Hello Herriman!

Wow!  Can I just say, we have officially had the craziest few weeks we've EVER experienced?  Okay.  I'll just say it!  We have officially had the CRAZIEST few weeks we've EVER experienced!!!

Intrigued?.. I knew you were!  Here's the run down:

Friday Feb. 18:  Thomas lost his job

Saturday Feb. 19:  We get through shock and comfort one another

Sunday Feb. 20:  Living arrangements are arranged with family in St. George

Monday Feb. 21:  Call-in-the-reserves type search for a job begins with fervor

Tuesday Feb. 22:  Today is spent in fasting and prayer

Wednesday Feb. 23:  Got an AMAZING job!!!  Thomas' friends from USU's Tax Challenge team recruited him to work with them in the Tax department at Mona Vie in South Jordan.  Packing ensues.

Thursday Feb. 24:  Oh!  We've started packing, but where are we going to live?  We have to be out on Saturday!!!  That's okay.  We'll just drive on down to South Jordan and find us a place to live within a few hours!...Apartment secured.  Drive back to Syracuse to finish packing and cleaning.  Thank you Angie for your help packing!  You're the greatest!

Friday Feb. 25:  Take Faith out of school in Syracuse.  Women lined up to help pack and clean at 2p....no show.  No problem!  I'm on top of this!  Pack and scrub house.  Divide belongings into 2 heaps:  One for storage and one for Apartment.  Done!  Scrub scrub scrub!  Relief Society Pres. comes to help and works for hours!  Done!  Men with trucks lined up to help move stuff to storage at 6p....no show.  No problem!  Brother-in-law has a truck.  Other brother-in-law helps Thomas move stuff to storage shed.  Mom arrives from St. George.  (The woman will be Sainted!)  8 or 9p....the reserves arrive and in about 20 minutes everything is Done!!!  Wow!  What a relief!  We're SO grateful for the help that came - we couldn't have done it without you!

Saturday Feb. 26:  We now reside in Herriman Utah!  Hooray!  Now off to unpack (o:

Sunday Feb 27:  Church and a meeting with a humanitarian group to plan a fundraiser to raise money for Children in Ethiopia.  Done!...Anyone want to join my team and help with a HUGE dinner?  I sort of volunteered to take care of an Ethiopian dinner for hundreds of people.  Heh heh.

Monday Feb 28:  Thomas starts work!  Old insurance expires, new begins - We are SO blessed!  Melanie CRASHES in bed almost ALL day.  Girls are so sweet to come in and check on me every 10 minutes (o:

Tuesday Feb 29:  Register Faith for school and finish unpacking.

Sigh.

Did I miss anything? 

I can't believe how beautifully everything fell into place for us.  I've truly needed some sunshine in my rain and I am basking in it right now.

This is what we woke up to on Saturday (Moving day)

Vintage type planner made from antique finds and a magnifying glass

Here is a planner I made from an antique book I purchased at a second hand store for a dollar.  It was printed in 1924.  I cut the covers off and modpodged a little story fairy I cut out of a Children's Friend that was printed in March 1924!  How random that they are both from the same year!  I think it turned out Sooo cute!  I cut the end off the front cover and attatched it back on with some fabric I had.  I tore out pages of old books - they all have several blank pages usually in the front and back - and printed my schedule on them.  I also made a note pad with some leftover blank bits of old book paper.  I bound the whole thing with twine so that I can replace the calendar and other scheduling sheets as needed.  I am so happy with how it turned out!  

My note pad has magnet on the back and I glued a thin metal sheet to the book back so I can change out the notes more readily than I can the calendars.

There are also address lists and birthday lists.  So handy!

This is the back of the book.

Here is an old magnifying glassI had lying around (BEFORE)

Here it is AFTER I made it pretty!  I LOVE it!  The planner is very small so a little magnifying glass is sure to help!  I cut the handle off an old spoon and bent it into a handle for my monocle.  I tinned the edges of the glass to make it look like I set in in a bezel.  I wanted to set it, but didn't have the time to run to the store and buy bezel, so here's my cheap-o quick version.  I wrapped it in foil tape and soldiered all around it.  I'm TERRIBLE with a soldering iron - I prefer a torch - and it turned out pretty sloppy.  I sanded it when I was finished to even it out and used E-6000 to glue the handle on.  So cute!  It looks perfectly vintage and it's perfectly functional!

Our Valentine's Day

 Breakfast

Lunch

Fun stuff!

Thomas kept surprising me with more and more flowers!

I'm a LUCKY girl!!!

Happy v-day!

Here's what I've been up to.  I'm on a huge vintage kick lately and I don't think I'll ever run out of family heirlooms, so here's my latest!

But first, I walked outside the other morning to find this in my front yard!

Awww!  Love is in the air!

This is a pendant I received from my Great-Grandmother when I turned 8.  It has mother of pearl on the outside and the sweetest pictures of her parents on the inside.

