Westover

Lydia's bday

2012-01-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

I just finished Lydia's birthday page!! It's birthday season at our house...mine on Sunday and then Allison on Tuesday. Expensive time of year for sure!!!

Week 3

2012-01-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

What a difference a good camera makes! For Christmas, the business bought me a new fancy pants camera that takes fantastic pictures. While I was out of town this weekend (women's retreat), Casey took some of the kids back to the park behind our house for a "photo-shoot." He is having way too much fun with it...and what better subjects than his kids and his nephews??? Here are a few.

Drew

Maggie

Allison

Joel

Finally, here is week 3!

week 2

2012-01-23T09:23:00.001-08:00

A little bit of snow

2012-01-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

I grew up in snow. I remember how exciting it was to get a rare snow day from school. Spokane was well equipped for snow so to get a day off, it really had to come down.

When we left church on Sunday, the white stuff was coming down hard. The roar from the kids leaving primary was deafening. Because I grew up in it, snow for me is not that exciting. But for my kids, even a few snowflakes give them great joy. They went outside right after church and danced around in it. At one point Charlotte and Lydia sat on the front porch, just watching it come down. Sadly, it didn't last (as it never does here in Oregon) but it was so fun to see their pure happiness! Days like this, I wish we lived in a place that got just a bit more snow. But, then I recall trying to drive in it, trying to walk in it, and shoveling it, and I remember why I like living here!

I have been doing some "clean up" scrap-booking for 2011. It's mostly the stuff that I skipped that I wanted to include in this year's book. Here are a few: (ignore the typos...I never discover them until I re-read them on this blog.)

2012 goals

2012-01-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012! One of my goals this year is to get really good on the organ...good enough to be able to substitute for our full time organist in sacrament meeting. (she is my teacher too!) Casey was looking at Craigslist on a whim and found this amazing organ for $150!! He went down to Roseburg to look at it and bought it on the spot. It is in perfect condition and plays just like the one at the church. So, now instead of having to go to the church to practice all the time, I can practice in my living room. The other great thing is that my girls are all anxious to start playing...and now they can!

Here is our first week of 2012!!!

week 52

2012-01-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

The final week of 2011 (week 52) is DONE! Woo Hooo! Now onto 2012!

top 11 of 11

2012-01-03T15:43:00.000-08:00

So, I saw this on another blog and decided to do my own top 11 events that happened to us in 2011. These aren't really in any particular order (except for the top 2). We'll start from the bottom and work up !

#11 Casey and I celebrate our 14th anniversary (a little early) by going on a weeklong vacation to California in February. We theme park hopped the whole week...to Universal Studios, to Magic Mountain and then back to Universal Studios. Throw in a trip to the LA temple and a guided tour through Hollywood and you have a fantastic vacation without children!

#10 We got to see "Wicked" for the first time at the Hult center! (This pic is Casey with a brother from our ward who we ran into there.) After buying the CD, our kids began memorizing every song and that soundtrack played on a continuous loop for our entire summer drive to California!

#9 Keeping with our philosophy of teaching the kids to LOVE all things amusement park, we took them to Knottsberry Farm while in California for a family reunion. We really don't like California too much (when you compare it to Oregon), but living there for the amusement parks might just be worth it.

#8 We got to be with the entire Millar family in Oceanside California this last July. Not only that, but my kids got to know their great grandparents, the Richards on this trip. They are in their 90's folks...and still travelling and having a great time!

#7 Casey dropped about 40 lbs this last year and became super focused on running. He ran his first 6 mile race in San Diego this summer. Since then, he's gained a bit back but he is still swimming everyday.

#6 Aah, Legos. If I had to sum up our year with one word, it would be Legos. Our kids are OBSESSED with them! Thanks to Grandpa Millar, we were able to visit Legoland in July! It seriously was the highlight of their summer. They still talk about that day!

#5 Girls camp. How did we get here? I can scarcely believe that my baby girl is old enough to spend a week away at Girl's camp. We missed her terribly but she had and amazing time and came home with lots of memories, a stronger testimony and some new friends!

#4 Our family got addicted to bike riding. Eugene and Springfield have some of the best paved riding trails around and we spent many a Saturday going on family bike rides. I was even able to buy myself a new snazzy bike that can pull Lydia in her cart. Can't wait for the weather to turn nice again so we can ride again!

#3 Home improvements!! Casey painted the house, built a deck and we then bought a new hot tub! These are updates we have wanted to do for years but never had enough money saved. This year, we reached our target and Casey went to work. We are so happy with the results and the fantastic outdoor living space he created for us!

#2 Uncle Todd got married! Wow, this was truly one of the biggest highlights of the year! We adore our new Aunt Kailee and we had a GREAT time watching them get sealed in the Salt Lake Temple!

#1 This is the biggie! In May of last year, Casey got released as Bishop after 5 1/2 years of serving. Shockingly, the release was a major trial for us. It was so hard to let that calling go. He struggled, I struggled. But, like all things, when we trust in the Lord and do what he asks, He blesses us! It took a about a month to realize that we really did like having Casey home more often. In fact, we got to see him almost every night! That has been unheard of for the last 5 years! Sitting with him at church has also been awesome! He got put in as the Stake YM president, and is enjoying that calling very much!

Within a few months, I got released from the Primary presidency after 6 years of serving in that calling. My new calling is the Nursery and yes, that release was also tough. I still feel twinges of sadness every time I walk by the primary room and hear sharing time going on. The good news is that with that release, I have more time to learn the organ. This year, I get to take every 1st and 3rd Sunday playing either the piano or the organ in Sacrament meeting. It will be challenging for me, but also good.

Christmas day 2011

2011-12-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I finished it! Scrapbooking Christmas is done! Woo hoo! I'm loving Christmas break...sleeping in, playing with kids, and scrapbooking late into the night! I am appreciating it while it lasts because school schedules start again next week!

Christmas eve 2011

2011-12-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I have to admit...I am so glad that Christmas is over! This month always feels to me like I am running a marathon. Every year I tell myself to get better prepared and to simplify, but every year, I am so tired by the end of it all. This year we added a new tradition of doing the 12 days of Christmas for a family. Each of the kids put a name in a jar and we picked one out. Maggie's friend from school won! We managed to deliver all 12 days without getting caught. When we finally revealed ourselves at the end, they had no idea that it was us! I'd call that successful! Here is a sample of Casey's poems. He wrote one for every day. My favorite day was day 10. What to do for "Lords a leaping?" This one was easy for Casey as he found a stuffed Darth Vader doll at Walmart and a storm trooper marshmallow sucker. The Lord of the Sith counts as a "lord" right? At the end, we reminded this family about the real reason for Christmas and challenged them to pick a family to do next year. This made our Christmas so much fun!

The really, really great thing about this Christmas was that we got to spend it with my parents. I haven't spent a Christmas with my parents since 2007! Can you believe that? When there are 4 siblings that each live in different places, every 4 years sounds about right. Well, this year, it was my turn! They arrived the Sunday before Christmas so I got them for a WHOLE WEEK! Oh how excited everyone was!

Casey and I had the opportunity to go spend a night out at the coast for free. Our free gift certificate to the Adobe Inn in Yachats expired at the end of the year so, since my parents were here to stay with the kids, we used it! We had such a great time sight seeing, shopping and eating! We love the coast!

Christmas Eve was a fun event! We had dinner at our house...with 23 people and lots of food! I know that sounds like a lot of people for my little house, but we made it work. Because my house was just for eating, we brought everyone in, sat them in their assigned seats and got right to eating. After dinner, clean up took about 10 minutes with so many helpers and we were off to Grandma Walburger's house for the bulk of the program. (her house is much more big crowd friendly!)

Grandma had set out all of the nativity costumes for our annual nativity pageant. Lydia was Mary and the only person that wasw willing to be Joseph was Uncle Jared. He was so cute with her! Here is a picture of the "cast" after the production! Everyone did a great job!

After the Nativity, we heard a knock on the door and opened it to discover that Santa had dropped off a package and a letter! Inside the package was a pair of pajamas for every child. (a robe in the case of our girls)

Traditionally, Santa sends a letter along with his package of pajamas. Somehow, Santa knows the names of every person that is attending our christmas eve celebration. This year, since there were 23 of us, the letter was 27 pages long! All of it was in poem and featured the good things done by each person throughout the year! That santa, he sure is a talented guy!

The last event at Grandma's house was dessert. Everyone brought a dessert that is their favorite. Casey, being Casey, had to try every single one. He insists that the diet re-starts after Christmas is over! :)

Well, that's it for now. I'll get to Christmas day later!

week 50

2011-12-26T15:25:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Long time, no blog! It has been a wild and crazy Christmas with lots of activities, food, and best of all, Grandpa and Grandma Millar! I will blog about all the fun when I get a chance but for now, I am getting caught up on my project 365. Here is week 50! See you again soon!

Singing Time

2011-12-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Most of our semi-annual visits with Grandma Bea are basically our family, singing to her while she sometimes waves her hands, but most of the time, sleeps. (She is almost 100 after all.) For whatever reason, our visit last night was so much better! This night, she actually sang with us! I posted the video on Facebook so if you want to watch it, go there. ( For some reason, blogger has stopped letting me upload videos.) At one point, she and Casey even sang a duet. ("Casey Jones"...my camera failed to record it). She was so interested in the great grandkids. It was a beautiful evening with her!

