Memorial Day Campout

As you all know, the gang loaded up on Friday night and spent Memorial Day weekend at the annual church campout. I had a very blessed time and am so thankful I was able to go! Walking the falls, singing around the campfire with family, walking, and relaxing. 

Headed on the road!

Thank you Roger driving "a ton of girls" and thank you

Auntie and Uncle for letting us take "the bus"!

 



Setting up camp

Supper time

Headed down to the Falls



 

Not sure how the boys liked having 8 "Mom's" around?



Living Life As I Do

Hello everyone! Figured it has been awhile since I've done a "life update", so here it goes. Please try not to yawn to much.

So, what have I been up to? Lets see... I scrubbed a toilet. Oh yes, and another one. I believe also another one? Yeah, I clean a lot. Though I guess I don't really mind it. A fellow "worker" at one of my jobs asked me one day as I folded clothes,
"So, what do you do for fun?"
Fun? Me? My mind drew a complete blank and I seriously couldn't think of a thing.
"Um... I clean a lot?"
Though I believe I did fix it some by stating I enjoy cooking and taking pictures though I don't do either of those as often as I would like. I guess I don't do much for "fun" stuff. Most of my weeks are the same day in and day out. Cleaning at Mollie's. Cleaning at home. Cleaning at office. Bank runs. Gas Station. Eating and sleeping. Sometimes an occasional twist to add a little bit of spice.

Awhile back I did my very first "newborn shoot" with Noelle. I didn't get many pictures as little girl was not to happy to be moved around but I got some and have them officially edited and put on a disc for Shanoah. Praying she likes them!

Mollie recently had her baby girl and is she a sweet thing! Baby Bridget has a full head of fluffy hair and soft cheeks. Mollie had Spencer just five months after I started going there. I was not yet completely comfortable with everyone. I never was able to hold him as a newborn.
As it is going on four years now since I started, I am much more at ease! Bridget and I shared a moment before I got to my usual work of cleaning and folding laundry!

So yes, I am still working for Mollie as well as cleaning the office each weekend. This week I also went and cleaned for Mollie's sister, Jodi. She too had a baby girl. I was nervous at first but went well and I actually enjoyed it as I had the house to myself!

Daminika took my 20th year pictures recently and I also got those edited and ready for printing. Do you know it's still so weird to write out "20"? Sometimes I have to double check and make sure that really is my age. Never thought that day would come.

I can't believe how much straighter my smile is!

I have a hard time being in front of the camera and feel much more at ease behind it!

My ortho work is slowly coming along and I am now really being able to see a difference. Especially in the photo's they take at the office! I had my last appointment on Tuesday and I am almost ready for another faze! The Dr. said my cross bite is now completely corrected on the top and just my right side needs a little tiny bit more pushing out. I am down to wearing my appliance only 15 hours a day and let me tell you, it's hard! After five months of it constantly being in my mouth I fear if I take it out my teeth will just go back to the way they were.

I take it out around 10:30-11:00 in the morning and leave it out until about 6:00 in the evening. The Dr. would like to see how my teeth set.

I've noticed I can chew much easier and no longer need to press my food to the roof of my mouth with my tongue in order to be able to swallow. I still can't open a candy wrapper but perhaps that will come in time!

Well, there is a little random update on my life! Hope you enjoyed it!



These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things Tag

Every time I read the title to this tag I hear the song playing through my head! Too random? Alright, back to what I'm supposed to be doing...
I was tagged by Daminika at Walking in the Sonshine for the
"These are a few of my favorite things" Tag (though not everything is a 'thing').

1. Babies; Kiddies
I simply adore my baby (and not so baby anymore!) cousins. They just bring sunshine into my life and make this world a little bit sweeter. Snuggles from Noelle. Stories with Evelyn. Laugh's with Caleb. Pictures from Hadassah and Marcus. More snuggles from my 'Jubie'. Even more snuggles from Olympas and Cyrene! Their so innocent and trusting. They live in today. They are my everything.

Don't mind me, but aren't they just the cutest?

2. Cooking and baking
I love cooking and baking. Chicken Pot Pie. Stews. Bread. Cookies. Anything! I love finding yummy new recipes and trying them out. It's so fun to sprinkle in seasonings, adjusting everything to your own personal taste. It's especially awarding when it's a big hit and everyone loves it!

These are Steak Fajita's I made awhile ago. I just told my Mom I want to make them again!

3. Screen Doors

Mm... there is just something so special about an old wooden screen door. All curved and curled in designs, painted a lovely color. The sound they make when they bang shut. The way they let in the cool summer breeze. Someday, I want one for my very own.

4. Mountains
Yep, I've said it before but, I love mountains. Tall and majestic standing against the sky covered in brilliant white snow. They give you a feeling of comfort. They're so still and proud. They're beautiful.

5. Home Building/Home Improvement/Home Décor
Anything to do with a home! Whenever I hear someone is building a house, I get so excited for them! It's just a big dream of mine to build my own home. I love to go online and save ideas for it someday. I look into everything from the kitchen appliances, to the living room furniture, to the outlet covers. Light fixtures, wood flooring, stairways, doors, anything! I could do it for hours. I try to share my finds with my family but they're not always too interested. *wink*
Perhaps someday I'll find someone who will dream right along with me!

