Happy Birthday ~ Mom!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Today is my Mom's birthday... she is a wonderful Mom and I love her so much!

Here are some random thoughts about my Mom.

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She has many names... Mom, Mamma, Nene, Grandma, Grandma Della, Della Mae, Aunt Della, and Della; and all of them are names she is often referred to with great love and affection. I don't know what name was used when she was in trouble by her parents.

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She has taught me so many things in my life; but these are some of the things that she taught me by her example... it's "graceful" to let your hair turn grey and not try and die it back to it's original color behind it's time, it's okay to pray anytime and any place, when you laugh out loud it means for that one moment you aren't worried or stressed about your children and life can be fun, always have a basic black dress and a nice pair of pumps (without scuffs) in your wardrobe, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, honor your parents and respect your elders, push your sleeves up and help because many hands make light work, and it is better to give than to receive, and it really is the simple things in life that your kids will remember and cherish.

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My Mom has taught me so much about being true to myself, being a good Mom to my son, and how to be a great grandmother hopefully some day. I appreciate her so much for being the grandmother (aka Nene) to my son that is fun, laughs with him, is always willing to get down and play games with him, believes in him, and is also able to back us up as his parents and respects our boundaries of rules and wishes for him.

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There are things I have learned from her that I couldn't have learned from anyone else but my Mother.

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Thanks Mom, for putting up with me through my ugly teenage years when I didn't like it when .... you laughed too loud, all of my friends loved you (even when I was mad at you), you wanted to know where I was and who I was with, and when you were always concerned and wanted to talk about what was going on in my life.

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Because now that I have my own teenager, those are some of the things that I LOVE MOST ABOUT YOU!!!!

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Happy Birthday Mom!

I Love you!!!

The Diamond D and the Dreadful Dragon...

I found it! This was my most favorite book EVER!!!

I loved it so much when I was a kid, I would make my sister read it to me over and over and over again. (poor sis... but thank you!!!)

We both still sign letters and notes to our Mom... Love, your darling dimpled daughters

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The Diamond D and the Dreadful Dragon

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Dozens of years ago. In a drafty castle. Duke David of Dundeedle did dwell. Duke David was dumpy but dignified. And he had a darling daughter named Dora who was a delight. One day Dora danced through the door in the dear little dress decorated with daffodils. "Doodley-doo, doodley-doo", Dora sang, as she danced. "Oh, hello, dear, dumpy daddy", said Dora to Duke David of Dundeedle.

"Dora, my darling, dimpled daughter", said Duke David. "You are indeed delightful, so I have a dandy present for you." "Do tell," said Dora. "Do describe this doo-dad, daddy". "It is a dazzling Diamond D dangling from a chain!" So,hanging the D around Dora's dimpled neck, Duke David of Dundeedle departed through the door.

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Although Dora and Duke David didn't know it, someone else dwelt in the castle. This someone was Donald, the Dreadful Dragon of Dundeedle. "I am Donald, the Dreadful Dragon of Dundeedle. I live in a dungeon downstairs in Duke David's dwelling. It is a deep dungeon, a dark dungeon - a deep, dark, damp, dank, dreary dungeon. It is a dump!" Donald used dozens of D words - which was the only nice thing you could say about him. Otherwise he was a dud.

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Donald the Dragon dashed from his dungeon, directly to Duke David's dandy daisy patch. "I am dashing from my dungeon to steal the Diamond D that Duke David gave his daughter Dora,"he said. Donald, the doer of dark deeds, drifted into the daisy patch.

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Dora, daughter of duke David, saw the dreadful dragon and dropped a drooping daisy from her dainty dimpled hand. She danced directly up to Donald the Dragon and declared, "Well, look who's here - a dear doggie! Hi there,doggie." Donald disbelieved his droopy ears. "Doggie?" he screamed. "Didyou say doggie?" "Definitely," said Dora. "Well, I do declare!" said Donald. "If Dora, the dignified Duke David's daughter thinks that I, Donald the Dreadful Dragon of Dundeedle, am a doggie, then Dora is dumb!"