After singing was over, we took a few pictures with Grandma. She was pretty tuckered out so we didn't get a shot with her facing the camera, but I think these pictures are pretty cute!

The Boorens always go with us. Afterwards, we always take the kids to the Mcdonald's near her care center. It has a playgrouund at it and so we eat and chat while the kids wear themselves out. We look forward to these Family nights every year!

The other big event this last week was Lydia's big preschool program. She is our last child to go through the school there and each one of our girls has had the same teacher. So, before the concert, we took a picture with all five of them and Mrs. Potter. We are going to miss sending children to her.

The actual program was hilarious! Halfway through the first song, we heard this obscenely loud little girl's voice wafting over all the others...in an octave higher than the song was being sung. We looked at each other and said, "Is that Lydia?" Yes indeed, she was screaming those songs so loud that everyone was cracking up. She didn't let up for the entire concert. Our bellies hurt so bad from laughing. We of course gave her lots of praise at the end of the concert. Her only concern was if we could hear her. Yes Lydia, we could hear you just fine!

week 48

2011-12-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

Uggh, I am so sick of being sick! I have been fevering on and off for almost a week now...that's after getting over a fever and cold just a few weeks ago! I think I've got something going on in my lungs and if it doesn't clear up, I am going to go see the doctor! I hate being sick when I have so much to accomplish! All I want to do is sleep under a mountain of blankets. I did get my last week of designing done though...so here is what we have been up to!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-06T13:00:00.001-08:00

I finally finished my Thanksgiving page!

week 47

2011-12-01T09:02:00.001-08:00

week 46

2011-11-29T11:09:00.001-08:00

I'm a bit far behind, but here is week 46!

Thanksgiving festivities coming soon!

2011 Turkey Stuffer

2011-11-24T14:31:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here waiting for rolls to finish cooking and so I thought I'd spend a minute updating my blog. This morning we had a great experience running/walking in the Turkey Stuffer through the streets of Thurston. It starts at the wave pool, goes for 3 miles and ends again at the wave pool. There were 1500 people running it this year! Here is a picture of us before the race started:

Casey of course was our runner. He finished in 20 something minutes. Charlotte and Jillian ran and walked while the little girls and I walked.

The little girls did pretty well. We did have to take a shortcut because Lydia started crying halfway through. She was SO cold! The best part was running by Grandma Walburger's house. She and Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristen and their kids had made signs for us and and were cheering us on! It was AWESOME! It gave the little girls a boost of energy.

As we were finishing our race, Uncle Jared (who had finished 20 minutes ahead of us and was walking home) stopped, grabbed the stroller and ran the rest of the crew in for the finish. The girls LOVED it! What a great way to start thanksgiving day!

week 45

2011-11-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

I finished our corn maze pages!

Seaside, Oregon...the best city on the Oregon coast!

2011-11-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had the chance to get away and go to Seaside Oregon. Casey is involved with the Oregon Association of Student Councils event held there every year. We share his hotel with him..and while he works, we play! Seems fair right? We got there on Saturday and immediately walked through our favorite part of Seaside...the main strip. They have fun little stores and things to look at. We rode the carousel and Charlotte bought a sweatshirt.

This is our favorite store on the Seaside strip. It has so many different kinds of treats! They cover everything in chocolate here...pretzels, pop-tarts, bacon, and even twinkies. Did we buy a six pack of chocolate covered twinkies? yes we did!

After touring the shops along the main strip, we ended our walk at the beach. This statue is of Lewis and Clark looking out on to the Pacific ocean. It was just gorgeous! (the view of the ocean, that is)

It was tough to keep the Sabbath day holy on Sunday. I took the girls up to Astoria to visit the ward there. It is always interesting visiting another ward. This one was kind of funny because the microphone was not working. Right in the middle of the sacrament song, the microphone backfired and let out this horrendous screech. The organist and chorister were startled and it took them a moment to start again. Everyone in the congregation started to giggle. Not exactly reverent...but it was pretty funny. After church, we drove across this gigantic bridge that links Washington to Oregon. The girls were so excited to tell their dad that they had been to Washington today. (We drove back to Oregon seconds after entering Washington...but the bridge was really cool!) The rest of the day was spent watching movies in our hotel room and walking the pristine Seaside beach.

Monday morning, we slept in, and then I took the kids swimming at the hotel pool!

Allison and Maggie were banned from swimming due to bad behavior the night before. (Really bad). So, while the other three kids swam, Allison and I played cards. (Maggie sulked.) But hey, hooray for following through on a punishment right?

All in all, it was a great little get-a-way.

week 44

2011-11-09T21:37:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, blogger is giving me problems...I am having trouble posting...hopefully I can figure it out and post more about our Seaside trip and other stuff later :)

week 43

2011-11-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

Week 43 is up! I am so sad to say goodbye to October! It is my favorite month of the year for sure!

Halloween in Levi Landing is quite an experience. We had over 400 kids come to our door. People park all along Thurston road just to trick or treat in our neighborhood. I think it's because all the houses here do it up big. There are inflatables, lights, and in our case, a movie playing in the window with full sound! We had such a crowd outside our house all night! We even put out chairs for people to sit on and watch the movie while their kids trick or treated! I took this video before it got dark but you get the idea of how it looked!

Trunk -R- Treat

2011-10-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hello all! We had such a crazy weekend! It all started off with our ward's Trunk-r-treat activity on Friday night. There were sooo many people there! We had a ton of fun walking through the spook alley, doing the cupcake walk, playing some other games and eating hot dogs. Then, we went outside (into the pouring rain) and trunk-r-treated our way through the parking lot. It was really fun! I put up a few pictures of the event.

The Young Men decorated the stage as a creepy walk-through spook alley. I think Allison and Lydia went through it about 20 times. They loved it!

Believe it or not, that's Grandma Walburger. She puts this giant witch's nose on her face and no one could tell who she was.

Jillian, Joel, Lydia and a friend hung out for part of the night together. Jillian won and consumed 4 cupcakes!! Ick!

The young women were assiged the face painting booth. Charlotte took her 30 minute shift at the beginning of the night. She was nervous at first but quickly got the hang of it.

These two were hilarious! Maggie was Hermione and cousin Drew was Draco Malfoy. They cast spells at each other all night.

The rest of our weekend was spent in Klamath falls with these two:

How is it that little Mackenzie is married???? She is Casey's brother's daughter. It seems like just yesterday she was this tiny little person. Casey DJ'ed their rocking reception. We did almost every line dance and group dance out there. It was so fun! Did you know there is a line dance to "Thriller?" I didn't.

Finally, I finished the scrapbook page for Maggie's birthday.

a-maze-ing weekend!

2011-10-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

We really did have a great weekend! First of all, we got the Booren boys for 4 days. I know that that sounds like more of a burden than a blessing but we just LOVE having them live with us! They are so much fun and everyone gets along so great! We took them to the school carnival, we sat in the hot tub at night, we played video games, had Maggie's birthday dinner and went to church together. I was honestly sad when their parents got back from Idaho Sunday night and picked them up.

Second, my debut as the sacrament meeting pianist went great! I ended up just playing the piano, not the organ but I still felt so good about it! It was fun to sit up on the stand the whole time and I had practiced those songs so many times, that I didn't make a single mistake! Wahoo! Next time I'm asked to do it, it should be even easier! (and maybe I'll brave the organ).

Lastly, for Family night last night we went to the corn maze at Lone Pine Farms. We went out there right after school because they close at 5:00. It was a blast! The maze out there is immense and they have fun clues along the way that help you not get too lost!

On the weekends, they have a "Fright Night" where the maze is haunted. Thankfully, we didn't go when it was haunted.

At Lone Pine, they have lots of picture cut-outs for posing. This was our favorite!

It's Maggie's 10th birthday today and she thought that this was quite a treat!

I'll post more about Maggie's birthday tomorrow, but for now, here's week 42!

emotions and the organ

2011-10-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

I had preschool at my house this week. Yesterday, we talked about emotions and feelings. I had each of the kids give me their scared, silly, angry, happy and shy face. I then interview each of them and asked them what things gave them those emotions. Some of the answers were hilarious! I will only post Lydia's out of respect for the other kids' privacy...but her answers made me smile. (as did her faces.)

