West Valley Nativity Festival

I know I have kind of disappeared. This is why. This was my assignment from the Stake that I alluded to a couple posts back. I was asked to be in charge of decorating for the West Valley Nativity Festival. It was a great opportunity to serve and I learned a lot through this experience. The main thing was just being willing to serve. I had some specific concerns when I agreed to take on this assignment. Those concerns were very specifically taken care of in ways I had not imagined. I am grateful for the principle of service and how it has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and His Son during this Christmas season.
The theme for this years Nativity Festival was Wise Men Still Seek Him. We created a night sky in the cultural hall to transform the gym into a reception area. We hung 300 yards of fabric from the ceiling with twice as many lights. These are a few of my pictures I snapped the last night. We had a professional volunteer to document this and I will be getting those pictures later. The sides of the room were lined with over 300 nativities.

The backdrop is hard to see, but was a night skyline of Bethlehem done by Amy Hill. She did a great job. I wish I had a better picture to show it off. The event lasted three nights and included performances by ward and Catholic church choirs in addition to a handbell choir, a Mexican dance group, and my favorite, a Baptist choir complete with bass guitar and drum set. They rocked.

We had over 2500 attend the event which was about 2100 more than last year. The most stressful time for me was on Sunday. The plan was to have the First Presidency Devotional finish up the night. To accomodate everyone, we had to disassemble this backdrop in open the accordion doors to the chapel. As luck would have it a nativity of Waterford Crystal was on the table just in front of the backdrop. Luckily, it all came down just as planned in under 5 minutes.

The entire event was a raging success. Everyone that participated in organizing did a great job and was pleased with the result.
On the home front, during this time Craig also decided that he wanted to use the potty full time. I am so proud of him. Thanks to everyone that supported me in this. From phone conversations to babysitting, I really needed it all to get this job done. I also understand better how great it is to have someone you can depend on. I will be there for you all in the future. Thank you!!

Thanksgiving with Grammy

Laney and Craig joined Grammy at school today to enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving feast. Abigail had her own at school so she was not left out. We had all the fixings. Laney ate the green beans and fruit cup by the fistful and Craig like the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie the best. He had two piece of the latter. Afterward they got to play on the playgroup and Craig even read for the class. They are asleep now. It was a fun morning.

Halloween 2009

Welcome to Neverland. Craig decided that he wanted to dress up as Peter Pan this year. The rest of the costumes just fell in to line. Abigail agreed to be Wendy and Laney is suppose to be Tinkerbell. I have a set of wings for her, but she doesn't want to wear them. I made all of the kids costumes and thought they turned out nice. Abigail's was the hardest for me because of the puff sleeves and the gathering at the waist, but it came out just great. The best part is the kids love their costumes. Even Laney begs to put hers on, minus the wings.
Halloween this year will be a week long event. Yesterday Craig had a party with his nursery. He has the best nursery leaders. They really love the kids and magnify their callings. In our ward there are four nurseries. Craig's class are all the kids that will be moving up to Sunbeams at the end of the year. I think there are 21 active kids in the class. His leaders, which happen to be men, had a little party for all the kids. The were just adorable in their costumes. I really appreciate them. Thanks!
Today, we went to story time down at the library. Tomorrow Abigail gets to wear her costume to school. On Thursday we will take the kids to my mother-in-laws school's Halloween Carnival. Friday is our ward's Trunk-o-Treat and Saturday, of course, is Halloween. We will definitely get our money's worth out of this set of costumes. I love Halloween.

This Past Month

This past month has been crazy. The day after Chris left for his training I went into urgent care because I was in a lot of pain. It turned out that I had Shingles. I was lucky in that I never developed the rash so I was never contagious, so don't worry. But I have been really sick and my recovery has been much slower than I would hope. I am only now getting my energy back and it has been 4 weeks.

Last weekend Chris' sister, brother-in-law, and mother watched the kids for me so I could go visit him in Denver. Words cannot begin to describe the gratitude I feel for their service. It provided me a much needed break and time to recover. When we originally planned this trip, before I got sick, we had all sorts of plans of things we were going to do together. Those all got canceled, but it worked out perfectly. It was freezing cold and I was more than happy to read my book The Reagan Diaries, which is dry but really interesting by the way, and watch the snow fall. Yes, I enjoyed snow and tomorrow it will be 100 here. I napped and we ate great food. The best part was just being together without the distractions of being at home. Good news, I still really, really love my husband. The only down side was that I forgot my camera. No pics. Sorry.

After returning home, I got back into the swing of things slowly. I have been working on starting my little sewing business. Today I had the first review of my store published. I was very excited to put it mildly. Here is the link.

Chris comes home this weekend to see the kids and be with me. It is good because I just received an assignment from the stake that is a bit overwhelming right now. I am trying to get my head wrapped around it. That is why I am up later than I should be writing this.

Aunt Allison and Cool Cousins

Aunt Allison came down for a visit with her two kids. It was a blast to have them here. I have been sick and Chris has been out of town which could have been a real drag. Allison got things together and came down and took care of me and entertained us for a few days. Thanks Allison for all you did. As a side note, I feel bad because I didn't get out my camera for most of the visit, but here are a few pictures from the visit to the park.

