This is amazing!!

I absolutely love this clip!!!!
I am going to give it a permanent place on my blog (when I figure out how to do it :)
I have watched it multiple times and Sis especially loves it too.
When I watch it, my spirit is filled. I know Elder Uchtdorf is speaking truth.
What a wonderful tool for good from the Church.
Did I mention how much I love this video?!!

Six More Weeks of K&B

So I know I've mentioned before how much we love the Elders serving here in MD. They are part of our family, adopted uncles you might say. We thought we were going to lose one or both on the last transfer, but the groundhog must have seen his shadow because we have six more weeks of Elders K&B. Waahoo!

I had to include this from Sis' writing journal. 

I love this pic because she got all the Elders names right and Et is kicking the cake like a soccerball. She's is too much! Her artistic mind blows me away sometimes!

Spring Scavenger Hunt

Despite what I think most days, spring is actually on her way. To prove this to my contradictory brain, I took the kids on a scavenger hunt to see if we could discover any clues. 

I knew spring had made an appearance somewhere in Bolton Hill and I was determined to find it. We were blessed with such a beautiful day and spring seemed to be everywhere. Not only were my toes warmed but so was my heart. And now I can wait a bit longer for spring to make her appearance because I know she's on her way.One of the things I love most about early spring bulbs is their tenacity. They can be buried under inches of winter mulch and snow and still find a way to break through. Often they are the smallest flowers of spring but they are so determined. Makes me want to spend time with them - maybe some of that determination will rub off.

If I had stayed any longer in UT, I would have planted a witch hazel. 
This will be my mode of gardening this year - pots.
Look at what these snowdrops had to break through to see the sun. Serious determination there.

I think this is a flowering quince. I am going to walk by everyday to check its progress. Quince is one of my very springtime favorites.

The first daffodils of the year here in Bolton Hill. Yeah!!

Crown Imperial is one of my favorite springtime too. It look so out of place and yet so striking.

*I am still working on my garden blog, hoping to launch on Monday. My first post may have similar pics to this one, but I hope it will be interesting enough to check it out. I'll post the link on Sunday PM or Monday AM.

Big Love... No Big Shock, still Big Disappointment

A friend sent me this link. It's wonderful. Take a minute to watch and then send it on if you want.

I wrote this post yesterday and didn't quite finish it. I am so glad I didn't. This morning I was on LDS.org and I came across this wonderful article. It says better what I feel, but could not express and it helped me to feel a greater peace as well. The following is my original post that I included anyway.

So I am sad today to hear about the newest thing regarding the show "Big Love" on HBO. Apparently this month there is an episode where they recreate some of the LDS temple ceremonies using reproduction of the temple interior including temple clothes (all achieved with the help of an "ex-Mormon" set/costume designer). It makes me sad for the people who are creating it, those acting in it and anybody associated with it. Also, it makes me sad for those watching who may form an opinion of the LDS Church based on that show. Mostly its disheartening that the world has gotten to this point and the Church is starting to see the type of persecution we knew would come. However, as we talked about it last night Jon pointed out that when anything like this happens, and it has before now, often the result is a greater interest in the Church and an increase in missionary work. How's that for seeing the glass as half-full? He sure helps me keep my perspective sometimes. :)

Just remember...

Come what may, the Lord is in charge. He is mindful of each of us. He loves all of us. 

Good Friends and Federal Hill

Our friends, the Fugals, came into town this weekend. We were so happy to have them stay with us. The weather on Saturday was in the seventies, so we went down to the harbor and wandered about. I think everyone in Baltimore had the same idea. 
I love this pic of my two guys. They are so flippin' handsome and so similar.
A little exercise in balance and harmony - we didn't do so well. ;)

In front of the USS Contellation. It is such a beautiful ship! Part of it is currently under restoration hence the plastic windows were cannons should be.
Jon teased that this pic would make it on the blog. What a smart fella!

After strolling around we ended up at Federal Hill. What a view!! On the top of FH is a great little park. You can see the waterfront perfectly.

