tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30284876528125666892024-03-13T03:05:27.426-07:00SariasisMy life with Matthew, Dude, and Luca.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.comBlogger826125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-39235945556205806972024-03-10T22:14:00.000-07:002024-03-10T22:14:29.357-07:00Extracurriculars<p>I love the idea of extracurriculars for my children. I love the potential skills and life lessons gained from learning a new instrument or playing on a sports team. I see the benefits my family and friends' children have gained from being involved and I have wanted that for my children. But what I don't love about the idea of extracurriculars is the time away from home during dinner hours they require. Nor have I relished the idea of having to regularly argue with my children about being involved in something against their will. It has never been a battle I have been willing to wage, especially since Matthew feels pretty similar about the whole idea. </p><p>But that hasn't stopped me from feeling guilty and depressed that I have failed my children and now they will forever be duds because I was too lazy to force the issue. When Luca asked me this morning for a blog prompt to enable to have more screen time, I told her to write about extracurriculars and how her not doing them right now doesn't make her or me bad people. </p><p>I guess now, if she ever comes back to me later in life, upset with not pushing her harder, I have something to assuage my conscience.</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I don't do extracurriculars. But I am not a deficient person. I make up for that by doing a cooking club with my mom and having social time outside. I like roller skating, which is good exercise and makes my legs stronger. Something good that comes from not doing extracurriculars is mom doesn't have to drive me around like my uncle Paul. If I were to do an extracurricular, I would want to do something crafty or something that revolves around my interests. I am a great person without these things though. OBOB (Oregon Battle of the Books) was a bit stressful but I kind of liked it, honestly. Plans for the future, however, include drama clubs like cousin Seth, and perhaps some kind of skating club? I am starting to cook meals every month. Progress has been made to give me and my brother some more responsibilities. Dishes, meals, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and some other stuff. This has been made to prepare us for life in the real world. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope this makes you feel better about not forcing us to do something, mom.</span></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-5405071983176616402024-02-18T21:05:00.000-08:002024-02-27T21:07:40.483-08:00Dude Finishes the Book of Mormon<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For the last year I have been listening to the Book of Mormon, 1 chapter a day. So in this blog post I will say what I got from it and what my favorite parts are. Starting at the easiest question I am going to say what I got from reading the Book of mormon. What I got from it is that God is always willing to accept all who come to him, take the lamanites for example. They were so bad at the beginning but then they repented and they were forgiven and blessed. like a shepherd with his sheep. No matter how long they were missing and how dirty they are when they come back he is always willing to welcome them back into the fold. Now I will say what my favorite story is. My favorite story is the ship on the water in the first nephi. I like how when they were bad the ship was lost and suffering from storms, but when they repented they were on their way fine. This story is like our everyday life. When we are bad, God leaves us and we are lost, but when we repent we are back on track and just fine. so this is what my favorite parts and what I got from the Book of Mormon. </span><u style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: bold;">THE END</u><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">this is by Dude</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-86396453812884516592024-02-11T21:01:00.000-08:002024-02-11T21:01:52.060-08:00 Why Stardew Valley is the Best by Luca Marler<p>Luca wrote this little essay because she enjoys typing and she had some free time at school. I also thought this one was worth preserving for posterity.</p><p>Minecraft, Roblox, Terraria, Gang Beasts. These are all great games. But, Stardew Valley tops them all! You are probably wondering, why Luca? Why is Stardew Valley the best? Fortnite is so much fun! There are many reasons why, my dear reader.</p><p>First of all, the Npcs. The dialogue written for them is amazing! Yeah, some of them are kinda snarky, but so what! Plus, you can befriend them! My favorite Npc to hang out with is Abigail. I played video games with her! A video game in a video game. What more do you need?</p><p>Then comes the farm. When you start playing, there is a package on the floor of your cabin. Inside you will find fifteen parsnip seeds, which you place outside to grow! When they do grow, you pull them up and can sell them to Pierre, the local produce storekeeper. What I think is fun is the fact you can buy a chicken coop from Robin, the carpenter, and then raise chickens! You can actually raise a lot of different animals, even slimes! After twenty eight days, all of your spring crops will die and you will have to buy new seeds from Pierre. This marks the beginning of a new season! There is Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. They act like months. In each season, there are Npc’s birthdays. If you were to give someone a gift on their birthday, it would get you eight times the amount of friendship points. </p><p>The music. It’s so beautiful, lively, and very odd. Take the wizards tower. It sounds so very weird. But the summer soundtrack. That’s my favorite sound track of all. </p><p>Something I find very weird about Stardew Valley is the fact you can marry single Npcs. but it’s very complicated. First you have to give them a bouquet after you get eight hearts with him or her. Then after you have dated, you must get the “old amulet” from the dude on the island next to the beach. They will then move in with you and help out around the farm. </p><p>If you still don’t like Stardew Valley, then so be it. But you should try it out and let it explain itself to you. </p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-65079461425979650752024-02-11T20:56:00.000-08:002024-02-11T20:56:27.964-08:00 The Three Branches of Government by Luca Marler<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Luca had to write an essay for her 5th grade class on the three branches of government. I loved it so much I made her send it to me so I could preserve it for posterity. Enjoy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since the creation of The Constitution, America has had three branches of government. The Legislative branch, the Judicial branch, and the Executive branch. It’s pretty cool how each branch balances each other out so everyone has equal power. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Legislative branch is the branch that makes laws, and passes taxes. (with approval from the president.) It can also be known as the Congress, made up of 100 senators, and 435 representatives. All states have two senators each. The number of representatives is based on the population of each state. Oregon has six currently, but California has 52, which is the most a state has. A representative may serve six two year terms, but a senator may only serve two three year terms. Congress approves presidential appointments, like, say the president wanted to appoint Mr. Level for the supreme court. They could say, “He doesn’t have the necessary qualifications.” (I’m not actually sure, but this is just an example.) So then the president would have to pick someone new.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next there’s the Executive branch. That’s where the president works. He lives in the White House, and does all of the president's work in the oval office. His job is to veto laws, which means to reject laws. He also gets to pick a cabinet, a vice president, and if there are any slots, he’ll appoint Supreme court justices. (mentioned above.) Another name for the president is commander in chief, or chief of state. He is also in charge of the military, but that doesn’t mean he can just stroll into Abu Dhabi and declare war! Actually, he needs approval from the Legislative branch. A president may only serve two four year terms. More on the veto. So a bill is written and sent to the president, and if the president likes it, he approves it and it becomes a law. If he disagrees with it, it is vetoed. BUT, if the congress really feels like it should be a law, they can overrule his orders if two-thirds of them agree.