A little catch up

I have been very remiss about minding my blog since things have gotten pretty hectic.  I am now awaiting the birth of Anna (soon!), Brittany's endowments (Friday), the coming of my children & tour of DC (June 1) and a wedding (June 3) and a reception at my house June 4.  Whew..not to mention I still have a job!  But enough of the excuses.  Here are pictures of Brittany's Bridal Shower that was held almost 2 weeks ago. That's Brittany's mom handing out prizes.  This is her second daughter to get married in 5 months!  She is an amazing lady and so gracious about including me in things.  They had a filmed interview with JJ where they asked him certain questions and stopped before he answered to see what she would answer.  I was so proud of him..what a great diplomat! The second one is Brittany opening one of her gifts.  Children love her and she has been the babysitter for a lot of the children in this town!  Many were there to cheer her on and congratulate her.  She is a great example to them.  Behind her is a quilt that they put on and we tied.

 
Here is a picture of Tommy and Jack at a fund raiser concert that we went to at school.  They were so cute but Nanna forgot that it is hard to eat ice cream on a stick and even Harder to get it away from a child who doesn't want to let it go so he can get his hands clean! 

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day.  It was a great day and my children were all very kind to me.  The greatest blessing was that I got to talk to each one of them for a good period of time. I miss my children and grandchildren.
  Emilie and JJ, Brittany and the boys were all at the house for crepes made by Papa and then I opened my gifts.  Christy sent me a darling banner for the yard and it now proudly stands in the flower bed; Hope made me a gorgeous card on Heritage makers and those who were  here gave me a Miche bag.  I love it!  It is 3 purses in one. It is a classic black bag that has  covers that are magnetic and change the whole look of the bag.  One of the covers is white and the other (pictured) goes with my dress for the wedding.  If you want to know more here is their website http://www.michebag.com/  I had noticed it in a shop downtown and it showed up for mother's day!  Papa and JJ gave me flowers too.

A week ago yesterday I accompanied Emilie to do a Lia Sophia booth at a fund raiser for Relay for Life in Lynchburg (about an hour away) because we didn't think it was wise for her to be traveling by herself so close to D day.  She did great and now we have this cute photo of just before the due date.

Last, but not least, if you haven't seen JJ's bridal photos here is the link:http://bmwphotographyblog.blogspot.com/
By the next post I should have pictures of Anna Rae Davis!!!

update on Lancelot

I thought I would get you caught up on Lancelot's outfits since the last time I put on some pictures.  Here is his Easter get up and his graduation outfit.  Now I have to come up with something cheery for spring to carry him to the 4th of July!

Another one

This talk by Elder Holland is so beautiful and touching.  Let's all think of these things during the coming week.

Happy Easter

I love this video.

Shock & Awe

. The other night our beautiful, antique walnut drying barn on our property on Zimri Dr burned to the ground. It took less than 5 minutes for it to collapse after having stood there for over 90 yrs. I was surprised with how devastating it felt to me.  I was glad I wasn't there yet wished I was..
When we first saw the barn it was covered by blackberries and they were even growing inside. It was FILLED with junk and a lean to hanging off the side but John fell in love with it.
When we purchased the property the first thing John went to work on was the barn.  He removed the lean to and chopped out the blackberries. Dave Haupt re-wired it, Wayne Barnett put a new foundation under it , John and John Andrews put a new roof on it (and a skylight!), gave it a new coat of paint and John lovingly turned it into his space.People on the road who had never noticed there was a barn there began to comment on it.  He built the staircase for the house in that barn along with many other projects.  JJ made films in there and kids played in it.  It was even used for an Easter Egg hunt one year. It is so hard to think that it simply doesn't exist any more.
God's hand was there though.  No one was hurt, it didn't spread to the house and even the electrical panel kept on working! The pump house and well were spared even though they sit right next to the barn. It appears that most of the little bunnies and chickens also made it out ok.
Here's what channel 12 news said http://www.dailydispatch.com/StateNews/OR/2011/April/15/Huge.Fire.Engulfs.Newberg.Barn.aspx   Anybody know anything about that bar?

I am so grateful that we had so many wonderful years in such a magical place and it will always be kept in our memories and hearts.

Willow Tree Song

I found this song by one of Joseph and Emma Smith's descendants and wanted to pass it along.

Meet Lancelot

Let me introduce you to Lancelot.He is the mascot of the Student Financial Services office and he cheers us up each day.
He came into being because one day while John and I were on an excursion in Nelson County we saw a yard sale with a sign that read "New Home Interior Items" and I began to salivate!
Most of my accessory decorating pieces had been left behind in Oregon and so I am always looking for inexpensive ways to replace them.  After finding some great deals on flowers and Christmas greenery I happened upon a cat.  He had never really been out of his box and I could tell he wanted me to take him home!He had several different outfits for different holidays and the price was right so I got really excited!  I didn't have anywhere I could use him in our tiny little home but I knew he would love the office.
The first outfit he got to wear was his Halloween (personally one of my favorites!)

Next came Thanksgiving and he didn't have an outfit so I made him this:

 Then along came Christmas and he wore this:

 After Christmas we decided he needed something for the cold weather so I made him this:

He made us all feel warmer just looking at him!

 As we approached March we knew that he needed to celebrate St Patrick's Day so this is what I came up with: (This is Tilly's favorite)

 Every morning when I walk in the office he makes me smile!  He actually is the perfect pet since he is very well behaved , treats everyone the same and doesn't shed!!
Can't wait to see his Easter outfit(think bunny ears) or his patriotic one? Check back and I will  post those as they come along. I'm trying to figure out a "generic" outfit for when there aren't any holidays and I'm  open for any ideas if you have some!

Happy St Patrick's' Day!!