This is my new hobby. (this is not the organ at the church...just a random pic I found on line...our organ is a bit more simple.) When I decided at age 32 that it was time for me to start learning the piano, I had no idea that it would eventually lead to me learning the organ. I have a great teacher (Sheryl Marchant) who doesn't let me take any shortcuts and expects playing perfection. She also pushes me to go way outside of my comfort zone (playing in the solitude of my house) and play in front of others. Gasp@! I started by playing the piano in Primary which was terrifying but got easier. The kids do not care if you make a mistake. A few months ago, I started playing the piano while Sheryl played the organ for prelude music in sacrament meeting. Do you know what I discovered? No one really listens to prelude music. (which was okay by me). Just a few weeks ago, I started playing the opening and closing hymn on the piano while Sheryl played the organ. Again, because the organ was so loud, no one could really hear me mess up. Finally, last sunday, I played the opening song on the piano with no organ to back me up. It went well. This sunday? I'm on my own... EEEK! Sheryl is out of town so it's all on me! I am so nervous! I am hoping to take one more big step and play the organ for prelude. I have learned 5 songs on it and will just play them really slowly. Anyway, cross your fingers for me...and maybe say a prayer or two. This is so FAR outside of my comfort zone but there's no going back now!

week 41

2011-10-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

Primary program #5 is in the books! We had our program yesterday in Sacrament meeting and it went so well! Songs that we thought were going to be weak turned out so much stronger than we imagined! All 45 of our primary kids sang their little hearts out. I say #5 because this is my fifth (and most likely last) program that I have had to write. It has been such a joy to put these programs on every October and I've love doing every one of them. I can't imagine that they will keep me in this calling for much longer. It will be six years in March. That's a long time to be in a church calling. We shall see...the chances that I get to write a 6th program are farely slim I think. Anyway, it went really really great. I also got to play the opening song for Sacrament meeting yesterday...my first time on my own. It went well and I didn't mess up too badly :)

here is our last week...fevering kids and all

Shutterfly

2011-10-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready for my annual enormous purchase from Shutterfly. There is a very small window when they offer up to 40 percent off their albums and it is usually around this time of year. It occurred to me that I haven't touched my scrapbooking for quite some time (other than project 365) and if I wanted to get these books ordered for Christmas, I needed to finish them up :)

I still have a bit more of the Millar Reunion to go, but I finished these two last night.

Happily, I finished our California Get-A-Way book (the one Casey and I took in Feb.) last night too. I had it all finished except for the opening page. Here it is! It feels so good to at least get one book done. As soon as I see the special come out, I'll order it for Casey's Christmas.

Hot tub fun!

2011-10-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is...the cherry on the top of the whole deck project. Our hot tub arrived last week! We bought a used, refurbished hot tub from a company in town that sells only used tubs. The price was 1/3 of what we would have spent for a new one and this used one works GREAT! The delivery was not without it's headaches though. As they were hoisting it up onto the deck, one of the guys let it dip too low and the side panel ripped off. So, the tub had to sit on it's side for 24 hours while they fixed it and repainted it. Then, once it was filled and warming, I walked outside and to my horror, water was gushing out of the side of it. Apparently, a tube had come loose in transport and had popped off. Casey quickly fixed it and now, everything works great. Casey and I have spent every spare evening out in it (once kids are in bed). I read my book while he watches a movie on the laptop. It has been great fun.

Here is week 40!

week 39

2011-10-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Moving!

2011-10-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, we are so tired! (well, mostly Casey but I'm tired for him!) He has been frantically moving his entire business from one location in Springfield to another bigger location in Eugene. Thankfully, we have three big cargo vehicles so the move is made a bit easier but they have certainly gotten a work out this week! Load after load after load of inflatables, rentals and DJ gear has made its way over to the new office. After 8 years in this location, it's amazing how much stuff we can throw away. With new technology has come outdated cassette players, Cd players, books and books of Cds and even some dance lights that are now just too cheesy to send to an event. This move has given Casey a chance to "gut" his inventory and get rid of all of that stuff that is no longer in service. The hard part for him has been to load and unload while still trying to maintain his business. The phones are still ringing despite his inability to sit at the phone.

This Saturday, he and I spent the entire day loading up the front office and setting up the new one. (He set up a PA system for me so I could listen to conference while I worked.) While he cleaned and organized the massive warehouse, I got to work on the "showroom." It's really just the front lobby but it's the first place people see so we needed to make it look professional.

This is a small portion of the front lobby but I had a blast setting up the "Fall" table. I even figured out how to set up the photobooth all by myself!!! Needless to say, we will be glad when this move is over...phones are transferred, internet is set up and Casey can just sit at his desk, answer phones and write up contracts! Hopefully soon....we shall see!

WEEK 38

2011-09-30T12:32:00.000-07:00

A birthday!

2011-09-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the low-down on Charlotte's 13th birthday! She had a GREAT day!

busy weekend

2011-09-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! This will officially be the last post made about the new deck because as of this weekend, it is finished. (Well, except for the trim on the stairs which we had to special order.) We found a killer deal on clearance patio furniture and we spent Saturday hosing off the deck and putting together the table and chairs! Even though it takes up half of the yard, our yard feels so much bigger now!

We also found these Adirondack chairs for $10 a piece (also clearance) and we put them outside our bedroom door.

Also on Saturday, we spread new bark and playground chips throughout the yard. We are so happy with the way everything looks...clean and fresh.

Because we tortured the kids by making them weed the playground and pull up the tomato plants (and it was torture for them), we rewarded them by taking them to the EWEB fountain for some playtime (and then for ice cream). It was so HOT today so the fountain felt really great!

Finally, I finished Charlotte's 13th birthday cake yesterday. She wanted a zebra print cake and since I had never done one before, I watched a few Youtube videos showing me how to do it. What would we do without the internet? Anyway, we are celebrating her birthday tonight! I can't believe we have a teenager!

big projects

2011-09-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We have so much to report this week! First off, I started another new project (this one I don't intend to finish for several years but thought it would be fun to start now.) As I've watched several of my good friends send their children off to college (and even marriage) I started wondering how prepared my girls will be when it is their turn. Charlotte is only 5 years away after all. So, I started to compile our family's most favorite recipes and over the next few years, I am going to create a cookbook for each of them to take with them when they leave home. Each recipe will have a picture and some fun memory or advice about the dish. Once it's finished, I'll get it printed and spiral bound. So, for now, I'm working on including our favorites...and remembering to take a picture or two when we sit down to dinner. The next step is to start teaching my older girls how to actually cook!

I have only done one page with 2 recipes...two recipes that every single member of our family devours. The funny thing is, both of these recipes come from my mom. I have a feeling there will be lots of Grandma Millar recipes in this book!

Secondly, the deck is ALMOST finished!! Casey just has to build one more set of steps and do the finish work on the stairs. Hopefully by Saturday, it should be done! Isn't it huge? We love it and I am amazed at how solid it is. It doesn't creek or groan when you walk on it. Since it is made of plastic, we will never have to refinish it or replace rotted boards. The far corner of the deck is where the hot tub will eventually go. It will be my little oasis :) Casey swears he will never ever take on another project like this one. We saved so much money by him doing all the work though, it was totally worth it!

Finally, we are MOVING! No, not our house...we'll probably be here until we die..but our office. We found an amazing office space in Eugene that is 5X the size of our current office and costs about the same as we are paying now. It even has a conference room! Casey is so excited about it. We start moving our business over on October 1st. To make things look more professional, he designed these new vertical banners that he will display in the new showroom and at bridal shows and trade shows. (of which he has 3 next month.) He got them in the mail last night and we had so much fun setting them up.

Anyway, October will be a crazy month for sure! Wish us luck!

WEEK 37

2011-09-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

Back to school and a new deck

2011-09-12T13:00:00.001-07:00

The first thing that I just have to report on is our new deck! It's not done yet but Casey has cranked all of this work out in just one week! (and this for a guy who has never built a deck before...and is learning as he goes.) I am so proud of him. We are so very excited to have this huge outdoor living space done in the next two weeks. I am very very very tired of dusty footprints all over my wood floors! The goal is to finish it by the time the rain starts so finishing by the end of this month is a must!

The spot where Maggie is standing is double reinforced because in some future day, it will hold a hot tub. Since we tore out our master bedroom window and put in a sliding glass door, Casey and I will be able to just walk out of our bedroom into hot tub heaven. (Now to save enough money to afford a hot tub:) )

As you can see, the deck is pretty large and takes up half of our backyard. This section of our yard was just "wasted space" before and we feel like it will get used much more with this deck. Because we are living in Oregon...and we get 9 months of rain...we are using treated wood for all of the foundation and for the top, we are using a product called "Timber Teck." It is plastic and therefore, will not have to be replaced due to rotting. We hope it lives up to it's advertising!!

9 times out of 10, I will look out the window and see Casey in this position. He nails in a board, stops, measures, makes sure it is level and then thinks about his next step. Thankfully, one of our very best friends (Shawn Stockford) is a deck expert and he comes over frequently to check on Casey's work.

Okay, now on to the really exciting stuff!! School started!!! Hallelujah!! Here are some pics of the girls' first days of school in no particular order.

Lydia is in a 3 day preschool. (The same one that all of our girls attended)

Here is my big 7th grader!! Isn't she a beauty? She has really taken little sister Jillian under her wing at middle school. We are proud of Charlotte!

Maggie is in 4th grade and Allison is in second. That makes only 2 kids at the elementary school! That's so strange!

Finally, the biggest change this year is Jillian's start of sixth grade...and middle school! She went a day early so that the sixth graders could have the school to themselves without the craziness of 7th and 8th graders around. So far, she is doing well and enjoying it. (Though she seems so small compared to everyone else. Maybe that is just in her parents' eyes)

I have not quite figured my days out yet. My mornings are very quiet! I have so much that I need to do but I really don't want to start any of it!

Week 35

2011-09-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

10 mile bikeride!

2011-09-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

What a terrific Saturday we had as a family! We decided to take a bike ride together from a park in Springfield, all the way out to Eugene and back. Eugene and Springfield are equipped with some of the most amazing bike trails. You can get just about anywhere using these trails. The ones we took today were far away from any traffic, along parts of the river that one would never see from a car. This picture is of the kids before we started our ride.

We made it 5 miles before we ran in to Valley River Center in Eugene. We decided to lock up our bikes and go inside to eat some lunch. Casey, feeling generous, also bought the girls ice cream!

