thanksgiving...

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year at my parent's house.  Mom did all of the cooking...we keep asking her to let us do something, but she insists.  (maybe that says something about my cooking skills....hmmmm....) 

Meagan and I usually make placecards, but this year we decided to do something different, so we made these to put at each plate:

While Mom slaved away in the kitchen all morning, I took a few pictures.  Well, I tried.  She wouldn't cooperate.  at all.  I told her she'd like the pictures better if she'd hold still for me. she didn't listen...

Dad always carves the turkey.  I even caught him sneaking a piece while he was carving...but I won't show the evidence here.  you're welcome, Dad. :o)

The table looked so pretty and festive.  I love their new kitchen - now it's big enough for all of us to sit at one big long table - perfect!

We had a great day -- the food was terrific - thanks, Mom!

We played games well into the evening. 

Funny, gut-busting laughter...so very fun! 

One of our best Thanksgiving Days, I think.

 

OOOhhh, and not only that...but these two amazing people celebrated their 38th anniversary on Thanksgiving Day!

 

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom!  Love you!!

happy thanksgiving...

Just a quick post to say Happy Thanksgiving!  It's overcast and cold here...but no snow or rain...yet.  The Macy's parade just started, but the thoughts of turkey, homemade rolls, potatoes and gravy are making me hungry already!  I'm excited and grateful for a day to spend with my family and the opportunity to reflect on all of our many blessings.  I hope you are too!

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.."  — John Fitzgerald Kennedy

And, of course, I must share this fun Thanksgiving Day layout - it was in this month's Creating Keepsakes Magazine.

 

May we all celebrate with gratitude in our hearts, which will carry through and reflect in our everyday actions...not only this day, but ALL days - for we always have much to be grateful for.

cleaning, organizing, purging, and selling....

I've been trying to clean and organize a lot recently. One of the big projects (one that I've been putting off for WAY too long) was going through old idea books and magazines. I am a bit of an idea book junkie...and I tend to hang on to these books forever because they still have tons of great projects, ideas, and inspiration in them. However, the time has come to part with some of my beloved idea books...because I'm simply running out of space. So, once again (I did this last spring too...see, I told you I have a ton of idea books), I thought I'd see if anyone who visits my blog would be interested in a great deal on some awesome inspiration!

I'll list the idea books I'm selling, along with a price. If you're interested just leave a comment or e-mail me. I'll sell them on a first come, first served basis. Shipping will be USPS priority mail. Let me know if you're interested and I'll give you my PayPal information, get your mailing information, and get your books on their merry little way asap!! :o)

Designing with Simplicity (Autumn Leaves) - $3  SOLD

 Scrapbook Inspiration (Simple Scrapbooks) - $2  SOLD

Scrapbooking with kits & coordinates (Simple Scrapbooks) - $2  SOLD

Scrapbooks Etc. Paper Ideas (Better Homes and Gardens) - $1

 Party Creations (Paper Crafts) - $1 {The cover is slightly torn along the spine}  SOLD

 The Scrapbook Idea Book, 2001 (Creating Keepsakes) - $2  SOLD

Creative Cards by Becky Higgins (Creating Keepsakes) - $2

Scrapbooking Secrets by Becky Higgins (Creating Keepsakes) - $2

2003 Hall of Fame (Creating Keepsakes) - $1

 Scrapbooks Etc. Family Connections (Better Homes and Gardens) - $1  SOLD

The Art of Scrapbooking by Helen Williams (PaperKuts) - $1

 A Simple Guide to Scrapbooking Celebrations (Simple Scrapbooks) - $1  SOLD

The Big Idea Book of Seasonal Memories (CK) - $1  SOLD

Frame-Ups Bright Idea Book (MME) - $.50 {the free product insert has been removed}

 Scrapbooks Etc. Paper Ideas, Holiday (Better Homes and Gardens) - $1  SOLD

Little Book of Big Ideas (KI Memories) - $2

Little Book of Big Ideas Supplement (KI Memories) - $1 {brand new - still in shrink wrap}

Little Book of Big Ideas Supplement (KI Memories) - $1 {brand new - still in shrink wrap}

2003-2004 Idea Book & Catalog (Stampin' Up!) - $1

2004-2005 Idea Book & Catalog (Stampin' Up!) - $1 Designing with Notions - $2

Tagging Along with Katherine Brookes (Deluxe Designs) - $1

 Baby Oh Baby (PaperKuts) - $1   SOLD

Simple Scrapbooks -$1 {the original book that inspired the magazine}

at Home Scrapbooking with Faye Morrow Bell (CK) - $2{brand new in original shrink wrap}

at Home Scrapbooking with Faye Morrow Bell (CK) - $2{brand new in original shrink wrap}

...and the last one for today...

