Recyled

I hate things going to waste... I like to use things over and over again. We re-purpose things quite often around here, and I find true joy in getting the full use out of an object. A phrase that was popular during the Great Depression was "Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do or go without." I love that phrase and even though I am the wife of a college student and we live by this now out of necessity, I hope I will always live by this motto my whole life.
Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or Go without
Here are some things we have been getting the full use out of:

 I turned an ice cream carton into a remote holder.

 Cans from canned food to hold all the things that come out of Justin's pockets at the end of the day.

 Sweaters to cover ugly flower throw pillows.

A vinyl table cloth makes great placemats...Katie and Grace love these placemats by the way. I let them have a snack in the living room the other day, and both of them before they started eating walked to the kitchen and pulled out their palcemats and put them on the coffee table and then put their snacks on them. I didn't even say anything about getting the placemats out. They just like them so much they like to use them all the time.

 

 

 

Toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls plus a box made a great castle for Katie's little princesses.

 yes, that's a toilet paper roll we used to make heart stamps...

A friend of mine gave me tons and tons of clothes that she couldn't wear or didn't want any more. Many of them didn't fit me, but I saved quite a few items and made them into clothes for the girls. This is a pair of pants I made for Katie. She loves cupcakes so I added that on for her...she LOVES these pants. Sorry this picture is blurry...Also, from this same pair of pants, I made a bib for a baby shower. Turned out so cute, but I was in a rush and didn't get a picture of it.

Also, not pictured....I use a baby food jar to hold my toothpicks.
Cleaned out pasta sauce jars hold q-tips and floss picks in the bathroom.
Diaper boxes are covered with fabric and hold my linens in the linen closet.
The same sweaters that covered my pillows also supplied some fabric for baby hats I gave to my VTee who just had a baby. 
I use old t-shirts to make Gracie pants and leggings.

Conversations

I was chasing Katie all over the house pretending to be a monster, then suddenly she whips around
Katie: You ARE NOT a monster!
Jill: Yes I am and I am going to eat you!
Katie: Jesus made your special body and your eyes and your ears and your lips and He made you a mommy and NOT a monster!
Jill: oh. I guess that's the end of that game.
Katie: Come on mommy, Let's go play in my room.


Katie: Mommy, I am Rapunzel and this is my tower (at the top of our stairs). Wait until the witch leaves, then come visit me.
(I go around the corner where she can't see me)
Katie: the witch is gone!
(I reappear)
Jill: Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.
Katie: (big, dreamy smile) You got it, dude!

Katie was pretending Justin was her prince and she was going to marry him. I came through the room and in passing kissed him.
Katie: NOOOOO!!!! He's MINE!!!! (swatting at me viciously)

Katie had a little friend over to play the other day.
Lydia: Katie, let's get married.
Katie: I can't marry you. You're a girl.
Lydia: Yes you can.
Katie: No, only boys and girls get married because if girls and girls get married then you don't have mommies and daddies.

My Heroes

 

Meet Erma Rosenhan. She turns 97 years old this month. She used to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle choir and worked for many years at the Church Office building in the financial department. But that's not why she is my hero. She is my hero because several times a week she rides the bus to the family history library downtown ($3 one way), and works on genealogy all day long. She has prepared over 400,000 names to take to the temple. She shares the gospel with her doctors, physical therapists, with people she meets at the family history library, and people on the bus. She can't hear in Relief Society or Sacrament Meeting unless her hearing aid is turned up to the highest setting and you speak loudly into the microphone and she is sitting on the front row, but she is there every week. She knows the scriptures inside and out and has a memory like no one I know. She has served in almost every calling in the church, and most of them twice. She wears a skirt she made in 1950 and tells me often that that's what self reliance is. She said she was very self reliant until she hit about 90 years old. She still cooks for herself and lives alone, but she relies on others to shovel her walk, give her rides, and do certain things around her house. But she is the most grateful woman. She never fails to recognize those that bless her life and let's them know repeatedly of her gratitude. She tells me that every day she wakes up and says "Today I should dust. Nah, I'll do that tomorrow. I am going to the family history library today."

Meet Johnnie Hughes. I can hardly say or type her name without tears coming to my eyes. I love this woman. She celebrated her 90th birthday in December, and she blew out every single candle at her birthday party. When asked if she wanted help she said, "If I am going to have 90 candles, I am going to blow every single one out." We were a little afraid that she was going to hyperventilate trying to blow them out, but she didn't. So what if some of the candles had melted down to only the wick... Let me tell you why this woman is my hero.
Johnnie can't lift a gallon of milk by herself, but let me tell you this little woman can run circles around me in service. She teaches weekly sewing lessons for free to anyone in the ward who would like to learn. She sews hundreds of articles of clothing to donate to humanitarian aid so that "those children can have something new to wear." She teaches many women how to can and grow gardens. She brings most of the produce from her own garden to share with those who live in apartments and can't grow their own gardens. At the beginning of spring, she bring starts for anyone who wants to transplant them into their garden. Each week, she serves in the temple and each week she goes over to Erma's house to water Erma's plants. Every Sunday she picks Erma up and brings her to church. (Did I mention she's 90?) Once a week, she takes a meal to an elderly couple who are home bound. She visits on a regular basis the oldest woman in Utah--Edna Decker. She delivers canned goods from her garden and baked goods to sisters she visit teaches or people she thinks are lonely. She cooks for funeral luncheons, ward dinners, and stays after to clean up. She has a very, very deep knowledge of doctrine and can recite many scriptures by heart. She knows names and makes everyone feel welcome and loved in her very quiet unobtrusive way. I just can't say enough about her. I hope to grow up like her some day.

