"Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take not interest in the things that were and ar past. "~Henry Ward Beecher

photog 1 via:http://decor8blog.com/

photog via:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

my christmas tree...

it is 10:09 and i feel exhausted. i feel old. the photos is of my christmas tree. our white one would not fit in our humble abode. we bought this one for $25-in very cold freezing wind. it has been snowing here like crazy. no snowplows here. i got groceries yesterday and i almost fell 5 times. in my downcoat i thought i would freeze, walking to the mailbox. i picked up packages yesterday at the univeristy 'mailroom'. it has old wooden floors, old desks, and old wood cubbies. it smelled like old books, ink and packages, old wood. i watched a student stamp papers, with an old stamper. i think it would be delightful to work there. it is my new favorite errand. driving up the big hills to my humble abode, people snowshoed big love notes into the hill. tracylovesteve. i love tracy because that made my day by telling steve she loved him. i finished the book little women. last night i read by the christmas tree lights. i could here the cold wind, and my heater. it was cozy. i love the book. it is my most favorite book ever. i love the wisdom. the moral lessons. it was capital. i am glad i have a jo of my very own. now i think i will go drink some chocolate milk with 'relish.'

Christmas Cards, dolls, and two trees.
santa got these dolls for bella and joley. the ones we got are not shown, but we LOVE them, the one we got for bella rose has roses on it, and joley's doll looks like a little french girl-we tried to match their names with their doll, because they put their names on the back. they are adorable and a perfect gift for girls!

i LOVE christmas cards. alot. last year i addressed them, stamped them and then forget to send them. so this year i am not going to try-however if anyone needs my address......

photo 1: http://www.desiretoinspire.net/

photo 2:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/creative-clutterfree-ideas-for-displaying-christmas-card--102979

DOLLS:http://www.sophieandlili.bigcartel.com/product/clara

some lovely photos. right now we are dealing with a very sick baby and a not so sick anymore toddler. i hope to get my own christmas tree up this weekend-which is quite late for me! i hope we get better! i love the holiday season!

photos via:http://bkids.typepad.com/knockknock/2009/11/today-brittni-has-created-another-super-nice-open-house-tour-for-us-and-she-visited-the-home-of-berl.html

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” — Epictetus

i am so grateful for these little dames.

hustle and bustle. it is time to get ready for the upcoming festivities. i decorate christmas trees. i do 5 trees, not including mine, however i am looking for more to decorate. if you want your tree decorated, do email.

it is 9:45 i need to finish laundry, exercise, and get ready for bed,; however i am not going to do any of those things.

yesterday my newly found friend came upstairs; my upstairs was in no condition for visitors. today she really didn't talk to me. avoided me in fact. i think she might not want to be friends anymore-seeing that my upstairs was somewhat messy. sometimes i am messy and i live with messy people, but cleaning is a priority, sometimes i just run out of time.

sometimes my two year old doesn't listen. but tonight she told me that she was

'so mart' ( meaning smart-i really think she is a genius.) she also confinded in bry that she knows how to be quiet. (this however was quite a fabrication.)

i get peeved when people believe that mothers who stay-at-home, do nothing.

bry awoke me up in the middle of the night this week and asked me if i had an 'accident' and then proceeded to tell me that i needed to put on a diaper. he was sleep talking.

i love the phrase 'twinkle lights.' i think people who refer to these lights as 'twinkle lights' are delightful people.

good night.

i believe in letting kids being the kings & queens of the castle, and having an entire wall to their own.
i believe in making a home personal and happy. just like the wall in the photo.
i believe in skylights....
i believe in cleverness.

tonight i ate two doughnuts. good ones. and they were worth it. i broke a bowl this morning, one of bryans favorites-just a bonus point to my week of graceless activity. i thought he might cry but he took it like a man. i also have eaten alot of halloween candy. sometimes i watch qvc and i can't stop. it is funny-hilarous sometimes outstanding comedy. they can make an umbrella seem like the most amazing, most beautiful invention ever. don't even get me started about what they can do too your eyebrows-with just one eyebrow liner. i am grateful for the full moon-it is the most amazing nightlight to late night feedings. it makes me feel like i am not the only person up in the middle of the night. i am excited for more cold weather to come!

