in the midst of all the turmoil and strife in the world right now, i find great comfort in the company of my family and friends. we are living through some pretty tough times. but you know what i think?

i think we are going to make it.

no, really. we will hopefully be better people for having experienced this refining process. i mean, aren't we all just diamonds in the rough anyway? they say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. i say when the going gets tough,

eat more chocolate!

and read more books...good books. and play with your children more. and laugh more. and drink more

dr. pepper!

we have decided to have a homemade christmas. with limited funds, we don't have a lot of choice anyway...but to look at it as a conscious choice makes it seem more fun! i am excited! i had to wipe the dust off my sewing machine, but i am loving it! i didn't realize how much i missed sewing. and the kids are really catching the spirit and getting excited too. yea! we have fun designing and creating and cutting and chatting together. sometimes we watch a movie while we cut or stuff or iron. it's great!

maybe we have started a

new family tradition...

and in that same vein...when i get my gifts finished, i will start working on my etsy inventory. that's right...

i have an etsy!!! i feel so grown up. i can't wait to get some inventory made and photographed and put up for the world to see. you can check it out at

shabbytrunk.etsy.com.

please keep in mind that there is nothing there yet, so come back from time to time to see what's new. i hope to have quilts, aprons, children's clothing, purses, children's "church toys" (you know...the kind that are quiet) and maybe even some scrapbook projects.

happy holidays to you all!

c'est tout bien...

it's a boy!

we are now the proud

grandparents of three

beautiful little angels...two girls and a boy.

i was lucky enough to fly to utah thursday night to be here

when laura and blue had their second baby.

little ryder was born friday, right after noon...19"...7 lb, 2 oz.

the doctor was only here for maybe 10 minutes!

the baby was already crowning and it only took

one push to get him here.

then he proceeded to pee on the doctor twice

and on phil once! good one simba!

cambria loves her new little brother...calls him "mine".

loves to kiss him and pet his hair.

what a terrific big sister she will be.

we are getting tired of our long commute

and want to move back to mesa...closer to

everyone and everything we love!

plus, why are we paying twice as much

for rent as we could be paying to own our own home?

so when i get back, i will start trying

to get a loan and find us a house to buy.

wish me luck. life is great!

vita bella!

we are getting ready for

cody and krystal's wedding...

just two weeks from today!

yikes!

now that we live in b-bfe

( beyond-beyond freakin' egypt),

saturdays are the only day for running errands...

and that just doesn't give us much time

most of the time.

we are happy to have krystal

joining our dysfunctional family

...she's great.

all of our sons and daughters-in-law are great!

we love them all so much!

they have each been such a great "other half"

to our own children, that we just feel like

they have been ours all along!

wish us luck.

welcome to the family krystal!

i am actually feeling a little betrayed at the moment. for the past number of years, i have been hearing all the hype about the play"wicked". i even started getting hyped myself and had hoped to someday go see it. can i now say that i am SO glad i never wasted my time or money on such trash! people who's opinion i trusted, i now question.
to clarify...i had bought the book several months ago, but forgot i had it. then when we moved, i came across it. so when i needed some fun reading the other day, i took it off the shelf and started to read. i was never made to care about a single character and i was completely offended at the crudeness and vulgarity of the author. but i told myself, "there must be SOME redeeming quality to the story, because SO many people love it SO much" so i forced myself to keep reading...you know, give it a fair chance. but after 4 chapters, i was SO offended and SO disappointed, i put the book down and swore to never pick it up again! i had not found ONE redeeming quality or reason to spend precious time on one more page.
in those 4 chapters, we have drug addiction, adultry, promiscuity, vulgarity, cannibalism, to name a few.
the green baby has to have her mouth taped shut so that she doesn't eat herself or anyone else. her mother is afraid to nurse her, because she is afraid the baby will bite her "ti*s" off. the mother is a drug addict who has sex with every traveling salesman that comes along, because her husband is a soft, boring man who is "unimaginative" in bed. the mother doesn't even know for sure who the father of the green baby is, and her own nanny tells her that she noticed how many times a day she changed her "perfumed underwear" when she was a teenager to try and hide the fact that she was sleeping with all the boys in the neighborhood.
the father/husband is beat up and poops on himself and doesn't even get to clean himself until the next day. the midwives try to decide the best way to murder the newborn green baby. the mother is jealous of the green 2-year-old, because she is crawling around between the legs of a traveling salesman and that's what SHE would like to be doing...so ten minutes later, she is doing a WHOLE lot more than that! later, the green 2-year-old pees on the floor and then proceeds to bend down and smell her own urine.
phew!! should i go on, or do you get the picture? i mean, seriously...who writes this crap? and why would all my friends tell me how wonderful it is? i can honestly say that i was MORE OFFENDED by those 4 chapters, than by ANY of the R-rated movies i own!!
in fairness, maybe this garbage is left out of the play...but then what does that leave? i guess i will never know. so if you, like me, have not seen the play or read the book, at least you have been warned! i will not be the one you blame...that honor can go to someone else.
and next time i want a good book to read...nora roberts, nicholas sparks, or david gemmel, here i come! the rest of you can have gregory maguire all to yourselves. i have no use for him...

