Merry Christmas 2023

For the first time in four years, we were finally able to get our whole family together for a picture. Sterling and Soren overlapped a few months on their 2-year missions so it wasn't like we were lazy, it just wasn't possible for that long! We've had some pretty awesome additions in those four years - a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and three grand babies that I can't imagine my life without. So here's the WHOLE Stowell family - all of my favorite people in one picture. Life is good!

Merry Christmas! 

'Tis But a Scratch

Sadie signed up to play in the Homecoming powderpuff football match. During practice a couple of weeks ago, while running to tackle a defendant who had intercepted the ball, Sadie slipped on wet grass and caught herself with her left hand as she went down hard. She laughed it off at first, but then realized her left wrist looked a bit wonky. I got a surprisingly calm phone call that went something like, "I think I broke my wrist. You should probably come pick me up now."

Four hours in the Emergency Room verified that Sadie's wrist was broken. The end of her radius was tipped back and, despite more than one attempt to bring it back into alignment, she was put in a bulky cast and told that surgery might be needed. We were sent home with instructions to see an orthopedic surgeon within a few days. 

Sadie didn't miss a beat; she was at school the next day. One of her biggest hurdles was not being able to type so some of her teachers gave her extra time to complete assignments, but overall she wasn't going to let this slow her down. Four days later, we took her to the orthopedic surgeon. He said she would need surgery to either 1. manipulate the bone into place and hope it heals properly, but often it will tip back again or 2. put in a plate to hold the bone in place and solve the problem. At his recommendation, we opted for number 2. He was able to schedule surgery the next day.

Sadie's biggest fears are doctors and needles. She really isn't scared of much else. To keep her mind off the surgery, she attended her first two classes the next day. I picked her up from school and we went straight to the hospital. Despite her fears, Sadie was so brave as they inserted the IV. For her, that was the hardest part. Then before we knew it, she was waking up from surgery and prepping to go home. 

The orthopedic surgeon assured me that everything went well. He even stayed longer to stitch her up himself to make sure it was done well. :) A little over 6 hours after we arrived, Sadie was given the green light and we headed home. She even insisted she was well enough to attend a couple hours of a college softball game that some friends were playing in that evening. 

Most people would settle in and take a couple of days to rest, but this was Homecoming Week and Sadie had been looking forward to Decade Day for a few weeks. So the next morning she got all dressed up and headed to school. She made it through like a champ and definitely rocked the awesome '80's, complete with big hair, acid washed jeans, and Jeff's high school letterman's jacket from 1987.    

Sadie, the day after surgery

Since then, Sadie's hardly complained. We're hoping she graduates to a removable splint next week. And then it's on to a full recovery shortly after. I'm telling you, this girl is tough!

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown

If you have an open Thursday or Saturday evening this week, you might consider tuning in to our high school's production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Jeff and I saw the dress rehearsal on Monday and it is just the funnest show! We loved the music, dialogue, and especially that cute Linus Van Pelt played by our Soren. ;) (Sadie was an understudy for Sally Brown and she is on the stage crew.) The small six-person cast is comprised of all Seniors and they are Soren's best friends. It's been a great experience for them.

Here's a fun preview...

And here's all the info if you plan to watch. (Tickets may not be available within 30 minutes of each night's opening so buy them early!) Also, the 7:30pm start time is Central time zone. 

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!! :)

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 Wonky Donkey

I've been a wee bit homesick for Scotland. 

I served in Scotland as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1992 and 1993 and, sadly, I've never been back. The plan was that I, along with 2 friends, would go back last September. I renewed my passport and was more than ready to return to my bonnie Scotland. But then - you know what I'm going to say - Covid hit and never went away and our plans were foiled. 

Someday I'll get there and I can't wait! But in the meantime, I'll remember all the little things I miss, like the accent. Nothing stops me in my tracks like hearing the Scottish accent. It always brings a smile to my face. So enjoy this adorable video of "the Scottish Granny" reading to her wee grandson. I dare you not to laugh...

