Spring is Here! Yes!

I am so happy that Spring is here! We may get a blustery day from winter not wanting to go away and let Spring take its proper place, but I hope not! The weather man said that today was going to be in the low 60's and sunny. It was 65 and gorgeous! The rest of the week it will be rainy and showers, so today was the day to do my projects outside! I worked outside for 4 hours! Woo hoo! :o)

I love Heather. I bought these three plants and in a few years they will be much bigger! I can't plant too much in this area since it's where two cable boxes are located. Originally the developer had three grass looking things growing in there and I never liked them. So out they came!

You can't see in this picture but to the left is a phone cable box. My flowering plum tree is finally beginning to bloom. It's a slow starter. I'm glad because when everyone else's tree are done, mine is taking it's turn for beauty!

This is the 'after' picture. If you look along the fence line it's just dirt. I spent two hours taking out weeds! In the next few pictures following you can see the weeds in the pictures along the fence line. Every Spring I weed and keep it that way until winter. I let my grand kids use this back fence to draw with sidewalk chalk and do whatever art they want!

Our Peach tree is beginning to blossom!

See those weeds along the fence line? Not pretty!

I am blessed to see my neighbor's gorgeous tree from my patio window in the back of the house! Those trees are so gorgeous!

When Kirsten was in her final year of high school in her Life Skills Class they had an art project to do. I cut 150 little pieces of double layered pink tissue paper into squares and twisted them into little blossoms for her tree. We put glue dots on the page and helped her press her flowers on! It was a big hit in the class. Seeing my neighbor's gorgeous flowering plum trees reminds me of Kirsten's beautiful picture!

I love yard figurines and today I pulled them out of the garage from winter storage and put them out. I love them!

I had to replace two of my rose bushes in this spot. I'm not sure what happened but they did not survive the winter like the other two roses bushes did. One is a double flowered orange and the other a single bloom red rose. My other two rose bushes are yellow and pink. I love roses!

I have wanted a bird bath since last summer. I found this one at Walmart. It's made out of concrete so Neil approves of it, of course! I need him to glue (or however he does it) the bowl to the pedestal so it won't accidentally come off if one of my sweet little grand kiddies grab onto it. I also planted some new flowers in my planter. I can't wait to see how much bigger they will be in a month or two!

Angela's baby shower!

Today was Angela's baby shower at her mom's home. The picture below from...
L-R: Jennifer Fox, Angela Guptill (little mommy!), Stephanie Fox and momma Fox, Barbara.
I asked them if they wouldn't mind if I took a family picture of them. I said, 'say baby!' And snapped the picture. It worked! They were all smiling! :o)

This sweet little outfit was made by my dear friend. She made the dress, coat, blanket, slippers and headband in 1 week! She had so much fun crocheting this for Angela! It's gorgeous!

This is Angela opening my friend's gift.

Michelle sent this adorable Sherpa for Angela. It's soooo soft! On Angela's shoulder is a cute pin, "soon-to-be mommy"

This was a crib size quilt I made for Angela. It has cute elephants on one side and flowers on the other. I bought these two incredibly soft stuffed elephants that were pink and so adorable! I also made her a dozen drool bandanna bibs, 6-small and 6-large.

This is the floral side.

Angela reading my card. I had given her a check to pay for a crib mattress. Her parents gave her a matching crib and dresser. We gave her money for the mattress.

Lisa gave her some onsies and made these adorable leggings! I was so glad she made those while she was visiting me. Now I know how to make them!

Lisa also gave Angela some needed personal mommy things which she appreciated getting. :o)

I asked Angela to pose for me so we could see how big she was! Her blouse was so cute! She's such a cute girl and such a sweetheart!

David and Angela's dog Nala is the white chihuahua on the left. Marley is the black chihuahua on the right and is Angela's dad's dog. Bonnie is the terrier in the background and also belongs to Angela's mom. They were not happy about being on the 'outside' looking in!

This is Barbara, Angela's mom holding up a mat for a picture frame. They had us sign our names on the mat. They will put baby Avery's picture in the frame once she makes her appearance!

