I am on FIRE!

I decided to take my daughter's advice and blog more.  I realized that it is important to record things that happen so I remember them later.  And that it is important for my college kids (BOTH!) to be able to connect with home other than through the phone.  I'm trying to blog every Sunday...and I think this is at least my second time! Hence the title...
I don't have much exciting to report, but I thought I would share a few things I am thankful for:

1.  In the midst of an Eeyore streak, just a little statement on facebook will bring friends to the rescue..and turn that Eeyore streak back into Tigger!  I'm so thankful for family and good friends to lean on when the world looks a little gray.

2.  I am grateful for repentance and forgiveness.  What mistakes I make on a daily basis!  I'm so grateful my family and friends, and Heavenly Father always allow me to say "I'm sorry" and then truly forgive me. 

3.  I am grateful for fall! I love this time of year. I know, I know, we are still dragging out summer...but I am so excited to see the leaves change and get out my sweaters.  I took the advice of a good friend and really tried to enjoy the "heat" of summer this year. I think, except for a few days, I was very successful.  I really enjoyed the blue blue skies, and going barefoot as often as possible.  I am now ready to wear socks, and to curl up with a book in front of the woodstove, and light some yummy spice candles!

4.  I am eternally grateful for my family.  I don't know what I would do without them.  We all bug each other, we all do and say things that drive each other insane sometimes, but in the end, we all love each other intensely.  I'm so glad I get to spend an eternity with all of them.

5. Finally, I am grateful to have God in my life.  He is my protector, my "go to guy" in times of need, and in times of joy.  I am grateful to be able to stand and be counted among his sheep.

Have a great week everyone!

There and Back Again

We just completed our late summer trip to Utah to take Sami back to BYU.  Fortunately I got to fly there, while Dan and Sami drove the car with all her stuff.  We all met on Wednesday, Aug 22 at 11:30am.  We spent the rest of that day and all of the next getting the stuff she needed.  Her apartment is amazing! She shares the whole apartment with 3 other girls, but her bedroom is all her own. It is HUGE! She has 4 closets, 2 armoires, dresser, a huge desk, and a reading nook...take a look!

Since she is on the top floor, the closets are short, but they go on forever inside.  She really only used one, and part of another. School starts tomorrow, and she has already started working at her job at the Creamery.  She works at the grill - go see her if you are in the area!

It is hard to let her go every year, but I am SO proud of her and what she has accomplished in the face of adversity.  Sami, you are a success!

Summer 2012

I am calling summer 2012 a success! It really was a great summer. The highlights were the adoption of Roo, and our trip to Michigan.

This is Roo. We adopted her from the rescue in Eastern Washington where we adopted Newby from. She is missing a back leg due to abuse...she is so sweet and a great addition to our house!

We took a trip to see our family in Michigan at the end of July. It truly was a great trip filled with many reunitings and just plain relaxation.

Some of the greatest memories I have from childhood are playing on the beach at Lake Superior. The water is clear, the beaches are sandy, and there is no SEAWEED! Whenever we visit, going to the lake is on the top of the "must see" list.

Sami and her great grandmother, MaryLou.

Four generations of strong women!

My brother Tim and I - we hadn't seen each other for seven years! Visiting with him and his wonderful family was great. We are planning another reunion very soon.

Dan and my mom relaxing on the deck in front of my parents house. We spent a lot time just hanging out and watching the hummingbirds feed at the feeders.

My brother and sister-in-law Kayleana having fun on the ATV.

My nephews - what great kids! It was like seeing my brother again at that age - so sweet and so very much boys!

David decided that Sami needed to get more wet than she was - Lake Superior is very cold, even on a warm day!

2012 Spring!

Just when I thought the 2011-2012 Winter would never end (it was 12 years long, you know), spring has finally arrived! Last fall I planted bulbs for the first time in my flower boxes out front. I've been wanting to do that for a long time - I just never found the time or money to do it. I've been anxiously awaiting greenery to push out of the ground - my signal that spring is finally making an appearance. The greenery came through - but then it snowed, dampening my hopes. We have now experienced a few sunshiney days and the blossoms are popping everywhere! I had to cut the pink hyacinth right after I took the picture as it was really falling over...and low and behold there is another blossom coming beneath it! I took a picture of Sami's African violet because it has never had as many blossoms as it does right now. For me, this all symbolizes the hope we can find in this life. When things seem sad, slow, and dreary (READ: RAIN!), we can always dream about the spring blossoms. The hope that better things are coming keeps us buoyed until they really appear.