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"But you're the dearest doggie I've ever seen," Dora declared. "Do come and dwell in our castle, doggie dear, and I'll give you this Diamond D which my doting daddy draped around my dimpled neck." "Don't doggie me!" Donald roared, darting toward Dora, determined to grab the Diamond D. Suddenly, Duke David dashed into the daisy patch. Diving between darling Dora and Dreadful Donald, the Duke drove Donald around and around the daisy patch. The dismal dragon ducked, dodged, darted and dashed through the ducklings and the daisies until the Duke dumped him into the duck pond.
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"Daddy dear," said Dora, "why did you do that?" "Because that dreadful, dishonest dragon was determined to steal the dazzling Diamond D from around your dainty, dimpled neck," said the Duke. "Dragon?" said Dora. "I'll be darned! He looked like a doggie tome." "You're dumb but you're adorable, Dora," said Duke David, "so here's what we'll do. From this day on this dreadful dragon will dwell in a dog house, dine on dog biscuits, and do doggie tricks to delight my divine daughter Dora - or else!" "Or else what?" Donald demanded. "I'll dump you in the duck pond again!" "Bow-wow," said Donald. "I'm a doggie."

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And so David, Duke of Dundeedle, and his delightful daughter Dora lived happily ever after with Donald the Doggie, who used to be a dreadful dragon.

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Taken from The Sesame Street Story Book, Random House, 1971.

Harvest Blessings...

We have the bestest of friends who have shared their harvest with us... the corn earlier this week. And yesterday red potatoes and tomatoes!

I never thought about canning potatoes, but I guess it works and you can use them in stews or with beef, or mash them up into smashed potatoes... YUM!

So last night while the boys were at mutual I canned up the potatoes.

My bff and I split up the salsa and spaghetti sauce and each did one and then we will share some of each...
And the teenager mowed a lawn of some friends who have moved out of town, and they left their garden, but told him if anything came up on it's own he could bring it home... so he brought me a huge zucchini and some pumpkins. So I shredded up the zucchini and froze enough bags to pull out later and make 5 more batches of guess what...

Give me a Z! Yep... you got it... Zucchini bread!

It's allot of work, I was up later than normal finishing things up, but so worthwhile and full filling to have some of the fresh fall harvest all winter long.

I am so blessed to have someone special in my life who taught me how and really set me up with everything I needed to know to do this canning (thank you eternally Mom D), and some great friends who share their gardens with us!!

We are so blessed!!

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Something funny now, but not so funny yesterday...

It has finally cooled off enough here that I could turn off the air conditioning and open windows and doors during the cool part of the day... and when the teenager came home from school I was in the kitchen at the sink looking out the window... and he actually drove up, parked the car, came in stepping over the puppy gate stretched across the front door and was able to sneak all the way into the house without ONE dog making a peep. He scared me half to death, I am sure you could hear me scream all the way across town! I hate being scared!

But he got me... it is kind of funny today, now that my heart is beating back to normal.

A good story for my fight to get a storm door with a lock on it, so I don't have a stranger sneak in on me right? Yeah, that's good, I will use that one.

Local Farmers Market...

I have lived in our small little town for 5 years now and always wanted to go to the farmers market put on during the summer months, but sadly I have never ever been!

One more of those really good intentions, that never came to pass...

Well I finally went, thanks to a friend... after we had driven by a sign when we were in the car together, and I mentioned I always wanted to go... she just came by last week and picked me up and took me!

It's very small, only about 15 booths with crafts and veggies from their farms, and a smoothie stand. But they are there every week faithfully and they act like it is the biggest thing going. I am sure it takes hours for them to prepare their items (because they are all so shiny... I just know they polish them off to get them ready to sell) and get set up and take down each week, but they do it and were smiling at each and every customer that came through.

Everything was so beautiful! It was hard to walk by and not purchase anything!

I really didn't know what to expect, and wasn't really prepared to buy something for a specific purpose, like a batch of peppers to make salsa or something. So I mostly looked.

After talking with the smoothie lady, I found out these tiny little melons were supposed to be the talk of the market...she said she buys two before she leaves every week to take home and have with her breakfasts , and they are really sweet and yummy, way better than any cantaloupe I could ever buy at the store.

That sounded like something I could just buy spontaneously and eat without having it go bad on my counter at home (I have lost way more veggies than I ever want to admit, so I am really careful to only buy what I will eat now). So I bought two, just in case the first one was soooo good, I wanted to have a back up. Since the market was not for another week.

They even have entertainment each week. It would be worth going, if only for that! I heard the week before they had a Spanish dance team, dancing in their traditional Spanish dresses... that would have been fun.

This weeks entertainment turned out to be our Mayor. I had met him when the teenager was working on his Eagle Scout Project for the City.

Who knew... he sings too! He didn't disappoint. Sounded just about like ol' Garth Brooks himself!

