Packet for Dec. 14th: Good Omen

This day in October started rough.

The night before, Alyx's car died. She was headed to a date and so she left it in the parking lot of the gas station, intending to retrieve it later.

The next morning, Alyx was SICK. Stay in bed, can't get up sick. She was finally feeling better in the mid-afternoon so we hurried to pick up her car.

Guess what? It WASN'T THERE anymore. The gas station had it towed.

We contacted the tow company about getting it out of impound. It was going to cost $150. Alyx was UPSET. Now she has to pay $150 for a DEAD car.

We decided we needed CHOCOLATE while we waited for the Tow Guy to meet us at the gas station. On the first handful, Alyx got ALL YELLOWS!

Now, we took that as a sign. YELLOW is happy and cheery and a completely NON-WORRIED color! We thought, this is a GOOD OMEN. Things are going to look up. Things are going to get brighter. It will be OK. We snapped this quick picture so we would remember.

So, the rest of the story is long and funny! Here are the high points:

Tow guy thought I was the daughter of the mother daughter team. Awesome compliment.

Car started on the first turn of the key...we were worried we were going to have to PUSH it out of impound. Nope, it STARTED.

Tow guy tells us of a place where we could park it overnight WITHOUT it being towed again so we can get help with the stalling problem.

Tow guy says, "I'm not going to charge you." HAPPY DAY!!

As I'm following Alyx to the parking lot, Tow Guy calls and asks me out to dinner! HA!

When I tell Alyx, she yells excitedly, "I KNEW IT!! I knew the only way we got out of that money is because I have a CUTE MOM!" Another awesome compliment.

Those M&M's ended up representing a different type of good omen for me. All of this happened on my would-have-been-anniversary with Jim. I was in a melencholy mood. I was discouraged. Then, randomly over the course of the discussions on picking up the car this guy finds out I'm a single mom of FIVE kids, I had my 1st when I was too young, I don't have any money, and a whole slew of other random info. And he still asked me out! I of course said I was unable to join him for dinner as my divorce in not final. But it was nice to be asked. It was a little reminder from heaven that everything will be ok. I don't have to be alone forever. There WILL be opportunities to meet people. And someday, if I want to, I can find a happy marriage again.

The rough day ended on a HIGH NOTE. And the best thing...those M&M's were Peanut Butter! YUM! :)

Packet for Dec. 9th: Cupcakes Make Things Better

So, my goal of posting daily in December might have been a bit lofty. Oh, well! At least I'm getting some things recorded ...even if not every day.

A while back I made these cake plates! I loved how they turned out.

Then last Saturday we hosted a Bridal Shower for Alyx's friend, Mari. Her soon-to-be-sister-in-law made and brought the most darling cupcakes EVER! We displayed them at the shower on the cake plates.

Cake Plate = Cute

Cupcake on a cute cake plate = DARLING!

Too bad they weren't gluten free. (But the frosting was AWESOME.)

Instructions for making the Cake Plates:

1. Visit your local Thrift Shop. In my case...the D.I.

2. Search the plate aisle for the cutest plates you can find.

3. Turn around and scan the other side of the aisle for various bases. For example: candlesticks, tiny glass bowls, vases, and those glass light covers that come on ceiling fans.

4. Take up the whole aisle as you test to see which plates look best on top of which bases. (A DI worker was gracious enough to start handing me bases to try....guess I was the 3rd person that week doing that exact same weird ritual!)

5. On the way home, stop and purchase two part epoxy glue. It comes in a two part container with a plunger.

6. At home, clean the plates and bases and dry them well. Place the plates bottom up on your work surface.

7. Mix and apply the epoxy to the top of the base piece.

8. Epoxy the base to the bottom of the plate. (I eyeballed it for center. Someone more ambitious might want to measure the exact center of the plate for a nicely balanced cake plate. I just stood over the plate and guessed. I only got one that is slightly wobbly...not too bad for winging it!)

