty tired and after a good floor cleaning and two dish washer loads later, I am done. I even made some amazing gravy from the roast drippings in one of the recipes!! Yummo!!

Below are just some of the recipes I made! Haven't tasted any of them yet! But boy they smelled and looked great!!

Above is pepper steak

Above is italian beef

Then some steak fajitas

Above is beef stroganoff

teriyaki pork chops

honey garlic chicken

And the last picture is of my silly boys!!!!!!!!!! They didn't want a smiley picture so they did a silly one!!

So, that's been my day!!!! I hope your days are lovely and full of goodness!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!!!

Dear Summer,

You came and went!!!!!! What happened!!!

Yesterday was a wonderfully hot day here in Pennsylvania so we decided to take a swim! Hold on to summer just a little longer!!

 Above is little Aaron, a water baby from the start!! A little too fearless for this mama, but he had a blast no matter what

Aaron and Mike, splishin' and splashin'!!!

The last one is of Mike, hanging out, lovin' one of our last days of warm weather!! Today is is RAINING! And raining and raining!!!! And today's high is only going to be 68 degrees!!!!!!!!!! So we are trying to soak up as much of summer that is left!!!!!!!!

Gospel Art Show

Tonight at our branch we had a wonderful art show done by our awesome missionaries! Members of the branch took things that they drew, wrote, painted or collected and brought them for display. It was AMAZING!! I feel so blessed to have such amazing missionaries!

Below are just some of the many wonderful things brought! Hope you enjoy!

Below is a picture of the project that we worked on in primary! I painted the border and then had the kiddos put their feet on the "path"! The sign reads "We Follow Jesus Christ when we Choose the Right!" Then at the end of the paper is a rock with Jesus on it!! It's too cute! The kids were so excited!

As always, thanks for stopping by! Have a great night and enjoy tomorrow! The Sabbath is such a wonderful time to remember Jesus Christ and to be grateful for all that He has done for us!!

Night all!!



Happy LAST Day of School!!!

So, Wednesday was the last official day of school for my niece and nephews so we decided to throw a little last day of school party!!!

Below is a picture of my oldest nephew Brian being a goofball!! He was the most suprised!! He ran up to me and jumped up and down!! I love him to pieces!

The next picture is of my niece Kara Sue! She is such a hamball!! She is as fearless as they get!! Beautiful and goofy is a wonderful combo for any little girl!

And then there is my little Aaron!! He is as fearless as his cousin! He jumps from tall places, dives into any activity head on, no holding back!!

Below is my other nephew Brody. He is a wonderful sweet little guy! He can have his moments, but is all around a nice kiddo!!! And he LOVED the doughnuts!!

Then there is my Mike! He truly has a heart of gold. He would give you ANYTHING just to see you smile! And he also loved the doughnuts!!

This next pic is very telling of who these kiddos are: silly, goofy, happy-go-lucky kiddos! I'm not sure what any of them are doing in this picture!! But I think it's funny!

We did waterballoons,

Sat on the gigantic rock pile,

Rode quads with cousin Markie and ran through the sprinklers!!!

We had good ole' almost free fun!!!

Did you do anything fun for the last day of school??

As always, thanks for stopping by!!!

Summer Lovin'!!

Nothing says summer (at least to me) like buzz cuts!!

I tell meyself every year that I won't cut their hair too short, but then I can't resist!!

My Mike and Aaron look "like Daddy" , as they say! Their dad keeps a very short cut! I like rubbing my hands across their heads with their soft chicken fuzz!

Looking forward to working in the garden tonight, IF the rain will stop!! My tomatoes and pepper plants are looking AWESOME!! So excited to eat fresh, homegrown produce!

Fun at Ohiopyle!!

We had the greatest day on Saturday!!! We drove the 40 minutes down to Ohiopyle, PA. It was BEAUTIFUL!!

Actually, it was raining when we got there. Pouring...down...rain.

We sat in the car for about 20 minutes and it let up a bit so, we ventured out!!

We hiked and climbed rocks and threw rocks and visited the waterfalls. It is a BEAUTIFUL place!!

