Making Peace With February

I don't know what it is about February, but it's my least favorite month. With rare exception, February always and ironically feels like the longest month ever. Plus, I hate to be cold and February is typically the coldest month of the year in my little corner of the world. When I get chilled, I don't want to do anything or go anywhere which makes the days feel even longer. 

Knowing my feelings for February, I decided to challenge myself to three things: 

1) Write a blog post every day (After my long hiatus from regular blogging, that's quite a feat!) 

2) Create one piece of envelope art every day

3) Read at least one chapter from a book each day 

Today is February 28 and guess what? Once I publish this blog post, I will have reached my goals! I can honestly say that having those three goals really helped; surprisingly, it didn't feel like a burden. Now that February is over, I'm hoping to post to my blog at least once a week. As for the envelope art, I enjoyed the creative process, but these past few days I've really struggled to come up with people to address envelopes to. So I won't keep that up, but I took pictures of every envelope I designed so it will be easy for me to recreate specific designs when I want to send something fun. And I hope to continue reading at least one chapter a day. In February, I finished reading "Mere Christianity," by C. S. Lewis and "Atomic Habits," by James Clear. I'm now reading "A Grief Observed," by C. S. Lewis which I should finish tomorrow. I just picked up some new books from the library so I have a few choices about what to read next. I love reading and I'm glad to get back into it. It's been a while since I've taken the time.

It's been a good month. Sure, we had our ridiculous cold spell where I just wanted to snuggle up on the couch all day, but I was grateful for the motivation to get up off the couch and do something. I'm just grateful I can finally say that February isn't all that bad. 

One of my favorite envelopes. My friend gave me the dancing stamps so I had to come up with an envelope to send to Sam, our ballroom dancer. He loved it! :)

Service Station

When life gets overwhelming and personal problems seem too much to bear, it's curiously healing to set aside our own difficulties and find ways to lighten the burdens of others. That's what I love about the quote below. Service has a way of putting things into perspective and highlighting the things that are most important. 

 

Be A Light

I remember we were just a few weeks into the pandemic when I first heard this song by Thomas Rhett last April. We were all feeling a little cooped up, frustrated, and tired. There was also plenty of finger pointing about decisions being made on a national level, not to mention the political tension as candidates and their parties couldn't say anything nice about each other. 

Country music always seems to tell it like it is and the lyrics to this song pretty clearly state what we all needed to hear then, and need just as much now. 

Here are just a few of the lyrics (first verse and chorus), but the whole song is worth listening to.

In a time full of war, be peace.

In a time full of doubt, just believe.

Yeah, there ain't that much difference between you and me.

In a time full of war, be peace.

In a world full of hate, be a light.

When you do somebody wrong, make it right.

Don't hide in the dark. You were born to shine.

In a world full of hate, be a light.

10,000 Things That Make Me Hungry

The goal was to update my recipe book. I wanted my grown kids to have access to their favorite recipes, but I also wanted to go through and remove recipes I never use, add in a few new ones, and update the recipes we know and love around here so that the instructions include all my shortcuts and modifications. It felt so overwhelming because, honestly, that job is never done. As soon as I finished printing an updated copy, there would be new recipes and further changes I wish were in there.

That's when I remembered my hungry blog! I started it in 2013, added a bunch of mostly main dish recipes in 2014, added six more in 2016 and one in 2017 and then forgot about it. But as I contemplated my recipe dilemma, I realized my blog is the answer. I can update and add to it anytime I want and no one has to print anything out or worry about it becoming outdated. 

And so in January I got to work. I made sure the recipes already on the blog were current. Then I put in almost all the rest of our tried-and-true recipes. I'll update it as I think of additions, and make changes as I find better easier ways to do things. ;) I've already been able to give out links to specific recipes upon request. It's so easy! 

So click here to enjoy my no-frills recipe blog. Please let me know if you find something you love!

Tip: in the desktop version, there is a search bar to hopefully help you find what you're looking for.

