Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

For the past few years I have used my blog to post our family's Christmas newsletter. December has just flown by, and I'm a little late getting this posted. But oh well, better late than never!

2012 has been a mixed bag for our family, but overall we have had more ups than downs.

Kayti graduated from Calhoun Community College in May with her Associates Degree. After a lot of fasting and prayer, she decided to go to BYU-Idaho to finish her Bachelor's Degree. She travelled by herself (on an airplane for the first time!!) to Idaho in September. She has loved being out there! She did well in her classes, and has many situations come up that have reaffirmed to her that she is where she is supposed to be. Her plan was to stay out there during the Christmas break, but the closer she got to the break, the more she wanted to come home - and the more I wanted her here!! We are both thankful that she was able to come home and spend 3 weeks with us! We are so proud of her and the decisions she is making.

Josh has had a big year! He was able to go to Chattanooga in March with his drama class and compete in SETC, which is the Southeast Theater Conference, or the equivalent of competing in a national drama competition. They had a great time, and came in second place. They actually were the best dramatic performance (the play that beat them was a musical). In May he graduated from Bob Jones High School! He got his first job in June and has been saving his money for his mission. In December he got his mission call - he is going to Boise, Idaho!! So crazy for me to think about - for those that do not know, I grew up in the Boise area from the time I was 4 until 12, and still have family and good friends in the area. It really was a relief to know that is where he is going. I know he will love it there, and he will be in good hands! We have him home with us until March, and are making the most of the time.

Kyle has enjoyed the world of driving and dating this year! He is now a Junior at James Clemens High School (the new high school that was opened this year). He is also involved in the drama program, and is enjoying it. He is now the tallest member of the family - he loves to rest his chin on the top of my head... I don't like it so much! He is doing well in school, but is now having second thoughts about what he wants to do in the future. He has wanted to be a doctor for years, and has been involved in the biomedical program at school. He will continue to take the classes next year, but now he's wondering exactly what he wants to do. He still has time to figure it out, and he is enjoying being a teenager! He just got his first job at Zaxby's... and we are anxious to go visit him at work!

Meg continues to keep us on our toes! She turned 15 this year and is a Sophomore at JCHS. She loves art, photography, music, drama and being with her friends. She and Kyle are in the same drama class and they are great friends. She is also enjoying having a big brother who drives - they have been able to go to more parties, or just run into town together. She has her permit and is looking forward to taking driver's ed and getting her license next year. She wants to get a job and start saving for the future. She has so many big plans for her future - she wants to buy herself a motorcycle; she wants to travel Europe; she wants to go to art school in Savannah, Ga; she wants an incredible wardrobe and make-up collection!  While she has enjoyed having her own room, she has missed her sister!!

We've stayed put this year - no big trips to report on. We did enjoy visits from my family and spent a weekend with the Mayfield clan for our reunion. One of the big lessons that I have learned this year and wanted to pass on to the kids this Christmas is that life is not about things - it's about being together and making memories together. Those memories will sustain and comfort you through hard times. They will bring joy to your heart when you need it. And it doesn't take a lot of money to make memories - just being together and enjoying the time together is what is important.

We are looking forward to 2013. As hard as it has been to see my children start to leave home, it has been rewarding to see the adventures they are headed out on. I'm looking forward to hearing from Josh as he is on his mission, and the new people he will meet and experiences he will have. I'm looking forward to hearing about Kayti's classes and her adventures with roommates. I'm looking forward to Kyle and Megan's experience of being the only kids at home, and their struggles/triumphs with school and life in general. I'm looking forward to spending time with Barry.

We wish all our friends and family a happy new year. We wish you joy, peace, and the good things life brings.

Mixed Emotions

I watched two wonderful sessions of General Conference today. I was uplifted, inspired, touched and taught by the Spirit. I appreciate the ability to watch our Church leaders speak to us, right from the comfort of my own home.

As the last session ended, and the choir sang, "God Be With You til We Meet Again", I just lost it. I was reminded of the last General Conference, 6 months ago. I watched all 4 sessions at my sister's house, with my mom. The hymn hit home to me, and I felt a longing for my mom. None of us realized at the time that she would be taken from us before the end of the month. We knew she was declining, but we didn't think it would happen so quickly.

I am grateful for the gospel in my life. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have that one day I will be reunited with my mom and all my family members who have passed on. I'm grateful for the blessings of temple ordinances that bind our family together. I am thankful for the healing power of the Spirit that brought our family together again before my mom's passing.

While I am grateful for this knowledge, I have a bit of a heavy heart... just because I miss her so much. I wish she was here to talk to, and give me advice. Or go shopping with. Or just here to appreciate the turning leaves with me.