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, the Judicial branch. They evaluate laws and decide if they are constitutional. Like, if the Legislative branch wanted to make it so presidents could serve as many terms as they want. Their job would be to say, “The constitution clearly states that a president may only serve two terms. Your idea is rejected.” or something like that. The judicial branch also makes sure that laws are followed correctly. No one misbehaves under their watch! Inside the judicial branch is the supreme court. This court is the highest court in the nation! Made up of nine justices, one chief justice, and eight associate justices. Each of them serve life terms, or they can step down. Whenever there is an empty slot, the president will fill it with his pick. But the legislative branch has to approve them. There are also the federal courts and the district courts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">As you can see, each branch balances the power. No branch is the most powerful. This creates a balanced, safe government. If not for the constitution, the president would basically be a king and the people would be peasants. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In all, I’m certain that we have a fantastical government. If not for it, we wouldn’t be in school today. The Judicial branch, the Executive branch, and the Legislative branch all work together wonderfully to create this land of beauty we call home. Thank you authors of the constitution!! (They helped us a LOT!)</span></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-78355592049176656152024-01-23T21:34:00.000-08:002024-03-10T22:03:08.146-07:00Tuesday<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0h5nRF8rnAwqu1wwAaoosntOf7i7Z3TLCL2om24j6j2rXjsxXV0Zv24qEEmlvZo9tw25UpVn0M64jyhJGPKT3oktrllBYiwntkVO8ebFGTkq_60R4bNTY4nX_zebiuFEdPHbMfMYA8GUcXkNcjiSLWcankq_v430UD19D5cddwjC1jDaCRBvrEREGKhw/s4032/IMG_1708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0h5nRF8rnAwqu1wwAaoosntOf7i7Z3TLCL2om24j6j2rXjsxXV0Zv24qEEmlvZo9tw25UpVn0M64jyhJGPKT3oktrllBYiwntkVO8ebFGTkq_60R4bNTY4nX_zebiuFEdPHbMfMYA8GUcXkNcjiSLWcankq_v430UD19D5cddwjC1jDaCRBvrEREGKhw/w640-h480/IMG_1708.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here we are in our matching tshirts loving being together for whatever time we had left.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Melissa and I were the first to leave in the early afternoon, but when we woke up we were notified that our flight was delayed by 2.5 hours which gave us just a bit more time to enjoy the island and our new best friends. I was so thankful we got to know early that it was delayed so we were waiting at the beach and not at the airport. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I can't begin to describe what these women have meant to me. I fell in love quickly and deeply. Being with them filled my cup to overflowing and I have bonded with them for life. If they are planning a trip, I want to be there. The love and acceptance I felt from them in so short of time was truly divine and was far and away above anything I had planned for as I prepared for the trip. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When Heather first came to me and asked me if I would go with her, there was no way I was going to say yes - way too expensive. It was Matthew who persuaded me to go, for Heather. And then God prepared a way financially for me to not feel quite so guilty about the expense. I was excited to go and have a week with my darling friend on a beautiful island. And then a few weeks before we were to leave, Heather informed me she wasn't going. I was surprised, even as she told me, that I felt like God still had a plan for me going, and Heather was simply the catalyst. These women alone were enough of a reason, but then God tutored me about Their love for me in a way I never expected.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have always had a love/uncomfortable relationship with my patriarchal blessing. I have loved all the encouragement and tenderness, the trust and counsel provided. But I have also felt uncomfortable with the ways I am described that I have never seemed to live up to. I remember as a teenager especially, drowning in my own insecurities, but even as an adult reading my blessing, and thinking, this women sounds amazing and I want to be her, but she isn't me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At some point in the last three months, I have taken that discomfort and unease to the temple, hoping to gain some reassurance. I didn't get it. A week or so later, I got the distinct impression that while I might not see myself in that blessing version of me now, I have a Savior who is willing to partner with me to get me to her little by little as I work towards sanctifying myself through the enabling power of His Atoning sacrifice. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I loved that answer, and I still do. But this trip gave me a glimpse of that woman in real life. Without the worries of responsibility; so steeped in doing things and being with women who bring me joy; I was the woman in my patriarchal blessing. And again, I got the distinct impression, now that you know what she's like, go be her all the time at home. Don't let your insecurities, or your perceived lack of time and energy keep you from being the woman I need you to be. You give me what you have to offer, and I will magnify whatever that is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was such a life changing experience that I wanted to make sure I wrote it down so I can come back to this year after year.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUlT2mjyF1210M4YAAt4ADcTq-iVVYZS620nzpUYLiJbKPXXjT73jkUud75BIvN4WYWpiyvEq5iizLX-VrsghntBQSVTT5MsUkj7LiXuU8lDFsez9dVQ8jRSR0rCtoWl7A3xVxYOtnfKfDi5xDftzTuP9uYz1CPLFGE7ByOUEX-sna0GFR3hjuY2Fhnc/s3520/IMG_1713%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3520" data-original-width="1980" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGUlT2mjyF1210M4YAAt4ADcTq-iVVYZS620nzpUYLiJbKPXXjT73jkUud75BIvN4WYWpiyvEq5iizLX-VrsghntBQSVTT5MsUkj7LiXuU8lDFsez9dVQ8jRSR0rCtoWl7A3xVxYOtnfKfDi5xDftzTuP9uYz1CPLFGE7ByOUEX-sna0GFR3hjuY2Fhnc/w225-h400/IMG_1713%20(1).jpg" width="225" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Thank you everyone for making this the most meaningful gift God has ever given me. Aloha Oe.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>To top it off, I had an entire row all to myself for the whole flight home. So amazing.<br /><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-84488168701864863572024-01-22T21:00:00.000-08:002024-03-10T21:34:14.484-07:00Monday<p>My biggest take away from the day was this: I saw God loving me for me. Trees, rocks, birds have nothing to prove. Nothing to do other than be perfectly who they are. Me filling the measure of my creation is me being my best, authentic, faith, and love-filled self; and letting God do His perfect will <u>through</u> me. I am a vessel. Or in other words, me filling the measure of my creation is not about me doing something. It is about me becoming something and then letting God do Their perfect work through me, not because of me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwwoenh_JGUK0LQBhvKMDWKR8VGyaS0H6MQw0oKrhLBvgKhJH1NzulwxYqdY-QUxfvwiu82yNGTeXVh3xzFO6BIZRTWVtQwjlWepFHFae5Az1_KBnt2mKxx03PUuWgtLVPVQQ1SLAodmB2WJ3JDXsdMRvBndQTKuuL1bpuB3Y-2djCkK3wxbRazwdv8w/s4032/IMG_6321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmwwoenh_JGUK0LQBhvKMDWKR8VGyaS0H6MQw0oKrhLBvgKhJH1NzulwxYqdY-QUxfvwiu82yNGTeXVh3xzFO6BIZRTWVtQwjlWepFHFae5Az1_KBnt2mKxx03PUuWgtLVPVQQ1SLAodmB2WJ3JDXsdMRvBndQTKuuL1bpuB3Y-2djCkK3wxbRazwdv8w/s320/IMG_6321.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We did service today helping an organization with their replanting efforts as they work towards reforesting their island with native plants. The thing I loved most about it was how efficiently 11 women can work. No egos, no trying to get out of a "less desirable" task, just everyone beautifully and selflessly doing whatever needed to be done to get the job done. It was teamwork as dreamwork. We worked so quickly that they had to come up with several additional jobs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY1hlAJv7RoJckBU-BdTZiW4D5EIaqHv3nKvjfrwH40ohx4xUkgIbTRX9mWAoSyZBWkcX6iXhdQcWP6yG-EKB749KPlR-XUF4qo1i_UEA7EWFOhno-TElH1uegm40qdQagrWah-1K7svG5Fj3go8tWARjbQeCU7vc4wR5_jztLT69tE0u346UDkSN2x8/s4032/IMG_1665%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIY1hlAJv7RoJckBU-BdTZiW4D5EIaqHv3nKvjfrwH40ohx4xUkgIbTRX9mWAoSyZBWkcX6iXhdQcWP6yG-EKB749KPlR-XUF4qo1i_UEA7EWFOhno-TElH1uegm40qdQagrWah-1K7svG5Fj3go8tWARjbQeCU7vc4wR5_jztLT69tE0u346UDkSN2x8/s320/IMG_1665%20(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></div>After the service opportunity, we tried to go snorkeling, but the ocean was too tumultuous for it and for our manta ray snorkeling excursion that evening. So instead we made fun bracelets and went shopping. We all bought the same tshirt and most of us bought the same pajama pants. An odd, but fun way to bond with these women on the last full day of our time together.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-70980450078241158222024-01-21T21:38:00.000-08:002024-03-10T20:59:59.240-07:00Sunday<p> Oh my goodness. What a day. We started off at church. I won't go into all the very too-much-information-details, but at the end of what was a lovely sacrament meeting, I was in need of a change of undies. I was trying my best to stay calm and trust that everything would be ok. Oh how grateful I was for all the women from the trip who rushed to my aid. One woman gave me her swim shorts to wear. Imagine giving underwear to someone you had just met. I felt so loved.