HOME!

Just two weeks before Christmas... I was trying to make sure that everything in my home was perfect before the kids came home to visit. It's just a Mother thing I think... I always want them to walk in my house and instantly have it feel, smell and look like HOME! A place they feel comfortable and where their friends feel welcome.

When I was young I wanted to work at Hallmark Stores. I always loved Hallmark Stores, I love the art work and things that they had in their stores. 

 
I also thought Anderson Newcomb Stores ( a home where my Mother would take us to shop some times )would be great to work at too.

 I always loved their window displays and thought that would be a great job to have. I could only find this photo above of the building. But years ago, it was beautiful and to a young child, those Christmas displays were the most beautiful ones I had ever seen!

I always wanted to have a home and family that were happy and safe. I feel like I been blessed beyond measure why?

Because I did get a incredible family and I have been blessed...

to have a wonderful Home that I can decorate and make safe!

Like my Grandmother always said...IF the furniture and things in her home could talk... each one of them would have their own story to tell. The same is true in ours. This corner cabinet Jeff made years ago when we had our business up and running. It was just a small business that he and I did in the evenings and on the weekends, to make extra money. With me being a Stay Home Mom and once we moved to Washington, it was so much more expensive than West Virginia...we had to do something. I had been selling my crafts that I painted or created, since I was 12 years old at Craft Shows. I continued to do them after we were married, and after we moved to Washington. Thankfully Jeff was willing to learn about woodworking and so was able to make whatever I needed him to make, he had a talent we didn't even know of!

He started with small things like the santa plaque at the top of this shelf and then he got into making small furniture pieces like this green shelf, with my blocks on them!

This table below is my Grandmother's Checkerboard table, that we used to plays checkers on, with white and black buttons. The red and white quilt in the back was a quilt that Jeff's Grandmother made...love it!

Then there is our hutch below which we loving call Sally ( not sure why except that we couldn't remember exactly if we should call it a hutch or a kitchen cabinet thingy.... so we just lovingly called it Sally, plus that was one of our daughter's good friend's name too).

Below is the shelf that Jeff made and the deacon's bench he made also that we have used in our kitchen for years.

Christmas pillowcases that I made for the kids!

Teddy Bears have always been something that I love to collect!

This cabinet/ Shelf Jeff also made for me so that I could display my Aunt and Grandmother's Quilt. 

Below that is my quilt that I made for Christmas!

This shelf he made too, the wooden house and heart he cut and I painted.

Pretend kitchen area for the kids.

The painting above the kitchen area is one that my dear friend painted!

This cabinet below was given to me from a dear friend, you can tell what an antique it is, and of course on it all many gifts that friends have given me through out the years!

Still at the end of my day, I realize that my dreams did come true, I got to create handmade things that makes my home beautiful to me and a safe place to those who enter. 

I truly am blessed!

My Mom would be proud...I think?

Today is Sunday one of my favorite days. I love going to church and spiritually getting recharged and reminded of the things that my Heavenly Father wants me to do. My mission ...so to speak.
I especially loved today, because Jenny got to spend 3 nights with us for her Sleep Over. She is always sooo excited just to hang with Jeff ( Poppa ) and I. In her prayer over dinner she said " thank you for letting me do a sleep over at Nana and Poppa who love me and I love them" Talk about melting your heart! Just knowing that we can make a difference in each of our grandchildren's lives, is sooooo worth it!

On the way home from church we were talking about what we could do today? I mentioned that maybe we could bake something to take to our neighbors, and for some of our friends who had Birthdays recently. Then Jenny said "Nana, do you even know how to make cookies?" I had to laugh, I always try to sew, crochet and create in lots of ways with the girls when they come over but I don't do a lot of baking... just because of all the sugar, which I try hard to stay away from.
I thought oh my, Mom wound be ashamed of me for not baking a lot with them. Cooking was her passion and the way she served many. It also was comforting to her.  Mine is not eatting or baking, it is creating with my sewing, quilting or crocheting...that is comforting to me and a lot better for my body :)
So you guessed what we did next? We got out the White Death ( white sugar ), Jenny is pointing to the label on the sugar container, but she doesn't know how to read yet, so she doesn't really think that was as funny as her Mom thought it was when she first saw it! But the label  didn't really scare off my kids at all. They just think their Mom is weird ( that's hard to imagine huh? )


I decided to teach her how to make my Mom's famous Ginger Snap Cookies, Mom really was well  known for her cookies, cakes, fudge and more. She was an amazing cook!