Below is a pic of me and my boys! They had so much fun!! Behind us is on of the waterfalls that are there. It's truly stunning.

The next picture is of my handsome hubby and my boys at the same waterfall. I love the sounds of the waterfall. So loud, but insanely soothing at the same time.

 Below is just a random pic of my Mike. He is such a handsome boy and ALWAYS ready to pose for a picture!!!!!

This pic is of the boys with these GIANT leaves that were as big as our faces!! We were on our way to Cucumber Falls, my FAVORITE place at Ohiopyle!!! 

And below is my favorite place!!!!!!!!! Cucumber Falls!! It is beautiful! I love it there!! The boys and I took our shoes off and waded to the little rock pile close to it and felt the wonderful mist coming from the falls. Just lovely!!!

It was a great, free, and fun day! I love spending time outdoors with my kiddos and hubby. I have always loved nature and this place is full of it! If you ever get the chance to visit, plan to spend the entire day there! You could get lost with how much there is to do!!!

Have a lovely Sunday!

The BIG 5-0!

So I did it!

I can't EVEN believe it!

Since January 2, I lost 50 pounds!!


I can't believe I did it!

No before and after pics! Just excited!

People ask why I want to lose weight! All of the obvious reasons are there: I want to be healthy, I want to play more with my boys, I want to be around forever.

But one of the other reasons is because I am a leader. I lead the group of kiddos at my
 church. I WAS the only member of my family that belonged to my church and they
look to me as sort of an example. I NEVER wanted them to look at me and say, wowzers
that girl isn't following the Lord's law of health. It says in the scriptures that our bodies
are temples! When i think of temples, I think of beauty and wonderfulness. I think of a
quiet, subdues, spiritual place where the Spirit ALWAYS dwells.

Was that me? Did I take great care of myself?? Nope. I ate, and ate and ate. To get back to where I need to be is HARD!!! It's a crazy balance! You HAVE to eat enough, but not too much. You HAVE to exercise enough, but not too much.

Our bodies are AMAZING! It took me a good 10 years to put on all of this weight. It's only taken me 4 months to take off 50 lbs!!! We are truly blessed to have the bodies we do.

Thanks for stopping and reading!! I hope I didn't come off as boastful. This has taken me a while to actually do because I didn't want to come off prideful!

Any advice on how to keep a healthy body and lifestyle, PLEASE shoot them my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!!!

Happy 30th and a lamp re-do!

Yep, today is the day! I am officially a 30-something!! I can't believe I am 30! I still feel like I am 12!! I know most people hate the thought of being 30, but I am looking forward to the next 10 years!

My twenties were full of great moments! I was married, had two great kids, bought a house, got a dog and had several moves! I am ready for calmness!! I know that seems like a tall order but I am ready for adventures!

So, for my birthday, I decided to buy this wonderful brassy lamp from the thrift store for $3.00.

I know, it's bad but look below!

Ain't it purdy with new paint! I LOVE the blue!! It's my new favorite color!

And milk glass, anything milk glass!!! I love anything vintage-y!

Anywho, I hope you all have a great day!!!

Mirror re-do and EASTER fun!

Been crazy busy lately! The blog is always negelected when that happens!!

Anywho... below is a mirror my brother was going to throw away...gasp!! I know! i had to save it from the dump!! So i sanded it..

And painted it brown!!! It's not completely done yet, but I like it a lot!!

And now for more exciting pics!! Below is my Little A, Easter morning, all ready for church! I love this picture because I never get a good pic of him!!

I'm also excited because I made the vest and tie! Little ole me! My very FIRST attempt at sewing anything but a straight line!! Very exciting stuff!

Then there's my M! Looking as dashing as ever!! All ready for church!!

Also made his vest and tie! Yeah me!



Here is a pic of most of the kiddos! Look how lovely, all excited after church! 

And the pic below is from the Saturday before Easter when we had our egg hunt! All the kids were accounted for! Some of their heads got chopped off taking this pic, but it's the best we could do!!

I hope everyone had a great Easter! I love any excuse to get all of the kiddos together and have some fun!