9. Leave the plates to dry overnight.

10. Add cupcakes for a delicious (and cute!) finish.

Packet for Dec. 4th: Waiting for Kate

We are lucky. We have GREAT neighbors....the Seegmiller Family. Dayton has done many "manly" chores for me (like capturing the tarantula on our porch & building an extension to our flower bed). Sophie is one of my favorite people! She is a KSL, garage sale and thrift store queen and her house is decorated "Oh So CUTE!" She is Olivia's soccer coach and she babysits Ella for me every Thursday when I go into the office. Colton is kind, creative and responsible and was one of my fun cub scouts. He builds great forts. Paige is Olivia's buddy. She is silly and caring and a really good friend. She loves to sing and dance. She has a great soccer kick! Kate is Ella's best friend. She asks to play with Kate every day. Kate is a sweetheart. She is quiet and smiles a lot. She is grateful and is very kind to Ella. I think that Thursday might be Ella's favorite day because she knows she gets to spend most of the day with Kate. Kate (well, Sophie...but in Ella's mind it is Kate) gives Ella all her ultra cute hand-me downs. Ella LOVES Kate. Like I said...We are LUCKY.

One afternoon in September, I was working up in the loft when Ella got really quiet downstairs. I called to her to see what she was doing. She answered, "I'm waiting for Kate!" She was sitting in the chair by the front window watching for Sophie's car to come home so she could see if Kate could play. I kept working, she kept waiting. After a while I went down to check on her. She had fallen asleep in the sunshine...waiting for Kate. The beautiful sight really made my day. After all, a best friend IS definately worth the wait!

(Ella & Kate sharing a jacket on the sidelines of a soccer game. 9/15/09)

Packet for Dec. 3rd: Quick Change on a Budget

So a while back I decided to take all my Americana decor off the walls and sell it. Just done with it, you know? Well, that was WAY back in the summer and our house still sat half decorated and skimpy looking. Actually it seemed rather tattered. And to quote Alyx, "ugly". We'd been talking about painting and changing things up, but every time I started to think of all the things I'd have to buy I would talk myself back out of the idea. This past Thanksgiving weekend Alyx had had ENOUGH. SHE bought the paint I picked out (plus some curtains, cute rugs and dishtowels - sweet!). SHE & KAYTEE primed the walls while I was at Olivia's indoor soccer game. SHE painted the walls the next day when I was at Noah's indoor soccer game. And later that night and early, early into the morning SHE & I put the house back together. Alyx altered the cheap curtains she bought and made them what we really wanted. We brought up random things from the basement that I had collected. We opened a box or two of wonderful family heirlooms that I had stored. And with nothing but paint and "shopping in our own house" we have a new and BEAUTIFUL family room and kitchen! And the best part? Everywhere I look I see bits of family memories. The cookie jar my Grandma Kay painted as a youngster. The scales from my great-grandparents stores. The wheat sifters, sheep bell, lantern, & water pump from Grandma & Grandpa Calderwood's farm. The Calderwood Family Quilt that was on Great-Grandma Calderwood's bed (the one we all decorated with drawn pics of ourselves). The quilt squares from my other Great-Grandma's bed. Hand painted china from my Great-Grandma Winefred. My Grandma Kay's cedar chest. The list goes on. It is AWESOME. I love it soooo much. Thanks, Alyx for being tough and pushing forward. I love you!

Wanna see?

Packet for Dec. 2nd (even though it's Dec. 3rd):

Just in case you were wondering.......





this cereal is "Mighty Tasty". HA! I guess with Gluten Free you just never know. Every time I see this label I smile. And every time I offer it to one of the kids I can't help but say, "Would you like some hot cereal? It's MIIIGGGGHHHHTY Tasty!"

I am a lackadaisical blogger.

I really do have MOUNDS of wonderful things to blog about. I just never sit down to post them! My goal for the month of December is to post DAILY (wow...that's quite a commitment. I might be setting myself up for a very public embarrassment!) so I can quickly highlight some of the great Packets of Sunlight that passed by without proper recognition. Which to start with? How about...

REFLECTIONS NIGHT!

Olivia & Noah both wanted to enter this year's Reflections Contest. I guess artsy genes run in the family! The theme this year was "Beauty is...". After much thought they both decided what Beauty meant to them.


All of Noah's ideas focused around the ocean. He thought through many potential ways to tell his story and decided that a poem would be the best way to express his love of the ocean. It turned out really great! He said he didn't know how to write a poem, so Alyx, Kaytee and I just started to ask him questions about the ocean and how it makes him feel. I wrote down what he said and ...walla! His poem was born. He tweeked it a little to make his thoughts flow better and typed it up. The title of his work is: The Ocean. His Artist's Statement reads: The ocean is my favorite place. I like to watch and listen to the beauty all around me.


