I Swear I Didn't Put Them up to This

Christmas Morning

My sweet husband, playing with the toys the boys got from Santa.

Me in my new beanie. It covers my ears! Just what I wanted! And I really need it in this freeeezing weather!

Aubrey with her beautiful blue coat. She loves it, as you can see. It'll keep her warm on those walks to and from school.

We always manage to get a few hugs on Christmas morning! Tyler and Cooper do get along occasionally...

Cowboy Coop in his new John Deere sweatshirt and cowboy hat.

This is my loot. I tried to get everyone to do what Felicia Graves does, and arrange everything for a picture, but I'm the only one who listened to myself. You can see my darling new coat!!! I love it, and it was a huge surprise. The brown dress wasn't as much as a surprise, since I tried it on, but I didn't know which one Brandon would choose! Aubrey gave me those cute kitchen towels, and the Dixie Chicks CD, and I could be wrong, but I think those are my first pair of real snow boots I've gotten in my life. I got to test them out shoveling off our roof Christmas Day.

Cooper's hunting toys... probably the last time we'll see them all in one place.

Tyler staged a rodeo. Very realistic!

Aubrey's favorite ever gift. She loves it so much that I get to hear her freak out every minute that there is a FINGERPRINT on it, and I must take her to the store RIGHT NOW to get a cover!

A Visit From Elva

Today I had a very nice visit, with a lady who I would like to consider my friend. She's the sweetest, littlest old lady you've ever met. She has a beautiful smile, and she uses it a lot! Her eyes twinkle when she smiles, and she laughs easily, but at the same time seems every bit a lady. Her great grandfather built our house, and she wanted to come see what changes had been made since she last saw it... in the 1930s!

We walked around the house, looking at the different rooms, and she told me how some things used to be, and a story or two. She also reminisced about how February's project was making rag strips, and wrapping them into balls. I have a basket with some fake ones that made her think of it. If they didn't have enough of the right color, they would dye some of the rags in big pots on top of the stove.

She is so sweet, that she even brought big marshmallow popcorn candy canes that she had made for my kids. I really hope that I get to know Elva even better! I'm planning on visiting her at her home sometime soon. She has a clock she wants to show me!

Merry CHRISTmas

http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000005834.cfm

All is Well

You will be all thrilled to know that we now have working plumbing. I am praying that it continues to be working plumbing for the rest of my life! We got it fixed Wednesday night, and it felt so amazingly good to wash dishes, laundry, etc. I felt like a new woman!

Yesterday I got to go on a trip with the Honor's Society as a chaperone. Aubrey asked if I could come, and I thought, hey, why not? I have no obligations. :) We had almost 100 kids in 2 buses. We went to the big Salt Lake City and watched a Sea Monster 3D movie at the Clark Planetarium. It was so cool! I kept thinking how much the boys would enjoy it. We will definitely have to take them soon. If you've never been to one, you should. Then they let the kids loose at The Gateway Mall for a couple of hours. I got some Christmas shopping done, but boy, those are some high end stores there! I couldn't believe how expensive everything was! Then we walked around Temple Square, but we had to leave at 6:00, which is the time they have all the lights on. So, the first part of walking around wasn't very exciting, since most of the lights weren't on yet. It was lots of fun, and overall the kids were great (which you would expect from Honor's Society kids), but on the way home it was SO noisy on the bus. There were a few girls that shrieked and screamed like a million times, and I thought my ears would fall off! 3 1/2 hours of that is a lot to take, let me tell you! I was thinking it would be quiet on the way home, since everyone would be sleeping... but no. Not when you get a bus full of 12 year old boys and girls, apparently. It was a long day... from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. I was glad I got to go, though, and it was fun to spend some time with Aubrey.

We Live in the Land of the Poop

We've lived with crap for the last 6 years. We had sewer backup, septic problems, toilet problems, you name it... until we finally paid the $800 to get it fixed. So, we move to a place with city sewer! no basement! and we mistakenly thought we would be free from the crap. But no, the crap followed us. Sunday morning we were greeted with this fun thing, where you flush a toilet and it comes up the tub. So, Brandon called the emergency plumbing service. Would you believe it's WEDNESDAY and he STILL has not been able to get anyone to come help? The plumber is supposed to come out today at 2:00, but he also was supposed to come yesterday and this morning. We couldn't even get ahold of anyone until Tuesday. In this whole town!!! Brandon is considering plumbing as a career, since he obviously would get business. He looked at the snake thingy at Lowe's, and it was $400. We were seriously contemplating just buying it. I have laundry piled up to the sky, and nobody has clothes to wear, and EVERY dish in our house is dirty, and I can't wash them, and we all need baths and showers like you wouldn't believe! We are a STINKY POOPY family in a STINKY POOPY house! I did finally take a bath yesterday, which wouldn't drain for hours, but I had to, or I would die. Right now I could really really use my back yard friend, Annette. She would let me wash all my clothes and take showers... sigh. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

We're Living HGTV

Tonight when I got home, Cooper said, "Mom, you have to look at the paint sample I picked out for my room. It's a neutral." It was so funny to hear that out of the mouth of a 6 year old boy.