"May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door."

photos via:http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/kitchen-tours/kitchen-gallery-white-bright-and-clean-074195

sometimes

sometimes i have nights like last night, where i decide to make my blog private, then i wake up and decide i do not want to make my blog private. then i make the family late for church, i have hot flashes at church, i spill nerds all over the floor, i spill apple juice all over the floor, and yes...i spill chocolate milk all over the floor. sometimes i have days like this where i am a complete mess. it happens sometimes. so for now my blog is not going to be private. the apple juice, chocolate milk, and nerds have been cleaned up, and hopefully i will not spill anything else, the hot flashes will leave...and i can calm down.

photo:http://http://creaturecomforts.typepad.com/

A weekend of celebrations....

6 year wedding anniversary....

reception i still love, and dream about, with no photos taken because of a bad photographer...

my alien spaceship pumpkin....that took way too long, and was not as easy as thought to be...

So far this weekend was great, if i could only be rid of the swine flus, i think i would have been able to enjoy the food and festivites more!

this past week i came down with the DREADED h1N1 flu, influenza a. it was indeed dreadful. i was flat on my back for 4 days. it came on quickly and left in grand finale fashion. i will spare you all the details. bry being the ladies man he is, took on the roles of both parties. he made homemad chicken noodle soup, picked up jamba juices, tried to translate what i was saying, when my voice left me, he cleaned, folded laundry, was bossed around by his 2 year old, his wife, and his newborn baby. but through it all he had a good time, was cheerful and kept up a most pleasant attitude. he bonded with his ladies. i guess he is like the song, what a man, what a man, what a mighty mighty good man...

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

i have to post this photo every year. i love the flannel, i love the skirt, i love the socks, i love the boots, the rake, the grass the barn, the cloudy day.

i love this festive looking fall house.
i love the bed and windows and can imagine plopping down on this bed looking out at the fall changing trees.
garnet hill you speak to me this fall season. these lovely owl sheets must go with my quilt that i want.

last night after dinner i took bella for a walk. the sky was beautiful-dark blue and cloudy skies. the air was brisk, and wind was blowing just a bit, it was about to storm. it was so beautiful. i love fall nights like this! i found this quote about autumn:

The hazy, cloudless skies of Indian Summer. Leaves scurrying down the street

before the wind. The cold shiver from an arctic blast.... The last

warmth of the sun. Chilly mornings and glorious warm afternoons. The Harvest

Moon. The Hunter's Moon. The Rainy Season. Dry corn stalks clattering in the

wind. The touch of frost on grass and window pane....

- Keith C. Heidorn

photog #3:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/paint-talk-matching-the-wall-and-trim-colors-098698

owl sheets:http://www.garnethill.com/jump.jsp?itemID=19616&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1,2,5,9017,9022&iProductID=19616

white house:http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/10/07/garden/20091008-catskills-slideshow_19.html

some dreams.

right before we had joley, we went on a family vacation. we drove to jackson. we went the long, off road way. the best way ever to go to jackson in our opionion. we came up the mountain and down to a little town called wilson. there was some land for sale, with a big red barn and red house. we thought it would be perfect for a motel. then we thought for a second lets drop everthing and make this into one awesome motel. we haven't yet. but we like to dream about it. i have always thought of having my own wedding reception center in the valley with a big barn for weddings-wouldn't it be beautiful on a summer night to open the barn doors and have a huge wedding with dancing and the beautiful night sky?

photog via:http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/

pumpkin patching...(not cooperating with the camera, or with me.)

hallowe'ening...

playing with cousins...

a baby blessing with our family.

beautiful.
For MaRy. what have we been up too lately? let me sum it up: potty training, baby blessing, halloween decorating, test taking, sleeping, not sleeping, sleeping in, and no sleep at all, waiting for my internet to work, cooking, loving, hugging, cherishing, holding, smelling the rain outside, listening to the wind, growing, getting colds, lab working, baseball watching, dancing, being healthy, car driving, family reunioning, enjoying my scentsy thing, cleaning, dreaming, laughing, crying, reading, loving.

everything is just perfect.

i love the fall. i love this cozy quilt and i really REALLY hope it lands under my christmas tree christmas morning! things i love about the fall 2009 edition: leaves blowing around, the sound of leaves blowing around, the heater-(if only it stayed on for more then 30 seconds.) cozy quilts, b-dogs hot chocolate, good books(the elegance of the hedgehog, little women) baseball finals, rain, cloudy days, pumpkins, halloween decorations, fall music-joe purdy, feist, tracy chapman. sweaters, warm slippers, cozy lamps.......

Arrived.

Joley Danielle Leatham. August 20, 2009. 7lb 5oz; 21 in.......she is doing well and is healthy ......her momma is also doing well Dani will do a post when she gets home.

