Happy Birthday Rhett!

Today we are celebrating Rhett's 29th birthday! I must say that I'm quite happy he was born (Thanks Cindy!). He's the love of my life and such an amazing father. I couldn't have dreamed of a better partner in life. There are little things he does everyday that make me fall just a little bit more in love with him. (Insert embarrassing moment here) Like, just the other night, he stayed up in bed reading a 1970s knitting book I just bought from the thrift store. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. Rhett is so hardworking and passionate about the things he does. I feel so protected, safe, loved and uplifted with him in my life. Happy birthday sweet husband.


and he's pretty cute too :)

I found it

My dream house

Kid-Safe Chemicals Act

Wow.

Kid-Safe Chemicals Act: 10 Americans @ Yahoo! Video

"The human race is now polluted with hundreds of industrial chemicals with little or no understanding of the consequences. Babies are born pre-polluted with as many as 300 industrial chemicals in their bodies when they enter the world. Testing by Environmental Working Group has identified 455 chemicals in people, and again, no one has any idea if these exposures are safe.
We are at a tipping point, where the pollution in people is increasingly associated with a range of serious diseases and conditions from childhood cancer, to autism, ADHD, learning deficits, infertility, and birth defects. Yet even as our knowledge about the link between chemical exposure and human disease grows, the government has almost no authority to protect people from even the most hazardous chemicals on the market."

EWG.org

Photo Update

Cornmeal-Blueberry Pancakes

Absolutely wonderful

Cornmeal-Blueberry Pancakes
5 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh or defrosted blueberries
Maple syrup

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the butter and milk until the butter melts. Set aside until lukewarm, about 15 minutes. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly stir in 1/4 cup of the warm milk mixture (it cannot be hot, or it will cook the eggs). Pour in the remaining milk mixture and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring slowly, just until the dry ingredients are well moistened. The batter should be lumpy and will start to bubble. Add blueberries and stir just to mix through the batter.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the pan with butter, then add a scant 1/4 cup of batter with blueberries to make a 4-inch pancake. Cook until bubbles break on the surface. Flip and cook for another 30 seconds, or until the bottom is lightly browned. Repeat, buttering the pan and adjusting the heat as needed. Serve with maple syrup.

Source

Lookin' at Land

We're headed down to my mom's house in Schuyler to start looking at land. I think we're going to try and go at the end of the month. The first step towards the dream. I'm so excited. Ultimately, we would love a ton of acreage (100ish or so) so that we could have room for my mom, brother (and anyone else who wants to join us) to build a house. But, that's just not in the budget. So we're going to look for a few acres that has some (hopefully) open land next to it, that maybe we could buy up in the future. Other requirements: trees, mountain view, flat land for farming, and out in the middle of nowhere. I'm so excited that my stomach hurts.

Listings for some land
Go on, click around and get excited with me. =)

Valentine's Day Crafts

I've come across so many cute Valentine's Day crafts, I just had to pass them along.

Valentine Garden

Be Still My Heart

Heart Sun Catcher

Bouquet of Hearts

Valentine's Day Mobile

Valentine's Day Busy Book

Heart Garland

Thought for the day

A Poem for Little Ones by George Townshend

While they are at your side, love these little ones to the utmost.

Forget yourself: serve them; care of them; lavish all your tenderness upon them.

Value your good fortune while it is with you and let nothing of their babyhood go unprized.

Not for long will you keep the happiness that now lies in your reach.

You will not always walk in the sunshine with a little soft hand nestling in each of yours, nor hear little feet pattering beside you and eager baby voice questioning and prattling of a thousand things with ceaseless excitement.

Not always will you see that trusting face upturned to yours, feel those little arms about your neck and those tender lips pressed upon your cheek, nor will you have that tiny form to kneel beside you, and murmur baby prayers into your ear.

Love them and win their love and shower on them all the treasures of your heart.

Fill up their days with happiness and share with them their mirth and innocent delights.

Ere you are aware, it will be gone with all its gifts for ever.


Thanks Courtney =)

Mothers Who Know

One of the best talks I've ever heard at Conference. I re-read it today and thought I'd share my favorite part.


"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord's kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power." -Julie B. Beck

Link

Quote of the Day

"Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home. Make them long to be with their families. So much sin could be avoided if our people really loved their homes." -Mother Teresa

Playhouses

Have you ever seen anything as cool as this? She makes post offices, garages, beauty shops, anything you can think of!

Etsy - playhouses