Olivia put a lot of thought into her idea. She made lists of the things that "Beauty is..." the top two contenders were LOVE and IMAGINATION. She went with Imagination. (Which, I thought was brilliant, by the way!) She had the idea to make a fairy garden. She had been wanting to make one all summer and this was the perfect opportunity! She planned and designed the whole garden, complete with a soft path made with the buds from our sagebrush plants out back and a tiny stone table and chairs. She even made dishes for the table from Sculpy clay. All I did was control the Hot Glue gun. The title of her work is: Silvermist's Garden. (Silvermist is her little fairy companion that has been flitting about in our gardens for the past few years.) Her Artist's Statement reads: I think beauty is imagination. I like to imagine a beautiful garden where fairies play and eat.


Awards Night quickly arrived (Oct. 23, 2009). There were three trophy winners in each category (these advanced to the District Level) and 3-5 Honorable Mention Medals given in each category. Olivia won an Honorable Mention Medal in 3-D Art! She was so excited! Noah was at scout camp...but he also won an Honorable Mention Medal in Literature! This was quite an accomplishment as it was the largest category with well over 50 entries! It was a good night. One full of much celebrating and ice-cream!

The Ocean

by: Noah Henderson

early in the morning --

how the sun reflects off the water

when you see the footprints of others in the sand

the sound of the waves crashing to the ground

the air is moist and fresh

the peace and calm of the ocean

it's where I can relax

even the word is beautiful to me

The Joy called BOY

Noah's dad has been reviewing...well, really DRILLING the scout motto, slogan, oath, etc. into Noah's head this weekend. He memorized everything except the Outdoor Code. As part of this Outdoor Code discussion Jim asked Noah what the benefits of the Buddy System are. Noah's response, "If you get hurt, someone can run for help. If you are lost, you are not alone. And if you are lost AND hungry, you won't starve.........you could always eat your buddy." A moment of silence passes until I ask, "Did you just say you could EAT your buddy?" Noah: "Yup....hee-hee-hee!" Ahhh...my sick twisted boy really made me giggle today. Gotta LOVE that kid. (Although if I were a scout, I might reconsider being his buddy. Ha!)

All Ears...

Last Friday, my friend Christine called (Hi Christine!) to say she knew of some FREE CORN. But it was now or never as the owner had opted to turn the water off! Basically a whole field of corn was just dying on the stalks waiting to be picked. We jumped in her car and after a short detour to the Oh Sweet Sadie Craft Show & Boutique (hee!) we found our way into the most obscure corn field ever! It was in back of a teeny tiny little house in West Jordan. You would never know it was back there! We made our way down a very skinny path, across a rickety, narrow bridge (over a very mucky creek), and down the road...it you could call it a road! We decided there was divine intervention getting us up that path. On the way out we needed assistance. There was a RUT (more like CANYON) winding and curving and running the entire length of the road. We have no idea how we did not fall in that thing! Miracle! The field was dry...but we persisted and found a section with plenty of green ears ready and waiting.

We filled 4 IKEA bags to the brim. And we cut down a bunch of corn stalks for our porches. Of course we were sure our hair, clothes and car were full of creepy crawlies. And I wore shorts! Ok...so I'm not a farm girl. Oops! It was itchy.

We had a great view! I don't think we could have been much closer to the temple. It was even prettier when the sun went down.

Ahem...did you catch that? Now it's DARK and we have to navigate the bridge and rutted road again...IN THE DARK. But we made it. Whew!

All that corn picking and 4-wheeling made us hungry...off to Pei Wei for a gluten-free festival of goodness. I especially love those spring rolls! Yum!

Since the corn was so close to being too dry to do anything with, we had to freeze it ASAP. It was a fun family project. The kids and I...

Shucked the Corn:

Posed with the Corn:

Blanched the Corn:

Cooled the Corn:

Dried the Corn:

Cut the Corn:

Chucked the Corn-Cobs:

Bagged, Stacked and Froze the Corn:

We ended up freezing 16 on the Cob and the rest as cut kernals. (Can I mention that I wouldn't know how to do anything without the internet? Including preparing corn for the freezer.) Yum...we were listing the yummy things we can make using our FREE CORN. Corn Bread, Clam Chowder, Salsa...yummy goodness. Thanks anonymous Farmer Guy who gave us your corn! We are grateful!

I *heart* Converse

After Livi's soccer game yesterday we stopped by the mall to look for the yellow peacoat that Alyx is wishing for...didn't find the coat, but look what I tried on! AREN'T THEY COOL?!?!?!

disclaimer: these are not my actual legs as I did not have my camera to document the awesomeness - I borrowed someone else's pictures off the internet. :)

I have a passion for Converse shoes. I love them. I wish I had some in every color of the rainbow. I wish THIS was my closet:

Make that every color in low AND high tops. Then just throw in a couple pair of Knee-High's and a pair of these Double-Tongues and I'd be in shoe paradise!