January 2012 Snowmageddon

I love snow. I come from snow country..Marquette, Michigan. It seems like the last few years have been less than snowy there, but I remember growing up it seemed like the snow lasted for years...then we had a month of blistering hot summer, and then snow again! We always had snow at Halloween - it was tradition. I don't miss the months and months of snow, but I like to have a couple days every year to enjoy the pristine beauty of new fallen snow. This year really delivered!

Mom came to visit from Michigan before the snow hit...she was delayed getting home because of airport closures. She was right in it with us though...helped us shovel out the driveway. It was a good thing we did that because the next day we had an ice storm and everything was frozen solid. We could at least get out of our driveway...well with the truck anyway. The cars were grounded for a few days.

Newby loved the snow. At first he wouldn't go in it...but we knew he really HAD to go out eventually, so we pushed him a little. After that he couldn't get enough! He loved to jump through it and push it with his nose. His belly was barely above the snow - so he ran everywhere to plow through!

We sure were glad when it finally melted enough to drive. David had a week off of school, and we lost power due to the ice storm for 2 nights and 2.5 days. I was SO thankful for our woodstove which kept us warm. Many friends ended up at motels. We learned about what needed to be added to our emergency preparedness kits, and that we needed our candles stored in our house, not in the shed!

Okay, OKAY already

Sami has been gently encouraging me (nagging) to update my blog. I told her I really didn't have much to blog about, but I am trying to stay in her good graces so I will do as she asks.
1. Our dog poops his weight daily. Gross fact, but nearly true. If he doesn't go at least twice when we take him for a walk something is wrong (and YES, I do take along bags).

2. Our family is trying to wean ourselves from sugar. Sigh. Yes, at the holidays. I don't know why, but we always seem to pick this time to "get healthy". We went on our first walk today and it felt good. We actually had a vegetable at dinner...and yes, corn is a vegetable. It is a Carruth vegetable.

3. I am working hard on family history. I really wish that more of my ancestors had kept journals...then those tricky to figure out relationships would be oh so much easier!

4. I am having trouble accepting that my baby is a high school senior. I think I'll show you his picture now...isn't he handsome? Looks just like his dad.


5. I am having an even harder time thinking about both my kids being in college next fall. I'm glad I have a year to get used to it!

6. Dan is finished teaching the three classes he worked so hard at this year. He is very glad to be done and is hoping he won't have to do it again! Just so you know, he is the expert at SIGN RETROREFLECTIVITY. Just ask him, he can tell you all about it.

7. We had our first fire in our woodstove last week. We've had another since then. We usually don't fire it up (no pun intended) until well into December. I'm thinking maybe we'll have some SNOW. Yup, I said the "s" word to all those who have an aversion. Get used to it...we are in a La Nina year.

8. I'm 1/3rd of the way through making my homemade Christmas gifts. I love doing it, and I love being a little ahead of the mailing time curve.

9. I'm happy that I gardened this year, but even happier that it is over now. I will clean the garden out soon, and ready it for next year. I'm excited to plan and think about the possibilities!

10. I now have 72 hour kits for all of the vehicles we own, plus a larger family sized tub with more emergency preparedness things in it if we should be home and need to leave in a hurry. I am so thankful that this is the year that I decided to get this done. It feels great to be prepared!

That is all for now. Love to all of you who read my blog..I hope to be posting more in a more timely fashion.

Happy Sami? Love to you too!

Garden Finale

Well I'm considering this years gardening a success. I was very happy with some things, and some things I will not repeat next year. The top two pictures show different angles - the tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, carrots, strawberries, peas and cukes all turned out great. The acorn squash got mad because I tried to move it where it didn't want to go and only gave me two squash...one of which the dog got. My onions are still 3 inches tall. They are still green as grass...but they stay the same size. The lettuce was great, but I didn't pick it all quickly enough so a lot of it went to waste. I will plant it differently next year. I had to replant the carrots, but the second time they came in like gangbusters...and they are all different colors! Tons of tomatoes - and they didn't mind being corraled by bungie cords attached to the fence. The pepper plants looked absolutely sick forever..and now that fall is on its way they are beautiful. I did get some jalapenos, but we'll see if the others mature enough to eat. I did get one red pepper that I ate - you can see it in the third picture of harvested items. It tasted great - but not great enough to pay $5 for the plant to get one pepper. The last picture is of flowers from David. He gave me dahlia tubers for mothers day this year and I planted them in the garden. I got so many beautiful blossoms! Next year I'm going to add potatoes and zucchini and remove radishes, squash, and peppers.