well, we did it.

we got evicted (landlord lost the house), found a house, moved, unpacked, put up the christmas tree, and enjoyed a wonderful christmas day

with family and loved ones.

we now live in queen creek...halfway to florence! lots of car time, but otherwise, nearly perfect.

we have plenty of room for all the kids and all our crap!

we dug through boxes that had been in the attic for 10 years!

no joke! and i would think, "heck, if i haven't needed this thing in ten years do i really need it now?" so much dust and mouse pee mixed with the memories. but we took a bunch of it to the dump, and a bunch of it to DI, and are trying to find a home for the rest. not a lot of storage in the new house,

but are managing...one box at a time!

laura and blue are here and we are loving the chance to bond with cami.

what a treat to have her in living color!

we were awakened this morning by another frantic call from krystal,

our almost daughter-in-law. these 6:oo phone calls are never good

and really need to stop!

anyway...cody and his friend were on their way to go snowboarding and hit a slick spot in the road. cody over corrected and ended up rolling his truck! the truck was totaled. daniel was fine. cody was taken by ambulance (he refused to get in a helicopter!) to scottsdale-osborn hospital to be treated for head trauma. his cat scans were clear and they stitched him back together.

we had a family prayer and grabbed the consecrated oil,

before heading to the hospital. but by the time we got there, he was getting dressed (in borrowed clothes, because they had literally cut his off of him!) and being released. he will be sore for a few days and have some funky scars to tell his grandkids about, but otherwise, he is fine.

in fact, he is in the family room playing rockband!

i am grateful for the priesthood and the power of prayer.

i am grateful for family and friends.

i am grateful that we are able to provide for our family.

i love the gospel of jesus christ.

i love the whole freakin' world (well, almost).

i hope you all had a fabulous christmas!

life is good!

I am: embarrassed about my weight
I want: to build my house
I have: been to italy!
I dislike: pickles, onions and mustard
I miss: playing games with the blues
I fear: i will NEVER get to build my house and live ANYWHERE but where i live now
I feel: worried about the future
I hear: clark kent TOTALLY making out with some chick
I smell: bbq meatballs
I crave: to eat anything i want and still be a size 6
I cry: all the time...i'm a total boob!
I usually: get out of bed when the alarm goes off and then lay down on the couch for another 30 minutes!
I regret: letting my big mouth get me into trouble
I search: for time to do all the fun things i WANT and still get done all the things i MUST
I wonder: if good people will vote and make sure the best man wins
I love: my car!
I care: what my house looks like (cute, clean, tidy...)
I always: eat chocolate while i scrapbook/design/create
I worry: my husband will die before he builds me my house!
I am not: skinny
I remember: losing the spelling bee in 6th grade...i will NEVER mispell the word "restaurant"!
I believe: you should always tell the people you love that you love them...don't assume they know!
I dance: by myself, because my husband won't dance with me
I sing: whenever i feel like it! singing is a soul's greatest expression...don't even think about telling me to stop!
I don't always: like obeying the rules...if it is a stupid rule, i WILL find a way to bend it...not break it, just tweak it a little!
I argue: often...but i CAN/DO admit when i am wrong
I write: in print and usually all lower case...i don't like my handwriting much and my cursive is even worse!
I win: when my kids feel safe enough to talk to me about their hopes, fears, accomplishments, dreams...
I lose: too much time playing spider instead of doing "more important" things
I wish: i was decorating my new house
I listen: to many kinds of music...especially songs you can sing along with
I don't understand: how the government can ask the working class poor to pay for the greed of the spoiled middle class...they made their beds, now let them sleep in them!
I can usually be found: reading, watching a movie, scrapbooking, or folding laundry
I watch: movies that make me laugh or make me cry...and if they are really good, i watch them over and over
I need: to have more confidence in my own creative ideas and not rely on others so much
I forget: to be grateful for what i DO have, instead of worrying about what i don't have
I am happy: to be going on my first business trip! i feel like such a grown-up!!!