</p><p>Afterwards, we went on a beautiful hike through some woods to a waterfall where we answered a journal prompt to create an "I AM" statement, similar to that of the Young Women's Theme or the Relief Society themes for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I pulled out my patriarchal blessing and my "I AM" statement seemed to jump off the page.</p><p>When I was done, I realized that my Heavenly Parents are <u><b>so excited</b></u> for me to see myself as the amazing woman described in my blessing.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCappiFywSpesddYMMWgIc9h5gkYT6eb-rC9D9UHSdLYar_XQ0Mw9wyK1K1qjOcNJL3tBTkRFNEl0Fk1FJGNHXDEPwjGc0xO0H_3IB2HX50jGk92TZyWYtd7Oe2IE3loTZzERiuUMu2BjTw0ad0qh5Zieem554GkcbhdR8tSo03icIA2WOeHpU4ze0GIY/s4032/IMG_1542.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCappiFywSpesddYMMWgIc9h5gkYT6eb-rC9D9UHSdLYar_XQ0Mw9wyK1K1qjOcNJL3tBTkRFNEl0Fk1FJGNHXDEPwjGc0xO0H_3IB2HX50jGk92TZyWYtd7Oe2IE3loTZzERiuUMu2BjTw0ad0qh5Zieem554GkcbhdR8tSo03icIA2WOeHpU4ze0GIY/s320/IMG_1542.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg25x1GWHADk34LrQjgyCKZMkd-VJ_hQs2M1h_Gjdd6GhOiR9jQdWQfkDws58IstRzDCfmo_B8FLq3uU8RHr8DlnT1dkXRmBt2uKqjWi47_Z3kHLSlZnpHNmO_IzxdYLsDYF6bA7_PJc8OjmoYxh_VVR-PDt-_WkIkUWDhydDrppgbdNtI_JF3y3MSXEQ/s4032/IMG_1544.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg25x1GWHADk34LrQjgyCKZMkd-VJ_hQs2M1h_Gjdd6GhOiR9jQdWQfkDws58IstRzDCfmo_B8FLq3uU8RHr8DlnT1dkXRmBt2uKqjWi47_Z3kHLSlZnpHNmO_IzxdYLsDYF6bA7_PJc8OjmoYxh_VVR-PDt-_WkIkUWDhydDrppgbdNtI_JF3y3MSXEQ/s320/IMG_1544.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p>When we got back to our house, we learned about perfumes, made Lei Po'os and did a photo shoot, to really embrace the inherent beauty in ourselves.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2L6K8IEV7sDiNFBN0XWCzfS36m6bKqw9DUYjcghWpwPG4aqkQDjNV3D6YMFzAjOxnS6wg3mVagLNDbipA9f7ZuhghrcC0P6FmJc1R_mgPsU0BXvwrWHwRebilhsqUxSfCWRlTKkF83Ic0-xVHBwTUvNPuM1aW-7FsNMM2kzyNp4o3q4UCVAcovYGqms/s4032/IMG_1624.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="2421" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCJbxsSnyr9UrD8vj7G6wDnJKHX6g_Pt6p6QlCsTrD8D2guqRlF_iEM31lP75IX2qI6lCsnf6to3hbbHq0POq8WO92-ImzTP_nkANLDkPA2AAhWQs_zJWz8VSzv-ooMm_By4FAnXebNyukID5JurbcORqSKTI-oNXqCCjiFbuBEhKXxNkxTB2hmsfrCg/s320/20240121_184131.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">My Lei Po'o. It's not perfect, and that's ok, because I felt like a Hawaiian Queen anyway.</div></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpfQ-B4MWtaZbKIPZzprGJo8kB_BfHDfQVuDrv6ZFy6x-WYgAucE9gfjse3JhiPhlP5jhyphenhyphenF22bTEF8cY49s6R7rruMmZKrp5f_Razhps0J330k9ZIYbz2K-Cq5TS2bXb7Lh_wCOfgQxJgOb-ciQJ8U94U97xvapuIKgSb-JcQAjdgREk2hoMXiY0SY3xg/s4032/20240121_222812.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpfQ-B4MWtaZbKIPZzprGJo8kB_BfHDfQVuDrv6ZFy6x-WYgAucE9gfjse3JhiPhlP5jhyphenhyphenF22bTEF8cY49s6R7rruMmZKrp5f_Razhps0J330k9ZIYbz2K-Cq5TS2bXb7Lh_wCOfgQxJgOb-ciQJ8U94U97xvapuIKgSb-JcQAjdgREk2hoMXiY0SY3xg/s320/20240121_222812.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Everyone's Lei Po'os. I love the creativity that came out of everyone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2L6K8IEV7sDiNFBN0XWCzfS36m6bKqw9DUYjcghWpwPG4aqkQDjNV3D6YMFzAjOxnS6wg3mVagLNDbipA9f7ZuhghrcC0P6FmJc1R_mgPsU0BXvwrWHwRebilhsqUxSfCWRlTKkF83Ic0-xVHBwTUvNPuM1aW-7FsNMM2kzyNp4o3q4UCVAcovYGqms/s320/IMG_1624.jpg" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And then we learned about scents and the chemistry and artistry that goes into the science of making perfumes. It was so fascinating and I left inspired to take more time to allow myself to feel beautiful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHn_-t9crf3VGoC3rtmpihg7N4RQ4X9H6dtOzuGlSG4_VxMiLHzs8ENhzKNJF-1JwKW8o7c-c8ye6c7HO_APXfKypzPc9uRNhygXicR7LQudD3DOr07RSr2lJsKcfjw9Slh33TUdoQUlJ2VE5KARqVdYPtiWWaJ-4W6BrfMisltq-Ac0XwPnQrMFTxPxM/s2911/DSC_3874.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2183" data-original-width="2911" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHn_-t9crf3VGoC3rtmpihg7N4RQ4X9H6dtOzuGlSG4_VxMiLHzs8ENhzKNJF-1JwKW8o7c-c8ye6c7HO_APXfKypzPc9uRNhygXicR7LQudD3DOr07RSr2lJsKcfjw9Slh33TUdoQUlJ2VE5KARqVdYPtiWWaJ-4W6BrfMisltq-Ac0XwPnQrMFTxPxM/w400-h300/DSC_3874.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXxekZMyKGgngASo25eJukdf8JtZzxFHzwgDerQ70sfpFKmVyDVhmkJVva4VQTqrdFOh-LCKS0TZ5R2k4t7lFf0rNozhIvaJFSD58q7z17LQuHQRKVIFCrjU3qZP0VxiQC47fmzQwQklITge_-iYcIwPr1yvY55t_Dpd3GxbjuubR6yoCc0knq3ml-60/s6016/DSC_3970.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="6016" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXxekZMyKGgngASo25eJukdf8JtZzxFHzwgDerQ70sfpFKmVyDVhmkJVva4VQTqrdFOh-LCKS0TZ5R2k4t7lFf0rNozhIvaJFSD58q7z17LQuHQRKVIFCrjU3qZP0VxiQC47fmzQwQklITge_-iYcIwPr1yvY55t_Dpd3GxbjuubR6yoCc0knq3ml-60/w640-h428/DSC_3970.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2tKK8XuoamVVAARb3xChj6KBh33cfIJuuHmcYV4GPDM5PmStGlaCrYou0aXCGB7jfotT1qmrRYVbYu3X4Bho-j3OcFGq3rpPwy63QEK4CLtJIW4_FH0RLrOvpWfxXZOxkw6xNsptggr8uEhZ5IS0jzBVrKJX9M2kcck2Sx0-rFW3KloJRWgM3az_elI/s6016/DSC_3974.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2624" data-original-width="6016" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2tKK8XuoamVVAARb3xChj6KBh33cfIJuuHmcYV4GPDM5PmStGlaCrYou0aXCGB7jfotT1qmrRYVbYu3X4Bho-j3OcFGq3rpPwy63QEK4CLtJIW4_FH0RLrOvpWfxXZOxkw6xNsptggr8uEhZ5IS0jzBVrKJX9M2kcck2Sx0-rFW3KloJRWgM3az_elI/w640-h280/DSC_3974.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>These women, I just barely met make me so very happy and I want them in my life forever.<br /><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-51474538809320513792024-01-20T20:52:00.000-08:002024-03-04T21:18:50.669-08:00Saturday<p>Today we hiked down into a valley with more journal prompts to answer. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgFVtUUyk7oKb9fO34jVD0iUFauN_6cccG7jt1HDOSaIWJFFTwYBkUI2WR8AFYiGq4lncIsGDyBWUL0e8WUp8XIQyTI1Kc4oi-deCMNfyhj_IiQj6Os4ULdMngzCRaaVYCbed95A1tqf47IzQ7AYBWwCfINhcwl1PhBsERTmmgoF3HSEMum_7gK4p2_s/s4032/IMG_1439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgFVtUUyk7oKb9fO34jVD0iUFauN_6cccG7jt1HDOSaIWJFFTwYBkUI2WR8AFYiGq4lncIsGDyBWUL0e8WUp8XIQyTI1Kc4oi-deCMNfyhj_IiQj6Os4ULdMngzCRaaVYCbed95A1tqf47IzQ7AYBWwCfINhcwl1PhBsERTmmgoF3HSEMum_7gK4p2_s/w400-h300/IMG_1439.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p>The main question being this: "List hills and valleys you've experienced. Next to it, write how God carried you through it. What have you gained from these experiences? What does this teach you about HOPE in Jesus?"</p><p>As I went through the highs and lows of my life, I was struck by just how often Christ used other people to help. I felt overwhelming love for those who have been the comfort, the guidance, the answer to so many of my prayers. I am so blessed to be so consistently surrounded by good people and I hope God has similarly used me to be that answer for someone else.</p><p>I am also completely amazed at the love I feel for these women I have just barely met.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-vgPkaUsQEK-4AiPqlz_7ZcVO2UOnbwTCjNyJhN-KJxrrRMczkThUACiWBIF1ICB_ZkLHUlvpArIsPLC9f-kgMWe0mfGxhUcxTR5zUMLiMGgRQLovKpauGBc5yOesMSvhZi4pluL9KQn9fQo9WakXvfNveh5ktayMFAv6JUXLaVvIVMShthbraYSP1I/s4032/IMG_1446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-vgPkaUsQEK-4AiPqlz_7ZcVO2UOnbwTCjNyJhN-KJxrrRMczkThUACiWBIF1ICB_ZkLHUlvpArIsPLC9f-kgMWe0mfGxhUcxTR5zUMLiMGgRQLovKpauGBc5yOesMSvhZi4pluL9KQn9fQo9WakXvfNveh5ktayMFAv6JUXLaVvIVMShthbraYSP1I/w640-h480/IMG_1446.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_UuvA-vg9AlrrgpG6YbD0EX9mjwyQb1m7msHIa7UuW259lGEMOhe-HuqLU5DFSbZaPmrbPc2hIAZSl4xoFGA9ye6n5Zp3L71hpNj7W8MbFkFuDdTmq_ZjKsoIc1nM29Al1kywHi1c0tElGjvdD_mnhcSEjtvpRUG-Bs0OqrlHV7aT_xJXUHG3EAF79Q/s4032/IMG_1393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_UuvA-vg9AlrrgpG6YbD0EX9mjwyQb1m7msHIa7UuW259lGEMOhe-HuqLU5DFSbZaPmrbPc2hIAZSl4xoFGA9ye6n5Zp3L71hpNj7W8MbFkFuDdTmq_ZjKsoIc1nM29Al1kywHi1c0tElGjvdD_mnhcSEjtvpRUG-Bs0OqrlHV7aT_xJXUHG3EAF79Q/w400-h300/IMG_1393.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We ended the evening with yoga on the beach.</div></div><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-32510549344019076312024-01-19T20:30:00.000-08:002024-03-04T20:51:43.847-08:00Friday<p>We went ziplining and I had a blast as they taught me to zip upside down. Just about the most exhilarating thing I've ever done. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianWnvI5yBG0uGcOsaATU0mNuBfQxv_ceFQFc5MwBKnAszJMPKBQvXy97zWNLiVCOw4wg8CCZz1hVflb4x_ZAkuTaPnY71k7obecI9FvkY8_rJr_kEOHkxXMca1krAc4zlk3u2JH0YzQ7JJe02yr-dP2J1vlNa44necqoPRPHWg-dsFDq9oxhSGtRHE-8/s1797/IMG_1119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1797" data-original-width="1348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEianWnvI5yBG0uGcOsaATU0mNuBfQxv_ceFQFc5MwBKnAszJMPKBQvXy97zWNLiVCOw4wg8CCZz1hVflb4x_ZAkuTaPnY71k7obecI9FvkY8_rJr_kEOHkxXMca1krAc4zlk3u2JH0YzQ7JJe02yr-dP2J1vlNa44necqoPRPHWg-dsFDq9oxhSGtRHE-8/s320/IMG_1119.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SapqZpxR_g3d0-pORs3970ufUep9eUiM1TetyP4YejP4_ZUphsdy7Rhk7P_rVCJfr8nt4NHxCLxBLo1JGSZ8tIRKeezQWwjJpZRRs8dgnRW9sOdeY9xJH6K-lC1Y2GHwCUUpTWT4GPwghls34u9lwTytRXjJH7QX24W7C96O0g46JImfU3zIG83ucHQ/s4032/IMG_1153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3SapqZpxR_g3d0-pORs3970ufUep9eUiM1TetyP4YejP4_ZUphsdy7Rhk7P_rVCJfr8nt4NHxCLxBLo1JGSZ8tIRKeezQWwjJpZRRs8dgnRW9sOdeY9xJH6K-lC1Y2GHwCUUpTWT4GPwghls34u9lwTytRXjJH7QX24W7C96O0g46JImfU3zIG83ucHQ/s320/IMG_1153.