Free Willy!!

Or, I should say -- free with Willy! Today is the first day of school. So, for the majority of the day, I am a one-child mama! I have really been looking forward to this year. Daniel is in first grade, so no more half-day Kindergarten pick-ups. At least, not until William goes to Kindergarten! :-)

FIRST DAY

Sammi and Daniel were both SO excited, they could hardly stand it! We were all so giggly last night. As we gathered for their Father's blessings -- we had to stop in the middle of Sammi's and take a breather, gain some control, and find reverence. We were all just cracking-up together! It was pretty funny. We did calm down and they had beautiful blessings to start out their school year. :-)

Sammi was super excited. I met her teacher, she seemed super-nice, and perhaps, younger than me! Weird??!!

Daniel was so ready to go. He loves school, and his friends. He is ready for another great year! He was up super-early and dressed and ready before I was even out of my robe!

This is the only picture at school, it was kind of a whirl-wind -- rushing around trying to get things done. I had to stop into the nurses office to make sure Daniel had his allergy equipment and info there -- just in case he runs into a cashew. :-) There is a nut-free lunch table, I told him he can choose where he wants to sit, as long as he does not share ANY food with friends. There are also TONS of kids at the school this year, from church. It was nice to see all the church-mamas there. :-)

Daniel found a good spot in line, next to the cute girl. :-) I am trying to teach Daniel to respect girls, and to protect them. I know he is young, but I want him to be a "guardian of virtue" ;-) That is what our FHE lesson is on tonight -- Virtue.
I went running with just William. The summer was hard for me. I was horribly inconsistent, and I feel it. I was running early in the morning, and then things changed and I started running with the kids -- with Sammi on a bike, and Dan on a scooter. I was pretty good with that, but it was hard, for sure. Just trying to stay with them, and trying to yell commands ahead of me -- it was pretty exhausting. Sometimes they ran over my feet, or I would just run right into them if they stopped. Anyhow, it was SO nice to go at my own pace today, while William enjoyed the ride. I was able to go a lot further -- I am so excited about routine, I do well with routine. I am LOVING the endorphins! Horrible picture taken at my turn-around point. :-)

I found some pictures of Sammi's first day of kindergarten -- my first experience with school. That is Daniel next to her. :-) Oh, the good old days . . .

Daniel didn't want to leave Sammi. :-)

Fun times! I am looking forward to a great school year!

Minimalists -- Beware!!

Don't you just want to go there??

I have a new found love of Victorian Style. It all began with a wing-back chair that Charles picked out from a consignment store. Slowly, I have found that I love this look (and feel). I love to feel like I am in a different time, perhaps chatting with Mr. Darcy. ;-)
Victorian Style is suppose to make minimalists cringe. It is all about extreme color, and pictures, and things everywhere! I thought I was a minimalist -- I was WRONG! I love the character that is forming in my living room. It is beginning to feel like "home".

Here are a few pictures from our home. Mind you, we have MUCH work to do, one piece at a time. Curtains will make all the difference, I think. Anyhow, we are having fun. :-) The TV has got to go though, and it will. It is taking shape. Though you really can't tell from the picture!

I just cannot capture the beauty that I see (and feel). My camera is not letting me! It is really something you have to "feel" The lighting is all wrong, too? And I can only capture one corner at a time!

These are some friends we found left in grandma's house, as we were trying to salvage her things. I LOVE them. After clearing away the inch of dust, they are really beautiful. You can feel the romance between them. :-) They are just dying to get closer.

So here is my beauty. I found this rocking chair of Grandma's covered in dust and a potato sack as the material for the pad. I washed it off, and shined it up with some wood cleaner. With my brilliant mother's help, we found material (my dad picked it out!) and we added padding, recovered it, and it is awesome! (the picture does NOT do it justice!) I had just enough material left over to cover a foot-stool, which was in ill-repair. Pretty good mom? It is nice to have with the rocking chair.
Now, we are not purely going for the Victorian look (I don't think rocking chairs qualify) but more like what my dad calls an "eclectic" look. I think that title fits better, especially since you will find Nat King Cole singing in the background, rather than classical music.

