God is in the details

Ever wonder what that quote means? To me it means that despite His glorious, all-powerful, great-ness, He is still my Father and He cares deeply about even the little details in my life. Because He cares about such details, as I look back on everything that has happened to me in my life, I see God everywhere. I had another little moment happen today that re-inforces my belief that God is in the details. Casey was doing some repairs up at Shot Gun Creek park, about 30 minutes away, deep in the mountains. (See previous post for the wonderful story of how his employee took out a park toll booth with the business truck, hence, the repair job that Casey was doing today.) All morning I felt prompted to go up there and see how he was doing. Knowing that I didn't have a ton of time before I picked Allison up from school, I loaded Lydia up in the car and drove the 30 minutes into the mountains. When I got there, I applauded Casey's good work on the toll booth and took Lydia and the dog for a little walk. When I decided it was time to go, I went back to where Casey was working and discovered that the battery had died on his van. Keep in mind that we were far, far away from any civilization and, since the season was over, the park was deserted. Furthermore, Casey's cell phone had no signal that far out. Now, had I not been there to give him a jump, Casey would still be wandering around the mountain, trying to find someone to help him start his car...and I would be home, panicking, not knowing where in the world he was. Does it sound like a little thing? Perhaps. Does it prove to me that my Heavenly Father cares about even the smallest things in my life? Definately. Heavenly Father does give me trials (note the $650 repair job on the truck and the toll booth) but when we respond to those trials in a Christ-like way (which was terribly hard to do a few Saturdays ago when the accident happened), I believe He compensates us in little ways. The key is to recognize those details. Though I don't always recognize His hand in my life, today, I was able to.







Here's a scrapbook page that I made this weekend of our little monster. Enjoy!

Charlotte's birthday

This weekend has been filled with birthday festivities. On Friday, we had a little family party for Charlotte (who turned 11) with presents and cake. On Saturday, Casey and I took Charlotte and two of her friends (Jenna and Anya) out to dinner and a movie. We had such a great time. While waiting for the movie to start, we quickly wrote up a scavenger hunt for the three of them to do at the mall. (we had an hour in between dinner and the movie.) So, with scavenger hunt in hand, we turned them loose on the mall. We gave Charlotte my cell phone and told them that they could go on their own...and to meet us for the movie at 9:00.. The girls were thrilled that we allowed them to be "parent-less" for a whole hour. Of course, little did they know, we followed at a safe distance...for most of the time. It was a great night!

We've been staring at this cake for a few days now and were excited to get to actually eat it!

Charlotte got a new watch from her aunt and a scooter from us.

We ate at "Hole in the Wall" BBQ because Casey still had some gift certificates from them. (He had done some trade this summer) As a result, the whole meal was free and the girls pigged out on french fries, strawberry lemonades, BBQ and a brownie sundae for dessert.



Finally, we went to the late 3D version of "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs." The girls insisted on sitting far away from Casey and me. The movie was cute and extra fun in 3D.

Another try at a marshmallow fondant cake

Well, my kitchen floor is covered in a layer of sugar...but the cake is done! I made the marshmallow fondant the night before and today, I assembled the cake. (the fondant freezes really well if you make too much and want to use it for another cake down the road.) It took me about 90 minutes or so to finish the whole thing. I am learning new things with every cake. Freezing your cake, and then frosting it and covering it while frozen is MUCH easier! Also, if you rub the surface of the fondant with another piece of fondant, it buffs away the powdered sugar that might remain from rolling it out and makes it somewhat shiny. Anyway, I was happy with the way it turned out. (Though as I look at these pictures, I see a lot of mistakes)...so don't look too close :)

Birthday coming up!

This week is a busy one! Our little Charlotte turns 11 on Sunday! I can't believe it! We are having a small family party and taking her and a friend out to dinner. Our family doesn't do a whole lot of birthday parties with lots of friends. Generally, we allow them to have a big birthday bash at age 4, 8, 12, and 16. (basically, every four years.) I much prefer the quiet family party to the crazy party with 20 kids! Anyway, I am going to attempt another fondant cake. It is going to be three tiers....crazy, I know...we really don't need that much cake, I just want to see if I can do it! I baked the cakes yesterday and popped them in the freezer so they'll be more stable. Wish me luck! I'll post pictures of it later (if it turns out good!)

Feeling much better!

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you all know that my back is feeling much better. After about 4 days of agony, I was pain-free. Now, i am terrified to do anything strenuous for fear of re-injuring it. I am going to have to risk it though as my lawn is starting to go to seed it's getting so long. Guess I'll have to mow it. Thanks for the well-wishes...they really helped!






