~ a fine frenzy ~

I
f we were children,
I would bake you
a mud pie. ♥

~ The Butterfly Circus ~

T
his is a short video that
is beautiful, inspiring, and
I believe - life-changing. It
is a beautiful example of
bravery, love and kindness.

Please take 23 minutes to watch this video.

I know you'll be blessed.

The Butterfly Circus - HD from The Butterfly Circus on Vimeo.

~ attitude adjustment ~

M
an! I've had a week-to-remember
and I'm not meaning in a good
way. My kids have all been... well -
stinkers. I honestly don't know why
this week has been so different from

all the others - it just seems like I was feeling more

frustrated than usual.

This morning I woke up early and just felt...

better.

I've really been praying for God to help me to remember to not

sweat the small stuff.

Who cares if Pauly wants to wear his gloves, hats,

snow pants and winter coat when it is 90 degrees outside -

It makes him SO happy...

Who cares if Sweat Pea constantly asks through the day what we are doing next -

I decided to try and beat her to the punch and tell her before she asks...

Who cares if William has had blow-out after blow-out this week -

Praise God I don't have problems with him NOT pooping, right?

That would be stressful.

I am so immensely blessed to get to hang with these three everyday.

I don't have to jerk them out of bed at the crack of dawn to get them to

a lady's house where they are just one of many.

I don't have to hear from someone else, "William said, hippopotamus today!"

I don't miss out on one darn thing... very blessed.

I've got to remind myself of this more frequently or

 sometimes I let the hustle and bustle, whining and lying,

and cooking and cleaning take over my every thought

and I just get so overwhelmed and consumed.

Today, I saw something on a Brave Girl's Soul Restoration Facebook page that I

thought was kind of fun -

it just kind of encourages you to stop and

Be Still

for a second.

I'm going to try and use positive words throughout - see if I can't give myself an attitude adjustment.

We'll see how it goes.

One word:

1. Where is your cell phone? Cute

2. Your significant other? Loving
3. Your hair: Tidy

4. Your mother?: Funny

5. Your father?: Smart

6. Your favorite thing?: Family

7. Your dream last night? Dreamy

8. Your favorite drink? : Coffee

9. Your dream/goal?: Ocean

10. The room you're in? : Living

11. Your hobby?: Art

12. Your fear?: None

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy

14. Where were you last night?: Movie

15. What you're not?  Disappointed

16. Muffins? Blueberry!

17. One of your wish list items?: NYC

18. Where you grew up? : Idaho

19. The last thing you did? : Sip

20. What are you wearing?: PJS

21. Your TV? HGTV

22. Your pets?  Snoring

23. Your computer? Qwerty

24. Your life? : Full

25. Your mood? : Content

27. Your car? Buick

28. Something you're not wearing? Bra (GASP!)

29. Favorite store?  Thrift

30. Your summer?  Beautiful

31. Like someone? Ben

32. Your favorite color?  Green

33. When is the last time you laughed?  Pauly

34. Last time you cried?:  Thursday

35. Today? Races!

Happy Weekend, Love Bugs!

~ summer-to-remember ~

I
have to say, this is the
first summer in a long
time that I am actually
enjoying. Granted we
are having a very mild

summer but, I've noticed that even on the super hot days

I'm cool with it. (ha ha pun intended)

This summer,

so far,

has been full of fun and happy memories have been created.

A summer-to-remember

should include:

~ delicious new recipes

~ reading through a lovely happy novel with your feet up

~ chubby babe legs

oh so chubby.

~ riding in the car with boys...

without your seat belt...

(It was only 3 blocks in a subdivision at about 5 mph)

~ enjoying summer days with your belly out

~ sitting in the sun with a sweet boy

~ taking a nap after a long swim covered in daddy's t-shirt.

~ breathing in that sweet smell of Granny linens

~ photographing a little one napping

~ laying on the cool grass with your Granny

~ bird watching with your Granny

~ wearing your favorite boots with shorts

~ hugs. lots and lots of hugs

~ waiting patiently for five little ones to hatch

~ Who me? Never! ~

I did NOT take a 2 hour nap with my boys and we did NOT wake up and eat the rest of Daddy's Orange Pound cake that he made the other night.

I did NOT forget to set out chicken for dinner...