This is our Norman Rockwell hallway. The pictures are called, The Four Seasons. It shows the progression of a couple through the years -- from Youth (Spring) to Old (Winter). I LOVE the pictures, they just make me SMILE! We even got the track lighting (a weird stroke of genius in the middle of the night!) it gives the pictures the attention they deserve. :-)
I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing old things back to life. I have tried to respect what we have of grandma's and we have tried to display her things in a new light, and with life -- I feel she would be pleased. As we have been going through old pictures and learning about family members, I feel as though my ancestors are reaching out to me through the pictures. They were once full of life, and love -- as real as I live now. I love having pictures of my ancestors in my home. It makes me feel alive!

Digitus Reparo

Digitus: Finger Reparo: To renew, or repair

I am not quite as skilled at spells and wand-waving as Hermione Granger -- but I do have some tricks up my sleeve! Or rather, I should say -- in my spice cupboard! I noticed (not too long ago) that Daniel had some weird bumps on his fingers, just above his fingernail. I was not sure what they were, but Charles was pretty sure they were warts. (I am not a wart-expert -- though I do have a great love of frogs!) So, I did a little wart-research on-line, and I found some pictures that matched perfectly. Determined to heal them -- without lasers and pain -- I looked for natural healing options. My first thought was vinegar. I love vinegar. It is such a great tool for healing! So, I did some research (a lot of it!) and I decided to give it a try. So, for the last 2 weeks, I have been putting vinegar (distilled white) and band-aids, twice a day, on Daniel's fingers. Here are the results . . .

Day 1: The untreated warts

Day 3: The vinegar began to work it's magic, basically killing the wart
About a week: They turned black (they were suppose to) a few days later they were deep black and basically turned into a scab that we just peeled right off -- no pain!
Now: All healed!! :-) We must continue with the vinegar for about a week or two longer, so we make sure and kill "the root" of the problem. Sure beats lasers!!

It was such an interesting thing to watch. Warts are caused by a number of things. In Daniel's case, he was a finger-sucker. The constant moisture broke the skin, causing it to crack, and allowed the virus to enter. I hope he has been "cured" from his finger-sucking as well! It sure gave me great satisfaction to help heal my child's wounds. Don't get me wrong, I love doctors!! But I sure enjoyed healing Daniel with $4.00 worth of vinegar and band-aids!! :-) What a thrill!!

No more playing with nasty little frogs!!! ;-) wink!

More Utah

Here are just a few more pictures from our Utah trip (from Ma's camera). . .

Four generations of cute women. ;-) (Nan's the cutest!)
A few of Mom's grandkids

William being cute

Nan at the end of the week, looking a little better. :-)

Mother and Daughter

Grandma enjoying her posterity

Dan loved hanging out at Tom's house

Sammi enjoyed the sunshine

William enjoyed the perfect breeze

Sorry Kevin, but you still look handsome. :-)

Kevin is holding a hummingbird feeder. There were a bunch (6-10 birds) depending on if you ask me, or mom. They were so fun to watch.

Trip Pictures

I just returned from a trip to Utah, with my parents. Charles stayed behind to provide for the family. :-) We went mostly to visit with Nan, who had become very ill a few weeks ago. She was so sick, actually, we were not sure if she was going to return to health. The first day at Nan's she was a little worn out (she had been out of the hospital maybe 2 days). Her face was more pale, and her eyes were more tired, than I have ever seen. But, as the days went on she keep on getting better and better. By the last day, she seemed almost normal-Nan. :-) We are so grateful she is doing so well! She gave us all a pretty good scare.
We also stayed with John and Mindy for part of the week. I don't think I took any pictures of that?! Kevin and Amy were there, too. We stayed up late playing games and having fun!

We managed to get around Utah and see some of the sights . . . (In random order)

Visitor Center, Salt Lake Temple

Thanksgiving Point, Dinosaur Museum.

The kids loved the water/sand display

and Dino toys

William and Ben, playing a little one-on-one.

The kids got to ride in Uncle Tom's toy. :-)

William seemed to enjoy it.

Hanging out at Uncle Tom's

Nan lives under Uncle Tom's house, and he had this flower wall made for her. All of her children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren got to add a flower (she can see it from her bedroom window). This was my contribution . . . :-)

Nan starting feeling better and she got to enjoy being outside. She gave the kids a bunch of "poppers" for entertainment.

Nan is kicking back and relaxing while reading the book of her life (made my Jessi).

This was taken before the trip to Utah. We went on a train ride from Horseshoe Bend. It was a lovely night.

The kids really enjoyed the train

Grandpa was enjoying the swings in Stanley, Idaho

Ahhhh . . . the love birds. :-)

And a random William, just for smiles. :-)

There are more pictures on Grandma's camera that I will post when they return . . .