Then after we made them and got them in the oven, Jenny just watched them the whole time. Ok, by the way she is acting, maybe I should cook with her more often?:) She watched them carefully and was soooo excited when they were out and cooled ...so she could taste one!

As we were talking about these being my Mom's favorite recipe, Jenny said " I think my Grandma Johnson would be proud of me for liking Sugar and her yummy cookies" That is probably true? I think she would have been proud of me too! 

My whole house smelled like my childhood home at Christmas time! So grateful that I have had the time to spend with Jenny and to share a recipe that has been handed down from my sweet talented Mom to me. Oh how I miss her! And man, she would have loved all of her great-grandchildren! 

Got a photo of Oakley today, wearing the new headband I crocheted for her, today at church. Isn't she getting big? How I love creating for my grandkids and family and friends!

I loved the lesson that was taught in church today. Here are some of the notes about it. It made me grateful for the journey stories of my life! 

Here is a story from Dieter F. Uchtdorf...

"I grew up in Zwickau, in the former East Germany. When I was about 11 years old, my father fell under increased scrutiny as a political dissenter, and my parents felt that the only safe choice for our family would be to flee to West Germany. It was decided that the safest plan was to leave at different times and follow different routes to the West, leaving all our belongings behind.

Since my father was at greatest risk, he took the quickest journey, through Berlin. My older brothers headed north, and each found his own way west. My sister—who would have been the age of many of you here today—together with Helga Fassmann, her teacher in Young Women, and some others took a train that passed briefly through West Germany. They paid a porter to unlock one of the doors for them, and after the train crossed the West German border, they jumped from the moving train to freedom. How I admired my sister for her courage.

I was the youngest child, and my mother decided that she and I would walk across a mountain range separating the two countries. I remember that she packed a lunch as if we were going for a hike or a picnic in the mountains.

We took a train as far as we could and then walked for long hours, getting ever closer to the West German border. The borders were tightly controlled, but we had a map and knew of a time and a place where it might be safe to cross. I could sense my mother’s anxiety. She observed the area intensely to see if we were being followed. With each step, her legs and knees seemed to become weaker. I helped carry her heavy bag filled with food, vital documents, and family photos as we climbed up one last, long hill. Surely, she thought, we had passed the border by now. When she finally felt safe, we sat down and started to eat our picnic lunch. For the first time that day, I’m sure, she breathed more easily.

It was only then that we noticed the border sign. It was still far ahead of us! We were having our picnic on the wrong side of the border. We were still in East Germany!

Border guards could show up any moment!

My mother frantically packed up our lunch, and we hurried up the hillside as quickly as we could. This time we didn’t dare stop until we knew with certainty that we had reached the other side of the border.

Even though each member of our family had taken very different routes and experienced very different hardships along the way, eventually all of us made it to safety. We were finally reunited as a family. What a glorious day that was!

There will always be things to complain about—things that don’t seem to go quite right. You can spend your days feeling sad, alone, misunderstood, or unwanted. But that isn’t the journey you had hoped for, and it’s not the journey Heavenly Father sent you to take. Remember, you are truly a daughter of God!

With this in mind, I invite you to walk confidently and joyfully. Yes, the road has bumps and detours and even some hazards. But don’t focus on them. Look for the happiness your Father in Heaven has prepared for you in every step of your journey. Happiness is the destination, but it’s also the path. “Peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” is what He promises.¹¹ That is why He commands us to “be of good cheer.”

As you joyfully use the map your loving Father has provided for your journey, it will lead you to holy places and you will rise to your supernal potential. You will grow into the daughter of God you hoped you would become."

I believe that every life is a collection of individual “journey stories.”

You can read the rest of the talk HERE:
Yes, today was a great day!
Good night dear friends!

