May 23, 2013

Nathan is home!  We are so proud of him and the good work and service he gave to the people in the Missouri, St. Louis Mission.  Welcome home!

We spent the whole holiday weekend at the cabin, relaxing...well Nathan and Brandon needed to keep busy so they cleared away some of the dead trees around the cabin, partly I think so that they could use Grandpa's chainsaws.  We attended a fun concert on the front lawn of the Homestead on Saturday and then on Sunday we went to church in Midway, the speakers were an Elder and a Sister who were just leaving for their missions. What a blessing it is that Nathan came home on a holiday weekend! I am so thankful that our family had the time to just enjoy being together and listen to Nathan's mission experiences. What a great week we have had!

Nathan's room clean out!

 

We have been using Nathan's room for random storage while he's been on his mission.  It was time to de-junk!  Here are the before and after photos.  A big thank you to everyone for pitching in.  

Now Nathan has a place to sleep. Yay!

Thought for a Monday

The grass isn't greener on the other side...It's greener where you water it!  Wherever you are and whatever you are doing in your life is always going to be great when you have a good attitude about it.  You get out of it what you put in to it.

Bathroom remodel

AFTER:

This bathroom redo is a project that I vowed to have done while Nathan was serving his mission.  Well it is finally finished!  Katie chose the paint color and I love it!  We got the big mirror at Ikea, and in the mirror you can see the wonderful new shower. It is all fresh and new and beautiful.
I forgot to take a before photo but here is one Hannah took (along with her lovely hair) that shows the little corner shower that is now gone. Yay!

BEFORE:

Prom Night

Tonight is Prom night for Hannah.  She had lots of help from her older sister to get her hair and make-up just right and I think she looks absolutely beautiful! Lucky young man who gets to spend the evening dancing with fun and lovely Hannah.

May the 4th

May the 4th be with you! Happy Star Wars Day!  

Kate created a Wookie cake for us to enjoy today, she is so creative. 

Yummy!

Our family really loves a yummy bowl of warm Danish Dessert.  Tonight we added a bit of angel food cake and some strawberries to it, but just plain is just fine with me!  Oliver spooned up as much as he could and then decided it was so good he needed to lick the bottom of the bowl. Yummy!

Elder Atkinson

Elder Atkinson and Elder Hubbard

Nathan's grand missionary adventures are coming to an end, at least the full time adventures in Missouri and Illinois.  The wonderful things that he has learned there will, I'm sure, help him in his future adventures!  We received his travel papers and he will arrive home the morning of May 23, 2013.  I am so excited to see him, bask in his missionary spirit, and listen to all he has to share!  One more month.

Finished Project

I finished Katie's afghan!  I've been working on it for a while..well years now...but it is complete and a gift to her with love from me.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!  I created this fun bunting with some of the crochet doilies that I have collected over the years.  I think it turned out so fun and is a great way to display them.  just fold them in half, press, and arrange them on a piece of ribbon. Makes me smile every time I see it.  Have a happy day!

Twenty-five wonderful years!

Today is our 25th Anniversary!  We had so much fun last night at the Jazz game.  We got the company tickets so all four of us were able to go.  We really got spoiled while we were there too.  Thayne had some sneaky connection and he had roses delivered to me during the game...the Jazz people sweetened it by delivering the roses with a Jazz tote bag and fleece blankets, they also gave us two after game passes to meet the players and get photos and autographs!  Hannah was super excited about that so she and Thayne went after the game, what a treat.  It was an awesome game, the Jazz won in overtime, and apparently we were on TV too!
Tonight after work Thayne took me to Market Street Grill for a wonderful dinner.  I am so blessed to have such an amazing, caring, wonderful husband.  

Kanter and star struck Hannah.

January

Wow, we are halfway into January!  Happy New Year everyone! The most important thing that happens at our house in January is that we celebrate Hannah's birthday.  She wanted low key, just family, pizza and cheesecake for her happy day this year so that is what we did.  Happy Birthday Hannah!

 January also brought us a huge snowstorm, so here is everyone out in the thick of it pitching in to clear the driveway.

Big day for Hannah!

Hannah received her Young Womanhood Recognition and Medallion in sacrament meeting yesterday!  She set a goal for herself that she would have all the requirements done before her 17th birthday.  I'm so proud of her, she has really worked hard over the past few years on the value experiences and her projects.

JOY

We had our ward Relief Society Christmas dinner tonight.  The Relief Society President said something in her talk that Hannah had told me before, but I forgot to write it down, and it is really great.  She said to remember to have JOY and to remember what each letter stands for.  You will have JOY if you think of and serve Jesus, Others and then Yourself.
Katie just came down the stairs and said that Nathan has written that in a letter to us too.  Boy, I must really have needed the reminder:)

Have a JOYful Christmas everyone!

Being Thankful

I saw this today and it really reminded me about being thankful, and acknowledging my gratitude, every minute of the day no matter what activity I'm involved in. I'm so thankful for the life and the blessings that my Heavenly Father has given me.

November 27

I'm thankful that we were able to attend opening night of Festival of Trees.  I'm also thankful for my friend Julie who called and offered us an extra invitation so that Kirsten and Brandon were able to come with us.  I'm thankful too that Thayne loves me and is patient while I wander through the boutique looking at EVERYTHING...for a really long time.  Festival week is pretty fun!

November 26

I'm thankful for my sewing machine! I'm thankful that I know how to sew and create things with fabric.  Today I made some fun pillowcases to send to three missionaries.  Gotta love that fabric!

November 24

I'm thankful that everyone worked together to tidy up the family room so that we could set up our Christmas tree and the decorations.  I love looking at all the tree ornaments we've collected over the years, some are homemade, some represent a family vacation, and some have been given to us by people we love.  I'm also thankful that Kirsten helped me to put together and wrap some little gifts to send to Nathan for a countdown to Christmas package, we'll get that in the mail tomorrow hopefully.  I'm thankful too that we were able to spend time playing a game together this evening, it's fun to talk and laugh together!

November 23

I'm thankful that we were able to go to the Jazz game tonight! It was a super game, the Jazz won 104 to 102! Go Jazz! These are some pics that Thayne and Hannah took.

November 22

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm thankful to be able to spend the day today with family.