Bryan, Angela's dad, is making a rocking cradle for baby Avery. It can be on the floor as well as on a rocking stand. It's made of solid oak and is so cute! He hopes to have it finished before baby gets here! It will be her heirloom!

They had yummy food for us to eat. I also brought a platter of strawberries with a fruit dip and a bowl of yummy Snicker salad ( made with cool whip, vanilla pudding, cut up granny apples and snickers). They had a veggie tray and dip, quiche, another fruit bowl and a breakfast casserole made with biscuits and sausages. Yummy food!

Angela was so appreciative of everyone that came and for all the wonderful gifts she received. She got lots of onsies from newborn up to one year, leggings, pants and tops, sleepers, a few dresses, my friend's crocheted dress-coat-blanket-booties-headband, receiving blankets, two quilts, saucer seat, diaper wipes, plenty of rattles and teething toys, Michelle's Sherpa,bottle brush, feeding spoons, snack cups, outlet plug covers, bibs, a baby care kit for brushing teeth and cleaning and trimming baby's fingernails, pacifiers, two baby dishrack baskets (?s) that holds bottle nipples, etc., a few gift cards and only one small package of newborn diapers. I was so surprised she didn't get a lot of disposable diapers. She did get a diaper genie though! Angela said David would be very excited about that gift! We also played 3 games. One game we had a skein of yarn and had to cut off a length that would be what we guessed Angela might be around her tummy. One gal cut a piece the perfect length, it was an exact measurement! Angela told us her total weight gain (with only 6 weeks remaining) is 17 1/2 pounds. We all told her that was excellent! She looks wonderful! She did say that she has not too comfortable these past few nights and is glad she only has 6 weeks left!

Laughter is the best medicine!

This past week Lisa and her three 'lovelies' were visiting us. I drove down and picked them up last Friday and then drove them back home yesterday, Friday. Jordan was on his 'finals madness' week and was able to study without distractions. He passed everything! Congratulations Jordan!!! :o)

A visit would not be complete unless Lisa and I put together a puzzle. This was a mosaic puzzle. The only interlocking pieces were the outer frame. The other pieces were like tiles. It only took us 2 hours to put this together. It had about 400 to 500 pieces. I have to say Lisa did the Lion's share! I was getting Kirsten down for the night.

I took this picture from Lisa's blog. It totally identifies Matilda, a laugh a minute! Matilda is 4 years old and what a silly girl! She has an amazing grasp of the vocabulary world! You would think she was 12! On the ride back home yesterday we were about 45 minutes from their home and Tillie is 'begging' her mom to see a movie. Kids know that if you 'bug' your parents long enough they will cave. Lisa did not cave. She was remained firm! Lisa is addressing the needs of the other two in the back seat. Tillie sighs and says, "Oh man!" in a resigned kind of voice that said, I didn't get my way!

Again, I took this picture from Lisa's blog. I love this picture of LaRue, it captures every ounce of her loveliness and beauty! She is all about being a 'princess'! Everything she colors and imagines it is princess related! She is also miss 'neat and tidy', took after her Grandpa Guptill. She is helpful with her siblings. She loves to 'run'. While their mother was out on a run I had the girls doing exercises indoors. Unfortunately it rained every day and they could not play outside. So while mom was on a run I had them 'running' around my kitchen island, takes in the living and dining room, it's an open area, no doors. She can run like a streak of lightening!

Another picture I took from Lisa's blog. This epitomizes what Adelaide is all about. I call her, 'Miss Busy'. In her latest adventure here she loved to hide wherever she could squeeze into. When our footrest was out and we were sitting on the couches Adelaide would try and squeeze underneath the couch where the footrest popped up. She road her little push car under the table, she hid in the wardrobe cupboard, and into the toy chest cupboard. She is not afraid of the dark. She would open the coat closet and shut herself inside. It's pitch black and she is NOT afraid!

I bought two wooden peg puzzles that have 6 pieces and she had those figured out in a heartbeat! Her mom took both puzzles and mixed the pieces all together and Adelaide had them put together is less than a minute! She is so smart!

When my grandchildren come to visit I have a few basic rules:

-All food and drink remains IN the kitchen, not outside the kitchen.

