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SAY IT. MEAN IT. SHOW IT.

I really love this quote from Elder David A. Bednar's talk More Diligent and Concerned at Home from October 2009 General Conference. 
When I'm feeling kinda gloomy I like to reread some of the General Conference talks. This weekend I went all the way back to 2009 and found this amazing talk from Elder Bednar. Such a great reminder about expressing our love to those most important to us. 
 Say It. Mean It. Show It.




Fancy Front Porch

Welcome Home! 
It's finally time to add some style to my front porch. It's pretty small but you gotta work with what you got!
I hit up Pinterest to find a couple of ideas. I knew I wanted some sort of holiday sign holder and that everything needed to match my burlap wreath. I found the door post at Shanty2chic. I love this site, awesome tutorials! 

 The marquee pallet letter idea came from thistlewoodfarms.com and just might be my favorite craft to date! I still had left over wood from our old fence so I was able to put this baby together with material from my scrap pile.

Finally, I hung up my welcome sign that has been collecting dust. 
Pretty darn cute!



Old fence turned to darling planter

A few years back my husband made this cute little fence for me to separate the patio from the pool. Now that the pool is gone we decided to take down the fence. It has sat in the side yard with a bunch of other junk growing weeds around it for awhile. I'm happy to say it has once again become something useful and pretty!
Both my parents are huge gardeners. I did not inherit that skill from them! The only thing I've managed to keep alive in our sad little backyard is a queen palm tree. Mike and I have talked about a garden for a couple years now but haven't followed through. This year I decided to be brave and attempted my first try at planting food. 
Step 1- I'd need a cute planter, of course!
I made this planter from some of the wood from that old fence. 
Step 2- Paint it.
Step 3- start planting! 
The plant in the back is called The Sparky Honeysuckle, named for ASU. The flowers grow red and orange. I'm hoping that the humming bird that hangs out in my front yard will find it's way to it. 
Next, came the actual food. I figured I'd start simple this year so I went with strawberries, cucumbers and baby watermelon. The cucumbers only survived about 12 hrs before the dog stomped all over them. Now all my love is going into the berries and melons. I'm not expecting much but I would be so proud of myself if I could grow just 1 edible item!
If I kill off all these tiny plants I'll really be sad. But, as a consolation prize, my planter is dang cute if I do say so!!







Lovers Lane

 February has always been my favorite month. It goes by quickly because there is always so much going on! The weather here is usually beautiful, Valentines Day, lots of family birthdays to include mine, my parents and my awesome grandson!
 Wow, since 1988?? That's 25 years!





Be The Good

I am a worrier. I stress about almost everything. I remember as a child my mom telling me that if I didn't have something to worry about I'd make up something.

 I worry about things like:
Did I lock the doors? Is someone going to break into my house while I'm on vacation? Then when the police come will they wonder if the robbers destroyed my house or think I'm just a really bad housekeeper?
What if my daughter is riding her bike to work, gets a flat, and decides to hitchhike the rest of the way? Then she gets kidnaped by Gypsies, taken to Canada and I never see her again. 
If I see a child lost in a store I feel the need to follow them around to make sure they find their parents and no crazy person snatches them. In the mean time I'm the one who looks like the creeper following a child around!
When I pull into my garage I can't get out of the car until the garage door has shut just incase a crazy person has come into the garage while it was open and now wants to kill me.
What if my kid gets carjacked, then ran over by his own car?

Okay, so maybe my mom wasn't that far off! I know I'm a bit OCD and I'm working on it. But truthfully, I have a hard time remembering that not everyone in the world is crazy or out to do something bad. I need to remember that "There Is Good In The World". And, that I need to "Be The Good". 
When I first came across this phrase I fell in love with it. I now have it hanging up in my home. Maybe, fingers crossed, it will help me.




Stacie & Jonna's 4th Annual Craft Weekend

It's time to Craft!
Friday, October 18 from 6 to 9
or
Saturday, October 19 from 10 to 1
It's been awhile and I'm super excited to get together again!!! Check out the pictures below and sign up as soon as possible. 

Craft #1 contact Stacie ~
Craft #2 contact Stacie ~
Craft #3 contact Stacie ~
 Craft #4 contact Jonna ~
 Craft #5 contact Jonna ~




A Little State Lovin'

Our daughter's BFF is leaving this week on a mission to Minnesota for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 
I can't believe these little girlie have grown into beautiful women so quickly. One married and one on a mission! So proud of both of them. 



The Announcements

2013 has been CRAZY! Six months into it and The Hubby & I have managed to marry off both of our kiddos! Yep, 43 and BAM, BAM, empty nesters! 
With our son not only did we get an amazing daughter-in-law, we became instant grandparents to the greatest little guy around.
                         
The day after The Boy's wedding our daughter and her honey announced their engagement! I hadn't even began putting away the stuff from the 1st party before we started planning the 2nd!
Now we have a ginger in our family! From a family of 4 to a family of 7! Whoot whoot!




Personal Progress Passport

A new year means it's time for New Beginnings!
Heather, a cute gal in my ward, was preparing a talk for the young women and asked if I could help her with something. She wanted to create a Personal Progress Passport. Here's what she gave me to start with:
And this is the finished product: 
The young women came up and "stamped" a temple in each spot as she taught them about the value. Super cute idea! Thanks for letting me help out, I love the Young Women's program.





N + J = Love

Let me introduced you to my son and his beautiful wife!
The last few months have been a whirlwind of wedding bliss! 
As I unpack and unwind I'll be posting tons of pics from that amazing day.