Didn't buy them, but it sure was fun to feel them on my feet! Very, very COOL.

Remember...and Believe

I was very touched by this message today. It is beautiful to see how Jesus Christ can heal our spirits and bring us peace and strength through our adversity. I am blessed to know that when times are hard the only true way to find peace is to turn to our Savior. I am so grateful for that gift.

Contented

A few days ago Olivia asked me what all the books stacked up on my desk were for. Remember those darling vintage storybooks? Those are the ones... "Oh, they are for cutting up and using in scrapbooks and other projects like journals and things," I answered nonchalantly. "WHAT?!?!?!? You are CUTTING THEM UP?!?!?!?" was her distressed response. She was genuinely UPSET. "But aren't you going to READ them first?!?!" Apparently, she had been sneaking them off my desk and reading them bit by bit. And I realized that it was probably a good idea! So we started off with Olivia's first pick that night at storytime. She chose The Contented Little Pussy Cat by Frances Ruth Keller. I had picked this book for my original project because the illustrations were so darling (reminded me of my good pal Lynley!) but I had never even given thought to the story. Boy, was I glad Olivia wanted to read them. I had been having a moody week. Feeling a bit sorry for myself. Praying for strength. Who knew that the Contented Little Pussy Cat, whose name turns out to be Abner, would have my answer.

The story is about a cute little kitty who is "always happy & good-natured". He was "never cross or sulky". His neighbors, Mrs. Brown Sparrow, Mr. Black Crow & Mr. White Bunny discuss Abner's good nature with Mr. Great Owl one day. They wonder how he can be happy ALL THE TIME. Mr. Great Owl brings it to their attention that they always want to be as happy as Abner but they "never do anything about it". He suggests they ask the Pussy Cat what makes him so contented. The three neighbors rush right over to see Abner. He sees them coming and "hastily smoothed down his fur and gave his fave a lick and a promise with a wet paw". After the "how do you do's" the neighbors ask Abner why he is so contented. "Abner was dumbfounded." (Hee! I love that we read this part, then turned the page to see a full page illustration labeled..."Here is Abner Dumbfounded." It made us all giggle!)

Abner thinks about the question, he just has to give a good answer. Every time he thinks "the tip of his tail jumped this way and that way".

He decided that because he is always neat and clean he is happy. The neighbors agree and yet they say they are all neat and clean but that doesn't make them happy all the time. There must be another reason. Abner thinks again. He answers that he always tries to be kind and loving to his friends and neighbors and that makes him happy. (Do you get the feeling this is a WISE little guy?) Again, the neighbors agree and yet, they try to be kind and loving and they still are not ALWAYS happy. "Tell us the really and truly reason, little cat, " Mr. White Bunny pleaded, "we're so anxious to know." This time Abner thinks for "a full minute and a half" and meows: "I really think I'm always happy because I never feel sorry about what happened yesterday nor do I worry about what might happen tomorrow."

I smiled and almost cried at the same time when I read that! It is AWESOME. So simple and so TRUE. That is one wise little cat, I tell you what! Of course his neighbors were also stunned by the truth he spoke. After a moment they all realize that they were unhappy that very day for feathers lost yesterday or fear of rain tomorrow. Abner asks if being unhappy can put the feathers back or keep the rain away. Of course the answer is "No, it never has." Then the neighbors ask, "Dear me, there are so many, many things to trouble a body! How can we ever stop worrying about them?" They look to Abner again...""Why no good thing was ever learned without practicing", meowed the little cat with inspriation." The neighbors commit to "start now to practice being happy, so we won't lose any time." They thank Abner for his sound advice and bid him good-bye. The story ends like this: "Abner gave a great BIG sigh. Then he yawned and stretched and stretched and yawned. Then, last of all, he curled up into a yellow furry ball for a good long cat nap, feeling like the wisest little cat in all the whole wide world. And perhaps he really was. THE END."

Needless to say...this book is no longer in the "to be cut up" pile. No way! IT IS A GEM. Olivia saved it from a horrible death. I love to read it and remember that being happy can really be that simple. Letting go of our past mistakes or hurts and letting go of our fear of the unknown. Practicing every day to be happy so we won't lose any time being miserable. Really, that is what faith is: Letting go, doing our part and then TRUSTING that all will be well. Thanks, Abner.