Scott graduates from Preschool

Let's get started already.

I'm ready too! Can I go to preschool?

Okay, I'm here and handsome, what else do you need?

The 10 minutes this graduation has taken has really done me in. Or was it all the dancing and singing?

I'll just take a quick breather.

Now a round of applause, please.

Yes! I've got it.

"I want to be a firefighter when I grow up."

Thanks Mrs. Jenkins. I'll never forget you. You made all this possible.

And thanks to my cheering section (part of them at least).

On to Kindergarten. . .

MaLM - Memorial Day in style

Make a list Monday - Memorial Day
1. Hang flag and flag bunting
2. Eat at neighborhood Memorial Day Breakfast complete with flag raising
3. Find a pink tree (please tell me what this tree is, I need a pink tree)

4. Meet up with family

5. Eat good food (Cafe Rio pork anyone?)
6. Take quick walk ending in a hail storm
7. Delight in a double rainbow (Did you know that Joseph Smith taught that in any year when a rainbow appears, the Second Coming of Christ will not occur? You're safe for 2008.)

8. Have lots of spirited debates
9. Stop debates to play games

10. Pray in gratitude for all those who fought with sword or pen, heart or hand for this great nation of ours.

A spot of sun

Today Scott came inside to ask permission to buy a cookie from the most recent neighborhood stand. (We have A LOT of enterprising young folk around here, including my own.) It was only 5 cents, and I figured that was a good deal.

So off he went, nickel in hand to buy a cookie. Well, it was a fabulous cookie, and he sweetly brought it in to me to share a bite ("a tiny bite"). After a few minutes he returned and asked if he could buy another cookie. As I hesitated, he quickly clarified, "not for me, for someone else."

Just a bit skeptical, I asked "who?"

He just grinned and pointed at me. How could I resist. So I said okay.

A minute later he was back and handed over a big chocolate covered cookie ("with only a few tiny bites out of it"). What a charmer. I love that boy. So I shared a "big" bite with him.

And we were both happy.

Getting dressed

Sometimes getting my kids dressed feels like this.

All right Dawg, check it out.

Check it out baby.
Archie rocks.
I'm sad he lost.
He's got luscious locks.

He should have won,
Simon called a "knockout".
Instead he lost (did I mention that)
what's that all about?

(Sweet rhyming skills,eh?!)

Having never voted EVER, I actually voted for David A. twice Tuesday. I think he is adorable and sweet and so talented. And hey, I wanted the Utah boy to win.

Marshmallow animals

Wouldn't these be cute party favors/table decorations? Instructions and more animals at Kitchen Retro.

6 weeks and cute-ing. . .

My famous hubby

Make sure you check out Music and the Spoken Word this Sunday. Matt and his brother will be on. Well, they posed for a picture that was painted for the "spoken" part by my friend Amy.

Here is the picture. Matt's in the blue shirt. /


And here is the "spoken" part.
Sometimes the most important work we do is never attributed to us, and often it is our anonymous efforts that do the most good. So it was for the unknown authors of folk music. Passed down by oral tradition, their musical treasures ring with authenticity and passion. In many cases, both authorship and origin have been lost to the ages; yet such anonymous songs often have the greatest appeal.

Perhaps because they are not tied to a specific time or person, folk songs express thoughts and feelings that transcend generations, enriching lives for centuries.

One type of folk music is the venerable folk hymn, which was made up of simple, familiar tunes that “everybody could sing and . . . words that spoke from the heart . . . in the language of the common man.” People love this traditional music of the heart because it resounds with their culture, their beliefs, and the feelings they hold most dear.

One scholar has observed that these unknown composers of the past considered their “noble musical heritage” to be “their most loved and treasured possession,” which they reverently laid “on the altar of their worship.” “There is a strong probability,” he says, “that this practice has continued unbroken for at least thirteen centuries.”

We can keep that chain of heartfelt contributions unbroken in our own day. We may not be musicians—we may not even be able to carry much of a tune—but we all have contributions to make. Whether or not we get credit for those offerings is not so important as the fact that we give our best and share our hearts with others.



-- Lloyd D. Newell

I'm in love!

I think I found the blog that I knew and loved in the pre-existence--The Inspired Room.