About a mile from the mall is Skinner's Butte park. (the bike trail leaves the mall and goes right past this park.) We let the kids play for a few minutes before continuing.

Another mile down the trail sent us right past EWEB. Thankfully (since it was 90 degrees) there was a fountain that the girls rode their bikes through. Not getting wet enough, they got off of their bikes and thoroughly soaked themselves.

Because it was such a warm day, the wetness gave them an extra boost of energy to finish the path. At the end, we rode 10 miles today! It was so much fun that we repeated the trail on Monday night for FHE. This time, we rode 12 miles! Way to go girls!

I'm a bit behind but here is my project 365 for not this week but last.

scrapbooking summer

2011-08-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

I've been busy trying to scrapbook all of our summer adventures! Our summer has been filled with fun memories that just have to be included in a scrapbook. Here are a few...

family, family and more family!

2011-08-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

August has been the month of family! Last week we had Aunt Maria and cousins Emilie, Jared, Marissa, Aaron and David here. We filled the week with lots of great activities. We had a few days break when they left and this Monday, Aunt Katie and her kids arrived to spend a week with us! Our house is brimming with girls! We have spent this week at the pool, taking a bikeride and just letting the cousins play together. They all get along so well! We now have just one more week before school starts so my focus is to clean my house and prepare for school.

that's alot of pink!!

In other news, I started taking lessons on the organ. I figured that playing the organ should be a piece of cake after learning the piano but I was wrong. Figuring out the fingering (which is different from the piano) and coordinating my feet to hit the right pedals has proven to be a challenge. I have set a goal to learn one song really well ("Father in heaven, we do believe") and then once I've gotten that one down, I'll move onto another song. Needless to say, it is going to be a while before I am ready to play in sacrament meeting.

I'm a little behind, but here is week 33.

beautiful Oregon

2011-08-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

we had a couple of adventures this last week that reminded me how lucky we are to live in this beautiful state. I grew up in Spokane...a place that I thought was just lovely. Then, I came to live in Oregon and realized that Spokane doesn't hold a candle to the beauty that is the western side of Oregon.

Last Monday, we went on a bike ride with some families in our ward. It is a brand new bike trail that starts at Clearwater Park and follows the river for 2.5 miles. It is a flat ride and easy for kids but the scenery is gorgeous. We passed through a few sections that seemed like an enchanted forest...lots of moss covered trees all around us and the river gurgling along on our right.

When Aunt Maria was here this week, we took a hike up at the Dolly Varden campground. (Up by Fall creek). There is a trail there that leads to a nice rocky beach and a swimming hole. We had a picnic and let the kids swim in the creek.

We let Lydia hike with aunt Maria the whole way (she took all of the below pictures) because with us, she would have been complaining and wanting to be carried. With Maria, she didn't complain a bit! She trudged along for 2.25 miles!

Absolutely gorgeous, don't you think??

This is Drew and Sweet Pea...a boy and his dog (well, our dog, but he calls Sweet Pea his dog.)

Just a mile down the road is a place called "Big Pool." It is a really deep section of the creek where the kids jumped off of rocks and giant logs that had fallen into the creek.

Here is Casey, launching himself off of an enormous fallen tree into the deep (and cold) water.

The cousins (and Casey) found this giant floating long and tried to haul it upstream. The current got the better of them though.

Finally, we took a trip to the coast for the second time this summer. Once again, the weather was stunning...breezy and warm. Heceta Head is the best place on the coast to visit. The kids get to choose to swim in the ocean or the river. A river flows right into the ocean on the south side of the beach. Some of my girls preferred swimming in the shallow, warm fresh water while others perferred jumping the waves in the much colder Pacific ocean. Allison just loved searcing for starfish in the tidepools.

Oh Oregon, how we love you. If you can put up with 9 solid months of rain, summers here are incredibly wonderful.

We love having aunt Maria, cousins Marissa, David, Emilie, Aaron, Jared and Mackenzie here all week! We love family!

house painting

2011-08-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Summer's coming to a close and as I look back on it, I can't believe all that we have packed into these last three months! We are in the middle of an "un-reunion" right now with Aunt Maria and her kiddos arriving earlier in the week. Each day has been fun-fulled and exciting!

We are so close to finishing our house painting. It is looking so great and I know the neighbors like it. (anything is better than the faded, 10 year old paint we had before). Casey will be glad to get it finished. I am proud of him for doing it himself. He bought a sprayer and did the majority of the house while I did the trim. We ended up saving $2,000 by doing it ourselves!!

The color is a little lighter than the origial grey and we went with a dark trim this time instead of light.

Here is our last week of fun.

Finally, a few more Millar reunion pages.

give me some light!

2011-08-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

We are painting our house over the next few days. Casey is doing it himself and saving us a ton of money. The only downside is that it is taking much longer. We spent the whole day today in darkness as all of the windows are covered in dark paper...in preparation for a whole day of painting tomorrow. I was amazed at how not having light in the house (other than artificial light) can affect one's mood. I found myself grumpy and irritated all day. When I realized what was causing it, I quickly took the kids out into the sunshine to the park. Everyone's mood improved. I hope this project goes quickly!!!

Have I mentioned how much I am enjoying Oregon's non-summer? We haven't had a day hit 90 all summer. Today's high was 78 degrees. I wish that somehow all those suffering in the midwest...and just about everywhere else in the country could come to Oregon and enjoy our summer that forgot to be summer.

Finally, I finished a few more Millar reunion pages.

w

Scrapbooking away!

2011-08-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll guys and since I don't have anyone else to share my scrapbooking creations with, I'll share them with you! Below are the pages for the Zoo and Lego Land. Hope there aren't any typos :)

Girls Camp!!

2011-08-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

I knew this day was coming...it just crept up on me too soon! I sent my firstborn off to her first year of Girl's Camp! I feel like she is growing up way too fast. Surely I was older than Charlotte is now when I went to my first year of Girls camp right? She was so excited to get dropped off at the church this morning. Yesterday we packed her bags, made cookies, packed her a lunch and made a foil dinner. She prepared a spiritual thought that she was asked to give and before I knew it, she was gone! I get to pick them up this Saturday and I'm looking forward to hear about what they did all week!

This is a picture of the Springfield 3rd ward Beehives...ready for camp!

I finally caught up with my project 365. I was three weeks behind as of yesterday! thankfully, I found a little down time to finish them. Here is our last week.

I love making Star Wars pages. This one is from LegoLand last month!

And finally, the waterpark at LegoLand:

My brother is married!!!

2011-07-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

We had the best week in Utah! My brother got married in the Salt Lake temple last Thursday. He is 30 and has been waiting patiently for the right girl to come along. Kailee is 10 years younger than he is, but they are perfect for each other. The ceremony was performed by my amazing 94 year old Grandpa Richards. He has been able to seal 29 of his granchildren (including Casey and me) in various temples around the country. It was so nice to listen to him speak and reflect back on our temple sealing 14 years ago. This is a picture of Grandpa and Grandma Richards, Todd and Kailee.

Afterwards, we spent a very HOT hour outside the temple (with 10 other brides) taking pictures. Salt Lake has to be the most popular temple for weddings. It was sooooo CRAZY inside...and out. This picture is of the Millar six. My how we've grown and changed over the years! We have added so many new members to the Millar family with spouses and children. It's hard for me to remember a time when it was just the six of us.

That evening we decorated my parents' ridiculously beautiful yard for the reception in Heber. They served a full meal of Malibu chicken, beans, potatoes, rolls, salad and lots of desserts. Mom is so amazing. She can pull anything off!

We got to Utah a few days early and my job was the napkin folding. Aren't they cute? (Mom taught me how to do it...otherwise, I would have no idea.)

Allison and Lydia were enamoured with the whole thing. They kept calling the bride "Princess Kailee." To make them feel a part of it, Grandma let Allison and Lydia carry the gifts to the gift table. Allison took her job ver seriously.

Finally, my mom had asked that my girls surprise Todd and Kailee with a special song. So, as I always do with all things musical, I turned to Casey's sister, Charlotte. She turned a very simple song, "The Sweetheart Tree" into a beautiful arrangement with parts. She came over a week before we left and worked the parts out with the girls. It turned out so great! It won't upload for some reason so for now, I'll just post a picture of them singing. Hopefully I can get the video up soon.

Ward Campout

2011-07-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our annual Springfield 3rd Ward campout at Schwartz park. Like very year, it was very well attended and lots of fun (despite my dislike of camping). The only problem was that in the evening, it got down to 45 degrees....we were freezing! Casey and I rarely snuggle in bed (we like our own sides of the bed) but last night, we slept close just to keep ourselves warm. I think we got maybe 2 hours of sleep all night. In the evening, we sang songs around the campfire, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and just let the many, many children play together.

Casey was our chef for breakfast. He whipped up eggs and bacon on our little campstove.

The night before, Kelli made everyone fresh, homemade benyas in honor of her daughter Lauryn's birthday. She started making them after watching the "Princess and the Frog." They were very tasty and gone really fast.

Here is cousin Drew in mid launch. He made me photograph him over and over again jumping off of a post at the campground park. This was the best one.

The girls were so excited to go camping. We only do it once a year..and that is for the ward campout. I can handle one night of camping...if we go any longer than that, check me into a hotel please!

