Thank You's in a different way...

I was at my sisters last week and she had the cutest thank you note on her fridge. It was a couple in their wedding clothes. One held a poster with the word "thank" in their hands and the other was holding a "you" in theirs. They were in a very cute position and they wrote a personal note under the picture.

I started thinking how I could thank the Honda dealer for the wonderful gift of a mower. So, when I got the mower, I decided to try and find a cute way to thank him.

I mowed the word "thanks" in the lawn. I couldn't get high enough to get a good picture but the ones I took will get the point across.

We made several different types of treats today. I'll blog one tomorrow. We will print up the pictures and then take them over with the treats and a card tomorrow.

The other type of card that I thought was cute was when they found things in the house or yard that were in the shape of letters that were needed to spell out the words they wanted to say.

There are lots of fun ways to say thank you. I want to say thanks to you for reading my blog!

"I Fought the Lawn...."

Three weeks ago, my daughter called me while I was grocery shopping telling me that the wheel fell off our mower. I thought she was talking about the black rubber part that was falling off the hard white plastic center. She tried to continue mowing as I told her to just keep pushing it. Sweet obedient daughter that she is, she tried.


The axle on the mower broke. I had someone look at it and it was a Honda mower so parts are expensive and it was over $200 to get the part and the auto drive wasn't working so it wasn't smart to put any money into it. I looked at second hand stores and called around looking for a used mower. I had no luck. We went out of town for two weeks and the lawn grew out of control while we were gone. I tried to hire some of the boys in our neighborhood but they were all at scout camp or on vacation. I didn't want to borrow a mower but was getting to the point I needed to something.


I finally gave up on myself trying to fix it. I knelt and had a heart to heart with my Heavenly Father just as I would my dad and told him that I was doing everything I can right now with my kids, home, church, service, etc and that I would even take care of the mowing but I was needing his help to take care of the mower part.

Later that afternoon I felt like I should go to the local Honda Dealership and ask them if they had any old mowers I could buy the parts I needed off them because the motor was still good on my old mower even though the automatic drive didn't work. The owner told me they didn't have one for parts but that they had a few trade in mowers that he could sell me for $350 or a new one with interest free for a year.

I explained my income and how that wouldn't be in the budget until my oldest returns from her missionary work in the Philippines. I thanked him for his time and left. The next morning at almost the exact time I had knelt in prayer asking for God's help, I got a call from the Owner of the Honda dealership. He said they just took a trade in and they were going to order some parts and give it to me for free! He told me that it would probably be ready on Monday.

I got a call today, and... I was blessed to even have it dropped off at my front door. I didn't even have to pick it up.

I KNOW that Heavenly Father is real and that he does exist and that he LOVES us all and cares about the little things if they will make our lives easier. I know I like to do the little things for my kids, how much more would our Father be as he knows us better than we know ourselves.
So, I mowed until it was dark and got half the lawn done. What a blessing that the Honda dealer listens to Angels. :-)

Crazy Hair at the Fair....

They are having a crazy hair contest at the fair. This brought back to my mind all the years of fun we have had doing crazy hair day for school spirit week. With long hair, there is so much you can do. For boys, depending on the length, the hair coloring sprays and gel are about what you can do. I did see many over the years with many little ponytails all over and mohawks.

The girls had so many cute things, I can't begin to remember them all but some of my favorites were the stuffed animal in a cave, the skier going down the white slopes with trees, skies, poles and all. I think my favorite was the Christmas tree that had working lights sprayed green. Very cute. Here are some of my girls over the years.

I keep a drawer in my craft room with pipe cleaners and feathers of all types. I use the pipe cleaner to pin the hair around or I wind the pipe cleaner around a pencil and hook it into the hair by bending the end around it. I have used yogurt cups and water bottles inside their hair to make it have a shape and height. I just put an elastic around the top after I put the bottle in the center of the head and pull all the hair from all sides up and over the bottle. I have used pine cones, bells, toys, hair clips, pins, dolls and colored hairspray to decorate their hair.

Sometimes the girls hair is so long, it goes up the sides of the water bottle and hangs down long enough to touch their head again.

I enjoy having my girls to do the girly things with. We have had some fun over the years. I have to say that I am glad things are digital now. The reason I use pictures of mostly my younger kids is that I am not willing to dig through all the photos in boxes for pictures to scan and put on here.

