Our girlie says I'm hired...

Last month Hunter was in a group for a High School Dance 

and heard that one of the couples got together before the dance 
and made their flowers. 

Totally genius! 

Thanks Aaron and Jessica for passing on the great idea.

Hunter had two dances coming up this weekend

 and our girlie had one dance

so we decide to try our hand at making corsages and boutineers. 

Madeline joined us.   :)

She and Hunter were going to her Sweethearts Dance on Saturday.

 Pinterest had some great tutorials...

and everyone let their creativity flow.

These were the finished products. 

Our girlie made this corsage and

 decided she'd like to have a flower shop.   ;)

She asked me if I'd come work for her. 
Cool!

Hunter started Madeline's corsage, then she helped him finish it up 

after she whipped up his handsome boutineer lickety-split. 

So pretty and so fun!  

Creepy stalker cat...

Our Mr. is allergic to cats so we've never had one.

That is, until two weeks ago 
when we got a hypoallergenic cat (is that really a thing) 
and it was even free!!

We couldn't wait to write to Zac, our missionary, about our super cute cat.

I wrote this to him:

Dear Zac, You won't believe this but it's totally true and so fun!! 

We got a CAT!!!!! :)

Yup, you read that right, a cat. 

He's a chubby yellow tabby cat, super sweet, 
so soft, and pretty low energy. 

Once in a while the dog likes him too much 

so the cat sits on the back of the couch in the family room 

where we can all see if Rascal starts to get too close.

Hunter took a "catnap" before his night class tonight 

and it was the cutest sight.

Hunter laying on the couch, the dog laying on the floor at his feet, 

and the cat laying on the back of the couch at Hunter's head. 

I should have snapped a picture! Sorry...

You need to help us pick a name!!

Hunky Hank?

Cat?

Mellow Yellow?

Dog?

Gus?

Butterball?

Sprinkle cakes?

We'd love to hear any others you've got! :)

The Mr. wrote this to Zac:

You won't believe the next sentence. We actually got a cat. 

A big yellow cat that sits around all day 

up on the back of the sectional sofa near the piano. 

Luckily I haven't had any allergies yet. 

We still haven't decided on a name, I don't think. 

It reminds me of the creepy stalker cat in Pres. Uchtdorf's talk

"Summer with Great Aunt Rose." 

video here

Creepy Stalker Cat

I can't believe I caved!! That thing better keep its distance.

So...do you think Zac believed for even one second we got a cat? 

He reads our emails early in the day on Monday's 

(p-days - the day they do laundry, grocery shopping, wash the car etc.)

and writes his emails back to us during the day. 

We usually receive his email about 4:00pm.

At 8:13am he wrote "Do you have a picture of the cat?"

Hahahah...I don't think he believed us but we did have him wondering! :) 

So we sent him a picture of our kitty. 

That night we got this from Zac. :)

Haha, y'all are jokers. 

Nice cat.

I think "sunshine" is a good name.

A girlie, a pup, and a little man with wooden earmuffs...

After shoveling snow the other day, I noticed our girlie 
hadn't come inside with her dad.

I looked out the window and saw this.

She and Rascal were making a snowman.

Nice job, Sis.  :)

Actually, she was making the snowman,

Rascal was eating the snowman.   ;)

We sure love that pup!  :)

Happy February 

<3

The Jabberwocky returns again...

Birds have been flocking around the feeders the last few weeks. 

Some have even tried out the birdhouse.

Those are exciting signs of the coming Spring for me.  :)

But as in years past, flocks of seed-eating finches and sparrows bring the Jabberwock.

Suddenly I'll notice the little birds are gone and then I'll see why.

I'm always surprised at how quickly things go from this...

to this.

Do you see what he has in his talons?

Here's a better picture (maybe a little to good - yuck!)

We've watched this same scenario play out over and over the last few weeks. 

Funny thing, I didn't feel an overwhelming desire to

send the twigs out with "vorpal blade in hand" to "snicker-snack" this year

like I have the last few years when this same thing happened. 

