A Big Thank You

This is what thanking teachers, aides, paras, therapists, peer tutors, etc looks like when you have just one special ed student. Thank goodness for a photocopier! It takes a village--and I am so thankful for all of them. Peer tutors got candy canes :). Teachers got cookies. Whew! Got those delivered today. Major check!

First things First

I think I'm getting old because for the past month or so I've been waking up about an hour or so before my alarm...maybe daylight saving threw me off. I don't know. I have to admit, I have enjoyed taking advantage of the quiet of my home in the early morning. I use it as "my time" of prayer, meditation, and scripture study. It has helped me start my day off a little better. And yes--I have often had to catch a 20 minute nap before my kids get home in the afternoon:). Putting first things first.

Decorating the Tree

We decorated the tree on Sunday. We don't have a fancy tree. It has homemade ornaments and ones we collected over the years. Yes, I did get a little teary eyed missing my missionary son Jordan (who I will finally get to talk to on Christmas). Ours is a memory tree. We put ornaments up and say, "Oh remember when we visited The Alamo, or Bryce Canyon or when Jordan made this." Sweet Christmas-time. It is a time to remember how good God has been to us!

Old Film--Old Parents

So, tonight after explaining how a film negative works, my daughter asked my husband, "So, was there electricity when you were born?" HA HA. Well folks--old style film makes us ancient FYI.

#ImOld

One More Project

Before ($25 Second-hand store find) and after--It is a "Charging station." This is so that I don't have to see cords for anything anymore (or have them charging on my counter anymore)--hurray!!! The top shelf has a surge protector at the back of it to charge all the little devices and the second two shelves are to charge laptops. The drawers are for extra cords and all that extra stuff that goes with devices. Yay! So excited. I had to cram one more project in before the weather turned yucky!

#OneMoreProject

Canning Apples

It has been a busy week, picking apples and turning them into applesauce and apple butter. Yum! There is nothing better than homemade applesauce. I still want to make the apple pie filling. That might happen tomorrow. I must confess, there is a sense of satisfaction in growing your own apples, picking them and then preserving them. Yeah!

Proudly Voting My Conscience!

Like most Americans I have been so demoralized by the choice of the two predominant candidates for President right now. I have anguished over who I should vote for. I have hardly been able to sit through the debates because I cannot stand the negativity, contempt, and bad examples of both of these candidates.

I grew up singing that America was the "land of the free and the home of the brave." I grew up watching my faithful father treat my mother with respect and love. I grew up being taught to deal honestly, to love others, to be kind, and to cherish the freedoms afforded me in this great nation and that all of the people I saw around me were God's children. I was taught to choose wisely because my choices had consequences. I was taught that what I had to say was important and that my opinion mattered.

Politics lately seem to be a sticky subject--and the more I watch these "leaders" yell and bicker and demean each other, the less I want to watch and the less I want them to "lead." I'm tired of the bantering! I'm tired of the cries to vote for the "lesser of the two evils!" I'm tired of having my own party tell me that I need to vote on the "policies" their party represents when clearly their presidential candidate's words and actions don't reflect being honest, respectful, kind and good like I have been taught all my life.

I am proud to be an American! I am proud of our nation and our history and the amazing leaders that have guided us in the past. I am a woman of faith, who values family and freedom. I proudly raise some of the rising generation with the same set of values that I was taught by my parents: to love America, to vote, to treat others with love and respect, to deal honestly, and to love ALL of God's children. I'm doing my best to raise my boys to treat women with respect and my daughter to respect men. I am teaching my children that choices have consequences and that they can contribute to our family, make a difference in our community and serve God's children.

My question is, how do these two main candidates measure up to these same standards I was taught and am teaching? They don't. And so, I cannot vote for the lesser of two evils. I was taught to avoid the appearance of evil. I cannot just vote for the "policies" of parties, when the "head" of the party is setting an example I'm embarrassed to have my children watch on television. I am embarrassed that leaders aren't being held accountable for their choices, actions and words.

I received a poll via snail mail from the dear old GOP last week. I filled it out honestly and let them know that I would NOT be voting for their candidate, but that I WOULD BE VOTING!

Please don't tell me that I'm throwing away my vote when I say I'm voting 3rd party! Know this--I will not stand idly by and watch America choose the "lesser of the two evil candidates" and say nothing. I will not vote Democrat nor Republican for President this election--BUT I WILL CAST MY VOTE! Some will say that my vote means nothing--so I shouldn't bother voting. I am an AMERICAN AND MY VOTE COUNTS! Our ancestors fought for the right to vote and I won't let anyone tell me that I cannot or should not vote!

I am NOT going to sit down and be discouraged. I am going to VOTE! I invite other Americans to STAND WITH ME. Stand for what you believe, and know that your vote does count. It DOES! Take a stand, get out, and vote. Vote for people you believe represent your values. If, like me, you find that you don't see those qualities in our two main candidates, then look at the 3rd party candidates. We have more than two options!

Here is the great secret: If ALL the people who are disappointed with the two main candidates vote for a 3rd party--maybe a miracle will happen. And that hope of a miracle is what I am hanging on to.

I finally found someone I can get behind: Evan McMullin for President with Mindy Finn as Vice President.

God bless America--Get out and Vote!!!!

