4th of July

Our 4th of July weekend was VERY HOT and VERY HUMID. We did some yarden work and watched some fireworks on tv but other than that just tried to stay as cool as possible.

Strawberry Jam

A couple of weekends ago we bought 5 lbs of strawberries at Costco. Came home and made some homemade jam. YUMMY!! I gave some jam and a mini loaf of homemade bread to my sisters today for visiting teaching. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do and as much as I enjoyed making it for them.

Happy Gardening Summer

This summer has been awesome for our produce. The cucumbers are HUGE. We made dill pickles this weekend. The tomatoes are so flavorful and gorgeous and HUGE. I planted some potatoes and the plants are green and beautiful. We will see how that goes. The bean plants are HUGE and we have many beans growing. Hopefully I will be able to pick, blanch and freeze for Family Home Evening. Our local grocery store has corn on sale so we bought some blanched it and froze it. It is fun! I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that loves us enough to help us grow and put up our vegetables.

Father's Day

Today is father's day. I just want to express my love and appreciation to my sweetheart for helping me to raise my son and for treating him like his own. Sometimes that wasn't such an easy task. He is patient and kind. Forgiving and forgetful of my errors and many areas that need improvement. He makes me a better person just being with him. I am grateful for him and love that we are sharing our lives together. I feel honored that Heavenly Father let me find him and keep him.





Today, I made him a homemade pizza and some semi homemade brownies (AKA store mix). He has been in his "man cave" watching his sports and relaxing.





I hope this has been a great day for him and that he knows he is loved and appreciated beyond measure.

Home Projects

We have been very busy! Little Dude has been in HI now for 3 years. Hard to believe so we finally painted his room and it is officially called the RUMPUS room. It is called this because it is fun to say and because it is a room that meets many needs. It is a library, sewing room, craft room, scripture study room, service project room, mending room, music room, etc. So it has many facets. It is now painted "Old Rose" with reddish curtains on the windows. We reapholstered the craft drawers and table with some left over material and twin sheets. It looks very nice. There are still a few touch up that need to be done and a few accessories but WOW a fresh coat of paint can make all the difference in the world.

I have never painted a room before and I was quite nervous but my sweetheart and I DID IT!! Now I know I can do it and there is nothing to be afraid of.

How does your yarden grow?

Last year was a bad year for our yarden. This year the weather has been cooler than normal but it has not been quite as flaky. Our garlic harvest was HUGE!! Lots of garlic. It is yummy.... We have already eaten one of our cucumbers FRESH AND DELICIOUS! The beanlings had a rocky start due to snails. We have been on SNAIL hunts this year. I have erradicated many of them and if I see them they get SMASHED. We have resorted to using the snail bait and going for the death trap for these slimy nasty pests. Our strawberries are coming out of hibernation with blooms plenty. The problem with our strawberries is we only seem to get one at a time to ripen. So I guess it will be another year of picking and freezing as we go. Our grape plant is growing again so I hope to see some produce soon. My dad says it may take another year before we get to actually see the results. We bought it as a young plant so it needs time to grow and mature. I pruned the orange tree and we haven't any blooms yet. Guess we have to be patient. The jalepeno peppers are not doing too well. Might need to wait and try again when the sun is more consistent. Our tomatoes are growing and we have some pretty nice green globes outside. They are beginning to get an orangy yellow tinge which means they are starting to turn. YEA!!!! The aloe vera garden is growing and is so nice and beautiful.

So this year 2011 looks like a promising year for our Yarden!

Trials and Tribulations are a BLESSING

I was contemplating the story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus. I thought of how great it would be to be that close to the Savior in mortality. I know we can each know Him and love Him but to be a personal friend during His mortal ministry, WOW!! Then I started thinking of the POWER He has. He could have taken away all of the hurt, pain, despair, etc from all of these friends. He did not do that. Yes, He raised Lazarus but He could have healed Him before the death occurred. It is a gentle reminder to me that He did not take those mortal experiences from His friends because He loved them enough to let them learn and grow from them.

Trials and Tribulations are a BLESSING. They help the person grow and give marvelous service and charity opportunities for us to love and learn through service.