2012 May

Spotlight: Jacob

May 14, 2012 3 Comments

Joshua: What I like about Jacob is that he’s always there to give me Harry Potter trivia. It’s helpful when I’m frustrated.

Autumn: He’s always willing to help and he’s really good at babysitting.

Katey Belle: Jacob watches me while you guys are gone. He puts me to bed and gives me milk. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.

Caleb: Milk. Me too! And watch a movie, mama. We watch a movie. And turn off the light when we go to bed. I think I love Jacob.

Mommy: Jacob is a fast learner. He is growing up so fast and gets more capable by the day. He learned how to cook bacon on a camp-out last month and cooked some up for dinner tonight. He rocked it. It was the best bacon I have ever had.

Andrew: Jacob is a cook. He cooked the best bacon in my life. He’s a cook like Mommy and Tana (our neighbor that caters weddings and sends over leftovers – we love her.)

Meri: Burp *umph* uuuhh (she’s got gas, sweet thing)

Daddy: I like Jacob’s sense of humor. It’s on the dry side.

Jacob: What does that mean?

Joshua: It means you don’t have very much of a sense of humor. Otherwise it would be juicy.

Daddy: No. It’s a little bit dry and a little bit sarcastic and a lot funny. You have to think for just a second and then *heh heh* I get it. That’s funny.

Jacob: Does that mean I’m slow witted?

Daddy: No – it means you’re quick witted. And you’re not one to laugh loudly at your own jokes.

We love Jacob. He’s a sweetheart and fun lovin’. He’s always willing to help and is always asking what I need. He is loved lots by his siblings and a voracious reader. Crazy voracious.

Bacon?

Filed Under: {*spotlights*}

Cake and Kisses

May 12, 2012 2 Comments

Happy International Nurses Day – and Happy Birthday Florence Nightingale.

Our plans for Nurses Day, made with Paper.

My sis Anna has a blog. She’s wonderful, sweet, adventurous, an amazing baker and a nurse. We all adore her. So we are celebrating Nurses Day in her honor (wish you were here sis!).

We will read posts about nursing, a Florence Nightingale book and run around the park a little. I’m also serving a buffet, based on this collage made by Anna:

While they might be daily staples for our nursing aunt – quick and can be eaten on-the-go, most are rare treats for our children and they’re a little excited. 😉 It’s going to be fun.

Recommended posts (there are so many to love!): History of Nurses Week, Birthday Cake for Florence, Why I became a Nurse link-up (Anna’s story and a dozen others linked up), and all the Nursing Tuesday posts are great. I really like the ones on capes (who knew??), and band-aids.

There’s also a post she wrote for LA Family:

… and don’t forget her nursing giveaway (ends tonight though, so hurry on over. 😉 ).

From what I read about Florence – she was so kind and gentle. She trained nurses and worked near battlefields in Turkey. She would walk the wards at night and soothe the suffering men. They would see her “lantern moving through the dark like a comforting angel and named her the Lady with the Lamp.” She adjusted pillows and put flowers by their beds. The soldiers she cared for adored her – when she walked by some would lean out of their beds to kiss her shadow. She researched nursing throughout her life and wrote about the importance of fresh air and a quiet and peaceful ward. Florence’s Notes on Nursing: what it is and what it is not became a best-seller. After nursing, Florence continued her research and helped in many areas. She set up a training school for nurses. She interviewed each herself and followed their progress. She sent flowers and books to them – and cake on their birthdays.

Nurses – caring, beautiful, kind and sent cake for birthdays? Florence and Anna have a lot in common.

Filed Under: {happy times}, {holidays and celebrations}, {tickles and smiles}

Drewby Special

May 12, 2012 1 Comment

Two of our boys have a “special”. It started years ago when Jacob decided a bean and cheese burrito was his special. No salsa. No sour cream. Just the burrito. Not to be left out Joshua chose jell-o. Any flavor. That way he could have lots of specials… well, we don’t have jell-o that often. Which led to his request to have grilled cheese sandwiches and/or jell-o be his special. Now whenever we have those foods they announce to the whole family it is their special. It took a few years, but two weeks ago after church Andrew chose his:

A pancake. Hollowed out in the middle and filled with strawberry jam.

Not just any strawberry jam. Store-bought strawberry jam. And then fresh homemade jam spread across the top. He was very specific and super pleased.

Here’s to many more Drewby specials.

Filed Under: {bonne buche}, {happy times}, {tickles and smiles}

Treasure

May 7, 2012 1 Comment

We reviewed President Uchtdorf’s talk today in Relief Society: Forget Me Not. It’s one of my favorites. I made this art journaling page a few months ago with his thoughts in mind – a treasure map full of everyday moments.

