Bridal Shower Fun!

So my amazing cousin Celeste is getting married today. Unfortunately, she is getting married in California and with our home/car saving I couldn't fly out there.

I love her...and her husband-to-be is wonderful too! She is an INCREDIBLE singer/musician, you can listen to some of her songs here: Celeste's Music

It was so fun to put on a bridal shower for her last week with my Mom, who planned it all, and my aunts and sisters:)

It was also so joyful to be with family. I am so grateful for families and Heavenly Father's plan for them!

Celeste and some others are gluten-free eaters so all of our food was gluten-free:)

Happy Wedding Day Celeste!!! Wish we were there!!

Made a wedding dress today....haha

I can't say I have ever made a wedding dress before...here is why I did it today:)

We updated our toddler chart to "Captain Hook" for some variety. We have had to add some toy-taking-away to our discipline as well just because she is testing the limits of the chart:)

Today she did so awesome with her behavior so our new Captain Hook made it to Never Land!! Sabrina chose from her treasure box the paper that said "Make a Dress"

She wanted a princess dress...Giselle's wedding dress...haha.

So we looked in my fabric odds and ends box and found an old white fitted bed-sheet, old white robe, and an unused tulle curtain and this is what we came up with today:)

Cost: $5.00

Time Spent: 3 1/2 hours

and a fun photo shoot for a girl who loves a picture of herself:)

Happy Friday!

Tried something new...Faux Stained Glass...SOOOO Fun!! Try it!!!!

So my wonderful Church - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosts an "International Art Competition" every three years. It has been one of my life goals to enter this competition...and I did it!


I don't feel very "expert" in any art medium so I determined to try something new. I want to learn how to do stained glass someday...but it takes a lot of special tools and such so I tried another way this time around. It is called Faux Stained Glass, with stick-on leading and "fake glass" paint. If you want a fun project you should try it!
The theme for the competition was "Tell me the Stories of Jesus." I love the Savior and had a very difficult time choosing one of His stories to portray, but this one really stuck with me...do you know it?

Why I chose this story --During the October 2014 General Conference President Monson spoke about how we can walk with the Savior as we come to know Him better. In my mind and heart I know that I surely want to know Him better. I began a more in-depth study of the New Testament and have since discovered many rich and treasured teachings and experiences from the Savior’s life that I had not recognized before.  

One such experience is that of a Fig Tree in Mark 11. Upon seeing the beautiful leaf-filled fig tree, the Savior sought “haply” to partake of the fruit thereon only to find it bare. On a fig tree the fruit buds always come before the leaves, so the leaves should have been a clear sign of a fig-filled tree. Because of its barrenness the Savior “cursed” the tree and the disciples observed the next day that it had “withered away” and “dried up from the roots.” 

As I have considered this story, I have been touched by the Savior’s reasoning, His symbolism, and the response of the disciples witnessing the seemingly healthy-to-withered tree. I have come to know three things from this fig tree. First, I know the Savior has power over all things, for He is our creator. Second, I know I do not ever want to be like the fig tree. I want the Savior to know me by my righteous fruits as I live up to both my purpose and potential. Lastly, I am so grateful for the Fig Tree, with both its leaves and its withered branches, because it helps me to know my Savior better. 

I will post about the process soon...you really should try it:)

Toddler Behavior Plan...is working!!!!

We created a plan to help our Sabrina, and it is working great so far! :) She is bright, happy, and so driven and determined in all she does. With this strong spirit and will, our daily challenge has been to curb severe fits and whining and help her to learn that she is the master of her own soul. It has been really HARD.

Lets just say we have all cried a lot about it.

We feel like we have tried so many things, and just when we seem like we have a few good days we sometimes feel like we are back to square one. It has been a matter of prayer and struggle and I know that as we continue to turn to Heavenly Father we will keep making progress. We have seen a lot of progress this week!

The Actual Plan

We made this for the fridge (Sabrina LOVES Peter Pan right now)

It is a very simple magnet Peter Pan and Jane who follow the stars all the way to Never Land. When we see Sabrina choosing to happily obey, serve at home, be positive, play kind with her brother, help without being asked, etc. then we move them a star forward. If she whines, hits, or has a fit, they move a star backwards. Once they make it to the green star in Never Land then she gets to choose something from her treasure box we made together (out of some boxes:).

We have a discussion about what things she would really like to earn from the box. (We want to keep it simple and cheap, but exciting enough for her to want to earn it) 

She chose some actual "things" along with things "to do" such as:

-Plant a seed

-Make cupcakes

-Make a dress

-Get a Wendy's frosty

-Peter Pan Book

-Tangled Book

-Stuffed animal

-Magnifying glass

-Make a pie

-Make a fort

We plan on adding variety by changing the magnet out, and then eventually changing the actual charts pictures depending on what she is most interested in. 

