A Continuation of Things I Love

I love clocks...yes I do. These are just three of the clocks in my home. Although I must confess that these are the best three as well. The one above I purchased at Target I think.
This one was a gift. You can always give me a clock for a present if you don't know what else to give me. :)
This great clock was $5...yes $5 from RC Wiley when you purchased something. I think I got it when we bought our refrigerator. It does have some awful chimes though very electronic.

I have a small collection of antique watch faces. I'm not sure what to do with them but they are cool. I might just put them in a frame mounted on black fabric. Any suggestions?

Candice's Photoshoot.

Candice took photographs of Gabrielle of Design mom fame last week. I think they are very different and wonderful. I love that we have a photographer (or two) in the family. We get lots of pictures that capture time and memories. I don't think you can ever have enough pictures. I love it.

Candice emailed suggestions of what the family should wear in the shoot. The ideas for the pictures were also Candice's. I'm always amazed at what Candice comes up with. She eats, sleeps, and drinks photography...Ok, she doesn't sleep very much because she is always so busy.

Candice hired Brenda Barrett to get all the props and be the stylist. Brenda is a family friend from way back. Brenda's whole family are artists. Her father is a professor at BYU and teaches art. Candice loved working with Brenda and hopes to do it again.

Sorry guys, Candice's portraiture class filled up the first night. You can go to Jessica's site and sign up to get updated information as classes become available if you are interested.

More Pictures of Logan and Campbell

Logan and I had lots of fun together. I'm really missing the little guy. I mean...look how cute he is. I hate to brag but I have the greatest grandchildren. I really love them all. Their parents are doing such a good job of raising them.
Logan looks just like his mom when she was his age.
Look at these large but cute Campbell feet. Yes, they decided to name him Campbell Brett. His grandfather's middle names.
He looks a little grumpy here. He doesn't like his picture being taken.

We think that Campbell takes after his dad. I think he really looks like his grandpa Paul.
Marissa and Campbell's hands. I wish I was better at that photography thing. I working on it though.

Marissa, Logan, Campbell, and Mike are all doing well. We hope we get to see them again soon.

A New Photography class.

Not much new in my life to blog about. I've hit the ground running once I got home from Texas catching up on work and housework, plus the usual life demands. I've been tweaking the decor around the house a little and spring cleaning. Exciting right?

I'm excited to be able to take another photography class from Candice. She is such a good teacher. Did you notice how much my pictures have improved? She was even able to help me. (Not that I'm a pro or anything...nothing to brag about...but they are better.)

Now I will learn more about portraiture. There are still a few spaces if you are interested. She had so many people trying to register when the registration opened that the site crashed. Don't worry, they are up and running now. The class is four weeks and only $89. Check it out. There are freebie instructions and tips on the site too.

I love learning new things. I'm also starting Jessica's photoshop class. It is self paced but I'm nervous about starting that. I'm not sure how much stretching this old brain can take at one time. How about you? What are you pushing yourself to do? Honest, I really want to know.

More Pictures of Logan!

Logan giving Campbell loves.

Logan and his great curly hair. (Some of these were cut off the end of my last post so I am reposting.)

Logan and his great smile. He is such a happy little guy. He is 19 months old. Marissa is going to be busy.

I love this picture. (Candice here is the picture for my last assignment in your class. I can't post it without photoshop. What do you think?) Logan reminds me so much of Marissa. I think Campbell takes after the Garners.

He's Here!

There is nothing like seeing and experiencing a precious spirit being born. He was born at 4:26 am and weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces. He was 22 inches long. Mother and baby are doing great and will be home tomorrow.

He nursed like he was starving right after he was born and has been sleeping soundly even with all the poking and prodding that went on today. Don't you just love those chubby cheeks?

Here he is right after he was born. We were all amazed at how big he is already.

Marissa and baby Campbell? They think that is what his name will be.

Logan checking out his new brother. He was pretty excited.

Mike, Logan, and Campbell. They were checking out the babies feet. They are huge! He's going to be a big man.

Logan was doing lots of baby exploration.

Look at Logan's hair. Isn't it great? It's so curly.

Doesn't Logan have a great smile? He looks so much like Marissa did when she was little.

I love this picture of Logan. (Candice here is my picture for assignment #6. I love it.)

Logan with his "Big Brother" shirt. (I flew in Tuesday night so I just made it in time for the birth.)