Remembering Spring

Last spring I started walking everyday. We are blessed to live just down the street from a recently paved bike trail that has some beautiful views along the way. We also live just a short drive from a lake with trails for walking and hiking. I've been getting my exercise indoors for the past few months, but I'm looking forward to the day when I can head outside again. 

Here are a few photos from my walks last spring and summer. So much beauty to look forward to!

 

I love how the sun is lighting up this wild patch of thistle. The flower of Scotland may not be pretty to anyone else, but to me it feels like home.

This little guy was so small and cute.

Running for President

My kids were looking through my high school yearbooks last fall. When they got to my Senior yearbook, class of '88, there was a list of memorable events for the calendar year of 1987. I had to laugh when I saw these two entries:

Funny how, 34 years later, these two have once again been making Presidential headlines. Who would have thought?

The Addams Family - You're Invited!

If you'd been a fly on the wall at our house these past couple of  months, you would have heard a lot of funny music and plenty of laughter as Sadie and Soren prepped for their high school production of The Addams Family. It's a special quarantine edition which accommodates social distancing so they are actually allowed to have a production this year. The script even has a couple of one-liners about quarantine. :)

The show will be streamed online on March 5th & 6th at 7:00 pm Central time. Yes, you still need to purchase tickets. Our poor performing arts program was drained last year when Mary Poppins came to a screeching halt after they'd already built the set and purchased costumes, etc. We're hopeful that The Addams Family will be a smashing success to replenish the budget and allow them to put on more shows. (You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown is ready to start rehearsals as soon as The Addams Family is through!)

You can find all the information about tickets on the flyer above. If you're not familiar with Charleston High School, they have a long history of amazing stage productions. There must be something in the water here because the talent pool in our small town is unreal. Jeff and I were lucky enough to be part of a very small audience tonight to view the dress rehearsal and we were blown away! Sadie is amazing in her role as Mrs. Beineke. Soren did great as one of the ancestors and on Saturday we got to see him perform as the understudy for Lucas Beineke. 

I hope you'll join us, wherever you are, for this fun show! You won't regret it. :)

I Stand At The Door

This painting by Del Parson is a great visualization of Revelation 3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Most look at this as a reminder that we need to open the door and let the Savior in. He always honors our agency so He's not going to barge in; it is always our choice. 

So why not open the door? Well, maybe those on the inside desperately want to let the Savior in, but they feel like they need to clean their house first. Everything is such a mess and they are embarrassed and don't want the Savior to see the chaos. And when your messy house really represents your messy, sinful life, it's common to feel like you need to clean up the mess before allowing the Savior in. 

But what if you could zoom out from the painting above and see that Christ brought a whole slew of cleaning supplies with Him? What if the reason He's there is to help you clean your house? 

Isn't that just the most comforting and hopeful thought? I love that perspective. I wish I'd come up with it myself, but I heard it from Savannah's husband, Hayden. He and Savannah have a podcast called "I Stand At The Door," and it's about overcoming pornography and inviting the Savior in to help you. I know that the thoughts they share are giving hope to many people. And many of the things they discuss can be helpful in overcoming other sins and addictions. But my favorite so far is their picture of the Savior standing outside the door with every needed cleaning supply just ready to put them to good use, if only He is allowed inside.

God's Love

I love this quote and I know it's true. God loves each of us. Always. Just like a child might feel like their mom or dad doesn't love them anymore when they do something naughty, sometimes our choices keep us from feeling God's love. But His love is not conditional. He is always waiting with His arms outstretched when we are ready to turn around. 

Envelope Art - Elder Stowell Edition

Since I made a goal to decorate one envelope each day in February, one of the hardest parts is deciding who to address it to each day. Sterling, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has become my default. Here are most of the envelopes I've addressed to him so far this month. I like some better than others. As I said the other day, done is better than perfect. Without that mentality I'd be paralyzed and never able to start, let alone finish, each envelope. 