Perhaps someday I will get around to that. :-)

We were talking about having a crazy hair birthday party. If we invite you, what crazy hair idea would you show up with?

Home, Home on the Range.... Campfire cooking

This last week we went camping. There were lots of adventures and several things I wanted to blog about. Last summer at this time, we went to a different camping spot. One thing I liked much better at the other camp site was the fire pits.

This year, they were flush with the ground and my nephew didn't see it and put his hand on the grate used to cook. His burns were deep and blistered quickly. Last year the fire pits were raised. It was the first time I ever cooked on the actual fire.

I usually take my trailer. Because of the distance, I didn't want to haul it. So, cooking over the fire it was. I couldn't believe how well everything turned out. I thought things would burn. Nothing burned and everyone enjoyed the meal.

The hash browns are from a bulk food co-op. They are from the Ore-Ida company. They come in large bags. The potatoes come shredded and dried and you just soak them in hot water for about 1-2 minutes and then fry them up. It couldn't be any easier and I get compliments each time I make them as the flavor is wonderful. When I get the large bag, I dump them in to several 5 gallon buckets and then have a smaller Tupperware container in the house that I refill as needed. I highly recommend them for the crazy morning routines. I can make them almost as quickly as I can fry up some eggs.

If we cook up too many hash browns, we put the left overs into a bag and freeze them. They reheat quickly. If we think we will be eating them soon, we put them in a bag in the fridge.

Why don't you join us on the "range?"

Slippery When Wet....

I went river rafting last week while on vacation. Half way down the river, the kids wanted to stop and jump off rocks into the cold water to cool down. I jumped out near shore being at the front of the large raft. There were many rocks in the shallower water. I started pulling the boat toward shore where I was stepping carefully on the mossy rocks. Some rocks had fine slippery moss on them and others had a large grassy type that was soft to step on and wasn't slick.


I was being very careful and I put my weight on a rock that looked stable. The rock wasn't stable and my foot started slipping down to what I thought was the bottom of the river and beyond. I felt it hit and scrape on the outside of my foot. Then it hit a rock on the inside and I feared that I may get it wedged and my body weight would break my leg. Finally, it hit bottom wedged between many rocks and I knew I had done damage.

It was funny while it was slipping deeper and deeper it was as if it were in slow motion. I knew what was happening but couldn't stop it and had to wait for it to hit bottom before I could evaluate the damage and try to get out of the situation. I ended up falling in and sitting on a rock on the way down.

When I pulled it out, I had a cut on my left outer ankle and bruises already appearing on three parts on my inner leg.

I couldn't help thinking on the way down the rest of the river run how that the situation is so much like life. We make choices. We put our weight and trust into it and then once we have committed to that path, we find that the choice was a bad choice and even though sometimes we want to back out and make another, we have to wait until we hit bottom to assess the damage and find a safe path out of the result of our choices. We have bumps, cuts and bruises emotionally and in our lives and assess if we want to try that path again or which other choices we could or should have made or will make in the future based upon how that choice effected us.

The first day, the bruise on the foot was dark with several shades of purples and dark red. The bruises on the leg came out darker after a few days. This was also like life. Sometimes the consequences are quick and over quickly and others show up later and the true damage done isn't evident for some time.

I pondered how wonderful it would be if every trial in our life had warning signs. Such as, "The consequence of drinking this may be you end up paralyzed for life." or "If you take this pill and drive, you may kill someones child." Or, "The choices you make in this relationship may make you responsible for a child for the next 18 years!" etc.

I then realized that God did give us warning signs. He gave us scriptures and commandments that keep us safe. If we follow those rules and warning signs, we can avoid the slippery rocks that may seem steady and safe but once you actually step into that situation, it is anything but solid and safe.

If we follow the Ten Commandments, we can be on solid ground.

"And God spoke all these words, saying: 'I am the LORD your God…

ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'

TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'

THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'

FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'

FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'

SIX: 'You shall not murder.'

SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'

EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'

NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'

TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'

May we all choose to avoid the slippery rocks, stand on firm ground and choose to read and follow the caution signs!

No Offense Taken Part - 3

How many times have we created issues that may have not been there or taken offense when none was meant?



