The mind of Ethan.....gotta to love it!

I miss both my sister’s kids. Being that they live far away, I wonder if they will forget us as they get older. I wonder if they will remember the fun stuff we have done together. I wonder what they will remember about us as they get older.
I just love the mind of my nephew Ethan. My sister emailed this over to me today, it made my whole day.

“This will do your heart good. Ethan has his best friend, Leo over tonight for a sleepover. Leo says to me "Miss Chris, you're a really nice mom & you're a really cool mom." I say thank you.

Then Ethan pipes up . . . wait for it . . . . wait for it . . . you know it's coming . . .
Ethan says and I quote

"You think that now, but that's because you haven't met my Aunt Nikki. She's awesome & really, super nice. She's so nice that she makes you PANCAKES??? with Strawberries AND blueberries?" Leo says "wow!" & Ethan continues to rub it in "yeah! & she never gets mad or makes you go to bed or anything like that, & my Uncle Adam is a Starcraft genius! Going to their house is like going on vacation. She's SO nice!"

Leo was very impressed.”

Pretty Colorado Skies

I decided to take a few pictures of the pretty Colorado Skies on my way to the grocery store. I thought they looked pretty cool! I used to be into photography in my younger years. I think I've just gotten a little lazy over the years.

-- Adam

Front Yard (side actually) bunny :-)

This morning while getting ready to leave for work I saw a little bunny rabbit! Cute, you say? Well, yes it was cute. However after I took the picture and turned around he was gone? I think he slid underneath the fence to go after our garden? Probably after the lettuce and yummy fruits that we're growing :-)

It is nice to have wildlife flora and fauna here though.

(It might be a little like "Where's Waldo" trying to see the bunny, as he blends in nicely with the rocks).




*Where's the bunny? See the top of rocks, where the house meets the gravel about 1/2 way? Look really hard and you'll see him.

Friends make Life better!

What would I do without friends this week. It was a busy week, but a social week with that. I will be the first to admit, I am coming out of my hermit stage. I am blossoming once again like the roses in my garden. I am finding who I am again and wanting to have that energy and peace in my life. I have found the fire in me this week to move forward, set goals and enjoy the summer. I still wake up taking it one day at a time, but I seem to get through each day. I am amazed with each day that passes.

Monday night we were greeted with a container full of chewy chocolate brownies, a bribe actually. Well it worked we are packing up and going camping tonight. Then another person stopped in that night, who always has a welcoming smile on his face and full of life in his heart. He picked up an item that I wanted out of the house for a while and I am glad to pass the cupboard on to him. This week was full phone tag and conversations with loss friends. Another night while I was sitting on my new comfy couches the door bell rang and there was my walking buddy ready to go. It was all I needed to see the friendly face and the little push to get my butt off the comfy couch and put on my walking shoes to head out the door with her and her stroller. I felt rejuvenated when I got back and happy for the talk we had. The next night was a fun night out, no cooking, just good friends and Chili’s. I love this couple. They are so much fun. Ephraim has a smile that just lights up any room. He smiles and immediately you are put to ease. His wife Kaile has the kindest heart, one of those kindred spirits. Rachael their daughter is one of the cutest girls I have ever met. Every time I see her, I am amazed how beautiful she is. I love her eyes! I think about all the people that I know in my life, those who I wave at passing because we are so busy and don’t stop, those that we have short moments with and shed a tear when we talk about our trials, those who take the moment to share an idea in hopes it will help you. Those who just show up out of the blue and bring you cheer.

This post is to remember all the friends, the ones we miss who live far away, to those we see with a smile each week at church, to those we get together with, and to those who we just keep missing because of life’s busy schedules.

Friends are what make life better!

What’s New you say? My Loft

This was a good week, we were busy but I felt like I was coming back. I have been really depressed since the miscarriage and the failed adoption. I keep asking myself why I let it get to me. Reality is, it was a great loss in our lives. Something we have spent years working towards, something that runs deep in our hearts to have a belief that one day we will be parents. One day we will have the sticky fingers throughout the house. I feel more like me when I am able to be creative, when I have a project that I can think through and execute and do it well when the final results are in. One of my passions is decorating. I love it, I love to vision what I can do with a space, I ponder, I run scenarios through my mind, but once I get the idea I plunge full throttle to execute it.

That is what I did with our loft. I had the idea, I shared it with Adam and then I just did it. He was hesitant all the way. More because he kept thinking about “what is this going to cost” Adam, Adam you know me. I am a bargain shopper at heart. I will do what I can with a shoe string. So with that I decided the Big Red Couch was out of there and I was looking to open the space and make it more comfortable for both of us. The end result was that. Last weekend I convinced Adam to go furniture shopping with me. Oh it was like pulling teeth, but he decided that if he was going to sit on it, he better have a say with it. I found a few outlet places that I had on my list and we heading out that Saturday morning on a mission to find the new seating . I had the idea in my mind and measurements in hand to find what I was looking for.