A New Year

My mom once told me that we are so blessed to have so many new beginnings....so many chances to start over. A new year. A new month. A new day. A new minute.

I can't tell you how many times that has inspired me to be better. Even though I may have been a crabby mother last week, this week I am going to be a happy mother....Even though a minute ago I was freaking out over the third "accident" for the day...I will be calm for the next five minutes.

Anyways, this year I have decided to learn to juggle children and housework more efficiently and JOYFULLY. So I've come up with a system to cut down clutter, idleness, and grumpiness in my life. Thanks to a patient husband who simply loves me and all my "systems."

So a few things I am doing differently:

• a chore list for myself to keep track of what needs to be done and when to do it.
• a routine for us and the kids that is very structured and yet very flexible
• quiet time bins for Katie (a big fat lifesaver)
• laundry every day instead of one big session

I Am A Wiper

i


I wipe noses
I wipe bums.
I wipe foreheads
I sometimes wipe up blood

I wipe up spills
and dribbles and smudges
I should wipe down the crayon
off the hallway wall

I wipe off sticky fingers
and dirty little faces
I wipe off mud
and dirt and sand

I wipe up messes, accidents,
and experiments
I wipe up mistakes
I wipe up "FUN"

I wipe away tears
I wipe away sadness,
discouragement, and fear
I wipe out loneliness
and wipe away doubts

I am a "wiper"
I am s mother.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

December is always a whirlwind month for us.....the first half of the month is stressful with finals and then it's a scramble to get things ready for Christmas. This year was an even bigger adventure because we all came down with colds two weeks before finals and then the next week, we got the stomach flu. Lovely timing, right?

The good news is that we got it out of our system in time to enjoy our anniversary and Christmas!

showing off our cranky faces (and eating shirts)

very happy child

a girl who loves her pearls (or at least her mama's pearls)

Stocking time!

This Christmas I enjoyed the little things...and rejoiced in the reason for the season. A wonderful time to ponder and grow in the spirit.

The Hair Story

The Hair Story

A little old lady went to the mirror one morning and noticed that she had only three hairs on her head. As she looked into the mirror, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next morning, at the mirror once again, the little old lady noticed that she only had two hairs on her head. Looking herself right in the eye, she said, "Today, I think I'll part my hair down the middle." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next day, as the little old lady looked into the mirror, there was only one hair on her head. She looked at that one lonely hair and said, "Today I think I'll wear my hair in a pony tail." That's exactly what she did. And she had a great day.

The following morning the little old lady looked into the mirror and there wasn't a single hair on her head. Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Yeah! I don't have to fix my hair today!"
***********************************************************************

I love this story. And wish I could be more like the lady in the story. There are so many things that can weigh us down, and yet if we turn those things upside and look at them another way, we might have something to be grateful for.

Catch Up

I have so much to catch up on so here goes:
Fall Fun: Fall just takes my breath away. I can hardly say what I feel when I see all the beautiful colors and feel the crisp air. And to me, there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can compare to the first leaf-crunching experience of Autumn. LOVE LOVE LOVE the crisp mornings and warm, golden afternoons....

Halloween Festivities: Katie really got into Halloween this year. We're lucky her costume actually survived long enough for her to wear it on Halloween. She would wear that thing every single day, and be bumme dout if I took it off long enough to wash it. Favorite quote from Halloween:
Justin, after first trick or treating door:"Katie, did you get some pretzels?"
Katie(sounding very pleased): "No, we got sugary things."


Thanksgiving Celebration: I received a shock when I learned (from Justin, no less) that not everyone enjoys parades, and there are people who don't watch the Macy's THanksgiving Day Parade. I love the parade. For the last few years, I haven't been able to watch it because I don't have TV, but I did watch clips of past parades on the internet to get my fix....It was a great way to start out the day.

Holy Smokes, we had so much to be grateful for this year. Like our NM experience, passing classes, overcoming significant personal trials, good health, and wonderful day to day experiences.
We did lots of thankful activities throughout the month to celebrate our blessings, but on Thanksgiving, we did a special activity that was the icing on the cake. Earlier in the week, Katie and I made, a turkey pinata(seriously, the turkey pinata was so fun to make)...sorry, no pictures of that (BUT there's a video ;)). And after we broke the turkey pinata, the kids found the candy had words taped onto each piece. Random words like "beds" or "underwear" or "electricity." Then we talked about why we were grateful for beds, underwear, electricity, etc... Such a great time bonding with Abbi, Spencer, and Emily.