Family Rules…

 

Do you have family sayings,

or little phrases that get used a lot in your home?

Or even things that might be interpreted  a little differently by your family than by others?

Whenever one of us says something not quite accurate or correct someone will always reply back with,

“Two twenty, two twenty-one.  Whatever it takes.”

The real quote from the movie “Mr. Mom” goes like this:

Jack Butler: No problem. Come on over here Ron. Let me show you what I'm doing, taking advantage of some of the time off. To, uh, add a whole new wing on here. Gonna rip these walls out and, uh, of course re-wire it.
Ron Richardson: Yeah, you gonna make it all 220?
Jack Butler: Yeah, 220, 221. Whatever it takes.

When I think about advice my parents always sent us off with I am reminded to “Wear clean underwear.”  (In case you get in an accident.)

“Always return home with the person you went with.”

“Carry a dime to call home in an emergency.”

(Yes, I am pre-cell phone age.)

“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

“Honesty is the best policy.”

“Be kind.  Don’t leave anyone out.”

Many times I would send my kids off to bed with,

“Good Night.  Sleep tight.  Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

(Not sure how that last part encouraged sound sleeping.)

How many of us have been told to eat our dinner.  “Just think of all the starving kids in China.”  (I think the country part changed over the years, but when I was young it was China.)

Well, last night I got a phone call from some of my daughters who were out shopping.  They had found a wall hanging they thought would be perfect for our family room.

Would I like them to buy it?

 

How could I resist?

Now, when they come to visit I won’t have to preach,  nag, or offer any unwanted advice.

I’ll just tell them to go read the wall!

What sayings does your family use?

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

P.S.  It is snowing here in Utah again!

 

I’m Loving It!

It seems that when I need a bit color in my life, if I do a little digging, I can usually find some.

Valentine’s Day brought this fun idea from one of my students..

 

And another one made me this fun card.

My husband bought these beauties for me.

My geraniums at school are flourishing.

It seems that my students are also appreciating my winter blahs.

This is our “I’ve Had IT With Winter” writing hanging on our bulletin board.

“May I never miss a sunset or a rainbow

because I am looking down.” 

~Sara June Parker

Have a great weekend!

JoAnn

Sigh…. “Forget me not.”

(Pinterest Link or you can go visit the original funkyjunkinteriors.net on the photo.  The blog has some fun ideas of creations made from good old junk.) Go visit and see for yourself.

It’s that time of year when I find myself needing a little color. 

I’ve enjoyed winter and we have received some much needed snow for summer’s moisture.

I am grateful for that.

However….

I’m tired of winter!

I am a spring lover.

Gardening, flowers, country gardens (and accents) all make me happy.

Even getting my hands dirty digging in the soil is therapeutic for me.

I actually enjoy pulling weeds!

Looking out my window right now  I’m reminded that winter has not finished her course yet- I must be patient for a little longer.

Did I mention that I’m not very patient?

In a wonderful talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf in the Women’s October General Conference, 2011, entitled “Forget ME Not”, he counsels us to

“…forget not to be happy now.”

(He uses the metaphor of the small, simple forget-me-not flower to remind us of five good things we need to not forget about in our lives.)

I do  know that I need to enjoy being where I am right now. 

Summer will come.

He reminds us that if we wish our life away we might miss some of life’s most sweet experiences.

If you look carefully at the photo above you will see little crystals shining in the sun.  It was quite stunning and almost magical, although the photo only captures a part of it. 

I am going to try really hard to enjoy the snow a little longer.

You can listen to this wonderful message here.

I promise you will be enriched!

JoAnn

source

The aliens are coming….the aliens are coming!

 

 

to wish Irene a “Happy Birthday”!

Also,

Happy Birthday to Andrew and Karl!

Hope you are all enjoying the end of the weekend

and the Super Bowl (if you are sports fans)!

Love,

JoAnn

P.S.  Look who is almost walking!

P.P.S.  Thanks for the fun masks, Michelle!

Meet my new chair….(and fighting winter doldrums)

It’s snowing.

Again.

We haven’t seen the ground since Christmas Eve.

Our Christmas lights are frozen in place.

Our Sunday dinner group was pretty sparse today since only Andrew and Irene, (and kids), and Robbie made it here.  They probably would have stayed home if the snow hadn’t been delayed getting to them.  The roads were slick and covered with ice and snow and many cars were sliding off the road.