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">See that sweet tall woman with the flower in her ear. Her dog died while I was trying to get to know her. It was a sad day for this poor woman, but she got loved on fiercely by these women.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Afterwards we swam in the pool created by a waterfall.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkJyVa_14AP1D_DTqJRcHL08XMXXEq6dUxfvKR1mUZTX5m1VuuOtZZRUK7TeYip59anuAmUKMwvh8IF2ttenkoDZN7xVvvW4kU3AOwO_NWej96gIycfOlcLCRjIhHhDPSPRayaZhRpp4pPduYRTvsMdFq1N_oRtSVf10uCxg2Y3W3YQN1DCYyQLKfdnE/s4032/IMG_1278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkJyVa_14AP1D_DTqJRcHL08XMXXEq6dUxfvKR1mUZTX5m1VuuOtZZRUK7TeYip59anuAmUKMwvh8IF2ttenkoDZN7xVvvW4kU3AOwO_NWej96gIycfOlcLCRjIhHhDPSPRayaZhRpp4pPduYRTvsMdFq1N_oRtSVf10uCxg2Y3W3YQN1DCYyQLKfdnE/w640-h480/IMG_1278.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicvvQ5YgqU67qQ9xJiXphDwDRdVV8Bl25RSRph765t_8e7eCQgIOa_mfhAIk7cTx98w0YMUbQWte5pyfUm5oGb-SYpmbKH2aycYU7DT2XaF_tu3aVJEEW0F9DpAJsset3dXt1NFsXf2BUleQyHGm31r7kVyaKUtd4Fcd-CHruRdyIWRWx1y5V2yuoiEc/s2965/IMG_1318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2224" data-original-width="2965" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicvvQ5YgqU67qQ9xJiXphDwDRdVV8Bl25RSRph765t_8e7eCQgIOa_mfhAIk7cTx98w0YMUbQWte5pyfUm5oGb-SYpmbKH2aycYU7DT2XaF_tu3aVJEEW0F9DpAJsset3dXt1NFsXf2BUleQyHGm31r7kVyaKUtd4Fcd-CHruRdyIWRWx1y5V2yuoiEc/w640-h480/IMG_1318.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Followed by a serene walk through a botanical garden.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxKYt0DuuVxmTUFErCHM1C4fD0OLQl8k5JCdPm8kKt696EiX6gpAA-0ce4ClXCf65P4HVe2nl6ovXqPD9jotCpxr_xZszhRHtpCFM5DkfCwgdCDh_H7AUUUfsMcqBlDCjmpmgXV9CGER0n0DpzvjOYcuvs-RPuZCKI0bGHRwBoFZ6uc1MUS5BupwIiTE/s4032/IMG_1331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifxKYt0DuuVxmTUFErCHM1C4fD0OLQl8k5JCdPm8kKt696EiX6gpAA-0ce4ClXCf65P4HVe2nl6ovXqPD9jotCpxr_xZszhRHtpCFM5DkfCwgdCDh_H7AUUUfsMcqBlDCjmpmgXV9CGER0n0DpzvjOYcuvs-RPuZCKI0bGHRwBoFZ6uc1MUS5BupwIiTE/s320/IMG_1331.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIavZfq6irNAsuB4MSd_a3Xu69o2kX-3liRu6DEQ2mNi_1bjBY4cB-5IntrCG7Hz1bpyZ9DEVfWurKWHkLe9R_SqLOnXEo7SQh4QRFE9VCI9W4bHL7Qng55zip-Cn-gr5YTX5wDarOjQGJmLDMdQWaDzX9G8c6OR76ITFg4s_EqmaOO4A0YwzQjiDn7Tk/s3088/IMG_1348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIavZfq6irNAsuB4MSd_a3Xu69o2kX-3liRu6DEQ2mNi_1bjBY4cB-5IntrCG7Hz1bpyZ9DEVfWurKWHkLe9R_SqLOnXEo7SQh4QRFE9VCI9W4bHL7Qng55zip-Cn-gr5YTX5wDarOjQGJmLDMdQWaDzX9G8c6OR76ITFg4s_EqmaOO4A0YwzQjiDn7Tk/s320/IMG_1348.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I felt God telling me today to be still and be ok with whatever energy I was able to give. After so many nights of not getting enough sleep, I was not functioning at full capacity. But with God's grace, the energy I did give came from a more positive place. I am naturally an authentic person, but I really appreciated the love I felt for myself, the area, the women around me that didn't become draining, because I wasn't trying to give more than I had.</p><p style="text-align: left;">So often I get burnt out with service. Today, knowing I wasn't operating at 100%, and allowing myself to be ok with whatever I had to offer, was liberating. I can be that more in my everyday life. And in turn, God makes up the difference and magnifies my widow's mite.</p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-47559263345321041242024-01-18T20:15:00.000-08:002024-03-10T22:18:41.869-07:00Flight to Hawaii<p>Thursday. I woke up as pure optimism personified. Wednesday was calm in the storm and Thursday was the promise of all the good things. Here are a few of the joyful things that happened.</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>A kind shuttle driver. She was the perfect way to start our day.</li><li>A kind and joyful worker at Moe's (a restaurant in the airport) allowed me to alter my breakfast to incorporate veggies and then made it so thoughtfully for me.</li><li>I met wonderful people who shared on our experience of missing the earlier flight and enjoyed instant camaraderie.</li><li>Melissa and I enjoyed an unexpected 5-hour layover on Kauai by walking out of the airport in search of anything interesting. We made it to a lighthouse and made a new friend, Dee, who was travelling by herself.</li><li>Melissa and I were sweaty and stinky when we got to the airport and I felt bad for the person assigned to sit next to me on my Kauai to Kona flight but I was blessed with the row all to myself.</li><li>Instead of being irritated at having to wait 45 minutes when we finally arrived in Kona, I was able to stay calm and enjoy some needed downtime.</li><li>I was completely unprepared for the instant connection I felt with the nine women I met, even after such a long day.</li><li>Melissa and I agreed that the two days we spent together were a gift and that we were meant to create a relationship just the two of us.</li></ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ03MvNz72qcKI7cQzKbC-Y-z-ExcFzc8RYPpRve4FQqt5PGJiYYCsHSGIhCxJFOkCKGdx_SMDb_DWfdRdIPyNNJtlgy2GFnRyrYAgDaCE4BT80r8QjUXdWzG9gXHW5lIVguETmYubSV33kEQiUNV5fY_dO4_saju8EWYm7RxZDHxb1A3OJMFjDQpMjgU/s6976/20240118_133847.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2896" data-original-width="6976" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ03MvNz72qcKI7cQzKbC-Y-z-ExcFzc8RYPpRve4FQqt5PGJiYYCsHSGIhCxJFOkCKGdx_SMDb_DWfdRdIPyNNJtlgy2GFnRyrYAgDaCE4BT80r8QjUXdWzG9gXHW5lIVguETmYubSV33kEQiUNV5fY_dO4_saju8EWYm7RxZDHxb1A3OJMFjDQpMjgU/w640-h266/20240118_133847.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our dreamy weather on dreamy Kauai.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPsHYqiW93zZSGvHtlsqal2wDmJqnVPtgfspgAArg0kX86ew85w3gePeElv9WXwkkcm_oblYi6H84I1yR6u4h6UWiVHfxjZSC2qr1gT2YisJ2WVP4HPClBcyN5a7rtP2whvlnUdfXuAN3SWigj6s0HIfrunK2O2muNshwMJh3FiS6zmfQX3g86IjE4I8/s4032/20240118_141835.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPsHYqiW93zZSGvHtlsqal2wDmJqnVPtgfspgAArg0kX86ew85w3gePeElv9WXwkkcm_oblYi6H84I1yR6u4h6UWiVHfxjZSC2qr1gT2YisJ2WVP4HPClBcyN5a7rtP2whvlnUdfXuAN3SWigj6s0HIfrunK2O2muNshwMJh3FiS6zmfQX3g86IjE4I8/w288-h640/20240118_141835.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Melissa really wanted to see a lighthouse, so by golly, we found a lighthouse and took our picture in front of it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNCWUuQprb7NENdIJ8oIYkKoZVu8XsMX6wZrhCwVZ3ZqK8-Jqca21JnhJnh2e3D-N7lq6oI2sHx5Ullc2xbNo2_uAlbBVHuS_cCrrxg-XYEn1CKszk_kNP959J3Mc892T4m2wCCyAHFMPKNtLQ-hUOaAdsojrCNABIcwL403eIoXs28zbygu6aWaLEI8/s3216/20240118_103015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3216" data-original-width="1448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSNCWUuQprb7NENdIJ8oIYkKoZVu8XsMX6wZrhCwVZ3ZqK8-Jqca21JnhJnh2e3D-N7lq6oI2sHx5Ullc2xbNo2_uAlbBVHuS_cCrrxg-XYEn1CKszk_kNP959J3Mc892T4m2wCCyAHFMPKNtLQ-hUOaAdsojrCNABIcwL403eIoXs28zbygu6aWaLEI8/s320/20240118_103015.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me and Nagoya, the sloth, on my flight.</div><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-84869236582226300602024-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:002024-03-10T22:16:57.303-07:00Women's Retreat - The Hotel Adventure<p> This retreat was an adventure from beginning to end. So get comfy.</p><p>Monday. We got our driveway cleared of its ice and enjoyed the sunshine and slightly warmer weather, especially knowing that more ice was on the way. Because of the impending weather, Matthew encouraged me to get a hotel for Monday and Tuesday night to be in Portland already for my early Wednesday flight. I wasn't looking forward to being away from my family for any longer than I had to, but I recognized the wisdom in Matthew's counsel, so Monday afternoon, we drove up to Portland as a family and dropped me off at my hotel.</p><p>Tuesday. I spent the day more or less by myself. I worked a little, exercised a little, and watched copious amounts of TV. Melissa C (who got to come because Heather T couldn't) arrived just before bedtime.</p><p>Wednesday. Melissa and I made it to the airport and on to our plane with minimal delay, and yet somehow I still wasn't confident we were going to make it out of Portland. I couldn't allow myself to be excited until we pushed back from the gate - something we never got chance to do.</p><p>We spent two hours on the plane deicing it, then refueling it, before they gave up and had us get off. Thirty minutes after that, they officially cancelled our flight and told us to go retrieve our bag and call Alaska Airlines to reschedule.</p><p>As we walked down to baggage claim, as we waited for over an hour for our bags to arrive, as I talked with Matthew to book another hotel room for the night, I was surprisingly and beautifully calm. I was patient. I was trusting that all things would work together for my good.