The Sunshine Space

I've been wanting to do it for months. I've thought and wondered and prayed about it. I've worked and re-worked ideas in my head. I've struggled comparing myself to other people and have let Satan eat me up that way. But I finally did it: I opened an etsy shop!

Head on over to The Sunshine Space and check it out.

It's not quite perfect. These are my humble beginnings. I'm nervous and excited and have tons of work to do to get it where I want it. But I told my girls at work and my mom that I'd have it up by Thanksgiving. . . and I'm not one to break a promise!

EEK. So much to be grateful for!

Couponing Wannabe.

After watching a few episodes of Extreme Couponing on TLC, I got hooked on the idea of using couponing as a way to save money for our family. The family who lived here before us got a ton of newspapers (for the coupons!) and their subscription is still coming to us. We spent this weekend clipping coupons and planning our first coupon trip to Walmart. We woke up in the wee morning hours on Tuesday and hit the store (Walmarts in Utah County double your coupons on Tuesdays!) We got tons of goodies. I'm not sure how much we saved. . . but it sure was fun!



"Your presence livens up any conversation."

JD and I took my little brother to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) earlier this week. He'll be gone for two years learning a new language, gaining a stronger testimony of the Savior, teaching people His word, serving individuals and families, developing leadership skills, experiencing a new culture, preaching repentance, and sharing the good news of the Gospel. We are so excited for him and proud of his decision to serve!

The night before he left we went out to eat with a bunch of our cousins who are here in Utah. It was so fun to laugh and eat and talk with them. I think their advice and counsel to Jake calmed his nerves a bit.

Before we dropped him off at the MTC, we had lunch at Panda Express. Jake's fortune read, "Your presence livens up any converation."

Oh, Jakey, I'm sure the people of Argentina will fall in love with you. Your presence does make things brighter and more fun. We'll miss you, but know the Lord needs you to do His work. Happy mission :)

Nightmare on 13th.

I mentioned it last year, but JD worked at a haunted house in high school. I think it's a little freaky considering he's so nice. . . I thought only creeps enjoyed that kinda thing. Oh, no, this sweet boy has a random fascination with all things gorey, slimey, scary, and Halloween-y. We went to Nightmare on 13th together last week and he wasn't scared at all, just intrigued by new elements, costumes, effects, and characters he hadn't seen before. Here's some pictures I grabbed off their website:

It's a good thing JD didn't see me the first time I went through this year (I was with my co-workers) because he would've thought I was a total scared-y cat. My knees buckled every time I was startled and I let out more than a few loud shreaks. It wasn't so bad the second time because I knew what to expect and it was super crowded so there wasn't the I-am-all-alone-right-now-and-very-scared factor. Hooray for celebrating the season!

Not my news.

So it's not really my news at all, but something big happened recently! My friends from high school, Taylor and Alisha, got engaged. Wahoo! They've been dating literally as long as I've known them and I'm so excited for their marriage. I've been stalking their pictures on Facebook and thinking about them tons lately. The magic happened in New York City, where Tiffany moved earlier this year. My heart aches a little thinking about Taylor, Alisha, Trey, and Tiffany celebrating together so far away. I miss their friendship and sometimes wish the passage of time and growing up didn't mean separating ways and moving on. So, sweet friends, we haven't talked in months and I don't know all the details of your lives, but I'm thrilled for this next step and I'm sending loads of warm wishes your way. Love and miss all of you!

No tricks, just treats.

Last weekend, we had some giggly three and four-year olds over for a Halloweeen celebration. We ate eyeballs (grapes), witch fingers (carrot sticks), goblin toes (Cheetos), vampire teeth (pomegranate seeds), and little piggies in blankets. We sipped a yummy orange smoothie from silly skeleton straws. We wrapped eachother like mummies with toilet paper and then JD and I "woke up from the dead" and chased them all around our living room. We played pin the smiley face on the friendly ghost and we raced to see who could eat a marshmallow off a string the fastest. We also unwrapped a bunch of caramels and helped the kiddos make caramel apples, complete with orange, black, and purple sprinkles.

 I would say the party was a complete success! Give me more little kid giggles anyday :)

It was still funny.

My parents got lots of laughs from this costume when I was just a baby.  JD heard the idea and thought it was so great. In a last-minute effort to make costumes for JD's family's Halloween party, I re-created my parents' award-winning costumes.

Apparently, it was still funny because his aunts, uncles, and cousins laughed out loud when we walked in the door. I felt a little awkward because we were late (I was finishing the costumes. . .) and all eyes were on us. Bah! Too bad there weren't any cash prizes for best handmade outfit. . . we would've totally swept the competition.

Texas birthday.

JD celebrated his birthday in Texas this year! (He's being converted to TEXAS every second, I swear. He's started stealing my longhorn hoodie when it's cold outside and I've never seen him  care about baseball as much as he did during the World Series this year). 

While we were home, we took family pictures, played baseball with Isaac, ate at Alamo Cafe and Rudy's (yum!), visited Lindsey at the cutesy yogurt shop where she works, spent time with Jake before he leaves for Argentina, watched a lot of baseball on TV,  got some dental work done, visited with both sets of grandparents, had dinner on the Riverwalk, played Settlers, ate homemade lasagna from my momma, sang "Happy Birthday" to the hubs, helped pick out new clothes for Morgan, saw some cousins at church, and relaxed a little. 

We really enjoyed our visit, but it's been busy busy since we got back. Make-up school work, packing, cleaning, painting, organizing, shopping, planning, un-packing, studying, dreaming, sewing, re-pairing, working, visiting, babysitting. You name it- we're probably doing it around this house!

But being busy feels good. It means we're alive! And productive! And happy!