A few things I am working on: May be hard to tell but this is a reversable bag. The blue one is not quite finished yet but close. I am sewing on my Great Grandmothers 1930 (I believe) Singer sewing machine and I love it. It is incredible to be connected with so many generations.

Here is another reversible bag. This one is finished and I think it looks pretty good... but not give away good. I'll improve as times goes on.

2008 Pumpkin Patch

Cousin Seth tackles his pumpkin. The weather was amazing that day. We were all a little worried the day before when it was 27 degrees in the morning.
Elijah makes a pretty cute pumpkin!

Cousins Ethan (pumpkin)and Avery (scarecrow)
Avery is doing her cute pose for the camera.

All of the cousins together
Tirzah (9) and Seth (7) are the oldest. Then Chloe, Ethan and Avery are all 4. Elijah is the baby, for now, at 2. I must say that all of the cousins are more like brothers and sisters than cousins. They love each other and as they grow older, watch out for each other.

Elijah posing with the mountains behind him.

There is no one so rich, no one so full of joy.

"Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters there is something which there are no words to express." ~Joseph Addison

"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." ~The Talmud

Look at those eyes! Sometimes I wonder if my son provides me more insight into life than I provide him.

Grandma's 69th Birthday

Going Goofy
Happy 69th birthday, Grandma! We love you.

Colorado's Beautiful Fall

It is simply breathtaking.

Reusing my Refuse

This is a picture of my most recent project, a bracelet made from old credit cards. I think it turned out pretty fun and hip with the whole going green idea behind it. Let me know what you think, if it should be turned back into trash or kept as a fun statement.

It must be my lucky day.

Yes, what you see before you is two yolks in one egg... twins! When I cracked open the first egg in this new carton, I couldn't believe my eyes. Some would say that this is the beginning of one good day or others might say the universe is trying to make me fat. I think I'll look at the glass as extra full today:)

What I Did Yesterday

What I didn't do.....

Buddy turns 2

Can you believe our little guy is in the throws of toddlerhood and tantrums?

The Joys of Scar Tissue

We had another scare yesterday. Ben woke up not feeling quite right. By the end of the day, he was walking hunched over like he did when his appendix ruptured. We were wondering if it was possible for someone to grow a new appendix and have it rupture all in 5 months time. It was a rough night and at one point, I was back to taking his temperature and bringing him the trash can, just in case. By morning time, Ben was ready to see the doc. The doctor said scar tissue separated and it is very painful. Ben will need to limit his physical activity drastically. Unfortunately, this possibly means no more IAD in a couple of weeks.

Book Suggestion

I just finished a book by a woman from the FLDS (Fundamental Later Day Saints) community and I thought for anyone interested, it gives riveting details of the lives of the women living in this cult. The book, Escape, by Carolyn Jessop is a fast read because you can't put it down. She was 18 when she married Merril Jessop a man 32 years her senior. Most of what is written is hard to believe. She speaks of Warren Jeffs, the man recently arrested when he was on the 10 Most Wanted List by the FBI.

Matching Bags

Sewing Project Number 2

For my next project, I made matching satchels for Chloe and I. Again, Helen walked me through this project but as I continue to make different things, I am learning so much. This fabric I bought off of the clearance remnant section at a local fabric store. The lining is a yellow that matches the yellow inside the palm branches. Chloe loves having something that matches mommy.

Why do the pictures of our kids always seem to include chocolate around the mouth?

This Time Last Year

"Time goes so fast," I seem to say constantly. But it really does! This picture last year shows Chloe with just a smidgen of hair shooting out above her shirt collar and Elijah with his beautiful, baby curls. My goofy grin says it all, family bliss! Praise God for the joy He has given us in our family.

Learning How to Sew

I have been inspired by several people to learn how to sew. My mother-in-law has kindly agreed to take me on as her student. I really have enjoyed the two times we have sewed together. This afternoon she helped me make two pillow case dresses for Chloe.

This is the first dress we made out of a pink pillowcase and I added apricot accents.

The ribbon added a pretty detail to the plain pillowcase (from Walmart - sorry everyone).

This next dress was made out of a swatch of fabric that I found on clearance. It was so colorful that I thought it would look pretty with Chloe's red hair.

Here Chloe is modeling the dress.
I am going to make two more dresses for Chloe and her best friend Chaeli. I picked up a pretty piece of leftover material, also from the clearance section, that is cream with blue flowers on it.

Laura (on Ben's sign on)

Messy Children

Elijah with chocolate everywhere
Chloe is much more dainty... she maintains chocolate only around the necessary area.