Hens and Chicks

A couple of summers ago, while visiting my brother, Steve, and his family, Spencer was admiring their backyard landscaping. He was intrigued by their hens and chicks that were planted in various locations around their yard. When he asked his Aunt Jenny about them, she easily pulled several little offshoots or babies from the masses and put them in a box for Spencer to grow at home. 

Those babies have multiplied! They have filled in the area under our tree house and I love them! 

This is just one small grouping of the hens and chicks that started from one offshoot two years ago.

This one is larger than the rest and, like a protective mother hen,
you can see the little babies growing under her "wings." It reminds me of the scriptures
about how Christ will gather his people just like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. :)

I'm thinking about bringing some in the house to plant in small pots. They are so easy to grow, they require very little effort, and they make me happy!

Golden Girl

It's Sadie's golden birthday! Hard to believe my baby is twelve! I feel like I say "How did that happen?" a lot lately, but still... how did that happen?

Sadie is funny, kind, smart, organized, and beautiful. She is a great friend and a fun sister. She definitely holds her own with her brothers! She's often my little sidekick and is always willing to play me in a game of Five Crowns, Phase 10, Ligretto, 3 up 3 down.....

Sadie loves to learn new things including baking and crafts. She is making great progress on the piano and she has the sweetest voice. One fun fact about Sadie is that she really likes looking at houses. Let her loose on realtor.com and she'll be occupied for hours. Future realtor, maybe? :)

Sadie will be in 7th grade this year. She's excited and a little nervous for middle school, but I know she'll do well. She is very conscientious about her schooling and always tries her best.

I can't imagine life without my Sadie-bug.

Happy Birthday, baby. I hope 12 is your best year so far!

Here we tried out Sadie's new face-painting kit. :)

Tshotsholoza

We are 10 days into our summer break and enjoying every minute!

I had grand intentions for my blog during May, but between recitals, concerts, church functions, graduation and celebrations, our calendar was CRAZY! Blogging definitely took a backseat. I know myself well enough to not make any promises for June, but I'm hoping to post more consistently. We've had lots of happiness around here!

For now, enjoy Soren's shining moment from his middle school choir concert last month. It's a fun African song and I think he did a great job! :)

As You Wish

We were all pretty taken with Moana when we watched it as a family over Christmas break, but none as much as Sadie. She LOVED it! She has been talking about it ever since and has tried to be patient while waiting for the DVD release.

This morning she said to me, "Mom, if I came home from school and found Moana on my bed, I'd be so happy!"

I was planning to buy it anyway and I couldn't resist making Sadie's day. It's fun to make wishes come true.

February Everyday

Last February I decided to post a blog entry every single day to help me focus on happy things during my least favorite month. Well I did it again. I didn't make a big deal about it because, honestly, I didn't know if I'd remember to do it. There have been several nights where I've been ready for bed before I remembered I still needed to post something. Argh! But somehow I pulled it off and it helped me find joy in the little things. I hope you've found many happy moments in your February, too. 

For this last day, I've got something that's sure to make you smile. This little donut was made entirely by Sadie. She got a little stitching kit for Christmas with patterns and supplies to make all sorts of mini food items. She hand stitched this adorable donut and made it entirely from scratch. Isn't it the cutest? 

On that note, I'll sign off and see you next month!

You know, February really isn't all that bad. ;)

Tulip Hearts

It's super early for tulips, but the weather here has been so mild that ours are starting to come up. Sadie has her own little bed of tulips. Today she pointed out how the unfolding leaves look like hearts. Aren't they cute? 

Makeover

Sadie is a funny girl. I know this picture isn't great, but can you see her "sunburn?" I put that in quotes because she's not sunburned. It's makeup. She was just playing around with her collected stash of makeup and gave herself a pretty convincing sunburn. For the record, it was almost 70º today - which is crazy for February, by the way - and she spent a good chunk of time outside so she could have convinced us the sunburn was real.

