the white house at the right time

"It felt like I was in a snow globe that someone just kept shaking." That pretty much summed up the first real snow storm of the season. We had over a foot of snow. And loved it! Minus the constant in and out of wet boots and accompanying puddles, soaked socks, and twenty pair of dripping gloves piled up by the back door. Snow means hats, boot, and gloves, and of course a snowman to guard the front yard. Cayden told me my snowman looked more like a pumpkin than a snowman. Madalyn said so too. We are still in fall mode, since pumpkins and fall wreath still adorn the front steps. Then they both said, "Mom, try making a turkey." So the kids and I got a little creative and made what we are sure must be one of the first snow turkey's ever!  Pretty proud of our significant contribution to world history ;) Gobble, gobble you might see this on google! We knew for sure people could tell it was a turkey when someone leaving church on Sunday stopped t...

Luckily there are a lot of "lucky, fortuante, wonderful, happily married couples."  Luckily I am one of them.  For 17 years.  And hoping for at least another 17.

  Sisters trip 2012. Sedona/Phoenix Arizona.  My always wonderful and CARING mom and my sisters. After I moved to Seattle, I needed to see my sisters more. Sister's Trip Tradition started. This year we combined my youngest sister's baby blessing (so we had a few boy tagalongs  for part of the trip).   That was o.k.   And babies are always invited because we just have to soak up their squishy, baby love. As for the big boys............. Chris shopped and cooked.  Walt helped with the little boys.   And dad well......dad helped out with the moo-lah! We decided we needed a new spot.  Quoting the travel guide,   "the majestic red rock scenery and evergreen vegetation are two reasons for the unique energy of Sedona and its tangible regenerative and inspirational effects.  (We really needed regeneration this year ) in 30 days our family dealt with: mom got cancer. nic had new...

Below I have reposted from Rachel Stafford from Hands Free Mamma.  It was a pointed reminder for me that simple is best! What do you think matters most to your children ? You driving them to lessons and practices, or is it the smile and hug you greet them with after school? If you guessed the latter, you are correct. Sixteen years of teaching and giving the same assignment every Mother’s Day has led me to the exact same conclusion. You see, every Mother’s Day I would ask my students to give me advice on being a mother. They were to think about things their mother or guardian did for or with them that made them feel happy or loved. The classroom would go silent as the students wrote intensely for longer than they had ever written before. Often smiles would appear on their faces as they reflected on the happy experiences they were remembering. After reading their responses I would add to my list all the ideas they mentioned. Surprisingly, many of the responses were the same. Ye...

 My mom is pretty artsy and crafty and talented and all those adjectives that mean describe the wonder of having art imitate life. This time, she molded and played with fondant until she made a cake size replica of Grandma Frye's bedroom and her beloved dog, Zoya.  So cute we definitely didn't want to eat it.  So cake number 2 served as the traditional birthday wishes, blow it out affair!  86 years old!  We love you Grandma Frye! When you don't have a match a blow torch does well, even better actually when there are 86 candles to light.   Who else but Nate, the pyro in the family, would have a blow torch in his truck (o.k. he loves fires but has it for work too!) However, definitely against restaurant fire codes, so we huddled around the cake and made quick of the lighting ceremony. Happy Birthday Grandma!

Christmas Card 2011