Canning Joys and Sorrows

Crack! NOOOO I cringe! There is no worse sound in the world to someone who is canning: The cracking of a jar you just so carefully packed. I hate it when the second you put them in the boiling water they crack....darn it! So much wasted time and work. Yes, I know I have some jars that are a little older--and maybe I just need to replace all of them so that this won't happen. The problem is I can't tell my old jars from my new jars. Oh well.

I did get some more canning done yesterday--more Cinnamon pickles. They are a good thing to make with all of the cucumbers that you pick from your garden that are way too big and overgrown to do anything else. Canning joys and sorrows.

Pint-Size Freezer Bags!!!

Ziploc has a pint size (2 cup) freezer bag now!!!! I am so excited! I can now freeze my tomatoes in smaller increments without feeling like I am wasting a larger quart size bag. Hurray!

#PintSize

Organizing Project

I worked on a project with my father-in-law yesterday--putting some shelves up in our storage closet. I think I have had that on my list of things to do for about 6 months. It feels so good to get something like that crossed off the list! Thanks Dad!

Age & Happiness

I'm not getting any younger folks! There are moments when it hits me--how in the world do I have 19-year-old son? Where did all the time go? I don't feel 4*! But, my gray hairs keep growing in (curly I might add) and these wrinkles on my face didn't just show up overnight. I think I am going to embrace getting older. After all, I have earned every gray hair on my head and those wrinkles have been made by smiles and laughter, tears and worry through the years. With age comes some wisdom.

I used to work with the elderly population just as I was graduating from college. Because I did therapy, a lot of the wonderful people I worked with had experienced strokes or TBI's or other injuries. One thing they taught me was that attitude is everything! One woman in our facility was always so happy. She smiled at everyone and her laughter filled the halls with joy. Then on Veteran's day she cried as she told us the story about how she sent her husband off to war and he never came home. She never remarried--and yet she was 85 years old and so happy. Happiness is a choice. I think I'd like to be old and happy someday.

#EmbracingAge #ChoosingHappiness

Freezing Tomatoes

The EASIEST way to preserve tomatoes is to take off the stems, blend them up, and freeze them in freezer bags. I figure everything I make with these I cook once I defrost them, so why cook them twice, right?

#FreezingTomatoes

Birthday Missionary

Happy Birthday to my 19-year-old missionary! I don't think it is a coincidence that he is so happy because he is serving others all week long.

Elder Anderson quote from the week, "We've had a great week and I'm excited to see what the Lord does next. It has been a testimony builder because there are a lot of false churches up in downtown (area) trying to give blessings, salvation for $20 bucks, and prayers for $5. Its crazy but I have learned that our church is the true church AND it is free--no charge. It is a blessing to know that I can be at rest and be saved in the last days. That is why I'm here is to invite others to come unto Christ by HELPING them receive the restored gospel, through Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost!"

Grapes!

We harvested 30 pounds of grapes this weekend. Whew! Now I need to do a little more canning... No rest for the weary!
#Harvest #grapes

A Little Quilting on the Side

Does anyone else get distracted cleaning out closets? I found some squares that I had cut out when I was going through my material and ended up turning it into a quilt this week. My husband asked me, "Was this on your list of things to do this week?" Nope. Oh well. It was fun to get my creative juices flowing again. Fun project on the side:).

#Quilting

Book 6

Guess who has had her nose stuck in a book since Tuesday? Oh yeah, the new Michael Vey book 6 came out, "Fall of Hades." She told me I couldn't read it until she was done;). Hurry up, will you?

#NewBook #MichaelVey

Homework

And....the homework fits begin. Sigh! I had forgotten how hard it is to coax a child paralyzed by "too many things to do" to keep moving. My anxiety was through the roof tonight just trying to stay calm and positive on the outside. How many more days until summer break?

#HatingHomework

Another Milestone

And just like that, she's 12! My how the years fly by.

Fruit of My Labor

I picked 50 pounds of peaches off of our tree this morning and got to work right away peeling and canning. So far I'm only about half done and I think I'm going to take a break. After being on my feet all morning I'm ready to put my feet up and enjoy the "fruit of my labor" (bad pun--I know.)

#CanningPeaches #FruitOfMyLabor

Missionary Monday

Mondays are now my Missionary son day! It is the day we get to hear updates from him from his mission in Columbus, Ohio. He can only write home on Monday--so it is fun to hear from him. We miss him, but are thankful that he is learning more about teaching and loving and serving others. He is still our happy and friendly young man and keeps us laughing! One of my favorite quotes from his letter today was, "I've strived to become a Man that can be

spiritual yet funny (because humor is Celestial)."

#MissionaryMonday

A Little Hole Punching Goes a Long Way

Yesterday while we were waiting for Nathan's teachers at church he found the hole punch---and oh did that make him so happy! He punched and punched and punched. Then he would take the little holes and dump them in the garbage and pick them up and play with those. Talk about finding joy in simple things! He is so cute and reminds me every day that I can be happy doing mundane every-day tasks. Love this boy!

#AutismRocks

Music and the Spoken Word

I had a wonderful morning taking Jacob and Noelle to see Music and the Spoken Word. It was awesome to hear music in person from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square. The guest soloist was Jenny Oaks Baker and she plays the violin like an angel. It was a wonderful morning! I am thankful that we have access to such amazing music so close to our home!

Another Year

And they're off to another year of school. One year older and wiser too;). They are growing up so quickly! It was weird to not have Jordan going off to school, but as he reminded us in his weekly update this week, he is doing a different kind of learning right now as a missionary.
#AnotherYear