Highlights from the trip included a visit to the library, a literacy fair, and a park. Here is the picture I want to paint for you. Between the two of us, we have 5 kids ages 5 and under. This meant my van was so packed with car seats you couldn't fit another one in. Because of the squeeze not one of them was able to buckle themselves. Each time we got in and out of the car we had to buckle each of these cute kids in their respective seat. The one good thing about car seats, beside that whole life saving bit, is that there is no arguing over who sits where. Everyone has assigned seats. It cuts down on the fighting.

Each day the kids played trains. I think that was their favorite part. Craig especially loved having Jacob around to do "boy things" with. The one that made me laugh was them running into a wall, pretending to be stunned and falling back on to Craig's bed over and over and over again. Another funny tidbit was how Will treated Laney. He referred to her as "Baby" the whole trip even though he is two months younger. He would follow her around and hug her as many times as she would tolerate it. Every night we held on to the bribe, that "If you are good you can have an ice cream sandwich after dinner." It worked wonders. They really are a great bunch of kids and it was so much fun to have them here. We love you guys. Thanks for coming.

Big First Day

It may be strange to talk about firsts on the last day of the month, but that was just how it worked out for our little family. Today Chris starts his new job working for the IRS. (Please don't hate us.) He is excited and was looking sharp this morning as he left for work. I love you. Good luck.

Another big, momentous, huge first for us was Abigail's first day of school. She is so ready and excited. She is attending a new charter school in the area, which is why she is wearing this uniform. We had gone to meet her teacher and check out her class room last week and recognized it when we arrived. She almost walked straight in. I stopped her and insisted on a hug before she left. I kept it together. I didn't want her to start crying.

She is most excited to do art in school. Of all of the preparations, her matching backpack and lunch box were of up most importance. Last night I put together some of the items she would be taking to school and I couldn't help thinking to myself, "And so it begins." My mother made lunches for us all virtually everyday of school. When you combine everything, it was over 20 years of lunch making. As I prepared my first school lunch I felt like I was at the beginning of a great marathon which I am only able to undertake one lunch at a time. One thing she insisted on was taking a homemade cookie for dessert. I was all to happy to oblige.

This last picture was taken outside Abigail's school. Craig was a little upset when he figured out he won't be staying too. He has insisted that I pack him a lunch and when we came home we played preschool for a little. It seems to have assuaged him.

Even with the two little ones here, the house feels empty. I was spoiled having everyone home for three weeks. I miss them both already. I worry and wonder and will count that hours until they are home again. I understand that this is the beginning of many firsts. Ironically they begin on an ending.

Magic Tree House

Thanks to a Wendy's kids meal toy, we were introduced to the Magic Tree House books. They are simple chapter books about two kids Annie and Jack who go on adventures to different places and times through books in their magic tree house. I picked one up from the library to read to Abigail, only to have her start and finish it on her own. Now she reads one almost everyday. She just can't get enough. So last night she got on her backpack and made Craig follow her around the house while they played Magic Tree House. It was adorable. Thank goodness for good books and active imaginations. I don't know how else I would keep her busy until school starts.

A Peaceful Sunday

This Sunday marked a milestone for us. This was Laney's first week in nursery. She did great. Our nurseries are a little overcrowded simply because there are 56 nursery age kids in our ward. Yes, that is right. We have three nurseries, but 19 kids in a nursery is still too many. The primary told me they have called 6 more people to be nursery workers and they are trying to work out a room for a fourth nursery. The kitchen was a suggestion. Yikes! Good news is we have a building about 1.5 miles away in the works. Another 6 months and this situation should change again.

This Sunday was also peaceful because Chris' sister and her new husband are moving into our ward. They joined us for the first time this week. The kids just mobbed them throughout Sacrament Meeting. I don't remember such a relaxing day at church.

The one stress was having to teach Relief Society. I haven't been able to get a teacher called for 3 months. Saturday night around 10 pm I realized that I didn't have a sub, so that meant that I was up to teach. The lesson went well enough, but calling Whitney "Sister Whiting" was a little strange. Love you Whit.

Abigail's Piano Recital

I feel so bad that this took me forever, but my cousin-in-law finally gave me the final push I needed to get my bum in gear. Thanks Jill.

Back in May Abigail had her first piano recital. She had only been taking lessons for a couple months and she was only four. Keep that in mind as you watch the video because you can't really tell what she is trying to play. For the record it is Shepherd's Song by Beethoven.

Abigail's Bed

I recently attended Girls Camp where they made quilts for their service project. I loved the style of them and had to make one. I came up with this.

I just finished today and I have to admit that I am super pleased with how it turned out. My next project is making Laney's quilt which will use the same fabrics only smaller. Thanks to everyone who helped pick out fabrics, lay it all out, and clip threads. I love you.

Brooke

P.S. This is addictive.

Amy Butler Bags

My dear mom bought a pattern for me for this adorable bag. So I made one for me and one for her. Yes, we are twinners now!
Because I was dying to make more I made these two for gifts.
I have loved making these and if anyone interested in them let me know.