For this group, I can't decide if I like the first or the second one best. On the first one, I love the lettering, the orientation, and the color scheme. The second one was fun to make as it illustrates the journey from our home to his, with a Texas stamp to complete the look. The other envelopes are relatively simple; they are more about the stamp and how it fits with the design. A couple of these ideas were inspired by designs I saw on Pinterest or The Postman's Knock, but most of them I came up with on my own.

I mailed one of these to Sterling today. The rest I've set aside and will mail one at a time over the next several weeks. 

I sure hope Sterling likes mail!! :)

A Worthy Cause

Do you want to make a world of difference with a small donation? I have just the charity for you. Educate the Kids is a charity out of Scotland that has built an orphanage and schools and changed the lives of thousands of children in a small village in Kenya, Africa. The charity was started by Maureen over 20 years ago. Maureen is the mother of my friend, Yvonne, from Scotland. Yvonne helps run the charity as well. These ladies are as good as they come. I have known them for almost 30 years and I can fully vouch for their integrity and goodness. 

Because Educate the Kids is run by volunteers, they don't withhold any money from donations for administrative fees. Every penny of your donation will go to help the kids. You can donate directly through their website or you can contribute specifically toward food parcels* through Just Giving. The food parcel program was set up when the village lost their main source of income - tourism - during the Covid pandemic. Educate the Kids has literally saved this little community by providing them food and hope. 

The school is finally open once again after the pandemic closed it for several months.

A little goes a long way! Please consider a donation. And tell your friends! 

*The food parcel program says it's for Christmas, but as of today (February 18, 2021), they are still collecting donations and providing the parcels to families in the village. 

These handsome boys live in the orphanage.

Envelope Art Preview

For the past few years, I've enjoyed making fun envelope designs incorporating fancy lettering and various stamps. Because February is traditionally my least favorite month (how can 28 days feel sooo long??), I challenged myself to decorate one envelope each day this month. I had fun with today's design so I wanted to share. It's not completely finished because I don't know who I'm going to send it to, so I'll have to add the name and address later. 

Like many of my projects, there are things I'd do differently if I had to do it over again, but done is better than perfect so here you go! I'll share a few more of my creations before the month is through.

Light Pillars

We've experienced a unique phenomenon twice in the past few days. Saturday night, Sadie and Soren were out running an errand and they noticed lights shooting straight up into the sky. Sadie thought it was a little weird, but figured that some street lights were aimed in the wrong direction or something like that. The next day I saw an article talking about light pillars that had been spotted in central Illinois. I showed the kids and Sadie realized that's what she had seen on Saturday. 

Then last night, Sadie was looking out the window and she saw them again! They were so cool (the photo below doesn't do them justice at all) and we soon found that they we could see them in every direction - north, south, east and west. Some were white or pinkish, others had a tint of green. All we know is we've never seen them before, but we'd love to see them again! (The article linked above gives more information about light pillars and has several more photos.)

Snow Day

So much for the delicate little snowflakes that fell on Saturday. Today it was a full on snowstorm. We woke up to a wind chill of at least -15º and a few inches of snow on the ground. 

If the public schools weren't already closed for President's day, they would have been closed due to terrible road conditions. Jeff left for work at his usual time, but only because he didn't see the text telling him that the university was closed as well. 

We're still under a winter storm warning until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow so I wasn't surprised when we were notified at 2:30 this afternoon that tomorrow will be a "remote learning day" for the kids. That means that their teachers will let them know by 9:00 tomorrow morning what their assignments are for the day and what is required of them to be marked present. It's not as fun as a "snow day," but at least it doesn't have to be made up at the end of the school year.

The crazy thing is that Sterling is having similar weather in San Antonio, Texas! They were grounded because of the snow today as well, but they also had to deal with rolling power outages. Just a week ago he was enjoying a "chilly 75 degrees." 

Here are a few pics as seen from inside my house. What I couldn't pick up on camera is the constant falling snow and the wind gusts blowing it all over the place. 

We live on a State Route heading out of town. The snow plows usually keep our road pretty clear. Not today!

Good thing there's no school tomorrow. I'm not sure the kids could get out of the garage!

