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It's this girl's birthday today.
My girl....my only ally in the sea of testosterone that was my family when I was raising my kiddos.
She's home with me for her birthday weekend, which makes me really happy.
I don't get to see her all that often, so it's always a treat when I do. Happy birthday to her! As with all my kids, I love her more that I know how to adequately express it.....but it's a lot.
So around here this week....
Spring marches on. The forsythia is just starting to bloom...
...and my happy daffodils are coming on.
I do love the spring color. All my rose bushes were pruned last week and are starting to send out new growth.
My husband sent these and I was happy to see tulips in the mix. Love tulips.
There was more fishing last weekend with Grandpa,
and Isaac and Levi's dad was able to come over for a day and got some fishing in, too.
Grandpa as the Pied Piper marching off with several of the grandkids in tow.
It was my mother's 84th birthday and we had a little celebration with the in-town kids and grands.
She was able to handle those candles just fine.
A couple week's worth of Project Life app pages...
...telling stories you've already seen.
Last week was overflowing with photos from near and far, which was pretty fun.
It's always nice to get them tucked away into a page.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids.....Eric's family has acquired some baby chicks. They are hoping for future egg production.
This is the latest installment of David's "let's have a lie down" series. This one from the National Cathedral.
Colline was out of town this week at some training and brought back special treats for the boys.
They were apparently acceptable.
Baby John this week.
It's really hard being awake.
And this text from Marc with an Isaac quote about the new baby brother coming in a month.
It's this guy's birthday today.
He's just the best dad....
....and grandpa our family could have! We all love him lots. Me especially. Happy birthday to the most important man in my life. I love you!
When this recipe turned up in my blog feed the week before St. Patrick's Day, I thought it would be just right for the busy Sunday schedule. My mom made something like this on occasion when I was a child, but hers tended to be more tomato based, and this one is more "beefy" or in this particular case, buffalo-y. Anything with mashed potatoes automatically qualifies as comfort food and therefore Mom Food. I'm sure Eric could come up with a mathematical formula proving that fact. I found the recipe here and the only adjustment I made was by accident. I forgot to get the vegetables stirred into the meat mixture before putting the potatoes on top, so peas went on the side for us.
Shepherd's Pie
In a 12 inch oven proof skillet, brown beef and onions over medium-high heat until beef is browned. Add garlic and cook another minute. Drain off any fat.
So around here this week.....
We had a youth fireside at our house last Sunday evening. This required a great deal of furniture rearranging, chair accumulating and baking of treats. We had about 60 people crammed into our living room, and my husband was in charge of the presentation. He's a great story teller, and likes to use his stories to make a point. In this particular case, several points...you've got to take people where they are and help them grow, don't judge by outward appearances, and God knows and loves each individual person and knows what they need. He also likes to use hunting experiences whenever possible. It's an Allan male thing.
Frederick.....
.....and Edward had piano recitals. This one was very short and sweet, and they did a really great job.
Bryce's Men's Chorus sang at the weekly devotional on Tuesday. They sang a beautiful arrangement of "Come Ye Disconsolate," which might be one of my new favorite hymns. Here are the lyrics:
Just a really beautiful message for those who might be struggling with something. And don't we all struggle off and on in our lives? Favorite line..."Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal."
We had some visitors this week. Marc's family came during their spring break. They trooped down to my husband's office to get eye exams....
....and got to pick a prize from the special drawer.
There was also a trip to the farm-y store to see the chicks that have started to arrive. There was a little disappointment that the bunnies haven't put in an appearance yet, but the chicks were a big draw.
Levi thought they were great.
This is how Isaac got around the store.
There was also a chilly trip to the ponds, where Isaac tried his hand at trying to catch a fish with a net. That didn't work out for him and my daughter-in-law reported that he kept telling everyone he was just fine where he was, that he wasn't going to fall in. His mama didn't agree with that assessment.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, Ephraim has reached the stage where if he can't see you, he thinks he's totally hidden. :)
He also likes to read upside-down.
And here's the latest picture of Baby John. <3
This post is brought to you by some of my children and grandchildren who had fun with St. Patrick's Day.
Eric's family instituted a new tradition at their house called Leprechaun Laps.
The idea is that everyone would dress up in St. Patrick's Day finery...notice my daughter-in-law's light up tutu....
....and then they would do some laps around their circular driveway.
My two granddaughters sported matching glittery shamrock shirts.
Emmett was a hooligan...
...and Ephraim was Mr. Shenanigans.
Meanwhile back east, James and David opted for a little more formal wear.
....but apparently the leprechauns had been running loose at their house.
Running all over the walls.
This shepherd's pie was as St. Patrick's as it got at our house. The recipe is coming, because it was really good.
This is what we had last Sunday. Like the lasagna, it's a multi-step process, but totally worth it. I'm going to link you up here. The flavor is amazing. I used the pomegranate juice for the sauce, so there was just a hint of sweetness there. I also used garden onions (yes, we still have some!) instead of the pearl onions the recipe calls for. We served it over mashed potatoes, but it could easily be served over rice or noodles. Yes, it simmers for 3 hours and has other prep time. Yes, I put the fungus in it, but the pieces are big enough to pick out. So, so good.
So around here this week....
It's been spring in Idaho, which means the wind has been blowing off and on. It drives my husband crazy, but it doesn't bother me as much. You can see that the march to warmer weather continues. I'm halfway resigned to it, knowing that just when I've about accepted and embraced it, it's going to snow again....or freeze the peach blossoms.