Because it has been requested here is the link to by friends blog where she is selling my diaper keepers and crayon rolls.

http://RedBrickSewing.blogspot.com

I can make these bags from the materials you see on the blog. I have been dying to make one with the Brittney and Lily materials. Those are my two best sellers and I think it would be so cute to have the bag, the matching diaper keeper and crayon rolls. I am working on completing my own set.

Diaper Keepers

I have been making these for a while for friends and baby shower gifts. A friend of mine is letting em try to sell them on her website. I am really excited to see if I get get this rolling. Here is the link to her website if you are interested.

March Adventures

They say that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. All through March I was busy preparing for a reunion with the students I went with to Jerusalem. I volunteered myself to coordinate personal updates and to put together a video of our pictures. Two days before I was suppose to leave I couldn't get the video to burn to a DVD. Preschool hadn't gone well that morning (the art project was a huge messy disaster). I was ready for the day to be over before I got to playgroup. At playgroup Craig was pushed down a flight of stairs and he bit through his lip which required me to go to 3 different medical buildings to final take care of. It was not how I wanted to spend my day. Craig was a trooper. This picture was two days later on the way to the airport. They ended up gluing his lip closed. The good thing was that I found out that my limits are a bit higher than I previously believed.


As March ended and April began, we got to do some fun things as a family. My friend Bridgette threw the best Easter Egg hunt part for the kids.Then we got invited to enjoy the County Fair. It was such a fun family day. The kids and I all took long naps when we came home. The best part was that it didn't cost us a cent. Thank you so much.
Laney only went on one ride, but she still had a bang up time.

Frame It Up! The pictures.

So here are the pictures that wouldn't load before. For details read the Frame it up entry a few posts down. Sorry about how long it took.

Dr. Suess' 50th birthday

Did you know Dr. Suess turned 50? On Tuesday there were two parties that we attended to celebrate his birthday. The first gathering was at the Buckeye Library. Abigail was pulled out of the crowd to try to balance an apple on her head while the reader read "Ten Apples Up On Top." As you can see she did it!!

They had some crafts for the kids to do followed by a treat: Cupcakes and green eggs and ham. It was so much fun. Abigail didn't want to eat her green eggs and ham. Laney gobbled them right up for her.

The kids got their picture taken with the Cat in the Hat. Craig is still sporting frosting on his lips.

That evening we attended the second celebration at Grammy's school. This is Freedom's principal reading to the kids. When Abigail read the title of the book to her, the principal said she could pull some strings to get Abigail in there if we wanted. Good job Abby.

Also to be noticed is the little boy in the red shirt who is obviously the focus of her attention at this moment. He is a friend we met at the library. Earlier in the day I caught her giving him a kiss on the cheek. That night he had changed his shirt because he "wanted to look nice for Abigail." Really, already?

Latest Projects

I love to create things. Here are some gifts I have made from tutorials or patterns I have found online. In the center is a crayon roll. I love it for packing the crayons to church. Each of my kids has there own, no need to share. It helps me keep track of all the crayons.

On either side are diaper clutches I made. I got this new purse the didn't have the organization pockets that my previous ones had. I found this pattern online and I whipped up one for myself and another for a prize at a bridal shower (with matching binky holder) I am helping with tomorrow. They are just big enough to fit a travel size wipes and a couple diapers to easily be transfered from my purse to diaper bag. I love how they turned out.

Laney's Birthday

Happy Birthday little girl. I can't believe you are a year old already.

You should know that there are many who love you. There are those that are near and those that are far.

They will always be there to carry you though.

We love you LaneyBug.

Picture Worth Publishing

I have been a total slacker with my blog. Sorry. I have continued to take some picture so here are some that were worth it.

First we have Craig playing Guitar Hero. The kids love it. Craig usually gets booed off the stage, but Abigail can rock it. Craig now wanders the house singing Eye of the Tiger and Abigail's favorite song is Everlong. Thanks Dad.

Next, we have some friends that have been playing Ultimate Frisbee on the weekend. Here are some pictures of the kids that love coming.

I admit that I love how Abigail and Ty play together. Thanks for sharing him with us.

This is Abigail also. Yes, the curse of a popular name. Sorry.

This is Pierce. He was born the same day as Laney. Yes he as twice as many teeth and he walks. He seems like a year older.

Frame It Up

Thanks to a seriously talented and generous friend, this Christmas I made a bunch of frames for gifts. This first one was for a picture painted by my step-sister-in-law, who is in high school by the way. She did a great job on this and I was so happy that this frame just finished the piece off nicely.

I was so inspired and I decided to make a wall collage for myself. I got the decorative hanging bar as a gift from my beautiful sister and her family for Christmas. Since then I made the center frame and the two beadboard frames. Then I repainted the other two frames to complete the set. I am really happy with how it turned out. I know that this picture didn't turn out great. Sorry. I am thinking about adding bows, but I am not sure exactly how I want to do it yet. Thanks Tisha and Allison.

Abigail's Drawing

Look closely at this picture Abigail drew. See if you can figure out what it is.


Here is your hint: Grove

I think she did an awesome job on this.