Sis waited so patiently for a swing to open up as there were only two "big-kid" swings at the park.
Peace, Love and Bananas - That about sums it up for Sis.
The park we normally walk to doesn't have swings, so the kids were in heaven.
To make you feel alive and young, there's nothing better than watching kids on the swings, except maybe for swinging on them yourself.

Ironically, none of these pics have our friends in them. They were usually on the other end of the lens or chasing their own short people around. J&C  thanks for coming -we love you guys!

Favorite Friday... Secret Life of Bees and Lie to Me

Technically I am writing this on Monday but I didn't want to miss a favorite Friday, so better late than never. Finished SLoB finally. Not the first time I've read it, which is probably why it took me so long to finish it this time. It was just as good if not better the second or third time around. Again, I won't give you a synopsis - you can get that on Amazon- but I will say this a fabulous book. I am a bee lover, so I probably enjoyed even more. It's not too long, easy to get into and has a natural pace that kept me wanting to read, even if I didn't get to whenever I wanted.This post is for not only the book but the movie as well. The actors all did a great job. They were entirely believable in their various roles. But Queen Latifah was fabulous as August Boatwright and I was pleasantly surprised by Alicia Keys performance as June. 

The only complaint I had with the book, same as the movie, was the father T. Ray's foul mouth. Why do authors do that? 

The other fav today is a new show I found. It is such an intriguing show. Brief synopsis: A man who has studied people, their facial expressions, body language, verbal cues, etc. for decades now owns a company wherein they are hired to find the truth in many various matters. Through interrogation and observation they watch for signifiers, micro-expressions, gestures - basically anything to determine what is the truth or a lie, what is real or fake, genuine or counterfeit. Check it out on Hulu. It's still early in its first season, so you could catch up quickly.

Ribbons - check! Snowflakes - check!

This is a long one folks! Get a snack before you sit down to read, it could take awhile.

I'm finished! I can't believe it but I am finished. And I am so pleased with the results. The snowflakes have been done for ages, but I didn't want to post pics of them and no ribbons, effectively killing any motivation I might have to finish. So the point is, you get the pics from start to finish on both projects even if I posted them once before. (Now do you see why I told you get a snack?)

Snowflakes

I don't recall where I even got the idea for this, probably swiped it from someone else's creative brain, but they have been so fun. When Esther counted last there were a zillion, but I estimate somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-350. I've said it before, but I love how they dance around with the air currents. It's almost magical.

They started out something like this.

Every night after dinner, we would pull the scissors out and cut away. When the Elders were over, we took advantage of the extra pairs of hands too. Its one of my favorite holiday memories now.

Finally, we attached them to fishing line and then to the ceiling.  I am almost ready to take them down but I have to come up with a replacement idea first. 

The architecture of this place really lends itself to my creative whims. 
I love the flakes against the persimmon hue of the curtains. The contrast is so pretty.

Ribbons

I had so much fun seeing this project come together. It was interesting to see people's reactions to it at different stages.  For awhile I thought I had overshot on the amount of ribbon, but I almost wish I had used more.

So cutting to length 1000 yards of ribbon was my starting point.

Then I had to transport the ribbon from one room to the next, which doesn't seem like a big deal, but I had to keep it from tangling and dragging. 

After attaching it to copper electricians' wire, up it went. It was heavier than I anticipated which made hanging it tricky, but Jon made it possible with a little of his magic. 

I really liked it at this point, but I could see the kids using it to play Tarzan or circus or something crazy. Plus it did nothing to light the room when enclosed. And yes - that is a Christmas tree in the background. :)

So this next part was the most time consuming - hands down. It involved me on a ladder with a staple gun in hand, balancing myself while trying to find the right length or swag for each piece. Furniture had to be moved to accommodate the ladder and I really had to get over my fear of heights.  This post might have been done months ago but for this step. The fact that I am a bit of a perfectionist didn't help either.

Finally it is finished. I think it is so striking. The pictures don't do it justice. The colors are so vibrant and the ribbon has a nice sheen to it. It's fabulous! I think I will keep it up forever!