Making banana pancakes

This little one was feeling under the weather and so I took the week off. On Monday we made banana pancakes. She was eager to get her cooking gear on and get to work. Christyn wanted her picture taken...I guess she wanted some sort of documentation that she alone made pancakes. I was surprised how well she did flipping pancakes off the hot griddle. I have totally enjoyed my week with her. We spent quite a bit of time working on her numbers and she even was introduced to addition problems this week. She did awesome. I thought it would be way beyond her level, but she insisted. It is funny how I can underestimate the capabilities of a 4 yr old when she is so obviously willing to learn. Lets just say this kid is eager and I forget I have all these hours in the day to teach her just by completing daily routines. Simple things... like how many cups of pancake mix do we need to make 2 batches of pancakes. Not only did she get to learn some addition, but I got to eat some of her amazing pancakes...Yummy!
My two oldest kids were playing basketball this season and had their last game yesterday. My son has already started wrestling season and is now ready to turn all his attention to that. Today he came home excited he pinned one of the high school boys. I never have been much of a wrestling fan, but my son has found his calling and it is a joy to watch him do something he loves, not to mention he is really good at. He will be competing in both school and community wrestling matches this year. He should get lots of practice between the both. He is also volunteering himself to help out with the high school team. He gets thrown around quite a bit by the high school boys, but still loves it.
I haven't done much crafting these days, between illnesses, games, and extra activities, it is hard to find the time. I have had an itching to get back into more of a full routine. I really am anxious to break out the clay and get back to work.
I guess I should go and get some dinner on before I have 4 kids lined up at the office door.
Until next time,
Rhonda

Lester is in the house

This year we have decided to join in on the latest frenzy of Elf on the Shelf. On the last week of November my kids and I were all snuggled in my bed feeling a little under the weather and I thought it was the perfect time to introduce Elf on the Shelf to my kids. Brandon read us the story and by the time he finished we had named our visitor, "Lester". Lester has been on quite the rampage since his debut. In the last four days he has managed to vandalize our family chalk board, move dad's clothes to Rachael's closet, helped himself to the candy dish, and toilet papered our Christmas tree. This was all in fun...I'm sure. All of my kids have found some entertainment in the whole escapade. By far the best part of Lester's visits is seeing the kids wake up in shock and looking forward to what he'll do next. I hope I can continue to document Lester's wild side, but I won't keep any promises....
Until next time,
Rhonda

Corn shucking babies

Let's see, well, things have been slowly progressing with my husbands arm and so he is still not working full time hours. Some weeks he doesn't even get to work at all. The last 2 weeks have been just that, him not working. He had an outpatient procedure this Thursday to take the pins out of his wrist. I hope this is just one step closer to this all being over with. The bone still isn't healing in the arm and may need a bone graph if we don't see some changes in the next few weeks. There is a whole lot of praying going on in the house right now. I'm not sure what we would do if he had to be out of work for another 6mos. Anyways, it's in the Lords hands and I have faith he will not give us more than we can bare.               