Summer's half gone!

2011-07-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

I can't hardly believe that summer is over half done! Here in Oregon, the weather has been so down-right springlike, it feels like summer hasn't really even started! I look at the weather map and see record highs everywhere else but the Pacific Northwest. This Saturday, we're going to be above 80 degrees for only the 3rd time since summer started. I am NOT complaining...I hate hot weather, and I'm not much of a gardener so this cool weather hasn't affected my "crop" like it has some of my neighbors. Furthermore, with last week being entirely rainy, my lawn looks nice and full!

Since returning from vacation, we had some big events happen! The first, was that Jillian got her braces on! She has been such a trooper through the whole process and they look so cute on her. The challenge of course is to keep her brushing and flossing...and staying away from some of her favorite foods like Dorritos and popcorn! She's doing great though and they make her look so much older.

In 2 -1/2 years or so, she should have straight teeth!

Last weekend, we went down to Medford to see my niece Aubrey get baptized. It was so great to see my parents again (who drove from Utah for the event). Now, we are preparing for a BIG wedding in Utah. My little brother Todd is getting married! We are so excited for him!

Finally, I finished the opening page to our 2011 Millar reunion scrapbook....and I thought I'd share!

The cute girl on the far left is our soon-to-be aunt, Kailee! Aren't they cute?

week 27

2011-07-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly catching up!

Sea Life Aquarium, Knottsberry Farm

2011-07-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Knott's Berry Farm was our first stop! We went there as a family before heading down to our Oceanside reunion! Even though the weather was in the high 90's, we had a great time!

As part of our LegoLand 2 day pass, (thanks Grandpa Millar!!) we also got entrance into the Sea Life Aquarium at the front gate of Lego land. Because a big group of adults went golfing, Casey, Aunt Katie and I took the kids to the aquarium for a few hours. It was so fun..and best of all, Lego themed!

swimming in the ocean

2011-07-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Trips to the Oregon coast always mean keeping a super close eye on how deep my kids go into the water. There are some serious undertows on the Oregon beach and we have known some people who have gotten into trouble and even died out there. So, when we went to the California beach, it took me a while to be comfortable watching my little kids go REALLY far out into the surf. I was paranoid that some rogue wave was going to take them out to sea. But, the beach in California is so much safer than Oregon. My kids LOVED body surfing and wading chest deep in the warm water. I eventually relaxed a bit and went "wave jumping" with them. For most of the girls, beach time was the highlight of the trip!

Casey and Charlotte were crazy out there! Casey taught the big kids how to ride a wave from it's beginning, all the way to the shore. Their poor bodies were pretty hammered by the end of the day.

Here is my Maggie on the beach at night. We took a walk on Sunday night on the beach (trying to keep the Sabbath Day as holy as possible despite being on vacation)

Finally, here is wekk 26. I am a week behind so hopefully, I'll have week 27 up soon :)

San Diego part 1

2011-07-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged!! We just got back (literally...we got in at 3 a.m.) from our wonderful family reunion in San Diego, California. I must say, if there is one place that I think I could tolerate in California, it's San Diego. The weather is moderate, it's very very clean and it's near the beach. I enjoy visiting California but I think I couldn't live there for one main reason and that has to be the TRAFFIC! (and maybe the 110 degree heat through central California) But, we had a glorious time with my family! We stayed at a WorldMark condo on the beach in Oceanside where we played in the pool, toured San Diego and swam...yes, swam in the ocean. (We can't do that in the Oregon ocean) I am still uploading a lot of my pictures so I only posted two highlights for today. The first I actually scrapbooked. It was Casey's first 10K run at Scripp's Ranch in San Diego on the 4th of July. He has gotten himself into pretty decent shape and came in around 300th out of almost 2,000. That's pretty good for a first timer.

My favorite part of the trip was our visit to the Mormon Battalion visitor's center. If you ever get a chance to go...be sure to!! It was so well done and engaging for everyone...even little kids.

In this room, we are packing up to take our 2,000 mile journey with the Battalion.

Jillian was picked to be the laundress for the trip :)

This room had pictures on it that started talking and moving half way through the presentation. It took everyone by surprise!

My 94 year old Grandpa Richards and my 90 year old Grandma came with us on this trip. One night, they set down all of the adults and led us in a tearful discussion on our heritage. His wife, Margaret Jean, died before I was born. Maggie, my 3rd child is named after her. He passed around pictures and taught us about our ancestors. He also told of the times he got to meet different prophets. Thomas S. Monson set him apart to serve in the temple presidency at the LA airport...he served in the LA temple, and was set apart at the airport. :) Gordon B. Hinckley was in his home when he was a regional representative. He also got to meet Heber J Grant on his mission. He served as a bishop for 9 years and a stake president for 10. I am so thankful to have him as an example to my children! By the end of the "talk," we were all in tears and in awe at this wonderful man and the challenges he has overcome!

The Beach!!!

2011-06-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a while since we've been at the beach on a perfectly sunny day. Whenever we go, it's usually cold and wet. On Friday, we lucked out and had the most splendid sunshine and warmth. The water even seemed somewhat warm! We spent the whole day at our favorite place, "Devil's Elbow." We like it because it's totally enclosed by cliffs and the wind isn't too crazy.

Lydia's hair is looking a little wild....I think she needs a haircut :)

Allison and cousin Joseph were the most drawn to the water. Allison had no problem rolling around in the water fully clothed.

there was just enough wind to fly a kite (barely). Maggie takes her turn.

I just love this picture of cousin Sam. He LOVED the beach!

There was a fort that had already been constructed of driftwood on this beach. The kids spent the whole day coming in and out of it.

Finally, here's our last week!

summer chaos!

2011-06-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well, summer has begun and my house is now in a constant state of chaos! I usually keep my house relatively clean throughout the year...except during summer. I have given up cleaning during the day...things just get messed up again! We're lucky to make our beds every morning! The girls are enjoying their free time though. We started swimming lessons this week and they have spent most of their time out in the brilliant weather. The highest we've seen so far is 79 and breezy! I love Oregon summers :)

First and foremost, Casey and I celebrated our 14th anniversary on Monday. Jared Booren gave us a great gift by using some of his Marriott reward points on a swanky hotel room for us. Grandma Walburger took all of the kids...booren boys, kertamus boys and my girls to her house for a sleep over. They hardly missed us as they roasted marshmallows, ate pizza and played badminton all night. So, we went to dinner, swam in the pool, went shopping and just had a leisurely, quiet night together. It was great!!

On Saturday, we had our 5th annual Primary Mega activity. The last 4 years, we have avoided the rain but this year, it came down. We went ahead as planned though and the 70 kids that showed up didn't care a bit! They bounced and slid and climbed on Casey's toys to their hearts' content! They were a soggy, grasssy mess when it was all over but no one seemed to mind!

Lydia tackles the slide on the obstacle course

cousin Joel tries to stay dry!

Charlotte and her cousin Joseph helped out by running the obstacle course for us. She was sooo wet and cold after 4- 20 minute rotations in the rain!

Finally, here is my project 365 for our last week! Hope everyone is doing well!

Family support

2011-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

What a joy it was to have extra family in town for Casey's "release day" on Sunday. Andie and Layne popped into town on business. The day was so much more special with them in the congregation. After church, we went to visit Grandma Bea. Do you know that she's 99???? It's truly remarkable. We stayed for about an hour and then had a BBQ at the Walburger home. By the end of the day, Casey was so drained, I could just see his energy leaving him. Oh how we love our family!!

Grandma was pretty out of it but her hand "pulsed" in Andie's hand to the beat of the music.

Charlotte and Truett were two peas in a pod this weekend. They are growing up so fast!!

While we sang, the littler cousins ran around the empty room. They did give Grandma Bea lots of hugs though.

I think this picture is interesting. Casey cleaned out the Bishop's office and this was what he brought home. After 5 years of living in that office, he could fit everything into a smallish box and the office was ready for the next Bishop. I am amazed at how orderly these transitions are. Casey is swamped with his new calling already. He's the main speaker up at "Sky Camp" for the priests this Friday and then he is leading a one hour training session for Bishoprics and YM leaders next Tuesday. The Lord doesn't let us rest for very long does He?

Here is our last week!

Release

2011-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday, Casey was released as the Bishop of the Springfield 3rd Ward. It was a really tough day but one that we had prepared ourselves for. His 5 year mark had come and gone so we knew that this was coming. We were still a bit shocked and sad when the release interview happened though. Sacrament meeting on Sunday was beautiful. The spirit was very strong and I think it witnessed to most people that this change was what the Lord wanted. Our new bishop, Bishop Blair, will be wonderful. As for Casey, he was just called to be the Stake Young Men's President. So, he is already buried in new things to do. I think that is a good thing as he doesn't really have time to look back too much. Instead of re-hashing my feelings here on this blog, I just attached a bit of my journal entries. The stake president encouraged me to keep a journal of the things that I was feeling and my reflections on the last five years so I did it. Here is a portion of what I wrote:

"After almost 8 years of serving as Bishop or in a Bishopric, the Lord is giving me my husband back. Charlotte was 4 when Casey stopped sitting with us at church. That means that none of my children remember or even know what it’s like to sit with their father in sacrament meeting. They don’t know what it’s like to leave for church as a family and then actually go home together at the end of the meeting. The Lord is giving my children their father back. And yet, in spite of this, we are not jumping for joy like I would have thought was natural. So, this week I have struggled to answer these questions and come to grips with just what exactly we are mourning the loss of. Through lots of tears and prayer, I think I have figured some things out.