{list of supplies here}

I used a few of President Uchtdorf’s quotes on the page:

“The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments. They are the ones who, thread by daily thread, weave a tapestry of gratitude and wonder throughout their lives. These are they who are truly happy.”

“…don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life.”

The lesson today reminded me how much I LOVE President Uchtdorf’s talk. It also reminded me that I should introduce my study topic for the year – I already have half of a notebook full of thoughts and scriptures, but hadn’t posted about it here yet. With my study on effort last year – time and again my thoughts turned to treasure. Quite a few scriptures connect the two. That and studying about my 4th great grandfather gave me a feel about what real treasure is. Here are the thoughts from my notebook at the beginning of this year:

Treasure (Looks so much prettier when written by hand – all embellished. 😉 )

I’m thinking on how treasure fits/inspires me in my life. There are so many people, memories, things, blessings, and doctrines that I treasure. I want to study the word as a noun and a verb. What do I treasure? How do I treasure? What treasure do I want to earnestly seek? What do I share with family and friends?

Treasure usually involves a journey of some sort – with treasure being the reward. How else can treasure be discovered? I hope this year brings lots of answers – & lots more questions too. I’m ready for the adventure.

It seemed natural to have silver or gold be my color for the year. I couldn’t decide – so I went with both. 🙂 I’ve learned some significance to those along the way as well. I will continue to share throughout the year. You are welcome on my journey!

Filed Under: {digital happiness}, {happy times}, {one little word}, {worthwhile}

Fiesta!

May 4, 2012 4 Comments

Plans for tomorrow:

{made with Paper – sweet app by 53}

Filed Under: {happy times}, {holidays and celebrations}, {tickles and smiles}

Adventures in Chocolate, con.

May 4, 2012 1 Comment

Maybe there should be a whole series?? 😉

In this post here I showed this fun lovin’ photo of bunnies from story hour at the library:

I love how with the same pieces the bunnies can look so different. 🙂

Now for the big reveal:

The “chocolate bunny” belongs to Katey. She might love it a little:

And this one:

He is named “Grandfather Rabbit” and belongs to Andrew. The mustache was drawn with some help by me. Andrew started to and then decided it needed mommy help. When I finished I realized I drew it upside down. oops… oh well. Maybe bunny mustaches grow that way. 😉

Caleb’s is the one all the way on the right. The one with a monocle. I’m sure that’s what he was thinking.

{Ruth – I loved reading your guesses and the logic behind them. I bet if I had told you the names you would have gotten it for sure. ;)}

For fun I grabbed three books from the stack we borrowed. One that each of them picked out. You would definitely want a monocle to read about monster trucks – especially the Spanish sections – that’s Caleb’s. The dinosaur one picked out by Drewby (he can read it himself!) and the Lalaloopsy girls – that would be Katey’s selection.

Just to remember a little bit about what they loved at this point in time. Love my readers.

Filed Under: {happy times}, {reading reverie}, {tickles and smiles}

Sharpen

May 3, 2012 2 Comments

Did you know that there are tools available to help indexers and arbitrators to get even better at what they do? To sharpen their skills?

A whole page of resources is available. There you can find a Frequently Asked Questions page, and Enumerator Instructions (for those gathering the information for the census = fascinating – like place of birth and number of children born to mothers – so very good for those seeking family history answers – and neat info like current occupation and years of education. I love the glimpses into the lives of these people.) There are also classes on the history of, how to use and understanding the census.

Video trainings introducing the census, showing how to download the software, create an account, how to index and how to associate yourself with a group are all there. So good for a visual learner such as myself.

So, there you have it. Lots of good reading/watching inspiration and ways to sharpen the skills you have developed. Or if you wish to develop these skills, head on over to the 1940 U.S. Census Community Project site and help by being an indexer or arbitrator.

On a personal note, Jacob had his first Court of Honor for Boy Scouts last night. He loved it. A scuba instructor brought his gear and told fascinating stories. (Did you know that sea lions like scuba divers because their bubble trails tickle the sea lion’s bellies. I sure didn’t.)

Jacob was also able to participate in the flag ceremony. He told his scout leader he wanted to be the one up front calling the ceremony. He memorized and practiced… and nailed it. (Really?? The spotlight? Is that my boy??) Good on him.

This morning his dad presented him with a Swiss Army Knife. Jacob loves all it can do. And there is a neat connection to the 1940s too. When World War II ended, many U.S. soldiers bought Swiss Army knives on military bases. The german name: Schweizer Offiziersmesser was too hard for most to say, so they called them “Swiss Army knives” – what they are now commonly known as worldwide.