there you have it...a little more than you probably wanted to know!
i tag: jenn, julie, amy t

driving home today,

i was listening to the "mamma mia" soundtrack...again!

the song "slipping through my fingers" came on.

as usual, it had me in tears.

when i hear it, i think of

my three beautiful daughters.

the times we have shared.

the laughter. the tears.

the good times and the bad.

they are truly three of my best friends. but this song makes me realize that i could have been

so much better as a mother. i should have done so much more

with them when there was plenty of time to do it.

now i see the future closing in and i have to admit that before long,

they will all be grown and gone and living on their own.

they will be wives and mothers and i will no longer be the center of their lives.

two of them are already married

and one of them is already a mother.

so i am even closer to being the only girl in the house than i care to admit.

but my intent is not to whine or seem entirely morose.

my intention for posting this is to

remind the rest of you

to make the most of every single minute you have your children near you. don't wait for "later"...it comes far too quickly.

and then "later" becomes "too late".

children are so precious, and once they grow,

they are grown ups forever after.

so love them. play with them.

read to them.

take them all the places you dream of going.

hug them. kiss them.

and never, ever "send" them to bed...

always tuck them in.

and always tell them you love them!!!

sarah, laura, jessica...i love you!

ps...you can hear this song by choosing it

from my playlist to the left!

or here are the words:

schoolbag in hand
she leaves home in the early morning
waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
i watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
and i have to sit down for a while

the feeling that i'm losing her forever
and without really entering her world
i'm glad whenever i can share her laughter
that funny little girl

slipping through my fingers all the time
i try to capture every minute
the feeling in it
slipping through my fingers all the time
do i really see what's in her mind
each time i think i'm close to knowing
she keeps on growing
slipping through my fingers all the time

sleep in our eyes
her and me at the breakfast table
barely awake, i let precious time go by
then when she's gone
there's that odd melancholy feeling
and a sense of guilt i can't deny

what happened to those wonderful adventures
the places i had planned for us to go
well, some of them we did
but most we didn't
and why i just don't know

slipping through my fingers all the time
sometimes i wish that i could freeze the picture
and save it from the funny tricks of time
slipping through my fingers all the time

it's that time again!
shabby scrappin

is

tues, august 5

at 6:00 pm.

here is a sneak peek at the

project...an altered composition

book/day planner.

hurry...sign up today!

last chance!

okay...here they are...the much

anticipated pics of this month's

shabby scrappin'!

do i have your attention yet?

these are just a few of the pages,

meant to tease and tempt even

the strongest of scrappers!

if you want in, call

scrapbooks,etc at 854-2303

and sign up today!

hope to see you there!

listen up all you scrapbookin' junkies!

on friday, july 11, i will be teaching at scrapbooks,etc.

this month's project is

a very cute, tim holtz inspired,

travel-themed mini album.

cost of the class is a meazly $25!!

if you aren't familiar with tim holtz

and his amazing products and ideas,

click on his website link in my favorites list

for a peek into his amazing world!

and keep checking back...i have a few

pictures of the project,

which are totally meant to tease you

and make you want to come to class with me!!

(i just have to have a little help getting them

off the camera

and onto this darn blog thingy.)

'til then...have a great day and

take care of you!

well...richard and austin are at scout camp, cody is at the mall, sarah is talking on the phone, and jessica is babysitting. so...
i finally get a turn on the computer!!

i should totally be printing teasers for my june class, but i can't resist the opportunity to sneak a blog peek.


yesterday, sarah and i both had the day off, so we spent the afternoon at my brother reed's, with a bunch of the family, eating and playing games. then we picked up jessica (she had been quadding with her friend), and headed for the movies. we saw "ironman". terrific movie, by the way. and i must take this opportunity to say that

robert downey jr is STILL freakin' hot!!

then we headed to mervyn's to take advantage of their memorial day sale...all swimwear 55% off, with an additional 15% off if you used your mervyn's charge card. hey, i can do that!! so, at 70% off, we saved WAY more than we spent! then we made a stop at chicago grill for a bite of dinner. then it was home to watch a dvd...first one since the big tv died in january! richard hooked up sarah's ps3 to the bedroom tv before he left for camp! yeah! we watched "just like heaven". awww!! tear! love that movie. love mark ruffalo.


tonight we are going to drag two card tables into the bedroom and try to scrap while we watch another movie. any suggestions?


while i'm here, i might as well do a
random "tag" thingy.