Someone close to me once said that with the gospel in our lives, they didn't understand grief, and how we could be so sad when someone passes. Especially knowing what we know about our Heavenly Father's plan, and where we go when we die. While I can agree with part of that, I understand the sadness more now, too. It's not a sadness that I will never see her again... it's just missing her so much and feeling so sorry for myself for the "now" of my life without her. It's also weird going through a lot of firsts without her... my first child leaving home; my first son preparing to go on a mission. There are also other firsts - the first Mother's Day without here; the first summer without her; the first conference without her; the first holiday season without her. Those are hard to take, too.

I know that grieving is a natural process. I know it takes time. But I am thankful for the gospel. I can't imagine going through this without it.

Chicken Parm Sliders

I decided to try a new recipe today. One I came up with on my very own. Not that someone probably hasn't come up with this recipe before, and probably did it much better than I did, but I just kind of threw things together and made up my own recipe as I went along.

Josh LOVES chicken parmesan. L.O.V.E.S. it! He is always asking to have it for dinner, but it's not a favorite of his daddy, so we don't have it as often as Josh would like. Pretty much he gets it on his birthday and maybe one other time a year. I went grocery shopping yesterday, and I usually get ground turkey, but they were out. They did have ground chicken, though, so I grabbed some. I had sliders on my menu for this week, and thought that maybe I could make up some chicken parm sliders to make Josh happy.

I'm not a good one for measurements; I just kind of throw things in. I thought I'd share the recipe with you, but please don't judge me because I don't really have amounts down. I'm more of a "that looks good" kind of gal when it comes to cooking.

My recipe:
1 lb of ground chicken ( I know it was a pound because that was on the package!)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
thyme - pulled the leaves off several sprigs
parmesan cheese - dumped a bunch in
Italian breadcrumbs - again, just dumped a bunch in
one egg
splash of milk

I mixed all of this together, formed small patties and cooked them in a bit of olive oil in my non-stick pan. I realized that I forgot to add any salt or pepper, so I sprinkled some on top as they cooked.

After they were done, I put them on a wire cooling rack, which was placed in a baking sheet. I then put a small dollop (offical term!) of marinara sauce* on each, then topped that with shredded mozzarella and parm cheeses. I baked them in a 350-degree oven for maybe 8-10 minutes until the cheese was melted. Served them on slider buns (ok... they were cheapy brown and serve rolls, but they worked!), and they disappeared like magic! Josh loved them, and so did his daddy!

Think this is one recipe that I will make again!

*I actually made my own cheater marinara sauce. I used a can of Italian seasoned tomato sauce, and added in fresh basil and rosemary.

Little Monster Bash

Today we had a fun baby shower for a sweet friend and her twin boys! We are so excited for Emily and the addition to her family. These boys are going to be so loved!!

I left my camera in a back room, so I only got a few photos before we cleaned everything up, but wanted to share. It was so much fun getting things together for this event.

 

Cute monster sugar cookies

 

Yummy homemade cupcakes - mint chocolate chip and coconut

 

Fun picks for the cupcakes

 

The mantel - chalkboard with vinyl, candles, jars, flowers, banner, balloons, and a few eyeballs (there was one on the balloons, too)

 

The sister-in-law of the mom-to-be made these adorable fruit salad "babies" - they each had a binky in their mouth.

 

Only a few more weeks until the boys will be here. Poor Emily looks like she is about to pop, but she is so cute, and so excited to be a mom. Can't wait for them to get here!!

What a weekend!

My sister and 2 of her kiddos drove in to to the farm to visit on Thursday night. I had kept this a total surprise from my kids, and was so excited to see their faces when they saw their cousins again. It's been a while since they have seen each other - at least 3 years. My niece, Shauna, and my nephew, Jacob, came down to Madison to help me surprise the kids. It was so much fun! I wish I had brought my camera with me as we drove to both Kayti and Josh's work, but I totally forgot it! So lame, I know!

Jacon and Shauna

After Kayti and Josh got home from work, we packed up and headed to the farm. We stayed up late, talking and laughing. The kids had a great time reconnecting, and I enjoyed talking with my sisters, and listening to the kids talk and laugh.

On Saturday morning, we got up and headed to my sister's pool to swim. The kids decided to "rock the pool"...

Getting ready

Jumpin' in

"We're rocking now!"

My niece, Jessica, and her little boy, Reese, flew into Nashville on Saturday night. It's been 6 years since Jess has been to Tennessee, and the first time we met Reese. He is such a cutie, and Jess is so beautiful!