Gooseberry Patch Christmas volume 2 - $2

And if you're interested in something but feel I've priced it badly, please, let me know, okay? I just want to make room on my shelves for more idea books and hopefully pass along these loved books to someone who will appreciate them! :o)

my little old blog ...

I am still feeling a little giddy - my blog was featured on Today's Creative Blog over the weekend!  It's so fun to have so many new visitors to my little corner of the www.  Welcome - I hope you see something fun that makes you want to pull out some paper and get creative!  And I hope you come back and visit often!  Thanks, Kim, for featuring me and my blog on your amazing blog! :o)

Here's another project I created for the Melissa Francis blog this month:

grateful for the opportunity...

A few months ago I received an e-mail from a very talented person whose work I have admired for a long time.  Maybe you know her...Sherelle Christensen.  She's an amazing person - talented in so many ways and so willing to share her talents through her work and her blog.  Anyway, because of the fact that I admire Sherelle so much, I was extra honored when she asked me to be a guest artist on the Melissa Frances blog for November. 

When I received the product they wanted me to work with, I was just amazed - it's so beautiful and fun to work with.  If you haven't been to their blog recently, you should check it out - especially this fun post from earlier this week - (congratulations, Melissa!!).  MF has an amazing design team and there are lots of fun ideas on the blog. 

Here are a couple of the projects I created for this month...

I'll share more of my projects later...but if you want to see them now, or see more details, please visit the Melissa Frances blog by clicking here.  ohhh, and I also had the opportunity to fill out a fun questionnaire!

Thank you so much, Sherelle, for the opportunity to be the MF guest artist for November! :o)

gratitude mini journal...

Last night, for our Young Women's activity, we created mini gratitude journals.

  

 

We talked about why it's important to recognize our blessings and express gratitude to those who are responsible for them.  We talked about how we need to be grateful for ALL things - even our trials.

   

The girls had fun (I think) creating these little books...and now they'll take them home and fill out a page each day for 10 days.

I honestly feel that it's important to do everything we can to have good attitudes and be happy...and I think part of being happy is learning to recognize ALL there is that we have to be grateful for...really, there is so much!  And once we recognize these things, we can express our gratitude properly.  I really loved the quote I printed for the front of our books:

"Ours is the responsibility to show our gratitude by the actions of our lives."  --Thomas S. Monson

turkey day warm up...

Brad has been wanting to buy a turkey fryer for about 5 years...and he finally bought one!  After a long wait for the proper oil (it was shipped and when it arrived the first time, the bottle had broken inside the bag/box and leaked everywhere...5 gallons of peanut oil...nice, eh?), he finally fried his first turkey!

He was so excited!  He actually told me that this was a "scrapbook moment" - which meant for me to go get my camera to record his first deep fried culinary creation for our posterity.  And so...here it is...deep fried glory:

I wasn't quite as excited as Brad about actually eating the turkey (deep frying something that is actually healthy otherwise just doesn't really sit so well with me...), but it was really good.  Brad, on the other hand, was a little less enthused about actually eating the bird - after watching it sit in boiling oil for 45 minutes.  Anyway, it was pretty good, and I'm sure we'll do it again sometime...but I think we both prefer an old fashioned oven-baked bird...

gratitude cards...

Last week, On the Making Memories blog, I shared a fun little project my kids worked on with me...

and it's all about expressing gratitude and Thanksgiving.

 

You can see the cards up close and read more about the project here, if you're interested. 

gratitude game...

Last spring, I was asked to create a kid's Thanksgiving Day activity -

for Home & Heart Magazine. 

This is what I created:

It's a pretty generic game that could be played lots of different ways...My first idea was for it to be a matching game - each game piece has a letter on the back...there are two of each letter of the alphabet.  So if you found a match, you would have to say something you are grateful for that begins with that letter.  Or you could just pull out a game piece and say something you're grateful for that starts with that letter.  Or draw a picture of something you're grateful for that starts with that letter...and so on.

