Both Ali and Joey have someone that they are interested in dating.  Both are really pretty girls and they seem nice.  Actually I know the girl Ali likes, they were in classes together all through school.  Joey's seems like a sweetheart too and just asked him to twirp.

After craft fair prep threw up in my room, I was able to get some of it cleaned up today.

I was sustained yesterday to my callings. 

I really love our ward.

I saw a fox the other day while on a drive with Shon, and today I saw two pheasants and several beautiful hawks.  I love how pretty it is here. 

The leaves looked like bits of gold falling and swooping today.  It made my heart happy.

Finally some of my crafting groove is coming back.  I don't know why it was so hard to get it going.  Fear maybe?

Shon cleaned out the dutch oven that he used at the rendezvous.  It was gross and I was not going to touch it. 

Wonderful time on my trip to Kalispell with Joey and Lissie.   Tired, but it was a lot of fun. 

I love to look at Alex's photos.  He has a wonderful eye for beauty.  I looked at the one of leaves and berries and know that I need to print it out because  it reminds me of Heavenly Father's love for us.  Our world feeds our souls as well as provides for our bodies.

I received a new calling today.  :)

Shon and Toby had a good time at their rendezvous.

Some pictures hung, more to go, some of this is very challenging, love all of the windows, however that combined with the angles makes it crazy hard.

Shon and Lissie got home safe.

Had a call from Wendi and a good long gab catching up.

Going to bed early.

Friends from Billings and Idaho coming for lunch tomorrow after church.  Will be a lot of fun.

Love being able to record stuff on cable so that I can watch it later. 

Think it is strange how my family will carry on a conversation while one of them is in the bathroom, but if I look on the bright side I can realize that at least they talk to each other.  :)

Going to Joey's x-country dinner with him.

Seeing Lil yesterday and having dinner with her.

My very comfortable bed. 

Not having to get up early tomorrow.

My kids are old enough that after family prayer I can just go to bed like the old lady that I am.  :)

Trading cards for the swap done. Spent time with Lissie while doing it.
Upstairs bathroom decorated and jewelery unpacked.
Visited with Toby while putting things away.
Went for a short drive with Joey and we enjoyed being with each other.
Inventory done.
Texted with Ali.
Enjoyed listening to Joey sing downstairs while he cleaned the bathroom.
Busy good day and now I am tired.

I found the van keys after looking for a very long time!  I was beginning to think it would  never happen. 

Spent the evening making ATC trading cards with my cute girl.  Love hanging out with her. 

The kids have four days off of school.  I love having them home, love that we don't have to get up for seminary. 

Ice in my water, ice in my juice, ice in my soda....glad I don't live in Europe.  :)

Bleh...inventory.  Bleh, Bleh Bleh.  On the bright side, I am getting close to the end.  Yay.

Liss and Joey are doing a comic duet for drama together.  It should be fun, they play off of each other so well. 

Wonderful rain, on our parched valley.  The colors are gorgeous and we can see the mountains again.  Yay!

Had a prayer answered in a very obvious way today, it was a great faith builder for Lissie and Joey to witness.

Shon is on his way home. 

Shon and Joey made it home safely and the tow truck cost much less than I feared.

A successful scout training done yesterday, one more thing off the list for now.

My house is starting to look like a home as I edit belongings and can finally start to decorate.

Lissie hung out with friends this weekend and had a great time.  She usually doesn't like to do anything with people on the weekends, so this was progress!  

For some reason I have been really restless today.  I think it is because I have a lot of scout paperwork to do and I don't want to do any of it.  I am sort of "scouted out" at the moment.  It won't last long, but I just want to be getting my house in order and not doing scoutwork for just a little while. 

We have a scout training tomorrow.  I need to be preparing for it, but instead, I have the concentration of a butterfly.  I luckily have taught it before, but it has been a while, so I really need to review.  I think I will go to bed early and then review early tomorrow morning. 

I was able to get some more things put away today, our "Harry Potter" closet has shelves, so I put all of our church books and our scout books that we use to teach on them.  It will be nice to have them close by for easy access.  A couple more boxes down....yay!

I love our little house, but it is lacking in daily storage, we have great attic spaces, but not for pantry items or things I use often but not daily like my crock pot.  I don't have a lot of counter space either so I have had to be creative in where I store things.  I can honestly say I have never stored my crock pot and sandwich maker in the bathroom before.  lol.  However, the downstairs bathroom has massive "cupboarded" storage space so it worked out perfectly.  No food in there though...that would just be icky. 

Somethings aren't fun, but getting them done gives you a sense of accomplishment.

I am glad that my kids do their own laundry now.  I wish they would fold it, but I will pick my battles.  Even if I fold it, it ends up in a heap in the drawer.

Shon loves his little bat cave.  I love that he has it.  :)

Spoke to my mama today.

I love my friendship with my sister. 

Hamilton is such a friendly area.  It is nice to get a little interaction when you go to the store.  My friends in Billings all worry about whether I am lonely.  It is strange, I have only felt it one evening...it surprised be because I am so happy being alone.  I don't think I am ever bored.