I had such a fun time at our little farmers market. It is very small, you could come by and do it in about 7.5 minutes... but if you take your time and talk to the people, you can learn so much about the community around you. I can't wait to go back again this week. I am so sad I have missed out on this all summer and it will be ending for the year before the month ends. But I guess better late than never.

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Oh, and the little cantaloupe's... well when I got home, as I was walking up my driveway I looked to the left and to the right; and thought about my single neighbor ladies on each side and neither of them have gardens... then looked down and had two melons in my hands;

No, was too selfish to give them both away... I took one and delivered it; you would have thought I delivered a brick of gold. Then I brought the other home to eat for myself. Yes, I will have to work on the charity thing a little more. But it was the most yummy melon I had ever eaten... I want to go back and find out what they are so I can grow them in my garden next year! (another good intention I have been planning and working in my head for about 4 years now).

This week, I will be sure and pick up a baby cantaloupe to bring home for everyone!

Labor Day Monday...

We didn't really have anything fun planned over the long weekend... and Monday I ran some errands and did my grocery shopping (what a mistake, it was soooooo crowded out there), and I worked on some laundry and house cleaning... but since it was so far behind, I didn't even put a dent in it... UGggggg!

I always feel like we kind of sell ourselves short by not taking better advantage of the extra days off together, but we almost always enjoy Labor Day at home avoiding any end of summer camping crowds or out of town traffic; and mostly catch up on our rest.

My bff gave us some corn from their garden, so I got it all bagged up and in the freezer. It is so fresh and sweet, Yum!

I had been wanting to make homemade ice cream all summer and we had not even made one batch! So when we had an invite to go to some friends, I knew just what I would take with us... ice cream!

I tried a new recipe with pudding in it... they say it makes it more creamy and not ice up when you freeze any left overs (yeah right). And that way you can use any pudding flavors available to flavor your ice cream... so I tried it with Lemon pudding!

It was yummy, but even more yummy than just plain, was when we put some peach slices on top just before eating it... really yummy, then ever way more yummy than that, was when we topped it off with some peach cobbler right out of the oven.... super duper fabulous yummy!!!

The boys played some music...

The kids were entertaining as they always are... I loved this when the little ones were feeding each other. How sweet is that....
Of course with music, there is always a dancer in the house...
And it wouldn't be complete until someone got hurt playing football...

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okay, nobody got hurt this time... but it's really just a matter of time, isn't it?

A good time was had by all!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was the 5th anniversary of our 2nd marriage.

August 30, 2003... I wish I had been blogging back then, it was a really wonderful day for us!

It isn't the most significant of our 3 anniversaries, but definitely an important one in our story!

We had a very special ceremony with family close by our sides in their home, our Bishop married us and gave us some of the most wonderful advice for where we were in our journey together.

We enjoyed dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant with our family, and then picked up the keys to our new house, where we live now! That was all pretty exciting for me, a new start with the love of my life.

I am usually very attentive to our anniversaries and never want to forget any of them, because each played an important part of our story together... but after the service work at Pinetop earlier in the day, I was pretty wiped out. If it had not been for some friends calling to invite us out to dinner, and mentioning a wedding they had seen earlier in the day that caused me to think about the date and it being our anniversary... I might have forgotten. But by the skin of my teeth, I remembered and we enjoyed such a fun time with our friends eating dinner at "Goodwood BBQ"... one of our favorite places. Yum!

One of my favorite sayings, it fits us so well...

"It's never to late to live happily ever after"

A Day of Labor and Service...

Saturday some of the girls in our Stake went back up to Pinetop where we had spent Girls camp to do some service work cleaning names off of a cabin wall.

Morgan was chosen to ride up with me because she is so reliable to be good and stay right with me, with very little supervision.

The teenager went along to offer his strong muscles too.

Of course it didn't hurt to have some cute teenage girls as a bargaining chip, to get him to come work with me.

Look! He almost doesn't even seem to mind that he had to work in a teeny tiny small bathroom elbow to elbow with all of them either.

Watching the process, it was good to see the grafitti gone, but then on the wood walls, it left a mark where we had been sanding... like it would never be the same. Then some clear coat and it erased all the bad deed completely!

The wood grain was beautiful again... that was sooooo cool!
And in the little tiny bathroom... the white paint cleaned the walls up so nicely!

Everyone worked so hard, and then we all had a little cook out of hot dogs and chips brownies, and smores before the drive home. It was great how everyone pitched in and we got the work done, and it looked soooo nice, we laughed and had fun during the whole process.
Morgan even made new friends... of course anyone with a nice grilled hot dog on a stick is her best friend.

A good time was had by all!