Wednesday our air conditioner quit working and we needed to have it serviced. The guy said he would be over on Thursday morning before the husband went in for surgery. Wednesday was also scout night and my primary meeting. I was asked to prepare sharing time for this week and wasn't sure if I could handle one more thing on my plate this week, but I agreed to do it anyways. On Thursday morning we got a call the corn was ready and could we come pick it. Oh great! The one thing I didn't want to do today was put up corn for hours. The kid and my husband went and picked corn and got back about 9:45 and at that time we got a call from the surgeon saying he was running ahead of schedule and could my husband be in at 11am instead of noon.  Sure,  hurry up and call my mother-in-law and she took him up there early. I was going to be stuck in the house all day putting up corn. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth all the work to prepare and can your own garden. I really love the stuff, but wish sometimes it was on my schedule and not mother natures. The kids did all the work shucking corn and that really helped. I didn't particularly love being up until 5am, but such is life. One of my daughters had a birthday party to go to, so I did some running while my son kept an eye on the girls. I think that is the first time I have ever left him alone to babysit. I really don't feel right about it. He said it was fine, but I really don't think kids need to babysit their siblings. I gave birth to these kids not him and he shouldn't have the responsibility of taking care of the little ones. Well, they all survived and the house wasn't burnt down when I got home. The two older kids started school on Friday and that was crazy. Why in the world does this stupid school start on a Friday and then to top it off they let the kids out at 1:45. One more thing that irritates me about this school. Rachael had a dentist appt. at 8am on Friday morning, so I didn't even get to see the kids off to school. The two little girls and I went grocery shopping after the dentist and I was so tired I could barely think. I felt like life was moving in slllooowww motion. I really was not prepared to be up all night doing corn. The guys had a Scout camp out on Friday night. They packed up and headed out after Brandon got home from school. The girls and I had dinner and cleaned up the basement all day on Friday. I have been working in the basement on and off all summer. I wanted to finally finish going through things and get it finished. I didn't quite make it. I woke up today and finished moving the last pieces of furniture and hung up a few pics and moved the treadmill. It really looks so much better down there. I wonder why I didn't do all this cleaning and de-cluttering sooner. The guys came home this afternoon and said they had an awesome time at the campout. I am so grateful each week for the decision we made to move wards and scout troops. My boys are just so much happier and are really making friends with these guys. It's late and I still need to finish up my sharing time, so it's off to work I go. Hope next week slows down just a tad. 

Rhonda

Cannonballs

I spent yesterday with my mom and my son. We went to the Buckle and picked up Brandon some school shirts and did a little shopping at Old Navy. My mom treated us to Chinese for lunch. We also went to the new Harry Potter movie. I was not a fan of 7 part 1 it was a little slow and I realize it was all to build up to part 2, so I wasn't expecting much going into this. It was a great ending to the series. There was plenty of fighting and graphics which my son and I love. My mom on the other hand has never seen a Harry Potter movie. We have the books and movies, but I never offered them to her because I know she has a strong fear of snakes. The snakes never occurred to me when we took her. She freaked out a few times but she was a real trooper. There were a few times I looked over at her to make sure she wasn't experiencing heart failure.

The kid and I came home after the movie and it was still 103 degrees outside. A few of the kids decided to jump into the pool and go for a swim. I captured a few pictures of Rachael and her cannonballs and the other two harassing each other, just like always. I couldn't find the youngest for a while. I finally found her sound asleep on the couch. That kid fell asleep at 6pm and slept through the night. I guess these HOT summer days tuckered her all out.

Hope y'all are enjoying your Hot summer days,

Rhonda

Night time drives and Grilled goodness

Saturday morning I packed up my son and his belongings and shipped him off to scout camp. This year they were leaving at 4:30am which meant we needed to be up early. The night before we went to some friends house and had a BBQ and some backyard activities. Needless to say, I think we were both feeling a little tired come 3am on Saturday morning. I am so excited for him to be with a few friends and have some fun. He signed up for all the boring badges this year, but I hope his wise choices will help him advance quickly to where he wants to be. After I dropped him off I headed over to my mom's and went with her to do some grocery shopping. She treated me to breakfast afterwards. We sat in Arby's and ate breakfast and did some chit chatting. It was nice to have some time to just hang out. I went swimming the day before and was so badly burnt it was hard for me to enjoy much of anything. My mom felt guilty that I was sitting there spending time with her when I was feeling so miserable. The truth is I would never trade my time with my mom for anything. I know that the time we are given with our loved ones can all be ended in the blink of an eye. I treasure my time with my family, they really are the greatest.

After a lovely day with my mom I came home and took a nap. My husband took the kids up to the farm and came home around 5pm. We decided to take a night drive to see the deer up around the farm. I put some fish and shrimp on the grill and then we packed up the car and grabbed the binoculars and headed out for our drive. Everything is so green and lush right now. We spotted over 30 deer that night. I never did get lucky enough to capture any bucks on the camera, but the sweetest little fawn was right next to the road peeking through some brush. I think they might be some of my favorite pictures I have ever taken.