</p><p>By the time we got checked into our hotel for the night, it was eight hours since we had left and we were both so so hungry. Since it was early afternoon, and we didn't have anything else to do we decided to walk the 1.5 miles to Red Robin for an early dinner. We made it almost to the edge of the hotel parking lot before we abandoned the plan in lieu of an Uber because 1. There was no clear sidewalk due to 2. nothing but ice. Another hour after that, we finally made it to the restaurant, and after yet another half hour, we finally made it to our table. </p><p>After what became a regular time dinner, I was not ready to go back to the hotel, so we slipped and slided on the on the icy sidewalks of Cascade Station, going into whatever stores managed to be open despite the weather. Honestly, it was a lot of fun and Melissa and I felt so bonded together. We had amazing conversation and we ended the day hopeful for Thursday.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK18uAZbt1h-s9YpVza8bm6GJLAzwNI_uXmY3Ebo5hDrDpU__IBpiSAoSQ_tvN1YEzqDFzRkKFYLrGtO0mP0hyphenhyphenaJJsxoOaULUOHmYrFu0G9XfYs-ufXg7iyGyy-CIKsOxiv34RfENKye7jQBNme7flyFqxAP_X138QWqN4Hqp4M0HeAUNC6jEToU8K04/s2421/20240115_224235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="2421" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivK18uAZbt1h-s9YpVza8bm6GJLAzwNI_uXmY3Ebo5hDrDpU__IBpiSAoSQ_tvN1YEzqDFzRkKFYLrGtO0mP0hyphenhyphenaJJsxoOaULUOHmYrFu0G9XfYs-ufXg7iyGyy-CIKsOxiv34RfENKye7jQBNme7flyFqxAP_X138QWqN4Hqp4M0HeAUNC6jEToU8K04/s320/20240115_224235.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">P.S. Luca gave me one of her stuffies to take with me to help me not be so sad. Here he is in my hotel bed.</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-58852356718272421902024-01-14T20:40:00.000-08:002024-02-27T20:41:34.139-08:005th Grade - by Luca<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fifth grade is AWESOME! I got Mr Level and he is strict, but not too strict. He is also very funny. We get to do all sorts of fun stuff. But the very first thing we did was make little work holders. They look like smaller paper versions of ourselves. After a little while, you get sorted into math groups via I-ready diagnostic. I'm pretty sure I got into the highest one. It gets pretty hard (and also pretty boring). The school manages to get a lot of days off which I think is pretty nice. The smart thing though is that they put grading days right after Halloween. This is the perfect idea because then the kids don't come in with bags full of candy, and heads full of sleep they missed out on last night. Then the long stretch to winter break began. The only break is Thanksgiving break, and that was like 3 or 4 days long. It's chock full of tests, worksheets, and boring group reads. The good news is that the recess situation got a lot better. Everyone seems to have grown over the summer so they don't cry as much which is good for my nerves. except one friend. She still cries a lot. Overall, I LOVE fifth grade so much. I would rate it a nine out of ten. </span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Sincerely,</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Luca</div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-53337651457396868462024-01-14T20:38:00.000-08:002024-02-27T20:40:03.429-08:00Middle School - by Dude<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Middle school started out decent, but it kinda went downhill from there. The first person to show me what middle school is really like was mr. d a grade A turd. I have what they call a bowl cut and that produced a lot of teasing. The halls are always chaotic. At the end of the day there is always a frenzied scramble to leave in an all-engulfing tide called the "wave". once in the hall mr. d turned the "complete idiot" (CE) up to 9 out of 10 and shoved me on my face. it was a miracle I didn't break my nose. Although most of my other middle school experiences have been crappy at lunch I play a game called "stumble guys" with my group of friends. The teachers are fine, they are pretty nice. The workload is not that bad. The only class we get homework is in math. My favorite class is p.e sometimes we do fun things. The only downside is workout wednesday. stuff like math and language arts is a little boring but it is not horrible. The library is pretty good and it has a decent selection. Though I would like a wider selection, the cafeteria is nice. recess is good, there is only basketball and volleyball outside but you get to play computer games inside. That is what I do every day. Overall, my experience with middle school is decent. There are a few things I want to change but it is okay.</span></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-21448252851715635012024-01-13T20:41:00.000-08:002024-02-27T21:05:00.138-08:00Snow Day<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dude' perspective: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Today it snowed in our cul de sac. At first I was angry because it was icy snow, but then I realized it was perfect for sledding. Then for the next hour me and my sister went sledding down the hill. Then we went inside for two hours then we went sledding for the next 2 hours we sledded with our friends. We were sledding down our massive hill. We were going so fast. We were sledding until 3:18 when I went inside because my hands felt like they were a couple degrees from frostbite, then about 30 minutes later my friends followed suit. Then we ate bagel bites until they left. Overall it was a great day. but I am hoping that it will snow better next time so we can have a massive snowball fight. until next time It snows I will just have to settle for planning.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Luca's perspective: Today it snowed/freezing rained. When I woke up I looked out the window and saw snow. At first I was disappointed because there didn't seem to be a lot, but then it kept raining and there was a lot of ice snow. The reason why I called it ice snow was because you could see each little particle. But the problem was that it didn't pack well. Say goodbye to snowballs and forts. But it was PERFECT for sledding. We used the neighbors hill because it was safe, big, fun, plus they always let us use it. Somehow I managed to make a dino out of the ice snow. The little neighbors wanted to help make it, but honestly I didn't want them to help, but it's really hard to say no to them. By around 3 o'clock I was ready to be done. So was everyone else. All in all, this was a pretty great snow day.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A few days later, thanks to Martin Luther King Day, and no change in our ice situation, we all made it outside to shovel our driveway, made fun ice art, and went sledding. The sledding was more slipping with reckless abandon than coordinated motion down a hill, but we all had a good, albeit terrifying experience.</span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgahEK_0GBlYYCl8nueUNbYAm0nbw-4ke59nZViZFyKm9vLpRtGxfaAQyQJTGmXBWfdszmsvtcSqCGzFIG9PFXS6kiqngqXYQ1mrg47iv4qwoMif_TyFspByOmqan1otyYvOKrKKoCkKC0k5Tk0DECy0hraO0GTfMdHFLMcxRTWeH1ceYm_ka4p5LBgE/s3357/20240115_084648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1809" data-original-width="3357" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgahEK_0GBlYYCl8nueUNbYAm0nbw-4ke59nZViZFyKm9vLpRtGxfaAQyQJTGmXBWfdszmsvtcSqCGzFIG9PFXS6kiqngqXYQ1mrg47iv4qwoMif_TyFspByOmqan1otyYvOKrKKoCkKC0k5Tk0DECy0hraO0GTfMdHFLMcxRTWeH1ceYm_ka4p5LBgE/s320/20240115_084648.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplDLcn9G_XvONFok-uXW36TEjcZ71wgrBi7N57Ueut2Dp6RIL5iqNjE9SXLD4AVpUJD6oUIXMtuJLchVsp2armWxa0EmvnQX-ZCHzNbvFkBXaCQKoyjJ1_AzJnTgqYIEThtEY0gCKWGiRWbDImLlwHF-AFwzEC0NneVH0is7OShqFE73c3EaD67UoohI/s2421/20240115_131415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="2421" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplDLcn9G_XvONFok-uXW36TEjcZ71wgrBi7N57Ueut2Dp6RIL5iqNjE9SXLD4AVpUJD6oUIXMtuJLchVsp2armWxa0EmvnQX-ZCHzNbvFkBXaCQKoyjJ1_AzJnTgqYIEThtEY0gCKWGiRWbDImLlwHF-AFwzEC0NneVH0is7OShqFE73c3EaD67UoohI/s320/20240115_131415.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Luca's ice designs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDtcpW6V5Y4n3iSinXjJ7NxO2bn3Uhc1ievDMmNRAHcwj410opyJFhyphenhyphenvRG3JZG-E41dxngOVue9Jo3Lwu1CNjnZBfOX7uZykla0km-dRqErMtvU_QDQxvg_RYPrYSw98cYRke1MZJtQl2-M3Ug12utUYBTTfdfpJMUNrSM-_nbm7e-OsROa7iBg96DEY/s3376/20240115_085808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3376" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyDtcpW6V5Y4n3iSinXjJ7NxO2bn3Uhc1ievDMmNRAHcwj410opyJFhyphenhyphenvRG3JZG-E41dxngOVue9Jo3Lwu1CNjnZBfOX7uZykla0km-dRqErMtvU_QDQxvg_RYPrYSw98cYRke1MZJtQl2-M3Ug12utUYBTTfdfpJMUNrSM-_nbm7e-OsROa7iBg96DEY/s320/20240115_085808.jpg" width="172" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dude's ice sculpture.</div><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-243374156057286582023-12-31T23:53:00.000-08:002023-12-31T23:53:53.841-08:002023 Goals Recap<p>Every January I make a few goals for the new year. Generally, it involves fasting and prayer. This year was no exception. Today, I got to think back on the goals I made and how well I have done with them.