The first store, I just could not find what I was looking for. I found something that could work, but it was just not quite right. The second store I found what I wanted but the price was not right. Then to our surprise the third store we found was not on our list and was right next door and we decided to go see what it was. We walk in and it is a warehouse full of furniture that hotels were getting rid of. It was loaded then when I looked at the price, I was sticker shocked. Are you kidding me, you can get a full sized Armoire for $35? Did we need one, could we use it if we got it? The thought of getting it just because of the price where going through my mind, but reality set in. I am de-junking not adding to my space. Walk away and look for what you are here for. We found a side table for the living room, we found some pillows for the couch, and we found the awesome mirror that I was not even looking for, but had to have for my living room. I love that mirror. After discussion with Adam, he tells me he likes mirrors in the house, so there was no need to use my power of persuasion on him. We got the mirror. Yeah!

Then I found something that was interesting. I started to think, my mind was running in overdrive. I wonder if these to couches put together would do what I wanted for the loft. I grabbed Adam and asked if we could go move the one couch from across the room and put it up against the other? He decided he would help me, not sure what my mind was thinking. But as we put the idea together, we looked at the price he was eager to push the idea forward and purchase the 2 couches for $114. Yikes. So with all our bargain shopping we furnished our house with some amazing items for under $200. WOW!

I think overall my new loft space turned out just as I had imagined in my mind. Open, comfortable and cozy! Perfect for two love bird, two precious pups and a bowl of popcorn with a good shoot em up movie.

Vanessa is a Survivor!

Vanessa this is for you a Breast Cancer Survivor.

My friend Vanessa was diagnosed with breast cancer Dec 07. It was a battle she won. I just want to tell her how proud I am of her. She kept a smile, she had the strength to endure and her faith grew even stronger. Recently Vanessa had surgery to heal the damage that the cancer had done to her breast. Today was her first day back and I wanted to celebrate her new Breasts!

Here’s to you Vanessa!

Nice weekend, a little reuniting.

My little baby brother was in town for his friends wedding, and lucky me I got to spend some time with him. Saturday we had a few hours together and we were able to convince him to join face book. We got his profile up and with a picture. Later that evening we went to a friend of ours Graduation BBQ. Her son had graduated high school Class of 09. It was a lot of fun. I have to say I had the best meat ever at this BBQ. Carolina you are the best cook. And the tamales don’t get me started. I am so excited I get to learn how to make them with her at Christmas. So it looks like Christmas will be chocolates and Tamales!

Sunday I went to church with Spencer and my mom. It was stake conference and I have to say the talks were really good. There was one in particular that really stood out to me. It was about being aware and reaching out and helping when someone is in need. The speaker told a story about a young man who was swimming in a river, and there were some teen age girls who were sunbathing along the river. They were listening to music and chatting and just being young girls. The boy called out “where’s the shore.” The girls heard him and just giggled not responding. Then a few minuets later the boy called out a little louder “where’s the shore?” The girls still didn’t respond, they were shock he was still there and why was he saying that to them. They didn’t respond. Then out of panic the boy yells “where’s the shore?” This time the girls got up and realized something was wrong. One girl fled to get some help while the other girls swam out to get him. But it was too late he had drowned. Later in the biopsy that was performed on this young man, they found out he was blind. I really thought about this story, and how many times do I hear someone call out for help, but I ignore and give no response? I just continue to go about what I am doing and think they will be fine. How often to I pay attention to the cries of help around me. How often do I listen to the promptings of a cry in need? It makes me think about being more aware and helpful to those around me.

After church we went back to my parent’s house where we enjoyed a great lunch together. My mom had made ribs and we all filled our plates with yummy food and ate dinner up in my parent’s bedroom to be able to eat together as a family with Dad. My dad had knee surgery and is laid up in bed for a while. He looks pretty good considering he is on oxygen and had an ice pack machine attached to his knee. I was not able to get a good gross picture of his knee this time, but I will get it. It is swollen, and gross. In the middle of the afternoon, my brother and I headed to my house so I could get a few thing done before the gathering that evening. So we rode together to my place. I have to say I really miss my brother he only moved away 9 months ago but it feels a lot longer than that. He is fun to be around and just makes me laugh. With his help I was able to finish the cookies that I was taking special to a friend. He had the idea of using the butterscotch instead of the chocolate chips. I think he was right on. Thanks Spence!

That evening Adam, Spencer, my parents and some friends were able to get together for dinner. We ate and talked for hours. It was funny how all the girls ended up around the dinning room table chatting and all the boys ended up in my dad’s room chatting. It was just a nice day to be able to enjoy with family and friends.