First, I don’t think that the Lord likes us to get too comfortable in our callings. He likes us to grow in the Gospel. Perhaps that’s why Bishops usually only get five years. By their five year mark, they probably are pretty comfortable with what they are doing. Perhaps it is time for Casey to grow in other areas of the Gospel.

Second, the Lord has poured out His spirit and His blessings onto our home and family. A part of me worries that that spirit and those blessings will suddenly disappear the moment he’s released. I have to keep reminding myself that just because we are no longer the Bishop’s family, it doesn’t mean that those blessings and that spirit are going to go away. As long as we serve hard in any calling He gives us, we are worthy of those blessings. I think the thing that makes it different is that we daily feel the prayers and love of other Ward members that pray for the Bishop’s family. We have felt their love which has helped improve the spirit in our home.

Third, I have loved watching Casey grow in this calling. I have always been enamored with him from the day we were married but I adore him even more now, after seeing the man that he has grown into. I have loved being his personal “cheerleader.” When he comes home after a rough night of meetings or if he is struggling to write a talk or fulfill an assignment, even though he couldn’t always unload his burdens on me, I could always cheer him on and give him encouragement. I have loved the way that our marriage and been fortified through this calling.

Fourth, even though it has been challenging to not have a husband around on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday nights and all of Sunday, the joy that we have gotten from watching him as Bishop far surpasses any hardship his absence may have caused. Even though the clock and the calendar told us that we were seeing less and less of him, somehow the Lord compensated us with more quality time than we’ve ever had as a family. I know that Casey felt great joy in serving this Ward. Watching him feel that joy, gave me great joy. "

WEEK 22

2011-06-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a bit better this week. :) Casey and I have started walking/running 3 miles a night. We put the girls to bed, leave Charlotte in charge, and head out into the brilliant 60 degree weather. Really, if it doesn't get hot at all this summer, I'd be so happy. Casey runs, I speed walk...and he meets up with me near the end as he takes an extra loop. Because it is staying light for longer, we can even go after his meetings if he's not home too late. I'm finding that a little exercise and time outdoors can help any mood. Here is our last week. (I realized I got the dates wrong on week 21...off to fix:)

week 21

2011-06-03T02:56:00.000-07:00

I'm in a funk right now. We've had a really, really tough week. One of our dear friends died last week and this week was his funeral. It was a tough one because he took his own life. Casey had to speak at the funeral and agonized over what he should say. He did such a GREAT job on his talk. As I watched him give it I marvelled at how he has changed over the last five years as Bishop. We have been on an emotional roller coaster this week for other reasons as well. I'll fill you all in on that at a later date. I hate feeling grief. I don't function well when I'm sad. I'm so grateful for prayer. :) Here's our last week...

week 20

2011-05-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

Uggh...I want you to know that I do check these pages for spelling before I upload them...but for some reason, I spot more typos once they are in my blog :) I can spell, really. Now, off to fix them before I forget :)

week 19

2011-05-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

week 18

2011-05-12T09:45:00.000-07:00

Finished another week :)

Jillian's birthday

2011-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just fallen in love with a tv program? I FELL in love with the X-files way back when. I haven't fallen for a show like that until Lie To Me came along on Fox. Actually, I knew nothing about the show until I caught myself up on Netflix. Sadly, today, Fox announced that it is cancelling my favorite show. :( I admit, I'm mourning a bit today. I really watch very little TV (other than Netflix stuff) so I am sad to have lost a show that I would actually sit down and watch on a weekly basis. RIP Lie to Me...it was fun while it lasted.

Ok, now that I got that out of my system, here is a re- cap of Jillian's birthday. We love her so much and are enjoying watching her grow and mature.

wicked

2011-05-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

Have any of you seen Wicked? We got the chance to go this last weekend and we LOVED it!!!

Here's our last week!

easter weekend part 2

2011-04-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

I'm on a scrapbooking roll today! Here's our Easter weekend:

Easter weekend

2011-04-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we travelled down to Medford to spend some time with our cousins. Casey was hired to DJ aunt Katie's sister's wedding so we all decided to go with him so we could see our cousins. Here are some pictures of the girls rocking out at the dance. They had never been to one of Casey's "shows" and they had a blast!

Cotton Eye Joe

Maggie and cousin Aubrey

Finally, here is our week in review!

Bowling

2011-04-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

We had absolutely no grumbling and groaning about Family night tonight! (as we often do when it's "lesson" night). We announced to the girls that we were going bowling and instead got squeels of delight! We had a great time.

Lydia's first attempt at bowling :)

week 15

2011-04-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Kind of a low-key week...

goofball, wax museum and beach

2011-04-15T08:57:00.000-07:00

wordart by Bethany Harty at http://www.elegantwordart2.blogspot.com/. She gives away a TON of free wordarts. Digi scrapbookers, head on over and check it out. (I love Bethany...she used to live in our Ward...years and years ago.)

I finished our Madame Tussaud's page today. I'm having so much fun with all of this Hollywood stuff. I purchased a great Hollywood kit with tons of cute stuff in it!

And finally, our visit to Santa Monica, california.

too strict?

2011-04-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a Taste of Home cooking show with some ladies from my Ward. We had a really great time and it was wonderful to go out with the girls. When I got home, I found a note written by Charlotte (who babysat) detailing how awful Jillian and Maggie had been to her...calling her names, insulting her, refusing to go to bed etc. This has been a common tale with these two and before, we've punished with their privileges (computer, Wii, tv) being taken away. This seems to no longer be effective because they keep doing it. So, this morning, we punished with something new. For the entire day (except for at school) both girls are not allowed to talk. They can talk only if we (the adults) talk to them. Casey made a litte tag to put on their shirts that says " I chose not to say anything nice, so now I can't say anything at all." When they get home from school, they will wear them the rest of the day. Needless to say, the girls were horrified. I know it sounds harsh but we don't know what else to do to get them to understand. Now, the next time we leave them with a babysitter, we can remind them of their day of silence and how horrible it was not to be able to talk. Perhaps they will think twice before being so cruel to their big sister.

Date night

2011-04-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

We went on the best date last Saturday night with the Boorens. I have never really been to a fancy schmancy restaurant before...you know, the kind where your food looks like art? Anyway, we went to a place called Marche. It is a french restaurant and was pretty pricey. (The Boorens had a gift certificate so it was okay). I just have to say, sometimes, you do get what you pay for. The food was incredible! ...so fresh and flavorful. This is a picture of Casey's salmon. Afterwards we went to another upscale restaurant (The Exelsior Inn ) for chocolate cheesecake. It was divine. It was so fun to go to fancier places than is our usual. We could definately tell a difference in quality! After eating, we went bowling. I would like you all to note the scoreboard below. That's right, I beat them all :) Actually, Charlotte won the first round and I won the second. Those poor boys!

recital

2011-04-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

The girls had a voice recital on Saturday. I uploaded all of their songs for my mom...if the rest of you feel like sitting through them, then enjoy. Otherwise, enjoy their recital mom!! (Also, big shout out to their awesome voice teacher, Charlotte Booren! They improve with every recital thanks to her.)

Week 13

2011-04-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another week!

I must admit, the conference candy jars were not my idea. This is why I love following others' blogs. I got this link from Lanette. People are so creative....I love stealing their ideas!

2011-03-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Rainy rainy rainy Spring Break recap is below!

Bubba Gump

2011-03-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love Forrest Gump? In high school, it was my all time favorite movie! That's why, when we discovered this restaurant, we just had to go! I'm not a big seafood person but Casey is and he was very excited to try it! He had four different kinds of shrimp...battered, coconut, cocktail and one other that I can't remember. The whole restaurant was plastered in Forrest Gump props, scripts, and quotes. Each table had a sign on it that said, "run Forrest Run," or "Stop Forrest stop." When we held up the Stop sign, any waiter automatically stopped at our table to get us more to drink! It was really really fun! If you're ever in California, check it out.

Spring Break?

2011-03-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Oregon makes it really hard on us moms when Spring Break rolls around. Instead of taking kids to parks or on hikes, or just sending them outside to play, the kids are stuck inside the house, watching the rain (and hail). Seriously...how about some warmth...or even just a little peak at the sun?? I am always singing Oregon's praises...except for this time of year when the nine months of constant rain starts to get on my nerves. Oh well, we are very good at finding things to do indoors :)

Here's our last week:

Pages

2011-03-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

Just sharing a little more of our vacation...I had some down time and finished a few pages. The kids want to know why we can't go somewhere for Spring Break. We are sorry to tell them that we blew all vacation money on our little solo getaway. So sorry girls (actually, we're not :)

Black out Springfield

2011-03-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

In light of everything going on in Japan, this recent inconvenience hardly seems worth talking about...but it did make for an interesting Sunday. At about 2:00 in the afternoon on Sunday, we got a massive windstorm. We knew it was bad because the rain was coming down sideways. The lights began to flicker and then, they were gone. We didn't think too much of it until 2 hours later, the power was still out. So, we went on a drive to explore.

