We have a temple!

A few weeks ago I walked into our half bath off the kitchen and found a large section of wallpaper missing. I'm not in love with the wallpaper, but I did like the look of not being in demolition-mode. I think I must have exclaimed, "What is this?!?" because my little two-year-old piped up, "Look, Mom, it's a temple!"

And it was. It stood about 4 feet high, had a wide base, a narrowing steeple, and you could just about see the profile of Moroni standing on top complete with a trump. Drew was pretty proud of the temple in our bathroom. Unfortunately, before I could snap a picture for posterity, the demolition man (whose name begins with a J) went at it again. Now we are missing several feet of paper in several sections, and what was to be a project for this summer may now be a project for spring break.

More Creating

I may not be creative, but I am a creator. Look at these gorgeous children! Horsey rides at bedtime are a tradition (courtesy of the creative and strong parent), and Callie and Hannah have a hard time letting go of getting their turns.

I couldn't post on the entire family and not include the Camden-man.

Creative Minds at Work

It's Jacob's job to unload the clean dishes from the dishwasher. There is usually a tower or temple of some kind built during this chore, but there is a line that I try to draw between creatively enjoying a job and breaking dishware.


















Drew playing with his food: this mostly occurs at dinnertime -- here he happens to be playing with the ramen that his sister's served him sometime during the day (where was I??? I didn't take the picture). This does not do justice to the mixtures that he concocts in his cup or plate while the rest of us enjoy our evening meal. Every once in awhile he decides to eat with us. We've stopped wondering why he is ravenously hungry before the crack of dawn each day.





We aren't sure where Hannah's artistic talents may lead her, but it is certain that not only her family but others will be blessed by her photography, artwork, writing, and comics. I'm not sure if I ever upload pictures anymore without finding some treasures. We think she's got an eye for this and is SO GOOD at photography (and with no training!); it's a wonder she never wins that catagory in the Reflections contests. Here are two recent shots.

















Ever willing to create in the kitchen, Callie likes to push boundaries. Here's an attempt at giant peanut butter cookies. The pictures that were indented on top didn't turn out. These minds are already figuring out how to improve things for next time...









Even Dad gets "creative at work" -- ha ha. Here it was the boss' birthday and the office secretly got together and decided to dress up like him. Tyler floured his hair for the salt & pepper effect, borrowed my glasses, and was able to put together a look-alike outfit. Complete with mimicking mannerisms it made for a fun day.

They have a lot of fun with creative pranks & the milk co-op. You'll have to ask him.














With the nicer weather the sidewalk chalk supply is dwindling as the kids make bigger than life versions of "Rogertown News" on the driveway.






















Little J isn't so little anymore. He did the alphabet and some words on his own.

Hannah's family portrait -- silly Mom cut Camden out of the picture!

The pressure is on...after reading an article in a "Real Life" I got creative (this is NOT a common occurence; I'm in survival mode most of the time!) and made initial pancakes. Two good things happened: no one complained about there not being chocolate chips, and my non-pancake eater ate her breakfast right up!

Freecycle

Prepare to be introduced to one of the greatest organizations, freecycle.org. That's how we got this great chalkboard, pictured above, for FREE!

It's easy: you sign up, and then voila! See what is offered and act quick if you want it. Post stuff that you would like to get off of your hands. The great thing is that items go to the people that need/are interested in them and they come get them right off of your front porch!

My favorite aspects of the program: 1) it is based on location and you can search in your immediate area, 2) it's a great way to get rid of things that would normally go in the trash (partial containers of cleaners, paint, broken things that other people know how to fix and will use), and 3) it's such a great way to share with one another the things that we have! I've mostly used it to de-clutter my life by passing on things like house plants, outgrown girl toys, & fabric scraps, but we've scored on a few counts. When people post things that they want, I like to offer it if I have it. It seems like if I share my excess now, when my need comes it will be met. My mom used to have a framed cross-stitch saying in her kitchen, "Cast your bread upon the waters, and it will come back to you later, buttered." Happy freecycling, folks!

25%

My baby might be an all-around 25th percentiler right now, but he manages to be round in all the right places. He's just the sort of fellow you want to have around to remind you of everything wonderful that a baby can be.

Dimpled hands & all!