Maddy's Birthday Party!

We made it!! Maddy is turning one, and we would love to have you join us to celebrate! We will have cake, and nibbles. If you have a picture of Maddy, bring either a print or email it and we will have a collage of Maddy memories from the first year!!

Date:	Saturday, April 3, 2010
Time:	6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location:	916 Laurel Lane

I am hoping to get an idea of how many to plan for, so if you and/or your family is coming, please just leave a comment with the total number. The more the merrier!! See you then!! (If you are FaceBook, just accept on the event page for the party!)

Want a new necklace and to help someone else?

I am not a very fashion forward person. A ponytail and simple hoop earrings are my usual compliments to jeans, a sweater and my wedding ring. Sometimes I like to dress up, but it isn't a common thing. So, I don't usually go looking for jewelry, but I saw this website, and really liked a lot of the things Kendra makes. I also love the idea that for every piece of jewelry that is bought, they will give a necklace to a woman in Dress for Success. So, check it out!

Coolest tutorial ever!!

You gotta check out my mom's new tutorial. She makes these great balls for her grandkids when they turn one. I remember that we had one when I was growing up, and they are great. I am not great at sewing, but if you love to sew, this is for you!!

Follow the Prophet....

The Sunday School lesson I am teaching tomorrow is about the importance of prophets and following the things they tell us. As I have been studying the lesson, it has hit me how important it is to know that the Lord still talks to prophets on the earth. The doors of heaven are not closed, God has not forgotten us. He still lives, He still loves us, and He still tells His children how to follow His commandments.

Here is a thought from our modern day prophet...

Maddy's Favorite Song

This is what Maddy and I have been listening to lately.....we just danced to it all over the room!!

Yummy Fabrics

Want a chance to win some free fabrics? Check out my sister's blog here.

For anyone who is looking for a great place to buy cute fabrics, this place seems to have a great variety!!

Nostalgia

Today Michael and I drove to Bend. We had to get some paperwork from the court, have Michael sign it and then drop it off to the Sheriff's office. Not very exciting, and it didn't take that long. If it didn't have to be done in Bend, we could have done the whole thing in less than an hour. But, Bend is a 3+ hour drive away, and since we had lunch with a friend too, and got lost once, it took us all day. So, while spending eight hours in the car together, we had a chance to talk.

One of the things I have always loved about Michael is that he is easy to talk to, and that we enjoy sharing thoughts and ideas with one another. When we first met, as friends, we would exchange a couple hundred emails in month. A lot of them were about writing stories, but at least as many were about funny, hard, silly or difficult things that were going on in our lives. When we met for lunch the first time we talked straight through my lunch hour, and I was almost late getting back to work. We were friends for quite a while before we started dating, and we got to know each other pretty well through all of our online and in person conversations.

When we did start officially dating, Michael would oftentimes drive with me when I went to pick up my kids, or take them back to their dad's house. During those drives we talked about our hopes, dreams, heartaches, and even shared a secret or two. There are two main ways back and forth between Bend and Oregon City, and we spent hours driving over them, talking and talking.

Today as we drove, we reminisced about those times. We shared a few things that happened, or we thought about during those times, that we didn't share when they happened. It was fun to remember the first time we kissed, and then share how we each reacted when we were back at out our places that nice. I told him some of my funny "bad date" stories that it didn't seem quite right to share with Michael when he was my boyfriend.

After looking back at that time, and all that has come since, I am so grateful to have met Michael, and that he is now my husband. Not everything was easy then, and there are still hard things now, but we both look back, and feel gratitude, love and no regrets. What a great ride we are still having!!