On Sunday, I received a phone call from one of the bishopric and he asked if I could be to church a little early today. I had to kind of chuckle. If anyone knows me I just can't seem to get any where on time let alone early. Sure I can try and make it. A few minutes later and the phone rings again...same person, this time he wants my husband. My husband wasn't planning on being at church and I had one 6yr old who was bound and determined to stay in bed that morning. After the phone call my husband said he had to be at church today. I was now running late so I took the other girls and headed out the door. I left my husband with the fussy 6yr old and about half way to church realized my husband has a broken arm and can't button his pants or shirts without me. At least he would have the help of the 6yr old, Right. I finally got to church I was even early, it was a miracle. The bishop asked to meet with me and called me to the primary presidency. I am so excited and I just absolutely love the primary. I also teach the Youth Sunday School class. I realize I totally have my work cut out for me now. It's funny how things in my life seem to slow down for just a week or two and then so much more falls into my lap.

Grilled lemon pepper tilapia and bacon wrapped shrimp.
Summer time sweetness in a bowl. The perfect mid-day snack.

Rhonda

4th of July

Sunday after church we headed over to my mom's. I packed up some sandwiches, tortellini salad, potato salad, baked beans, and a fruit salad. We went over to the park and played for a while. We didn't stay long. It was so hot and humid out that we had our picnic in mom's kitchen. My little brother showed up and ate dinner with us and we played a game of phase 10. At about 9:15 we headed out to find a spot to watch the city firework display. It was really nice to spend some time with my mom and brother.

We spent the 4th in our little town watching the parade, swimming in the pool, playing at the farm, and shooting fireworks at Grandma and Grandpa's. Not to much excitement, besides the occasional firework that went a stray while Phil was lighting them up at the farm. Wade's cousin's husband and his dad almost caught fire. I think we all were wondering who gave that guy a punk, for sure he did not have a license to shoot off fireworks. It was funny watching us all jump to our feet in fear, or that smoke bomb that smoked us right out of our chairs. At some point I think we should have passed out gas masks before the show and maybe a fire extinguisher on hand would have been a good idea. I made a few strawberry pies for the festivities and it was all gone by the time we packed up and headed home. My husband's cousin and her husband were able to be here and enjoy some of the festivities with us. They have had their motor home parked down the street from us. I think my kids love having them as neighbors. It seems, Rachael just assumes she can just go and visit any time she likes.

Rhonda

Tools of the trade

So, I was in the garage last night working away on sanding another piece of furniture, when I see my 3 yr old pick up a garden hose nozzle and she starts making funny noises with it. I realize she is mimicking her mama. She is just working away with her pretend electric sander and making that piece of furniture look beautiful. I truly hope she does grow up and want to learn all that I know. I hope she enjoys the process of hard work and the joys of something she created with her own two hands.

Yep, that means there are tons of projects going on over here. I have a few days of free time and my to-do list for myself is ever growing, so this week I am going to get as much done as possible. I just wonder why I can work on everyones furniture, but when it comes time for my own I lose interest fast. I have quite a bit that I would like to accomplish. I am working on 4 shelving units right now and then I have a sofa curio cabinet that I would like to paint white. I also have been dreaming of getting to my bedroom furniture, so I guess we will see how far I get this week with all the holiday festivities in between.

My husband is anxiously awaiting to get the staples out of his arm on Friday. I hope everything looks good enough for them to do that. Our church is having an outdoor activity day at the lake on Friday, so I'm sure it would be nice for him to have a better cast on and be able to finally take a shower. I think he just plans on sitting and fishing anyways. I on the other hand, looking forward to some volleyball and maybe even getting to throw the football around with my son. It will be nice to have a day to hangout with my new ward. I teach the 12-18 yr olds at church and I hope this activity might help me get to know some of these kids on a casual basis. I love my calling, but it is quite a challenge to try and get through to a bunch of kids who just want to sleep, talk, or goof around. It's funny, when I was their age I was soaking up the gospel and was interested in everything that was being taught. Some of those guys might respect me more once they see how far I can throw a football. HA HA HA!