Reese

Jessica

We had a big family dinner on Sunday night, and enjoyed the cooler weather. We sat out on the front porch and visited and enjoyed being together.

Daddy and Kathy

Grace

Cousins... minus a few

Kayti and Josh had to come back on Sunday night because they had work on Monday, but Kyle, Megan and I stayed one more night. After things wound down, the kids played the best card game EVER... Hokie Six!

 The kids headed up to go swimming on Monday morning, but the weather turned stormy, and they had to head home. Not to be outdone by the rain, they put their bathing suits back on and headed out to play hide-n-go-seek in the rain!

Rainy day on the farm

Pre-game "dance"

After the game, they got real creative, and tried to "sled" down the wet hill. Not quite the same effect as if there had been snow on the ground, but they had fun trying!

Jess pushing Jake

Meg decided to stay warm and dry, and curled up on the front porch swing to finish up her summer reading.

My nephew, Chris, flew in tonight, and we are going up to visit him tomorrow. This is going to be a short trip for them (they head back to Idaho on Friday morning), but we are so glad they came!



Progress

I've been slowly working on a few projects around here. I've got the table painted and glazed... still need to seal it.

Barry is working on his car in the garage this weekend, so I moved the table inside to give him more room. I'm excited to finally have it in here for real! I still have to work on the chairs. I haven't been able to find any material for the chairs that I like, but I did find some online. Before I buy it, I think I'll run up to Sir's in Fayetteville to see what they have.

 I'm so tickled with it so far!!

Today...

I miss my mom today.

I miss her a lot, actually.

I miss her hugs.

I miss her advice.

I miss her laugh.

I miss her voice.

Not sure why it's hit me so hard today. I think I've been doing pretty well handling her passing. But not today.

My dad goes in for surgery on Tuesday, and I'm not sure if that is freaking me out a bit or what. I'm sure he will be ok, but I just hate that he has to do it.

It sure is hard when your parents get older.

Summer Projects

I have a few projects planned for this summer. Actually, I have a lot of projects planned for this summer, some of them bigger than others.

Last summer I didn't get anything done... recovering from surgery left me pretty much incapable of doing anything. By the time I felt better, it was time to go back to work, so a few of my projects are left-overs from last summer.

One of the bigger projects planned is this:

My dad built himself a new farmhouse table, and gave me their old set. I want to turn it into this:

I saw this on pinterest, and fell in love with it.  The lines on the table and chairs are almost identical to the set dad gave me, and I am so in love with the turquoise! Barry is not sold on it, but I think it will add so much color to the dining room. (Table originally pinned from this site: http://thesassypepper.blogspot.com/2011/09/from-sorta-scary-to-super-cute.html)

As you can see in the picture above, I've started sanding the table. It was kind of nicked to begin with, but I think that adds so much to it. I can't wait to find just the right fabric to cover the chairs with. That hunter green does NOTHING for me!

Two of the other projects on my summer list are actually in the background of the top picture...

I got this dresser from Dawn a few months ago. My plan is to turn it into a tv stand for my bedroom. I love the lines on this piece, and the keyholes in each drawer are so adorable!! My first thought was to paint it black so it would match the other pieces in our bedroom. The more I think about it, though, I really want to paint it grey. I think Barry might totally veto me on it, but I think it would lighten up the room. The lines on it don't match our "farmhouse" style nightstands and headboard, and he thinks painting it black with help it blend with the other pieces. I'm not sure I want it to blend though...I want it to stand out. But, I don't want it to look out of place, either. Not sure what to do. Any thoughts?

And speaking of the headboard... that is the other piece in the background of the first picture. My dad made the headboard, footboard and two nightstands for me 2 years ago, and I'm ashamed to say that the headboard is still not done. The nightstands are both done and in my room, the footboard is painted, but not distressed, and the headboard is only painted on one side. I left the whole project up to Josh to finish... actually I gave it to him to do so that he would have something other than video games and bugging his siblings to keep him busy. We ran out of paint, and it's just one of those things that didn't get done. Hopefully Josh will be working soon, so I'll take over the job.

I've also got other indoor project plans. I have lots of organizational projects I want to tackle... my craft room and a recipe binder, just to name a couple. I would love to maybe try my hand at some canning this summer, too. I've helped my mom can before, but I was more interested in getting out of the house and into a swimming pool to really learn much from her.

As much as I'm ticked at the fact that the Alabama legislature and Madison City Schools ruined my fall break with their stupid new calendar, I guess an extra two weeks of summer might help me get a few of these projects actually done this year. I'll keep you updated!