Maybe I'm learning to accept the fact that we are...

 ...equal opportunity bird feeders.  :/

Lasers, stuffin', and a tongue hangin' out...

Rascal was a great dog this year 

so there was no coal in his Christmas Stocking. 

In fact, he had the best Christmas ever. 

He liked opening gifts.

Linda and Roxy were so kind and gave him a treat and a chew toy. 

He loved the stuffin' right out of that toy, squeaker and all.

Santa gave the Mr. and Rascal a laser pointer. What a hit!

He chased that little red dot till his tongue hung out.  :)

His favorite thing!  

Two love stories and a little taste of heaven...

Just before Christmas we had a house full of wonderful family, 

all here to celebrate the love shared between these two people, 
Jessica & Joe. 

It was so much fun!!

Katie snapped this picture one evening

 when I was on my way home from the office 

of everyone trying a Utah tradition, Betos. 

Which brings me to the second love story in this post. 

See the cute little red-head with the striped shirt in the above picture, just to the left of center?

He is Katie & Keith's son

and his name is Charlie.

He met Joe's sweetheart at their family reunion last summer 

and was instantly a fan.

I'm crazy about little kids 

and loved Charlie's interactions with Jessica. 

Charlie has PKU so he can't eat lots of things most of us can eat, 

including wedding cake. 

Jessica is a college student who loves baking 

and she made their wedding cake.

She didn't stop there though. 

She also made a little wedding cake just for Charlie 

that was low "phe" so he could eat it

and feel included in the festivities.

I'll never forget the look on his face when he found out it was

okay for him to eat that gorgeous little cake

Jessica made special for him. 

(photo by bright angel imagery)

I thought he might dig right in,

but instead he jumped up and gave Jessica a hug,

thanking her for her gift. 

It still makes my eyes water.

I love these lines from "The Family"

"The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships

to be perpetuated beyond the grave."

"Sacred ordinances... available in holy temples 

make it possible...for families to be united eternally."

It was all a little taste of heaven on earth.

Congrats Joe & Jessica.

<3

The "white" part of our White Christmas...

We had a White Christmas this year!

The trees were heavy with snow.

Rascal went bonkers over the snow!

He'd run wherever we were throwing it and catch it in his mouth...

and on his head.

Video here...

Rascal loves to catch snow almost as much as he loves to catch tennis balls! :)

An Indian Name from a Catawban Chief..

Our oldest twig, Zac, is sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ 

with people of the Catawban Indian Tribe in South Carolina. 

He wrote home a while ago that he'd been given an Indian name 

by one of the Chiefs. 

How neat is that!!!

I love all things Native American! 

Many years ago, when I was a little girl, I'd spend the night with my cousin 

and study display case after display case on their walls, full of arrowheads 

that her Dad had come across in the deserts of Idaho. 

They were beautiful and so interesting!

When I was 6 months pregnant with Our Girlie, 

the Mr. and I climbed up, down, around, and through Mesa Verde 

with these two little guys.

It was a life changing experience! 

Now, every night when I lay my head on my pillow, I'm grateful 

for a soft bed and warm blankets, 

grateful I don't have to worry about a 40' cliff just outside my door 

when toddlers or sleepwalkers are in the house. 

(Look in the top right corner of the picture above

 - what an amazing little community in that alcove.)

About two years ago we found pictographs in this home.

 Dig that rockin' skylight!

It seemed a gift more than a coincidence 

when just after hearing Zac's Indian name was Red Woodpecker, 

this little couple showed up in our yard. 

They spent a lot of time behind a boulder digging in the snow.

They also spent a lot of time in our neighbor's tree. 

I couldn't see why until I got the pictures on the computer. 

We're enjoying these woodpeckers 

and are grateful for messages and pictures 

from the dear people in Catawba 

who tell us they're enjoying our Red Woodpecker, Elder Branch.   <3