My little guys are just started to learn their abc's, so it will be fun to play this game with them.  And I think it will be fun for the big kids (and those of us who are kids at heart, lol) too.  One thing I didn't do, but should, is laminate the pieces so they don't get torn and wrinkled as easily.

tape...

Tonight I had a stake meeting.  When I got home, I walked into my office to see a big piece of tape across my computer monitor.  Of course, I was not happy.  "Who put tape on my screen?" I said...not too quietly.  Meagan came in and explained that Josh had put it there (shocker, right?)...and he'd told her NOT to take it off.  She proceeded to change my screen, so it was bright, rather than the black background of my screensaver/wallpaper.  This is what I saw:

A love note from my 9 year old...and I love how the very first thing he wrote was an explanation that "it pills rite off."  Even before he asked for a kiss, "please."  What a polite little guy, huh?  So, I decided to just give him a kiss and not get mad at him for sticking packaging tape on my computer.  It's all good...unless he thinks that drawing looks like me.  Oh...and we'll have to have a little talk about him calling me Wendy instead of Mom as well...

busy day...

I feel like we can get back into the swing of "normal life" again now. That means I have a list about a mile long of things I need to do. I am so grateful to work with the amazing companies I work with...some of which have granted me deadline extensions for my work that was due the first part of this week - allowing me to keep my stress at a manageable level - thank you for that! I also have plenty of house/wife/mom stuff that I've fallen behind on...and the list goes on.

Anyway... I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who has been so kind and thoughtful toward me and my family over the past week...we all appreciate it so much.

Really quickly, before I start on my list again, I thought I'd share this layout I created a few weeks ago. It's very similar to this card, made with Making Memories Paperie products, and featuring my sweet girl...who is, indeed, both smart and beautiful. These pictures were taken when she brought home her Promotion Certificate last May - an official Elementary School Grad! :o)

She has been working so hard throughout the first term of sixth grade to get good grades. When she brought her report card home, she proudly showed me...All A's and one A-, and all of her citizenship grades were H's (Honor). She's been dealing with some not-so-fun issues the last few months and missed a lot of school at the beginning of the term. I am so proud of her for working hard...with her academics as well as the emotional "issues" she's working through - she is a smart, friendly, sweet little girl and I love her so much!

let's talk turkey...and a winner...

A month or so ago, I noticed I was getting a lot of hits from a blog I'd never heard of.  Of course, I clicked on the link, and I was taken to a cute blog with lots of paper crafting projects.  One particular post was a cute turkey card...and the designer of the card had credited me with the original idea - how nice was that?!?  It doesn't happen very often.  Unfortunately, I didn't save the blog address...but I did receive a handful of e-mails asking about my original project.  I promised I would share more information here on my blog...I apologize to those who asked...it's taken me longer than I expected.

So...here's a scan of my original project as it appeared in the issue - it was a calendar topper I made for a Paper Crafts Magazine assignment several years ago - November 2004.

 

The turkey image was originally clip art from "The Best of Creative Lettering Combo" CD.  I broke down the image and turned it into a paper piecing pattern for this project.  {I miss paper piecing.  I found it enjoyable and relaxing and cute and fun...} 

Hopefully this is helpful to those who asked...and maybe even for some of you who didn't ask!  Please let me know if you have any other questions about this project. :o)

Also...because of recent events in my personal life (that you have all read about here on my blog), I neglected to choose a winner for the Paper Crafts Gourmet book last Friday.  So...without further ado...and with help from the trusted Random.org...the winner is...

comment #1! 

" Katie said...

I love all holiday treats, you can tell by just looking at me!!!
What a great idea with the pingles can! Your creativity never stops!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008 1:44:00 PM"

So..Katie...I have your address...I'll be sending it Paper Crafts Magazine...so be watching for your very own issue of Paper Crafts Gourmet to arrive at your home very soon! :o)

 

Grandma's funeral was yesterday.  The weather was perfectly appropriate for a funeral - drizzly rain, dark clouds, and quite cool temperatures. Meagan played the piano before the family prayer - something she wanted very much to do for Grandma...and she played beautifully.  I'm sure Grandma was looking down from Heaven and smiling.  I can just hear her saying "That's my great-granddaughter and I'm so proud of her."  At the funeral my cousin, RaeAnn, gave a beautiful tribute to Grandma...she did an amazing job.  All of the great-grandchildren sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and it was absolutely precious.  All of the grandchildren sang "Amazing Grace," which was apparently Grandma's only request for her funeral.  It was one of those things that none of us (well, most of us) would have NEVER done...since the majority of us have NO singing ability whatsoever...but we did it for Grandma, because that's what she wanted.  Luckily, many of us married people who can sing...so they sang with us, and it was okay.  (I'm glad that part is over) Grandma's nephew and a former bishop also spoke. 

