Sweet Little Lu

This girl.

She can be the sweetest little thing ever.

Our elderly neighbor, who we love dearly, recently spent some time in the hospital. We nearly lost him. When Taylor heard the news, she knew just what to do. She sat and drew an adorable picture for him of his garden (it is an amazing garden!), and wrote a get well note for him. She ran it right over. I didn't think much of it- Taylor is always making little things for people. The next day I was in the driveway, waiting for Tay to come out so we could run errands. My neighbor was getting mail, and came over asking for Taylor. She came out, and he said he had a treat for her. He told her how much he liked her picture and note, and gave her 3 candy bars. So sweet- you never know how something small can touch someone else.

The elementary school is doing "candygrams" this week. It's a little card, with a sucker attached. You buy them for 25 cents, put your name on the card, and they deliver them to whoever you want at school. I gave Taylor 50 cents today so she could send two. When she came home, I asked who she sent them to. "Samantha and Mr. Austin" Who is Mr. Austin? Her teacher, her principal? Maybe a counselor, or librarian? No-Mr. Austin is the janitor at the elementary school. Adam has helped him a few times at RC Willey, and Taylor thought it would be nice to send him a candygram. Seriously, so sweet. I told Adam about it tonight, and he said that probably made Mr. Austin's year.

Love this girl.

Who Knew...

Who knew that this silly little California girl...

And this adorable little Nebraska boy...
Would grow up, and meet at a mall in Utah. And date, and date some more, and get ENGAGED!

Then, get married....

Have a blast on their honeymoon...

And still be going strong, nine years and 4 kids later!

The last nine years have been a whirlwind... we've had our ups and downs, but the positive experiences far outweigh the negative. I wouldn't change anything we've gone through together- our trials have shaped who we are today. I look forward to facing many more storms together (though hopefully not TOO many!), and enjoying every ounce of sunshine that comes our way.

I love you Mr. James! Happy Anniversary!

Life in Pictures

Fair warning: this is a picture heavy post. We have had a fun/busy winter.

We have gotten together at Willamette Mtn (AKA Joshua James' home) a few times. Christmas Party and New Years Party= fun times
We have played with this wild man A LOT

We visited Gardner Village on one of our many unseasonably warm days

I've been sewing up a storm. I made this dress for T when her class was on TV. Other things I've made lately: 2 baby quilts, 3 paper wreaths (much more labor-intensive than they sound), a HUGE watercolor painting (Christmas gift for Adam), valentine pillows, and I can't remember what else.

Baking. A lot of baking.

Walking the kiddos home from school. Love them!

Baby! Love taking pics of this boy.

Wild man got into the baking soda. That was fun to clean up!

Joshua James show in American Fork. We also went to a show in SLC. Love him! Check him out here .

Pretty little Lu had her ears pierced.

We are starting to potty train the boy. Not too successful- but he likes it!

Lu and baby J

I have been on a major soup kick. Here is a yummy butternut squash, with my homemade grape juice. I think I might start posting some of my recipes- Adam thinks I should.

One of the few snowstorms we've had. This is a tree outside of the library.

Daddy and daughter painting session. I've been teaching them how to paint watercolors.

Crazy boy, he thought his hair was an excellent place for yogurt. getting ready for a shower.

One of the valentine pillows. It's made out of a vintage hankie.

Domino's. Another favorite pastime lately.

So- that's a bit of what we've been up to. In heart news, Asher saw his cardiologist a couple of weeks ago for a surgery follow-up. It went GREAT! His heart is doing very well, it's only mildly enlarged now, and his new valve is not leaking AT ALL. Yay! By this point last time, he already had a moderate leak. 6 months post op and it was severe. SO we are thrilled. Dr. P says this valve should last 8-10 years. And if it doesn't last that long, they can replace it without open heart surgery. (But if it does last 8-10, surgery would be open heart, because at that point they would need to place a larger valve). All good things- we were just hoping to make it to pre-school with the valve! We don't see cardiology for another 6 months.

So that's life lately in a nutshell.