-No jumping on the bed.

-No standing on, climbing or jumping on the couch or other furniture.

Three simple rules but like all normal children, they need reminders all day long!

I hope when my children and grandchildren visit us they can forgive me for getting after them as I remind them of these simple rules. When my children were growing up I felt like I should be wearing a black and white striped shirt with a whistle hung around my neck. I felt like a full time referee! Well, guess what? My grandchildren are just like their parents when they were their age! If I don't laugh a lot I would probably go nuts. So I hope my children and grandchildren don't think I'm not quite all there in the brain department. Laughter keeps me happy and sane! :o) I do love these little cherubs that come and visit.

If I seemed somewhat distracted this last visit I had a lot on my mind, most especially Kirsten and her latest neurology visit. She is having seizures every other day and we're going to see an epileptic specialist to see what suggestions she has. She has been having seizures 2-3 times a week since Thanksgiving. Now they are every other day and I have to give her Diastat and it's not something I want her to be on all the time. So I hope that appt. comes us very soon.

Confession from an imperfect mother! Did I reallly do that? YES!

Backing up a bit...first things first...
I remember growing up and throughout my adolescent growing up years I would repeat the phrase, "I'll never do that when I'm on my own or have my own household!' Having such an inexperienced and judgemental attitude' I would judge my mother harshly at times. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my mom! She was wonderful! Sometimes she would just do things and out came that phrase of never doing that or being like her.

It's laughable now looking back on it. The funny thing is...I'm so much like my mom! I do some of things I professed I would never do and some things she did that I liked I also do. One day I was thinking about her and asked myself...'Diana, what are some of the things you do that emulate your mother's qualities?' (She is deceased and I do miss her!) I mentally listed them. Did I like my answer? 'YES!' Yes, my mom was an imperfect mother too, but she was doing the best she knew how and was having a human experience like the rest of us.

My confession...Yes, I really did do that! (Would I change some, YES!)
What did I do?
The reason I am writing this post is an answer to myself in response to a recent post I read on my oldest daughter's blog and some traits she has that came from her mom. All of what she said is true, I won't deny it!

Did I get upset over messes when kids were growing up? YES!
Did I ever say, "I HATE MESSES?" YES!
Did I go on tirades about clean rooms, folding the laundry just right, etc? YES!
Was that silly and ridiculous? YES!
When teaching them to drive did I ever get upset if we got lost and say, "I don't want to be here, I want to be over there?" YES!
There are probably 100+ more things I said and did that probably have scarred them for life!

For instance...
My oldest daughter loved this one cat we had and would smuggle the cat into the car or little truck we had. I told her repeatedly, "The next time I find that cat in the car or truck, I'm kicking it out of the car and that's it! Good bye cat!" Well the next time came and 'I let the cat out and never looked back.' Was that awful? YES! (Bad mom!)

Another time, same daughter wanted to take a community class for gymnastic lessons at a local school. Prior to signing up it was conditioned on she and her sister not fighting so much. We are now in the car on the way to the school and they both got into it. I once again warned them about fighting or no gymnastic lessons. Did they stop? No. I drove up through the parking lot and told them to wave as we drove right on by. No lessons. Once again there was to be 'accountability vs. consequences.' There was crying but mean mom did not bend. Was that awful? YES! (Bad mom!)

Self-esteem is such a fragile thing for every individual. As parents we constantly need to nurture it so that our children grow up feeling good about themselves. I would often tell them, 'Be your best self. You are not competing with anyone, just do the best to your own abilities.'
One of my sons when growing up had a struggle with a few subjects in school and get an average grade and beat himself up over it. I would tell him that it was okay because for him it was 'his best.' He did not fail out of school. The sun was still going to rise the next day and he would still be who he was, a great person.

Looking back on those formative years I wish I could do some things differently if I had it to do over. I was OCD about messes and other things. Did I scar them for life over some things? Unfortunately, yes! I will be accountable for that. Looking from a grandparent perspective and watching my grandchildren grow up they are as normal as my kids were growing up and they are doing some of the same things my kids did. I am seeing their growing up years through personal experience and with different eyes. Sometimes my married children share what their kids are going through and sometimes I 'laugh.' I tell them that I am not laughing at them, just with them! Why do I laugh? I see myself years prior and stressing, fretting and going crazy and realize how silly I was! My dear children grew up with their imperfect mother.