6. Retro Items
Yep, like many of my family members, I adore the look of anything "mid-century". I love the red, turquoise, and yellow dishes. The retro refrigerators. The breakfast nooks. Lights. Oh! And those table fans <3! Have you ever taken a look at "Pioneer Woman's" dishes before? Ah! Someday I'm going to fill my house her dishware!

7. Old Movies
There is nothing like those old movies. As my Mom says, "don't they just give you a tickle belly?". The black and white screen with those familiar faces. They just don't make movies like they used to. And they certainly don't have actors like way back when.

8. Clothes
Yes, some say I have an addiction to clothes. But, I just can't help it! I love pretty clothes. Sadly, as my family can greatly agree, I am also very picky when it comes to my clothing so ones that I actually like are hard to come by. Still! I love to browse online and dream about my "someday outfits".

9. Countryside
I am ever so grateful we are back in the country and I am simply loving it! I honestly don't see how someone can actually prefer town but, each to their own!

10. Anything Old
I love anything that has a story behind it. And sometimes, even items that others have forgotten their story! There is just something "romantic" about something that someone else once loved, felt, touched. Cherished. An old book. A hand stitched quilt. An empty home.
Back in 2013 we visited the "Idaho State Penitentiary" and it just fascinated me! All those long forgotten days where people left their mark by a scratch in the wall.
Also in 2013, we visited the site of a section of the Oregon Trail for the first time. Now my stomach really did tickle then! All those years ago families traveled across country to find a better life (some being my own ancestors.) They fought Indians, disease, and death. Little ones were buried beneath the dirt then wagons driven over so coyotes and Indians wouldn't re-dig their babies out. Family heirlooms were dropped and left to the wind and rain.

I tag:

Elisa at Pioneer Girl at Heart

Guidelines:
List ten of your favorite things. Tag a friend.

Inspirational Quotes

“The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast,
and you miss all you are traveling for.” - Louis L'Amour

“No one can "get" an education, for of necessity
education is a continuing process.” - Louis L'Amour

“Actually, all education is self-education. A teacher is only a guide, to point out the way, and no school, no matter how excellent, can give you education. What you receive is like the outlines in a child’s coloring book. You must fill in the colors yourself.” - Louis L'Amour

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things
of life which are the real ones after all.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”
- Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Home is the nicest word there is.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder

“The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder

“There is nothing wrong with God's plan that man should earn his
bread by the sweat of his brow.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder 

"So much depends upon the homemakers. I sometimes wonder if they are so busy now with other things that they are forgetting the importance of this special work." - Laura Ingalls Wilder

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.”
- Louisa May Alcott

“You don’t need scores of suitors. You need only one… if he’s the right one.” - Louisa May Alcott

"There is always light behind the clouds.” - Louisa May Alcott

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
 - A. A. Milne

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts.” - A. A. Milne

“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.”
- Abraham Lincoln

"And in the end it's not the years in your life that count but the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln

"The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple." - Peter Marshall

"It is a far, far better thing in the realms of morals to be old fashioned, than to be ultra-modern."
- Peter Marshall

"For the hand that rocks the cradle is that hand that rules the world." - William Ross Wallace

"If you ain't dreaming, you ain't living." - Betty West

Comfort Songs

We all have songs we turn to when we need comfort. Songs we simply enjoy listening to over and over no matter how we are feeling. Here are just a few of my personal favorite "comfort songs". 

  

  

Alone Yet Not Alone - Joni Eareckson Tada

I'm alone yet not alone, God's the light that will guide me home.

Where We'll Never Grow Old - George Jones; Jim Reeves; The Church Sisters
I have heard of a land on the far away strand, 'tis a beautiful home of the soul. Built by Jesus on high, where we never shall die, 'tis a land where we never grow old.

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow - Alison Krauss
I don't know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day. I don't borrow from its sunshine for its skies may turn to gray.

One Day At A Time
One day at a time sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking from You.

Keep On The Sunny Side - The Whites; Alison Krauss
There's a dark and a troubled side of life. There's a bright and a sunny side too.

I'd Rather Have Jesus - Loretta Lynn; Jim Reeves
I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather be His than have riches untold.

Across The Bridge - Jim Reeves
Across the bridge there's no more sorrow. Across the bridge there's no more pain. The sun will shine across the river and you'll never be unhappy again.

Precious Lord, Take My Hand
Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on, help me stand. I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Jesus Paid It All - Joey+Rory
Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

I Surrender All - Joey+Rory
All the Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him. In His presence daily live.

I Need Thee Every Hour - Joey+Rory
I need Thee ,oh I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Oh bless me now my Saviour. I come to Thee.

Father Along - Dolly Parton; Randy Travis
Farther along we'll know all about it. Farther along we'll understand why. Cheer up my brother. Live in the sunshine. We'll understand it all by and by.

What are yours?