Joley Danielle Leatham 8/20/09 7lb 5oz 21in and cute as a bug!

the move, and moving on.

we moved, into small student housing. small, dorm housing. there were tears shed all by me, the day and the night, and the next night of the move. there was comfort from the husband, from the husbands friend, from my friend, and from sisters, that all would soon be well, there were so many good examples and lessons learned for our little family about service. there was a friend who called up and said what can i do to help? (i have a hard time asking for help) she said to me..if you won't let me, i will make you a new baby blanket, and bibs. and if you know her this will be one stylish blanket-not to mention her bibs are too die for. there was the example of a friend who got someone to cover 8 hours of his 48 hour fire shift. who was up all night with emergency calls, but came on his motor bike a drive that was 1.5 hours. he showed up early, helped us move and set up beds and had to go back to work to finish his 24 hour shift. there was family who drove up to help unpack, family who came to pack the leftovers and unpack it for us in utah. i am grateful for good examples, good friends, good family, and a big lesson learned is that through the example of other people we become better people ourselves.

my computer is not working yet so i cannot use my pictures i took, but here are the things that i love about my new apartment:the linoleum. i love its colors, its retro look, the fact there are no spots where dirt accumulates. i love our many and big windows. i love that looking outside in the back you see a beautiful view of nothing but the pretty state we live in. i love seeing the curtain that i made for the door that frames the beautiful view we have. i love how we hung our art. i love that it is small and cozy and on campus. i love that i has reminded of something important that i had forgotten, that no matter where you live, no matter the space, no matter the condition, you can make your dwelling a beautiful palace for you and your family to live in.

photog via:http://www.designspongeonline.com/

this looks like my house right now....and how i feel.

this week my lists of things to do include a big one, which is: moving. we are moving this week-am i ready for this? thats a big negative. what did we do this weekend? we drove up to jackson hole, one of my most favorite places. my parents went for a weekend getaway. yesterday morning bry and i got up, we looked around the messy home, where things are displaced, and unruly, disorganized, crazy, we decided to leave then and there-we decided not to pack and clean, and 1 hour later we were on the road, we called my parents and told them we were coming up wether they liked it or not. (i think they loved it.) too me part of the fun of going to jackson, is driving to jackson. the drive was so SO beautiful. we went a different route then we ever had before and it was breathtaking, literally. i reached for my camera and guess what i could not find it, we didn't find it until we got home, nonetheless, we felt so lucky to have gone on this little get away, (and i didn't even go into labor) i am so grateful SO grateful for the beautiful earth. it makes me think of my favorite hymn: for the beauty of the earth.....

what a grand idea!


photo via:http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/inspiration/found-table-tents-with-windows-089451

"rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmer of water, or watching the clouds float acroos the sky, is by no means a waste of time." -john lubbock

i have not gotten ANYTHING done this week, nor could i tell you what i have done, but i do love this photo with the lovely blossoms.

photog via:http://www.sfgirlbybay.com/

photog by:http://www.flickr.com/photos/samanthalamb/3408246374/in/set-72157612477138781/

the window peeper...

growing up i would LOVE to go for rides-this has not changed. i love to see in peoples homes when it was the evening time, i love to see how their home is designed. even now this has not left me, bryan jokes that i am a window peeper who does not want to see people, but their decor. it is interesting too me, and kind of funny-(it is not like i stop my car and stare) but i just look as we drive by. i have a few favorite gems on all my routes in the all the places we have lived. even now i love to go into friends homes, friends i grew up with, or new friends and see how they live in there home. today i found this quote and it made me feel like i am somewhat 'normal.'

"I've always had a fascination with the way that people live, and so for me there's nothing mroe exciting than being invited into a person's home. I believe that seeing how people choose to exist behind the doors of their home is the only way to get a real insight into their personality, their interests and the type of life they've chosen for themselves." -shannon fricke from Sense of Style: Colour + Space

photog one via:\http://absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com/index.html

quote via:http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

photog two via:http://decor8blog.com/

photog three via:http://www.livingetc.com/gallery/main.php

happy & white!

i love white, bright rooms. i found these via:http://decor8blog.com/ you should check it out to see the pictures in all their glory.

good things of the day:

• i got some crayons and glue sticks for 30 cents at wallmart.
• i got some packing done!
• i ate the rest of the homemade peach ice cream all by myself! (if you want the recipe i will gladly give it too you! it is divine.)
• i got some fresh light wheat bread from great harvest!
• milk was only $1.29 or something for a gallon!
• hearing bella say: "monkin" for monkey. and "top part" for pop tarts. ohhh how i love to hear her talk!