Count your blessings! Children are blessings and one day they are gone and grown and on their own. They grow up from being wonderful little people into wonderful big people! Take a hint from an imperfect mother who was having a human experience like the rest of us (and like my dear mother); stop and smell the roses; stop yourself from saying something you'll regret. Sometimes when my children were really testing my patience spontaneously I would just grab them and hug them and tell them 'I love you!' It surprised both of us! It felt better too! I wish I did that more often than scolding them.

In a nutshell....we take the good and the bad from our parent's examples. We sift out the ones we don't want or want to change and accept the ones we like. Don't spend time looking back with regret, improve and move forward! :o)

Cute Bandana Drool Bibs!

Drool Bibs! I thought these were so cute! I saw them on a blog on Julie's blog, that is, on her sidebar. Julie, if you are reading this, I took the liberty of checking out one of your sidebar blogs. I hope that was okay. You make them out of terry cloth and flannel so they absorb baby's drool. The pattern is so simple. You can even reverse the sides! Measure fabric 12x12x17-inches. Sew right sides together, leave a 2-inch seam opening, turn right side out, sew down the edges, add Velcro and you're done! Simple! This size fits a baby up to 4 to 5 months old. You need to enlarge the pattern above that age. Next project is to enlarge the pattern and sew them bigger!

Ashley is going to try these out on Doug, Jr. and get back to me and let me know how they worked. I hope they work great! :o) My model is a small bear. I didn't happen to have any babies close by to model for me. :o)

Valentines - Sweet Memories!

This is what my hubby brought home for Valentines for me! Pretty sweet, huh?! One dozen long stemmed red roses in the vase with the baby's breath and ribbon! I have to say that I was pretty impressed and very HAPPY! Neil doesn't always bring me flowers because of my allergies. These roses do not have any smell, the baby's breath smells like honey suckle. :o)
The card on the left is my card to him and on the right is his card to me. We've had silly cards, serious cards, simple cards but both of these were very nice cards. :o) After 41 years of marriage he still surprises me! ♥


The heart shaped box he gave me about 28 years ago. Yes, I still have it! Why? To remind me that once I did get a box of chocolates, a huge box of chocolates! It has the very faintest scent of chocolate inside. When I am in the store I look at the boxes of chocolates and I have to say, I haven't seen any near as pretty as the one I got long ago! Am I going to keep the roses? Probably not, but at least I have a picture!

One more look at that awesome box!

We are usually practical when it comes to Valentines. I have to say that he always gets dark chocolate kisses from me. I'll have to do better next year! :o)

Who Am I...Martha and Mary

I read this book a few years ago. I like this book . I also like the author, Camille Fronk Olson. I have heard her speak at Women's Conference at BYU-Provo. She is an intelligent and spiritual woman! I like her portrayal of these two beautiful sisters in the scriptures. There is a little of Martha and Mary in all of us. Both sisters had 'chosen that good part'...learning from the Savior and implementing His teaching and example in their lives. Martha found that 'One needful' thing... learning from the Savior. I like the picture on the front of the book with the oil lamp. The wick is trimmed and burning brightly. It has adequate oil. It represents to me our testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the living water that if we partake we will never thirst.

I love the scriptures. I love learning. I am grateful that each day I am given another opportunity to try and be better.
Am I careful and troubled and cumbered by many things?
Greek translation...
Careful-worried, anxious, full of cares.
Troubled-bothered by surrounding circumstances, disturbed about things.
Cumbered-preoccupied, distracted.

Do I take offense easily?
Do I judge others righteously?
Do I freely forgive?

It was good to reread this book again. I will definitely be rereading 'A Heart Like His' and 'Mary, Martha, and Me' (Diana) throughout this year. When I put my name in there it helps me to focus on what I need to be doing. While I am reading other works at the present time, these two books are additional sub manuals while supping from the 'scriptures' which is my main handbook and focus.