Last week's Project Life pages done with the app.
There are a few new pictures in there, but they'll be coming up in future posts.
Sent to me from the kids and grandkids this week, I got this one from Evan's wife, Jan. He was giving a presentation and needed a picture to show himself "in action," so to speak. Apparently Quincy knew just who it was by the sideburns.
Jan has design skills, and came up with this one and a few others to celebrate Pi Day.
It was Baby John's blessing day last weekend. We sure wish we could have been there. He's wearing the outfit Collin wore on his blessing day. The scowling furrowed brow has been a favorite life-long expression of his daddy's...
....which prompted me to pull out a picture of Collin's blessing day. Ah yes, there's the Princess Di hair, and my husband had some. This was pretty much how Collin looked for the first 2 months of his life. He was colicky and ornery and ate every hour on the hour, hence the double chins. He had a head of red hair, though....the most of any of my kids.
John is just starting to give some grins. Pretty cute, huh?
Here's the whole family together. In a full circle moment.....John is named for my daughter-in-law's grandpa, and Collin wore one of his ties for the blessing.
Another shot of John from this week. He found his fingers.
I have another grandson coming this spring, and Marc's family is starting some preparations for that, like pulling out this crib. Levi decided he wanted to check out where the new baby was going to be sleeping.
I also got this one from Levi's mama with the caption...."Sometimes eating lunch requires eye protection." Apparently feeding oneself can be dangerous business. We get to see this boy, his big brother and his mama for a few days next week and we're pretty excited about that.
Since the snow from the cabin roof didn't slide on the first attempt, my husband and I decided to give it another go last weekend.
Things didn't start out all that well. It was an ice skating rink at the trailhead and I fell, trying to give myself a concussion by smacking my head on the ice. Other than having my bell rung a little, and giving my knee a good wrench, I stayed in one piece. I am not terribly coordinated, nor do I have any kind of natural athleticism that helps me stay upright. I also have to admit to some snowmobile anxiety when we go in the winter, since we've had a couple of adventures flooding and snow slides in past years, but the trail groomer had been through right before us and the trail was very smooth. Still, there was evidence of some avalanches that have gone across the road.
Oh yes, we're all bundled up for the ride.
When I wasn't white-knuckling the handles of the snowmobile, I could appreciate how pretty the landscape was around me.
As a reminder, this was how the roof looked when my husband went in two weeks ago. The only thing that's fallen off the roof since then is that little triangle piece to the left.
We thought if we got things heated up, the whole thing would surely come crashing off.
That's what we thought anyway. Here's a shot of the solar shed. So we got the fires built first thing...
...which brought the yellow jackets out of the logs in full force. My husband went to war.
I was driven to the lower level, where it was just slightly cooler, where I kept my hands busy. I managed to work through the projects I'd brought with me.
The next morning my husband took a wander on the snowshoes. Given my near death experience on the ice, I opted to stay in the safety of the cabin. It looks like January here rather than March. The river is still totally frozen. Usually we have some sections that are open by now....and some bare ground on the trail going into the cabin for that matter.
My husband walked across the river and then down to the red railroad bridge, which usually sits a good 8-10 feet above the water below it.
Most startling for us at least, was that the horse corral is totally buried. That's a good 5 1/2 feet of snow. And no, the snow on the roof didn't slide this trip either.
It's probably time for one of these again.
I finished off the February Simon Says Stamp card kit. I have so many of their little card kit boxes sitting around taking up space in the craft room, that one of my crafting resolutions for the year is to use 2 kits a month....the current one and a past one. That way, in the very distant future, I might get caught up and get rid of the boxes. I'm off to a good start...we'll see how long I can keep it up. Because you know how I am....I always start out with the best of intentions, but then real life comes knocking. These are all the cards lined up....
....and a few of my favorites.
I prepped a couple of small wool appliqué projects. I have since finished this one....need to get a picture. That will have to go in the next KMHB post, I guess.
Filing under "keeping it real," this is what my craft table looks like presently. Yep, it's a hot mess with pieces and parts of several different things going at once. I like to think of it as a collage representing my life.
These are some of the pages from my February traveler's notebook.
I know I say this every time, but my purpose in doing this is to be just a little more paper crafting-ly (is that a word?) creative, working in conjunction with my Project Life app, which I sometimes find just a little limiting when I'm trying to choose photos to use.
I have discovered that in some cases I'll use extra pictures that don't make it into the family yearbook, but sometimes the general events will be the same, and some pictures may double, maybe with a little more information in one venue or another.
So far, I'm liking how this is working for me and will just keep going on this track for now.
I've been thinking a lot about family stories and memory keeping lately, probably because my daughter is doing an extensive, in-depth family history project for one of her classes. Not many of my ancestors documented much about their daily lives and/or their feelings about said lives. I'm a little frustrated by this, as is my daughter trying to comply with length requirements for her project. I'm thinking my desire to detail our family's history is pretty much a direct reaction to the lack of information I've been able to find about mine thus far. It's not that I don't have general facts. I do. I know the who, and the when mostly.....but I want to know the WHY.
And speaking of feelings, I don't think there's any doubt about how I felt about this milestone birthday. And it's ok. I want my posterity to know me through my documenting.
Here are the last few weeks of documenting through the app.
And ok, I'm not going to bore you with how easy it is to keep up with....
....and how great it is that these little snippets actually do represent a family's history....
....because I'm not on a soapbox or anything....
Posting here keeps me accountable, though, for staying on top of things.
So you just have to put up with it.