She chose "plant a seed" the first time she got Peter Pan to Never Land...and here is its progress :) 

The biggest key I knew was for both My Man and I was to be super, super consistent in our implementation of the plan. So far we have done two solid weeks and Sabrina is showing a deeper understanding of her own ability to control herself:) The other night she sincerely wept because she "did not be obey to dad"...it was sad and soooooo happy!

It is exhausting to be consistent but I know it is a quality that I need to work on in other aspects of my own life so it is such a blessing too.

I am so grateful to be a Mom. Along with the endless exhaustion and steady hard improvement of my character there also are so many treasured moments and hours where I thank our Father in Heaven as I feel ever so much closer to Him through the spirits of these little ones, and through our time as a whole family. The family is of God.

I feel so blessed, and so thankful that Heavenly Father created the perfect "behavior plan" for us to follow. I am ever grateful for his patient and perfect consistency as He helps me stop whining and throwing fits ;) He is so good. His Son is my perfect example. I love them. 

Have a beautiful day. 

Lessons of Love

Happy Valentine's!!

I wanted to make something "Love-ish" this Valentines Day because...

I LOVE love.

I especially love

 our Savior Jesus Christ 

My Family

You

&

our Latter-Day Prophets

So here is a little video I put together today to sum that all up and to share my hope and desire to grow in love and testimony.

 Lets fill the whole world with love!!!

Love you!!!!

So we are so excited to announce that baby number 3 will join our family this July!

We are so happy.

I have been soooo sick.

Now I am finally starting to feel better and thus determined to update the blog.

The couch has been my best friend the last few months, and food has not. I have been happy to complete a few projects with the baby creating my body has been working hard at. It sure is a miracle. My Man has been a champ, getting us through the holidays with his cooking, cleaning, and endless laundry. I am so blessed to have him:) It has also been really neat to see our Sabrina step up and help with things. She is so excited too...and she is sure it's a girl. We'll find out in two weeks.

Here is how Sabrina has looked for the last few weeks (we whipped this together during an afternoon, she has been obsessed since she saw my brother perform as Captain Hook in his high school production)

Did I mention My Man is the Bread-winner and Bread-maker!!! He makes THE BEST homemade bread almost every week...and we love it.  He even uses our wheat grinder for fresh wheat flour! We have a few favorite recipes.

My other creations have mainly included toddler entertainment devices, such as gallon bags filled with paint -duct-taped to the floor, and piles of shaving cream with food coloring...and lots of muffins and banana bread (Binna LOVES to make those!)

I know there was more...but I can't remember right now...but we are in the process of creating a very organized house so maybe I will post some before/after pictures...maybe :)

Have a beautiful week!

Christmas Wreaths, Baby Showers, Video-making, and Meg's Owl!

My cousin and I have a tradition of making a wreath for Festival of Trees. My wonderful sister in law Angie and niece Meg joined us this year and this is what we have so far. We are doing two this year because we had a lot of supplies.

This one will have a garland, some gifts, and some caroling minions with it too:) More pics to come. And go the the Festival of Festival of Trees if you can! It is so fun!

We are going to make some for ourselves next year:) Come join us! (Just shop 90% after Christmas and these wreaths come out to be about $10 each)

I got to help carry out my cousin's "Skype" baby shower. Here is what my Aunt Chrissy (whom I love dearly) and my 2nd Mom (also much beloved) came up with:) 

 Silver, pink, and white color scheme

 My 2nd Mom's AMAZING taco soup recipe

 Babies breath centerpieces with balloons up top

My cousins Alycia and Kyle Skyped the whole time (they are in Arizona and this is their first baby) and it was so much fun! We opened the presents in front of the camera:)

 Baby quotes all around

Pineapple sherbet with raspberries

With my Box Troll winnings I promised my Heavenly Father 

I would do good and help build up His kingdom. 

So...I began with buying a special computer that makes it possible for me to make something to contribute to the work....Family History videos.  My Man and I made one for the BYU Former Student Officer Society to Honor our Alumni Anne Snow-The Student Body Secretary from 1948. I was deeply touched by her example and influence and can't wait to begin my Grandparent's and Great-Grandparents life stories! (you can see the video here:) Anne Snow

I am also excited to make other videos for fun...here is my first(and rough) stop-motion video. 

I made it to apologize to My Man for my grumpiness on Saturday afternoon. (He LOVES the song the video is done too...so that made it more sentimental...as sentimental as a potato can be...haha...My Man is quick to forgive, which is such a blessing)

And Madsen and I made this one today while he is having a sleepover. He was so proud.

My niece made this entire thing all by herself!!!!!! Isn't she great!!!

Have a great week!