Rhonda

A little down time with some fishin' in the dark

June is almost over and it hasn't felt much like summer at all. The weather has been terrible, I'm working like crazy with no vacation in sight, and my husband just had another arm surgery on Monday. We are looking at 4-6 months of recovery before he can finally use his hand. Today, I came home from work and he was up and outside yelling at our kids. My son asked me, "Why can't the doctor put dad on drugs that make him happy, like they did for you when your back went out?". Yep, I was one happy camper, my kids said I would have let them do anything, because I was so out of it. My husband on the other hand has been a little grumpy these days, but the good thing is he is sleeping a lot, so we really don't have to put up with him too much. He is going to be out of work for at least 3 weeks which means, I better find him something to do or there is a possibility he might strangle some children.

I've signed up for 3 craft shows so far this year and I am finally getting motivated to get something done. I've been so busy that I haven't had much creative time. All this creativity in my head is ready to be unleashed or quite possibly my head will explode.

We have done some fishing occasionally on weekends this summer. Sitting out on the lake or river has honestly been something I look forward to. It's quiet, I'm with my family, and the scenery is breathtaking, really what more could a girl ask for. I like to take a my weekly lesson with me or a magazine and just lounge around and relax. I usually don't have good luck on the lake, but I have caught some nice ones on the river.

Rhonda

Ballet recitals

How pitiful that the last time I blogged was on the day the movie Gnomio and Juliet came to theaters, and now that movie has been released on dvd. There really is no excuse for not blogging. No matter how busy life gets, or how many jobs I seem to be taking on, I just need to dedicate myself to jotting down a few things now and again. I look at my blog right now and it seems like chunks of my life are missing or someone hit delete randomly.

My kids are out for the summer and my sister and her husband will be here in a few days to spend some time with us on summer break. I was looking forward to the slower pace of summer and taking some time to spend with my family, but I took on more jobs than I can handle right now and it is starting to look like my summer vacation will not be so much of a vacation.

My husband broke his arm on Easter weekend and had to have surgery. He is a maintenance mechanic for a medical supply company and can't work with a broken arm. I had jobs coming my way and rather than turn them down I took on all of them...what in the world was I thinking. It has proven to be physically impossible for me to paint 6-8hrs. a day, come home and take care of kids and then head out to the garage for more painting, editing photos in the wee hours of the night and then shooting on the weekends. I still have some of my art and craft things on consignment in local stores and I'm trying to prepare for the next craft show. I realize I need to cut something out of my schedule, but what?

The worst news came yesterday when my husband had a follow up at the doctor and they found out his tendon in his wrist is torn and he needs to go back in for surgery this month. He might not be able to work until sometime in August. So, yeah, I'm kinda panicking!

On a happy note, my six year old is performing in her first ballet recital tonight and all weekend. She's feeling a little nervous, but when I watched her perform yesterday I couldn't help but feel excited for her. She is very talented and I hope she decides to stick with this.

Rhonda

Movie Day

The girls had an extended weekend and we went to see Gnomeo and Juliet. We had a great time and the movie was pretty cute. Christyn had a hard time staying in her seat without it folding up on her. The best part of our day out was the fact that we had the theatre all to ourselves. A few times Christyn looked over at me and smiled and said "I love this movie".

I have always had a fascination with Gnomes and how whimsical they are. I once wrote a short story in 5th grade about a Gnome, unicorn, and some trolls. The movie was packed full of inspiration for some new clay characters. My favorite character in the movie had to be Shroomie, the pet mushroom to Gnomeo. Anyhoo, I have to get back to work. I haven't got much done today, since the kids have a snow day.

Rhonda

Pics from Denver

Finally, downloaded some pics from my trip to Denver. I didn't take very many on my camera. I mostly shot with my mom's little point and shoot. I still need to go over to her house and help download her camera and copy the pics to a disc. I simply love looking at the pics and remembering what an amazing time we had....short, but amazing.

So, my kids are sick again and all I have been doing is laying around the house. I did manage to get a little work in this week and that felt good. Today, I have the fever and sore throat and haven't done much else than sleep. I'm so ready for spring and all the warmth and sunshine. I just want to open my windows and let the breeze blow through. I've been having fantasies of sitting on my deck with a glass of lemonade and my art journal, while I watch the kids run around the backyard barefoot. I know it won't be long...just getting a little impatient.