1. i love photography. wish i could take better pictures. my dream job would be having a studio set up in my garage where i could do photo shoots to my little heart's content.


2. i love chocolate. but not chocolate pudding, and not chocolate ice cream.


3. i love movies. i know what you are thinking...you are thinking, "really? i never would have guessed". i am practically obsessed with them. i live my life in a movie dream world. re-living and quoting scenes from my favorite movies all day long. i think it must mean my own life isn't exciting enough. quite sad actually!


4. i love to read. as i read a good book, i play it out in my head as if i were watching a movie. i know...another shocker...refer to #3.


5. i hate cats. those of you close enough to me will know why i must humbly leave it at that and say no more on the subject!


6. i love my car. it is so stinkin cute and so totally amazing to drive. i can go anywhere and do anything in my car. if i ever have the chance to buy another car, i will buy another trail blazer. it's that good.


7. i fall asleep in church. every week. doesn't matter how much (or how little) sleep i get the night before. it doesn't matter how interesting the talk/lesson is. it's just that when i stop moving, i'm done for. that's it. done. finished. kaput.


8. i like the colors red/black. i like the colors brown/pink. i do NOT care for yellow, or purple, or green, or orange.


9. i love my family. they make me smile. they make me cry. they make me laugh. they make me happy. they make me sad. they make me want to sing. they make me want to scream. i love my family!


so, there you are. i little peek into my head...a pretty scary place to be most of the time!

happy tuesday.

take care of you!

(a movie quote...what movie?)

Here's a little video of Kaiti being herself on Mother's Day! Enjoy!



ok...sorry...it posted twice and i can't get either copy to go away. so just watch one...they are the very same video!

well, we did it!

le jour d'artiste

came off without a hitch.

i want to thank my

three frenchie friends,

carol, tena, and jennifer,

for working so hard and sharing

their creativity with myself and our students.

and, of course, i have to thank all the wonderful women who had enough faith to trust us to lead them on an amazing,

fun, creative journey.

what a terrific bunch of artistes!!

we ate, we laughed, we created,

we ate some more.

and we all went home with great big

smiles on our faces.

if you were not one of the lucky few

who joined us, don't fret...

we will be back again

next year!!

until then...au revoir!!

c'est tout bien!!

i am so excited to announce that i will be involved in a very special

all day event

at scrapbooks,etc.

on saturday, feb 23, carol wingert, tena sprenger, jennifer wagner, and myself, will be teaming up for

"le jour d'artiste".

each of us will teach a 2-2 1/2 hour class, showcasing our individual styles. that means four teachers,

four projects, catered lunch, prizes and tons of fun. you can sign up by calling scrapbooks,etc or by coming down to the store. don't miss this awesome opportunity!

c'est tout bien!

are you sitting down?

i'm b-a-a-a-ck!
i was very busy getting ready for christmas...absolutely love it!!

if money were not an issue (yeah right), i could just keep on buying gifts for everyone. but then, suddenly, it's all over. the tree is down. the lights are put away. the kids have all brought their stockings back. all the good candy is gone! but that's ok. we played games, ate great food, stayed up late, had a good time! it's all good.
since then, life has been pretty much the same old.

i am babysitting cambria tonight while laura works and blue is home sick. we have all been passing around various forms of icky-sicky. hopefully we will ALL be over it soon.
have a great night...drop me a line.

i promise to post again sometime before easter!

i need your help!!
the following movies are missing from our library...if i have loaned them to you and simply don't remember doing so, would you let me know so i can not worry about them. thanks!