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Read twelve books I already own that I have not previously read. </li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I started off pretty strong with this one, but eventually got side tracked. I realized I am not much of a non-fiction reader, of which most of my non-read, already-owned books consist. I switched to a series that Matthew had purchased and got into it enough to purchase the rest of the series before realizing that the author veers fairly substantially from her young adult fiction into straight up adult fiction. It started affecting my mood for the worse and I ended up giving up and switching to re-reading a series Matthew has written and is trying to prepare for self-publication. So while I haven't kept strictly to my original goal, I did read over 12 books and have a better habit of reading before bedtime instead of being on my phone. I'm calling this a win-win.</p></blockquote><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Walk/run 5 miles at least once a week.</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">This one ended up being a great goal for me given my new work schedule. It was a doable goal, but one that still kept me moving to some extent every week. This was especially good in September and October when I was working more or less full-time. It was a good reminder for me to prioritize moving my body along with making lots of money.</p></blockquote><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Say yes to at least one invitation once a month to do something with friends.</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I'm not sure I did this every month, but I was better about keeping an open mind and being flexible as friends invited me out to do things. Oftentimes when I have an idea of how my day is going to play out, I have a hard time letting it go in lieu of playing. I need to have it scheduled. This year I worked at keeping this goal in mind. It was definitely helpful to keep in there.</p></blockquote><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Expect miracles</li></ul><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">This goal was definitely an inspired one for me since it didn't really seem like a goal, and I had no action items I could attach to it. But I was grateful, again, for the reminder to have it in my mind. Between Matthew doing therapy, getting a new job with more pay, his parents moving 15 minutes away, working again and actually enjoying it, it definitely felt like a year of miracles.</p></blockquote><p>I love goals. As you can tell, I am not 100% perfect at them, but really, that's just fine. I am definitely better at the end of this year than I was last year, and I am so excited to sit down with God and come up with four new ones. I have no doubt God and I will come up with just the right ones tailor-made for this next year. </p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-71147321963752512832023-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:002024-01-07T13:35:06.204-08:00New Year's Eve 2023<p>We had a fun time saying goodbye to 2023 tonight. Dude and I made it all the way, but Matthew and Luca only made it to about 10pm. The past several years, we've rung in the new year with my sister Melissa's family, but with most of her kids in town, the Jones decided to do their own thing, which meant we were doing our own thing. If left to our own devices, the Marlers are prone to board games and movies. But with New Year's Eve falling on a Sunday, we were forced to reach deep and get slightly more creative. </p><p>We had Matthew's brother's family over for dinner which was fun. They were supposed to come the Sunday before for Christmas Eve, but as their whole family was out for the count with bad colds, we had to reschedule. They left about 6ish to start getting their babies ready for bed. By about 7 we were ready to kick off our own festivities. We had gone to Target earlier in the week trying to come up with a game plan. We bought slime, a new game, silly string, and a yummy snack.</p><p>It ended being a really fun evening, even if we did spend twice as long cleaning up the silly string as we did battling it out with it. The kids declared it a rousing success and claimed the silly string needed to become a new annual tradition.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjlE48Y7b9hXNgLj9y3buTsPTDZFzkNVF_osPNpsx2QHP7nGi9_fvF4Czez1t00DV1oDVqz63OIjT3iErVD22tfR_ZRSZMSzbOvBoVBGWWIJ6e9UheGhMEEyKpMWDeyusv-WTroKQvvKCouyMQo1tq05296QnL63tZe4zFcVsGqB-fRBaAeE5NtXOMpY/s3968/20231231_204439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1784" data-original-width="3968" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjlE48Y7b9hXNgLj9y3buTsPTDZFzkNVF_osPNpsx2QHP7nGi9_fvF4Czez1t00DV1oDVqz63OIjT3iErVD22tfR_ZRSZMSzbOvBoVBGWWIJ6e9UheGhMEEyKpMWDeyusv-WTroKQvvKCouyMQo1tq05296QnL63tZe4zFcVsGqB-fRBaAeE5NtXOMpY/s320/20231231_204439.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBI6UnQtHDf_2iy0zSF0dYK0tIiFq5gzzAJeuZh2ZpS8M2EWzp2Vn4nLouGoWTD0aifpx9CWppXEuqv2M4w0ixscpI8b1K64XszEyLxrd3ATGTX7bU9VFxdaKa3ZLiUlsJ71-jR1nvDDPyOWpYIXra6j8UNygaRa34NlRLPX9XbAP1LrMLzy2l00SYAY/s4032/20231231_204829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPBI6UnQtHDf_2iy0zSF0dYK0tIiFq5gzzAJeuZh2ZpS8M2EWzp2Vn4nLouGoWTD0aifpx9CWppXEuqv2M4w0ixscpI8b1K64XszEyLxrd3ATGTX7bU9VFxdaKa3ZLiUlsJ71-jR1nvDDPyOWpYIXra6j8UNygaRa34NlRLPX9XbAP1LrMLzy2l00SYAY/s320/20231231_204829.jpg" width="144" /></a></div>After the silly string battle of 2023, we did bedtime. Everyone went to their respective bedrooms. I promised Dude nothing, but said, if I was still awake at midnight, I would celebrate midnight with him, which we did, just the two of us. There wasn't a lot of fanfare. Just the count down and a few poppers Dude bought with his own money. And just like that, we made it to 2024. <p></p><p>2023 ended up being a pretty great year; it honestly makes me a little nervous that 2024 might not live up to its predecessor, but here's at least hoping that we finally make it to the financial goal that has loomed so distant for so long.</p><p>Happy New Year!</p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-40282988396296469172023-12-30T15:08:00.000-08:002024-02-11T20:52:30.637-08:00December Sewing Projects<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I promised to make a dear friend a quilt. We took a long time looking for just the right fabric and the right pattern. I fudged on the pattern and found some different background color than I was anticipating. I loved it until I hated it and didn't want to continue. I finished because I knew I had to eventually and then loved it all over again. Quilting is funny. Thankfully she loved it as much as I did.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2yhzcJ7tHLC3Sk1J18HGfJMvDqKF9A0WoDxXfs-DXcnRS9s-0lrExQwfwfELYPOGTEcuHqFL_AEdm-7swqk6zjn5bTBgwM3oYPLT4RZf8M5T5UMAE8JXlPHjD6sMQZKpaf3ffteK48PByRI907_do6oCLxX6EfO3-ufQ4h_Ty61IeOdlJbkqORnZV8A/s2421/20231222_140419.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="2421" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt2yhzcJ7tHLC3Sk1J18HGfJMvDqKF9A0WoDxXfs-DXcnRS9s-0lrExQwfwfELYPOGTEcuHqFL_AEdm-7swqk6zjn5bTBgwM3oYPLT4RZf8M5T5UMAE8JXlPHjD6sMQZKpaf3ffteK48PByRI907_do6oCLxX6EfO3-ufQ4h_Ty61IeOdlJbkqORnZV8A/w640-h480/20231222_140419.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And then it was Christmas break and we had a lot of time together, and I decided to make use of a bunch of scraps I've been holding on to for years and years.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipln6ibIQTMHqUUNbtBCOUMvJHMUcNAHDFhnKr-KYi4HgicmKVrb-kF1rWa2-xleV2LX9L2DcbsegryCMIh6DfSH-4stP9PrK4tkSBfSus3O6Tb4dxnlCUqhyphenhyphenK00HoZPF25XZKURUizIWQfp5noKcP1KiY6_noaAuKggUttC_VxHraegkL59deuuo4-5g/s2366/20240103_171112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1774" data-original-width="2366" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipln6ibIQTMHqUUNbtBCOUMvJHMUcNAHDFhnKr-KYi4HgicmKVrb-kF1rWa2-xleV2LX9L2DcbsegryCMIh6DfSH-4stP9PrK4tkSBfSus3O6Tb4dxnlCUqhyphenhyphenK00HoZPF25XZKURUizIWQfp5noKcP1KiY6_noaAuKggUttC_VxHraegkL59deuuo4-5g/s320/20240103_171112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one I put together in a pleasing way, but then I didn't know what to do with it. Facebook to the rescue, and a friend (incidentally the one from above) said her daughter wanted it for her dolls. Love it.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenmgi7zpnxAiS9ayzqvBmwYxlStCjdjs489gM14WgRYSUmv0MPBnZIY6hMsE98ftJ6TO8JTkYb6hiLLZ-77XB1yQKFW4TlI5B7AOAhck7OtXHVlUG4swRInfQUl-K24NZ4yzmB1vFsZb3j5fnOvVyU0elhUctxRpLbEwV06egNgcn7ydZ3PWcRlgrd6Y/s2582/20240107_132221.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1677" data-original-width="2582" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenmgi7zpnxAiS9ayzqvBmwYxlStCjdjs489gM14WgRYSUmv0MPBnZIY6hMsE98ftJ6TO8JTkYb6hiLLZ-77XB1yQKFW4TlI5B7AOAhck7OtXHVlUG4swRInfQUl-K24NZ4yzmB1vFsZb3j5fnOvVyU0elhUctxRpLbEwV06egNgcn7ydZ3PWcRlgrd6Y/s320/20240107_132221.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While I was buying the orange fabric featured above, I saw this adorable charm pack and bought it on a whim. I've been wanting a cute little mat upon which to put my laptop on my desk. This is perfect.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3ctUt97VYQ2fktZZSALu9hBydYWy5bNKW4qrSx7bz2C77XnowqTl3v5F0R87Qalpi250CUKPfSH5U7BuIZTIc2Hy2aBPijjxgVBrToLW3kjjyC7dkx8zT2X7748rlthYkKf-4DPuBYlyYNTA8O9POxy0__72kq-J14ont4h7N6S5nC2PjJG4fu-elfc/s1900/20231228_201022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="1810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3ctUt97VYQ2fktZZSALu9hBydYWy5bNKW4qrSx7bz2C77XnowqTl3v5F0R87Qalpi250CUKPfSH5U7BuIZTIc2Hy2aBPijjxgVBrToLW3kjjyC7dkx8zT2X7748rlthYkKf-4DPuBYlyYNTA8O9POxy0__72kq-J14ont4h7N6S5nC2PjJG4fu-elfc/s320/20231228_201022.