Giving
Laura, here. Ben and I swap blogging quite a bit even though Ben's name is on the post. It is something we need to resolve. This year, Ben and I have witnessed the support and blessing of the body of Christ more than ever before in our lives. It seems that even when things should be winding down as we get further away from the event, something more happens. We got a letter in the mail from an anonymous person saying they had paid a month's mortgage for us. FOR REAL! Who does that except for our Brothers and Sisters? We almost fell over. I remember lugging the laptop to the hospital during one of his stays so that he could pay the bills. We saw the balance on our mortgage statement and thought it was a clerical error that they would find and correct later. It wasn't; we found out yesterday. To you, anonymous mortgage payer, THANK YOU. We pray to God, the King of the Universe, to bless you greatly for your selfless giving.
As a side note, I have been challenged in my own giving thanks to all of you.

How do you find your happiness in the Lord?

In our Sunday school class this week, one of the discussion questions asked us how we daily make ourselves happy in the Lord. Funny enough, this was the question I was drawn to while the rest of the class wanted to skip over it. I loved the way the question was phrased. It is good to be reminded that we have a choice in our happiness. We have a decision to make every second of every day and that decision is in how we view God and how we view ourselves. As an American Christian, it is so hard not to compare yourselves to others and base your happiness on what you have or don't have. It is good to be reminded that God cares more about what's inside you than what is happening on the outside. Your shirt means nothing compared to your heart.

Quack, Quack

Our kids love their Duck shirts. Grandpa and Grandma, you should be proud!

Chloe's Soccer Pics

"This is a soccer ball."

Chloe and the Flat Flip Flops

Chloe and the Flat Flip Flops

When Chloe is at home playing, she loves to have a pair of flat flip flops on her feet. Because she does not own a pair according to her specifications, she wears mommie's. I'm not quite sure if it is the way it makes her feel big or the actual sound of the shoes that she prefers.

My Rock

"My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." - Psalm 62:7-8
(The above picture was taken at Nu'uanu Pali State Park in Hawaii by Jay Sekora).

Time With Family

"Puppy" - According to Elijah

Aunt Jenny brought Elijah home a t-shirt with a camel's front on the
front of the shirt and a camel's backside on the back. He insists that
it is a puppy... go figure!

Chloe and Elijah ready to go to Grandpa & Grandma's

They did well on both legs of the trip. The best part about going is seeing my Mom's face when we arrive. This year we stopped by her work. Her entire countenance lit up when she saw her grandkids. The worst part is saying goodbye. I try to make it as easy as possible for my Mom knowing that it is probably hardest on her. Our prayer is that we will be able to see each other more every year. Elijah called "goodbye" loudly to Grandma probably 20 times in the airport this year from the far side of security to where she could watch us walk away. It was pretty special.

Nearly 10 weeks after my surgery, I am starting to feel stronger. Most of my physical symptoms are completely gone or hardly noticeable in daily life. I am steadily gaining weight back and expect to be back to my pre-sickness weight by the end of summer. I wanted to thank all of those who prayed for me during my difficult time. I am blessed with a new zeal for life and a deeper walk with my Creator. It is so interesting to me how it is often in suffering that we identify with Christ. Don't pass up the opportunity to see what God is trying to teach through your circumstances (if you honestly don't know, try asking Him).

The following are some of my recent interests...enjoy:

1. Concerning the Jews by Mark Twain (published in Harper's Magazine, March 1898). A lengthy but fascinating read about Jewish resilience throughout history.
   
   




2. Please Read The Letter by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. What a gorgeous duet! Their voices combine incredibly well. This song just isn't done justice when you listen to it on YouTube. Download the .mp3 from iTunes or Rhapsody...a dollar well spent.
   
   









3. The Story by Brandi Carlile. This song has been out for a year now, but it still gets into the rotation at my house. Lyrically, it sounds to me like a worship song (I am not certain that was Brandi's intent). Again, not pretty on YouTube.
   




4. This performance, set to the song Everything by Lifehouse, reminds me in a very real way how much Christ loves me. I'll admit it, I shed some tears while watching this skit.
   

Using ScribeFire to Post to Blogs

Last year, I ran across an add-on to Mozilla Firefox called ScribeFire. It is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to your blog. I have not found a lot of time to play with this add-on until recently, but I will be using it for all my future posts. ScribeFire is extremely easy to use, and I have listed some of the features that are particularly useful:

• It works with, and like, any rich text editor (all of the keyboard shortcuts like Bold, Italics, Underline, etc... work within ScribeFire).
• Allows you to easily upload images and videos.
• Provides simple means of accessing your blog without having to sign in and follow links (try the "Blog this page" feature when browsing other pages online).
• It works with the following blogging services (and more).
• WordPress.com (http://www.wordpress.com)
• LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com)
• Windows Live Spaces (http://spaces.msn.com)
• Performancing (http://www.performancing.com)
• Jeeran (http://www.jeeran.com)
• Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com/)
• MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/)
• b2Evolution (http://b2evolution.net)
• Splinder (http://www.splinder.com/)

If you are a blogger, and you use Mozilla Firefox, give ScribeFire a shot. It will simplify your blogging experience and save you quite a bit of time.