I love Sundays!

I love Sundays because they spiritually  recharge me for the week. Today the lessons that I learned were about parenthood, a great reminder of the things we need to do with our children and grandchildren. Here are some of my notes...

"The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home" ~ Harold B. Lee

1. ...Make sure that we as parents are at the crossroads for our kids when they are coming and going, when they leave and return from school, when they leave or return from dates, when they bring friends home. Always be there at the crossroads!
2.  ...Take time to be a real friend to your children. Listen to your children, really listen. Talk to them, laugh and joke with them, sing with them, play with them, cry with them, hug them, honestly praise them. Regularly spend one on one time with each child. Be a real friend to your children. 
3. ...Take time to read to your children. Starting from the cradle, read to your sons and daughters. … You will plant a love for good literature and a real love for the scriptures if you will read to your children regularly.
4. ...Take time to pray with your children. Hold family prayers morning and night. Have your children feel of your faith as you call down the blessings of heaven upon them. … Have your children participate in family and personal prayers.
5. ...Take time to have a meaningful weekly home evening. Have your children actively involved. Teach them correct principles. Make this one of your family traditions. …
6. ...Take time to be together at mealtimes as often as possible. This is a challenge as the children get older and lives get busier. But happy conversation, sharing of the day’s plans and activities, and special teaching moments occur at mealtime because parents and children work at it.
7. ...Take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family. … Reading will bring increased spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation. It will change the lives of your family.
8. ... Take time to do things as a family. Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders. Whenever possible, ...attend, as a family, events where one of the family members is involved, such as a school play, a ball game, a talk, a recital. ...Attend Church meetings together.
9. ...Take time to teach your children. Catch the teaching moments at mealtime, in casual settings, or at special sit-down times together, at the foot of the bed at the end of the day, or during an early-morning walk together. …
10. A mother and Father's love and prayerful concern for their children are the most important ingredients in teaching them. Teach children gospel principles. Teach them it pays to be good. Teach them there is no safety in sin. Teach them a love for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a testimony of its divinity.
11. ...Teach your sons and daughters modesty, and teach them to respect their bodies. To have respect for other's modesty also.
12. ...Teach them a love for work and the value of a good education.
13. ...Teach them the importance of the right kind of entertainment, including appropriate movies, videos, music, books, and magazines. Discuss the evils of pornography and drugs, and teach them the value of living the clean life.
14. ...Take the time to truly love your little children. Love your children like the Savior does.

Good night dear friends!

Goodbyes!

I have never liked Goodbyes!
When the kids come home to visit from college, I cry so hard when they leave. I am very grateful for the time we had, but always miss them before they even get out of the driveway.
I cried at the airport when I left Brad, Krystal and Kai! I knew it would be awhile before we see each other again and I am sure Kai will grow quite a bit between that time, hard to miss that!

Today, I went and spent the day with Amy and the girls. As I was saying goodbye tonight Angie, asked me when we could see each other agai :) I realized that just like this quote says... I am very lucky to have many people in my life, that makes saying goodbye hard!
Yes, I am very blessed!
Good night dear friends, so glad I don't have to say Good Bye to you, just Good Night!

Every Mother needs to read this!

I loved this article by Jason on the battle of PORNOGRAPHY! I truly believe we need to do all we can to help our children and families from the effects of it in our homes and lives! If we won't protect our homes and families...who will?
 Nothing good comes from it!

Good night dear friends!

Why my kids’ computer is in the living room

While visiting our home for the first time, a friend noticed the iMac sitting on a small desk in the corner of our very open living room. “That’s an interesting spot for a computer. Is that temporary?”

I laughed. “If by temporary you mean until all of my kids move out of the house, then yes.”

“But it’s so out of place.”

“Maybe,” I answered, “but you know what’s even more about of place? Pornography.”

As he nodded and the gears seemed to turn, I explained the painful lesson of another friend. Several years ago he discovered that his son’s first exposure to online pornography hadn’t come in a locker room, school bus or behind the backyard shed, but in his child’s own bedroom on the other side of a leaky web filter.

