Lisa and John

I feel so blessed to have a visit from Lily when she was only one month old. Uncle Josh and Aunt Andrea came in town for some family get-togethers and they stopped by to see us. Lily is one month younger than Avalon and weighs MORE!! She is solid and a ton of fun. We took turns holding each other’s babies and I had a wonderful afternoon. I even got to go to her baby shower that evening in Spanish Fork. It was a lovely night out for me. One I will always remember.

Andrea got more pictures, but here are a few that I was able to take. By the way, Lily had a blowout before she got to our place and was in a onesie that was too small. So, we put the girls in some matchy-matchy outfits for the photo shoot. Gotta love the gingham! Ha!

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My internet has been acting up lately. So, I will not be posting pics, but I had a few random thoughts/ramblings to share

* I think I’m being tested to see if I’m really up to home ownership. First the fridge, then the disposal. Next, one of my gas burners wouldn’t work. I solved the problem. There was a tiny little hole that was clogged with some sort of oil or goop. I cleaned it up and “Viola!”, it works!! Then, the flapper on our toilet broke yesterday. John bought a new one and we fixed it! Yes, we can do it! I know these are simple things, but hey, we are doing it. Bring on the home now!!!

* We had a wonderful visit with Josh, Andrea, and little Lily. I’ll hopefully post some pics soon. She is such a treasure. What a doll!

* I love baby “finger jam”. It is kind of like toe jam, but babies get it in between their fingers. So cute! Avalon is such a precious spirit in our home.

* I set a goal to read “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Dr. Weston a Price in the month of June. I got a head start and it is a little dry, but fascinating! (I know that doesn’t make sense, you’d have to read it to understand…??) I never knew how detrimental sugar and white flour is to our health. Anyone want to read it with me?

* I finally cut my boys’ hair. They no longer look like long-haired hippies. Now….I just need to get my hair cut. (sigh)

* I have been setting goals and really doing some soul searching to figure out what my purpose in life is. My mission. I think I’m getting closer to figuring it out. It is way fun. It really helps me make decisions, big and small. “Is this in line with my purpose?” I say to myself. Do you know what your purpose is? Your specific mission to accomplish while on this earth?  You may want to think about it.

Well, I better get to bed. Avalon is sleeping and so should I. Goodnight!

Today I taught another of my Nourishing Wooden Spoon classes. We did homemade whole wheat tortillas. We met at Carrie’s home and had a great time making tortillas. After we made the tortillas, we ate a yummy dinner of burritos with all the fixins’. I think we had about 13 sisters there and a gaggle of children. It was mass chaos and a ton of fun. I just love teaching this kind of stuff. It really makes me happy. Here are a few pictures:

I forgot to get my camera out until the very end. This photo was totally staged. Ha!

And, in case you don’t know what a Baby Burrito looks like, I thought I would add one more photo.

And, here is why….

My garbage disposal stopped working today.  It only took a few minutes for me to locate what I needed on Google!  This is the site I found:

http://homerepair.about.com/od/plumbingrepair/ss/fix_disposal_2.htm

Nice!!  I fixed the disposal myself!  And, a few weeks ago, I used the Internet to help me figure out why our fridge was warm and our freezer was frosting over.  (Well, my dad helped to get me started me on the right path.)  We figured out how to take the parts apart and get all the ice out.  With a little knowledge and a ton of teamwork, John and I did it!  My fridge works now!

Yesterday we tried grinding corn into flour the way old fashioned way.  Grandma and Grandpa have a grain mortar and pestle and we tested it out.  Let’s just say that I’m really glad for modern conveniences!  That was hard work!  The corn was flying everywhere, we pounded and pounded and it was still coarse as ever, and when we were done, there were little flecks of black from the rock.  I just couldn’t bring myself to actually use it in my corn bread recipe!  I wish I had enough presence of mind to take a picture while we were pounding.  Just imagine Calvin in his Sunday clothes, sitting on the counter pounding his little heart out with corn flying everywhere!  At least we tried!

The other day I watched a cute little one year old. His mom was at the cannery canning wheat! (Go mom!) I just had to take a pic of this adorable little boy! His little blond hair was sticking out of his hat so cute!

This has been a monumental day in the life of our six year old. Ivan lost his FIRST TOOTH! It was hanging by a thread this morning and before church Mom yanked it out.

Ivan is thrilled, to say the least! (No more pain while eating corn on the cob!)

Reed was sick and lethargic for about three days. He complained about a sore throat and had a small fever. He’s got a rumbly cough now, but is feeling better. However, now Avalon is sick!! This is her first little sickness and I don’t think she likes it. She has a rumbly cough, too. Not fun. But, she is taking it like a champ.

Have you had enough pics? These were too cute not to share.

She’s not feeling the best, but she sure looks adorable in this cute little outfit!! We HAD to have a little photo shoot!

How does Ivan get these incredible shots? I think he has a gift….

I’m not sure who took this one, but it is a cutie of Calvin and Avalon.

Avalon giggled for the first time today. I was holding her a minute ago and I said, “What are we going to make for DINNER?” And, when I said “dinner” I raised her arms over her head and she giggled at me. It was so cute. I repeated the phrase and she repeated the giggle. She is just starting to coo and to try and communicate. I just can’t get enough!

Here are some recent pics that the boys took a couple days ago:

Ivan took this one.  The heart “frame” is actually a stencil.  How creative is that?  (He also took a pic of the stencil.)

This is a cute one of Avalon’s fluffy hair.  It’s always sticking up!  They boys wouldn’t let me crop out my lovely nostril.  Gross!

A video by Ivan:

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