Amazing Story

I just read this amazing story. Likely, many of you who blog a lot more than I do are already familiar with it. Here is an excerpt from the article:

"In August 2008, a small plane crashed in St Johns , Arizona . It's the type of story that makes the local news and not much more. The plane held three occupants: a pilot and a young married couple. The pilot, Doug Kinneard, died the next day. The young couple was badly burned. The husband suffered burns over 30% of his body. The wife, 80% of her body.

"But the surviving victims of this accident were Stephanie “Nie” and Christian Nielson. “Nie” is a popular LDS “mommy blogger," with a devoted following across the Internet. She was known for her public declarations of affection for her beloved husband, known to her readers simply as Mr. Nielson. She was considered a bright spot to many. Her blog, NieNieDialogues.Blogspot.com, was full of optimism, love, and adoration for her four young children. She helped her readers appreciate motherhood and see the joy in the challenges it presents."

To read the complete article: http://www.ldsmag.com/exstories/090130nie.html

I added their blog to my other interesting blogs list.

I'm sure you will be as touched as I was.

Fireplace Makeover

Our fireplace has always been a bit of a decorating dilemma for me. When we moved in, the mantle was this huge piece of dark wood. It matched the trim and the dark wood in the kitchen, but those were all things we were going to lighten up a lot.

All the trim was going to be changed over to white, but I didn't think that would look good against the brick.

So, when I was painting the walls, a nice light butterscotch color, I painted the mantle as well. It was much better than the dark wood, but still not quite right. It still stood out a lot.

Today, I decided I would try to soften the look by sponging on a couple of other browns. It think it turned out pretty good. I think the overall affect is much better, but it still works with the brick.

What do you think?

PVC Pipe Storage Shelf for Storage Tubs

My uncle sent this web-site to me, and when I saw it - I knew. I knew, this was just what I needed. (http://studio5.ksl.com/?sid=5148165&nid=61)

A lot of my tubs are for holiday things, which I only need to get to twice a year (taking out and putting away). For those, it's not as big of a deal if they are just stacked on top of each other. But, for the kids clothes storage, I am in those a lot more often.

I figured, if I'm going to make one, make one big enough for all of them. So, we are making one 5x5, for 25 tubs.

To make it even easier, my husband used his chop-saw instead of the PVC pipe cutter. This hand tool will get the job done, but it is a lot of cuts, and your hands would get very tired.

I'll post a picture of the finished project.

This is our family picture from 2007. Time for a new one.

I LOVE Early Church

This year, it is our ward's turn to have 8:30 a.m. church. I used to hate this time. It meant no sleeping in. But, children change things, and since there is no sleeping in anymore anyway, this is my new favorite church time.

The differences are especially apparent coming from 12:30 p.m. church. On that schedule, I never felt like Sunday was a "day of rest."

Now, we get up, go to church and are home with a good part of the day left. This schedule also doesn't interfere with any naps or meals for the kids. I usually finish the things I enjoy doing on Sunday's by early afternoon, and I have been wondering, "now, what do I want to do?"

It is also a lot easier to fit in FHE on Sunday. During the week, the after school/before bed-time is so tight, FHE is hard to do.

For this year at least, I feel like I have at least a partial "day of rest" and it isn't as much of an oxymoron.

I have discovered at least one down side. By 4:00, the kids are whining about how bored they are. During the week, when they are bored, I offer some chores, or homework they can do. I'm going to have to come up with some Sunday appropriate activities they don't want to do to help then figure out how not to be bored (or at least not tell mom you are)

Finally - new dishes that match!

I am excited - I finally have new dishes! We have been using the same dishes I purchased when I went to college. After being married for 12 years, I finally got some new dishes! I think I have been pretty patient.

I wanted Corelle, because they are light and child-resistant. I got the red cafe set. Just in time, too. When I finally got around to ordering, Target and Wal-mart didn't have them anymore, and Amazon only had 4 left.

Since a lot of my family is local, and most family dinners are at my house, I got all 4 sets so I would have enough dishes when everyone comes over.

I also like the Corelle because they hold the heat better. The stoneware would make my food go cold so quickly, it was annoying. I had my first hot meal in a long time without having to use the microwave (you know how it is, getting everyone else's food ready while your's cools).