I chose to let my boys eat chicken nuggets and tater tots on purpose!

I did NOT wait to the last second of the day to do my dishes...

as in - the day isn't yet seconds away from being over quite yet.

I did NOT just feed my baby son a pink rice-crispie treat, left over from Valentine's Day, right before bed and don't worry I did NOT forget to brush his 8 teeth. No Way! I would never forget.

I did NOT just shut my older son in the basement with a Tom and Jerry, oldie but goodie, so I could watch Sarah's House that I SO devotedly do NOT dvr

every.

single.

day.

I did NOT cry during American Idol last night - No way! Never!

And there is NO WAY WHAT SO EVER a possibility that I am even remotely possibly head-over-heals for the deep smooth sound of American Idol finalist Scotty McCreery.

Never! That voice does NOT give me goosebumps.

ehem!

...

Who Me? Never!

~ it's all in a name ~

I was so sad last week.
I was trying to post to my blog
and all the sudden my little laptop...
died. It totally. kicked. the. bucket.

I was so bummed and day by day - I kept getting behind with my

Brave Girl's assignments - I had no idea what to do.

My sweet husband came home from work and said - let's go to Costco!

We went and we picked me (us) out a new laptop and

I lof her!

As you know, I love to name possessions.

I posted to Facebook I was trying to figure out a name for my new laptop...

I got SO Many good ideas - most of my possessions are female... I don't know why, they just are.

For example:

We have 3 chickens -

Audrey Hepburn (Black and White)

Elizabeth Taylor (Black and White)

& Maureen O'Hara (Rhode Island Red)

My pretty blue coffee cup named Birdy.

My washer and dryer - Kim and Trixie.

I thought and thought

and couldn't come up with something fun -

went to check my Facebook

and there were so many fun suggestions!

My friends love me!

I wanted it to be a cool name.

Something a bit smart.

maybe even genius.

yet cute and quirky!

And there it was ... the suggestion from one of my High School friends - Danica.

She suggested I name her Qwerty.

At first I was like so fun! then I thought - where in the world did she get that name?

So I asked her -

She reminded me it is the first six letters on the top row of the keyboard!

Genius, right?

One of the suggestions from a friend of mine was Scarlett.

Immediately when I heard that suggestion I remembered that I

had never named my sweet little cell phone (yet another gift from my sweet husband)

So also, please meet Scarlett.

I've had her for almost a year and lof her! She's so good to me.

So there you have it - me and my silly naming things again...

Got any cool names?

~ here's the new Jetty Rae Music Video - Pssssst! PASS IT ON! ~

She's our best girl!

&

We're so proud of her!

This is Jetty's first music video -

so everybody give Jetty a HUGE round of applause...

&

now settle in for a little music loveliness!

Here's

Jetty Rae

singing

Forget Me Not

Pssssst! PASS IT ON!

make sure to pause my music at the very bottom of the screen first!



Congratulations, Sweets!

We love it!

&

We love you!

~Best of Me~

100 things

DETAILS
1. Real name → Sami Jo
2. Nickname(s)→ Sam, Samaria, Samuel Joseph, Samari
3. Zodiac sign → Taurus
4. Male or female →  Female
5. Elementary→ Lovelock Elementary (Nevada), Howe Elementary (Idaho)
6. Middle School → Butte County Middle School
7. High School → Butte County High School
8. Hair color → brown... very boring.
9. Long or short→ just below shoulders but normally put in a bun ... messy bun
10. Loud or Quiet → Loud! unless I'm mad, sad, or nervous
11. Sweats or Jeans → Sweats - lof to be comfy.
12. Phone or Camera → Camera - LOVE to take pics.... you know that :) I NEVER keep track of my phone which drives my family crazy and my husband INSANE!
13. Health freak → I grew up eating elk meat and taters for just about every meal - We drank from the hose and swam in the horse trough... Not Really a health freak - Maybe I should be - eeek!
14.  Besties → Mom, Jodi (sis), Casi (sis), and Shi (childhood)...
15. Do you have a crush on someone? -> I have 3 men in my life. My husband, Ben - my love, my Pauly boy and my Baby boy - I crush on all of them all day, every day.
16. Eat or Drink → Drink - Ice Tea with Lemon and WATER - I <3 water!
17. Piercings → ears. JUST EARS. (I do have a second hole that I do not use)
18. Tattoos → Nope.