At school, my students haven’t had an outside recess the whole month of January.  Spending almost every minute of the school day with twenty-four restless children at your side is right up there with cruel and unusual punishment (for them and me)! 

The air quality in Utah has been on high alert due to inversions, keeping the bad air on the ground and the good air up above the cloud cover.

So,

since I haven’t had much to blog about, I thought I’d introduce you to my new chair.

I had wanted one more chair in our family room to finish up the space.  At first my husband thought a chair was an expense we didn’t need, but as we had rearranged some furniture to get ready for a Christmas tree, we realized that the big triangular middle section of our sofa was not worth the space it was taking up (it only gave seating for one person) and limited the furniture arrangement.  Maybe we needed a new direction- a sofa and a love seat?

We did some looking, but couldn’t find anything we liked (that didn’t a small fortune),

I had dragged a chair up from a bedroom and had accepted things as they were.   It would do.

While Ken and Liz took some fabric samples back to the furniture store,  I was home content with my new arrangement. 

(Why am I telling you this, you ask?)

  Since I have been the restless one wanting things to decorate our house, I guess I want it on paper that this chair was not my doing.

Liz spotted it from clear across the store.

They called me on the phone and asked if they could bring it home.

What could I say?

They forced me.

The colors in the chair included every other color in our room.

It tied the whole room together and gave it a fresh “punch”.

(“Punch” is the go-to word on decorating shows!)

And compared to buying a new sofa and love seat it was a bargain!

(I need to remember this tactic next time I want something new.)

Liz talked the salesman down a bit, too, saying she wasn’t sure if I would be too happy since I had been looking for a sofa and love seat.

And yes, I love it!

So there you have it.

I thought you’d want to know about the chair.

JoAnn

P.S.  Did I mention that is is snowing and I have the winter doldrums?

 

Messes, mud, and a laundry room makeover

(Heidi and Michelle playing in the mud.)

Dirt goes back a long way at our house.

(Apparently, even before gardening skills were developed.)

When my children were young they all loved playing outside, and that included digging in the dirt, making water features, and combining the two for an extra special punch.

I’m not one to have suggested such mess-making adventures, but over the years I have seen my share of dirty children.

We’ve had cooking disasters,

science projects gone awry,

egg tosses,

saw dust/sheet rock air-pollution-fall-out,

spills,

cosmetic make-up experimenting,

grass stains,

mud pie bakeries,

and the list goes on!

Our grand-daughter Aubrey continues the tradition by eating her first birthday cake.)

Which brings me to my laundry room.

Yes, I’ve spent a lot of time there!

We retired our old washer and dryer right after Christmas.  (It qualified for hazardous duty!)  While we had the room empty, my husband put in some new floor tiles and painted the walls.

I found a cute, bright new rug at Target.

I also picked up a few “decorative accessories”. (We deserve to be happy where we spend so much time, right?)

A flu bug derailed the finished project, but I will share pictures soon.

“Life is made up of marble and mud.”

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Don’t we all have laundry nightmares?

JoAnn

A picture speaks a thousand words….

I’ve mentioned before how I was helping my Aunt Mardene put together a life history book.  We were finally able to get it finished and printed just before Christmas.

We put in a lot of pictures.

 

Some fun memories.

And

A little history.

We published some of them as hard-back books through a company called Lulu.  The second part of the book has colored photos and they just look so much better in color.

We also used a company in Logan called Watkins Printing to make some black and white spiral bound books.  We made enough copies for Mardene to give one to each niece and nephew as a Christmas present.  Mardene is the only surviving child left in her family.  (She does have one sister-in-law left.)  We also included a computer disk with each book if they want to make more copies for their own families.

Below is a picture of some of the older cousins.

Here is another picture of the later cousins (which includes me).

That is a lot of cousins!

Mardene has been blessed this Christmas to have had visits and phone calls from almost every one of her nieces and nephews.  (She excitedly calls me on the phone to report, every time she gets a new visitor or call.)  They were excited to receive her book.  Many expressed joy at the memories brought back to them and were so thrilled to get photos, many that they had never seen before.  (I’ve even benefited from some notes and phone calls, too!)

The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is really true.  I’m sure each photo means something different to each person who views it, and sometimes the picture can bring back a different memory each time it is looked at. 

I am so grateful that I was able to help Mardene with her history.  She has done so much for me and for all of our extended family.  Hopefully, this will help bind our family together.

After all,

Families can be together forever!

JoAnn