Winter Wonderland

I'm Thankful for . . .

Music.

My i-pod and how I can have all sorts of playlists at my disposal.

For the sound system in our home that lets me play beautiful music throughout the upstsairs.

My husband who went along with so many of my wants when we were building this house. (The double oven is mighty handy too, honey.)

The internet.

Blogs.

Friends.

Family.

My parents.

Annie, our dog.

Our chickens.

A day with my kids out of school.

A chance to babysit my baby nephew while his mom takes her older kids to a movie along with my youngest. My sister-in-law is a little nervous, but I'm delighted!

The bright red color of dogwood bushes in the winter. (I'm trimmed mine to use along with some rose hips as decorations on my rustic Christmas tree.)

Getting to serve in our ward's Young Women organization.

Velcro curlers that give my hair more volume.

My Saucony running shoes -- even though I don't run in them.

The Deseret Industries. Not only do I find incredible bargains there, but they accept our family's excess goods too. What a service they provide!

The gospel of Jesus Christ.

President Thomas S. Monson.

Temples. (All 120-something. Amazing!)

The Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. His life wasn't perfect, but he made incredible sacrifices to bring forth the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our car and truck. So glad we're not still in the day of horse and buggies. (lthough I do enjoy horses.)

Basketball. The sport and those who have helped Bug come to love it. It gives him something to work toward.

Loula Belle's terrific friends. I enjoy having them at our house as much as Lou does.

Lotion.

Central heating systems.

Earrings. (I take after my mother.)

Quality cleaning products.

Dishwashers.

Flush toilets.

Indoor plumbing in all it's wonderful pampering convenience!

The changing of the seasons: snow, frosted trees and grass, but also crocus in spring and watching kids run through the sprinklers in the summer.

Plenty of food to eat. Especially tomorrow.

A soft, comfy bed with new red sheets.

The color red!

Blue jeans. (My daily uniform.)

Gold-toe socks. For her.

Hair spray.

Lined paper.

Pens. Good ones that aren't blobby and messy.

Calculators.

Banks.

Public schools -- especially the ones that educated me and are educating my children.

Teachers.

Listeners.

Entertainers. (Espcially five-year-old kids who tell jokes.)

Babies.

Flowers.

Hiking trails.

Campgrounds.

Snow shoes.

My Danner hiking boots.

My fanny pack, which I've had since high school/college.

Country music. I've been listening to it in the car lately. I like how a lot of the songs are about family. It doesn't take itself too seriously either.

Radio.

Television. There aren't a lot of shows I watch, but I get a kick out of "The King of Queens" re-runs. And "Everybody Loves Ramond." I even like some episodes of "The Simpsons."

People with a finely honed sense of humor.

Vacuums. (Which reminds me . . .)

Engineers. Just think of all they've given us!

Mothers. Without them there would be no engineers, artists, entertainers, babies, teachers, students . . . etc.

Charitable organizations that do a world of good.

The Christmas spirit.

Best Ward Talent Number I've ever seen!

Muchas thank you! to Angie W. who forwarded the Mormon Syncronized Swim Team link to me. I about died laughing! It's perfect for a Fun Friday post. So enjoy! But don't forget to check out my tagged photo below too. Angie tagged me, and I'm tagging Nomad, Flashlight Girl, Allie and Heidi.



Tagged Photo I'm actually fairly fastidious about my digital photo files. I download photos and put them is one of three places: to develop, temporary, and keepers. Once the 'to develop' folder gets fairly full I burn the files to CD and print out the photos at Sam's Club. I don't store a lot of photos on my computer. It slows it down.



Now, about this photo. This past memorial day Hubby took along the camera when we went to visit graves. This is a photo of the headstone for my grandparents' graves. And there's a funny story to go with it.

When Loula Belle was four or five years old I said something about going to visit Grandma Austin. "Which one?" she asked. "The one with red hair or the one that's resurrected?" That's right. Lou thought that my Grandma Austin (her Great-grandma Austin) was resurrected. She'd read Grandma's name on this headstone when we'd gone to visit on memorial day. (It didn't have the death date then, but Lou didn't notice that.) She thought that meant that Grandma had died. But since she could hug and kiss Grandma, that must mean that . . . Grandma was resurrected! (Don't you love the faith and knowledge that kids naturally have?!)

Also, I fudged a bit on picking the fourth photo of the file. This wasn't the fourth photo. But I need to write about my Grandma Austin. Yesterday I went to the temple. I wear a temple apron that my dear grandma hand-stitched, so every visit to the temple reminds me of her and the humble, sweet, kind life she lived. I always come away from a visit to the temple more dedicated to live a Christ-like life, and I can't help but wonder if thinking about my Grandma Austin is part of the reason for my renewed dedication. She's as close to perfect as anyone I've ever known. And I miss her.

Entry from my Gratitude Journal

This is what I wrote in my Gratitude Journal this morning:

I'm thankful for . . .

a beautiful fall morning.

the changing leaves glowing in the early morning sunshine.

powdered sugar snow on top of the Wellsville mountains.

sunlight streaming through the (clean) dining room window and falling across the hardwood floor.