We all drove to the cemetery for the dedication of the grave, and gathered back at the church for lunch - where there was a lot of visiting and reminiscing about Grandma.

Later in the afternoon, we took pumpkins up to sit on Grandma's grave...something Meagan asked to do.  She's still having a hard time, but I know that with time, she'll be okay.  I think the hardest thing for me was seeing my dad so emotional.  He's always been pretty good at hiding his emotions, or keeping them to himself, so seeing him cry was super hard for  me.  Again, though, I know with time, he'll be okay.  He has a lot of wonderful memories and I am sure that he knows he will see his mother again someday - that knowledge alone can help carry anyone through such a difficult trial, I am sure.

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments, e-mails, and even phone calls you've shared since I posted last week.  I surely appreciate your kind words and thoughts.  Grandma loved the holidays, so I think the best way we can honor her is to go ahead and enjoy the holidays...spend time together...and love each other - that's what she would want.

Lois Vida Mayoh Sweat

Lois Vida Mayoh Sweat 1926 ~ 2008 Lois Vida Mayoh Sweat, loving Mother and Grandmother, passed away at her home on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008, following a long illness. She was born September 29, 1926, in Heber City, Utah, the youngest child of Peter Joseph Mayoh and Sarah Ellen Lee Mayoh. She graduated from Wasatch High School in 1945. Vida married Lemar Sweat on April 1, 1959, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple on June 19, 1968. He preceded her in death August 9, 1964. Being a single parent most of her life, Vida provided unconditional love and care for her children under difficult circumstances. She was never afraid of hard work. She was an excellent seamstress and crocheted afghans for all of her grandchildren. Vida relied on the work of her own hands, but leaned heavily upon the Lord. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and has a strong testimony of the Gospel. She shared that testimony by example to family and friends. She worked in the Primary, Young Women, and was a Visiting Teacher. Vida was preceded in death by her parents, husband, and brothers Lee and Eldon Mayoh, and sisters Lola Anderson Bates, Vera Sweat, and Estrella Mayoh. Vida is survived by her children, Wesley (Mary), Raymond (Ruth) and Rhonda, seven grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren and numerous nephews and nieces. Funeral Services were held at 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 10, 2008, at the Heber Stake Center, 150 N. 200 W., Heber City. Family and friends called from 6-8 p.m. at Olpin Hoopes Funeral Home, 288 N. Main, Heber City, and also from 9:30 to 10:30 the day of the service. Interment was at Heber City Cemetery. The family would like to thank Cari, and all other Hospice workers for their excellent care, and also the members of the Heber 5th Ward and Relief Society.

my grandma...

This is my Grandma Vida. I took this picture just about two years ago, at her 80th birthday surprise party. I blogged about it here. The next day, we met together to have a huge family picture taken. I'm glad we did. Grandma's health hasn't been well since before this photo was taken...but at the beginning of the summer, she really started getting bad. She spent several weeks in the hospital and even when she returned to her home, she was pretty much bed-ridden. It was hard to see her in pain and frustrated that she couldn't do what she wanted to do...to watch her as she couldn't get her body to move and function no matter how hard she willed it. Luckily, though, her mind remained clear and sharp. Yesterday morning, my grandma returned Home. I'm sure there was an amazing reunion in Heaven...her parents, husband, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and so many more people were there to welcome her Home.

Yesterday was a hard day. Meagan especially has been upset and crying. She is glad that Grandma isn't suffering anymore...but she cries uncontrollably in (almost continuous) spurts. She had promised Grandma that she'd play the piano for her...video tape herself and then take it to Grandma's house to let her watch it on her TV...but we didn't get it done in time. Meagan asked if she could play the piano for Grandma at her viewing. I thought it was the most precious thing I'd ever heard. She spent all evening practicing a song and crying all the while. It means a lot to her to do this for Grandma.

I didn't tell Josh until he got home from school because I know how sensitive he is. I am glad I waited. His sweet little eyes welled up with tears and he just hugged me for a really long time. He had a lot of questions and we talked for quite a while...then he seemed to be okay.