In Support of Sister Beck

I wanted to say, that I am a mother who knows, or rather a mother who is striving to know, who wants to know. There are some women who think they know (http://whatwomenknow.org/), but who don't get the big picture, who don't understand how to take some counsel from a servant of God and apply it to their lives.

There is eternal influence and power in motherhood. Of that I have no doubt. I want to thank Julie B. Beck for her braveness, boldness, and for saying what she is inspired to say. Her talk inspires me to be better, instead of making me want to justify the things I'm doing that are not right.

Aubrey Made Curtains!

Aubrey and I sewed her curtains for her bedroom today when she got home from school. She probably did about half of the sewing. It was fun to do all of the designing and sewing together.

Come on in!

Hello! Welcome to our new old house! I know a lot of you have been waiting for a tour, so walk on up this nicely shoveled pathway, and come on in!
The front porch is going to look so cute when we get it decorated for Christmas, and when I get the types of things I want to decorate my porch with. Hopefully we get our Christmas decorations up soon! Let's go into the family room for a minute! One of the older gentlemen in our ward remembers gathering in this bay window in his youth for firesides. Lots of the old folks here remember the "Alta Rust home" well, and have many memories of it. I'm hoping to pick all their brains and find out as much history as I can.This is the other side of the family room, which I guess you could call the music room! If Tyler were here, he'd play you a song or two on the piano.
Come on over and have a seat on our new love seat! Put your feet up and relax for a moment.Can you believe after 13 years of marriage, Brandon and I finally bought a new sofa and love? I know! I can't believe it either! We've appreciated the hand me downs, but it's really fun to have new furniture too... although the kids are making me nuts! Why must they sit on the arms?Our bedroom is right here, off the family room, so you can peek inside if you'd like. That little outfit hanging on the wall is Cooper's blessing outfit. I hung it up for Holly. You would not believe how well my quilt I made goes with this room! It was made for this room, or this room was made for it! The floors are chocolate brown, and the cupboards are brown, red, and cream. It matches so perfectly! I can't wait to get a headboard... another thing we've been waiting 13 years for...Shall we make our way to the dining room? I love the arched doorways! It's so inviting! I am planning on painting the dining room table and getting more chairs, so it won't always look so lonely.I had to show off my wood floors a little bit. I love the color variance, and the old warmth of the wood. There are some very worn spots, but I'm sure you can look past those, like I do. It just adds to the character!Come on into the kitchen! My batteries on the camera were running low, so I didn't get a lot of pictures of it, but you can get a feel anyway.
It's so hard to photograph this kitchen wall, with the bright window and the black walls. I think you might have to come in person to see it.Look over here at this picture... when I put it on the wall, okay, when Brandon put it on the wall, it almost made me like the fake brick. The colors in it just matched so perfectly, and warmed that wall right up.

Oh, there's Aubrey's room... shall we look inside? Aubrey and I bought some fabric to make a valance. It's a darling old-fashioned cream fabric with pink flowers and brown accents. We're going to make it look like it's held up with ribbon and bows. Aubrey is going to do most of the sewing, so we'll post a picture when we're done.

Over here is Aubrey's armoire and desk. We have furniture in front of that door that goes to the boy's room. (On the boy's side too.) If you don't know why, you don't know my kids!

If you need to use the washroom, there is one conveniently located right off the kitchen! ;) It's such a nice cozy bathroom, really! Just make sure you close the door when you're done...

Or, if you'd rather, you can use the other bathroom that is in the hall on the way to the boy's room. This is the bathroom with the shower and the nice lighting, but no outlets. How very convenient!

The boy's room was not ready for a showing today! Just peek at the mess really quick, and leave! We're going to get new carpet in it, hopefully the end of this week. Then I'll get it all cleaned up and give you a tour.

Well, thanks for stopping by! Come again anytime! We would love some company.