Think it can’t happen to you?

According to the 2014 Annual Report produced by Covenant Eyes, nine out of 10 boys and six out of 10 girls were exposed to pornography before the age of 18. Even the unintentional exposure is shocking: 28 percent of 16- to 17-year-olds have accidentally stumbled upon it. Perhaps most tragically, 15 percent of boys and 9 percent of girls have seen child pornography.

Yes, it can happen in your home.

Increasingly, parents equip children with desktop computers or laptops and don’t hesitate to give them privacy by setting them up behind closed doors in their bedrooms. Even with the best Internet filtering systems money can buy, that’s like placing pornographic magazines or movies on their bedroom bookshelf and hoping they don’t become curious.

Crossing our fingers isn’t enough.

Just do the research; no filter is flawless or fool proof. There is no greater barrier than the transparency that comes from computers being used in the high traffic areas of your home. As the axiom goes, often attributed to former Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Thad Allen, “Transparency breeds self-correcting behavior.”

Every home should set it own rules, but in our house, my children ask permission before using any piece of technology. Even my 15-year-old daughter asks permission for every single song or app download to her iPod.

Is it a bottleneck? Absolutely. Isn’t a little inconvenience a small price to pay for the safety of a child? And it isn’t just about inappropriate content – it’s about time. Parents should see what kids are doing on the computer and for how long.

Given that virtually every device in your home but your toaster has Wi-Fi capability, it’s good to have boundaries for things like smart phones and tablets. Carefully consider in your own family whether it makes sense to ban the laptop from your child’s room, but permit the tablet. In our home, none of my children are permitted to use smart phones or iPads in their bedrooms.

If you’re longing to be featured on the cover of Interior Design Monthly or participate in your local Parade of Homes, the ugly computer in the living room might be a deal breaker.

On the other hand, life is priorities. I doubt many have developed pornography addictions at a computer in the living room with the kids watching the Disney Channel a few feet away or playing Legos on the floor.

Let’s be blunt: Your computer in a public place is not the perfect solution. Unless you’re ready to unplug from the world entirely and move to the mountains, there isn’t one. We must remain vigilant and never let down our guard, no matter where the technology is placed. But this is a start worth the sacrifice.

Some may read this and think to themselves, “We can’t protect our kids forever.”

They’re right. But while we can, we should.

No, we must.
I read the article Here:

A son's love

I was grateful for this story, because it is true that the love of family can be stronger than anything that comes against you. That is what family is what suppose to be about isn't it?
Watch this and see what you think yourself...it is sweet, but be warned ...you will need a tissue, or tissues!

A son's love for his Mother...watch it HERE:
Good night dear friends!

This seems a lot like Momma Bear.

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Finding our purpose!

I have always known that part of my purpose here on earth... is to use and develop my creative talents. Use them to teach, to make my home more lovely, to use as gifts to show my love and appreciation to others or just to serve someone else. I am grateful for that talent. Speaking of that talent....that is all that I did today, and it felt great. Well, I am a bit tired and my back is hurting but... it feels good to be back in my room ( opps Studio: ) creating again!
Good night dear friends!

Christmas Open House Tradition

Annual Neighborhood Christmas Open House
16 years ago, we thought for Christmas that it would be nice to open up our home to our friends and neighbors for a Christmas Open House. Just a chance for us to get to know each other better and to share some Holiday Joy. Since most of our family leaves far away, this became really important for us to thank those neighbors, teachers and friends who had become like family to us.
I was grateful for friends and the kids plus Jeff for helping out so much, it would be hard to do on my own. I think we had about 70 some people come through this year, it was a blessing to have the time to reconnect with all our friends ( if only for the evening ).                                         

Some of you could not come and so I thought I would show you the photos of our home that Lauren took before it started. I just love decorating our home for Christmas. Love the spirit that all the lights, decorations, nativities and service give at Christmas time. It truly is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Of course ... not every year has been like this for our family, there have been some really hard Christmases,  so I am grateful for the years that are good!

 

 I pray that we will remember to be GRATEFUL this Christmas season, and go about Doing Good like the Savior did!
Good night dear friends!