HAVE YOU EVER? 
19. Been in an airplane? only on 2 occasions
20. Been in a relationship? Yes in deedy :)
21. Been in a car accident? No....knock on wood.
22. Been in a fist fight ? Yes. eeeeek!

FIRSTS: 
23. First piercing? I got my ears pierced when I was just teensy weensy.
24. First best friend? Rebekah Livermore
25. First award? probably one of those sweet blue ribbons you win on field day in Elementary or a fun little prize at church for reciting a memory verse correctly.
26. First crush? Josh Hansen - I thought he was SO cute!
28. First big vacation? South Dakota

LASTS: 
29. Last person you talked to? My hubby
30. Last person you texted? My hubby
31. Last person you watched a movie with? Paul and William - How to Train a Dragon
32. Last food you ate? soft-boiled egg
33. Last movie you watched? How to Train a Dragon
34. Last song you listened to? Grey's Anatomy soundtrack (as I'm watching Greys right now - such good music.)
35. Last thing you bought? $20.03 gas at the Stinker
36. Last person you hugged? My husband.
FAVES:
37. Food?  sushi pleeeeease :) and mom - it's Ed u Mommy.... Not whose your mommy. <3 you.
38. Drinks? Iced tea, water - oooh! and I adore coffee! 
39. Store? Thrift, Ross, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, Hobby Lobby
40. Books? My B-I-B-L-E - I mostly read blogs (if I get a chance to read) but I do LOVE Nicholas Sparks.
41. Music? I'm completely and utterly in love with Jetty Rae's music. I just LOVE music! 
42. Flowers? Daisies.
43. Colors? white, blue, green, grey, tan
44. Movies? You've Got Mail - all time fav then Family Stone and Step Mom 
45. Professional Title? CEO of the Household =)
46. Subjects?  Language and Art
IN 2010 - I... 
047. [x] was kissed in the snow
048. [] celebrated Halloween
049. [] had your heart broken
050. [x] went over the minutes on your cell phone
051. [] someone questioned your sexual orientation
052. [] came out of the closet
053. [] gotten pregnant
054. [] had an abortion
055. [x] done something you've regretted
056. [x] broke a promise
057. [x] hid a secret
058. [x] pretended to be happy
059. [x] met someone who changed your life -
060. [] pretended to be sick
061. [] left the country
062. [x] tried something you normally wouldn't try and liked it
063. [x] cried over the silliest thing
064. [] ran a mile
065. [] went to the beach with your best friend(s)
066. [] stayed single the whole year

CURRENTLY:
067. Eating ? nothing
068. Drinking? water
069. I'm about to... watch Chopped with my Love
070. Listening to? husband brag about what a genius that he is for figuring out his rubiks cube.
071. Plans for today? go to sleep after Chopped :)
072. Waiting for? SO Excited about Soul Restoration with Brave Girls! on January 11th!

YOUR FUTURE:
073. Want kids? I've got 2 boys and want a girl - if   #3 is a girl, I'll be tempted to leave it at that but we'll see... *wink*
074. Want to get married? just one husband is enough! :)
075. Careers in Mind? I'm already a nurse, teacher, cook, personal shopper, personal assistant, house cleaner, and on and on! Ha! Love my job!! 

YOU -
076. Favorite physical attribute? Lips.
077. Best Quality? Good Listener
078. Romantic or spontaneous? Spontaneous - LOVE surprises!
079. Optimist or Realist? Optimist
080.  Email Thank you or Thank you note? Hand-written Thank you note. LOVE stationary.
081.  Step over the puddle or jump in it! JUMP IN!!
082. Trouble-maker or hesitant? Hello! Trouble-maker ! Ha!!! Actually I'm a big-time "rule follower" but love being lippy.