Not so long ago...

This is my little man on his first day of Kindergarten. He was so excited to be in Mrs. McCormack's class, and to finally be in school! He insisted on riding the bus that morning, even though I had to be there for his Kindergarten Open House. I made him cinnamon rolls for breakfast and he burned his chin on the pan because he couldn't wait to get into them.

This is my not-so-little man on  his last day of high school. It doesn't seem possible that he is already through. Where did the time go? I made him cinnamon rolls again for breakfast... he didn't burn himself this time!

He graduates on Tuesday. I'm so proud of him and all of the things he has accomplished. He will be 19 by the end of the year, and leaving for his mission. He plans to work this summer to help pay for his mission. After he gets home, he wants to be an actor, or a police detective... maybe the FBI. He might change his mind by the time he gets home. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Josh hates to have his picture made, but he was a good sport for me and let Shari K take some of him a few weeks ago.

Here are a couple of my favorites!

And a couple of Josh's favorites!

Love that kid! So grateful that he is mine!!

Flowergirl

My mom's nickname for me when I was little bitty was "flowergirl". She gave me this because I picked "flowers" for her from the woods behind our house. She would always put them in a vase, and never gave me grief for bringing in weeds!

I really loved that about my mom... she would see the good in things, and she made you feel proud of the littlest things you had done.

Momma would have loved to see all the flowers that were sent for her service. I picked several stems from each spray and brought them home with me. I sat a large vase of them on my desk at work the next week. Seeing and smelling them made me think of her and helped to brighten my day and the day of others around me.

Took a few pictures of them, but they were starting to get a little wilty. Wish I had done it sooner.

I also had a sweet friend bring me over a bouquet of tulip, my favorite! They brightened my attitude and living room for a while!

I miss Mom so much today, but I'm so grateful for her and the many things she taught me.

In Memory

Mary Ann Copeland Jean

Dec. 8, 1933

April 25, 2012

I miss her so much

I have so many things I want to say about my Mom. I want to record all the things that she taught me, the fun times we had together, the final moments we shared on this earth. The feelings in my heart. But I just can't seem to get them all out. Hopefully soon. Today I just miss her.

Signs of Spring

I am a warm weather kind of gal. No bones about it. I tend to complain when it's hot, hot, hot, but I overall enjoy it much more than freezing to death.

We didn't have a bad winter this year, but it was dreary. And depressing. And I'm glad that spring is arriving!!

A few weeks ago, the girls and I got bored one Sunday afternoon and went for a drive on the backroads. I love that we live where we do. We are minutes from the "city" and minutes from the middle of no-where, too. We are far enough out that it gets really dark here at night, and we can see the stars. That really has nothing to do with why we went for a drive, or what we saw, but I thought I would throw that in there, just because I think it's cool!

Anyway, back to the drive...

I took my camera, and snapped a few pictures of the fresh green-ness of the world. Seeing these simple things made me so happy. Just the breath of fresh air that I needed.

One of Kayti's favorite signs of spring is the fields of purple "flowers". These are nothing more than weeds growing, but she loves them. We snapped a few pictures of this field in Mooresville.

I had to pull over to the side of the road to get the next couple of pictures. I just love seeing the green fields and blue skies.

I even started noticing signs of life around my own house...

 My hydrangea is starting to bloom!

The strawberries are coming to life. Barry hopes he gets to eat more than the birds this year!

All the freshness outside made me want to get busy on the inside of the house. It was time to take down the Valentine's Day decor, and bring in some Spring!

The mantel. Not quite done with it, but I do love the simplicity of it. I have a "SPRING" banner that I made last year that I am thinking of hanging, but not sure if I'm going to yet or not.

I painted this all by myself this week. I went to a painting party a month ago for a friend's batchelorette party. It was so much fun, and I think I might have just fallen in love with it. I have been looking for something to put on the mantel, and decided to just be brave and daring and try to come up with something on my own. This is pretty much what I saw in my head, and I'm glad I was able to put it on cavas. Not that I don't see a ton of flaws in it, but I'm still pretty proud of it.

I got the bird cage on sale (need to still take that tag off... oops!), and I got the nest for free!! It was a home to a momma and babies last year, but it had been abandoned this year and I didn't feel guilty about borrowing it for my decor.

I saw this idea a lot at Christmas time... filling glassware with split peas and then inserting candles. I love the idea for spring. I think green is my favorite color right now, and love how it looks with everything else.

So... there is my little touch of freshness. I want to add fresh flowers everywhere, but guess I need to do that in moderation.  I'm anxious to get outside and start planting. What are your plans for spring?