The Joy of Being a Mother

This is Marissa, daughter number three. (I really hope you don't mind I lifted your picture of her Candice.) She is getting ready to have her second boy this week. I'm so excited to be able to go and help her. I'm hoping she won't go in to labor before I get there too.

It is such a gift to have been able to have children. I love all my children and son-in-laws and am so glad they are all happy, healthy, and making positive contributions to the world. I'm grateful that my children love and appreciate me even though I made mistakes along the way.

I've been privileged to be able to coach all my daughters through their labors helping them with LaMaze breathing. (All but Creed who came before I got there.) I love that my daughters wanted me to be there with them and that my son-in-laws would let me share in those precious moments. It is hard to see my daughters struggle with pain during labor but when their boys have arrived, the joy in holding those new precious spirits makes the pain of childbirth quickly disappear for them. I again am praying that all will go well and that our Heavenly Father will bless us once again with a beautiful healthy new grandson.

I so love those grandbabies. There is nothing like spending time with them. (I just wish they all lived closer so I could do more with them.)

Happy Easter to you all!

The Pantry

I probably shouldn't show you this but this is what my pantry looked like before I cleaned it out this weekend. Embarrassing isn't it?
Laying all out there for you to see.
And no, I didn't mess it up just for effect.
Nine hours later this is what it looked like. I cleaned out old food, reorganized, painted the whole closet, recovered shelves, and put it all back. I would have added some great baskets, new canisters, etc. so I had a great looking pantry but I went searching and everything was so expensive. Come on...it's only plastic. Why should a clear plastic canister cost over $14? It's crazy I tell ya. Needless to say, I used what I had pretty much. I did buy a box of food saver containers from Costco. I needed a little reward for all that hard work.
Here is the closet after painting and recovering the shelves. Isn't my life exciting? Hey, life can't be all fun and games. Sometimes you have to pay the fiddler right?

It feels good to have it clean and organized. I wonder how long it will last until it looks like the first picture in this post. Sometimes I feel like housekeeping is like being in the movie, "Groundhog Day." Ya, know what I mean?

A Baby Shower

My young women from church planned a little, and I mean little, baby shower for their teacher. Here are our refreshments. (Candice look I corrected the picture for indoor lighting. Aren't you proud of me?)
I baked lots of cupcakes and my young women came early to decorate them. Didn't they do a good job? They were so tasty with cream cheese frosting. They even had enough to take home to show off their new skills with their families.


Here's Michelle, the mother to be. Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of her. She's so cute.
Here is Emily.
And, here is Cindy. They did all the cupcake decorating.
One last cupcake picture. I was so proud of them. I think everyone had a good time.

A Whole Lotta Fun!

We almost made it in time for the initial paint throw at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. This is what the initial cloud looked like. Steph posted more details and pictures on her blog so check there if you want the details. We took some pictures and then hurried over to share in the fun.
Steph and Larry had purchased the colored chalk for us so we could join in.
Here is part of our group after the fun.
Steph and Larry. They left Creed with relatives. All that chalk has got to be bad for the lungs.
The crowd was huge! Everyone was dancing and chanting/singing and throwing paint. It was like being a little kid again and having a food fight or mud fight. It took us forever to get there in the traffic and then we had to park more than a mile away. We weren't even sure we wanted to go but didn't want to miss out on an adventure with Steph and Larry. They always are having fun. Next year we will go early. It was that fun!
We hurried off to a BYU men's volleyball game. Hopefully, we will be able to stay longer next year. What adventures have you been having?
Pretty crazy, huh?

Kitchen Bar Make Over

I'm hooked on finished projects. Head over to see what others are hooked on today.This is the before. Oak veneer on the back side of the cupboards and plywood boards holding up the granite counter. I'm not sorry to see those go.
My husband created the raised panels on a table saw to match the design in the kitchen cupboards. He's such a marvel. We purchased the hand carved corbels from either Van Dyke or Restoration Hardware. We bought them awhile ago so I don't remember.
A close up of the corbel. (Please note the amazing photography. I'm learning all kinds of good things in my photography class.)
After the primer and two coats of white paint.
After the stain and stain flecks. I tried to make it look aged.
A close up again.
The after. I would have should you how it really looks in the kitchen but I still have paint mess all over the counter. I still need to add one more coat of finish so it will be durable/washable. I took this in the evening.
I took this in the morning. What do you think? I'd really like to know. Next project...hard wood floors. Can't wait to get rid of this floor. What type of wood do you recommend?