Snowflakes

Yesterday it snowed off and on. It was such a light snow that you could hardly tell it was snowing at all, and the air was so cold and dry that the flakes fell individually instead of clumping together. It was so cold, like single digit cold, that when the beautiful little individual flakes landed on my deck they didn't melt. I was lucky enough to get a few pictures while they lasted. The largest of these snowflakes wasn't more than 5mm wide. I've seen beautiful snowflakes like these only 2 or 3 other times over the years and it just cheers me right up and makes the miserable cold weather not quite so miserable after all.

 

BYU Bound

Soren got the news last night... He's been accepted to BYU!! That was his first choice and we couldn't be happier for him. We're super excited to have another Cougar in the family. 

This picture is from fall 2019 when we attended a BYU football game in Toledo, OH.
It's no secret that we love our BYU!!

Who is in Your Back Room?

Some good food for thought...

Better Than Valentine's Day

Twenty-six years ago today, Jeff asked me to marry him. Saying yes was one of the best decisions I've ever made. We've now been married longer than we were single and I love the life we've shared. February 11 will always be my Valentine's Day. Here's hoping for at least 26 more. 

Photo taken November 2020 at Spencer and Grace's wedding

The Next Generation

You may have noticed from our Christmas card that Savannah is sporting a little baby bump. Yes, it's true! Jeff and I are going to be grandparents in May. While I don't feel old enough to be a grandma, my age says otherwise and I'm very excited to welcome this little guy into our family. Here's a sneak peak to get us through until he makes his debut in just three months. It's been way too long since I've snuggled a newborn. I can't wait!

Ultrasound has come a long way! Isn't he cute? :)

The Happy Couple

I just wanted to post a few pictures of Spencer and Grace on their wedding day last November. We're pretty blessed and super grateful to be able to call Grace family. These two are great together!

The Stowell clan (We were missing Sterling!)

The Garvins and the Stowells

Family History Fun

Are you a FamilySearch fan? Have you ever tried any of the activities and games available? Here are three of my favorites:

1. Picture My Heritage:

In this one, you can put your face in an old photograph. There are options for men, women, or groups. We prefer the groups and Sadie especially has had fun with this one. Sometimes she'll replace her face for everyone in the photo like this (yes, those are all Sadie's face):

Or sometimes she'll just replace one face like this (this one is my personal favorite - Sadie put her face in for the child grasping the ostrich's neck. So funny!):

Anyway, click here to go to the website. Then select whether you want males, females, or groups. From there you just select the photo you want to put your face in and it will guide you through the process. Fun stuff!

2. Geneopardy

This game isn't through FamilySearch, but it will ask you to sign into your FamilySearch account because it uses your family history to ask you questions. So you get to know more about your history and what might have been going on in the lives of your ancestors. 

Make it a contest. Play with your siblings or kids and see who can get the most right. You can also choose how many generations you want the game to draw from. I've realized how little I know about the 5th generation and beyond.

3. Ancestor Challenge

If you click here, you'll go to a page full of various activities. Scroll down and click on Ancestor Challenge. This activity shows you ten photographs of ancestors, one at a time. For each photo, it will give you four names from your family history and you have to select the name of the person in the photo. Keep playing until you get 10 out of 10.

(Feel free to try out the other games and activites!)

Bonus: Relative Finder

I'm including this last one just for fun. It's not really a game, but when you sign in with your FamilySearch account, it will show you how you are related to all sorts of prominent people. Whether it's sports figures, presidents of the US, famous authors, or any number of other well-knowns, it's fun to see your connections. 

Have fun. :) And if you make any cool discoveries, I'd love to hear about it!

Restoration Proclamation

It's no secret that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I shared back in March, so much of my testimony of the gospel is rooted in the events surrounding the restoration. So I was excited when our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, shared this proclamation on the restoration at our General Conference last April. It says what I was trying to say in my post. 

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace and joy and shows us the way back to our loving Heavenly Father. I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's church, restored on the earth in our day. And like the proclamation says, "those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

If you want to know more, click here. Or e-mail me and I'd be happy to help you find answers to your questions.