The famous Red Rocks. My little brothers local training spot.
Downtown Denver at night. I love this city....the active people....the night life....the art, literally everywhere. I sure wish I lived closer to this lifestyle. My soul craves it.... my heart is happy when I am in the city. All the Christmas lights were still hanging and that sure added to the beauty and made it feel almost magical.....I could have walked the downtown streets all night.


Rhonda

It's been a long time

I can't believe it has been two months since my last post. Crazy, how time flies. It really didn't feel that long. I have been posting projects over at my other blog, so if you are interested in seeing what I've been up to then check out Toadstool Cottage.

On to the last two months of my life. Spent Christmas at home this year and it was great. I did get to see my brothers and my mom and that was also great. My sister didn't make the trip this year, but hopefully we will be seeing her sometime this summer. New Years resolutions are going, but not as good as I imagined, so stepping up the work hours and getting in more running time next week. I was released from my Primary calling at church and had mixed feelings of joy and sadness. I loved working with the ladies in the presidency and the kids were totally awesome. I love that I have more time to spend with my own family and with work. I am surprised I have not received a new calling as of yet, but I'm not complaining. I am loving my work right now and excited for the new year ahead of me. I signed up for a local spring craft show and have a few other things in the works for consignment. Basketball season is almost over for my son and I know he will be all to excited when it is finally over.

I have been having some problems with the school lately and plan on speaking at the next school board meeting. My son is in 7th grade and came home two weeks ago and told me they were viewing a rated R movie in history. I was so furious. My son said he could not view the movie and had to sit outside the room. He felt like such an outcast. I am so proud of him, though. I know he will be blessed for the decision he made. What really made me upset was after two days they finally told the teacher she could not play the movie. Her words that she shared with the class after is what really got me angry. She said " she didn't care because she will be playing the movie next year.". I wish someone would have sent me a permission form or something before they planned on watching the movie. I would have kept my son home from school or picked him up during that period. Anyways, I will me taking my complaints to the board and pray that they all have values and see my side of things and are willing to make some changes before the rest of my kids are in this teacher's class.

I'm heading to Denver in the morning and I am totally excited. Just, me and my mom on a road trip to see my brother and his wife. Erika has a painting on exhibit and we really want to go check it out. Little brothers birthday is tomorrow and I baked him a German chocolate cake (his favorite) to celebrate. I better finished getting packed and get in the shower some time before midnight. I will be sure to post pictures when I get back.

Rhonda

A Thanksgiving to be Grateful for

Just a few things I have to be grateful for this year.

1. Beautiful healthy babies

2. A peaceful home to live in

3. My loving Savior

4. My talents which always seem to amaze even me

5. Courage and Determination

6. Accomplished dreams

7. Food in the cupboards

8. Paid bills

9. Our jobs

10. Family that loves me no matter what

11. The news of a new baby

12. My van fixed because it has been hard to live without it

13. The first stages of building a new home

14. This one might sound petty, but I am so grateful for a camera to help preserve all of our family memories. I am always amazed at the pictures of my children and how much they have grown.

There is so much to be grateful for this year. We had a relaxed Thanksgiving this year, which was awesome. I love it when we can go chill and just enjoy our family. We spent Thanksgiving day with my husband's family and then on Friday I fixed dinner and took it to my mom's. My husband did the black Friday shopping, so I was lucky enough to sleep in every day this break. I did do some Christmas shopping on Saturday and found everything I needed and a little extra, super sweet. It is a relief to think I am finished with the shopping part. This years shopping was so mush less stress then the previous years. We have decided to give our children two gifts this year and that is it. It for sure made everything easier for me. I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving this year also.

Rhonda

Sweet Cousins

Goodbye Halloween - Hello Christmas

One more week and I can finally breathe. I have been preparing for a craft show for months now and I am totally excited. I do hope I can prepare a little better for up coming shows. After this I should know what to expect and if it will be worth my time in the future. The kids and I have all been sick the last week and I am ready to be over it. The kids were out of school since last Friday and we have all been laying around sleeping and watching movies while I try and pack in the hours before next week. I sent all the kids back to school today and we will now be playing some catch-up with all the homework.

