4 things-

I was tagged by Rachel Kingsley, which is kind of fun, since I have never been tagged before! Here goes:

4 shows I watch:
We don't have cable, but if we did I would watch:
1 - Sarah's House/Cottage
2 - Design Inc.
3 & 4 - Almost anything else on HGTV
(what can I say, I am easy to please)


4 things I am passionate about:
1 - my family
2 - eating healthy
3 - writing
4 - decorating

4 phrases I say a lot:
1 - settle down
2 - I love you
3 - could you please....
4 - Seriously! Seriously? Serioulsy!? (any version really)

4 things I have learned from the past:
1 - babies grow too fast, enjoy it!
2 - let people know how much you love them, always
3 - there is so much more to life than we all think at 17
4 - the grass is never greener, only different

4 places I'd like to go:
1 - Paris
2 - Italy
3 - England
3 - Sweden (okay, so pretty much anywhere in Europe. Does that count?)

4 things I did yesterday:
1- taught a math lesson
2 - helped decorate a Christmas tree (my mom would not agree that I, in fact, actually helped!)
3 - shared a moment with my dad
4 - ate dinner made by my mom

4 things I am looking forward to:
1 - Christmas
2 - the release of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" (it was a great book!)
3 - a new year that turns one daughter 11 - only 1 year until young women's and a fabulous babysitter of my very own!
4 - the strength and peace that another homeschooling year under my belt brings

4 things I love about winter:
1 - snow
2 - Christmas
3 - staying home and reading books and playing games
4 - Comfy p.j.'s and warm drinks

4 things on my wish list:
1- happiness for my extended family
2 - lasting friendships between my children
3 - lots of grandchildren
4 - a vacation house where all our friends and family will come to stay and play

4 people I tag:
1- all sisters-in-law extraordinaire
2 - Aubrey
3 - Ellis girls, past and present
4 - Debra & Deborah
(okay, so I totally cheated)
If you want to do it, do it! because I would love to read it!

Just for the record, this was so much harder than I would have ever expected! I had to really think about ME and what I like. Seriously!
Go for it!

Decorating For Christmas!

Between the pressure of my children and the beautiful scenic snowy backdrop, 

I could resist no more! Last year on boxing day I went shopping with my sister-in-law 

Shannon and found some fun decorations on sale. 

Since Christmas was over I packed them away for next year. 

So as I was unpacking the boxes this week it was just like, well......Christmas!

In or Out?

Thanks to the snow that changed our plans for the day and entertained the kids for hours, and one FAB.U.LOUS sewing machine I got BOTH pillows sewn! But now I need your advice - ribbons in or ribbons out?

(Oh, and I need Darren to make a matching bed for Nya!)

Bolsters

I have been wanting to sew a bolster pillow for the end of each girls bed, but I could not find a big enough form to get the look I was going for. I wanted it to be the same width as the bed, so - I had to make one. Then I was able to sew the cover! It turned out super simple and sweet, and just as I had envisioned. It is only 1 pillow, but I was actually able to sit down and sew something today! Maybe if I hurry I could even get the second one done!?

It's Saturday morning.....

and the breakfast bowls stay empty......

 the dishes remain undone....

the compost bucket sits full....

and the clean laundry waits to be put away....

all because there is snow!

And the children have better things to do that chores.

For snow only lasts so long around here.

So most of us play while we can...

and the rest enjoy the wonder of it all from inside our home. 

The world seems to get very quiet and 

everything looks clean and beautiful. 

It is Mother Natures way of gently whispering 

for all to slow down and enjoy. 

I, for one, intend to listen.

Sewing

My old machine (and when I say my, I really mean my moms!) decided to pack it in right at Halloween, as I was sewing costumes. Luckily it worked just well enough to sew the pieces together that needed to be together. It wasn't pretty, but as long as you didn't look to closely it did the job. After that it died, utterly and completely. It has had a good long life and sewed many, many projects for years, and years, and years. We took it in to get repaired - no such luck.
So I went on the hunt for a new machine. I shopped around and asked questions and finally found the machine that was right for me. It turns out that it is a good time to shop for machines as the stores have started their Christmas sales.
I have had material for new pillows and curtains for the girls room sitting around teasing me every time I see them, and I now have a new machine (that I just LOVE), it is the time that I cannot seem to find!