Bean's description of what Annie was 'full of' this morning -- sugar and caffeine.

having a husband who cherishes the gospel as I do and is dedicated to the same ideals that I am.

a new morning 'treat' -- raspberry/milk sorbet.

having a deep freeze full of food -- raspberries, corn, peppers, meats, jam and other items.

the hymn lyrics, "All is safely gathtered in, Ere the winter storms begin." (It's a good feeling too.)

watching our woodpile grow -- thanks in part to a son who enjoys splitting wood.

a dryer full of Italian plums.

losing six pounds since the end of August.

improved health and wellness.

A Few of My Favorite Things

The following are a few things that I have really been enjoying lately.

Newly Found Blog: Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat?Kiki and Greta take dieting humor to a whole new level. You have to love the women who post these photos under "Who Writes DTBMULF?"















Low Carb Dessert: 1 c. frozen raspberries, 1/2 c. half and half, 1 packet of Splenda Mix these together and eat slowly. Yum, yum, and more yum!


Foundation Make-up: Covergirl's Advanced Radiance Age-defying Compact Makeup. It's fabulous!













Facial Cleaners and Moisturizers: Baby oil gel to remove mascara and eye-makeup. Baby wash for cleansing my face (I also use it in the shower as a body wash.) Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. Even my teenage son likes the Cetaphil cream. Because it doesn't have added fragrance, it's perfect for the whole family! Best of all, these products are all inexpensive compared to other facial products -- and they work BETTER!

Clothing Store: Deseret Industries -- second-hand heaven. Click on the link to see just how much good this operation does around the world.

Low-Carb Breakfast: Two medium beefsteak tomatoes sliced thick and spread out on a blue speckled enamaleware plate topped with three eggs over-easy. And because we grow the tomatoes and have our own chickens, it's organic and practically FREE!

What can faith do for mothers?

A deadbolt at the top of the door.

Leaving a planning meeting for the young women’s organization that I’m now a part of, I saw the well-planned means to prevent young children from escaping outside without the knowledge of their parents. But our hostess doesn’t have children yet, a fact I remembered just before opening my mouth to comment on the clever home design. My words might have pricked a heart already tender and still recovering from two failed attempts to adopt a precious newborn.

Precious. A word I’ve been thinking about a lot in light of my friend’s situation. As my own children head back to school, I’m using her clever deadbolt as a touchstone to help me ponder the sweetness of children, my own included.

I am a sap. I freely admit it. Sometimes I’m tough-nosed and stern, grumpy even. Other days I’m goofy, talkative and playful. But ever since my youngest headed off to a full day of school, I get sentimental and mushy at the start of each new school year. The truth is, I miss my kids when they’re gone to school.

Last night as I was saying my bedtime prayer, I thought of my friend’s deadbolt and asked the Lord to comfort and strengthen her, to grant the mother-desires of her heart. I also prayed that He would help me feel gratitude instead of loneliness this year. As I got up off my knees, I felt hope and peace. I could envision myself going about my daily activities in contentment.

This morning I walked my youngest daughter to school and met her new teacher. As I left the elementary school, eager, smiling children surged all around me. The building buzzed with their energy and excitement. Again I thought of my friend and her longing to mother a child.

Faith can move mountains. What can faith do for mothers? In The Book of Mormon, Ether 12:19 states, “And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong … [they] saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith.”

I cannot know the number of friends and family who are exercising faith along with my friend and her husband. I can, however, add my own faith and prayers. And share the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father who gave me eyes of faith to see a young mother with a child in her arms reaching up to deadbolt her door to keep a rambunctious son from escaping.

Recent Pleasures

Just a few things that I have really gotten a kick out of. . .

Hubby reading aloud from Sunday of the Living Dead by Robert Kirby & Pat Bagley in bed last night. I especially enjoyed the chapter featuring Kirby’s suggestions for the next hymnal. Our favorite was These Boots are Made for Tracting – “and one of these days these boots are gonna tract all over Yuma, Arizona.” It was great to watch Hubby laugh out loud.

Home grilled hamburgers.

Calling the kids home from Israelsen Park using our family’s signature call – blasts from an airhorn. Short, short, looooong! (It sure beats hollering.)

Letting our dog in with the growing chicks and having her simply sniff them. And try to lick their feet. But no biting. See, she really is a nice dog!

Chatting with friends on the sidelines of Lou’s soccer games. Kayla helped motivate me to see just how close I am to getting my teaching certificate current. (Thanks, Kayla.)

Nemesis’s blog about biking. (You MUST check it out and read the comments too.)

Spring blossoms: daffodils, forsythia, apricot (popcorn) blossoms, sand cherry trees, grape hyacinth.

Beans coming in from school with yellow dandelion stains all over her face! (What a cute face!)

Looking through photos from my summer in Japan with Lou. Watching her put together her school report on Japan. Taking her to a Japanese restaurant and having her try sushi. (She’ll pass.) Eating tuna sushi with wasabi. Ouishi desu!

Wrapping a few things for myself for Mother’s Day. But also knowing that Hubby has bought me something too.

Looking forward to the kids’ homemade Mother’s Day gifts.

Weeding the front flowerbed with the wheel hoe and feeling like a gritty, tough, pioneer-stock woman!