Casey (in his single days) used to live in this little trailer park. This is a Mercedes, smashed in 2 by a giant tree. In other parts of Springfield, 100 year old trees had come crashing down. See, the problem with Oregon is that trees don't have to grow their roots very far to find water. As a result, they are pretty weak when heavy winds start to blow. I think there's a Gospel metaphor in there right? Grow your roots deep in the Gospel so that you can withstand the winds of the adversary? See...Family home evening lesson, right there!

(So glad no one was inside that car)

We had Chicken and dumplings half cooked in the crockpot when we lost power. So, I threw that crockpot in the fridge and we had soup, sandwiches and cold cereal for dinner. (we have a gas stove so we can still use it without electricity) The girls were strangely excited about the whole thing. They especially liked playing games by lantern. The lights came on about 9:00 that evening. Unfortunately, we forgot to go turn the lights off after the power went out so when they came on, all the bedroom lights roared to life as the kids were sleeping. :)

Seven hours without power helped us to remember the extreme suffering going on in Japan. I can't imagine what they are going through over there.

Anyway, here's our last week of excitement!

Talent Show

2011-03-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

the 2nd annual Springfield 3rd ward talent show was this last Friday. I have decided that our ward is full of loonies (Led proudly by their loony Bishop...I say that in a good way of course :). It wasn't really a talent show...but mostly act after act of hilarious goofiness. Charlotte got home that evening and said, "Mom, have you ever had a cramp in your face from smiling too much?" The kids had so much fun... it was definately a family affair.

I am posting our "Star WARS: a tribute to John Williams" act below. It is very un-professional and sounds kind of "screechy" on the video...I don't think it sounded that way live...but I thought you'd enjoy it. We are singing the story of Star Wars to the many tunes of John Williams. It was fun.

week 9

2011-03-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here is our last fun-filled week! Actually, it was a pretty tame week. The highlight for me was our 3rd ward Enrichment night. It was a "Mad Hatter Tea party." The cultural hall was decorated like a big Alice in wonderland party. We had little sandwiches and vegetables. (no tea:) There was a spiritual program about all the many hats that women wear and then we broke into "flamingo croquet." It was so funny! About 7 cakes were brought in by ladies in the Ward. I just love our Ward's activities. This friday is the talent show. I will let you all know how our Star Wars tribute to John Williams Skit goes! (The Westovers and The Boorens are teaming up to sing!...woo hoo!)

Moms

2011-03-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

This is my mom. I'll just say it...she's amazing! She went back to Utah on Monday and my girls miss her soooo much! Somehow, Grandma does things just a little bit bitter than their mom does. :) That's okay...I am so glad that they love Grandma Millar as much as I do. I came home on Saturday to a spotless house, finished laundry, bathed kids and freshly made goodies on the counter. When I grow up, I want to be just like my mom!!

This is the sight that welcomed us after our 12 hour drive. The girls each drew a picture of the things we did on our trip, taped them together and draped it across the front porch.

More fun stuff!

Six flags

2011-03-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

Last night I spent an hour whipping out the first few pages to our California vacation. Might I highly recommend a trip without kids? I don't mean a short over-nighter or even a weekend. If you can, take a whole week and get far, far away. It was so wonderful! We missed our kids (a little) but it was such a refresher for our marriage and our friendship. I thought it was a good sign that after seven days alone together, we were not tired of each other. I'm also grateful to my mom who took such great care of our little ones while we were gone. I'm not sure they even missed us that much.

So very far behind

2011-02-28T17:31:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone! sorry it's been so long since I last posted something. Casey and I had the opportunity to take a whole week to go on vacation ALONE! It was simply glorious! My wonderful mother came in to town to watch the kids for a week. I don't have any pictures loaded yet so, for now, you get a project 365 page...from the week of Valentines. (yep, that's how far behind I am...vacations will do that to you!)...I'll post vacation pictures soon.

Growing up

2011-02-14T09:32:00.000-08:00

When my kids were little, I looked to their teenage years with such dread. I didn't want to see them grow up...I wanted them to stay little forever. Now that I have a teenager in the house, I'm feeling different about it. I can honestly say that I am thoroughly enjoying watching Charlotte change, grow and do new things. Last weekend we had a 12 year old boy stay with us overnight (along with his sisters.) It was so fun to watch Charlotte and Blake flirt with each other. Of course, it was all innocent and sweet but I couldn't help but smile. (Casey is taking a much longer time accepting that Charlotte is growing up.) Every time that I look at Charlotte, she seems to have changed. She is almost as tall as me...(she's already passed her Aunt Charlotte in height), she takes more time with her clothes and hair...and she is fun to talk to on a more adult level. So, despite my early misgivings about teenagers, I am so happy that (so far), I'm enjoying every minute of it.

Isn't she just gorgeous....seriously... isn't she??

I found some time to scrapbook Allison's birthday page. I am really glad that the birthday madness is over. Three birthdays in 3 weeks is a little crazy! But, Allison had a great time and felt very loved!

2011-02-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

I'm going to post this real quick...seriously, where do my days go???? I've been slammed with business taxes all week so I barely squeezed a little scrapbooking in...I'll blog more about all the birthday fun we had last weekend later! For now, enjoy week five!!

Thank you!

2011-02-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much for all of you prayers and thoughts! The neurologist gave us some good news today. Turns out, Lydia is most likely suffering from migraines. I have to watch her diet, give her specific vitamins and keep a headache journal. We go back in 3 months to double check. He almost recommended an MRI but because she tested out so well physically, he opted to just let me moniter her for the next few months. Perhaps he saw the look of horror on my face when he told me they would have to sedate her to do the test. The funny thing was that he didn't even think brain tumor (unlike her primary physician). He said in the 23 years he has been in practice, he's only seen one brain tumor in a child with headaches! So, the Westover home breathes a sigh of relief tonight! Thanks again for your support and prayers!

nervous energy

2011-01-31T15:55:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to burn off some nervous energy today so I actually completed last week's scrapbook pages on time! Why am I so nervous? Lydia has her much dreaded appointment with the "brain doctor" (neurologist) tomorrow. I keep telling myself that there's probably nothing wrong with her and that her headaches are just a fluke thing. Sadly, that negative little voice inside me is constantly displacing my positive thoughts with thoughts of "what if they find something?" Anyway, my stomache is in knots but we will push on! Hopefully by tomorrow, all of this stress will be gone. In the meantime, any prayers you might want to send our way would be awesome! Crossing our fingers for a healthy Lydia. :)

2011-01-27T21:33:00.000-08:00

So sorry this has taken me so long! Life has just gotten in the way of scrapbooking. Tonight however, the younger girls are in bed and Casey took the two oldest girls to see harry Potter (for the 2nd time) so I had a quiet moment to get mostly caught up. Here's our last week!!

new week

2011-01-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

I finally finished last week's Project 365. (I have been finding other things that I'd rather be doing than scrapbooking but today I forced myself to sit down and finish it before I forgot what happened last week.) enjoy!

Lydia turns 4

2011-01-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

My baby turned 4!!! this week! I can hardly believe it. She still seems like my little baby. She had an excellent birthday party with a "pig" cake and presents. She is obsessed with pigs. Ever since she got a pig beanie baby (a few years ago) and named him "Hammy," she has had a love affair with pigs. She of course requested a pig cake for her birthday. I made the big pig and Maggie and Jillian each made a baby pig for the top of the cake. She was thrilled with her "hammy" cake.

We invited Grandma and Grandpa Walburger over for a dinner of some of her favorite things...homemade chicken nuggets, cheesy mashed potatoes, banana bread and a green salad with her favorite snack...croutons. :) Unfortunately, Lydia was battling a headache all day and by dinner, she was not feeling well at all. She perked up enough to blow out her candles and open her presents though. (Mom, don't worry...Casey had a headache all day too...we think it was just a bug :)

Grandma gave her a Princess porcelain Tea set and when she opened it, she said to Grandma, "How did you know that this was just what I wanted?" She's been playing with that tea set ever since.

the next day, feeling much better, Lydia invented a new word. As she was playing with her new Tinkerbell dolls (whose clothes are easy to remove) she said, "Mom, look, the clothes and shoes are 'off-able.' " She's so funny and we are so very happy to have her in our family!

Bridal show 2011

2011-01-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! This weekend has been a crazy one! Casey did his 13th bridal show for the Lane county wedding showcase. He talked to hundreds of potential brides. This event gives us about 75 percent of our summer business so it's pretty vital. This year, he took Charlotte with him. As each couple climbed into the photobooth, she cut their photostrips. She also put together packets so that Casey (and uncle Jared...who is a REALLY good salesman) could hand them out. Casey said that she was SO helpful and she didn't complain a bit. During slow moments, they got into one of the photobooths (he had 2 set up) and took some fun pictures. Casey had props inside the photobooths to add to the fun. All in all, it was a very productive weekend!

In other news, Lydia got a mostly clean bill of health from the doctor. They checked everything... her optic nerve (to make sure there wasn't a tumor sitting on top of it), her mobility and speech. (I'm guessing it was to make sure her brain wasn't being affected by something bad inside.) I need to take her to see a neurologist soon but my doc assured me that everything is probably fine. So, for now, I'm choosing not to worry. :)

Here is Week 1 of 2011!

Happy day!

2011-01-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

This picture makes for a really good day! Farewell speaker Pelosi...can't say I'll miss ya!

One more page to finish and 2010 is in the books!