I love having Shon work from home.  It is the best of both worlds, he is nearby, so we can have lunch together or visit, but his office is next to our house not in it.  That means I can still putter and get things done faster than when he is in the house.  I wonder why that is?  Several of my friends find that too. 

I love the color turquoise and all of it's shades.

I love to embroider and it makes me think of my Nan.  She taught me when I was really young...I don't remember when exactly but I know I was under 7.  I don't think that I would have that much patience.  She then saved my very first project and sewed it into a pillow for my 16th birthday.  I still have it. 

I love all of the embroidery floss colours.  DMC has the greatest variegated flosses.  Embroidering makes me feel as if I am drawing with thread and needle. 

I love to make things.  I makes my soul feel fuller. 

I found an old crewel work kit at goodwill that had never been opened.  It had the clock frame, mechanisms, hands, frame and wools...all for 5.50.  It gets better...it was on sale for 1/2 off!  I am embroidering it now, using threads instead of yarn.  It is so pretty and funky.  I also painted the frame.  It will be the perfect clock for my little office area.  I found it on ebay...it is such a happy clock.  On ebay it sold for 16. and change and then 10 more for shipping...man I LOVE a good deal!

Fake baked donuts for family home evening...they were really good, simple and the kids and I had fun making them. We then watched Studio C on the BYU channel.  We really cracked up at it and decided that it is now part of our Mondays.  Clean and funny...win, win.

Was able to get the remake of my file cabinet done, and now I can finally get my paperwork put away.  I love the challenge of taking something...ordinary and functional and making it unique and functional.

Boo...hiss...we are filling up with smoke in the valley again...luckily we have the memory of how gorgeous it really is, and can look forward to rain next week. 

I'm so glad for GC it is really reassuring to be able to have guidance in our lives. Really glad that it is online so quickly and that we can download it.  It is amazing really.  I am also glad that we have the BYU channel now.

Shon stopped throwing up.   I am glad that I was the one who was pregnant instead of him, he is the LOUDEST "thrower-upper" I have ever heard.  I would have killed him if I had to listen to that for 9 months...I never said that I was Florence Nightingale.  I am also glad for him.  He was so miserable last night.

Several steps closer to getting things put away...tomorrow I hang pictures!

Glad that Shon made it home safely. 
Glad that we had a beautiful fall day instead of snow like Billings.
Glad to listen to conference talks.
They lowered the age for missionaries...that means Ali is eligible to go now...he is excited, I am for him, but also it is strange, I thought I had until May to get used to it.  I wonder where he will be sent.

I'm glad I had my Nan in my life.

Worked on putting the sun porch to rights.  I feel as if I am chipping away at an iceberg, however, I am slowly making progress.

Ideas are coming together for the craft bazaar. 

Beautiful clear air, so clear that even though it was a little chilly, I was able to leave the the windows open and blow the stale air out. 

Shon and I went to breakfast together and ran a few errands.  I really enjoy my kids, but I also enjoy the stage that we are at right now, and the freedom that brings.

We looked at houses in the older part of town.  They are so cute, as we drove home, the trees looked like they were on covered in jewels.  The sunlight filtered through and it was stunning.

After cleaning throw up off of walls, the floor, door knob, the computer chair and a clown wig (correction, threw away the wig lol) I am so very grateful that Toby is not a toddler.  Usually he makes it to the bathroom, but this was just like when the kids were little.  What a way to start the day at 4:30 in the morning.

Luckily, he didn't throw up again today so hopefully he is on the mend. 

One day closer to the elections so that all of the BS can end.

Apple festival this weekend, I am excited to go to it.  I LOVE apples.  :)

Our weather dropped and I am writing this in bed, with my feet on a heating pad and a pretty shawl around my shoulders.  I sound like I am 90, but I am warm and cozy in my cute room.

A laptop so that I can write this in bed

Finally figured out a curtain idea for the kitchen.

Found yellow gingham for just a tiny touch.

Spend the day wandering craft stores after dropping Ali off at the bus.

Hugs from my kids.

Shon

So sad that my Nan is dying.  But I was lucky enough to catch her in a short lucid moment tonight to tell her that I love her, and she said it back.  It makes my heart hurt to hear this bright vibrant sassy woman barely able to speak, and so weak.  I hope that she is able to just slip away in her sleep.  She has always been so independent and I know that she would be mortified is she knew what was going on with her body.  I am glad that my mom was able to go down.  I am glad that I made it a point to call her so often and I am glad that she and my dad made peace. 

Bummed  that Ali is leaving tomorrow, but happy that he has a job interview...hoping that it pans out for him.

Happy that I found a bus ticket for a good deal so that I am not driving him round trip.

Glad he will be able to take his driving test in Billings because we couldn't get him on the schedule for here, Stevi or Missoula for another two weeks.

More boxes put away.

Lissie loves her drama team.

A wonderful find for 10 dollars at the thrift store, a set of 18 Griffith milk glass spice jars....My tin lids are worn and I love it, I have the original stand too. From what I read, Griffith made them from 1939 through the 1950's



The labels on mine are not stickers, they look like this



Mine are a set of 18 and I LOVE them!