Tyler's a Double Digiter!

We celebrated Tyler's 10th birthday this past week. I can't believe he's 10!!! I bought stuff to make him a cake, but the day turned out crazy enough, that we ended up going to the store and picking one out.

He successfully blew out all 10 of his candles, so I guess that means he'll get his wish... He also got a $100 gift certificate to Cabela's, since he wanted hunting and camping gear. He is quickly figuring out that $100 doesn't go all that far! I think he's leaning towards getting some boots right now. He also got a nice shirt, a stencil art book, and some neat little Breyer horses.

It "Never" Snows

We heard from a few people that it never snows here, and when it does, it's only a couple of inches. Well, I guess maybe we brought the snow with us???

I'm not complaining, though. It's beautiful!

I am, however, missing our garage!

Another Advent

Christmas Scripture Advent
On the first day of Christmas we bring this gift to you,
So the true spirit of Christmas can join your family too. Now throughout this holiday season, as the days get hectic and long, Gather together at the end of each day, Share a scripture, story and song. With your hearts and voices joined together, the spirit will ring loud and clear, And we hope that this time spent together Will fill your holidays with cheer!
Dec. 1 Isaiah 7:14 Angels We Have Heard On High
Dec. 2 Isaiah 9:6 Away In A Manger
Dec. 3 Micah 5:2 O Little Town of Bethlehem
Dec. 4 Jeremiah 23:5 O Come All Ye Faithful
Dec. 5 Isaiah 40:1-4 Joy to the World
Dec. 6 Jeremiah 33:14-15 The First Noel
Dec. 7 Isaiah 40:11 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Dec. 8 Psalms 24 Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Dec. 9 Jeremiah 23:6 While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
Dec. 10 Jacob 7:11-12 Far, Far Away On Judea's Plain
Dec. 11 1 Nephi 10:4 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Dec. 12 1 Nephi 13:18 What Child Is This
Dec. 13 1 Nephi 11:20-24 O Holy Night
Dec. 14 1 Nephi 11:27 Who Is The Child
Dec. 15 Helaman 14:3 Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus
Dec. 16 Helaman 14:5-6 I Heard the Bells
Dec. 17 Luke 1:30-31 I Believe in Christ
Dec. 18 3 Nephi 1:13 When Christ Was Born In Bethlehem
Dec. 19 3 Nephi 1:19 Star Bright
Dec. 20 Luke 2:4-7 O Hush Thee My Baby
Dec. 21 Luke 2:8-11 How Great Thou Art
Dec. 22 Luke 2:12-14 We Three Kings of Orient Are
Dec. 23 Matthew 2:1-2 With Wondering Awe
Dec. 24 Mosiah 3:5-8 Silent Night Luke 1:26-38, 46-47 Luke 2:1-20 Matthew 2:1-14

Christmas Advent

Maybe this one will work... I can't get the other one to link right, but for anyone who wanted an idea, and was disappointed about my last failure in linking... here you go!
http://lds.about.com/library/bl/puzzles/christmas_advent_calendar.pdf

Funny Story

A 3~year~old tells all from his mother's restroom stall By Shannon Popkin
My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive~thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just turned 3 ~ year~ old and you never have to ask him to turn up the volume; it's always fully cranked. There have been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not~so~audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to last stall:
'Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toilet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toilet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?'
At this point, I started mentally counting how many women had been in the restroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full. 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity.
Cade continued, 'Mommy, you ARE going stinkies, aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh, Mommy! I'm trying to see in dere. Oh, I see dem! Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You ARE gonna get some candy!'
I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming n ew born when you need one? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, 'Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some.
'No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!' He started to gag at this point. 'Uh oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!
As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: Okay, there are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.
'Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done doing stinkies! Get up! Get up!' He grunted as he tried to pull me.
Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. 'Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at da wady's feet?'
More laughter.
I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. 'Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.' He started pounding on the door. 'Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!'
I saw that my 'wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found, standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, 'Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?' But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, 'I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as 'Mommy' to this little fellow.'
Shannon Popkin is a freelance writer and mother of three. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she no longer uses public rest-rooms with her 3~year~old in tow.