Lydia

2011-01-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Thought I'd share a page of Lydia with you all! She is in love with all things pink and girlie. My other girls really didn't get into dress up, princesses, shoes and jewelry, but Lydia LOVES those things! She is my little buddy. Today, we went to lunch together and as we sat at McDonald's (her favorite), we pulled out a pencil and paper and designed her birthday cake. (she turns 4 at the end of the month.) Of course, the cake will feature pigs. :) Lately, she has been waking up with severe headaches. Last night, her headache was particularly severe. She and I sat out in the front room by the fireplace at 1:00 a.m. until her headache went away. Needless to say, I am stressed and worried. I have an appointment with a doctor this week to hopefully put my mind at ease. Looking on the internet for answers of course doesn't help. Every website that I go to tells me that headaches shouldn't be worrisome unless they wake your child up at night. Great! :( I don't know why I can't be more like Casey and not immediately go to the worse case scenario in my mind. He doesn't worry about stuff unless there's something confirmed to worry about. I don't think I'm engineered that way. Anyway, hopefully tonight I will get a full night's sleep. I'm crossing my fingers!

While we were at Borders before Christmas, we spotted a hot pink christmas tree for sale. This week as we were taking down our tree, Allison said, "mom, we should throw away this old tree and next year, get that hot pink one!" Lydia, overhearing our conversation, replied... "No!! I don't want a hot pink tree, I want our cold green one." We all got a good laugh. She brightens our lives.

Here's our final week of 2010!

Taxes, skinny jeans and Mickey!

2010-12-30T11:08:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that 2010 is almost over! I just received notice from my accountant that my taxes (for the business) need to be in to him by Feb. 8th!!! I haven't even started them yet! This next month is going to be filled with checking reconciliations, end of year business expenses...and the most dreaded...1099s, W2s and W3s. Ick, Ick, Ick! I had better never die (not that I'm planning to) because Casey has no clue how to do taxes for his own business. He'd be lost without me :) Anway, as I said before, our week has consisted of taking down Christmas and playing "Epic Mickey" on the Wii. If you have gamers at home that like Disney, this game is amazing. We went to the mall the other day and Casey scored a playbook that helps them get through the game without missing anything. We also bought him a new suit. He's down to a 32 waist from a 38. I bought him some "skinny" jeans for Christmas. He has taken a while to adjust to wearing them. He' s used to baggy jeans from Costco. He looks really, really good in them though!

Finally, I thought I'd post some family pics. We got them taken at Sears this year and I think they turned out mighty fine! Happy New year everyone!

2010 final pages

2010-12-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

So, my kids got some new games for christmas for the Wii. By far the favorite was "epic Mickey." Casey played that game for 4 hours last night. He had just finished tithing settlement for the year and he came home and had some "me" time with the Wii. The girls have been playing far too many Wii games...but it has allowed me to take down Christmas decorations, clean my house from the Christmas mayhem and sit down to finish out my 2010 Scrapbook. With this final page, I'm ready to put it all together and order it! (I just have to raise the money to pay for it :)

Finally, here's our last week...only one more to go!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas friends! We had such a wonderful christmas eve and Christmas day. I know I'm quick to post these but I promised my mom she could see the gifts that she bought my kids. (My parents send us money each year so that we can pick things out that the girls really want or need.) First off, last year's Nativity scrapbook page somehow didn't make it into my 2009 scrapbook so, I just popped the 2010 pics into the layout and there you have it...instant scrapbook page:)

These pictures are completely out of order. Casey has always wanted an RC car and now that we don't have carpet in our house anymore, we got him one. He was very happy!

Charlotte's FAVORITE gift was her new guitar. (thank Grandma and Grandpa Millar!) Jillian received a beautiful necklace with a music note and a "J" on it from her Grandma Walburger. She's been wearing it proudly all day.

Again with grandparents' cash, Jillian got a Harry Potter "The Burrow" Lego set. We've been working on it all day.

You might say that we had a Lego Christmas. Allison also got Legos.

and so did Maggie. Why the interest in Legos? Their cousins (the Boorens) who live just around the corner have a whole drawer full of Legos. My girls LOVE to go over and play with them.

Lydia had a completely "Princess" Christmas. Her big gift (also from grandparents) was the disney Princess Castle. She was pretty excited!

here's Casey reading the annual letter from Santa Claus. (Delivered on Christmas Eve) It was very long and cute. Santa does a nice job writing it each year.

with the letter came a pair of pajamas for each girl. Pamela Farley (Their family joins us for Christmas Eve every year) made each of the girls a new scarf.

Am I glad Christmas is over?...yes indeed. I love the focus on the Savior and family but I am so tired after it's all over! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Christmas is here!

2010-12-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow. Why exactly do we make ourselves so darned busy during this season. I'm sure if the Savior was here He would probably tell us to slow down, do the bare minimum and focus on what's really important. I tell myself that every year and yet, every year I over-buy, over-schedule and over-do. I hate that I feel this great relief when Christmas is over. It shouldn't be that way. Any suggestions on how to "pull back" and make Christmas more about Christ?

another week

2010-12-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

14 year old suit!!

2010-12-13T16:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Casey, in his quest to find a suit that actually fits him now, pulled out an old suit from the back of the closet. He brought it to me and said, "Check out this double breasted suit...where did I get this from?" I burst into giggles and said, "ummm, that's the jacket you wore at our wedding reception." He didn't believe me until he pulled out the wedding album. Anyway, he wore it yesterday. I made him take a few pictures before he went to bed last night. :) Also, I hit 20 lbs today! WAHOOOOO! (Okay, that's the last weight loss post for a while...I'm sure it's rather boring to you all. :)

Recital

2010-12-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! The girls had their semi annual singing recital yesterday. Their aunt charlotte is their teacher and ordinarily, it's a small enough group to have the recital in her living room. Aunt Charlotte is so good that she now has nine students! We used the Relief Society room at the church and it was packed! The girls did excellent! We were so proud of them. !

Here's our girls with their amazing aunt!

here's the video. Ignore the horrible children that drove me NUTS through Maggie and Jillian's performance. By the time Charlotte's turn came up, uncle Jared had removed child number 5 from the room.

On the weight loss front, Casey wore his suit that he got MARRIED in to church today...with room to spare! UNBELIEVABLE! As for me I finally hit 19 lbs today. Only one more to go and I hit the magic 20. Not that 20 is where I'm stopping but to me, it means that I can really do this! 20 is a big number for me. I haven't been able to drop 20 lbs since before children so I'm thrilled. I went to a party the other day and everyone was congratulating Casey on his astounding weight loss. One of my dear friends, (Lindsay) who knew that I was also losing weight came up to me and said, "I want you to know that you are looking really good too. Everyone notices Casey but you are doing awesome!" (Or something like that) I was so thankful. Casey's new look is so darn dramatic. I sometimes get discouraged because I've been working so hard and no one has really noticed my 19 lb. loss. I think there's a few reasons for that. First, I had ALOT more to lose than Casey. Second, his seemed almost instant while mine has been a long, hard slog. My ultimate goal is to get to reunion season and have family notice BOTH of our weight loss, not just Casey's. Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon over Casey's new look. I am bursting with pride for what he's accomplished. I just sometimes wish that women could loose weight like men can!

Focus on Christ

2010-12-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's December already! On Sunday we went to the annual Creche exhibit at the Stake Center and I swear it felt like we were just there a few months ago! It's amazing how fast one year goes by!

This year in primary we've been doing a life study of the Savior. We finish this month and for the grand finale, I'm putting together a slideshow of the Savior's life set to music. Each family in primary will receive a DVD of the slideshow so that they can review what we've learned with their families. I am so thankful for this project at this time of the year because it has caused me to completely focus on Christ. I have been scanning pictures into my computer from our copies of the Ensign and other sources. I am amazed at the talents of some of these artists to portray the love of the Savior in their artwork. When I look at some of these pictures, He seems so familiar to me...like He's right at the surface of my memory. I think that's because these pictures make Him look just like I think He should look like. I wish I had a talent like that but since I don't, I'm glad that there are those out there that share theirs.

Here are two of my favorites! (I apologize for not knowing the artist.)

anyone with little girls has to love this one right?

Finally, here's our last week of craziness:

Oregon

2010-12-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

My kids were complaining the other day about why we live in a state where it doesn't snow. I grew up in a place where it snowed ALOT in the winter time (Spokane) and I have to say, I don't miss it. Sure, it would be nice to have a white Christmas just once. It would be nice to have a snow day that lasts a little longer than noon before it all melts. But, I do not miss the icy driving conditions or shoveling driveways.

I was doing some scrapbooking catching up and just happened to complete 3 Oregon layouts. They reminded me of all the reasons that I love living here.

1. the Beach! The best place on the planet as far as I'm concerned!

2. Fall in Oregon. It is so darned gorgeous and it lasts for a REALLY long time. Utah's fall is so quick...blink and you miss it. I love the varying colors that take 3 months to turn at different times. (and we love the Portland zoo)

3. This is where my husband grew up. I love doing things with my children that he grew up doing. (Even if they're quite lame...just read below. Do any of you have the same relationship with Enchanted Forest that I do?)

So, next time my kids ask if we can move to a "snowy" place, I'll remind them about how blessed they are to live in this great state. (Even if it's really rainy and really liberal :)

2010-11-30T20:38:00.000-08:00