It immediately reminded me of another picture of my Sadie after she gave herself a little makeover several years ago. It's not so different from the first with a little red makeup smeared on the bridge of her nose. :) Of course, this one looks less like a sunburn and more like attack of the killer lipstick.

We've come a long way. :)

Monday

It's been that kind of a Monday. Somehow, this cute saying in fun lettering makes it laughable.

I stumbled upon the blog radandhappy.com a couple days ago and I'm in love. Her lettering and her style are inspiring.

Monday is all but over for me. Tomorrow will be better! :)

Mom Trophy

Motherhood isn't always a thankless job. Sometimes the validation comes in strange ways, but I'll take what I can get. :)

Merry Christmas!

Pasta Angels

I attended a writing group last night for the first time in several years. It was a blast! To start off, we were given twenty minutes to write on the prompt "Projects." We could interpret that however we wanted, from class projects to Christmas projects to the lack of projects, etc. Everyone was then invited to share what they wrote. Some were serious; most were funny. Here is what I wrote. It's a story worth remembering.

They were just the cutest little ornaments. The delicate angels looked like porcelain, but they were made almost entirely out of pasta. Bowtie pasta made the wings and dress, elbow macaroni formed the arms, and the little wooden bead head was covered in Acini de Pepe or what I call "frog-eye" pasta to look like curly hair. A few coats of white spray paint and a dash of translucent glitter was finished off with a little ribbon rose nestled in each angel's arms with a beaded halo on top.

I learned to make them at a church craft fair and decided I must make them for everyone I knew. How hard could it be? I started off just fine, but then the demands of the season started creeping in.

I was making them assembly-line style, one step at a time when I had a few minutes here and there. But then it came time to put the hair on my tray full of angels. For some reason this crippled me. It was the most tedious step and suddenly I felt overwhelmed. I put it off for days. One night I came home from a meeting and complained to my husband about all the demands on my time. I finished off with, "And I've still got to put hair on all of those angels!" At that, my husband of only six months said, "Come look at your hairless little angels." 

I walked over to the tray to find that my very masculine Jeff had laid aside his studies to spend the entire evening calmly and methodically spreading glue on my angels' little bald heads and then sticking them in the tiny pasta balls to cover every single angel head with hair.

That was 21 years ago, but I will never forget that selfless act of love.

Beautiful Inside and Out

Savannah is celebrating her nineteenth birthday today and what a great nineteen years it's been! She has had one big adventure after another, living life to the fullest. Each day is either her best day ever or her worst.

This past year has had oh-so-many bests, but I'm pretty sure she has had her lowest lows this year as well. With each one she's learned valuable lessons. She's more resilient than anyone I know. Never one to hold a grudge, Savannah picks herself up and keeps moving forward no matter the trial or setback.

I'm anxious to see what this next year holds for her. She's working toward some big goals and opportunities. It's exciting to see her embrace each challenge and work toward her dreams.

Happy birthday, Savannah! I hope 19 is your best year so far!

Love,
mom
xo

And just to keep it real...

Happy Birthday, Spencer!

We're wishing Spencer a Happy 17th Birthday today! Lucky for us, Spencer is every bit as talented, smart and kind as he is handsome. :)

Spencer is a great kid. He's quite self-reliant and self-motivated. I never have to make sure he's up in the morning. He even makes it to Seminary every school morning by 5:30 (!!) without any coaxing on our part. Spencer is a great student and completes homework and other obligations because it's important to him. He is smart (boy howdy, is he smart!) and has probably read more than anyone I know. He runs Cross Country and is an asset to his team. He is very fit and regularly does pushups and pullups to strengthen and tone.

I can hardly believe Spencer will begin applying for college within the next month or two. Where has the time gone? One more year with him at home just isn't going to be long enough.

Happy Birthday, Spencer! I hope seventeen is your best year so far!   Love, Mom  XO