Maylie Things.

My days of preparation are swiftly coming to a close.  I still have just over a month, but with moving and Thanksgiving, I know my time is limited.  So, this past week has been focused on baby preparations (and next week will most likely follow suit.)

Here are the completed projects:

Two receiving blankets...

{The linen on the left looks so much like Portuguese linens.}

And a car seat cover.

{Isn't this fabric just lovely?}

I am now sighing with relief knowing that I am one step closer to being ready for my Maylie.

Relevant...the View from There.

Today is 5 minute Friday.  I am linking up with the Gypsy Mama, and in her own words this is what she describes to be 5 minutes Friday:

"On Fridays around these parts we stop, drop, and write.

"For fun, for love of the sound of words, for play, for delight, for joy and celebration at the art of communication.

"For only five short, bold, beautiful minutes. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not."







And so I begin...

Relevant

If my life were an hourglass and all the sands of time just kept trickling down, how would I feel the quality of my sand to be?

Everything always appears to be relevant, but when looked at from a higher plane, all is not.  Where can I go to have this higher viewpoint?

In Portugal I climbed to the top of Cruz Alta and when I got to the top, I saw the tall cross and thought of Him.  How He had trekked to the top of the hill carrying His cross and then died for us all.  But then how He was resurrected again and became a new creature, a celestial being.  And I thought how my journey in Portugal had so closely resembled His.  There was the carrying and the burdens and the weight.  Then there was the lifting and the crucifying of my natural man and the rebirth of a new creature, a new Jamie Greene.

And I looked out over the beautiful panarama from atop the mountain and could see the higher way.  I could see where I had been and I could see where I was going.  I had a game plan.  I was ready to conquer my next mountain of coming home.

Mountains are always placed in front of us to climb.  And when we get to the top, perhaps we need to look at the bigger picture, see where we've been and where we're going next...where our next mission is leading us.

This I will do.  I need to climb a mountain and see how far I've come and where I'm going now.  I need another Cruz Alta.  I need to see the view from up there...

Essas fotos de Luso é cortesia do TripAdvisor

Pumpkin Pie Lessons

Yesterday in preschool we made a pretend pumpkin pie and told a story about "Nephi" (the dog) inviting us all over to his house to have some.  We acted out every detail--from the phone calls to the knocking on the door, to the passing out of the pie.  The object of the lesson was to reinforce the virtue of kindness because the host soon finds that they are one piece short of feeding all of his guests.

I asked the question, "What should Nephi do since there aren't enough pieces for everyone?  Mommy didn't get a piece of pie."

The answer, I thought, would be for Nephi to give up his piece of pie or share his with Mommy.  But Easton had a higher way...

"I know," he responded.  "I'll share my piece of pie with Nephi so he can give his piece to Mommy."

Is it any wonder we are to become as a little child? 

I look on and praise him for his kindness and then turn inward, realizing I need another review of Mosiah 3:19 and 3 Nephi 11:37-38 later this evening.  And perhaps on a daily basis.

Easton's House.

When Gram and Pop bought new recliners, we were surprised to find that the style of the chairs was "Easton."  That's all it took for a plan to surface.

  Easton and Pop spent all of Wednesday building and coloring, hanging little Christmas lights and decorating with miniature pumpkins.

It has been quite the retreat for the boys.  Oh the pure, simple magic of childhood.  I don't think I'll ever tire of it.

Welcome.

To Easton's house.

Cinnamon Rolls, Build-a-Bear, and a Halloween Party.

The morning started with fresh, home baked, LARGE cinnamon rolls.

{Did I mention how BIG they were?  Thank you Grandpa...they were delicious!!!!}

Then we took the boys to Build-a-Bear workshop.  Aunt Sadie was so sweet to come with us.  Magical? Yes.  Just as it was for me when I was little.

We spent the longest time choosing just the right bear, and in Tate's case, dog.  (His little "Brown-White Doggy" is becoming tattered so we thought he might like a replacement.)

We made one for Maylie too with the intention of putting a recording of her heartbeat inside.  However, we found the file had been deleted from Patrick's phone.  They reassured us we could come back and put it in later.  We now have another recorded heartbeat from Monday's doctor visit and are all prepared for next time.

After stuffing their animals the boys placed a little heart inside, and they were all stitched up.

With a new box for a home, we walked back to the car and discussed names.  Easton decided on "Ammon Bob" and Tate chose "Nephi."

Later that afternoon we enjoyed a fabulous Halloween party complete with creative costumes. (Here are just a few):

Great-Grandpa Johnson's clown costume was quite a hit.  He even humored us with a little dance.

Polly as Amelia Earhart, Sadie as Wenda in "Where's Waldo?" and baby Colbie as a ladybug

Eliza is undeniably the cutest blonde Snow White.

Chris and Molly's costumes need little explanation. :)

Grandma starred as Cindy Lou Who...

Grandpa as the Grinch in his Santa costume...

And Kita as Max.

Holland was a pirate.

And Melissa and Payton donned ingenious Mario and Luigi outfits.

(Sadly, I discovered I failed to get a picture of Megan's Mummy costume, Jacee in her witch hat, Easton's Karate costume, Tate's Dragon/Dinosaur costume, and me and Patrick as a cowboy and train conductor.)

After a dinner of soup in bread bowls, we had a rice crispy treat decorating contest.  We each drew a Halloween "name" to create with frosting and candy on our treat.  Somehow Grandpa's name always sneaks into the drawing...I hope someone snapped a few pictures! :)

It was a fleeting weekend for all of us, but the beautiful thing about family is it's never over.  There will be many more visits and Halloween parties and vacations and pictures and memories shared.  The joy is in enjoying each and every experience to it's fullest, knowing that in the end, family is all that really matters and these memories we create together are the things that will bring us contentment in the autumns and winters of our lives.

And someday soon {really really soon} we will live so much closer and can plan parties of our own to host.  It will be a very sweet chapter in our lives.  And I just can't wait... 

Colbie's Photo Shoot.

I spent Saturday afternoon photographing our adorable niece Colbie.

What a doll she is.

To see more click here.

The Last of the Wedding.

Well, sweet Nicole and Jason were married last Friday the 22nd.  Here are their wedding photos.  I love these two people.  They are so lovely.  Congratulations on the start of a beautiful life together.