Creativity

Yesterday I had the opportunity to help my daughter-in-law tile a backsplash in their house. We also sealed the floor tiles we put in a few weeks ago.  It was so fun working with her.  She is very talented.  It was also fun just having the time to talk (we don't usually have too much of this with all that we both have going on) while the guys were outside tying rebar together for their new garage floor.  That project will begin in earnest on Monday, and we'll leave it to the guys. 

After we were done tiling, I saw some fabric flowers she was making.  They were so cute and she started showing me how she makes them.  Then we had the chance to look at a few of the blogs that she and I enjoy.  We had fun and it gave us both a ton of ideas that we want to do.  There are so many talented, crafty people out there.  I don't ever remember a time when I was as crafty as some of these new moms are.  They make such cute items and usually they are out of old clothes, shoes, or purses.  Somehow they can just visualize how to make them look new and usable again.  It is truly a talent. It reminds me of the saying that President Gordon B. Hinkley said, "Use it, mend it, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"  I usually have to have patterns and such explained to me - step-by-step.  Then if I'm lucky I will get something slightly resembling what it was that I was trying to make.

I am going to try harder to be better at re-making old clothes and such so that they are re-usable, and cute again.   I will still rely on others for their ideas an can't wait to try out some that I saw yesterday.  This is going to be a new adventure.  Who knows, maybe I'll have to really start a craft room in my house for all that I want to do.  Here's to the beginning of trying to be Creative!

Fall Break

I'm sitting enjoying the beautiful sunshine that is pouring out of the sky today.  I love fall days when there is not a cloud in the sky and there is that clean, crispness to everything.  Most of the farmers have harvested their fields and have been plowing.  You can smell the good, clean, earthy smells when you are outside.  My flowers are still blooming because the frost hasn't come yet and I feel that I am so surrounded by beauty.  I am grateful for a Heavenly Father that created this for me to enjoy.  I have such a gratitude for the bounties that he gives me and my family. 

This past year in our new house has brought many things to our lives.  Some are good, some are trying, and through it all, I realize I am growing in so many ways.  We are making friends, but I miss seeing our old friends.  We don't have the subdivision streets here to stroll around and so we can't just go out for an evening stroll and say Hi to those around us.  I miss that.  But we do have friends show up with the bounty of their gardens to share with us (and I love them for it) since we haven't gotten our yard in yet.  Hannah's bills from this year have side-tracked us from those plans.  Hopefully this next year we'll get the yard in as well as a garden.  But we are ever grateful for those bills, because it says we had help in getting her well.  She is doing so good and seems to be pretty well back to normal.  What a blessing that is for us and her.

My school is more trying than I ever thought it would be.  I see why it's so important to go when you are young.  My brain doesn't work like it used to.  Also, I'm not so eager to please those professor's I have like a younger person might be.  I'm not so easily impressed or intimidated by their status.  Being older than most if not all of them, I feel like I have as much or more life experience than they have and so, sometimes I feel like this is just as good as some of the things they are teaching the kids.  I also don't give into their agendas, and I know some of them don't like this.  I will finish this semester and am not sure if I want to continue on with my education as far as college.  I think I will continue to grow and learn, though I think I will do it more with the things I am most interested in and not worry what the world thinks I should be learning.

My calling is going good.  I am surrounded by wonderful women who are so talented.  They each bring so much to our ward.  I feel inadequate around them so often.  But I am trying to learn and grow and do what Heavenly Father would ask of me in serving them.  I hope I can continue to please Him most of all. 

So, as one of our friends always says, "It's a Beautiful Day, Life is Good!"  And I am blessed!!

Neon Nights Dance

Hannah was excited to go to the dance with Whyatt Garn.  He is one of her really great friends that she has made up here.


Hannah said they were going to El Paral - a local eatery, for dinner. Then they were going to the dance and after they were going to go to a haunted corn maze. It's so fun to watch Hannah getting old enough to have fun like this with good friends.

This is Hannah with Whyatt on the right and Travis a friend that they were doubling with on the left.  Travis's date hadn't turned up yet.  They all tie-died their T-shirts the night before.  They had a really good time.  I can't wait for her to get home tonight to hear all that they did.

Hannah's First Date

So here it is 10 minutes to midnight and we're waiting for Hannah's date to the dance to finish decorating her car.  They've been decorating for an hour now.  She asked him with a poem and a gallon of chocolate milk.  He had to take certain colored letters from the poem and unscramble them to find out her name.  He is such a fun young man and it will be a great first date.  It was a girl's choice dance and the theme is Neon Nights.  I'll be posting pictures of the pre-event next Saturday as I'm sure she won't want me tagging along to take pictures the whole night.  And as soon as I can get Sam out to take pictures of her car, I'll get them attached to this post.  I'm sitting here in my nightgown or I'd be right out there with them taking pictures.  It's so fun having Hannah get this opportunity.  It will be fun for her to go.  The young man's name that she will be going with is Whyatt Garn and they are really good friends and I'm sure they will have a great time together.  He is a really easy-going, fun-loving kid.  I don't think I've laughed so hard when someone gave a sacrament talk as I did when Whyatt spoke. 

I have mixed feelings as I look at Hannah growing up.  I know she won't be my baby girl for much longer and that makes me a little sad. Actually, I know she hasn't been my baby girl for quite sometime now and she likes it that way.  She keeps telling me how she's a big girl and how she can now handle life.  From past experience I know that this is the natural way that things have to go, but it doesn't make it any easier.  She has been such an easy-going child and I look forward to seeing her take on this new aspect with grace.  That's how she seems to do things - okay, well sometimes she stumbles right on through, but we all have a good time with it.