because i said so
gone in 60 seconds
last of the mohicans
miracle
national treasure
sahara
the saint
troy

thanks again...signed, feeling a little paranoid

well, we did it! or should i say, laura did it. laura and blue gave birth to a beautiful little girl, tuesday morning. being a homebirth junkie myself, i was ready to be very judgemental of everything and everyone involved in this hospital birth. ya know, i just thought laura knew better than to even consider the hospital thang! so i waited and i watched for them to do anything too intrusive, so i would have an excuse to cause a scene and say, "no way! you are NOT doing that to MY daughter!" but i have to admit, the doctor and staff were so kind and gentle and helpful, that i never had a reason to make a fool of myself. (ok, i know you are thinking, "since when did she need an excuse") and they were so family friendly...jake and tanya even got to bring little kaiti right on in...no questions, no problems! and then daddy (that would be richard) brought panda express for everyone and we had a party right there in the hospital room.
wednesday we got to bring laura and the baby home to our house while blue went to utah for his sister's funeral. a very sad story...go to laura's blog to get more details. we loved hearing little baby noises from the other room! and i must say, it was hard to let them go back home today. but i am glad that their new little family can finally be together and start bonding and growing even more in love with one another!
i am starting to panic that christmas seems to be right around the corner. i have several projects in my head, but i haven't actually started any of them. and frankly, it's getting a little crowded in there! LOL
i wanted to print baby pics tonight and spent two hours looking for them on the laptop...couldn't find them anywhere. so i came to richard's computer for that same reason and ended up blog stalking for another two hours. alas...still no actual photos of grandbaby numero dos. i have the worst luck with anything electronic! don't even get me started on how retarded i am with cell phones! (perhaps that's the secret reason i don't have one, eh?)
i am loving the cooler weather and need to remember to take my jacket with me everywhere i go now. that's right...i get cold very easily! i wear slippers year-round and even have to wear a jacket around my house at least five months out of the year! you'd think with all this padding i would be able to stay warm, but not so.
have a great weekend! keep blogging! and take care of you!

bella...edward...i miss you! j/k

busy prepping for my class at good ol' scrapbooks,etc...that would be friday morning. and then it is scrapfest!

4 more days!

also recovering from yet more dental surgery! ugh!! i am so ready to be done with all of this.

no worries...y'all can go back to what you were doing! i found a copy of eclipse!!! not at borders, not at costco, not at wal-mart, but the last copy at good ol' target. yeah for target! i heart target! woot woot!

i was finally caught up on some other obligations and went on a quest...i did not rest until i found numero trois in the bella/edward drama. can i just say that i am in love! very soon i will re-read the entire trilogy!

we went camping over the labor day long weekend and it was divine. my whole family was there...all my children, their spouses, and even the little grandbebe! she was such a trooper. she loved the fire...couldn't stop staring at it as if she had never seen anything so fascinating in all her short little life...oh wait, she probably hasn't!

we read, played texas hold 'em, jumped on the trampoline, made s'mores, played horseshoes, shot guns, sunbathed, and just had the very best of times! we stayed mostly dry. a wicked storm blew through camp sunday night right after we had all gone to bed. scared the bajeebers out of me! we had to run out in the rain in our jammies to pick up tents and canopies and tie them down, and put out the fire so the sparks didn't burn down what is left of the forest. back in my tent, all i could think was "i hope all my kids are safe and stay dry...and i wonder...is this how edward and bella felt? "

then i turned right around and "left town" for three more days to work at creative escape in phoenix. wow! such a lot of work to pull off something like that, but also so much fun. i was glad to be a part of it. sarah was a volunteer, so i got to spend a little time with her...a very little time. but we were bunk buddies, so at least i got to spoon with her every night! i love going away, but i always love coming back home more!

ok...here is my first official blog picture. my new favorite toy. i got it for christmas and spent several weeks (aka many, many hours) uploading songs for our cruise. by the time we left, i was blissfully enjoying 2652 songs, with only a fraction of my memory actually used. i came home and started compiling a few new playlists and was getting ready to start searching out 100s more songs...then one night i went to sync my dear little ipod with the new enrique cd i had just burned onto itunes. somewhere in the process i was asked by mr. computer if i wanted to change the settings or something and i naively responded "yes". in the blink of an eye, i lost 2000 songs! gone! just like that! hours and hours of my life lost, never to be retrieved again. i seriously didn't know whether to laugh or throw up! i have been told by a few computer geeks that my songs are still there...somewhere...i just have to re-sync. not sure i trust them. i would hate to lose the only 600 songs i have left! one day i will try. what have i got to lose, but another week or so of my life.