Our House Search Giggles

Looking for a house is quite an experience. I think everyone should do it every once in awhile just for the laughs. We had a realtor take us around to all the houses that weren't for sale by owner. She was a really sweet girl, but it was her first time taking someone around (we got to be the guinea pigs.) It was quite difficult keeping a straight face with her running commentary on the houses. I think we'll have a couple of inside jokes forever from her comments. The first one is the "lino". That must be what the "cool insiders" call linoleum. We probably heard that word 20 times. "And here you've got your new lino in the kitchen." "It looks like this bathroom has lino." Bless her heart, she was trying so hard. One house had cheap hooks along the wall next to the front door. She walks by and says, "Here you've got your BUILT-INS for coats." I had to look away. I didn't want her to see that I was trying so hard not to laugh. She was also impressed with all the "wood floors" that we saw. They were laminate. Everything was "Here you've got your {fill in the blank}." Brandon and I did feel that we might have been able to recognize which rooms were the bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchen without her help, but it's a good thing she was there....just in case.

We also got to see fun things like an entire basement, including a family room, that Brandon had to stand sideways. The ceilings were so short that Brandon told me I actually looked tall! He's never seen me with my head about to brush a ceiling. Another house had so much junk that you seriously couldn't see it. The owner would say "I use this room for storage", and we're thinking, "lady, the whole HOUSE is a storage room!" She had a storage room for formals, props, a "painting room" a "music room".... you could not even walk into these rooms because they were so full of garbage. She said a few times, "I hope my junk isn't scaring you..." Um, yeah, it's scaring me.

We did find a gem... a cabin up a canyon. It was a darling cabin, with balconies and views to die for. We would've bought it for sure, except the price was a wee bit steep. We'll dream about it though... it's been on the market for 2 years, so maybe it will still be there when we're rich!

Home!

This is it! The soon to be home of the Smith Family! These pictures are from the mls photos, so none of it is my stuff. (Although I would like her to leave most of it!)

This is the parlor. It will be the dining room, with my antique hutch. The arched doorway on the right goes into the kitchen.

This is actually kind of a silly picture, because it only shows the owners cute decorations, and not the house. But, it gives you a feel, I guess.

This is the family room. The door you see ahead is the door to the "master suite". I LOVE the wood floors!

This is the family room, with a view of the bay window.

The hot tub alcove. Yes, it comes with a hot tub. We don't quite know what to think about that, but maybe we'll end up loving it. The red door on the left goes into the "master suite". (If you're wondering why I'm putting that in quotation marks, you'll just have to come visit us and see for yourself!)

The "master suite"... that red door is yet ANOTHER door to the outside. It's an old house...remember...quirks?

This is the kitchen. It is actually cuter in real life than it looks here, and you can't see the darling red pantry cupboard next to the fridge.

This will be Aubrey's bedroom. Her bedroom is right off the kitchen, which will work out nicely, since she will be the maid.

Somewhere in the backyard. I can't even explain this back yard to you, but it is so neat!

A front view. It's hard to tell what it looks like with the trees in front of it, but it's darling!

I went down on Friday and Saturday, and we looked at all sorts of houses. A few good, and a lot bad. Really bad. When I saw this house, I was done. I was ready to sign the papers, because I am one of those weird people who loves a house that has been around for over a century. I love a house with history, a house that has seen the world change. I love a house that feels like it loves you as much as you love it. We looked at a few more houses after that, just to be sure, and I tried to keep an open mind, but they really were not any comparison anyway.

There are the few quirks that come along with an old house... one of the bathrooms is off the kitchen, both bathrooms are tiny. I'm not kidding. Tiny. Only one bedroom has a closet. (I'm deciding that is a bonus... I get to go get some darling old fashioned armoires!) There are some other things, but those are probably the biggies. And I need time and room to tell you about the things that I LOVE!

It has a front porch! The kind that you can live on, and put furniture on, and love! The windows are tall with cute simple old trim around them. No more aluminum uglies for me! This house has so much charm, and all of my "antiques" will be right at home here. I'm excited to work WITH a house, instead of against it! The yard is great... even right now when it is definitely past it's summertime glory. There are fruit trees in abundance... cherry, apple, pear, walnut, black walnut, apricot, three kinds of plum, and concord grapes...I think that's all...I might have missed something. It's on 1/2 an acre, and is pretty secluded, which will be nice.

It's in the "city", which is the biggest drawback for Brandon. I would rather it be in the country, for sure, but I grew up a city girl, so I can see the advantages too. We are within walking distance of the temple, church, parks, and close enough to Brandon's work (minutes away) that he can pop home for dinner if he's having a busy day, and still go back to work.

I can't wait for all those I love to come visit us and see our little cottage... but don't be expecting the "guest suite" that we have had. You'll have to sleep on an air mattress in the family room, and use one of our miniature bathrooms! But, you'll feel right at home, we promise!