This is Andrew and Grace Batterton, my Great-Great-Grandparents.  If you look really close, Andrew is wearing a monocle (eye glass).  So cool!  Wasn't he handsome (o:

The pearls belonged to my Great-Grandmother.  I thought they made the perfect pair!

I found this shadow box at Family Dollar for 3 Dollars!!!  A little bit of paper, some stitching and voila!  A perfect memory frame!

Faith and Rahel fun

Fire flies!

Faith and her new "skate shoes" made from blocks and hair ties!

So creative!

Can't wait for Spring!

I know I shouldn't be doing my spring crafting yet, but I just can't stand it!  I am SO ready for Spring!

Here's a clock I made years ago using 2 table tops and some wall putty.  Thomas made me this cute little shelf to display my topiary.  I found the pot at the dollar store and spray painted it.  I used Wal-mart dowels from a 90-something cent package.  The foam is from the dollar store and I got the foliage ball for 50% off at Hobby Lobby.  It ended up being about $4.00!  Hooray!



Rahel's first day of preschool and other random pics

Rahel on her first day of preschool!  She was SOOOO excited!

I walked in on this after setting up for guitar lessons and picking up the house getting ready for my students to arrive.  She was ready to go!  So cute!

My cutie in her pajamas and sleep mask she got for Christmas.  I couldn't resist snapping a pic! 

I was changing out my wreath and found feathers all over the house.  This is what I tracked down!  What a scream!

Faith's inventions

Faith has ALWAYS pawed her way through the garbage finding little "treasures" to build things out of. It grosses me out, so I have been saving containers and things to clean out and put in a box for Faith to use. That way she stays out of the icky garbage. Well, this is what she came up with this week (o:

Goggles

 

Bath boat with oars and everything!

St. George, some history and a miscarriage

As some of you may know, I found out I was pregnant in December and miscarried a few weeks ago.  I needed to spend some time resting and decided to spend it in St. George with my Grandmother and my Mom.  Grandma took me to the temple the first morning and we did sealings as daughters to parents.  It was such a positive and uplifting experience.  Our sealer was so personal and insightful.  Gran took me to lunch afterward and we toured the Brigham Young home in down town St. George.  It was so beautiful!  I do love history and architecture.  How fun to see his home.  In the living room, there was a square grand piano.  I don't remember ever seeing one - it is SO beautiful!  You should google image square grand pianos.  They are beautiful.  If you ever have the chance, I would highly recommend visiting the Brigham Young home in St. George.  Also, do some sealings in the St. George temple.  It is just magical upstairs.  Such a good experience.

Gran and I had some good times.  One of the days we toured the Jacob Hamblin home also.  We stayed up late at night talking and she offered me some amazing support and stories.  I love you Gran! 

It was so warm there (62 deg.) I didn't want to go home!  Thomas took me to the Beehive house in Salt Lake on Monday for a date.  Wow.  I really like the St. George one so much better!  How fun to see so much history.  I so missed my girls!  It was so good to see them after our date.  They make me so happy!

Prince Fairy Boy

Last night we had a Family night and when we were done, Faith and Rahel played fairy princess. Faith came out in her complete princess garb to the living room where Thomas and I were talking and deemed Thomas the "prince fairy boy" and handed him a snowflake wand! Our girls are so fun! Thomas spent the rest of the evening searching for his manhood (o:


I often find the girls praying together.  What a heart melter!  My girls are SO sweet and thoughtful.  Faith wants to build a lemonade stand so she can help raise money to bring Kidist home.  What a sweetheart!
I just wanted to give a thank you to my sweet girls today who make my life so much brighter.

Adoption news: Sweet Kidist

This year I've decided to love a little more, study the scriptures a little deeper, attend the temple and expand my family.  We've felt very strongly that it is now time to bring Kidist home.  We are sure that the financial end of things will not be a block in our path to Kidist.  We have come up with methods of raising the funds and are confident that the Lord will take care of us. 

Sweet Kidist,

Ever since we met you, you have taken a part of our hearts.  Though we can't speak to one another, you have truly left an impression on us.  Your sweet smile and the look in your eyes tells me what a wonderful, kind and sweet person you are.  Those who know you have nothing but good to say about you.  The tender way you interact with Rahel melts my heart.  I know this won't be an easy journey for you, but I am sure that the Lord is involved and will make up our differences.  Language will be difficult for you to learn and leaving your friends will break your heart.  We can promise you love and security.  You will be looked up to and ADORED by your two little sisters (they already adore you!) and you will never run out of love from your new parents.  My heart feels like there is a yarn attatched that stretches all the way to you and it gets shorter every day pulling me closer to you.  You have been through so much in your short life.  More than many people go through in a lifetime.  You are a strong young woman and will touch the hearts of many people with your strength, your sweetness and your love.

I love you!

Mom