It is FULL of beautiful and very inspiring rooms, indoor and out. I am in love with it. I might marry it. I will certainly consider a proposal, if it came my way.

Motherhood

"In the sheltered simplicity of the first days after a baby is born, one sees again the magical closed circle, the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other."
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

This is how I feel, and I think my husband and children miss me a bit.

2008 Olympics

I found this link to the 2008 Beijing Olympic mascots. So clever.

You should take a minute to read about them.

Cedar Hills Real Estate

My friend, who's husband owns a mortgage business, told me that Cedar Hills was just tagged as a declining market--an area where prices are on the downward slide. Apparently this means that lenders won't give you mortgage insurance, thus forcing you to put 20% down.

Matt and I want to buy an investment property. We are trying to wait until the market bottoms out so we won't lose any equity. In an effort to do this, I am going to be posting a regular evaluation of what I find on the market in Cedar Hills.

3 bedroom 2 bathroom at least 2500 square feet, 2 car garage single family homes in Cedar Hills:

1.



3 bed 3 bath upper CH, built 2007
3115 sq. ft. (1990 finished)
.07 acres
$260,000 ($83.5/sq. ft.)



2.



3 bed/3 bath upper CH built 2007
3390 sq ft (2042 finished)
.07 acres
$260,000 ($76.7/sq.ft.)
Notes: no yard



3.



4 bed/2.5 bath golf course CH built 2006
3017 sq ft (2148 finished)
.13 acres
$260,000 ($86.2/sq ft)



4.



6bed/3.5 bath lower old CH built 1977
2673 sq ft (all finished)
.23 acres
$275.000 ($102.9/sq ft)



5.


5 bed/3 bath lower CH built 1999
2668 sq ft (all finished)
.15 acres
$284,999 ($106.8/sq ft)



6.



5 bed/2.75 bath my neighborhood CH built 2000
2564 sq ft (all finished)
.22 acres
$322,900 ($125.9/sq ft)



7.


5 bed/3 bath my neighborhood CH built 1998
3079 sq ft (finished)
.29 acres
$365,900 ($118.8/sq ft)

Overall: Utah county 5141 for sale
CH 448 for sale

MaLM - Mother's Day

Make a list Monday - (My) Mother's Day

Things that remind me about my mom

1. begonias
2. Christmas candles
3. bathing a new baby in the kitchen sink
4. new beach towels
5. new kitchen towels
6. lasagna
7. painting a room
8. geraniums
9. beautifully written, yet hard to read to do lists
10. peach-painted fingernails
11. Broadway musicals
12. indoor plants
13. warm chocolate chip cookies
14. people who care for and teach underprivileged kids
15. chocolate always available
16. Keds
17. Eskimo kisses
18. red
19. Rack-o
20. clean sinks
21. early morning walks on the beach
22. Parmesan chicken
23. electric blankets
24. Christmas Eve programs
25. clean sheets
26. house plants
27. Saturday morning chores

What reminds you of your mom?

Sheep

You may not know about my love for sheep, specifically Suffolk sheep, the ones with black legs and face. My grandparents raised sheep and I love them (my grandparents) and I love sheep because of them. I took a lamb (gifted by my grandfather) to the county fair every year since I was 8 or so.

I found this pic of a laundry with pig and cow pictures. I love it. I don't love "country" decorating, but these images in this pretty laundry room looked just right. I'm thinking I need some sheep.

White color

I am always drawn to white interiors with pretty oaks and fresh greenery. In real life, I need more color, but I think the white is so pretty!

I've been crazy enough to set me heart on white sofas. Is this a good idea with 5 children? Even if they have washable slipcovers?

A spot of sun

For over four weeks now I've gotten to know my sweet little Charity. I have found that I sense something in her that I can't put my finger on. I gaze at her face and see someone so clearly that I know, but I can't figure out who it is. I look into her eyes and sense her distinct feelings, her personality, but I can't figure out what it is.

It feels like that perfect word that will perfectly describe your thoughts, but it just will not surface. I think perhaps I know her, just her from sometime before. She is sweet and perfect. I love her!

Sweet prayers

Scott:

"And please bless Mom to be a good mom and to be a good grandma when she grows up."

Happy May Day, My Day

May Day in Utah

My (Wedding) Day 10 wonderful years ago