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">More fabric I've had since the kids were babies. I finally pulled out all the miscellaneous pieces and came up with these interesting blocks. This is probably my favorite random something I made. I especially love that when I asked how I should quilt it, Luca suggested circles so that's what I did. One large spiral that was surprisingly really fun to do. And now it is my new Christmas table topper.</div><p></p></div>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-70197464686155524742023-12-25T14:47:00.000-08:002024-01-07T15:05:16.434-08:00Christmas 2023<p>This Christmas was an interesting one, mainly because everyone knew what they were getting ahead of time. Matthew and I went to REI and bought all my gifts at the beginning of December and they just lived, unwrapped, behind the tree for the rest of the month. Luca only wanted one thing, an American Girl Doll that she wanted to pick out herself. They are pretty expensive so it was more or less her only gift. Dude wanted Warhammer figurines, also pretty expensive. Matthew wanted new shoes and to share in my REI backpacking supplies. The only surprises came when we opened the gifts the kids had purchased for each other and for Matthew and I. The gifts the kids give each other are normally opened on Christmas Eve, but with so few presents to open in the morning, they opted to wait until the next day. And yet, despite the more or less lack of surprise, they were still so excited to wake up Christmas morning, open their presents and have a day of family and cousins.</p><p>This Christmas was also special, because we were able to spend some alone time with each set of grandparents. We exchanged gifts with Matthew's parents a couple of weeks before since they were headed out of town for the rest of the month. They have never watched their grandchildren open their presents before, for any occasion, so that was a fun experience for them and us. Thankfully, my kids are wonderful about being thankful and enthusiastic for their gifts (so long as they aren't clothing).</p><p>Christmas Eve after church, my mother invited us over to her house to open the presents she had for us. What I thought was going to be a 10-20 minute experience, ended up being gifts, brunch, and a Sabbath-appropriate Christmas movie. It was so lovely spending time with them, even if we do see them on the regular. </p><p>Overall, we had a lovely Christmas. We are thankful for all that our Savior has done for us during 2023 and are so excited to be able to celebrate His remarkable birthday.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0idyJ6HYxfoevhYsIl18pUeKaYqjhkf1nwpkIPehdjk3OMu8Z2AVcX6y-pD9BDAgEGgWsBr5bUItfjOJlrgZzLbySrH6KkBm8-vtWuNMxvBhLZifZzGJ-V5L9GFsdI6rtFTU7Xf8LO1DiCddoeJ0WDXRaJzL8GFrkL1vr7FltpvIOgrs2MS881oaWlnQ/s4032/20231224_212855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0idyJ6HYxfoevhYsIl18pUeKaYqjhkf1nwpkIPehdjk3OMu8Z2AVcX6y-pD9BDAgEGgWsBr5bUItfjOJlrgZzLbySrH6KkBm8-vtWuNMxvBhLZifZzGJ-V5L9GFsdI6rtFTU7Xf8LO1DiCddoeJ0WDXRaJzL8GFrkL1vr7FltpvIOgrs2MS881oaWlnQ/w640-h288/20231224_212855.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Our only picture from Christmas - the kids having a slumber party in Dude's room on Christmas Eve.</p><p><br /></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-28063115218525613442023-12-19T13:35:00.000-08:002024-01-07T14:47:07.752-08:00Luca Reads the Book of Mormon all by HerselfI finished the book of Mormon today. This is not the first time I have finished it alone, but it was the first time I made the goal to read it all in one year. I started out reading one page a night over and over again, but I was not feeling like I was gonna finish by the end of the year, so I started reading two pages every night, except when I was away from home or something like that. my experience with this was an all year long kind of experience. I think it is so cool that guys from ancient times poured their soul into this book. and then Joseph Smith translated all of it! just wow. I don't get the tools he was using, like the stones!? how did that work? Kinda confusing. I was able to read most of the words, which makes me very proud. T At one point I was just reading, but now I try to read to get something out of it. but that's about all I can talk about, so I'd say I've had a pretty good time with it. Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-49591341976630585792023-11-26T21:01:00.000-08:002023-11-26T21:01:37.523-08:00Slipper Gets to Play<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUGexIDjCX5DX_H7_ZJxWNjPGqpr_rvqgQbVTc7vHV8zrrs6WAC7rRYOl_-g7I6Nfz229PSNCdrsmBzrDj24U-Zs0agO3hvIiicD_xTs8IRbjlmyc70De7Ti4tT7nRwGKUg98WF3GkNNKNfAA1bP0JIljfbhFmfyKxtM-ZX9qFtpJ106ES9OtoUoBR_M/s2421/20231126_145227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2421" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUGexIDjCX5DX_H7_ZJxWNjPGqpr_rvqgQbVTc7vHV8zrrs6WAC7rRYOl_-g7I6Nfz229PSNCdrsmBzrDj24U-Zs0agO3hvIiicD_xTs8IRbjlmyc70De7Ti4tT7nRwGKUg98WF3GkNNKNfAA1bP0JIljfbhFmfyKxtM-ZX9qFtpJ106ES9OtoUoBR_M/s320/20231126_145227.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />We enjoy playing Apples to Apples together as a family, and somehow, we have taken to playing while laying on the floor. Anything that can be played lying down will probably be played in the recumbent posture.<p></p><p>While we were playing, we noticed Luca's slipper was hanging out within our circle, and I commented that it looked like it was trying to play. Cue Dude giving Slipper its own hand to play, which was just a random card from its pile. It made the most random addition to our game, especially when it won a card. I mean, when the card is "athletic" and slipper submitted "dodgeball", it's going to win. We decided that Slipper just might have to play all the time from now on, it gives the game an extra entertainment factor that was universally amusing to all.</p><p>Welcome slipper to our game-playing family</p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-47288960691971775222023-11-02T20:24:00.001-07:002023-11-06T20:53:08.275-08:00A Beautiful Kitchen<p>I don't love cleaning my house. But every now and again, I have both the time and the inclination to get some deep cleaning done. This time, it was that sweet kitchen's turn for some good lovin.</p><p>Everything was taken out of every cupboard, decluttered, wiped down, and organized. After two days, it was a thing of glory and I was so proud of the work I had done. And then Matthew put the cherry on top with three wonderful words - "Let's Get Takeout." So this beautiful kitchen got to stay beautiful for longer than twenty minutes.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxapogP73xmipVe6Gf3jrL918NqnSDPCmHqe5FedI9CYlzZVbAQsoNANCKwtElaYnYxUFDB85TwuR9C8lyhXDWiXvxxzmdpXCq5sWmxdy5AsxeRV-s7i_axcI_avKpSsOoyGmJiM1ktnF82vZSbjibhN6fE2d5il3WRxkyCd5JZtk3SDULyyu6H7YBDiY/s4032/20231102_154743.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxapogP73xmipVe6Gf3jrL918NqnSDPCmHqe5FedI9CYlzZVbAQsoNANCKwtElaYnYxUFDB85TwuR9C8lyhXDWiXvxxzmdpXCq5sWmxdy5AsxeRV-s7i_axcI_avKpSsOoyGmJiM1ktnF82vZSbjibhN6fE2d5il3WRxkyCd5JZtk3SDULyyu6H7YBDiY/w640-h288/20231102_154743.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4jN_b_j4iTnoJfae5PvTuDuZ9ZD9oX0G6BZCbdj5N7FfKOYcNbZJQJ_Xqiwc5Z0N0r5ubxsbaH79fT8lcfYH2PiVMGSYBajzrX2KfzQAB2WvkJDsuCPs5w9CvAQg05ysI5nbJLDvyVSpyajTSFkfApKAJSPKeaxL0wHKZQVLnT_4WwE64p_oED8Q-64/s4032/20231102_154755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4jN_b_j4iTnoJfae5PvTuDuZ9ZD9oX0G6BZCbdj5N7FfKOYcNbZJQJ_Xqiwc5Z0N0r5ubxsbaH79fT8lcfYH2PiVMGSYBajzrX2KfzQAB2WvkJDsuCPs5w9CvAQg05ysI5nbJLDvyVSpyajTSFkfApKAJSPKeaxL0wHKZQVLnT_4WwE64p_oED8Q-64/w180-h400/20231102_154755.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-10088993359828053882023-10-31T20:53:00.001-07:002023-11-06T21:06:27.726-08:00Halloween 2023<p>This is the second year that the kids went trick or treating without Matthew or I to supervise. Last year, E's mom tagged along, and this year it was A's dad, but they are definitely moving in that independent direction. They came back after only an hour and a half, having faithfully kept to their route they mapped out the previous week, completely laden with candy. Here they are prior to setting out and antsy with excitement and anticipation. Not pictured is Luca's friend G who came shortly after the picture was taken. We have a baseball player, the grim reaper, a woodland fairy (Luca bought and/or made her entire costume by herself, complete with buying a green shirt and fake flowers that she hot-glued onto it herself), and a character from the Marvel movies that I am still at a loss as to what she is.</p><p>Overall, I'm pretty sure they had one of the best nights of their lives.