I also found a large 18 inch wooden spool like this for 2.00.  Someone had wrapped green yarn around it and tied a plaid strip of cloth and a tin star.  None of it glued hallelujah.  I actually like the tin star too, just not on that. 




Hugs from Toby.

The amount of appreciation we have for some sunshine and a little bit of blue sky.  Even though it is still smokey, it seems so clear to us after not even being able to see across the street.

Teaching my primary class today.  I am so thankful that I have taught kids for many years and that I understand that the lesson comes through me not because of me.  I found out yesterday evening that I needed to teach.  Experience goes a long way to controlling nerves.  I like our kids, they aren't very reverent, but they are good hearted and very smart.

The cows are being really loud for some reason today, it makes me laugh. 

My kindle, oh how I love my kindle.

The sacrament songs today were I Stand All Amazed and I Believe in Christ, both if which were sung at my baptism. 

Toby passed the sacrament today.  Four priesthood holders. 

Having the BYU channel and being able to watch the RS broadcast this afternoon.  The music was so beautiful it stunned me.

Having the internet to help prepare lessons for church.

The opportunity to teach primary.

Decoupage and vintage maps

$2 a bag book sales (source of the maps)

A comfort level teaching so that I don't freak out anymore when I find out at 7:30 the night before that I need to teach primary.

We had blue sky today...BLUE!!!!!!!!

Going to the Farmer's market with Shon this morning.

Twice baked potatoes with sun dried tomatoes and bacon.  Yum.

Having kids old enough to like cooking.

My landlord coming and cleaning my kitchen floor on his day off.

Ice water.  Ice cubes...

It rained just a little tonight.  Just a little, but it was wet, and it smelled good.

My mattress.  For the first time in our entire marriage, we have a new bed and it is heavenly.

Ick, no Mother Teresa here, I have sickos in the house, Shon and Alex coughing all over the place.  Uhm, cover your mouth please...so my gratitude thought is that I love whoever came up with disinfectant. 

Toby should be able to go back to school tomorrow.

Our dinner of fresh corn, and roasted root veggies with crumbled bacon.  Dessert was an apple.  Yum.

Pipes are fixed!!!!!! (fingers crossed) Four loads (many more to go) of laundry run through.  Yay. 

The decision to have the kids wash their own clothes.  I still check to make sure that they are putting them away properly.  Today I taught Toby how to do his own laundry.  Sorting, checking pockets, how to set the machines, proper amount of soap...the whole shebang.  :)

Internet. 

My MIL who listens impartially and either lets me know I am being a brat or Shon is, she doesn't show favouritism.  I appreciate being able to vent and then move on with life.

Friends of the Library book sales.  Found some great maps from the 40's-60's.  Awesome graphics, totally free.  We also found some fun books. 

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant,
To enact gratitude is generous and noble,                                                                        But to live gratitude is to touch heaven.                                                                               
~JA Gaertner
 

Good thought to try to live by.  My mom always encouraged us to remember that everything good comes from God. I think that giving thanks to Heavenly Father should be as natural as breathing.

Things I am grateful for today?
*The beauty of the shell I was looking at this afternoon.
*Fun with Joan this morning.
*Going to lunch with my husband.
*Being able to go online everyday now.
*Having a peaceful afternoon \putting items away and decorating my house.

So very happy to spend time with Wayne and Joan!  We have missed them so very much.  We loved living by them and although we are happy for Amy and Colett, we wish they lived here. 

Trawling through antique stores and craft stores with Joan. 

Laughing at the scary garage sale we stopped at.

Introducing Joan to the Treasure Chest store which reminded both of us of Zims. 

Seeing Shon and Wayne together.  Shon misses his dad so much it hurts.

My great kids who can be glad that I got to go with Joan all day, and that Shon was able to fish with Wayne all day.  They didn't once complain that they didn't go and were just happy for us. 

Smoke

Sometimes the smoke gets in your eyes....I remember hearing that song when I was younger.  With all of the fires surrounding us, the smoke in my eyes is a constant reminder of how grateful I am that even though the fires are only a few miles away, that we haven't had to evacuate.

Our quirky little farmhouse.  I love it.  It has it's moods and I would love to know how old it is.  The plumbing is strange, old clay pipes.  Because of this, tree roots have grown in and they are replacing some of the pipes in the ground.

I am so glad that we are renting and that we don't have to pay for those pipes. 

Shon's strange little office.  It makes me claustrophobic, but he loves small spaces, and it does have a charm of it's own.  It is kind of like a bat cave and a tree house all in one. 

The kids take a bus home....Hallelujah!  It was funny, they have images on the bus's here instead of numbers, so my instructions to Lissie were, take the penguin shuttle from the high school to the middle school where you and Toby will take the pig bus.  The look on her face was priceless.  With a raised eyebrow she replied, "let me get this straight, I need a penguin to take me to a pig to get home? I guess we do live in the country now." 

I love, love, love Hamilton, smoke and all.