The kids are finished with all their Trick-or-Treat candy and I will no longer be tempted by the buckets of candy laying around the house. Now I'm yelling at everyone every five minutes to pick up the wrappers. No one in this house can seem to find a trash can. This year the kids dressed up for a church party and played some games. I think they had fun. Rachael was a Cupcake princess, Christyn was a precious Chef, Liz was a fifties chic, and Brandon was a last minute Indiana Jones. Thank goodness Halloween is over, because now we can concentrate on the other Holidays around the corner. I have read some blogs and facebook posts lately stating how they are dreading the holidays and how they are so commercial. I would just like to say anything is only as commercialized as you make it. I love Christmas. I love spending time with my family, snuggling up with my little ones when they are on school break. I love visitors and baking and especially celebrating the birth of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. I'm all for celebrating Christmas all year round, in fact I am already crankin' up the Christmas tunes and looking forward to the days ahead. I know what you are thinking (are you for reals) , well yes I am. Actually, I am celebrating by hosting a little give-away over at Toadstool Cottage. You better hop on over there and check it out.

And one more note. My oober talented sister-in-law (Erika Jessop) has a painting entered in a contest and would love your vote. Check out her work Passing Notes and vote for her.

Rhonda

Visit from the Toothfairy

My baby is not a baby anymore. The first sure sign your little ones are growing up is finding out they lost their first tooth. There is something adorable about a kid with no teeth, not so adorable when your gumming your food and your like over the age of 12. The tooth fairy was again very unprepared when she hit our house, but thank goodness her helper picked up the new Tinkerbell movie or else the Tooth Fairy would have been in some serious trouble. I can't tell you how many times the Tooth Fairy has come to our house and slapped a big IOU under someones pillow. In the age of bank cards and no checks accepted, the Tooth Fairy is for sure one gal who forgot to stop by her local ATM to make a withdraw the other night. Rachael loved her new movie and all was well in the Tooth Fairy world.
Today we are off to watch Brandon's last football game of the season and then it's the Wednesday nights blues...scouts, YW, grocery shopping, picking up some gas for my mom's mower, and mailing the bills...boo hooo blues.
Tomorrow is meetings with the state to see how Christyn is doing and Parent teacher conferences. Think I might get some real work done in the evening, but right now there are no guarantees. I have to squeeze in a Sharing Time plan somewhere this week and maybe that will be Thursday night.
Sent in the paper work for my first ever craft show. Now, here is something to be excited about. Well, I guess right now, I am the only one who is really all that excited. I have really been wanting to do this for a long time and I am still pinching myself to make sure it is all really happening. At this point I don't care how much sells, I am just proud of myself for accomplishing something on my dreams-to-do list. (Here's where I give myself a giant pat on the back)
Not much else for news these days, so until the next time I feel the sudden urge to explode myself on my blog, you know where I'll be. (cleaning house, painting something, covered in clay, driving cross country to get to scouts, cooking dinner, changing diapers, often at the same time, cleaning snotty noses, washing Hunting clothes, scrapbooking, helping with homework, grocery shopping, doing the dishes Whaaaa, vacuuming food off the couch, cleaning toilets, and whining at my husband how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mom and him just not getting a clue.
Rhonda

September happenings

It's no secret that September is possibly the worst month for me to get any thing done, but the month brings tones of excitement. We celebrate 3 kids birthdays, my mother's birthday, and my mother-in-law's birthday. There are countless school activities, boy scouts start, and this year my eldest daughter started young women. There was one celebration this month that was not of the ordinary and that is, my little brother (Brandon Jessop) was inducted into his high school Hall of Fame. What an honor it was to be there and watch him be presented with the award. Our family is so very proud of all that he has accomplished not only in his high school days, but today, as well. I am honored and proud to call this man my brother.
Actually, I have wonderful siblings. Both of my brothers are awesome and would do anything to stand up for what is right. My sister is amazingly smart and never gives her self credit for that. I admire her willingness to give. I also have some pretty terrific sibling in-laws. So, here are some photos to help sum up the excitement from this month.

my brother accepting his award
My son marching in the band

My son's first football game

The girls baking birthday cakes


Until next time,
Rhonda