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-GhlMaogXLw-tfZghw7KQJlI-08TribkfTABqy9r4FpwtgRX8g17FhcY0itGVZ_OaEVtRWxK4-Btx7t6-HMfU7sycF6rndsgRmbJNKH3Y6kSED2YdemrKBY7gZKFAo3kk0J-9woTV8oIDhDl0clRLdoKlA7nXIc3xQggwkRsq7VUCfUacai76ggvBkY/s4032/20231031_180125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-GhlMaogXLw-tfZghw7KQJlI-08TribkfTABqy9r4FpwtgRX8g17FhcY0itGVZ_OaEVtRWxK4-Btx7t6-HMfU7sycF6rndsgRmbJNKH3Y6kSED2YdemrKBY7gZKFAo3kk0J-9woTV8oIDhDl0clRLdoKlA7nXIc3xQggwkRsq7VUCfUacai76ggvBkY/w640-h288/20231031_180125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK6IagSG775Z_XRpAMiaCgnyUKlaXriWlWKEmsfiJ6y5yYX9XlYDXOVg-uHgTeAUdO2brsRw9YOHP51pIkiyXEFFzS7mYZUJ_uX6qRxJr42mqN6K_eOO_hlOETWeF9HzOzajz92SYQST2-KxdcZablcO8dJw7kj7ehms6bY6iw7Yg5SQpj5S3lFfQd78/s4032/20231031_173859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK6IagSG775Z_XRpAMiaCgnyUKlaXriWlWKEmsfiJ6y5yYX9XlYDXOVg-uHgTeAUdO2brsRw9YOHP51pIkiyXEFFzS7mYZUJ_uX6qRxJr42mqN6K_eOO_hlOETWeF9HzOzajz92SYQST2-KxdcZablcO8dJw7kj7ehms6bY6iw7Yg5SQpj5S3lFfQd78/s320/20231031_173859.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoriqPIbPI7vAxrFJD5IULj3kUdWlNZY2XHfwMPsRL0EULv4C43wmwD7t03Ke_9aE0PbmzzARdwsH0dKFFOUwAducmd8RsmvO0GiJpBb3VqYvdvk3lo0Z5kNJn0ow85doTgv2U6WfBYTg7wbmpYi2MPk1B0lYGIGvXT7dgDIBX-e34QwjKCJI88tpWVQ/s4032/20231031_173852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaoriqPIbPI7vAxrFJD5IULj3kUdWlNZY2XHfwMPsRL0EULv4C43wmwD7t03Ke_9aE0PbmzzARdwsH0dKFFOUwAducmd8RsmvO0GiJpBb3VqYvdvk3lo0Z5kNJn0ow85doTgv2U6WfBYTg7wbmpYi2MPk1B0lYGIGvXT7dgDIBX-e34QwjKCJI88tpWVQ/s320/20231031_173852.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>And a couple more shots of the pumpkins, this time with some guts Dude made using his chemistry kit.<p></p><p>Happy Halloween!</p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-73320157760247294392023-10-29T21:01:00.004-07:002023-10-29T21:04:28.248-07:00Halloween Pumpkins 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">This October really got away from me. I worked really hard for the first two weeks and then went out of town after that. I guess we could have gone to a pumpkin patch sometime this week, but it just never happened. So Saturday afternoon, while we were out running errands, we stopped by a grocery store and quickly picked out something acceptable. Honestly, I might start doing that from now on if the kids will let me. Matthew, was infinitely happier with the arrangement as well.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">Dude made me promise that my pumpkin would not be a pattern as I've done in years past. Fine, fine, fine. Matthew, who thinks Halloween is otherwise a pretty worthless holiday seems to get the most pleasure out of carving his pumpkin. So here we are, Dude's mine, Luca's (not pictured is the knife wedged in the top with pumpkin guts spewing out from the wound), and Matthew's raven.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIKPg8bKFLutq4KgfDHFxR7G_W5LTb3_ro0i9XO3YNAnKlIs6IY67tXKSWUze0JgquV5KGarQYBmtFA6FCKiRQDngQQ5MZGiwIaIJoaHpd6vfXItRHK1U-Prls2vlZN0TRnTmNXACqMKnOWk1Umk1CI4ZclJBPchoshAj8wHwoGWehSLGovbB_xoU81A/s4032/20231029_183227.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIKPg8bKFLutq4KgfDHFxR7G_W5LTb3_ro0i9XO3YNAnKlIs6IY67tXKSWUze0JgquV5KGarQYBmtFA6FCKiRQDngQQ5MZGiwIaIJoaHpd6vfXItRHK1U-Prls2vlZN0TRnTmNXACqMKnOWk1Umk1CI4ZclJBPchoshAj8wHwoGWehSLGovbB_xoU81A/w640-h288/20231029_183227.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Did I mention this month got away from me? Conference weekend I pulled out our bin with our Halloween decorations. The kids were in charge of putting them up. Luca put up what she wanted and then asked that, at some point, I get to the rest of them. Yeah, I never did. This afternoon, she took it upon herself to at least put up the spider's web. She couldn't reach with just the stepstool so I pulled out the ladder and made her put on a helmet. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePFRNge8YPsKSoMTiFbcb6I-MSbfKSBVyUeByzGCz3B0lfxOImXxJ-D83ZXdTK55jz9roBJ4ee1gt8fDX58dIsPjTJS_i-6W-8-52-mKhjg0lfHmvV1VZy01jWXzmbeY-kvurPDFdBItLiBCWVrhFLjCXgAOG8MCyYJjPBd1ywUr76MG_Yj0vZMLjT2o/s4032/20231029_124242.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePFRNge8YPsKSoMTiFbcb6I-MSbfKSBVyUeByzGCz3B0lfxOImXxJ-D83ZXdTK55jz9roBJ4ee1gt8fDX58dIsPjTJS_i-6W-8-52-mKhjg0lfHmvV1VZy01jWXzmbeY-kvurPDFdBItLiBCWVrhFLjCXgAOG8MCyYJjPBd1ywUr76MG_Yj0vZMLjT2o/w640-h288/20231029_124242.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">She was so scared to be so high, but I think that spider's web is pretty entertaining with her "additions". </span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12cXi4XZzOFMMRUqJxyWJriIHv6bYbWbTBo2ZpJnfsZt23CVhl8yX5iVMJXjv5i1leS5HoaNHK8p4GY4frE63tkKkW9mWM9XjWgNBV0OIa4SKNaW1_VsiB1vAbrdQbE4qlNQaflZBmJSA7kYs2ZDY0iMmmTCc1ZyWPR1cSLBCuYRJOn8W4tRf6URtf8Y/s4032/20231029_125428.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12cXi4XZzOFMMRUqJxyWJriIHv6bYbWbTBo2ZpJnfsZt23CVhl8yX5iVMJXjv5i1leS5HoaNHK8p4GY4frE63tkKkW9mWM9XjWgNBV0OIa4SKNaW1_VsiB1vAbrdQbE4qlNQaflZBmJSA7kYs2ZDY0iMmmTCc1ZyWPR1cSLBCuYRJOn8W4tRf6URtf8Y/w640-h288/20231029_125428.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-30104920243067808202023-10-28T18:29:00.000-07:002023-11-20T19:06:21.663-08:00Family Pictures 2023<p> Some beautiful pictures of my most darlingest of people.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXrteK9mhWqvSr6Wof6r9WKscTQsVyEhY7tIYT2SULuQlYIXfGS0lBkSI51H0pLll7j1mTr_CEOI5Tami6SckA-HqsQzkG-4KNcbR0owKvdinGEXCQsgsSZog7dJrdo-iMXiuDpt2Ov_rTV9V29OkWarOXmF2Eaa_u6XTTAU_UAKRCKp9_ycnyp0Aa5w/s6475/marlers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6475" data-original-width="4319" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMXrteK9mhWqvSr6Wof6r9WKscTQsVyEhY7tIYT2SULuQlYIXfGS0lBkSI51H0pLll7j1mTr_CEOI5Tami6SckA-HqsQzkG-4KNcbR0owKvdinGEXCQsgsSZog7dJrdo-iMXiuDpt2Ov_rTV9V29OkWarOXmF2Eaa_u6XTTAU_UAKRCKp9_ycnyp0Aa5w/s320/marlers.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrlIdxrS8yvFAQziErhAAZdTtvln-acR-vv5BQuY1d6qP6gloALMeEujTVNhZUz2b9nqfrNWthIppWL8qKAJwLLLiaV7YUfeJpHmtjHNNCV7JDNeCnENkh6Ix8e88prvYmRiRva7K0oJK-Zm4W9KPXo2adQ9N_C6BQnp-7YGTlKoZ3SQa6aF_htnkjAg/s4555/marlers-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4555" data-original-width="3038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrlIdxrS8yvFAQziErhAAZdTtvln-acR-vv5BQuY1d6qP6gloALMeEujTVNhZUz2b9nqfrNWthIppWL8qKAJwLLLiaV7YUfeJpHmtjHNNCV7JDNeCnENkh6Ix8e88prvYmRiRva7K0oJK-Zm4W9KPXo2adQ9N_C6BQnp-7YGTlKoZ3SQa6aF_htnkjAg/s320/marlers-14.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8_b3q-vEPQ381Eekz7DWsNENezgV9lEBJAfpgWP8Y-qmYDsUdxyvSeolXC7pYKMXfQfKXF-U09dlgvLYHvqgQjh62KcjgL-LLeRZcVp9ZVBXDppZkNVaqVSGW7YI_UBBGaTA_YNo9dzjrZ5inZHnl8yrdJWesPJ90FNvNEO7WQn8rjBzHZWp_MEJWzU/s6699/marlers-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6699" data-original-width="4468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8_b3q-vEPQ381Eekz7DWsNENezgV9lEBJAfpgWP8Y-qmYDsUdxyvSeolXC7pYKMXfQfKXF-U09dlgvLYHvqgQjh62KcjgL-LLeRZcVp9ZVBXDppZkNVaqVSGW7YI_UBBGaTA_YNo9dzjrZ5inZHnl8yrdJWesPJ90FNvNEO7WQn8rjBzHZWp_MEJWzU/s320/marlers-3.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></div>Quite possibly the easiest set of pictures, not once did I freak out and threaten anyone in my family. Dude, a few days before picture day, lamented that the photoshoot always takes so long. Why couldn't everyone just be perfect and smile nicely so we could get in and out in short order. I agreed wholeheartedly and challenged him to do his best so we could make the whole experience as painless as possible. I am happy to report that everyone did admirably and we were in and out in record timing, getting Chick-fil-A as a reward - complete with milkshakes. Oooh. And three weeks later, I am so pleased with how they turned out, gray hair and everything.<br /><br /><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3028487652812566689.post-38078622130010646952023-10-16T21:05:00.000-07:002023-10-16T21:05:00.717-07:002023-2024 School Pictures<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbRrKXvAlQNQjWsGjhNmhU_wVs02uBgf6Ij89RhKdVnl6SwIjxLeB7CaZiT0QcCTn4BBxRQ6K41-mMHYmEmMyoVisIdLy_okImritN5qQ9EKhTYxwLSc_VSdpK2IJEbjo102b67TOm4M_t_g7dfj43kMDkxLgm9Q5UHWmPv2fEM_qFHywi-Ye0VwKsXw/s2885/N9A32UQ30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2885" data-original-width="2060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbRrKXvAlQNQjWsGjhNmhU_wVs02uBgf6Ij89RhKdVnl6SwIjxLeB7CaZiT0QcCTn4BBxRQ6K41-mMHYmEmMyoVisIdLy_okImritN5qQ9EKhTYxwLSc_VSdpK2IJEbjo102b67TOm4M_t_g7dfj43kMDkxLgm9Q5UHWmPv2fEM_qFHywi-Ye0VwKsXw/s320/N9A32UQ30.jpg" width="228" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHRYa3QhZ3fZ_yJ13zeSMPr0HFwcCNPvYAYwy7LXZxhENttlI07JZPSw304xp04kstLBk1qs1HgMmW3piCCYe_LD7BOsLkYZ99F4ffwxzW_MvxIeAMkXAlGqbJ0e2SZUc5CPmxXMwwyeo2U5CuEGIszzj4xlXdh5zxd8Ut0vXiY-7NFIvf056GtpSAf4/s2703/RSZXA45L0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2703" data-original-width="1930" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHRYa3QhZ3fZ_yJ13zeSMPr0HFwcCNPvYAYwy7LXZxhENttlI07JZPSw304xp04kstLBk1qs1HgMmW3piCCYe_LD7BOsLkYZ99F4ffwxzW_MvxIeAMkXAlGqbJ0e2SZUc5CPmxXMwwyeo2U5CuEGIszzj4xlXdh5zxd8Ut0vXiY-7NFIvf056GtpSAf4/s320/RSZXA45L0.jpg" width="228" /></a></div></div><br />School pictures are in for the new year and I am once again in love with those babies of mine. At first I might have been a wee bit disappointed in that boy child of mine, but the more I look at him, and his lopsided haircut and family reunion t-shirt, I think he looks pretty distinguished. Luca, let me do her hair in braids so she could get a cute wave effect. Both are adorable.<br /><p></p>Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03323480661087249813noreply@blogger.com0