Chez the Decorator

So if you ask anyone in my immediate family about my decorating history they would say, what decorating history? When my parents first bought the birdhouse, I thought they were crazy...who would want a place that you have to drive on sand to get to and that has shag carpet and century old plumbing and fixtures? My mom had vision on how to make this place beautiful, but I certainly did not...and I even went so far as to do very little to bring her vision to pass...I think I just gave up on the place before we could even get started. Once I saw the finished product, I thought my mother and Melanie (her trusty sidekick) geniuses and I just didn't have 'the gift'. I have pretty much felt this way until this summer, when I actually helped pick out wallpaper and paint for Tricia's house (Ella can thank me later for her room :-)...and I also recalled how much I love to decorate during Christmas and other holidays. So, I think I did get something from my mom, even if it is just a smidgen of the gift, but it makes me excited to someday decorate my own house. But one thing I know for sure, it will have modern day appliances and it won't have shag carpet or a dirt driveway...that is only for the truly gifted to handle.

A House of Order

This blog is for my own personal motivational purpose.

Tanner is a clean person. If you talk to his parents, they would say that he was quite a mess during his teenage years (who wasn’t?). I am sure they are right, but I have only ever known Tanner to be organized and tidy. I am embarrassed to admit that he is a cleaner person than I am. I have had some good streaks of cleanliness, and when I do clean, I do it well…but it is something I struggle with. Last night, our mia maid activity was to clean the church. It was me and three other girls, and the bishop had specifically asked us to clean the chapel. It took the four of us a good solid hour. I vacuumed up 6 raisins, numerous glitter speckles as well as finger nail shavings (eww). While I was cleaning, I felt really good about what I was doing because I wanted the Lord’s house to be clean. I have been taught all my life about the importance of cleanliness, but mostly in a spiritual and moral sense…but last night was a deeper realization of the importance of temporal cleanliness. President Kimball said:

“Now we ask you to clean up your homes. … We urge each of you to dress and keep in a beautiful state the property that is in your hands. Whatever your circumstance, let your premises reflect orderliness, beauty, and happiness.”

After we were done, I gathered the girls together and we read D&C 88:119:

Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.

It's recommitment time. So here goes…

My Green Thumb

While my parents have been away on vacation, I have been in charge of watering the garden. I was actually quite nervous because they had just planted a whole new area of plants right before they left, and I was sure I was going to kill everything off. The good news is that I have kept everything alive and the even better news is that I have quite enjoyed taking care of it. I told Tanner that I must have a garden when we have a house one day. These are just some of the beautiful flowers that have come into bloom under my care.

Happy Father's Day!

Today was Tanner's first official Father's Day! Although Clark has a slight cold, he greeted his dad with a big smile this morning. We had a good pancake breakfast, and then Clark and I gave him his present. It is called My Daddy and Me by Clark Alan Nielson. Below are some sample pages from his book. We read the book to Clark and he smiled all the way through it.

Weekend Fun

This weekend, we had a great time with the White's, Wise's, and Menzie's. Friday night, we went bowling and the girls almost beat the boys! We were pretty impressed with our skills! Brianna came with us and played with Clark, Grace,and Luke. She also bowled whenever we were busy dealing with kids, which toward the end of the evening, was quite a lot! On Saturday, everyone came over to the birdhouse to lounge by the lake and waterski. It was so much fun! One of the interesting developments down on the lake is that our neighbor has also began building quite a large dock. Maybe dad and Tanner will finish ours soon now that they have some competition! :-)

Squash Yum, Peas Yuck!

This weekend we started Clark on 'real' food. The first night we fed him squash. He loved it and ate the whole jar. Last night we fed him peas. He hated it and even shuddered at one point (we have it on video) but he ate the whole jar. That's my boy! (honestly, could anyone doubt that he would be a good eater?)

I can sit all by myself!

Over the past few weeks Clark has steadily been working on sitting up, particularly with Papa who has had regular training sessions with him. He is doing pretty good now, and might even pass the test to go with Papa on the John Deere for an afternoon mow. Last night Clark had an especially good time sitting with his Dad on the floor, reaching forward and pulling the work keycard which is attached with rewindable elastic onto Tanner's belt. He would pull it and proceed to crack up laughing, and then let it go and watch it spring back to its originally place, and then crack up laughing some more. We got a huge kick out of watching him do this. We have started to notice that he descriminates more with what he decides is funny...and apparently, this was hilarious (picture of this forthcoming).

Amelia Island Plantation

This weekend was the retreat for all the attorneys at 'the firm'. It was held at Amelia Island Plantation just east of Jacksonville. It was so beautiful. We had a wonderful and relaxing time...but we also did plenty of socializing each night with the rest of the group. Tanner and I continue to be impressed with Lowdnes and the people who work there. It is a large firm, but they make a lot of effort to make it feel small and inviting. My favorite aspect of the company is its emphasis on balance between work and family. It was nice to talk to a lot of people who have children and value that as much as we do.


Thanks to Nana and Papa who watched Clark all weekend...it sounds like they had a great time despite the massive diaper failure! We were happy to see our little man and the minute he saw the two of us walk back into the house, he got very excited too! We were just happy he remembered us!