Crud, don't you hate it when you post something with typos...now I'm going to have to go fix it.

a quick update

Hi everyone. A few mornings ago, I was getting out of bed and felt my back twist and pop...the next thing I know, I'm in excruciating pain. (My poor pelvis has never been the same after having baby # 5) Being injured sure makes one appreciate being healthy. I think we take it for granted ...at least I do. Anyway, as I sit here, I'm in agony but I wanted to keep my blog updated. I haven't been able to do a lot of scrapbooking but I was able to complete the last week of summer for my project 365 as well as a Star Wars page that I just love. Enjoy









Most of the credit for that R2D2 cake goes to Charlotte Booren. I was just there as support...it was kind of a joint effort but she did most of the hard stuff.

The most wonderful time of the year!

Summer is over!!! I am so happy. I was feeling a little guilty about being so excited for school to start again...what kind of mother wants her kids to be gone all day? Thankfully, two days before school started, my kids were absolutely rotten. They were fighting, complaining, wandering around the house with nothing to do and yet, refusing to do anything that I suggested. By the time Sept 9 rolled around, I was happy to let them go. Structure is good after three months of playtime. Anyway, before the first day of school, we had some fun things happen. First and foremost, we have a new baby cousin. We were so excited to meet Samuel Joseph Booren. He is such a cute baby...almost too cute! My girls are now pestering me to have another baby. sigh....


Here is Maggie holding baby Samuel.

The night before school started, Casey gave all five girls a father's blessing. Even Lydia insisted on taking part. She climbed right up on that chair, folded her arms, bowed her head and was silent throughout the whole blessing.

The big day arrived and the girls were very enthusiastic about getting up early, making their beds, getting dressed and reading scriptures. I LOVE routine! Here they are, getting ready to cross the street into school.

And finally, all five girls stopped for a picture outside the school.

(notice that Lydia is carrying a lunchbox...she wanted to be like her big sisters and carry her "ba-pack" to school)

family pictures

I wanted to show you all these wonderful pictures that our dear friend, Erin Ortmann took of our family when they were all in town for the reunion. I just got them back from her and quickly threw together a few pages for my reunion scrapbook. This is the first time since everyone was very small that the whole family has been able to take a picture together. We are so grateful to Erin for being patient with our wacky family... She did a great job!

(Edit: I spelled Walburger wrong....have to fix that!...thanks to Bethay Harty for the Word art, and, any westovers that read this blog, we'll be mailing you a CD with these pictures on them shortly...we're waiting for one or two pictures still)

Why our country is in trouble

Hey everyone, I was forwarded this Email and thought it was hilarious! Our country is truly in trouble!


Why our country is in trouble A DC airport ticket agent offers some examples of 'why' our country is in trouble!

1.I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)

2.I got a call from a Kansas Congressman's (Moore) staffer (Howard Bauleke), who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ''I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts .'' Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ''Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Capetown is in Africa''his response -- click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state.He replied, 'don't lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!''

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife (Landra Reid) who asked, ''Is it possible to see England from Canada ?''I said, ''No.''She said, ''But they look so close on the map.''

5.An aide for a cabinet member (Janet Napolitano) once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas . When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ''I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.'' (Aghhhh)

6.An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky) called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m.I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker, (Jerrold Nadler) called and asked, ''Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?'' I said, 'No, why do you ask?'he replied, ''Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I'm overweight. I think that's very rude!''After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno , Ca. is (FAT - Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage..

8. A Senator John Kerry aide (Lindsay Ross) called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ''Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii ?''

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman, Bobby Bright from Ala who asked, ''How do I know which plane to get on?''I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ''I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.''

10. Senator Dianne Feinstein called and said, ''I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida . Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?''I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane.She said, ''Yeah, whatever, smarty!''

11. Mary Landrieu La. Senator called and had a question about the documents she needed in order to fly toChina . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa. 'Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those.'' I double checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ''Look, I've been toChina four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!''

12. A New Jersey Congressman (John Adler) called to make reservations, ''I want to go from Chicago to Rhino,New York .''I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ''Are you sure that's the name of the town?'''Yes, what flights do you have?'' replied the man.After some searching, I came back with, ''I'm sorry, sir, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a rhino anywhere."''The man retorted, ''Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!''So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ''You don't mean Buffalo , do you?''The reply? ''Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.''

Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in! Could anyone be this DUMB? YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED. I don't write it, I just offer it for your consideration. Like manure, you just gotta spread it around.