I was in a church related meeting for women. One woman related a story how when she was growing up about how people in her community church had offended her and she felt judged by some. Then, she moved back to that area when she was married and had a baby on the way. The same church offered to give her a baby shower and she refused the offer stating that they "Were trying to be nice now that she was what they expected her to be but didn't love and accept her as a teen." My guess is that one or two may have judged her but the majority probably were busy with their own lives and really didn't notice much. I would guess that over the years, not many if any gave her a thought. However, she obviously has given it much thought over the years causing her pain continually over and over. What is sadder still is that they probably really did want to give her a shower and help a new mother ready herself for a baby.



She lost out on a great opportunity to heal her broken heart and allow others to do a service that may have been healing for some of them as well. It was obvious that this woman had more children and was older as she spoke of these events in her past and how sad that she still needs to share her hurt with others.

When I had my second baby, I had a horrible experience and whenever I was given the opportunity, I would share the horrors of it and could top most delivery stories. While in nursing school, we were touring the labor and delivery floor and I started to share the experience with my nursing instructor. She cut me off and said, "It sounds like you are still hurting and need to let that experience go."



I was so taken back. I had never had anyone confront me like that and I realized that I was using the experience to be a victim and keep myself in that state. I worked on forgiving the Doctor and staff that caused the situation and after awhile was able to forgive them. It was so freeing to be able to let that go and not have to tell the story and relive that situation over and over.



I have found that when we have to tell and retell a story, it drains us, keeps the situation alive, drives others away as they really don't want to hear it over and over, and keeps us from moving forward in a healthy way. It keeps us damned or stagnant. To be damned means to not move forward and not progress. If we are stuck to situations where we keep reliving and retelling the story, we are damned. The person who offended has moved on but we are stuck and unable to move forward.



So, from these experiences and others, I have learned to TRY (I am still working on this:-) to overcome hurts and offenses quickly and forgive as soon as possible as we are the one's that are damned if we hold on and don't forgive.



I hope the damn stops here and that the "Living Water" can once again flow taking us to a new path never before taken.....

No Offense Taken Part - 2

A few years ago, I was working on self improvement and I asked someone if she thought I was doing better. She said, "Since you asked, I have noticed one thing you do. When you are telling a story you go to the middle of the room and get everyone's attention and while you are telling the story, you say, "AND THEN," and you stick your tongue on your teeth and draw it out while everyone is waiting for what is next."


I said, "Really? I have never noticed that. I will look at that." I went home and asked a few of my friends if they noticed that about me. I didn't take offense or get upset by it, I just searched to see if I did that. My friends said they had never noticed me doing that. A few weeks later, I was with that same person and she was in the middle of the room telling a story and said, "AND THEN," with her tongue on her teeth and I started laughing. I realized at that time that what upsets us in others is something we have an issue with in ourselves or is an issue with something that has been done to us that we haven't forgiven and let go of prior and that is why we are annoyed by things in others.



That situation was such a revelation to me. I noticed that if someone says something to me that I have an issue with, I get upset and try to defend it. If it is something I don't have an issue with, it doesn't bother me. I use this example when I am working on an issue with my children. For example, I say, "If I called you purple and said you were really purple, would you be upset?" They reply "no." I ask, "Why?" They usually reply, "Because it isn't true." Then I say something about them that is true and a possible issue or something that has come up. "If I said you are a gossip (or whatever the issue is) does that upset you?" They say, "Yes." Then I explain that if we are defending it, it is probably true.



Another thing I learned through my life is, if someone is defending something so much that it is overboard, they don't believe what they are defending. If I hold a piece of real gold in my hand, I know it is real. So, if I tell you it is a piece of gold, I am not going to continue to try and make you believe me because it really doesn't matter if you believe me. I KNOW it is real. However, if I am holding a piece of fools gold in my hand and I tell you it is gold, I will continue to try and get you to believe it and continue to "sell" you on the fact that it is real gold. You may have believed me from the first word but I won't let it go and will continue to try and sell you on the fact that it is real.



So, when I see a flaw in others or get irritated by something, I figure it is the mote in my eye and possibly they only have a splinter in theirs. I try to look inward and find what is blocking my view and damning my progression and keeping me from moving forward.