Perfection

{photos by Shannon Wight}

I really do feel like I am the luckiest girl in the whole world! I have 3 little girls and 2 little boys, and 1 very amazing husband who loves me! I have my dream family and I could not ask for more. Now don't get me wrong - I do not mean to imply that my children are perfect, or that my husband is perfect, or by any stretch of the imagination that I am anywhere near perfection, but the wonderful thing is that we are all PERFECTLY perfect for each other.

Utter Cuteness

         {Restoration Hardware}

Scent of Christmas

One of the best parts of Christmas is the smell of cinnamon. 

A friend shared this recipe with me and I want to share it with you. 

Enjoy!

2 cinnamon sticks

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup whole cloves

2 orange peels

2 sections of lemon

4 cups of water

-place all ingredients in a pot and simmer on low 

-add water as needed

-will last for days

Progress in the Girls Room

I actually got the girls room painted on Saturday!! This may not sound very impressive, but I did it with 5 little kiddos running around and playing in between me and the walls. And with the highest point in the girls room being 16 feet up, it takes a very tall ladder and a steady hand. The color that was on the walls before was the color that was here when we moved in and it went well with what we had, so it stayed. It was a very happy, sunny color, but not what I would have ever picked (a.k.a. Miss Boring). Darren asked me what color I was going to paint it and when I smiled he said, "Not white?" I said, "No!" But when I showed him the paint chip he just laughed. Apparently he cannot tell the difference between Silver Drop and white. Everyone else doubted me as well. In the end it turned out really soft and pretty, and everyone loves it, even Darren! I still have a long list of things to finish up in there (as usual) but I just thought I would share a little sneak peek. I think it is much better in person than in the pictures. I am not sure the true color really comes across. I am just glad it is done - well the walls anyways!

7 Weeks -

{Martha Stewart}

{unknown}

{Martha Stewart}

{Better Homes and Gardens}

{unknown}

A Jane Austin Era

I DO NOT like pictures of myself. Maybe I am vain or maybe I have some twisted view on reality and I believe I look different that I actually do. I can imagine what ever I want to in my mind, but when I am confronted with reality in the form of a picture there is no denying the truth - This is as good as it gets!

Bergen has become quite the little photographer. He took this picture of me (he is always doing that without my knowledge) I actually like this picture. It reminds me of Pride and Prejudice and I can imagine living back then, when everyone was proper and rode around in buggies or walked to town - When the ladies sat around doing their needlework and talking about prospective husbands - Going to balls and wearing pretty dresses and giggling with your sisters. In reality it was probably rather boring, but in my head it is romantic. And so I love this picture because it reminds me a a time past, a time lost really, a time I would have been happy to have known.

Boiling Frogs

I was introduced to these daily e-mails (below) by my friend Nikki Kenyon, and I am so grateful for it. I get one in my mail box every morning, just in time to start my day. Some I read and forget about 10 minutes later, while others stick and actually help me as I think about it all day long. I loved this one. One of the most common concerns from people in regards to home-schooling (besides socialization, of course) is, will my children be able to cope in the 'real world'. I have found the perfect reply, because if the 'real world' they're talking about is the one I think they're talking about  I hope that my children will HOP OUT!
Oh, and please remember I am NOT against public school or any other form of healthy education, NOT AT ALL! But if you are against home-schooling and I am offending you, please remember that you are reading my Home-school blog and you don't have to, if you don't want to. {I'll never know!}

THE DAILY GROOVE ~ by Scott Noelle

www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove

:: "I'm Not A Frog-Boiler!" ::

When you reject authoritarian, coercive parenting in

favor of non-punitive, pleasure-oriented parenting,

critics and naysayers will warn you that your child

won't be able to cope in the "real" world.

The assumption is that "it's a jungle out there" and

we should gradually toughen up our kids and get them

used to suffering so they won't be shocked when they

venture out into the big, bad world.

It's like that famous experiment where they tossed a

healthy frog in boiling water and it leaped right out.