Have You EVER?
083. Lost glasses/contacts? nope - don't wear 'em.
084. Ran away from home? I don't think so.... hmmm... Have to ask mama on that one.
085. Held a gun/knife for self defense? Yes
086. Killed somebody? No
087. Broken someone's heart? yes
088. Been arrested? no
089. Cried when someone died? of course.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
090. Yourself? Go Me!
091. Miracles? happen.
090. Love at first sight? I fell into a deep deep forever love with my sons the first time I laid my eyes on them.
093. Heaven? Yes.
094. Santa Claus? Yes. I think it is important for kids to know the real meaning for Christmas but it's so important for them to imaginative too!
095. Sex on the first date? WHAT?
096. Kiss on the first date? I think I did when I was dating - I would suggest to gals dating now - No! 

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY: 
097. Is there one person you want to be with right now? nope - there's three. 
098. Are you seriously happy with where you are in life? So thankful and also very thankful that there is tomorrow - where I can keep dreaming.
99. Do you believe in God? With all my heart. 
100. Political views - Conservative

wishing you a

~ Recipe for Happiness in the New Year ~

Take a couple of whole months, clean them thoroughly of all Bitterness,

Rumours, Hate and Jealousy; in other words,

make them as fresh and as clean as possible.

Now cut each month into 28, 30 or 31 different parts...

But don't make up the whole batch at once..

Instead prepare it One Day at a Time.

Mix well each day:

One part of Faith,

One of Patience,

One of Courage,

One of Work,

Add one part each of:

Hope,

Faithfulness,

Generosity

Kindness;

Blend with:

One part Prayer,

One part Meditation

Good Deeds.

Season the whole with:

a dash of Good Spirit,

a sprinkle of Fun,

a pinch of Play

a cupful of Good Humour.

Pour all of this into a Vessel Of Love,

Cook thoroughly over Radiant Joy

Garnish with Smiles

Serve with Quietness, Unselfishness and Cheerfulness

And you are bound to have a Happy Life.

source


Happy New Year!

~ Christmas Tree ideas for the future ~

Happy Monday y'all!!!

I come from a long line of women who are thinking about what the "theme" of their Christmas Tree will be that year about June/July. I remember all the many themes that my Grandma and Mama did over the years. Always the most beautiful Christmas Trees and I adore thinking about them and how they planned out the ornaments - or made them - the days they slaved away making little walnut beds for little mice, the days and days it took to unbraid a rope wreath, then fluff it, then curl with a large barrel curling iron into perfect submissive circular spirals.

I don't hold a candle to the creativity that they held in their fingertips but I sure enjoy trying.

I've been really enjoying my Christmas Tree this year and it gets me thinking of ideas for future Christmas Trees. I've been thinking it would be so cute to do a Black and White Check Christmas Tree and I have some red apples that could also go on that tree. Then I found this tree skirt! Isn't it cute?

source

yeah - I thought it was REALLY cute too until I saw it was $318!!! What the?

Anyhow, then I did some more searching and found a pattern and directions to make this one...

source

I think I like this one better anyway and it won't cost me an arm and a leg!

Then the other idea I had for a future Christmas Tree was SUPER colorful!

& then I ran into this and how fun is this?

So cheerful!!!

source

I love the lime green and the pinks and purples.

All the different ornaments -

as well as the extra branches that are pinky/purple they've tucked in throughout the tree.

Love it!

Wouldn't this be such a fun Christmas Tree? This would really get those kiddos dreaming of

What ideas do you got?

~ her morning elegance ~

I had a friend share this with me a while back.

It mesmerizes me.

************************************************

source

"Fear less, hope more;

eat less, chew more;

whine less, breathe more;

talk less, say more;

hate less, love more;

and all good things

will be yours."

Swedish Proverb

~ to: you, sistersue ~

15 films

Here is a fun list I've compiled. I'm bored. My camera battery is dead. I'm too tired to charge it.

I. am a HUGE movie buff! I love them! WE love them.

Here is my list of my top 15.

1.  You've Got Mail

2. Stepmom

3. Cinderella

4. The Family Stone

5. Devil Wears Prada

6. Return to Me

7. Steel Magnolias

8. Cowboys

9. Pearl Harbor

10. Serendipity

11. Up

12. The Blind Side

13. Father Goose

14. Gone with the Wind

15. John Q.

Tell me your favorites!

little girl with a BIG ♥heart♥

~ Happy Harvest ~

 Rodeo Clown and Lion.

 Playing games at the Church Harvest Party...

 Little lion...



 William was growling, can ya tell? Hilarious!!