The little boys don't really understand it...Seth keeps saying "I'm sad that Grandma died." They seem to take everything completely matter-of-factly. Grandma went to Heaven. She's there with Jesus. We'll see her again when we die. End of story. Oh, the faith of little children...

So, obviously, I've been thinking a lot about Grandma for the last 24 hours...and because this is my journal, I wanted to record some of those random thoughts here.

• We call her Grandma Vida instead of Grandma Sweat...I think that's my fault since I'm the oldest grandchild...but she didn't seem to mind.
• We grew up on the same block where Grandma lived (two houses away and then we moved around the corner when i was about 12), so we saw her a lot...except for the little while when she lived in Idaho.
• She was always doing something crafty...I remember bead creations, sewing projects, quilts, and so much more.
• I have her to thank for my webbed toes - ah, genetics!!
• She called her couch "the davenport" - I always thought that was so funny
• I loved to go to her house when I was little to help her clean - I thought was so fun that she let us use the vacuum to clean her kitchen floor (instead of a broom).
• She taught me how to embroider and crochet (only the embroidering skills "stuck")
• She worked at the Homestead where she prepared huge banquets of fancy food (she told us about a month ago that she had photos of these spreads in an album and she'd love to show us...if only she could get up and go find them...)
• She also cleaned a motion picture studio office in Park City. I remember her taking Kristy and me with her a couple of times (I think it was when Rustin...or maybe Tony...was born and mom was in the hospital.) We found old Grizzly Adams scripts in the trash and Grandma let us take them home to play with them. We spent hours playing with them. We also got to laugh into a microphone for a "voice over" one night...she tickled us to make us laugh for the guy who was doing the work on the movie.
• She always liked to play "rub a dub dub, 3 men in a tub, how many fingers do I hold up" on our backs when we went to her house.
• She also liked to count our ribs when we were little. :)
• Grandma had a tradition of cooking Christmas Day Lunch for everyone in the family...until the family got too big to fit in her little house (when we all started getting married and having babies)
• Grandma had very nice, fancy handwriting (I never did get it made into a font...and I absolutely regret it)
• She was passionate about family history and genealogy and spent hours and hours and hours working on it
• Grandma was one of those people to "tell it like she saw it." Especially when we were younger.
• She was a really hard worker - she built her own addition on her house and did lots of other projects herself. She told us not too long ago, that if something needed to be done, she figured out how to do it and got it done all by herself.
• a few years ago, she gave us each this photo with the explanation "See...Grandma was young and pretty once...and I just wanted you to know."
• ...Only she said "purty." (she also said "battry" instead of "battery")
• She made doll clothes and sold them - and gave them to her granddaughters - we had the biggest Cabbage Patch Doll wardrobe ever.
• She loved listening to General Conference and would put her little cassette recorder next to the TV so she could replay the conference talks over and over. When I was in high school, I got a fancy schmancy double-deck boom box and she asked me to make copies of her cassettes because they were getting worn out.
• Grandma always had her scriptures or a church-doctrine type of book next to her chair
• She always gave us Certs or Tic-Tacs Mints during church on Sundays
• She spent a lot of years making dresses and blankets to donate to the Church's humanitarian program
• She drove herself to the hospital to see Zachary when he was born...that had to be one of the last times she drove herself anywhere.
• I used a few of the photos I took of her at her 80th birthday party for Making Memories projects...and she thought it was pretty fun to have her picture on product packaging - she said she was famous!
• She didn't ever see this page:

The last few times we went to visit Grandma, she wasn't awake. The last time we visited her when she was awake, Josh and I both gave her a hug before we left. I'm so glad we did. I took the kids over to her house Thursday afternoon. Of course, she wasn't awake...but I hope she knew we were there. We knew she didn't have much time left, and I wanted to see her one last time...so even though my boys were crazy loud and spent most of the time playing with the dog, I'm so glad we went.

I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to KNOW that this is not the end. That there is a Heaven where a loving Heavenly Father waits for each of his children to fulfill their mission here on earth and then return home to live with Him. To know that families CAN be together for eternity, as long as the correct steps are taken while in mortality, is a true blessing and comfort when we lose someone we love. I'm so grateful Grandma took these steps...so even though it is hard to know that she is gone for now, I know that it is not forever...She knew it and I know it...what an amazing blessing that is.

Good-bye, Grandma Vida...until we meet again...