But if they put the frog in cool water and raised the

temperature gradually over several days, the frog

would be able to *adjust* and stay in the water.

The slow boil seems more humane, but that

"well-adjusted" frog eventually *died* from the heat!

Whereas the non-adjusted frog's intact sensitivity

protected it from being boiled.

Today, look for evidence that your child's sensitivity

is intact (e.g., negative reactions to unwanted

conditions) and be *grateful* for it! Tell yourself,

"My child will *never* get boiled!"

Memorizations of the Month

Every month we memorize a scripture, value, word and quote. We use the same monthly scripture that the children are learning in primary and I pick a word, value and quote that goes along with it. The kids recite the board every morning durning our devotional, and they actually love it! In the beginning they read it off the board, but then it becomes a challenge for them to recite it from memory. By the time I change it up for the next month, they have the previous month memorized so well that they automatically start reciting it. 

I want my children to learn how to be good people. The word good has become so trite in our modern culture, but the biggest compliment someone could give me about my children is that they are good people. If they turn out smart and cute and every other nice thing that parents want for their children to be - great!, but if they are not good they have nothing in the end. 

Most days an outsider observing my children might not be able to tell that this is one of my major goals in life and that I do actually spend a great deal of my time attempting to teach them right from wrong, good form bad, kindness, generosity, charity and the meaning of family, but as with most things, it takes time. 

This past Stake Conference our Stake President gave a talk on just this thing. He described a woman who devotedly watered her newly seeded lawn so that the seeds would take and not dry out and die. She was very pregnant and had 2 little ones as well. She said that after about 2 weeks she had the biggest, greenest weeds you had ever seen. She went on to describe that this is how she felt about life in general - she was just watering weeds, feeding one end of her kids and cleaning up the other. She shared her struggle with whether what she was doing in her life would actually amount to any good. But then she described the feeling she had when her efforts in caring for the new seed finally resulting in something worth while. As is with our lives raising young children - the work must go in first and it must be made a priority. We cannot let them dry out and wither and die. We must never give up and one day we will see the long awaited results that we have worked so hard for. This is my goal, this is my prayer, 

"That on that resurrection day, I may stand before my Savior and say, Here am I am the children you gave me." Author Unknown

Someone this past summer asked me if I ever worried that my children wouldn't get a good enough education by being home-schooled. I do believe that she meant no harm, but I also think she was expecting me to say, 'Oh, no, I never worry about that!" Instead I told her the truth and I said, 'YES!" I think I surprised her. You see, when you make the choice to home school, you must be prepared for critics. It is that way whenever you make a choice that goes against pop culture. Most people are positive and nice, at least to you face and others don't even need to be acknowledged. {This is MY blog, after all}. With home-schooling one tends to be prepared with all the right answers to other peoples questions, or you learn on the job! I think the reason I surprised this friend was because she had probably never been given that answer before, and I know why, because we home-schoolers need not allow any room for debate or criticism, especially with those just waiting to pounce. But since I was honest in my fear, we were able to have a very comfortable and open conversation about it. In expressing some of the reasons I chose to home-school with her and some of the things I no longer had to worry about, she said, "So, it's like a worry exchange then?" And I said , "Yes?!, that is exactly what it is!" I love that phrase. I am grateful that we had that talk. What a great expression! I no longer worry that my girls will grow up too fast, that my boys will be exposed to pornography or violence. I don't worry about them hearing foul language or getting bullied. I do worry that I won't be smart enough to school them, or maybe that they are getting plenty of quantity time but are they getting quality time? Am I really able to do it all? Will I crack? These are my fears. But I try hard to focus on the positive. I am their mother. I was inspired to home-school. I can do this if I have the Lord's help, and it can even be fun!

The Girl's Room

I LOVE girly things. I feel so blessed to be able to decorate a boys room AND a girls room. 

I have never posted pictures of this room before and since it is in the middle of a {small} makeover, I thought I would post before pictures. 

I am hoping to re-paint the walls tomorrow!

This room is such a sunny happy room- I love playing in there with them, and it just so happens that they have the best view in the house.